Thanks for all the help everyone, I'll start poking around for appointments soon. Keeping my fingers crossed while I hope I find someone with a solution other than surgery.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 7:44 AM on July 9, 2008

Thanks for the ideas everyone, the red-wing blackbird doesn't seem to fit what I recall though. On the other hand, I'm not exactly experienced at identifying birdy features on the fly. When I get back from vacation I might poke around for video of a red-wing blackbird in flight and see if the shoulder patches give the effect that I saw...but for now I'm going to eat my father's famous french toast.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 9:22 AM on April 24, 2008

Sleep. (Watch out for crappy statistics here, people who know they beat the odds might be more likely to share than folks who just crashed out and are ashamed of it.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 8:18 AM on April 14, 2008

Fresh pasta.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 2:16 PM on March 19, 2008

When I used to live in Tucson, AZ, USA you didn't have to drive too far out in the desert to see some amazing stars. There's a reason all those observatories are there. I know there are astronomy clubs there, I know they hold events, I suspect they'd allow a Californian to join them. (Re: Milky Way, it's not up year round, so if you want to see that, or any other particular celestial goody, do some homework on when it's up.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 3:41 PM on March 2, 2008

Did you miss a paragraph in there?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 10:03 PM on May 13, 2007

Online Roleplaying.com has been great in my experience. Responsive mods, nice interface, very reliable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 8:30 PM on January 31, 2007

Physics certainly doesn't tell us that the equator would have that effect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 4:30 PM on January 11, 2007

My wife and I did something similar. Teeny tiny "ceremony" in Seattle where we live, I got a friend (and mefite) to get ordained for it and he did an amazing job. Then we held receptions in each of our hometowns. She wore the wedding dress three times, but there was no re-exchanging of vows. That much wasn't all that hard to do.

Now, if you want three actual ceremonies which all look like weddings, it's the same thing, just more planning for each one.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:53 PM on November 7, 2006 marked best answer

There is always a point in scienc fiction writing where you must ignore reality. The premise (sun going nova, simply boiling off the atmosphere slowly) is that point here. The question is really about the fallout of such an event, whether or not that event is what a real supernova would be like. So, to answer the questions:

"Would we move out of the way of the bulk of matter being ejected from the sun? How long would it take for climate to change? Would... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:28 PM on November 1, 2006

Slow smooth movements. Sore is good, sharp pains are bad.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 10:23 PM on September 20, 2006

As a rule of thumb, science fiction all fails when you slam it up against real science. The author makes boundaries on where the written world breaks from the real world, and there you go. I think Le Guinn said that science fiction was essentialy a matter of "hypothesis and extrapolation."

I think the idea is great.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:56 AM on July 18, 2006

Goddamn that's a tough situation. I've been there, or close enough. You ask which is more important, outside life or research. I feel like I really ought to be able to tell you something useful, being able to look back with 20-20 hindsight and all, but I find I'm still clueless...

I chose the outside life in the school with few prospects. I'm in the 6th year of a science phd program, I hope to be done a little over a year from now. I don't have anything good to say... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 3:19 PM on June 12, 2006

What an awesome AskMefi moment.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 6:26 PM on May 12, 2006

It's a heart.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 6:13 PM on May 12, 2006 marked best answer

Pretty much. The power put out is very low, and there's tons of ambient EM noise anyway. But, on the list of ways to be crazy, this is completely harmless, so, rock on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 10:07 AM on May 12, 2006

I'd assume they're reading this thread as well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 2:03 PM on May 10, 2006

I (about 6'5") sometimes wave my hand around the top of my head and say "Ooh, about that high." I usualy feel like an ass though shortly after I do it. Answering in obscure units is solid if you don't mind that you will (in the states anyway) be asked to convert it to feet.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 8:58 AM on April 24, 2006

Going to Helens means a 2-3hour drive each way, it really is more of a Portland location. Cool mountain though. Rainier is in the 90minute drive regime as I recall.

If there is any possibility of another solution, I'd advise you to check out the I-90 corridor, east of Seattle. Nice day hikes out there. Tiger Mountain, Mt. Si, several others. Google gives me this offhand. Plenty of great day hikes can be found in less than an hour of driving. I can throw more... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 8:09 AM on April 20, 2006

Woah there Wolfdog, chrisch's problem doesn't work like that. If the weatherman is wrong, that doesn't mean a %40 chance of rain rather than %60. In fact chrisch's problem doesn't strike me as answerable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 1:52 PM on April 13, 2006

Onlineroleplaying.com has a host of forum based RPGs. I don't know if they've got any sci-fi in need of players at the moment, but games start up not infrequently.

Also, Fallout, Fallout2, Arcanum, all rock. play Fallout before Fallout2, or you'll miss some good jokes in the sequel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 1:29 PM on April 13, 2006

That baking soda quantity looks suspect to me. I'm not a pro, but I'd expect 1-2tsps in that slot.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 1:23 PM on April 12, 2006

Which of course should have read "baking powder"...
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 1:23 PM on April 12, 2006

I grew up in Portland. We always called it Lake No Negro to mock it. I describe it as the place rich white christians go to be safely away from the scary brown poor people. Classism trumped racism though as far as motivation went.

