max/msp is another good tool for this, and has a 30 day free trial. the environment isn't the most user friendly interface in the world but decent tutorials abound.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:51 AM on April 17, 2007 marked best answer

i had the same problem until i started keeping mine in one of the crappy cardboard sleeves available at the kiosks. no more demag...
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 1:34 PM on February 13, 2007

This happens to me when i've been (consistently) drinking more caffeine than normal, where normal is one 8 oz cup of coffee per day. I find that cutting back on caffeine and getting more sleep generally disappears the problem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 1:14 PM on February 8, 2007

No shoutouts to the Joy of Cooking? It's the bees knees, IMO.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 11:28 PM on December 4, 2006

gasp! mzurer! i had the opposite experience, also as a runner. i LOVED the thomas guides, but NEVER left to go anywhere without mapquesting. the thomas guide, however, is indispensible if you are lost.

know where you are trying to go. for example - if you are heading to an In 'n Out, make sure you know what city it's in. Calling directory assistance and asking for the address of the In 'n Out on Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles isn't going to help you at all, because... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 3:28 PM on November 22, 2006

I, too, have seen a number of black widows hanging out around Southern California. Being a recent east-coast transplant, I had been living under the (apparently mistaken) impression that I had escaped the widow-terror when i moved out here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:50 AM on November 15, 2006

I rigged up something like this as a proof-of-concept myspace tracker awhile back. Here are the folks that looked at my profile during the period that i had it running. Please note that these are NOT necessarily accurate representations of the physical geography of the individual viewers, just the geographical locations to which the IPs resolved. Let me know if you want the source....
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 10:49 AM on November 13, 2006

the Destroy FX pluggins are great.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 11:15 AM on November 8, 2006

Definitely get SOME kind of local postal address you can use when applying - i'm in the same boat and i've gotten waaaay more calls back when i've had a friend whose address I can use in the area, even if only to put on my resume.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 1:09 PM on November 6, 2006

yeah, i never liked gin until i started drinking quality gin, on the rocks. the chill and the dilution made for a very pleasant combination - the first few sips are full-ish strength, and then after that the drink tapers off.

FWIW, my personal fave (currently) is Hendrick's.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 2:49 PM on November 3, 2006

the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) of North Carolina is incredible. It's an amazing mix of culture, charm, and easily-accessible wilderness AND the cost of living isn't going to kill you. Chapel Hill, specificially, is a lively college town bordered by farmland and nature, easily accesible urban areas (Raleigh and Charlotte), and gorgeous natural resources (the mountains and the sea are both an easy single-day drive).
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 3:21 PM on October 24, 2006

If you really want to experience coffee perfection you absolutely have to roast your own beans, or buy them the day they are roasted at a roaster. Roasted beans, bagged at a retailer, are already stale. Check out sweet maria's for more info.

Roasting your own beans is about a 30 minute commitment every three days or so, depending on how much coffee you are putting away, and can be done with a $10 popcorn popper from target. I promise, once you start roasting your own beans... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 2:59 PM on October 24, 2006

It sounds like you want an iPod and a dock, and you can load songs into the PC via a networked drive?
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 2:48 PM on October 24, 2006

To clarify - the dock gets you an IR remote, and the PC lets you manage the music. The iPod works without the PC AND without the network, and the PC and the network can allow you to add music remotely.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 2:52 PM on October 24, 2006

I second Relic. Stephen King's "The Dark Half" scared the woolies out of me when i was younger. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is scary, IMO, but possibly not exactly what you are looking for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 6:11 PM on October 19, 2006

I love beer as much as the next guy, but perhaps if money is really going to be THAT tight perhaps you should consider that you won't be drinking much at all? Resolve the issue by deciding to only drink on special occasions or something?
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 5:05 PM on September 25, 2006

by the same token, if 45 - 87 million daily users view 16 - 98 pages per day, that's 720 million - over 8 billion page views!
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:51 AM on September 20, 2006

how far are you running? i find that if i don't have a bit to eat (or some sports drink) before I run, and some sugar mid-run (for longer distances), I get all woozy. Granted, i have diabetes mellitus so my situation is a bit different, but don't rule out your body's need for fuel while you are working.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:21 AM on September 20, 2006 marked best answer

obviously the work of itinerant polar bears. can't trust 'em, ever.

more likely it that two unlikely coincidences occurred in temporal proximity to one another.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:51 AM on September 18, 2006

"IS, that", natch
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:52 AM on September 18, 2006

A food co-op i once cooked for had decieded that tapeworms were a conversation killer, along with the concept of skinny people as "anal" babies. YMMV.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 3:49 PM on September 11, 2006

ONE MILLIUM DOLLERS!
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:37 AM on August 31, 2006

this page may help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 3:26 PM on August 27, 2006 marked best answer

WRT Max/Jitter (via Blazecock) - while you certainly CAN build stable, production-worthy apps in Max (see vidvox), i think you'll find that the learning curve and stability issues will send you running for the hills. Any language has a learning curve, but i found the amount of immersion and expertise needed to successfully build a stable (i.e. non-crashing) app in Max far exceeded most "real" programming languages. If you already know C#, stick with that.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 11:26 AM on August 21, 2006

The best thing you can do is find a friend with a dual-table setup who will let you bring records over to practice. Or, find a local radio station with a setup, get a show, and practice during the off hours. Also, many nightclubs have "open tables" nights where anyone can show up and play.

