"I'm rich beyond my widlest dreams" is my stock response. You are not being overly sensitive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:11 PM on May 16, 2008 marked best answer

Did you check this question/answer? Did it help?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:09 AM on May 15, 2008

I've driven people home from colonoscopies on a few occasions and I just wanted to note something that I didn't see people mention. Whatever the knock-out meds are that they give you, they'll make you pretty much not remember the procedure and, if you're anything like the two people I drove home, maybe the SIX HOURS AFTERWARDS. In fact my first friend who I drove home actually called me in the evening to say "um thanks for driving me home, you DID drive me home, right?" So, none of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:52 PM on May 14, 2008

My divorced parents were both at my graduation and also both went ot my sister's graduation dinner. There are a few things that help this situation. I'd love to say "hey this is YOUR DAY, don't let them screw it up and hopefully everyone can focus on your achievements (go you!) and not on their pettiness, but yes it sometimes doesn't work that way.

1. siblings/distractors - if you can sort of assign people to your parents to sort of make sure they're happy, and in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:15 PM on May 14, 2008

You should learn the things you need to know to run or administer a database driven website.

- php
- perl
- javascriptish stuff and AJAXy whatnot
- python
- MySQL interactions
- HTML/CSS just to know it, understanding XML conceptually
- learn regular expressions and how to make great queries to do good reporting from big amorphous blobs of data. More and more libraryland is needing people who can... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:58 PM on May 13, 2008

Needle in the Hay by Elliot Smith. Yahoo Answers actually has a decent list already generated.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:46 PM on May 13, 2008

posted for a user who would prefer to remain anonymous. This happened to me, except the pedophile was not registered, and he was not rehabilitated, and he was right next door. Ultimately it comes down to how skeeved out you might be as your kids get older and play outside your view. However, if you move there, and one day there's an incident that falls short of a crime but leaves you no doubt as to this person's intent, think hard about the anguish you'll feel about the decision to sell your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:19 AM on May 13, 2008

[removed "come to our event" links and etc. in the question. Please use AskMe for asking questions, not publicizing your stuff, thanks]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:02 AM on May 13, 2008

As soon as you build a bridge you are placing very real engineering limits on the type and amount of traffic that can use them. No matter how far out you plan for the future, the fact that bridges are built with very real time and materials constraints usually means they're built for expected and anticipated load, not for any possible eventuality. I think an example that people use for this is the bridges that were built into Long Island, ostensibly to bring people there (someone else should... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:50 AM on May 12, 2008

I'm assuming your friend is messing with you. Are you sure the URL was actually going to nbc.com and not one of the linked sites that Google seems to indicate that some people find hilarious?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:24 PM on May 11, 2008

Follow-up from the OP I hung out with the girl in question last night and I suppose I was being distant and she seemed like she could tell. So I called her today and said that I thought the two of us should cool it for now, that it had nothing to do with her, that I think she's great, that I guess I'm just not ready for a relationship right now, and that I'd still like to hang out if she wants to. All she responded with was "yeah I kind of had a feeling" and "talk to you soon, bye.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:25 PM on May 11, 2008

I'm learning to like tomatoes just recently and for me the big deal was not eating nasty supermarket tomatoes and going for more of the delicious local (organic?) type.

You may want to work on an acclimation process going from more pureed type things like spaghetti sauces and finely chopped salsas, to things with chunks like wraps or chunkier salsa. Actually the thing that really sold me on tomoatoes was the best BLT in the universe. I feel that any food can be made... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:27 PM on May 8, 2008

follow-up from the OP Dear MeFites, thank you for one of the weirdest dates i've ever been on.

Short answer: No, there was no kissing. But I still have a sneaking suspicion that she is into me.

Long answer, with a tedious level of detail and many irrelevant asides:

I pick her up from work and we head to a movie theatre. I park the car head first into a lot as we continue to make idle chatter about the last time either of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:52 AM on May 8, 2008

[a few comments removed - question is loosely "I want stronger faith" - you all know where metatalk is.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:16 AM on May 8, 2008

I swim 2-4 days a week in a chlorinated pool. My hair is your length and I use Aubrey's Organics Swimmers Shampoo and conditioner. It's all natural, non-animal tested and vegan if you care about that sort of thing. I used to use just standard Suave clarifying shampoo and that was decent but not awesome. This stuff really seems to keep my hair looking decent and being easy to manage. I have not tried UltraSwim or any other shampoo+conditioner all in one product.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 5:41 PM on May 7, 2008

I think printout is one word and so printouts is also one word.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:09 PM on May 7, 2008

The OED's reasoning pretty much seems to be "common usage," too

It is the dictionary of record. If etymology won't convince you, nothing will.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:34 PM on May 7, 2008

The rec.arts.bodyart faq seems to agree with you.

