I can't recommend any drama specifically that you can find online (though look for dover thift or cheap edition of a golden age/classic spanish drama on amazon). For online materials you will find the most poetry & news interviews.

Poetry you can even find clips with the original voice of the poet. Mario Bendetti reading his poems. Example of an interview in a Spanish magazine with dialogue and a transcript.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 11:23 AM on October 4, 2008

Seconding Captivate for a video.

SnagIt is good if you're putting together screenshots and using html to add in roll-overs and such to show what each does. Camastia from the same folks does desktop recording like Captivate. Jing is a web-based video capture, but I haven't used it recently so I don't recall the limitations.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:35 PM on October 2, 2008

I'm with the eliminating debt crowd generally. One cavaet: I'd consider trying to pay off all of one card while paying the minimums on others, so then once that card is paid off you have a "grace period" again to help with cash flow.

I'd also look at if you have any reoccuring expenses you could cut down. (Say switch from a monthly cell phone to prepaid minutes, though that may not work if you use a lot).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:27 PM on October 2, 2008

It looks like taproot foundation started in LA. You could volunteer. They do brochures, annual reports, stuff like that for nonprofits and have a team of experience people, so it can be way to meet others in the area. It takes awhile to get on a team, complete a project, etc., but might be a way to expand your network there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 5:54 AM on October 1, 2008 marked best answer

Maybe it's a feedback issue? You don't know when you make the errors that you do so, so it's hard to correct in midstream. I've been experimenting with playing with typing tests such as typeracer, just because it forces me to type correctly before continuing. I figure it's like playing scrabble to keep vocab words on top of my heads, keyboard calenstetics. It seems to help reset if I'm having a horrid typo day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 7:06 AM on September 23, 2008

I don't know much about film theory, but the one thing I wish I'd had in class or been more exposed to is storyboarding. Also the basics of light, sound, etc might be useful. When they shot a scene of a movie on my street, I felt I learned a bit about filmmaking. So maybe show part of scene being made, and the final scene.

I'm going from the angle of someone that might be interested in putting together a short Youtube video, multimedia script for a class/work etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 6:53 AM on September 23, 2008

buffalo exchange and crossroads trading are both in east lakeview. on broadway and clark respectively. make sure stuff is clean, in season (or a wanted brand/trendy style etc).

you can choose store credit or cash. you'll get more store credit, so it's worth seeing if they have anything of interest before hand (and possibly looking at both first). the buyers won't necessairly buy everything you bring. last time I went I got rid of about 60% of my stuff. they tend to make... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:17 PM on September 9, 2008

this is only tangentially related, but I also don't have cable, and I got the DTV converter box (with $40 off discount coupon) and my PBS reception is really good now. might be worth switching before Feb (after the coupon cost me $25).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 12:48 PM on September 6, 2008

have you tried making your own muffins? they turn out a lot smaller and healthier than the store bought kind, you can even use part wheat flour. This one is close to a recipe I've used.

mainly I just try to eat some really nutrient dense foods (kale!) to try to even out the sweet food. and try to cook rather than buy the sweet stuff.

the combo of applesauce + yogurt + cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice is one that (sometimes) works for me in place of ice... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 5:13 PM on September 5, 2008

when I was looking at carry-on luggage, redoxx had a bunch of 'backpack' style luggage and seemed rugged. eventually went with something more conventional, but may suite your needs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:24 AM on September 5, 2008

fivethirtyeight is a website that compiles polls (resources on the left hand side has more links) that may be helpful in researching good indicators.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 4:37 PM on September 2, 2008 marked best answer

Chicago citysearch lists out teaching schools. If she's just getting it blown out straight, then I'd try somewhere like Aveda (need an appoitnment), which is in Lakeview. Yelp also has a lot of hair stylist reviews.

If she's getting it chemically/permanently straightened, I'd read through reviews and then call and ask how often they do straightening/thermal reconditioning etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:15 AM on September 2, 2008

My favorite gifts after graduate were oddly things I needed but really hated buying or didn't know what I'd need (in my case basic toolset -- yay Dad!).

