I don't know if this helps: but I was exactly in your BF's situation, and one day it just clicked and I had no more qualms about the big move. I think the trick was to consider it a big adventure, the biggest adventure yet. And of course, complete confidence in my SO. The problems of being in a new country etc etc can be overcome if the heart is willing, and I think you both should talk it out and make it clear that both of you are in this for the long run. Of course I still wonder from time to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 7:19 AM on October 2, 2008

I would try to sprint forward

But then you have the risk of falling, and then it would be very hard to stand up again, no?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 10:29 AM on October 1, 2008

is this in the context of the stampede that was recently in india that killed 150 people?
Partly. Also I was in a Mexico Independence day celebration with people packed in a small plaza, and later learned that a similar celebration in another town had been attacked by criminals throwing grenades, which could have set off a stampede. In India, I would never go to such large gatherings, since lamentably, stampedes occur pretty frequently, especially at religious... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:00 AM on October 1, 2008

How about Good Words/ Buenas Palabras : Translating and Tutoring
(I'm not sure of the spanish, but you get the idea)
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 10:22 AM on September 24, 2008

Could it have been 'bittu'? It's pretty common in North India, probably punjabi. But the sound doesn't match, it's a short i and a hard double t.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 7:09 PM on September 17, 2008 marked best answer

I just discovered the works of John Crowley and I think they fit the bill. The language is exquisite.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 8:01 PM on September 12, 2008

I think you both should sign up for some classes with clear instructions (say salsa) and that might help, especially if you see all the others in the class are in the same boat as you are.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 8:20 AM on September 11, 2008

elendil71: see this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 2:17 PM on September 8, 2008

I'm here to stay (hopefully), but knowing me, I'll probably have to uproot myself in three or four years :)
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:40 PM on September 8, 2008

Thanks y'all, I'm sure that my settling in period will be easier now...
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 7:50 AM on September 9, 2008

I study spiders as well (hello eothele) and I encounter this phobia all the time. I can point to any number of MeFi threads, where the mere appearance of a spider effectively derails the thread. I believe that most arachnophobia is a result of social conditioning: everybody around the person is scared of spiders, so the person is as well. I merely try to distract the phobic person with lots of anecdotes about how cool they are, and remind them that spiders are more scared of humans. (the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 3:44 PM on September 8, 2008

probably offtopic, but I always thought MeFi would be great to have a words/writing section. Sort of like the music and travel section.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 10:55 PM on August 4, 2008

Try this book: Practical statistics for field biologists. I found it covered the basics in a very easy to understand way. (I'm in ecology, btw)
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 8:46 PM on July 20, 2008

If by strayed, you include abducted, then the Hindu epic Ramayana fits the bill.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 12:13 AM on July 16, 2008

visit the Wunderkammer?"This Wunderkammer is both a museum and a retail store. The shop specialises in science and natural history. In the collection are antique botanical prints, anatomical models, specimens preserved in vintage glass canisters, fossils, medical instruments, beetles and butterflies in hand blown specimen domes: the scope of Wunderkammer is as broad as the scope of human scientific enquiry."
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:47 PM on July 13, 2008

You could say that you are a recent vegetarian and that you still have relapses from time to time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:44 PM on June 26, 2008

U 'Mandolin' Srinivas is one of my favourite carnatic artists. Also, here's a link wherein you can find recordings.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:50 PM on June 16, 2008 marked best answer

Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:57 PM on June 10, 2008

I'm the vegetarian one in a similar relationship, and we mostly cook vegetarian for dinner, and since we eat lunch separately, my girlfriend generally eats meat then. We've never tried the two versions of the same meal thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 7:44 PM on June 5, 2008

Here's a nice cooking blog with an emphasis on south indian recipes: Masala Magic
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 12:04 AM on May 26, 2008

If you like rugged terrain, I highly second the visit to Makhtesh Ramon, which is just south of Ber Sheva. it's the world's largest erosion crater, and a must see.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 10:29 PM on May 13, 2008

Western. Oddly enough, even Australia/NZ fits this description in my mind.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 6:30 PM on April 30, 2008

I agree with peacheater. Same story (grew up in India speaking English etc etc), I feel very weird when people compliment me on my (first language) English.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:19 PM on April 23, 2008

The Zen habits blog had a post recently about things to avoid when trying to change a habit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 5:08 AM on April 23, 2008

Muchas gracias! That really looks promising, and especially the hint about 'hindu', it would never have crossed my mind.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 6:07 PM on April 9, 2008

clearlydemon: I forgot to mention, the map's great. I'll add to it if I discover more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:04 PM on April 9, 2008

A lot of people get confused because they think hindu should mean "a practitioner of Hinduism", but in Spanish Hindu is the gentilicio and Hinduista is the practitioner of the religion.

