At my work, someone in sales rings a gong for every X amount of money they close. I think it's 1 gong for anything up to 20k, then +1 for each 10k after that.

On Wednesdays at 4:20 we have Wagon Wednesdays where someone pulls a red wagon to each department section and we get to pick snacks from it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:15 PM on June 25, 2008

If you're pretty short, it might be easy to find a bike with a step-through frame (also known as a women's frame I think?), or a mixte frame. Those are the bikes with the slopping top tube. Since the top tube slopes down on those bikes, you don't have to worry about getting an exact fit and it'll be easy to get on and off the bike even if it is a bit too big. Just make sure that you have enough arm reach to hold the handlebars comfortably.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:36 PM on June 9, 2008

Oops, what an awful typo. Autojack is right. I meant "main" cell phone. I don't mind getting a wifi phone like the Belkin one though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:06 PM on May 21, 2008

I would buy the new bike for $200.

Unless there's a bike co-op nearby where you can get parts cheap (chain ring, pedals, etc.), it's not worth replacing the broken parts on the bike. Good wheels alone would cost around $50-100 new.

Also, you say you're not sure how the frame is doing. Even though steel can handle a lot, I would be worried about the crash stressing the frame.

As for the brakes, I would trust the interrupters more than the suicide levers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:37 PM on May 12, 2008 marked best answer

Considering that it looks like a cup of instant noodle, I would say do this:

Pour boiling water into the cup (take out the seasoning package first!) until you reach the first line on the inside of the cup (if there is one). If there isn't a line, I'd fill it to about an inch from the top.

Stir in the seasoning packet.

Microwave for 1 minute, take it out, test the softness of the dduk, if it seems hard, microwave for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:05 PM on May 5, 2008

Weird, I recently had a dream where I had to dial 911. I dialed it correctly, but I kept getting put on hold on the other end and never got to talk to anyone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:30 PM on February 22, 2008

Fast replies. Thanks a bunch!
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:09 PM on February 20, 2008

Maybe I'm more formal, but I usually call Professors/Doctors with their formal title such as "Dr. X" even if I'm not a student and I'm just working with them. Unless they say otherwise, I use their title. Hell, I still call one of my old boss's Dr X whenever I run into him.

As for signing letters and emails with just their first name, maybe it's out of habit? Or maybe they feel weird referring to themselves as their title? I would feel strange signing my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:59 PM on February 8, 2008

Good Chinese on the westside? Hah, good luck. You can either choose "near UCLA" or "good Chinese" but not both.

If you're willing to venture out of Westwood and Santa Monica and head north on the 101 for about 15-20 minutes, there is a vegetarian Chinese restaurant called Vegetable Delight that can accomodate your numbers and it's decent as far as vegetarian Chinese food goes.

If you're willing to head east to the San Gabriel... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:33 PM on February 4, 2008

Shanghai should be easy. The BF is vegan and has a pretty easy time in China where we mostly stayed in Shanghai. If you can, have someone write in Chinese on a card something like, "I am vegetarian" or "I don't eat meat or fish" and you can show it to the server when you order.

Shanghai is home of one of the world's first vegetarian/vegan restaurant, if you'd like to visit it. It's a bit pricey by Chinese standards, but should be okay to a westerner.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2008

Does the Buddha board actually use paper? As in, do you have to switch the paper after it wears out, and that's why you're looking for more paper, or are you just asking for paper that will act like the Buddha board?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:03 PM on January 29, 2008

I have a story about why NOT to use biodegradable bags. The BF thought they were a great idea, bought some, and we proceeded to line our kitchen trashcan with it. The problem was, a week later, when we finally took out the kitchen trash, the bag had already degraded in the trashcan. The explosion of trash and gross liquid was not pretty.

As for the liners for other trash cans, can you designate one trash can, like the kitchen one, for wet and organic material? Then you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:32 PM on January 25, 2008

Nthing wasabi and mayonnaise. I've made smoked salmon sandwiches with a spread of just mayonnaise mixed with wasabi from a tube and it was pretty delicious.

If you really want the umami taste, you can get the kewpie mayonnaise that they sell in squeeze bottles in Japanese markets. That stuff is a bit thicker and tastes more delicious (MSG) than the Best Foods type mayonnaise.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:43 PM on November 27, 2007 marked best answer

How do you feel about second hand goods? Would it be unvegan to buy a leather or down coat from a thrift store?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:44 PM on November 19, 2007

I'm the opposite. I like action/FPS games, but get bored of sim games and puzzle games after a few hours. I guess in a way, I'm like your boyfriend. Would it help if you guys found a co-op game to play?

Some games I'd like to add to the list:

The Adventures of Cookie and Cream (PS2): It's a co-op 3rd person platform/puzzle game. Very cute, takes some amount of skill and timing to get the jumps right, and co-op games are fun, period.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:04 PM on November 12, 2007 marked best answer

I just finished reading Brave Story and while it's more of a fantasy-adventure novel, it's about a young boy who sets off on an adventure to change his life and then ends up learning a Valuable Lesson (tm).