If you purchase turntables (vs. CD Players/MP3 - more on this in a minute) absolutely purchase Technics 1200s. Don't listen to what anyone else says about other brands being as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 2:58 PM on August 16, 2006 marked best answer

I second the immersion blender. I've been using mine for that purpose for years and it works great. i just toss the stick and the cup in the dishwasher when i'm finished and no more mess.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 11:27 AM on August 14, 2006

I spent a several weeks on the road in mexico and never had a problem with washing, brushing my teeth, or even rinsing my mouth with water. I mostly drank bottled water just because I was on the road for much of the time. Only got sick once, at the end of the trip, when a sudden craving for carnitas got the better of me and I snagged two tacos from a street cart.

As others have noted, buying booze from stores in Mexico will generally be cheaper than getting similar booze in the U.S.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 8:36 AM on August 14, 2006

The North Carolina Aquariums, pulled pork BBQ, and (i've only heard, never been, despite being born-and-raised in cackalack) NASCAR.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 8:30 AM on August 14, 2006

The Darksky Finder will aid you in your quest.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:52 AM on August 10, 2006

"take it at the top" is a musical term, no?
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 1:26 PM on August 9, 2006

target disc mode can't happen without the logic board, since it runs through the firewire ports. same with the power supply - the drive has to spin up somehow. his best bet is to pick up a 2.5" enclosure like this, pull the drive from the iBook, and slap it in the enclosure. the bonus for doing it this way is that once his files are recovered he has a nice, pocket-sized portable drive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 7:37 PM on July 30, 2006

I use my PB G4 in target disc mode without mains power all the time. i think you could run into trouble if the battery ran out and the disc didn't unmount properly, but i believe that this risk is mostly mitigated by OS X using a journaled filesystem (which is the default now). worst-case scenario, in my mind, is that you might have a file open from the offending laptop, said laptop runs out of juice, disc "disappears" and you have to save the file elsewhere.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 8:24 PM on July 30, 2006

I have owned many a burr grinder, including a Rocky, and my all-time favorite grinder is the Zassenhaus Knee Mill, a hand-cranked beauty of a grinder. Infinitely adjustable (i.e. not stepped), shockingly easy to use, and usuable ANYWHERE, since it requires no electricity. I wouldn't, say, grind coffee for 30 guests in it, but for doing a french press at a time or even a whole pot of drip it is wonderful.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 3:08 PM on July 28, 2006

chocolate and chevre.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2006

i sense a trend....
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 5:00 PM on July 25, 2006

docgonzo - totally key ingredient for good margaritas is homemade sour mix, made with agave nectar. no kidding. just about equal parts of lemon juice, lime juice, and nectar make for deadly margaritas, IMO. the rest is just quality tequila and big chunks of salt. oh, and some triple sec for good measure.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 11:51 AM on July 25, 2006

To formulate a recipe like this, i definitely suggest using an app like Promash (windows) or HomeBrew Formulator (mac os x). They will let you tinker with ingredient amounts to give you approximate values for everything from potential alcohol/gravity to hop bitterness.

I've never had the Utopia, but a quick check reveals that you will need about 30 pounds of liquid extract, or 25 pounds of dry malt extract, to even push you into the 25% range. I've heard about using oak... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 10:35 AM on July 24, 2006

it depends on what you want to do with the final recording. if you want/need independent access to the different tracks/instruments, you should definitely use the MAudio box. The input on the Powerbooks is good, quality-wise, so if that is the only issue then I say save your money.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 8:30 AM on July 24, 2006

the best thing you can do is invest in a taco press (20$ at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but available for much cheaper at tiendas mexicanas) and a five pound bag of corn maseca mix (4$-ish). Mix one cup of maseca with 1 cup water (i think) and mix thoroughly. Press out a bunch of fresh corn tortillas on the press and anything you put in them will taste excellent.

In short, fresh corn tortillas rule.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 6:36 PM on July 23, 2006

i have one and i love it. i use it to make smoothies, puree bean soups (that need pureeing), chop garlic and onions (in the chopper), etc. Basically everywhere that it might make sense to pull out the food processor if the portions were larger.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 5:40 PM on July 23, 2006

A non-mefite suggested Susan Cooper as well - the only kicker is that I can't find a reference to cairns in her books (but I may just not be looking closely enough).

Another random memory - the aliens (?) are wolf-like and walk upright. So, in the manner of werewolves but distinctly un-werewolf.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 10:57 PM on July 20, 2006

i got this often when i was younger, and found that sleeping with white noise in the room (a fan, usually) eliminated the problems. the sound for me was so loud and startling that it would scare me awake. i often described it as tympanies being thrown down stairs....
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 9:00 PM on July 18, 2006

I use a combo of synergy and DropCopy to go between my two macs (mini and g5). it doesn't quite do a shared desktop, but the shared mouse, keyboard, and clipboard combined with brainless drag-n-drop file transfer gets it close enough for me....
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 8:23 PM on July 18, 2006 marked best answer

i haven't had a landline* since 1998 and I have no regrets. In that time i've used bell south's mobile service which switched to Cingular, briefly tried SunCom/AT&T, back to Cingular, and now I use t-mobile (just to get a blingy new phone). They all have their ups and downs, but i have NEVER wanted for a landline, so I say DO IT.

* i had to get a landline once, to get DSL, in 2003. But i never actually attached a phone to it, just the DSL modem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 12:31 PM on July 18, 2006

The first, sez babelfish.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 1:10 PM on July 17, 2006

Bevmo!
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 12:57 PM on July 17, 2006

(just seconding).
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 12:57 PM on July 17, 2006

yahoo has worked well for me (but make certain you get the latest client). i haven't tried iChat yet, but my understanding of the macam drivers is that they should allow ANY quicktime-savvy app to access the camera.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 5:10 PM on July 14, 2006

don't mention the salvia or your mother. the rest of it is minor and forgiveable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 10:16 AM on July 13, 2006

preview'd!
posted to Ask Metafilter by casconed at 10:06 PM on July 12, 2006