Well, I'm a boss, and I'd like to think that most of my employees would level with me in this type of a situation, but then, I'm a pretty cool boss. I think if you have a good relationship with your boss, it is in your best interest to be as honest as you feel comfortable. That said, "I have a court date for a ticket" is a pretty judgment-free, yet technically correct thing to say.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 10:02 PM on October 6, 2008

Storynory is one of my daughter's favorite websites, and they have a podcast, it seems. The stories vary in length, are mostly fairy tales, and are certainly aimed at kids younger than middle school, but some of them might be OK for your purposes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 9:54 PM on October 6, 2008

She has told me that if I would leave the church it would all be okay.

I know that is what she is saying, but I find that so hard to believe. So many couples make religious differences work, even if it may be a struggle. I wonder if perhaps this isn't just a reason she has latched onto to sort of encompass and simplify the other nebulous (and maybe even subconscious) problems she is having in the relationship.

You should... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:48 PM on October 6, 2008

Oh, man. I empathize with you. Our daughter was very colic-y, and there were some mechanical problems with my wife's nipples, and the first few days were pretty torturous. I agree that trying a bottle to give baby and Mom the chance to calm down is a good idea. In the morning, you can contact a lactation consultant to get some professional help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:36 PM on October 6, 2008

3 Calle Algar (or Algan) [UNKNOWN WORD - maybe "Namivar"?]
Playa San Juan de Alicante
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:42 AM on October 6, 2008

There's a good quality clip of Mr. Herman here. Kick-ass idea, if you can pull-off the Brolinity at all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:10 AM on October 6, 2008

Depends what you do on the Internet, I guess. One major consideration is that there is currently no Flash on the iPhone, so all-Flash sites will be off-limits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 2:10 PM on October 4, 2008

FWIW, I have heard the University of North Carolina referred to as "Carolina," as in Carolina Blue.

I knew you were going to say that, ND¢ -- I consulted my notebook.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:02 PM on October 1, 2008 marked best answer

Grant-writing accessories? I still think they are "prepping" the card for larger purchases. By picking things she might think she ordered herself there is less chance of her stopping the card.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 3:08 PM on September 30, 2008

Most banks in the US have a Notary Public (or 2) on staff, and they do things like chundo noted. Many banks here will only offer notary services for their customers, so if you have a checking account at a UK bank, I would go into one of their branches and explain the situation. If you don't, I'd just try any large bank near you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:34 AM on September 29, 2008

Is there some reason you must use such restrictively licensed music? There's a ton of Creative Commons licensed music out there, and some very good stuff just a few doors down at MeFi Music. Even if you are not teaching people about dick-punching.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 3:52 PM on September 25, 2008

I would suggest a menial, entry-level job in the type of environment he might like to work in after school -- if he wants to work in medicine, work as an orderly or a registration clerk in a hospital -- if he wants to work in the legal field try to get a job as a receptionist or gopher in a law office. This tactic is how I realized I did NOT want to be an architect after all -- I worked for a year as a receptionist in an architect's office for a year before (not) going of to architecture school.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 4:55 PM on September 24, 2008

That is it exactly. My wife and I saw that book at our daughter's music school the other day, and we both remarked about how obsessed we were with the book as children. Other creatures include the crystalline Plutonian zistles and the Mercurian firebelchers. It still holds up C17 - great infographics and artwork.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 2:36 PM on September 24, 2008 marked best answer

netbros advice upthread should be posted to every AskMe involving human beings ever. Well done sir.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 10:36 AM on September 22, 2008

I think you should glue some kind of disc to the back (front, technically, I guess) of each quarter, and then use the shisha embroidery tactic so that the embroidery covers up the disc and leaves the entire quarter exposed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:23 PM on September 20, 2008

OCTOBER 22 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPSLOCK DAY!

DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CELEBRATE IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE INTERNET, THOUGH. MAYBE JUST YELL ALOT.

That was fun.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 12:15 PM on September 20, 2008

This is a type of fun loving girl, she likes laughing and having fun. Not really the type one would have to have a daughter.

God knows my wife is a dour shrew -- just the type to have a daughter. People with kids are just like people without kids, but they may have to work around some scheduling issues. No different from someone with a demanding job, or a serious hobby. If she wants to spend time with you, she can probably figure out a way to do... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 11:37 AM on September 19, 2008

I really miss the bison burger at Sweetwater's on Church St. And I know it's not downtown, but I had some of the best meals of my life at the Starry Night Cafe about 30 minutes south of Burlington, right on Rt 7. Well worth the drive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 2:57 PM on September 18, 2008

I think the first album "19th Nervous Breakdown" appeared on was High Tide and Green Grass, no? Connects it to the flight theme.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 9:04 PM on September 9, 2008

Five of the seven songs feature numbers in the lyric:

!9th Nervous Breakdown - 19
Refugee - 1 ("first" technically)
Stairway to Heaven - 2
Black Magic Woman - ?
Band on the Run - 4
Walk This Way - 3
Tequila Sunrise - ?