The book lmay look like it's for children, but some parts of it seem like it's written for a more mature reader.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:47 PM on November 12, 2007

This is mostly for those mini-fridges, but if putting a microwave on top of a fridge was a bad thing, then a lot of dorm rooms should have exploded by now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:36 PM on November 12, 2007

Wheel World in Culver City is more geared toward mountain and road bikes, so I'm not sure if they'd have cruisers.

If you're not too tied to the Scwinn Black Panther, Helen's (one in Westwood and one in Santa Monica) has Electra cruisers. A lot of people seem to have them around here and I've heard they're fairly sturdy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:19 PM on October 5, 2007

Coming from someone who owned several pairs of <> $200), yes the $200 jeans were worth it. Japanese selvedge is nice.

I usually don't care much about jeans as long as they're comfortable and they make me look okay. But the $200 jeans make me look GREAT.

I only wear those two jeans now. As for durability, they've lasted longer than my <>
I've had to get the crotch part of the $200 jeans reinforced, but I attribute that to me riding... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:10 PM on October 5, 2007

The game publisher Atlus is notrious for publishing only a small number of copies of a game. These days, whenever Atlus publishes a game, people tend to buy it right away or face high ebay prices in the future.

Examples of Atlus games:
- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
- Digital Devil Saga 1
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:35 PM on September 28, 2007

What about getting a big fleece blanket, folding it, sewing two sides up to make a pocket, and then tucking them into the pocket?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:32 PM on September 20, 2007

I'm wondering if the flat was caused by pinching the tube also. Maybe you tube wasn't properly seated before you pumped it up. Here's a trick I learned to seat the tube with minimal effort:

First, check around both sides of the wheel between where the rim meets the beading of the tire after you get your tire on. Make sure there's no tube poking through.

Then, inflate the tube so that the wheel doesn't feel squishy anymore. I would go to minimum... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:49 PM on September 12, 2007

Ico (play this first)
Shadow of the Colossus

Those two go on my top PS2 games EVAR list. They're different from each other, Ico has more exploring, but have the same mood. Love them.

While not an adventure game, I'd like to recmomend Persona 3. It's a role playing game, came out a few weeks ago, and it's fantastic. There's the dungeon-crawling aspect of it, but there's also a relationship building part that might interest your lady... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:59 PM on September 7, 2007

Don't do it! My landlord did it to our bath tub AND shower. At first, I thought, "Oh wow, the tub and shower are so clean and white!" Upon further inspection, I noticed that the painter had painted over flecks of dust, dirt, etc. instead of thouroughly cleaning it first.

The landlord "bragged" that it was some type of auto paint. It's the worst in the bath tub because when you try to run a bath, you end up with a tub full of water that smells like car paint.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:55 PM on September 5, 2007

When I was small and new to the English language, my English-speaking cousins and I were playing a game of hide-and-seek, where I was the seeker. I had found every one of my cousins except one and was having trouble. One of my cousins asked, "Give up?" I said, "What?" He said, "give up?" and that repeated for about ten times.

I was so confused at what "give up" meant. It sounded like a whole word to me, but it also sounds like a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:13 PM on August 23, 2007

It sounds like you actually have 3 kids. I would say it's better to be alone and sexless with the possibility of dating other people rather than with the 3rd kid.

It doesn't sound like your husband is sympathetic to your worries at all, or he would be actually doing something about them. Being aware of them and being sympathetic are two different things.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:02 PM on August 23, 2007

Your machine doesn't have enough ADAM to adequately run Bioshock. Time to find some Little Sisters.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:45 PM on August 22, 2007

I assume you mean, which service is most appropriate? I would go with whatever most of the people at the office are using. If they're all using AIM, I'd give them my AIM screenname. I'd also advice having a separate business one and a personal one. I don't like office people talking to me on the weekends.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:28 PM on August 13, 2007

While not strictly like FFTA, Yggdra Union for the GBA could be considered and SRPG too. The fights are more of one squad vs the other, unlike FFTA's one guy vs the other guy. The strategy part comes in how to place your guys in a winning formation.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:33 PM on August 8, 2007

This might be a question to ask the people over at ChowHound's LA board, but here are my suggestion:

There's a hole in the wall place in Westwood, on Gayley, a little south of In N Out on the same block called Bella Pita. I don't usually care for falafel, but they have THE BEST FALAFEL I've ever had. They fry after you eat it, they make their own pita, and there's a little salad-bar type thing you go to afterward to fill your pita with hummus, yogurt sauce, etc.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:04 PM on August 3, 2007

I've mentioned these before, but: Shants!. Not exactly lycra, but pretty stretchy and comfy for biking.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 11:27 AM on July 24, 2007

Lights that automatically turn on/off depending on if you're in the room or not. You could be carrying some sort of device in your pocket and when you enter a room, a sensor in the doorway tells the light to turn on, and if you leave the room to another one, the sensor tells the light to turn off and the light in the other room to turn on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 1:04 PM on July 16, 2007

adamrice, I am not nearly hardcore enough for a fixie but a single might actually work. It's all city commute and mostly flat.