On the other hand, I hear that they haven't gutted their public education system quite as much as Portland has. (also worth noting, many people who live in LO seem to think they live in Portland, they don't.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 2:05 PM on April 10, 2006

So, when you measure out a cookie with a teaspoon, do you then bite the resultant cookie? Or do you slam it back in one gulp, like a wee cookie shooter? These sound more like cookie vitamins than actual cookies.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 7:57 AM on April 4, 2006

I've been almost precisely where you are. 23/20, we went from every day to hardly ever at about the 3 month mark.

Talk to her. She has the best shot at figuring out what's going on. But she might not know either. Or if she knows, she might really not be able to tell you. Be real gentle, back off, let her do what she needs to do.

You'll have to make the choice, is she worth waiting around to find out? We're nearing the 4year mark here, we still haven't figured it out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 9:56 AM on March 31, 2006

mr_silver : "But to class someone as an acquaintance means you need to be ok to have contact with them, even if it is very little and lasts only a few minutes."

No, I think acquaintance is really anyone you bump into enough for their to be recognition. And there's a world of difference between being ok with bumping into someone on the street vs. being contacted at home by someone.

My advice for zippity is the secondary email address... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 3:50 PM on March 29, 2006

I had a good experience with InteractiveBrokers. But I was trading a bit more frequently, a 2week-ish timescale.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:26 PM on March 28, 2006

From my reading of your question the answer isn't unique. Relative distance change won't tell you about absolute distance change. Consider the case where each of the points moves x units north. No change in relative distance, large change in position.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 10:34 AM on March 23, 2006

When you say distance, do you mean a scalar or a vector Skree? Scalar:5 miles. Vector:4 miles east and 3 miles north.

With scalars, it's still going to be non-unique. With vector displacements, and a stationary reference point, then yes, you can indeed determine the new positions of everything.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:00 AM on March 23, 2006

Skree, I think that what you're looking for can be accomplished. Once you're in the land of "dealing with maps" there are all sorts of nifty contstraints you can impose on the visualization to make things work. Not that it'll be easy...but if it were easy someone else would have done it by now right?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 8:11 AM on March 24, 2006

I have one toe that I've never broken. The others all healed a bit differently, and at their own paces. 1-4 months is a pretty accurate and encompassing window.

In case your doctor didn't mention it, wearing stiff soled shoes helps a lot with the healing and "getting around" process. Also, pain meds with anti-inflamation properties (advil etc).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:29 AM on March 8, 2006

Well, the simple answer is don't be a tanker. Play a scrapper, they're made for soloing. You can solo as a tanker, but it's slow.This board, is really where you want to go for info. I'm sure there's a thread on there specificaly answering your question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:16 AM on March 7, 2006

For instance.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:23 AM on March 7, 2006

From what I recall of that article, the author is discussing the LA obsession with watching police chases. By watching a police chase nationaly we all briefly understood what it was to live in LA and share this obsession.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2006

Slight derail: I started writing up my advice and wondered how useful it would be. Are my recollections of being seduced in my early 20s of any value in seducing a 40 year old? I don't know how these things scale, and I likely won't find out now that I'm married and being seduced by one's wife is a different proposition entirely.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 11:24 AM on August 10, 2005

Regarding advice to look hot: Hot is very very subjective. I for one find hair that is just kept out of one's face in a quick easy manner to be infinitely more attractive than hair that has been "done" in a way that involved much effort.

(interestingly, the spell checker came up with many substitutes for "moer" but none of them were "more")
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:25 PM on August 10, 2005

My wife and I used to play City of Heroes, fairly palatable for a non-gamer. Now we play World of Warcraft , a bit more in the hard core gamer direction. And Mario Party on the nintendo 64, with a couple gin and tonics, can be quite fun. But she's a bit of a gamer at heart, so I'm not sure how useful this is....... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:38 PM on August 9, 2005

Ooh, I second the Myst suggestion. My wife and I played the most recent one (Uru not link worthy) together, despite it being a bad game we enjoyed it. The earlier games were great and might be even better to team up on. Also a similar game where you do a bit of time travel...there was cheez whiz....and a cow....bah, can't remember the name. Want to call it Lost in Time or something like that, but Google tells me that isn't it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 1:30 PM on August 9, 2005

Lots of good ideas here. Whatever you choose (I'm a punching bag, Doom3+loud music, or meditation kind of guy) it's damned handy to have mutiple ways of dealing with the rage. If all you know how to do is vent in a physical manner, whether it be punching a bag or knifing a textbook, then that's all you will have. There's an outside chance that that violence will eventualy have no suitable outlet nearby, except yourself. That's not a place you want to go.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 7:40 PM on August 4, 2005

In the Vancouver B&B bracket I heartily second The Johnson Heritage House. For seafood in Seattle I have yet to beat Ponti's.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Shutter at 12:18 PM on August 2, 2005