2. "Swimming makes a tattoo faded". For the same reason as the above,
pool chlorine does not get to the ink to fade it. Common sense
precautions include not swimming in a public pool with a raw sore,
such as a new tattoo while oozing or completely raw. After the first
2 days, the surface over the tattoo is impervious and (from personal... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:26 PM on May 7, 2008 marked best answer

Flamethrower. Cleaning through cauterization.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:07 AM on May 7, 2008

I am never quite sure how to respond to comments which beg no response -- "She sure looks cozy in there," "What a cutie," etc.

I was totally frozen by this sort of thing when I came to my small town for the first time maybe five years ago and now I feel like I'm pretty okay with it. This sort of thing can be the way people get to know you so it's worth thinking a little bit about it, this can be how you show yourself to people, slowly. So, in your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:18 AM on May 7, 2008

I got mine resoled at Dave Page Cobbler in Seattle at one point. He took a $70 or so pair of shoes and attached custom cut Vibram soles to them for maybe $20-25 and they were the best shoes ever, of all time. I'd suggest that over regular re-soling, but the one time I got a pair officially resoled it worked fine, was a little spendy but the soles stayed right on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:30 PM on May 5, 2008 marked best answer

Yeah sorry should have been clear. They WERE Birks and the soles stayed on just great for many years.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:38 PM on May 5, 2008

I should mention this wasn't a service they specially offered, I just said "these soles are crappy and I want ones that kick ass in Seattle weather" and picked out the Vibrams and they were happy to cut them to fit. This was also quite a while ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:21 PM on May 5, 2008

One of the things about thrift store trophies is that you can amalgamate them together into giant clusterfuck trophies that look sort of like real ones but not. We made ourselves one for the marching band when I was in college so that we'd have something to put in the school trophy case. Frankentrophy. Then you can take the money you would have spent buying a "real" fake trophy and make a great plaque for them that looks semi official. I recomment as many bowlers and swimmers as you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:34 PM on May 5, 2008

[a few comments removed - take your hurf durf placenta nonsense elsewhere and don't fuck up someone else's question, thanks!]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:41 PM on May 5, 2008

I would not plan too hard because it's nice when it "just works". That said I pulled this off recently (somewhat accidentally but with some of the same thoughts going into it as you have, the "this is inevitable" and "man I'd really like this to be nice") and was actually pretty happy with how it all went, so here is my general advice...

- spend the day with your special someone doing something you both love, whether that's going outside,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:09 AM on May 5, 2008

follow-up from someone who would prefer to remain anonymous.Please, please, please sign up for a throwaway gmail account when you
write sex-related AskMes.

My gf and I have a similar problem. We're compatible in most ways, but
I'm too submissive for her. Since we are great communicators, it's
something we can discuss. One of our solutions was to go to a BDSM
club together. She got off on being spanked. I didn't get turned... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:45 AM on May 5, 2008

[a few comments removed, helpful replies appreciated]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:58 AM on May 5, 2008

[a few comments removed - question is specific you can answer "unsked questions" in mefimail]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:32 AM on May 4, 2008

[a few comments removed, if you can't comment without being a sniggering dork, don't.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 5:42 PM on May 2, 2008

[comment removed - this is not a thread about poop.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:14 AM on May 3, 2008

Oh hey, I work from home too. In fact I'm sort of working right now! I managed to avoid butt spread and feel pretty okay about things by doing a few things.

- no one has to eat takeout. Unless you are working every waking moment, you have time to make food that is a bit more nutritious and better for you and reheatable in small portions (which, while you're working is actually faster than takeout) think burritos, lasagna, pasta, salads, cut fruit, smoothies, etc. If you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:03 AM on May 3, 2008

follow-up from the OP Lots of good advice. Thanks!
Just to be clear: I like a little bit of oral sex ocassionally. Just not as much as my partner would like to give me. This would be easy to solve if I just told him no, never, none! but neither of us want that.

