I'm in a rather odd position with respect to stuttering. I have a mild-to-moderate stutter, but only when I speak in Spanish, which is not my native language.

So, as a person who normally doesn't have to deal with this problem, I've had the odd opportunity to experience what it's like. Stutter tourism, if you will.

From this little bit of experience, there is a big difference between waiting patiently while I get my words out, and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:30 PM on March 21, 2008

IANA New Yorker, but I've enjoyed Joey's Paesano when I've been around Times Square.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2007

I do that all the time on vacations, and for some reason I call it autophotography.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:52 PM on May 23, 2007

Perhaps you could take up a hobby that you can practice in different ways in all of these countries? For instance, cooking, or wine appreciation.

Wine in particular would be good in most of those countries. When you're done, you've got a well-rounded and experienced palate and not a few favorite bottles.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:04 PM on May 18, 2007

In a couple of places I found "quinotto", like risotto but with quinoa. It wasn't half bad.

I'm not a huge fan of pisco sours, but pisco all by itself can be really great -- it's very similar to grappa, and the "pisco Italiano" is made exactly the same was as grappa.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 8:24 PM on May 2, 2007

c/was/way
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 8:25 PM on May 2, 2007

We love the outdoors and are expecting a kiddo, so we have at least two things in common with our potential fellow citizens.

I second vorfeed: Utah is a very, very difficult place to grow up as a non-Mormon.

I moved to Utah in the sixth grade. The first question I remember being asked in school was "are you a Mormon?" The second was, "then why are you here?" Seriously.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 7:19 PM on February 3, 2007

Good point about the booze, blurb... as a a beer-and-wine-ophile, myself, that's another way in which Utah doesn't measure up. The State liquor stores are more expensive than they should be, but perhaps more importantly, it's really hard to find a wide variety of beer and wine.

Belgian and German beers are usually limited to one or two selections, if that. Wine tends toward the jug varieties, though the wine selection isn't generally as bad as the beer selection.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 11:47 AM on February 8, 2007

Oh, and as someone mentioned above, the microbreweries are in general very good, especially since they have to brew beers under 4%ABV. In particular, Bohemian Brewing in SLC has some of the finest American-brewed German styles I've tasted.

There's a pretty good Cajun restaurant / beer bar called Bayou that has a very extensive beer list, but they often tend to be out of most of what's on the list.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 11:56 AM on February 8, 2007

Thanks for all the answers, folks! One thing I should clarify is that, although I don't want to get robbed, here, I've got more available money than available time. I have family in for the holidays, and I just don't see myself taking a whole day away from both them and work to chop up a fence.

So I'm definitely looking at a someone-else-takes-it-away solution. I've got a better feel, now, for what that ought to cost.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 11:34 AM on December 19, 2006

One year for my girlfriend's birthday I got her a hooded cashmere sweater. During the night I swapped the cashmere sweater in place of her regular hoodie on its hook, and in the morning I suggested we go for a walk. That went over pretty well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 6:33 PM on December 12, 2006

Martial arts. There's a guy in my kung fu school who's 6'4, probably 190. He's a beginner, but he fights above his level because of his amazing reach.

Most styles of martial arts will give you a good overall workout, emphasizing leg flexibility and trunk strength. Your upper body will tone up, especially your back, but you won't get all hulky.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:19 PM on July 20, 2006

My wife and I rented a RAV4 for a week and had by far the best car we saw on the road. Driving was expensive and rather scary, but it gave us the freedom to get to Monteverde/Santa Elena, Rio Pacuare, Bahia Drake, Arenal, Poas, and a few other places (not in that order!), all in 9 days.

If I had it to do over again I think I'd do it the same way. However, I disagree with the opinion above that you should just learn stick before you go. There isn't time for that.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:52 PM on June 21, 2006

What's your plan for holding the frame in place? No matter how solid the frame is, I think a much bigger design consideration would be how to make it swing back a bit, but not too far, when you hit it and then swing back into place.

In my opinion, this is what hanging heavy bags are for. Why do you want a dummy per se? If you're trying to toughen up your hands by hitting something rough, just do a bunch of knuckle pushups and hit the ground a lot. No dummy you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 12:03 PM on March 24, 2006

Along the lines of StickyCarpet's comment... Costa Rica has at _least_ three distinct areas worth touring. The high-elevation rainforest in the middle, the beach/jungle to the south, and the beaches farther north are all glorious. Plus there's Volcan Arenal, and river rafting....

My point is that you may feel like you've gone to Costa Rica for no apparent reason if you stay in one part of it the whole time. Not everybody vacations the same way, but especially in Costa... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 6:37 PM on February 22, 2006

Hmm, yep, it's not looking good so far. I use R heavily, and in fact my current workaround will be to call out to R, but that's cumbersome and not very efficient. I might end up just writing some linear regression code. It seems unbelievable that someone hasn't done this already and made it public!