Heh, I actually asked a question about that long back!
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:07 PM on April 9, 2008

Also, I found a great article comparing Mexican and Indian Cuisine while searching with the term 'hindu'. Fpp.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:20 PM on April 9, 2008

> think Ayayayo is specific to Tamil.
We also say this in Kannada
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:53 PM on April 9, 2008

The spiders that I work on usually finish their lifecycle during the winter. They lay eggsacs that survive the winter and hatch in better conditions. So if you keep a spider warm (say indoors) they will probably survive for longer, but it will be unnatural.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 6:57 PM on March 30, 2008

Also, there's a simple calculator function in Quicksilver (if you use it). It's one of the plugins.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 5:52 PM on March 30, 2008

I studied Ecology in Be'er Sheva ( I did a Masters), and I have to reiterate that hebrew is going to be a problem. For example, I was sort of lucky that most of the course they taught in Ecology was in Hebrew one year and in English the next, so I was able to do some courses. Still it was frustrating not being able to do a course at a time I wanted to. Be'er Sheva is pretty isolated though (actually I studied in the Albert Katz International School for Desert studies, which is even further into... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 6:19 PM on March 27, 2008

Yes it's at Source Audio and Direct Stream copy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:08 PM on March 9, 2008

It doesnt come on the sound card. Do you reckon I need to have a separate cable for sound?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:30 PM on March 9, 2008

And also, the AVI file that I get seems to have audio information on it. So audio is probably getting recorded, no?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:34 PM on March 9, 2008

Re audio information: the file details sampling rate, # channels, Compression, length etc etc.

Ok i checked all the volume control options. All the volumes are at max. No difference.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:43 PM on March 9, 2008

> you'll need to import your video to the PC using something that uses the ActiveMovie / DirectX framework,

Can you recommend a program to use?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 6:14 PM on March 10, 2008

Hindi
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 8:28 PM on February 24, 2008 marked best answer

I've used Graph Pad Prism on both Mac and Windows and I think it fits the bill for your requirements. The only problem with Prism is that it doesn't do Multiple regression (instat does, however), but otherwise it's great. Easy to use, and the results are in English. Eg. If you do a normal distribution test, it reports as such: Is the variable normally distributed, and answers Yes or no.
I use Prism for a lot of exploratory analyses before moving on to JMP for higher stuff.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:26 PM on February 13, 2008 marked best answer

Well, I work on spiders, so I notice spiders and webs everywhere. I also can't pass by something written without trying to read it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:59 PM on February 12, 2008

Suzy Charnas' The vampire tapestry is one of the best Vampire books ever.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:31 PM on February 10, 2008

And also, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is very good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 10:39 PM on February 10, 2008

If you extend your preference to alternate Britain, I can't recommend Robert Holdstock enough. Start with Mythago Wood, it's fantastic. Also the Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by GW Dahlquist is alternate london ( i guess) but it gets a bit tedious near the end.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 11:00 PM on January 31, 2008

Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Easily one of the best books about/in India that I have ever read.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 8:50 PM on January 13, 2008

Planet of the Apes. (the remake)
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:45 PM on November 8, 2007

A web 2.0 solution for academics. Like facebook, but for researchers, so they can exchange ideas/papers/opportunities for collaboration etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 9:50 PM on October 30, 2007

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 7:30 PM on August 30, 2007

No. You probably saw a Nephila or an Argiope, and theyre brightly coloured because current thinking indicates that the colours actually attract prey to the web. Maybe you would have died of a panic attack and/or falling off your horse.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 4:17 PM on August 30, 2007

Nah: it's an instinctive reaction.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 5:56 PM on August 30, 2007

This is how I make chai (I'm Indian): Boil 3/4 cup of water per cup of chai. Two spoons of sugar into the water (while boiling). A pinch of Chai Masala powder (I prefer the brand Everest, you can find it in Indian shops). When it starts boiling, add 1 1/2 spoons of tea powder, heat till it froths for around 5-10 seconds. Add milk till you get the nice chai colour :) Let it simmer for a few seconds. Strain.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dhruva at 5:12 PM on August 27, 2007