You can always throw in a fun item alongside it (snazzy bottle opener alongside kitchen skillet). You may get an odd look but you'll hear later about how useful it is. Seconding the ING savings too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:41 AM on August 29, 2008

You do need to be a 'mean' boss and make it clear that learning what is 'good enough' skill is indeed a requirement of the job.

However, also realize that his strengths and weaknesses are in some ways connected. He's a person that can take apart and run through and throughly understand technical details and processes. So if he's in an environment where services/processes are changing all the time, he may spend too much time trying to analyze those... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:11 AM on August 28, 2008

yes, agree, was thinking of it more as part of a sign-off log on his concerns. bad wording.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:23 AM on August 28, 2008

One trick may be to ask him to show/explain his project to another service employee (in the guise of training since it seems to be a comfort zone) when it's near completion/deadline. Doing that may take him out of his perspective/headspace. More informal finishing group of a sort.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:38 AM on August 28, 2008

I'd save the money for when you graduate college. You'll need some money to get started (unless you're able to live at home). You only have so long before you have to start repaying loans, and it'll be a lot more expensive if you default on your loans in the long-run, so having a safety buffer when you graduate would be important to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 12:39 PM on August 26, 2008

mediabistro has a bunch of articles on pitching for magazines. (may not have much information on the local market, however).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 1:53 PM on August 25, 2008

Can you contact the cable company and get a letter saying that you $0 balance since X date?

Once you get a report from annualcreditreport.com you can dispute a charge .
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 7:57 AM on August 25, 2008

Previous thread has some information. Look up non-owner policies, but I'd be sure to talk to a real person and clarify if it's what you need. Coverage might be limited to liability, etc, and not sure when your S.O. is considered part of your 'household' (this insurance is only available if car is not available to household I think).

Does your college alumni office have a discount on any specific insurance companies? I'm with Liberty Mutual for this reason. Most companies... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:45 AM on August 22, 2008

I'd recommend George Eliot (I've read Mill on the Floss, but Middlemarch would be another option) based on your description.

Based on a gut feeling, I'd say Roberston Davies. My favorite was the Deptford Trilogy. He does have an almost magical realism style (religion, theatre influenced him) at times, but the writing is excellent and thought-provoking.

Second the Dostovesky(I'd recommend Brothers Karamozov over Crime & Punishment for density).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:40 AM on August 22, 2008

Also strongly second Umberto Eco (Name of the Rose). Foucault's Pendulum was excellent, as well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:42 AM on August 22, 2008

You might want to look at places rented by larger apartment management companies, so if you get approved and the particular place is gone you can look at their other properties. Another option is to check out sublets (people looking for someone to take over their lease/start a new lease). Those are generally as-is (no new coat of paint), but sometimes they have less applicants.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 3:48 PM on August 21, 2008

I'm a student at IU-Bloomington's distance program in education (concentration instructional systems technology). The cost is about $900 per course (same as in-state tuition).

There are some US schools that have reasonable prices (SDSU educational technology, which I also considered, was about the same), largely state universities or community colleges.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:08 AM on August 20, 2008

If you look at the Capital One credit card lab (google it), you can see terms/rates/rewardthey generally offer. Your upgrade would probably put you close to one of these categories.

I upgraded my card just for miles rewards. The mile rewards are used for certain price tiers of tickets, (meaning if it's a $600 ticket it takes a lot more than a $250, in contrast to most airline specific reward programs), but there was no annual fee. The rate didn't change, but that's less... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:16 AM on August 15, 2008

Know what ADDIE means. Check out Mager for objectives (book). Thiagi is good for examples of training games. The Kirkpatrick model is often talked about in measuring training programs. Theory Into Practice database has brief explanations of learning theories (learning styles are a small part), but browse don't read it all. Look at learning styles. Also, a fairly readable article on learning theory. Know of Gardner's multiples intelligences. The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology has a good... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 3:14 PM on August 14, 2008

I think they key would be to check out the club and see if they have a subset of recreational fencers and/or classes/practice times that would fit in with your level/committment. Most places let you watch a practice.