I like the idea that it's a general message men internalize (MUST GO DOWN), not that he's just doing what an ex liked. Keeping that idea in my head will make it alot easier to talk to him without... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:36 PM on May 2, 2008

[few comments removed - please do not turn this into a "keep cat indoors" referendum]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:20 PM on May 2, 2008

[most comments removed - question is fairly specific.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:18 PM on May 2, 2008

[metadiscussion goes to lalalalala METATALK]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:36 PM on May 1, 2008

I don't wash my hair too much. When I go to bed with my hair wet/damp, I wake up with crazy hair, same as ewagoner. If, for some reason I didn't do this and I need this sort of hair for some reason, I usually get my hair damp and then run my fingers through it that are wet with salt water and then put on my hat until I need to go someplace. Also if you need a product in a hurry, Bedhead does work pretty well, and so will anything else that is puttyish but does have sort of a gelled look to it a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:33 PM on May 1, 2008

Seattle Public Library (back before it was that insane wedding cake monstrosity) used to have a "writers room" that was a fishbowl sort of room on the main floor. It had desks with storage spaces that locked and the room itself was accessible only with a key. To get access to the room, you had to have a bona fide writing project that you needed space and resources to work on and being granted access to the room [a little free micro-office in downtown seattle, so great!] was deemed to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:49 AM on May 1, 2008

You care about what you care about and giving yourself a hard time about it is counterproductive if it keeps you from doing or getting what you want. Trying to justify this as if caring about looks is or is not under your control is just after-the-fact rationalization. Who cares?

That said, you have conflicting issues here. You have issues with your partner's looks (and a few other things) and yet you fear being alone. If this were me, I'd be balancing those things... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:09 AM on May 1, 2008

DO NOT DONATE THEM TO A LIBRARY. This just usually means that other people in less good shape than you will have to take your books to the recycling center themselves.

That said, if there are local community technology centers, you might want to call them and see if they have a need for outdated tech books. I teach basic tech instruction and books on, for example, Office 2003 or Windows 2000 would still be useful take home books to give to my students. For books that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:11 PM on April 30, 2008

[all comments removed - do over? answers should have some bar suggestions in them.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:00 PM on April 30, 2008

follow-up from OP: "he actually writes about music, including jazz, which is why I'm afraid anything academic or jazz-related has a high chance of being something he already has."
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:29 AM on April 30, 2008

I had the same thought as amro, stress may just be making you a lighter sleeper, you wake up after one REM cycle or when your body temp hits rock bottom and then you're like "oh huh, time to pee" so in addition to the decent stuff like drinking less water late in the day [and I always find that less caffeing/sugar/alcohol generally helps this] you might try something that will take the edge off anxiety-wise like benadryl (ok for pretty frequent use and the soporific of choice for old... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:00 AM on April 30, 2008

I use those eucalyptus sticks that you can buy at the florist [or the florist section of the supermarket. It's a pretty subtle scent, but it makes my car not smell like ... whatever it smelled like when I got it. If you keep it under the seats it's subtle. If you put it someplace in the car where sun will hit it, it will sometimes offgas really strong odors, so think about placement carefully. One bunch lasts a year or two.

Get a plastic tub with a top to put your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:07 PM on April 29, 2008 marked best answer

[a few comments removed - question is "what is this" not "do you not know what this is but just think it's teh awesome?!"]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:43 AM on April 29, 2008

I call where I live in Central Vermont the most beautiful place on earth because in a lot of ways I'm stuck in the past and I enjoy living where people are a little slower-paced, like and help their nieghbors and try at least to some extent to live with nature and not subdue it. It's a subtle landscape, small rivers, rolling hills, lots of little hollows and bends in the road and this time of year just breathtaking in the sheer explosion of nature, everywhere, after the long (and equally... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:30 AM on April 29, 2008

[a few comments removed - if you don't know, you don't have to tell us]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:44 AM on April 29, 2008

Librarian who did linguistics in undergrad and it's a little weird because I don't technically work in a library.

Q. "What languages do you speak?"
A. "One, badly" "Does pig latin count?" "None."

Q. "[insert shushing joke here]"
A. "Actually I have a one-finger gesture I use a lot, but it's not that one"

Q. "Do you organize your books... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:06 AM on April 29, 2008 marked best answer

Public school in MA in the 70-80s. We learned about advertising which is sort of financial and about how to do unit prices in math. I learned a little about economics from the junior high teacher that taught Russian and people suspected was a communist and that was about the only "here is how money works" education I can recall.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:32 AM on April 28, 2008

[few comments removed - take sidebar chat to memail?]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:18 AM on April 28, 2008