I think this XKCD webcomic was made with you in mind http://xkcd.com/137/.... so read it.

You are going to be the same person for the rest of you life, get comfortable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 7:09 PM on August 6, 2008

Spanish Flea
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 3:12 PM on July 14, 2008

When I took metaphysics in college the theory that I liked the best is that the universe expands and contracts like a heartbeat, big bang to completely expanded back to big bang.

I don't think that the universe came from "nothing" but rather it has always existed, which is hard for anyone to wrap their heads around. Something can't come from nothing... so the universe could not have come from nothing. The universe must always have just existed. Don't lose... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 9:56 AM on July 12, 2008

Nope. The universe is not only expanding, but the expansion is accelerating. There will be no Big Crunch.

Okay... the expansion is accelerating but that doesn't mean that it won't ever slow down. Nobody is in the position to tell anyone else they are wrong haha. I was describing the big bounce theory... and if you want to argue with loop quantum gravity, well I don't think you do.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 12:27 PM on July 12, 2008

My advice is Bukowskian: "Amazing how grimly we hold on to our misery, the energy we burn fueling our anger. Amazing how one moment, we can be snarling like a beast, then a few moments later, forgetting what or why. Not hours of this, or days, or months, or years of this... But decades. Lifetimes completely used up, given over to the pettiest rancor and hatred. Finally, there is nothing here for death to take away."

When I catch myself wallowing I shake my head... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 5:37 PM on July 9, 2008

1. You can drop your car off at night.

2. Hospitals these days: open all 24 hours of the day.

3. Laundromats are open all night.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 4:40 AM on June 18, 2008

Well you'll want to rent bicycles and just explore, bring bathing suits and towels!
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 5:16 PM on June 10, 2008

I'm of German descent and if this happened to me I would be angry too... German is not the same as Nazi, the two are not synonymous with each other. Even if your ancestors were Nazi's that still does not make you a Nazi. So consider it a blessing that this happened so early with this girl and not after days/weeks/months because she, well she is ridiculous.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 3:36 PM on June 10, 2008

I had a portable at my apartment last year and it was actually really nice. The only difference between a "built-in" and my portable was that it had to be hooked up to the sink when you wanted to use it, and it had wheels... the wheels were used to bring the dish washer closer to the appropriate cabinets. Don't know the brand, but they exist!
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 3:29 PM on June 10, 2008

If your red attire is really that important to you, and it seems like it is a part of your identity, then by all means wear red attire. It isn't weird, but it isn't what everyone else wears on a daily basis. Its hard to be an outlier, if I started walking backwards everywhere people would no doubt make fun of me..

The comments aren't going to stop, unless of course you just ask them to cut it out. If they are your true friends they will stop.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 7:29 AM on May 24, 2008

I would try:

Chewing gum when this feeling arises

Drinking a couple glasses of water until sated

Making sure you are exercising at least 4x a week

posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 5:54 PM on May 21, 2008

Walk along the brand spanking new Greenway, then wander down to the harbor and get a lobster.

How do I fit in (and hide the fact that I'm from NYC)?
Don't get pissed when the bars close at 1:30 or 2.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:42 AM on May 16, 2008

Yah I would return it... 3G is coming very soon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:37 AM on May 16, 2008

Thanks rabbitsnake, I could probably make that work if its my only option but its really more of an online collaborative tool. I'm looking more for just a 'read only' type online space.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 1:28 PM on May 12, 2008

Max out the payment on your student loans before you put anything into your 401k. You're losing money by doing it this way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 4:14 PM on May 5, 2008

Frisbee, lemonade, whiffle ball, magazines, guitar, beach chairs, sandwiches, flip flops, and sunscreen. Pollomacho.. really? Don't blow up Stevie's spot, c'mon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 1:23 PM on April 23, 2008

Seeing as your a fan of Vivaldi, why don't you keep in mind that he wrote 500 concertos, 46 operas, and 73 sonatas among other works and died at the age of 63.

