Depends on whether a court would rule that missing votes is in direct, willful violation of the duties of office. I bet not, except in extreme cases, especially since it's so common.

Didn't Eugene McCarthy used to do this more or less deliberately, sit in his office and ignore the calls to chambers towards the end, when he no longer cared? Or do I malign the man with a misremembered anecdote?
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:36 PM on July 25, 2008

if someone rejects me for my perceived social class, then they're probably not someone I would want to associate with anyway.

But of course. The question was about employment, however, and we cannot always choose our workmates. Moreover, it becomes an issue with promotability. You can do a bang up job at the lower levels, but it could be a problem moving up the ladder. (There are exceptions of course, but that need not concern us here. The... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:29 PM on July 25, 2008 marked best answer

Should we assume that you have a reliable family tree dating back 150 years or so? Useful for cross checking and logic, esp if photos have dates on them. Are any of them connected to any group association? I once was randomly checking an online univerisity archive of old photos of a distant relative I knew and lo and behold there were a bunch of pictures titled "unknown" which were in fact portraits my father's family. The archivist was thrilled to fill in a few blanks. Just to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 7:56 AM on July 20, 2008

I'm wondering if those who have used this in the past did so as a kind of malapropism, conflating "hold sway over" and "reign over", and compounding the problem by loose spelling. Do that kind of thing long ago enough and you'll have 21st century folk scratching their heads.

Just a thought.

Just from curiosity, why are you looking for this? To me, that's more interesting than the question itself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 11:04 AM on July 10, 2008

Oh dear, I knew I was going to get bitch slapped for being Americo-centric.

I get it, different places, different names (and thanks to those directing us to the different places and names, most interesting- I love the detours like that). But the point remains- each step is different. I considered the psychological answer, and gave a test walk to see if that accounted for it. Still sounded to me like distinct sounds, either flip/flop or flop/flip depending on which... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:24 PM on July 4, 2008

All The Tea In China by Kyril Bonfiglioli. Basically a love him or hate him kind of author, so you takes your chances.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 12:09 PM on June 15, 2008

Cornwell's got other historical fiction, too, but I have yet to read any of it, though I'm looking forward to reading the Warlord (King Arthur) books.

nthing the Arthur books. Really, not at all what you would imagine. Went down really big in Germany, of all places.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 10:44 AM on June 21, 2008

Best answer to LarryC because it covers the entire gamut. That having been said, much of use in the othere answers, all good (well, Birth of a Nation, come along) and much appreciated. If this doesn't suit them, then nothing will

Many thanks to all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:42 AM on June 15, 2008

(esp jammy)
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:47 AM on June 15, 2008

What can I do to ascertain the value of these paintings?-

Take pictures, send to Christieis Sotheby's, and any other auctioneers you can think of. If they see value, they will estimate a price. Check their web sites. This is a free service, you are not obligated to sell, of course. If they decline interest, well, at least you know. HOWEVER - time changes their infinite variety- I've known Christie's to suggest five figures for a painting that they... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2008

I'd hate to think that Django Reinhardt is too late for you, but if others can mention Artie Shaw....
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:19 PM on June 5, 2008

Susan Minot's Monkeys. Tama Janowitz's Slaves of New York, sort of.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:14 PM on June 5, 2008

Hah! I have something very like that, only with some coupons attached. Also a very official stamp from the US government on it basically telling the bearer that he (or she, but he, as I own it) can forget about ever cashing in on it.

Always interested me that the US government would go to the bother of manufacturing a stamp laying out in detail how unlucky you are.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:11 PM on June 5, 2008

Evelyn Waugh did the travel thing. Patrick Leigh Fermor has some good moments. Christopher Buckley is not quite my thing, but many find his first book Steaming to Bamboola a lot of fun. One recent favorite is William Deedes At War With Waugh, which brings us back to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:04 PM on June 5, 2008

Augustus Carp Esq by Himself.

