I sell yarn, and teach knitting, which is an admittedly unrelated part of retail. But. I suspect some things I have learned will be helpful to you.

1. Remember what the person likes. This takes time. Yesterday I was able to pull out just exactly the type of pattern that a customer was hoping to find (Her description: a cardigan for a baby girl, fun enough to make for twins. This could have been any infant cardigan pattern in the store.) Had I not paid any attention to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 12:14 PM on July 23, 2008

Just know what you're going to suggest. A phrase as simple as "dinner at this japanese place I really like, you have to come with me and try it!" You go out, you like to do things, and you want to bring her along.

I'm getting back into dating. I cannot tell you how sick I am of going to coffee. Don't just have "a plan," please have a fun or interesting plan.

Last night I went to see the release of sea... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:14 PM on July 17, 2008

San Juan Island had the Pig War in 1859.

I'm sure they'd love to know something about that. (It's the only thing I remember from my Washington State History class. I didn't care that I was failing because I was moving to Florida.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:03 PM on July 17, 2008

Nthing knitting. My suggestion - knit socks. They are infinitely more impressive and way better conversation starters than handwarmers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:20 PM on July 1, 2008

If you have time, I suggest Myakka River State Park. It's beautiful, if a bit buggy this time of year.

When I lived there, there was also a place to ride horses called Wishful Thinkin' Farms, about an hour from Sarasota. They do one hour guided trail rides and take riders of all levels.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 12:10 AM on June 29, 2008

Wow. It's not often that I feel like there was a question on the green that I was meant to answer! But you've presented one.

I do not (to my knowledge) have BPD but I do work with an individual therapist and a group that meets once a week when in session. I started this work last fall. Ask your therapist about Marsha M. Linehan's Skills Training manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. There are lots of great handouts that cover mindfulness, interpersonal... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 11:48 PM on June 28, 2008

I wouldn't even ask. Just leave him. Look at it this way, he's mean to you, and you don't trust him.

What a combo. You can do so much better. In fact, even alone you are thousands of times better off than with a man who would tell you his friends hate you (and then give you his theory on why!?!?!)

DTMFA (OMG I've never given that advice on AskMe.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:25 PM on June 21, 2008

Parchment Packets!

A piece of fish. Or chicken. A bit of vegetables. A bit of butter. Some spices you like.

Fold it into a piece of parchment paper, seal it by folding, put it on a baking sheet, and bake. (Temperature and time will vary depending on thickness and kind of meat.)

Ta-da.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 9:26 PM on June 19, 2008

I used to manage dental offices. I'm chiming in with the crowd that says if you don't trust your dentist, find another one. Whether he's honest or not matters little, if you think he's trying to screw you financially, get out of the relationship.

That said, I never worked for an office that supported making treatment plans just to rake in the cash.

I have, however, taken voicemails off the machine in the morning from people who didn't take the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 10:46 AM on May 31, 2008

A fantastic vegetarian Indian restaurant.

4816 N University Dr.
Lauder Hill, FL - 33351


Phone : 954-749-3221
FAX : 954-749-3241

Mon to Fri
11:30 AM to 03:00 PM
05:00 PM to 09:30 PM
Sat - Sun
11:30 AM to 10:00 PM
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 11:45 AM on May 28, 2008

a sock project for knitting, chapstick, small hi-liter. I know women who carry clear nail polish. For the panty hose protection.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 1:40 PM on April 23, 2008

A spare pair of smaller sunglasses for your passenger, or yourself should yours go missing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 11:51 AM on April 17, 2008

Not condoms. They'll degrade from the heat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 4:25 PM on April 19, 2008

have you tried google scholar?

And, my all time favorite method is using the bibliography of papers you already know are useful. however, this only gets you stuff that was written before the papers you already have.

Another thing is you can check who has cited the papers you already possess.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:44 PM on April 19, 2008

When my friend Guapo and I killed and cooked 6 rabbits we took the skin off them. It was very easy. Easier than killing them. Certainly easier than removing the fur could ever have been.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 9:36 PM on April 18, 2008

Seconding University of Washington. If she saw the Business Week article about Cloud Computing and has any interest in that, Bisciglia came out of UW. I wouldn't be surprised if he maintains a very warm relationship with that institution for a long time to come.