All of the numbers are under 26 -- could the songs represent a word or name?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 9:31 PM on September 9, 2008

I don't think we are anywhere near the answer to this one. Puzzles like this do not have answers that "kind of" fit the clues -- once you know the answer everything fits like a glove. I'd love to get some more info from the OP on this -- we need more details about the appearance of the cards and the invitation. Frankly, based on the somewhat blunt Paul Simon example, I think we are missing some crucial information and are overthinking it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 3:34 PM on September 10, 2008

Don't the letters end up being EAGLESR?

Perhaps the secret guest is actually the Reagles -- a pretty decent Eagles cover band from Schaumberg?

I'm kidding -- I know very few cover bands from the Chicagoland area. Very interesting though, z_guy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:32 PM on September 18, 2008

He is authorized to rent out the rooms of the lease, but the problem here is that he is authorized to do so by the contract with the landlord that he himself wrote.

To a large extent, this is her own problem. I know I would never sign a legal document written in a language I didn't understand very well without having it looked over pretty carefully by someone else.

I feel for the woman -- I know how hard it is to be a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 2:43 PM on September 17, 2008

I have an Acer Aspire 5100 series I bought over a year ago (for $500 on sale) with these specs:

Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
AMD Turion 64 MK-36 2.0 Ghz (512 KB L2 Cache)
1 GB Memory (256 MB Shared at Default; can be turned down to 32 MB)
Ati Xpress 1100 (256 MB Dedicated; total 512 MB)

It runs Spore... acceptably. Some slowdown with lots of creatures on screen and sometimes other creatures are rendered... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:48 PM on September 16, 2008

Dan in Real Life fits your criteria so exactly I had to reread the question three times to make sure you hadn't already mentioned it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:33 PM on September 16, 2008

Seconding the bamboo mention above. My favorite sheets in the world are 50/50 bamboo/cotton ones from Target. They are very smooth, like satin, without being slippery, shiny or snaggy. They are not soft and fuzzy like flannel or jersey sheets, but I personally don't like that feeling. I also agree with the sentiment to romance it up a bit. You could do a whole set of linens and even add a few candles and a couple handfuls of rose petals to complete the package.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:20 AM on September 16, 2008

Have you had someone out to assess the health of your septic tank? We had a tank that was basically collapsing and causing all kinds of flushing/drainage issues. The guy had a little fiber optic camera on a cord that could travel the whole length of the plumbing from the toilet to the tank to diagnose issues.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 3:46 PM on September 15, 2008

Here you go. If you need art for your MeFiMu tunes, may I suggest my own design?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 5:53 PM on September 11, 2008 marked best answer

Not coming back after maternity leave is not going to be a big surprise.

Yes this. If you really like your current job, you could tell them that you'd stay if you could restructure your job in such and such a way, but it's not even really necessary. It could certainly be frustrating to your coworkers to lose a teammate, but no more so than if you left at any other time -- in fact maybe less so, as they have (presumably) already developed some way... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 2:48 PM on September 10, 2008

I have not had the need to try this myself yet, but my father (who used to travel often for work) swore by leaving the items in the plastic dry-cleaning bags, and then rolling them in a large pile of underwear/socks/etc as valkyryn said. You want the roll to be as large as possible while still fitting in your suitcase/duffle.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:49 AM on September 10, 2008

Well, my dad is a medical equipment sales rep, and I work in the veterinary field as well, so I think I can come at this from two angles. First off, my father is of the firm opinion that there are some people that can do sales, and there are some that can't. It can be a frustrating job largely because the decision-makers you need to talk to are (or think they are) far too busy to talk to a sales rep, so it requires a combination of persistence and luck. One of my dad's favorite techniques is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:59 PM on September 9, 2008

Yeah, that approach is pretty common here in Massachusetts (especially, I've noticed, for Lukoil stations, which seems to be the type of station we are talking about). I think your beef, if any, comes from the inaccurate marking of the islands. In the end, though, I think you need to be careful about checking the price on the pump. My own pet peeve is with stations that sneakily do not put the lowest priced fuel all the way to the left of the pump, but stick one of the mid-grades there... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:23 PM on September 3, 2008

Well, you're not the only one. No real resolution, unfortunately, but add this to the "I'm not alone?" page of the wiki.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 5:54 AM on September 3, 2008

Orange boys are notorious for urinary problems. Make sure your vet knows about the inappropriate urination. We have an orange cat who always had very occasional inappropriate urination. Following treatment for a UTI, we determined that he had a tendency towards forming urinary crystals in the bladder, and switched him over to one of the urinary prescription diets. This has not only addressed the peeing-in-the-laundry problem, but has greatly lessened his other slightly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:08 PM on August 28, 2008 marked best answer