Next time you find yourself doing chores just think "how fast would Vivaldi be washing these dishes?"
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 9:48 PM on April 1, 2008

The price won't drop... if you can afford to buy them now just do it. 2x the list price is about the best your going to get. Marathon weekend? Forget about it, maybe your not familiar with how obsessed we are with baseball. Fenways been sold out every game for years at this point.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 2:17 PM on March 30, 2008

I'm pretty into vampire weekend, although they don't sound much like ashanti...
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:59 PM on March 16, 2008

Airplanes are safer on the ground, but they are built for flying.

Humans are built for doing stuff too. If we just sit around we start feeling like shit. We collect dust, physically and mentally.

The problem really is this: nobody knows the point of it all. Even the most magnificent of accomplishments are just a waste of time if looked at through a large enough filter. What's the point? Nobody has a good answer mostly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 4:18 PM on March 13, 2008

Well The Wire just ended tonight. Its a show thats run for five years on HBO all about Baltimore. It's actually taught me all I need to know about Baltimore, as well as a thousand other things that go on in a postmodern city in America. Might well be the best insight anyone will ever get about a city without actually living there. Just a suggestion though, don't believe everything you read in the Baltimore Sun.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:41 PM on March 9, 2008

If a girl simply can't control herself because of something I'm doing... ya thats a turn on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:28 PM on February 19, 2008

I would say go futz about so that you have something to write about and maybe get a part time job at a coffee shop. If you want to crush your soul, work the 8-5 as a temp making customer service phone calls. You want to be able to bring as much energy as you can into this internship... don't burn yourself out unnecessarily.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 11:46 AM on February 19, 2008

Have you thought about the sawzall? As it's name would suggest... it saws all. I love this thing. As far as consumer saw gadgets go, this is tops.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 5:45 AM on February 19, 2008

I get an immense amount of comfort from being surrounded by my books, notes, etc. Not that I need to have them, but being surrounded by knowledge provides a good environment to do further work. Maybe scan the syllabus' and create an aesthetically pleasing way to store all the other stuff. You may not need the stuff, but it's presence is worthy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 3:15 PM on February 18, 2008

Maybe she has failed you a little bit because two of her kids have a broken relationship. Did she not see any of this awful behavior happening? If she truly didn't, stop being the victim here. You don't have to hide from your mom that your brother was a complete asshole to you. If she feels as if you need to be friendly with a complete asshole based solely on the fact that he is your brother... well just know that she is wrong.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 2:51 PM on February 18, 2008

We could throw in any comic book hero because they all fit the bill. Batman for example tasked himself with saving Gotham (easily seen as a metaphor for the world) without anyone really asking him to do so. Saving the world is at the heart of almost every story.

Yet the best example of this will be Plato's analogy of the cave. Many see it as the most profound idea to ever come out of western philosophy because it tackles so much... it is epic.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 6:52 AM on February 17, 2008

How to win any argument as it allows me to defend myself against idiots.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 10:13 AM on February 16, 2008

Have him read Godel Escher Bach
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 7:53 AM on February 16, 2008

One extremely important thing to keep in mind everyday is that you do not, under any circumstances, have to apologize for being human. It seems like you are worried about other peoples perceptions of you while you are in the middle of talking, and it is this feeling that comes across more than anything you might be saying.

Reading about imposter syndrome would probably be helpful.

Lastly, I feel this way sometimes too...... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 11:13 PM on February 13, 2008

A picture in some cases is worth a thousand words. This picture is worth a million. So is this one.

It may not seem like I'm answering your question... but bare with me because I think you've framed your question incorrectly. Faith is more about hope in my opinion than it is about belief. Those pictures are awe inspiring and fill me with faith because they express that anything is possible.

Being agnostic is about holding your cards,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 11:50 AM on February 10, 2008

Google explains it here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 6:51 PM on February 7, 2008

"Upper managers" are just people, so first off I would make sure that you aren't obviously kissing ass. In fact, don't ask a question unless you genuinely want to know the answer to something. Brown nosing is easily detected.

Who is instructing you to ask questions anyways? Its not the "upper managers" I assume, so why is their advice so necessary to follow? Absolutely no need to stress out about this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 9:17 PM on February 4, 2008

This is from wikipedia, pardon the length but I believe it is the answer to your question.