If you're thinking about getting an internal hub because of ease of maintennance, then a fixed gear or single gear might be worth looking into also.

How long is your commute? If it's reasonably flat, it wouldn't be too hard to ride a fixed gear through it.

The BF has a Bianchi... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:38 PM on July 2, 2007

Is it stringy and thin like hair, or is it stringy as in flat and long?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:14 PM on June 28, 2007

If you're looking for shorts/pants you feel comfortable riding with as well as just walking around town the BF got a pair of shants /knickers from swrve that he's happy with.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 5:52 PM on June 14, 2007 marked best answer

Not familiar with the area, but this looks for a job for Bike Metro.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:59 PM on June 13, 2007

Crocs now has normalish looking flip-flop type sandals. I tried on some Athens and they were a little too loose in the wideness department, but I might not have been trying out the right size. Felt pretty cushy and comfortable though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:03 PM on June 11, 2007

That was fast! Thanks. I feel a lot better now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 1:24 PM on June 11, 2007

I had the same thing happen to me when I got on the Nuvaring the 2nd time. The first time I was on it, everything was working normally. Then I quit hormonal bc for a year or two. Then I started Nuvaring again. The first month in, I had light spotting for the whole month. Took it out during the "bleed week" to start bleeding again, and put it in 7 days later and all was fine. I just use it to skip periods completely now.

The only hiccup I've had lately was... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:24 PM on June 8, 2007

Don't fix it. You might be riding a genuine scraper bike!
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:04 PM on June 8, 2007

If you're willing to pay an extra $50 out of pocket, you can get a Kona Smoke, which was what I got as a commuter. MSRP $350. It's solid enough where I'm not scared of damaging the bike going down curbs, and the upright position doesn't produce any back or butt pain. It also comes with fenders, so you won't have to be scared of getting mud/water on yourself.

If you know what you're looking for, you can definitely find decent old '80s road bikes on Craigs List in the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:02 PM on June 4, 2007

I used to use Mr. Clean magic eraser to keep the white parts of my Chucks clean all the time. Not sure how it works with leather, but it may help too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:46 PM on May 29, 2007

I like to call it The Angles
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 2:19 PM on May 23, 2007

If you don't mind brain-numbing things, Amazon's Mechanical Turk might be good for you. A company sends mturk a bunch of little tasks (hits). You (the turker) complete these tasks. You get paid a certain amount per task and it varies. I've seen hits that pay $20 and hits that pay $0.02. The hits vary from "write a review of my product" to "read my blog and tell me what you think".
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:20 PM on May 21, 2007

From my limited knowledge, I would say:

- dress modestly. No mini-skirts if you're a woman, wear slacks if you're a man.
- DON'T wear white. As BrotherCaine has said, it's the color of mourning. In Chinese weddings, red is always a good color, so I'd go with something red.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 4:50 PM on May 17, 2007

Welcome to bike commuting and how timely that you've decided to do so during Bike to Work Week. I'm still fairly new to it, but I'm enjoying it so far.

The first thing I would suggest is to get to know the laws where you're biking. For example, is it legal to bike on the sidewalk there? Are you allowed to take up the entire lane on the street or do you have to ride all the way to the right?

The 8.5 miles if it's not hilly should probably take... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:03 PM on May 14, 2007

Like ispraxis, I've also used brasso, but for my poor scratched up iPod and it worked fairly well. It didn't rid of any horrible deep scratches, but it made the small scratches appear less noticable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 6:56 PM on May 11, 2007

The only special care when wearing them is to be wary of light colored surfaces. The indigo dye from the denim may transfer to other surfaces and turn them blue.

As for washing, everyone above gave pretty good advice. You don't really need to wash your jeans that often, but don't be afraid of washing it when they get stinky and disgusting. If they fit fine now and you don't want shrinkage, just soak them inside out in a tub with some cold water and Dr. Bronners. After... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:40 PM on May 7, 2007

If you liked Chrono Trigger, you may also like Final Fantasy VI of the same era. There are ports of it for PSone and GBA. I like the GBA one beacuse it's portable.

Of the PC shareware days, I remember spending hours on:
-Commander Keen (all of them)
-Wolfenstein 3D
-Duke Nukem (the side scrollers and 3D)
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 3:43 PM on May 2, 2007

After reading about ITBS, I'm thinking this is exactly my problem. I'll try doing some of the stretches. As for fitting, it's probably be a good idea, but $100 seems like a lot to pay a guy for telling me how to adjust my bike right, but I guess it's worth it for my knee to get better.

I'm also nervous about finding a good fitter. I've never been fitted before, and I don't really know what I'd ask, or what to look for, so any suggestions would be welcomed. I'm in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nakedsushi at 11:04 AM on May 1, 2007