All of the Mapp And Lucia books.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Cult classics, every one, and all worth your time. Pass the message.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:35 PM on May 24, 2008

People Who Say Goodbye by P.Y.Betts
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:23 PM on May 24, 2008

So the basic idea is to take them to Red Bank, show them where I grew up, have some real pizza, then to a watering hole somewhere

Fail not in checking out the antique/used goods shops.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:21 PM on May 19, 2008

Gunpowder? Snuff?
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:56 PM on May 18, 2008

DGL. Takes a few weeks, but cheaper than many things. Here's hoping you like the taste of liquorice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:31 PM on May 17, 2008

Read Bob Glover. Competative Runners' Handbook first edition has a section on the half, the second edition does not. Go figure. But he has much of value and interest. Try this for a taste.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:28 PM on May 17, 2008

Not a book, but Indochine is always worth watching.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:36 AM on May 1, 2008

Y'all couldn't just chip in for a cake?

I hate to sound like a wet blanket, but gifts for co-workers can create awkwardness, and in a small office, you really don't want awkwardness. Granted, I know neither you nor her nor the office itself, but I'm closer to her age than yours and more than once I've seen these things change dynamics for the awkward. Especially where the giftor is significantly younger than the giftee. Especially when no one else... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:36 PM on April 30, 2008

To avoid having this question turn into chatfilter, can you be more specific...?

I can try.

I'm positing two groups sharing one tony zipcode. Group A owns the house, car, a safe (cash, bonds, un-optioned stocks) portfolio free and clear. Group B lives in the house, drives the car, and maybe has a highly leveraged portolio that can turn sour over night, and probably high earnings, though not high enough to cover expenses outright. Bottom line... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 11:45 AM on April 26, 2008

(I'm wondering if you'd want to focus just on "tony zip codes," however you'd narrow that, since as zpousman says, a lot of people's wealth might be farm or ranch land.)

A fair point, and I welcome all knowledge. The question arises from current roilings in the economy. Plenty of stuff is written about gasping middle classes and abuses of the poor, and, as mentioned, about millionaires next door. What I don't see written about, except on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 6:06 AM on April 28, 2008

I heard something about the narcotics officers driving around with IR cameras(detects heat), looking for people growing things in their closets. Please be careful if you go this route.

I've heard of them checking outsized electric bills, but IR cameras without some prior suspicion seems a little over the top, even for our Lords and Masters.

Then again....
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:43 PM on April 22, 2008

Somerset Maugham
Francois Rabelais, though he came back to teach medicine in later life
Chekhov never really gave up doctoring, so scratch him
Ayman al-Zawahiri

That's about it, off hand. I'm sure there are others.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:38 PM on April 22, 2008

There's nothing inherently offensive about the way people smell after a couple of days without washing their hair or putting on deodorant (as opposed to the more universally acclaimed stinkiness of fecal matter or rotten food).

Well, that's a matter of taste concerning which there is no accounting. Universal is a bit of a slippery slope. Let us discuss, for example, stinky cheese. Ever try explaining Roquefort to an provincial East Asian?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:54 PM on April 7, 2008

The Day of the Jackal defines modern thriller in my mind. Never been bettered.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 6:08 AM on April 3, 2008

One standard text is Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies, 1700 to the Present edited by I.T. Schick. Though this might stump that book.

You might try the various war museums, Imperial War Museum in London, for example, or that of west point. They should at least be able to send you in the right direction. Or post the question on any of dozens of military sites, http://www.militaryphotos.net/ for example.

Good luck, let us know.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 6:06 AM on April 3, 2008

Burning old growth wood. Painful, that.

Thanks to all, most interesting
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:11 PM on March 11, 2008

I second praeteritio, but its most notable use in Cicero was his prosecution of
Verres, surely?
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 10:34 AM on March 8, 2008

If you right-click on Outlook's title, is there an "Always on top" option? If not, is there any unusual submenu like "nView Options" with an option within for "Always on top"? The option can also be set on a sub-submenu called something like "Individual options".

Nothing like that, alas. Seems pretty white bread

(@unixrat - noted, you're on the list)
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 11:13 AM on February 21, 2008

Third person plural in your example, so meet is correct. Our exam meets, our exams meet. (Since you ask...)

Good luck, by the way
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 1:24 PM on February 10, 2008

a family-run sort of place with a shabby waiting room and one old lady behind the counter.

Eh. Mrs Jones with never a cavity in her life went to such a place recommended by her college where the old coot found several teeth that "needed filling". She believed him. Once out of college she found another dentist who did nothing to her teeth but thought the old boy had probably invented the need.

