Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 277
Ask post:
What should I do? What major should I pick?
Failing chemistry, biology and calculus definitely doesn't mean that you're not cut out for any job requiring those subjects. If you failed chemistry because you found it impossibly dull then you might want to consider whether you'd enjoy a career involving lots of chemistry (ditto for calc and bio) but college students fail classes all the time. They even fail classes in their majors and classes that provide the foundation for everything they're going to need to know for their careers.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 6:20 AM on August 3, 2008
Ask post:
Is it worth the time to read the complete works of Shakespeare?
Go ahead and start if you want to. Stop if it starts to be a chore and start back again later if you're so inclined. I'm assuming you're in a position where it's not a burden to hang on to one book for a while without reading it. Don't slog through thousands of pages you don't want to read just to say you've read the complete works of Shakespeare.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 1:32 PM on August 2, 2008
Ask post:
Get me to Virginia!
DC2NY is another bus option and they have buses leaving Penn Station at 8 and 10 AM Saturday. It drops you off near the McPherson Square Metro, which is downtown, but Metro will get you pretty far into the suburbs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 6:34 PM on July 22, 2008
Ask post:
Should I tell my kids I pay child support?
I don't know how you hand off the funds, but you might try to bring them in to it a bit. Next time you hand off the chilluns, give them an envelope with a check in it to give to their mom.
My dad did this to me, I think more out of convenience than to teach me anything but it was a BAD IDEA. Inevitably, I forgot about it occasionally, and then my mom was all pissed at my dad for not giving her the child support check and my dad was all pissed at my mom for not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 5:08 PM on July 14, 2008
Ask post:
Help me get paid, plez.
Do you use outlook or thunderbird for e-mail? Both of those programs allow you to set reminders for appointments. You could set one to go off every 2 hours.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 10:19 AM on July 12, 2008
Ask post:
What to do with four teenage girls?
Take them to a baseball game. Nationals park and Camden Yard are both fun even if you're not super into baseball. Take them to see area colleges. At 16 they're probably ready to start thinking about where/what they want to study. If they're not too cool, take them to the zoo or the aquarium.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 5:28 PM on July 10, 2008
Ask post:
How did you play sports in your neighborhood?
In elementary school, we played a variation of kickball known as "workups" which was cool because it worked with anywhere from five to a billion players. There were 3 kickers and everyone else was in the field. The play was mostly like regular kickball, except when one of the kickers got out, they would go back to the field and trade places with the person who made the out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 6:01 PM on June 13, 2008
Ask post:
Here's a head scratcher
I had these when I was in elementary/middle school, almost exactly as you describe and they almost always coincided with something that disrupted my sleep schedule. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day during the week and on the weekends.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:13 PM on May 27, 2008
Ask post:
Should I grade grub now or later or ever?
toomuchpete: to clarify quickly, there are 2 tests in question, the last in-class test, which I did badly on mostly because of my wrist, and the final exam, which I did badly on mostly not because of my wrist. The grade I'm trying to drop is the in-class test grade.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 7:32 PM on May 20, 2008
I e-mailed the professor, and I was passing anyway, but I'm glad to know. Thanks for the advice everyone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:52 PM on May 22, 2008
Ask post:
How did you change your life?
2nding Fizz. I wanted to get in better shape this year (also my freshman year in college) so I joined the frisbee team. I wanted to try my hand at art so I signed up for a painting class. It's easier to stick with something when you've made a commitment to other people and not just yourself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:57 PM on May 20, 2008
Ask post:
fun for all ages
Coloring or other crafts. Candyland or other extremely simple board games. Dancing to a kids' CD or playing with toy instruments. Dress up. Try to convince the 5 year old that it would be fun to help out the little brother/sister.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 12:03 PM on May 19, 2008
Ask post:
Hosting my first-ever birthday party - and it's for a preteen!
I'm not sure what your weather will be like in July, but outdoor parties are awesome, especially for large groups. Meet at a large park with picnic tables and grills, bring a stack of frisbees, wiffle bats, footballs or whatever sporting equipment you think they'll enjoy and turn them loose. Have a picnic lunch. If you want to do favors, buy enough outdoor toys for everyone to take one home.
You could also plan something more organized and outside like capture the flag or a water... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 5:37 AM on May 7, 2008
Ask post:
7 hours, how to study?