Talk to someone at the Concord office of the Conservation Law Foundation. Get them (or another lawyer versed in conservation and property law to write a little letter to the owner about the merits of a case of a prescriptive easement. Then get the other families affected to donate a couple hundred dollars each and offer to buy a formal easement from the owner, instead of progressing with the adverse possession action.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:29 PM on August 27, 2008 marked best answer

Finding Nemo is a wonderful movie, and millions of kids love it, but after repeated watchings, I realized that it sends an awful message -- there are like four or five times in the movie where a character appears to be dead, but seconds later, is perfectly fine. Hey kids, don't worry if Mom and Dad tell you Grandma is dead, she'll probably wake up in a few minutes, like Nemo did!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 6:18 AM on August 24, 2008

T: Is this the person in charge of your website marketing?
M: Why yes, it is. [actually I'm not]
T: Great! *launches into long spiel*
M: Wait just a moment there, is this one of those things you need a computer for?
T: [confused] Yes?
M: Oh, we don't have any of those things yet. We're going to get some next month I think, but in the mean time I can take your name and number down on my clipboard.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:27 PM on August 20, 2008

Body Glove makes briefs--I think they're a thin jersey cloth--that don't have a visible waistband and aren't baggy or translucent.

Yup. They even look pretty good on lumpy guys like me, if I do say so myself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 3:51 PM on August 19, 2008

You really must go to Bonatt's on Rt. 28 in Harwich for breakfast. Get there early, before the Meltaways (a delicious danish-y pastry) are gone. For a good coffee, try Buckie's Biscotti in Dennis (two locations -- 6A and 28). The best pizza on the Cape is Sweet Tomatoes (very thin crust, very good toppings) with several locations, including just off Exit 8.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 12:06 PM on August 18, 2008

MetaFilter: You're talking about how their reproductive organs are arranged.

Spays are a bit more expensive than neuters, if money is an issue. Over a lifetime of medical care it's a tiny fraction, but still.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 6:36 PM on August 16, 2008

Medianoches sandwiches (scroll down) for the afterparty (using the leftover roast pork).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 5:13 AM on August 14, 2008

In his book How Buildings Learn, Steward Brand talks about scenario planning, and he suggests giving different scenarios very short, very memorable names -- "Big Ugly," "Massive Growth," "Heat Death," etc. Perhaps with shorter project names the labeling (and relabeling) of folders (physical and digital) becomes less onerous.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 1:17 PM on August 13, 2008 marked best answer

Field of Dreams (magical realism + baseball + James Earl Jones = win)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:10 PM on August 10, 2008 marked best answer

Wow, what a thread. I am the Client Service Manager at a referral and emergency practice, and this is all very interesting to me as well.

My specific advice would be to become familiar with the folks at your nearest emergency and/or specialty practice. Stop by for a visit, ask for a tour, see if you can meet with some of the ER docs if they have a minute, and spend some time chatting with the techs and receptionists. You may be in a position to ask your clients to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 6:41 PM on August 10, 2008

Seconding Gmail. There is, IIRC, some functionality in Firefox 3 to allow pages to operate as independent, standalone apps, without the Firefox chrome and toolbars. I can't find anything online about it right now, but someone else must know what I am talking about. Perhaps set up her Gmail page that way, so it looks like a separate "Gmail Program"?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 11:30 AM on August 7, 2008

My wife and I swear quite a bit, and our daughter is very observant and picks up on all kinds of adult behavior. We've taught her that there are certain words that we say when we are at home or in the car or with close friends that might hurt other people's feelings. Those words are OK around our immediate family, but you'd never want to use them when someone who might be offended by those words might hear, because making other people feel bad is not something we do in our family. I think it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 9:08 PM on August 6, 2008

Pizza Joint was great, Alternate Universe features a SB-related super group, ISP features some fabulous Homestar tech support.

As far as the toons go, the Halloween and Decemberween ones are always the best.

Peasant Quest is a pretty well-realized Sierra-style adventure game.

If you aren't up to speed with Teen Girl Squad, you really must sit through them all.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:31 PM on August 5, 2008 marked best answer

I am always the face painter at kids parties. First of all, you want actual paintbrushes, not make-up applicators, especially for the fine work. Nothing too fancy, just go to your local craft store and pick up a $10 fine-tip brush assortment. Second, I usually use the cheapo face paint, but be sure to have a stash of toothpicks on hand to stir the paint very well with (a slightly blunted toothpick is also good for dinosaur eyes and fairy dust). Finally, you need to support your painting hand... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 7:27 PM on August 5, 2008

Look, your friend could define a sandwich as "Anything I eat between Noon and 2pm" but it is not a useful definition to use with other people, as it will be very far from their definition of the term. If his definition is "Anything with a dough-based item on the bottom", he is again going to find his definition at odds with the vast majority of society. Apple pie, for fucks sake?

I think the requirement that the bread be cooked before other... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 8:51 PM on August 3, 2008

The Hotel Teatro is a gorgeous little hotel, with tons of character and a very luxurious feeling.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Rock Steady at 5:47 PM on August 3, 2008