Thanks for all the help so far!
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 10:56 AM on January 24, 2006

In fact, some of the people involved in developing R suggested the same thing to me -- package up a minimal R installation with our product. So I _think_ there are no legal issues. But still, it's a lot of dependency for a little functionality.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 11:05 AM on January 24, 2006

I've known a few missionaries in my time. If you lead them on, you can get them to do favors for you -- wash your car, stuff like that. That might be wrong, I guess.

Alternatively, you can tell them you respect what they're doing, as suggested above, if you do.

If you don't like what they're doing, though, tell them how you feel. If you don't like door-to-door proselytizing, if it makes you uncomfortable, if you think they're being too... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:45 PM on January 23, 2006

Wandering around Granada can be a great time... however, one odd thing that I noticed, when I visited in the summer of 1998, was that the entire place smelled like fertilizer. The WHOLE CITY. I'm sure this was a seasonal thing, but I was amazed at the level of the smell and the extent to which the natives didn't seem to notice. Must just be something they're used to at certain times of the year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 10:22 AM on November 22, 2005

I second lackutrol about rental tuxes. Either buy a tux, or just wear a suit. I rented a tux for my wedding, and although everyone assured me I looked fine, I felt that I looked distinctly penguin-like because the thing was way too loose around the waist.

Oh, and to quote Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption, "how often do you really look at a man's shoes?" I bought some black Skechers, saved a few bucks on the shoe rental, was (most importantly) quite... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:44 PM on November 9, 2005

I second the Scruggs book... I taught myself some basics on that. When I later took a banjo class (at the local community college) I found that I had a leg up.

The class at the community college was good, but kind of frustrating -- it had to move at the pace of the slowest person. I'm guessing 1:1 instruction would be a lot more effective.

But I'm still at a low-intermediate level, never having found anyone to jam with. Everyone who jams at... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:06 PM on October 20, 2005

We had a DJ, and he did a good job -- with ours, he let us fill out what % we wanted played of what type of music, and I think it worked out well.

During dinner, though, before the dancing, we played a CD that my wife and I had put together, an hour or so of our favorite music. I can't stress enough how well that turned out -- every time a new song came on, I thought, "hey, what a great song!" I don't know if other folks enjoyed it, don't really care.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 5:58 PM on October 19, 2005

There's a trivia night at The Globe Tavern in Greenwood...

That struck me as odd, since I live in Greenwood and I've never heard of the Globe Tavern. Google tells me that it used to be in the location that is currently the Ould Triangle.

The Ould Triangle also has a trivia night, can't remember which night, that seemed pretty good to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 12:46 PM on October 18, 2005

Close in, and presumably not just a list of hiking trails?

Snoqualmie Falls (southeast) is pretty impressive, though there's not much else around there and it's a 45-minute drive or so.

Up north (20 minutes), Snohomish is a cute little town. It's overrun with antiquers, but it's got some good shops and restaurants and a nice feel.

Check out all the major Seattle neighborhoods -- hell, even my little neighborhood of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 9:17 AM on October 13, 2005

Oh, and just over an hour northeast, the town of Leavenworth is a weird, somewhat overcute little Bavarian tourist trap with excellent schnitzel and beer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 9:18 AM on October 13, 2005

Homebrewers do it all the time to chill their kegs and control fermentation temperatures.

Yup, that's me. Here's the description of my kegerator project, with prices of everything.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:21 PM on October 12, 2005 marked best answer

(for quick reference, $200 for the chest freezer, new, and $90 for the thermostat)
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:22 PM on October 12, 2005

Hmm, I think you might have to narrow down the scope of the question a bit, as it's definitely not possible to see "it all" in two weeks... any particular cities you want to visit, types of things you want to do?

I recently spent 3 days in Budapest, 4 days in Prague, and 3 days in Munich. I felt really rushed, but I also felt like I got some idea of what the cities are like, and I had a great time. But it depends entirely on what you're looking for.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 12:02 PM on October 11, 2005

On the pricier end of your spectrum ($11 per adult) there's the Seattle Underground Tour. You see some interesting basements and have relatively funny people give you a lot of Seattle history over the course of an hour.

Tour Seattle's neighborhoods by bus or car, having a (drink of choice) in each one, where (drink of choice) in { coffee, beer }.

Give yourself a walking tour of the Fremont neighborhood, with its cool statues & such.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:16 PM on October 10, 2005

On second thought, the Underground Tour would be a pretty lame experience with limited English skills.

What about some parks? Carkeek, Golden Gardens, Discovery, Volunteer....
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:18 PM on October 10, 2005

I've been known to get pretty lecherous when I'm asleep. My wife alternately finds it either funny or annoying, depending on whether I wake her out of a deep sleep.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 5:47 PM on September 30, 2005

You're one weekend too early for the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, curse your luck!
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:26 PM on September 28, 2005

Ethiopian dishes... yemiser w'et is my favorite. There's a lot of to-die-for vegetarian goodness in Ethiopian cuisine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:11 PM on September 26, 2005

As for suing, check this out. There's a long history of success against Wal*Mart.

