Keep in mind that you probably have a responsibility to keep the work-related documents you have on there -- boot and nuke is the equivalent of shredding the contents of your filing cabinet before you leave. Even if you're leaving on poor terms, destroying company documents on the way out the door is going too far.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 11:49 AM on August 8, 2008

Ikea beds fit Ikea mattresses best

This hasn't been true for a long time. Ikea in North America went with North American mattress sizes years and years ago. Our Posturepedic fits our MALM fine.

The thing about the slats is that while they'll fit a box spring (which has the same dimensions as a mattress, after all), a mattress and box spring are at least twice as thick as a mattress alone, and it won't look like the picture.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 4:36 AM on August 7, 2008

I've tried a bunch, and always come back to VirtuaWin. Second place was Dexpot but it lost windows occasionally and just generally had too many features for me. One hint: Turn off "When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately" in Firefox, or else it'll always be jumping to the workspace you're in.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:23 PM on August 6, 2008

I've got both deep and shallow IVAR, and the shelves are held up by the same 2" metal rods in both -- so in the deep, you've got 18" or so of shelf only supported by the bent sheet metal bracket the rod fits into on the shelf, and in the shallow, you've only got 10" or so. 18" is going to bow (as seen from the side) a lot easier than 10" will, so it's rated for lighter.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:07 PM on August 4, 2008

Aside, because I find the assertion odd: Weight Watchers didn't copy the Hacker's Diet, and it's not based on it. Weight Watchers has been around since the 1960s. The big deal about Weight Watchers is the support network (the meetings); the system's just the framework by which people who attend the meetings control their intake.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:46 PM on August 4, 2008

The second "much" link answers your question: they're rare. Less supply, higher prices, basic microeconomics.

Why is an unused Penny Black stamp worth $3000? Because there aren't very many of them.

So it's worth that because someone's willing to pay it; and someone's willing to pay it because they value having something in their collection that not many other collectors have.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:27 PM on July 25, 2008

Change the cert. This is "false laziness", where you spend more effort figuring out how to avoid doing the thing than you would just doing it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:45 AM on July 18, 2008

They're usually prayers to St. Jude.

I'm not sure I'd call them "Jesus freaks" because Roman Catholics aren't usually lumped in with such, but the idea is that having prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of desperate causes, and made it through whatever desperation, that you thank Jude by encouraging others to pray. Not so much about getting into heaven, just gratitude for some divine intervention already received.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:10 PM on July 14, 2008 marked best answer

good quality consumer level espresso machine [...] for $80 to $120

Nowhere. That beast doesn't exist. You can get a poor-quality "espresso" machine for that, and it might even bubble some milk, but it won't resemble anything you'd get at Starbucks or a good local cafe.

You'll be able to go through the motions of making espresso like a barista would, but other than that you're wasting your money.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:46 AM on July 11, 2008

First, expectations check: The description in a mod_autoindex, FancyIndexing directory can't be automatically generated from the filename, as far as I know. It has to be explicitly specified per-file in .htaccess. So you'd have to generate the .htaccess from the directory contents, and then regenerate it whenever files appear, disappear, or change.

That said, this should do that, run in the directory in question:
#!/bin/sh
for filename in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:54 PM on July 10, 2008

You can practice the theory here, in the world's second-most-boring Flash game.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:39 PM on July 9, 2008

I dunno, I (and plenty of folks) read, for example, Lileks, and I don't think he's really famous, outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

You probably wouldn't know about Lileks if he didn't first become Internet-famous as a curator of awful cookbooks and print memorabilia, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 8:07 AM on July 8, 2008

You wouldn't add a plug for an AC adapter, you'd add a whole battery charger, including the logic that tells it when to trickle, when to fast-charge, and when to stop.

Just get two sets of rechargeable C batteries and a battery charger. Then there's always one set charging.

On the other hand, putting in an AC adapter that powers the amp (with the batteries removed, or with a switch in the AC adapter jack that disconnects the batteries) ought to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 8:59 AM on July 5, 2008

Sounds like the exception that proves the rule.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 2:29 PM on July 3, 2008

Just to get the terminology out of the way first: LVM isn't mountable. It's a new layer between "partitions" and "filesystems", the volume manager (that's the "VM"). Where before you'd have a disk that contained a partition that contained an ext3 filesystem, with LVM you have a disk that contains a partition that contains an LVM physical volume which contains an LVM logical volume which contains an ext3 filesystem.

