[removed links at poster's request]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:19 PM on November 11, 2009

[comment removed - if you can't talk about roux without calling people idiots you need to come back to AskMe when you can be decent to people.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:02 PM on November 11, 2009

[comments removed - OP knows this wasn't a good idea, no pile-on. Be decent or don't answer thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:26 AM on November 11, 2009

[again with the comment pruning - GO TO METATALK if all you have is judge-me type answers or learn to modulate your tone please.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:04 AM on November 11, 2009

["how to fake cancer" comments not helpful.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:45 AM on November 11, 2009

My guess is that there are financial incentives for them to help people spend less and use less of a finite resource: government grants or other promotions. They can take that money and spend some of it on staffing and other expenses and as a side effect, tell you to use less power and then make big ads that says BlaBla Company Helps Save the Planet!!

Unlike your bakery, your electric company (I'm assuming) is heavily regulated in what it can charge for electricity. My... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:13 AM on November 11, 2009

I'd think this would be a great job for a recent library school grad. Detail-oriented and with a lot of different parts to it. I don't know where you're located, but you might want to check the local library school or especially people working in art libraries [at larger academic institutions] or possibly whatever the local library associaiton is. All US States and Canadian provinces have some sort of local library association that has their own job boards and whatnot. I don't know if you'd... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:07 AM on November 11, 2009

The FTC has been clear that they think COPPA applies if the website is directed to children even if it's not in the US.Foreign-based websites must comply with COPPA and the Rule if they are directed to children in the United States, or if they knowingly collect personal information from children in the U.S. The definition of “operator” under both COPPA and the Rule includes foreign-based websites that are involved in commerce in the United States or its territories. As a related matter, U.S.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:03 AM on November 11, 2009

These lyrics do not match the ones you remember but it made me think of this song by Matisyahu.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:28 PM on November 10, 2009

I'm someone who is really fussy about noise and sleeping. I see them as two separate issues and sometimes the fussiness really becomes the thing that is keeping me from sleeping. I have no idea if you are like this or not. So, my ideas...

1. you are unlikely to be able to make much of a dent in the noise, it seems that you have tried all the sensible things. What I would do if this were me I'd move my bed into another room, even if it's the kitchen or the bathroom or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:31 PM on November 10, 2009

follow-up from the OP It was mother-in-law, not creepy, deported ex, who kept little
sister-in-law from communicating with us. My husband was shocked and
devastated. She rationalized this by claiming that we were upsetting
SIL by not being supportive of the marriage. Like I said, DEEP denial.
I don't want to risk something like this happening again, so I'm on
eggshells. Yes, yes a thousand times yes, she is not an entirely... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:58 AM on November 10, 2009

[few comments removed - winky jokes not really that cool for AskMe, thanks]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:51 AM on November 10, 2009

This is what I do.

- have a place to put mail when it comes in so it doesn't become part of the furniture
- open your mail as close to when you get it as you can. Immediately toss anything into the recycling bin that is not necessary [return envelopes, advertising, the envelope the stuff came in]
- stick things you need to deal with on to a clipboard
- stick things you need to file [paystubs, paid bills] in to a big box for eventual... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:46 PM on November 8, 2009

Also, this may not be super useful but what is helpful to me is having a post office box. PO Boxes have recycling bins right next to them so this way I only take home what I know I have to deal with. I get no mail delivered to my house. Sort of an extreme solution to your problem, but it costs maybe $70/year and I live somewhere where you have to take all tyour recycling to the transfer station in your car, so I think it's worth it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:20 AM on November 10, 2009

[few comments removed - this is a question with an answer, this is not a "how do you feel about this word?" question, please do not feel that you need to answer if you do not know the answer. Please do not start derails. Please go to metatalk or email if any of this is confusing to you, thank you.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:13 AM on November 10, 2009

[few comments removed - back it up a little please? thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:02 AM on November 10, 2009

comment from a MeFite who would prefer to remain anonymous. Please, please don't do this. Encourage him to spend more time getting used to it, and encourage him not to give up. He is not in high school anymore, and may not realize the very real consequences of his actions.