But whether or not you sue, talk to your local media outlets. Stories like this need to get out!
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:24 PM on August 15, 2005

Here's one of the relevant cases from that link I just posted, so you don't have to go hunting:

"Alabama Woman Sues Store for False Imprisonment After Being Detained on Suspicion of Shoplifting — $200,000 Award Affirmed

Plaintiff sued Wal-Mart for false imprisonment after a store employee questioned and detained her on the suspicion that she stole a coat from the store. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the jury’s $200,000 award.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:25 PM on August 15, 2005

Seriously, I think you should consider contacting a media outlet of some sort. And if they're not interested in the story, the people who run the Always Low Prices website most definitely will be.

People who stand up to Wal-Mart and try to get in the gears of their PR machine need every story like this they can get.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:59 PM on August 15, 2005

Dominance training might not be based on a complete understanding of wolf behavior, though why you'd focus exclusively on wolves to try to understand dog behavior and ignore all the breeding that's been done to produce domesticated dogs, I'm not sure. But to call dominance training useless is ridiculous. It's demonstrably effective in many situations.

In one of the training seminars I went to, there was a dog who spent the whole time in her owner's lap. This was a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:50 PM on August 15, 2005

a word of caution about adultfriendfinder... a friend of mine tried that out a couple times right after a long relationship ended hideously. The first match was great, everything he'd hoped it would be. He tried it again, and the person he connected with ended up stealing $700 from his apartment.

I suppose "use caution" goes without saying, though, with anything like that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:06 PM on August 12, 2005

You mention a split with the girlfriend, and they were on the same mortgage and car loan... your friend should get rid of any joint accounts -- especially credit cards -- immediately. Even if he can't pay 'em down, he should get them shut down so no further charges can come in. I had a friend who just had a nasty experience with new charges run up on some joint cards by his ex.

Even if things seem congenial with the ex, you never know -- if she's in bad financial shape,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 11:54 AM on August 8, 2005

BTW, I've checked out the official info here about when to get into tents, but I want to get some more empirically-based advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:20 PM on August 3, 2005

Darn, I thought I did a good search before I posted, sorry for the overlap, though that earlier question seems to have been more about finding individual stocks than finding brokerages.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:05 PM on July 27, 2005

That'll be a gorgeous trip. If the one-way rental idea is untenable, you might consider just starting and ending in Seattle (hitting different places on the way up than on the way down), then flying to SF if that's where you need to end up. The best part of the trip is the Oregon Coast, anyway -- although the Northern CA part of the trip is nice, too, it just can't compare to Cannon Beach and the like.

Also, the 3-hour drive from Seattle to Oregon (5-6 hours in traffic)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 3:26 PM on June 30, 2005

I'm doing something similar (at a glacial pace), and I'm using an EPIA mini-itx, fanless.

I'm going to put the whole thing in a wooden box that I'm going to build, about the size of a shoebox but shorter.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 5:17 PM on June 23, 2005

I agree with most of what Manjusri said, but not necessarily with the bit about starting with foil. I fenced in college, and due to my height and what was needed on the team I was put straight into epee. The shorter folks generally found themselves going right to sabre, though of course not always.

In any case, the choice of weapon is moot, for a while. You'll need to start with some basic lessons/classes, so you'll be taking whatever's offered at your local club... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:26 PM on June 15, 2005 marked best answer

bah, change "support" to "sport" in my last paragraph up there....
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:36 PM on June 15, 2005

One more point that I don't think has been mentioned above: grip strength is essential to fencing. I'm sure it's the same with tennis, so you're probably in good shape there, but it couldn't hurt to get a couple of those grip thingies and work your forearms in preparation.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:51 PM on June 15, 2005

I second caddis' _Beer, Beer and More Beer_ recommendation, I got most of my current equipment from them.

Go to a local homebrew shop and geek out with the owner a bit. Most of those folks are happy to spend some time educating you. I got my first lesson in brewing from a homebrew shop owner who happily gave me a 1-on-1 seminar for an hour and a half. For an investment of around $100 and just a few hours research, you can get started right in on extract brewing.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 1:52 PM on May 31, 2005

TheOnlyCoolTim, I'd strongly recommend against skipping extract and going straight to all-grain. There are a LOT of variables in all-grain; a couple years after making the transition myself, I'm still trying to figure out how to tweak my efficiency, for instance.

Walk before you run -- all of the equipment you buy for extract brews (except maybe the kettle, you might want to go ahead and get a 7.5-gallon or bigger kettle) will serve you well when/if you do eventually... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 4:45 PM on May 31, 2005

I had a Kreepy Krauly in my pool growing up, in the mid eighties. It just sort of chugged around randomly, seemed to do a fine job. Paying through the nose for flashy new tech might not be warranted.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 12:48 PM on May 31, 2005

I'm curious, what prevents raising the fence? It might cost more, but it's the only foolproof (modulo digging) way to keep the dogs in. And other things out.

For instance, are either of the dogs unspayed females? If they go into heat, you'll have every dog in the county over your 4' fence. Likewise if they're intact males and there's ever a female in heat in the neighborhood.
posted to Ask Metafilter by gurple at 2:20 PM on May 26, 2005