With that out of the way:... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 12:37 PM on June 28, 2008

I just moved from gels back to stick after realizing that in the humid summer here, the gel just never quite dries.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 8:20 PM on June 27, 2008

"Concert A is 440 cycles/second, no matter where you are"

This is overstating in the same way that "A flat and B sharp are always the same" is overstating. Concert A is A440, but "concert pitch" means "A440" and nothing more, so that's just saying "In A440, A is 440Hz." And that's why there's disagreement here. Yes, modern western music uses 440Hz A, and equal temperament, but not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:36 PM on June 27, 2008

I come back and read these observations (from a friend of mine) once a year or so when something reminds me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:11 AM on June 26, 2008 marked best answer

I've found that the one cert that's valued even in small shops that have no respect at all for Cisco, Red Hat, or MS certifications is the CISSP.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:36 PM on June 22, 2008

Not sure if this is up your alley, but I can almost guarantee it'd be up his. Find a good boudoir photographer and get some sexy pictures done.

I'd question that guarantee. I'd find receiving boudoir pics to be weird. Boudoir photography is in the "laugh at other people doing this" (or at least "for cougars") category for me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 2:25 PM on June 10, 2008

(metafilter's own) Dan's Data is nowhere near as comprehensive as the sites recommended above but makes up for it in editorial license.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 9:13 PM on June 9, 2008

If they performed better, they wouldn't have to market them as "socially responsible funds", they'd market them as "funds with excellent performance". The idea is that you're willing to sacrifice some returns in exchange for social responsibility.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 4:12 PM on June 7, 2008

I realize this does not answer your question directly, but:

The problem you're running into is why I will never, ever, bother investigating buying chassis and motherboard separately for rackmount servers. If you can afford it, hit up HP or maybe Dell. If not, look at Supermicro, Penguin, or Rackable. Those three all get volume pricing on their motherboards and chassis anyhow, so you'll probably get a guaranteed-working combination cheaper than your approach.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 1:11 PM on June 5, 2008

We recently did a climbing-gym day, but had the gym treat us like a bunch of new climbers rather than as a team-building exercise. It was a blast, and about half of us have since taken up climbing.

Climbing gyms sound like team-building exercises, but it's easy to turn that explicit team-building part off, yet somehow you're still all helping each other out and counting on each other to avoid injury. And it lends itself to going out for pizza and beer afterwards.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 8:38 AM on June 4, 2008

The site is written for women, but I maintain that Krista's advice basically applies to anyone. She specifically talks about how to get lifting at home with dumbbells.

Read through all of her site that isn't specifically about women -- the training, starting, and eating sections at least, or better yet, all of it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:44 AM on June 2, 2008

Are you allowed to alter your uniform? Men's (modern) wool pants are usually lined with viscose, so you don't get wool-on-skin. Usually they're half-lined (to the knee) but that's enough to avoid skin contact.

Of course if it's heat and not wool, the lining might not make things better. You might find that a non-spandex snug wicking layer works better than tights, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 4:05 PM on June 1, 2008

I wouldn't describe myself as a germaphobe

That makes one of us. What you describe is not what most people do. Most people do not carry antibacterial gel to deal with touching a subway pole. Most people do not get skeeved out from a public computer.

Note that your boyfriend, despite all of this, is still healthy. That's because our bodies are capable of handling all of this themselves. In fact, all that antibacterial gel and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 11:38 AM on June 1, 2008

I just went through "early 80s" in motorcycles, and my experience was like Gungho's. Parts not available, tires not available, shops not familiar with them, and next to zero resale market for things that are just "old bikes" and not collector's pieces. And on top of that you get state-of-the-art-for-1980 safety equipment, too.

I'd avoid it myself, but I'd say doubly so for you because you don't have the ability to determine the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 3:46 PM on May 31, 2008

Something else occurred to me: if you're after cost-effective transportation, you might find that an electric-assist bicycle could substitute for a scooter like that, but without the licensing and insurance hassle and cost.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 3:54 PM on May 31, 2008

The specific reason you and/or the client you did the work for need legal advice is this: By storing card numbers unencrypted, you weren't compliant with thePayment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and PCI DSS compliance has been required of merchants by card brands since 2004-2005. Being non-compliant shifts pretty much 100% of the liability for the breach (both civil suits and fines) from the card brands and acquirer to the merchant. The PR problem and loss of business to your client... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 12:19 PM on May 30, 2008

I'm no security expert so others can correct me if this is wrong but if the CC info is stored on the server at all then it should be using public / private key encryption (e.g, PGP or GPG) where the server knows the public key but not the private key.

