I second the recommendation to read "Getting Things Done." Good book, and even if you apply just a few of the tricks, you'll be more productive and focused.

His best idea is to get stuff out on paper/lists. Half of the problem when you feel unfocused or overwhelmed is that you've got all your to dos in your head. Getting them down on paper (or in something like Ta Da or Don't Forget the Milk or whatever it's called) frees up brain space to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 2:06 PM on May 13, 2008

Tried ShinyBeast's workaround, but so far no love. Still getting the pop-ups. I've issued a trouble ticket about this to our host, but haven't had an answer yet and generally like to go into these things armed with info about what they should be looking at - otherwise I get answers like "We don't support third party apps" etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 12:38 PM on May 8, 2008

Nope, not a tracked changes thing - we're quite used to how that looks and works, and this appears even before track changes is even turned on and stays there even when in Final viewing mode.

Not a hyperlink either, and right clicking only presents the usual flyout, ie., cut, copy paste etc. Mark formatting inconsistencies is not checked. Hovering doesn't do a thing.

I should note that the blue line only appears if you click in the text where it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 2:24 PM on May 1, 2008

Thanks for posting this question - I'm half considering cancelling the gym membership we never seem to get to use and getting one of these. I like working out, but find it hard to get the two plus hours together it takes to get 30 mins of workout time (driving to the gym, getting changed, getting a machine etc). Plus I don't half wonder if all the colds I've had in the last year have been coming from there, in spite of my efforts to use the washdown cloths etc.

Anyone... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 6:25 AM on April 14, 2008

Sorry, DDR?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 5:19 PM on April 14, 2008

Oh right. Duh.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 6:44 PM on April 14, 2008

Wow. Answer in three minutes flat. Not sure the Borg would be as quick. Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2008

I thought it might be the virus software (F-Prot), so I went so far as to temporarily uninstall that but that doesn't seem to be it.

I don't think I've got the stupid indexing services on, as that was an issue once before.

And sorry, duh, yes, I should have mentioned I'm running Win XP, with all the latest updates.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 8:31 AM on March 6, 2008

Definitely talk to the ombudsman, but also talk to your local MP. Sometimes just the fact that an MPs office will call up someone to ask questions can light a fire under the appropriate derrieres.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 9:48 PM on September 24, 2007

This is, almost certainly, the most expensive thread in the history of Ask.Metafilter.

Tell me about it. My Amazon WishList just exploded.

My rec: The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 1:51 PM on September 16, 2007

A friend of mine has had one for over a year, driven it a number of times from Ontario to the east coast and loves it. One of the drivers is 6'3" and the other is 5'4" and they are both very comfortable in it.

"It holds everything. We haven't had a bit of trouble with it, nor with the Civic we had for 12 years before it."
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 1:18 PM on August 8, 2007

Unfortunately auto insurance prices in Ontario are generally high and have been for some time. Definitely call around and talk to a few brokers rather than relying on online quotes, as the online forms don't handle exceptional cases well at all.

Be aware that to the best of my knowledge, brokers only carry a few different insurance lines, not all insurance lines as the advertising implies, so it's wise to check out more than one broker.

My... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 6:21 PM on July 27, 2007

What I need is more information on how to route traffic to my test pages, how to make sure if they come back to the site they see the same test page they saw on their first visit, etc.

We have a web analytics system in place (not google), but the knowledge base and documentation provides scant information about the actual setting up of the test.

Does that clarify?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 3:53 PM on July 27, 2007

We've done those, and they're okay, but not as comprehensive as we'd like.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 9:13 AM on June 26, 2007

What about a motion-activated sprinkler? Does no harm, but might be annoying enough to deter. Saves you having to stay up all night as well.

As for everyone on here who says, oh well, it's just pee... well maybe it is, but still... yuck. I wonder how differently you'd feel if it was the front door of your home.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 7:18 PM on June 11, 2007

You might find this site useful in Ontario. I can personally recommend Pinery as a great swimming, biking and canoeing palce...
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 12:39 PM on May 5, 2007

place! not palce
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 12:39 PM on May 5, 2007

That appears to be subscriber only I'm afraid.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 12:09 PM on May 5, 2007

Self-employment: I'd recommend you try getting a job in a firm to work here for a year or two before striking out on your own. It's never the big things that get you when you move to/visit another country, it's the 101 different ways of doing things. This way you can learn them all, get comfortable with the culture, the references etc., on someone else's money. You'll also make good contacts, important in your industry.

Once you're comfortable, setting up shop is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 1:15 PM on April 13, 2007

fenriq, grab a copy of this book, either from your local library or the bookstore. It's effectively a directory of potential outlets for your idea. The listings will describe what types of material a particular publisher will look at, whether they're open to new authors, and what they require for a submission. Typically the Writers Markets books also have a lot of articles etc that help you get a feel for how the industry works.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 10:19 AM on August 13, 2006

Currently the site is running on a LInux based server and I have PHP 4.3.1 available, as well as MySQL. That's not a huge issue though as I can move or upgrade the site hosting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 5:41 PM on August 12, 2006

Made me think of bling also.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 12:37 PM on August 12, 2006

Re: sterilization, it is more for making sure the formula or expressed milk doesn't go off rather than than keeping things that go into baby's mouth sterile.

We had a dishwasher, but the one we had at the time was a bit dodgy so we hand washed and then used a bottle steamer for sterilization. They're cheap enough and quite fast - you can do a load of bottles, nipples, caps etc in about 15 minutes.

Do not let any health care... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 3:05 PM on June 10, 2006

Thanks everyone, your answers have been very helpful and given me new leads.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 4:50 PM on May 25, 2006

I put the site into Google directory (not search), see what category it's filed under, and then click on that category to see what else is there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 8:31 PM on May 21, 2006

It's more than just typos, actually - you wouldn't believe the number of people who type .com when they really should have put .net and so on.

It's really frustrating not to be able to get back to someone who's sent in a support question because they haven't provided the correct contact information. You know it's their fault for not typing correctly, but they're going to think you just don't care or are ignoring them.

Flipper - if you're savvy... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 8:30 AM on March 3, 2006

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Re: Teletubbies, I did try him on that, but it bores him completely.

He's well on his way to having worked out the alphabet, as he's able to point to individual letters when asked, and he can say all the vowel sounds and about five consonants. The tougher sounds defeat him still, but he's working on it. This isn't due to Sesame Street as much as he and I working together but certainly SS reinforces it. I think... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Zinger at 4:46 PM on November 22, 2005