Fencing is definately something you can pick up as an adult (I learned in college). It did take awhile for it to "click", but I'm not a quick-learner in sports. The lunges/footwork uses specific muscles and it takes a few practices to get your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:05 AM on August 11, 2008

I was able to get a slightly shorter lease. In Chicago it can be helpful to be aware of the popular renting months. Be sure your request to end your lease doesn't end it in a slow time, such as the dead of winter. (Note: Many landords you would have turned in your renewal two months ago, so that says you might be even more likely to get lucky.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:21 PM on August 8, 2008

there's a couple of different ultra-portable blogs (umpc example), though sometimes I've seen just as much information on general laptop blogs in the ultraportable catgory.

netbookeruser has forums, so might have leads to good blogs there (categories by different umpc other than eeepc which is redirect since it already had a well-used forum).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 11:23 AM on August 4, 2008 marked best answer

I've seen a section on indiebride that might be appropriate. Also worth checking similar "wedding" sites. (Haven't bought/sold from there just recall it from browsing.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 1:37 PM on July 30, 2008

I like Ruth Stone. Also, some poetry centers also have a listing of poets and poems (example).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:01 PM on July 23, 2008

I got this one and it has met my needs. The mute button works well, as does volume. It still works if power is out. It doesn't require batteries, but this means re-entering the time when you unplug your phone/power goes out. It has three programmed number buttons just above the keypad, which is great if you call into a conferencing line with the same number all the time. The speakerphone/headset button is the orange one on the lower left. The only quirk of the phone is if you hit this button... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 12:51 PM on July 23, 2008

Another existing group/network to check out: rpmchallenge.

You might also want to focus on artists in a few select cities that have a good independent music scene (Austin, TX comes to mind but there's many).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 7:37 AM on July 23, 2008

It was scary to me to realize the doctors don't always know all. It made me feel guilty that someone else had to take care of me. For me, it was more important to talk about these emotions (even if in generalized terms) rather than the specific details.

It's also ok (and expected) to be sensitive to your body. If you can direct it towards eating healthy, or even keeping a small "health/wellness" journal it has the potential to be useful rather than anxiety-producing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 1:05 PM on July 22, 2008

Express does "short" lengths that work for me (5'4). Banana Republic also recently has added a "short".
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:48 AM on July 18, 2008

The instantenous sleeping and the slow-waking is the same for me. These are the patterns I've seen in my snooze-addiction:

- If I'm hungry when I wake up, I'll get out of bed quicker
- When I've liked the sound of my alarm, I snooze less. But, I hate loud noises for about the first hour after I get up.
- When I don't "lie" about the time I have to get up, I do better. If I set my alarm an hour early because I "should" catch up... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:49 AM on July 18, 2008 marked best answer

I remember seeing signs at Take Five in southport/wrigleyville. Never been there on those nights, but can say they have pretty good tator tots.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 8:04 AM on July 17, 2008

Also when you see your eye doctor mention that you use the computer a lot. I know in my case the doc could have made my prescription a little stronger for far away work, but since I do so much close up all the time (and I have really bad eyes) it made sense not to tweak it up a notch.

Keeping the monitor at a good height (laptop stand and external keyboard or external monitor if you can afford it) may also help some since then your eyes aren't so close to the screen. (I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:01 AM on July 11, 2008

moneycenter.yodlee.com is good. It's less flashy than Mint, but it's the data-source for Mint and has provided services to banks, etc previously. It also has no ads. You can customize which view it starts on. You need to check out the different sections, but once you know where things are it's great. I'm not sure what export it provides but you can check out their site.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 6:16 AM on June 25, 2008

If you're starting on Diversey and N Clark, you may want to consider including the 22 Clark, 36 Broadway (down clark or broadway respectively -- note that every 800 that you go up in addresses is about a mile usually, wihch helps in deciding if it's walkable), or 151 Sheridan bus (good if you're going towards North Ave beach, the zoo, and so on) in your travels.