My husband joined the Navy directly out of high school, and after boot camp, didn't want to continue. He wasn't really adapting, and he had a girlfriend back home. He tried everything to get out of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:55 AM on November 10, 2009

Rhinoviruses which cause the common cold are thought to be very contagious. Baylor College of Medicine says this "The introduction of rhinovirus into a household by one family member causes the disease in about two-thirds or of other family members. The illness is spread both by direct contact and by aerosol." This article from the Journal of Infections Diseases seems to pretty much concur claiming "Rhinoviruses were detected in virtually all children and in half of adults in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2009 marked best answer

Now I'm trying to remember where I read this.... I think it was in a book about the CDC, because of course I read that stuff for fun.... they were talking about a project that took place at one of those odd out of the way medical testing labs. I don't even remember if it was in the UK or the US. They whad people with colds and then other people there whose job it was to deliberately try to get these colds. So there was some sort of sharing of tissues or something else, swabs, that would pretty... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:03 PM on November 9, 2009

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for or how techie a project you're willing to undertake, but I've always been smitten with the MythTV project.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:37 PM on November 9, 2009

Follow-up from the OP: "I just wanted to follow up and thank everyone for the really kind and sensitive responses. They were even more helpful than I expected."
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:23 PM on November 9, 2009

I got a benzo prescription way back when, when my tinnitus was making me insanely anxious and I realized I was in a vicious circle and it needed to stop. Now I tell people that I think they can be lifesavers for situational anxiety that needs to not ruin your life. My experience is

- I've pretty much taken them once in a blue moon [when I haven't been able to sleep decently for days and I have something important to do] so a prescription for 15 lasts me half a year or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 4:16 PM on November 9, 2009

Yeah my vote is also for Ativan/lorazepam.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 4:55 PM on November 9, 2009

I wear engineer boots which are the boots in both of the photos that you linked to. While many people wear them who ride motorcycles, I don't think you're a power if you wear them just because they're good work boots. A few things to know about them

- you can get steel toe or not. steel toe ones will maintain a rounded toe shape while non-steel toe will eventually flatten out like the ones in the link I provided
- I think of the ones that are higher [i.e. in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:59 PM on November 9, 2009

If it's already been clearly and firmly now and forever established that you're unavailable and/or that the two of you will NOT be hooking up, I'd consider "you know, I think you're dateable" Otherwise, there are many zillions of ways a kind-seeming statement might be potentially taken as a "gee whiz if situations were different...." and possibly leading someone to maybe wait around to see if situations change.

I don't understand your last sentence,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:51 PM on November 9, 2009

[hi - welcome to a topic that doesn't go well on MetaFilter, if you could make an effort to not fight with the other posters and engage the question or not start more fights here it would go a long way toward not having this be yet another place to tell people they're wrong about sexism, thank you very much.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:44 AM on November 9, 2009

See Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory for a perfect representation.

If you've seen this show, this is a really apt statement. Wolowitz is portrayed as being an ubernerd, still lives with his mom, very smart but not "people smart" but likes women, a lot and is desperately sex-starved, lonely, and borderline-creepy [my assessment, other people's might vary] when engaging with women. Some women find him amusing, some blow him off but rarely (if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:32 AM on November 9, 2009

follow-up from the OP

Thanks, all, for the advice -- as many of you suspected, it was indeed just fatigue. I gave myself permission to be a completely lazy slug all day Sunday, and that helped a lot. I have only one more week on this schedule and I'm already feeling like myself again, so I think I'm good. Thanks.

posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 7:38 AM on November 9, 2009

Yep, Taylor plays a Taylor. It's custom, and has a lutehole in it.
Swift and her Taylor guitars are featured prominently in the spread: on the cover, she’s pictured strumming her custom koa model aboard one of her family’s Sea Rays, and she poses inside and outside the Country Music Hall of Fame with her koa axe. She also can be seen with her one-of-a-kind, bubblegum-pink T5 and her 615.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:03 PM on November 8, 2009 marked best answer

[lots of comments removed - we really don't do "in before the delete" stuff here, either answer sincerely or flag or go to metatalk, thanks]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2009

[comment removed - please direct answers toward the OP or go to MeTa or email with it, thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2009

[comment removed - save the drama for elsewhere please]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2009

I'm not sure where you live but where I live -- a place where there is real winter -- I often put the covered pan out on the porch for an hour and then bring it in and put it in the fridge.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2009

Now my husband is saying ok, fine, we can do this, he wants me to have things that will help me. But I DON'T want to feel like I manipulated or guilt tripped him into this.

I would move forward on this, get the dog, realize that your emotions are in a messy tangle for a lot of reasons and that getting a dog will help you start untangling them, including your feelings of guilt and manipulation. From your question it sounds like you have a lot going on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:24 PM on November 5, 2009

[comment removed - can we stop with the ALLCAPS and either be helpful or go someplace else? thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:50 PM on November 5, 2009

There are a lot of people in your area doing systems work very happily in the public library systems in the general area where I live. In fact both Massachusetts and New Hampshire are looking into large state wide systems projects with their libraries that will require paying more local systems folks where previously they would have bought off the shelf products.