Seriously, the requirements are in the specification I linked above. They're spelled out there. Following them pretty much absolves you of liability.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 10:11 AM on May 31, 2008

Just because it's bugging me: twenty heads in a row is precisely as unlikely as every other outcome. It's just a more memorable outcome than one that looks "random" to us.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:46 PM on May 24, 2008

ardgedee: It's probably not a single word.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:42 AM on May 18, 2008

my iPod (4G) will pause when you unplug the headphones, meaning it looks at the impedance.

I would assume that it would pause because there is a switch in the jack, or because the circuit is open. Looking for the specific impedance of headphones would be a weird way to detect something plugged in there (that may be headphones, or may be a line-level input).
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 7:27 AM on May 18, 2008

If I read you right, and you're concerned that a child did get access to those pills, call the Ontario Poison Centre: (416) 813-5900.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:05 PM on May 13, 2008

Poison Centre?!?

Those are Green Apple flavor Jones Soda Carbonated Candy.

Yeah, the poison centre doesn't send you an ambulance when you call, they're basically a big triage centre with pharmacists, and a lot of reference work, and doctors handy if necessary. It used to be that parents would keep the poison control centre phone number stuck to the phone for the OMIGOD MY BABY ATE _____ calls.

Since... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 2:57 PM on May 16, 2008

Or a bikeforum. God knows they've got opinions on other people's bikes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 9:06 PM on May 15, 2008

As a data point: I bought a pair of $100 Stam Delta chair copies a couple years ago. Cheap leather which not only failed to break in but which has now failed along some seams from regular use. Authentic Delta chairs would've set me back $400 ea or so.

Even ugly, overstuffed "contemporary" leather furniture is expensive, so there's only so much you can cheap out on reproductions before you get into materials that won't stand up.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:24 AM on May 15, 2008

and will most likely become a civil case

Then stop telling your future defendant about your plans on the Internet, and start talking to your legal counsel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 9:02 AM on May 14, 2008

Novator has done this for a lot of big brands, including FTD (14 years running) and Lucasfilm.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 12:24 PM on May 13, 2008

This isn't big enough but I couldn't not mention it, if only for inspiration for the one you're going to find/make: Trophy of Perpetual Futility.

That said, if I were in your shoes I would go to a local trophies-and-tshirts shop and see what you like in the catalog. There's a lot of cheap plastic silvery and gold-y trophies to be had that wouldn't even break a little league budget.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 6:23 PM on May 5, 2008

Was the guy made of steel?

Partly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:36 PM on April 30, 2008

I'm surprised no-one linked Steve Pavlina on How to become an early riser.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 12:12 PM on April 30, 2008

There's a huge, huge difference between one admin and two, in terms of managing interruptions, handling projects vs. fires, covering vacations, getting hit by a bus, and so on. Then it's sort of linear for a bit as you spread the work around. By 6 or so you start running into a bit of trouble because everyone won't know everything, and you'll probably end up with pairs; some organizations could do better with 3-4 admins than 10 just because of the extra communication load that comes along with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:56 PM on April 28, 2008

April 12, 2008 12:51 PM EDT, sez this quesiton.

Last-Modified: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:01:42 GMT, sez camillehayton.com.

I think that's an answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 12:06 PM on April 12, 2008

There's some bug in Leopard whereby if the system momentarily can't find a site, it remembers this and keeps dumping you to a server not found page.

That's no bug, that's engineered into DNS. DNS records are cached to avoid having to make the same requests over and over, and those publishing DNS records specify both the TTL (time-to-live, or how long to cache the data) for each record and the "negative TTL", or the amount... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 8:49 AM on April 12, 2008

I love my steel-framed, yet new Kona Smoke. Mountain geometry so you're not bolt upright, flat-black paint means it doesn't look flashy, geared nicely for city riding and light trails. $350 fenders in.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 10:28 AM on April 9, 2008

Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 9:13 PM on April 5, 2008

Use photos!
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 4:59 PM on April 5, 2008

I'm with lordaych on the "when a row was last updated" part. Treat that as data, not metadata, and store it in the table.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mendel at 5:20 AM on April 4, 2008