From your starting point on Diversey/Clark, I'd walk up Clark (I think Broadway is a prettier walk but it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 7:24 AM on June 19, 2008

This previous thread talked a bit about some suburbs.

Metromix, wikipedia neighborhoods of Chicago can be useful for a brief summary of neighborhoods. Citydata has some threads on moving to Chicago. The posts aren't as good as here, can be worth a quick browse for ideas. Everyblock crime is a good resource (previously chicagocrime) and it also has real estate listings for neighborhoods/zipcodes (from trulia.com). Yelp can be useful for seeing how close businesses are.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 12:18 PM on June 16, 2008

Yen's (Chinese) and Gino's East are two of my favorites that also have veggie options (tofu, cheese pizza). For sandwhiches, the Austrian Bakery let's you build your own veggie sandwhich. I've also heard that Sultan's market is good but haven't eaten there personally.

You might want to search chowhound.com Chicago boards and www.lthforum.com for vegetarian as well.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 2:46 PM on June 4, 2008

Naked furniture has unfinished furniture (though they can finish it for you I believe). They also have a website which I have used. The actual store is in the suburbs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 6:38 AM on June 4, 2008

Affordable Portables was really good, at least at the Clark and Diversey (more or less) store. Some of the furniture is more cheaply made (my wardrobe has seen better days after 2 years), but I got a good platform bed and futon there.

CB2 has some good quality glass/metal furniture pieces. Westelm I've never bought from, but its a Ikea/CB2 competitor from the Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn group.

Naked furniture is in downer's grove it appears. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:08 AM on June 4, 2008

Things to take note of when looking around:

- Available space for packages in mail area or doorman/package area
- Quality of the laundry room (often more important than location if it's reasonably close)
- Maintenance of the garbage area (some back stairways are cleaner than others & unclean garbage areas attract rats)

Added bonuses (more important for some):
- farmer's market in area
- eat-in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 10:07 AM on June 3, 2008

This won't work for many types of jobs, but if you're at a desk job... could you ask for a "flex" arrangement"? Working from home one day a week or working four longer days might save you gas.

Also search you budget for any work/office expenses to see if there's something you should/could be reimbursed for (subscription that you need to keep up on for your occupation, etc).
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 3:20 PM on May 29, 2008

The FTC consumer site has some information on credit. You can obtain an annual free credit report from annualcreditreport.com (link to FTC site about this program). There's also a fact sheet on the US DOJ page, and a list of creditor and debtor approved agencies, which could be a possible start.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 7:52 AM on May 28, 2008

Your parents might find out after a few years (it my parents about two in total) that they really enjoy the "empty nest". Encourage them to go out with other couples if possible. Do move out, just realize it's an emotional time for them and that they'll express that for a little while. You'll (hopefully with some patience) come to your own joint understanding of what works for both of you. Usually that involves you picking what works for you and consistently doing it, but clearly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 6:47 AM on May 28, 2008

I think it's more important to make an individual effort to know your niece/nephew, than to send things on birthdays or be there on certain days. If you're able to have him/her visit that also makes for great memories (my first traveling adventure sans parents was as a younger teenger visiting family members ). Also, it meant a lot to be invited for Thanksgiving/etc if I was going to college/etc near extended family.

My aunts/uncles showed up at graduations, weddings,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 3:16 PM on May 19, 2008

I remember my first summer out of highschool I had a hard time at first because I didn't really realize how all the hiring managers saw me as a kid with no work experience that was leaving soon, rather than an honors student. But, I always found a summer job after a week or two of frustration.

Temping (data entry, answering phones, assembly) and seasonal jobs (fireworks stand) are where I had the most luck.

I also generally found some additional... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ejaned8 at 9:46 AM on May 19, 2008