I would advise you to get used to some of the products people are working with now, especially ones that can... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:21 PM on November 5, 2009

I would do exactly what Memo describes. There will then be 100 bio "posts" somewhere in the system and each person is the author of their own post (they don't have to write it, you can change to having them as the author on your own). You only have to display them on one page, the category page which is set to "show all" and alphabetizes them. You can then make them also not show up on the main page using a plugin like Advanced Category Excluder
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:24 PM on November 5, 2009 marked best answer

I think you can do this if you're savvy about the post title but you might be better off using something like smart sort where users can choose a sort option [with maybe alpha being the defauls] because with 100 people, you might just want to see the ten newest people first, for example. Alternately, this page sort of explains how to code a custom query if nothing else fits the bill.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 5:08 PM on November 5, 2009 marked best answer

Would you consider an immersion heater? I don't know if you mean "moderate" to mean a lot or a little but if you're looking at a cup or two at a time, this should work well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:51 PM on November 5, 2009

[few comments removed - if you can't answer without insulting people, please don't, thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:47 AM on November 5, 2009

Actually my 16-year-old finds it weird.

My experience has been that 16 year olds find many things weird; it's a strange age to be alive through.

When I was a twitchy kid, my Mom used to do these sorts of things with me when I was having trouble falling asleep, like guided meditation stuff "Okay now relax your toes, imagine there is a waterfall running through your body and all the stress is pouring out your toes...." sort of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 8:08 AM on November 5, 2009

am I just being insecure and competitive unnecessarily, or do I have a point?

You have a point. That said, you can have a point and keep that point to yourself which is my suggestion of what you should do.

I had a friend for a long time who was constantly blablabla talking about how she gained or lost a pound and now she was tipping the scales at 116 or whatever. Meanwhile I was the same height as her and maybe 30-40 pounds... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 10:06 AM on November 4, 2009

[few comments removed - this should have been in email or metatalk a long time ago - same goes for snarking at the OP, can't be respectful? don't answer.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:25 PM on November 4, 2009

[comments removed - this is a touchy enough topic without argiung about what "real women have curves" means and how annoying it is/is not. thanks.]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:11 PM on November 4, 2009

[I absolutely cannot believe I have to ask people to not be all GO MY TEAM in this thread. knock it off, thanks]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 2:08 PM on November 4, 2009

Librarians, like bookstore owners have had to shift their approach radically. Traditional models for these jobs are no longer sustainable. The biggest place you see this in the library world is with catalogers. They are the people who give a book subject headings and enter the data into the library catalog. This has been shared data for a long time. Many libraries, academic especially, would have catalogers on staff to catalog stuff that was esoteric or rare or in another language so they'd have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 11:26 AM on November 4, 2009

I have a similar situation in that I have a home address and a post office box and the not knowing thing is a pain. I am not, however, a heavy user of Amazon so options like Amazon prime are not useful for me.

Is it possible you might want to look into seeing if you can work this out with the post office? I'm not sure if you have the sort of typical rural mailbox setup, but possibly you could get a larger box and have them leave (most) packages there? It's not at your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 1:45 PM on November 3, 2009

Like a lot of people, I have up days and down days that I can't always control as well as I'd like to. Over the past, maybe, five years I've noticed that there are some things I can do to sort of tip the scales at least a little bit and I try to do them: exercise, eating decently, going outside a lot, prioritizing sleep and low stress options, seeing real life friends and staying decently clean and well-dressed [if you know me, you'll know that this is not a very high... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 12:04 PM on November 3, 2009

You can do this with a custom filter, I think. You can look for email

- from your mom
- subject FW: Attached
- click the "has attachment" box
- tag everything matching that criteris with ICANHAZCROSSWORD

I also use an add-on for Firefox called Better Gmail which will add a little attachment icon to messages that have attachments so you can pull it out of a thread.

That said the easiest... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 6:50 AM on November 3, 2009

Also, for people who don't shampoo or shampoo infrequently, what is the rule with pool swimming--is that a situation that one would shampoo after no matter what to purge the chlorine?

I wash my hair pretty much only when I swim or am travelling. It's good to have good shampoo for the pool, I like the Aubrey Organics brands and use shampoo/conditioner. The reasoning behind this is twofold: chlorine is pretty tough on your hair, and the chlorine smell... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:58 PM on November 2, 2009