Street type designations

Streets can be divided into various types, each with their own general style of construction and purpose. However, the difference between streets, roads, avenues and the like is often blurred and is not a good indicator of the size, design or content of the area. For example, London's Abbey Road serves all the vital functions of a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:22 AM on February 3, 2008

I think you should read about flow, a term popularized by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi which in short is "the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." ...worth researching.

Also try to avoid creating and analyzing at the same time as they are different processes. Head in one direction with your work, then... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 7:02 PM on January 31, 2008

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton... buy it. There is also a two part PBS series... watch it.

In a nutshell: "he questions why so many of us are so unsatisfied with our place in the world when most of us have it so much better than our predecessors. He talks about where our worries about status came from and what we might be able to do about it." via this blog

Don't blame yourself, you have been raised to feel this way... but you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2008

How to get rich: an hour long lecture from one of my college Professors in bullet points.

- Rich = enough resources to be free and to be able to live life as you wish
- Stop wasting money. No smoking, no gambling, and drink in moderation
- Get term life insurance, it is not advertised anywhere because it is too good a deal for the consumer
- Get a job (any job) and put aside 10% of your income after taxes.
- Start early... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 10:56 PM on January 22, 2008

Make sure you get enough protein... its tougher for a vegetarian.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 9:32 PM on January 22, 2008

Start a vineyard. My friends father has done this and he is more content than a cat splayed out in the sun. Of course this takes a wild amount of money.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 6:01 PM on January 22, 2008

Is there any way to look at where your traffic is coming from? I stay very far away from myspace so I have no idea if this is possible... one possible explanation is that people might be googling something you wrote about and it is driving them to your blog. Most bloggers have analytic tools to help them, well, analyze their traffic. Google analytics for example.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 6:20 PM on January 18, 2008

Maybe watch where you go tomorrow as it may... well you know what I'm getting at.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 12:07 AM on January 18, 2008

This is called being a "smother mother". You can read more about it here, and just google the term. It's almost not something your mom can help, its instinctual... but nonetheless uncomfortable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 1:25 PM on January 14, 2008

Nobodys brought up mindfulness yet but I will since it has been helpful for me. From mindfulness.com:

"You are not your thoughts. Thoughts take us away from being here now. If I am thinking about the past, or worried about the future, I am a prisoner of my thoughts. When I take a moment to observe myself having thoughts, I am no longer the thoughts. I get to be and observe at the same time."

That gives you an idea about mindfulness.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 3:14 PM on January 12, 2008

Jealousy is not a normal part of my emotional make-up, and I see it as primarily an indication of insecurity. Eh jealousy is part of the human condition, so maybe your not jealous until it counts. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing rather than a human thing. Whats the harm in telling him that his fantasy makes you a little uncomfortable, I'm sure he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. If he does then you have the beginnings of an actual problem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 11:45 AM on January 11, 2008

From fastpcnet.com after googling "why ssl"

"#1 Provides visible authentication:

Before an SSL session is established, the server it connects with needs to have a digital certificate – a kind of unique digital identification to establish its authenticity. Digital certificates are issued by a Certification Authority, after performing several checks to confirm the identity of the organization to which it is issuing the certificate.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 12:14 AM on January 10, 2008

yah haha I'm in my early 20's so I think by definition I can't be wise at this point... but duly noted.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 8:29 PM on January 8, 2008

There are a lot more people nowadays and the majority of us get our food at supermarkets, so if those closed down it would be tough to get food. Cars would sit idle as we could not afford gas and the infrastructure to deliver the gas would have crumbled. The internet would be unavailable as the service providers would be down. Suburbia would probably be in the worst shape as they are kind of stuck in limbo between the city where help might be handed out more readily and the country where... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 10:32 AM on January 8, 2008

Yeah Chrysostom but since our stock market is what drives our economy I would think if it collapsed so would the other... no?
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 10:56 AM on January 8, 2008

You should really check out this recent blog post from dooce.com about struggling with depression, it provides amazing perspective. Also I just got a light box to help with winter blues, it helps an insane amount.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 4:33 PM on December 27, 2007

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
posted to Ask Metafilter by pwally at 4:59 PM on December 21, 2007