Seconding mamaraks.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 3:20 PM on February 9, 2008

Ali Farka Toure

Also, for a sampler Wonders of the African World
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 2:54 PM on February 9, 2008 marked best answer

Omiewise always for the win, both in this and in a running shoe question I posted earlier. All I need now is a Proust question.

For the record, I'm using the Italian strains, and although last night is normally pizza night, I'm changing the schedule, going the refrigerator route and seeing how it turns out tonight. (I find "too sour" to be a strange concept, but I suppose it's possible.)

Many thanks to all, most enlightening.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:37 AM on February 4, 2008

Lisa Wahlandt, perhaps. Difficult to say, since, alas, I don't really have a taste for Mrs Sarkozi or Ms Peyroux. Still, some samples included so you can decide for yourself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:50 PM on January 24, 2008 marked best answer

And on a more cynical political note, I expect casualties among their units don't cause quite the p.r. ruckus in The Guardian as would that of, say, a squad of laddies from Ipswich or Stoke-on Trent getting blowed up.

I imagine they cost less to maintain than standard British units as well.

(Remember, too, that the French and Spanish have their own foreign legions (although I gather the Spanish one tends towards Spaniards rather than foreign mercs-in-training)).
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:32 PM on January 6, 2008

following onemorething, I offer The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong. My caveats are that I have not read it and so cannot critique, and that it was published over twenty years ago. That said, some of the points alluded to suggest no great change from the old days.

Taking an opposite tack, that is, that things could be and have been a whole lot worse and not so very long ago, you could try The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!

Do they have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2007

Just came across this list at Asia Times.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 3:20 PM on December 23, 2007

At one point the studio told him he couldn't make it, because he'd have to hire thousands of extras for the battles scenes. And he'd have to clothe them all in period costume. Which would be way too expensive.

Should have gone to Russia - unless 17,000 extras were too few....
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 3:14 PM on December 23, 2007

Donald Westlake's Dortmunder books. As inventive as Wodehouse and just as funny. If no one else is around, she'll be reading passages to the infant, they're that good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2007

The Teaching Company does DVD as well as audio format. Expensive, but your library may be able to help interlibrary loan them. Or you can check their sales wrack.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:12 PM on December 9, 2007

(Sorry, wrote in a hurry. Missed the On line and aggregator part, and specific recommendations. (Sounds like I barely read the question at all) Still, not knowing what interests you, thought you could at least peruse.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 5:14 PM on December 9, 2007

Corruption and greed, at a guess. I know an itinerant construction contractor (by nature very pro-labor, by the way) who has worked in Boston, and he will go into great, bewildered tirades about the practices of union labor. They don't like what you propose, they don't walk off the job - they trash the place.

Second hand, as I say, but it would seem to conform with your observations. Slow and steady and second rate can generate a lot of money for a labor crew. (Not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 3:59 PM on December 9, 2007

(For the record, the contractor mentioned above has also done work in DC. THe rap there was not corruption (surprise!) but generally garden variety stupidity, the sort you would expect in any cross section of people on a cooperative venture.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:09 PM on December 9, 2007

Authors of fiction faded in even later.

Going to have to disagree. As mentioned, Bocaccio, to say nothing of the ancients from whom he drew inspiration. (I assumed the question mostly circles middle ages, but maybe not- are you including Greeks and Romans and all that? Rather opens up the discussion if so. (On preview, I guess you are))

As far as writing as a profession goes, it was a sideline of course, but for plenty of,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 2:59 PM on December 7, 2007

Dante was twittered about quite a bit in his own lifetime. Known as a man who liked to keep to himself.

It's the outside of their own regions bit that's going to get you. It was one thing to write for a mass audience in Latin (see above Voragine and the difusion of his work), quite another to go with your own native dialect.

That having been said, overlap occurs. Much of Canterbury Tales comes out of Boccaccio. Reason being that Chaucer... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:10 PM on December 7, 2007 marked best answer

Heptameron, that is.
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 4:11 PM on December 7, 2007

Not true. Petrarch "was an enthusiastic Latin scholar and did most of his writing in this language."

Walked right into that one. Serves me right for committing ruminations right before bedtime.

You're right, of course, though be it noted that the writers I cited wrote in their respective vernaculars in an attempt to improve their Q scores, even if only among their own (not necessarily scholarly) countrymen. Or so... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by IndigoJones at 3:51 PM on December 9, 2007