For the AP tests, lots of practice exams. The exams don't change much from year to year. Figure out what kind of questions they ask and what kinds of answers they look for. For the BC calc exam, the big thing you're not going to know from AB is series and I found it was pretty easy to learn how to answer AP questions on series despite not understanding them fundamentally. Go ahead and take the BC exam because even if you mess it up, you'll still get an AB subscore. Also, if you don't have one... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 6:46 AM on April 30, 2008
Ask post:
Do password protected blogs exist?
Facebook? You can upload pictures and video pretty easily and make them only accessible to your friends. I've seen people use the "notes" feature like a blog. Your family and friends would all need to make facebook accounts but that's pretty easy to do.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 7:44 PM on April 28, 2008
Ask post:
What makes a good booth at a high school career fair?
Can you let them try out one of the games a student has designed?
Show pictures of the process of developing a game (sketches of characters, etc).
High schoolers will probably be shy about asking questions, so prepare a summary of what it is you do to give to students who look interested but stare at you blankly when you offer to answer any questions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 9:54 AM on April 14, 2008
Ask post:
College reccomendations
MIT, CMU and the University of Rochester were my top three choices when I was applying to college last year (and trying to decide between chemE and EE). If her next two semesters are really solid and she has decent SAT scores she could feasibly get into one of those schools. I'm at MIT now, MefiMail me if she has questions about what that's like.
You were talking about students with 4.5/5 GPAs-keep in mind that colleges generally ignore it when high schools assign... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 9:50 AM on April 14, 2008
Ask post:
What's easy AND healthy?
Lowfat cream cheese on a low fat, high fiber cracker. Raw fruits and vegetables (possibly with a vinegar based dressing of your choosing). Also, think about precooking things you can heat up later like stir fry or soup or chicken breasts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 7:26 AM on April 12, 2008
Ask post:
How can I teach someone high school math in 6 months?
Practice problems to reinforce formulas. Just give him a huge packet of sample problems to complete. Check the answers when he's finished and have him redo the ones he missed. Lather rinse repeat.
Is the math mostly conceptual or is it more of a speed competition? I kind of doubt a freshman who hasn't finished algebra is going to be able to wrap his brain around the finer points of calculus but there are a lot of formulas he can memorize and apply.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 5:53 PM on April 3, 2008
Ask post:
Exciting food combinations?
Ice cream and/or peanut butter with just about everything but especially fruit. Ice cream to make it tastier and peanut butter to make it more substantial. Grilled peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. Pancakes or eggos can substitute as bread for most sandwiches. Smoothies are also good for weird combinations and a good way to sneak healthy foods in with unhealthy ones.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 5:29 PM on April 2, 2008
Ask post:
OUtdoor fun around DC?
I'm not sure if it's open yet, or if it's quite what you're looking for, but there's a spot near Georgetown where you can rent canoes, rowboats or bikes and spend a day on the canal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 3:06 PM on March 12, 2008
Ask post:
Soccer Chant for 5 year olds.
Person 1: What keeps the cows in?
Team: Defense!
Fuzzy peaches belly button lint dolphins* dolphins win win win
*put the name of your team here. I guess it needs to have 2 syllables.
There;s also the MIT cheer but that might be a bit much for 5 year olds.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:19 PM on March 6, 2008
When I swam on summer teams we cheered for the little kids by saying, "little hands little feet dolphin munchkins can't be beat"
That might be one to teach the parents on the sidelines.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:20 PM on March 6, 2008
Ask post:
Help me make a They Might Be Giants mixtape.
Dr. Worm, Till My Head Falls Off, New York City, Pet Name, Experimental Film, Another First Kiss, Bangs, Drink!, At The End of the Tour, No One Knows My Plan
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 9:34 AM on March 3, 2008
Actually, give all of Factory Showroom another shot. It's one of my favorite TMBG albums.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 9:52 AM on March 3, 2008
Ask post:
Troubled Teen, Perplexed Parent
He probably shouldn't be home alone all day. Stay home with him, find a tutor or put him in regular school. Also, encourage him to sign up for activities that will get him out of the house.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 2:17 PM on February 10, 2008
Ask post:
No, not Yellow Submarine
Octopus's garden is my favorite of Ringo's Beatles songs. It's credited to Lennon/McCartney but With a Little Help from my Friends always comes to mind when I think of Ringo.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 12:38 PM on January 29, 2008
Ask post:
Pink eye
Keep using the antibiotics. I got pinkeye a lot as a kid and it would get worse as soon as I started drops and then get better in a day or so.
posted to Ask Metafilter by martinX's bellbottoms
at 7:40 PM on January 15, 2008