And Seattle is beautiful, if cloudy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 9:09 AM on April 15, 2008

I've moved from managing dental offices to the world of full time student hood. But I also teach knitting now for a living. So on that front....

Circular knitting needles are worth it to me to go up from the second cheapest (with dull tips and a bad lumpy join) to the third level, with a smooth join and a needle that spins to prevent awkward kinking. The very cheapest have crappy joins and weird kinks in the plastic cord, and a funny bend on the join end of the needle... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 7:29 AM on April 14, 2008

Whether they cover all the teeth that show when you smile will depend on what angle your smile is being viewed from. This is why smiling at yourself in the mirror doesn't reveal the same smile that a photograph will. And why we always took several pictures of the smile in the offices where I worked. It helped sell the whitening process that we used.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:35 PM on April 3, 2008

I'm not a dentist and never will be. But, I did manage dental offices for a while. Radiographs are generally not faxable or emailable because if they were taken digitally you get the best diagnostic use out of them when viewing them with dental software. If they were not taken digitally then they are little tiny pieces of film, about the size of two quarters next to each other. Little smaller, actually.

Yes, they can prescribe antibiotics for anything going on in your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 4:04 PM on March 20, 2008

I've never been a wearer or makeup, but what helped me is washing my face with only water. Talk to your skin doc about what you should do. Because I have rosacea I'm "allowed" to put two things on my face - prescribed cream, and sunscreen. Three if you count the water.

Nobody tells me I should wear makeup, but it has been suggested more than once that I "do something about" my eyebrows...
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:19 AM on March 19, 2008

I know Erika (the Mayor of Hooperville!), she is what I think many of us (girl) hoopers aspire to. Erika in Oregon. She's a very nice girl and has some great moves. Don't be afraid to hoop in public. Folks seem to love the hell out of it! She's on myspace and used to sell very awesome hoops, but I can't remember what forum she used for that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:09 AM on March 19, 2008

Ah Mulan. Teaching young girls that the best way to get your foot in the door is to...pretend to be a man. And doesn't she leave her family for this shenanigans? I say it counts as fitting in the absent parents, even though she absents herself from them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 7:50 PM on March 17, 2008

Could you pretty please tell us what you ended up doing?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 11:49 AM on March 6, 2008

I soooo second FLL as the airport of choice. Luckily for me I live much closer to FLL than to MIA, but even if I lived in Homestead (South of Miami) I think I would drive to Fort Lauderdale for the peace of mind! Of course, it's likely that MIA has better looking options coming in from South America, but late by two hours is your current lived reality, not the appearance.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:23 PM on March 1, 2008

In sociology we have a lot of issues with survey design. Some topics make it nearly impossible to get consistently "true" responses - sexual behavior and drug use spring to mind. There are also issues with not just how the questions are worded, but who is administering the survey, even if the results are confidential and anonymous. Someone that reminds you of your grandma handing you a survey (or asking aloud) might make you more likely to answer in a "socially acceptable way.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 1:44 PM on March 1, 2008

On your way out of Big Cypress, be prepared to spend a loooong time in traffic. Be aware that there is almost nothing on that stretch of I-75. If you have a medical condition, bring your medication. I probably don't need to say this, but I'm going to...if you've been prescribed anything that might appear to be potentially abuseable, carry proof that it's been prescribed to you, and how often you are to use it.

Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you enter the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:10 AM on February 22, 2008

I used to manage dental offices. I am not and never will be a dentist.

With that in mind, infection makes the anesthetic less effective. The bigger the infection, the more pain. Delaying your root canal gives the infection time to spread from the canal into the root of the tooth. You do not want this.

No reputable dentist will give anyone a price over the phone if the doctor has not looked into your mouth and at your radiographs (xrays).
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 8:46 AM on February 21, 2008

I tell people with news that they're pregnant, "Didn't anyone tell you not to swallow that stuff?" Nobody thinks it funny but me.

When I flub something in my speech repeatedly, "Rented lips."

When correcting a spelling mistake on a blackboard or whiteboard - "Somebody get me a piece of chalk/marker that can spell."
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:56 PM on February 16, 2008

I have rosacea and dry fair skin too. At 26! My doc says wash with water (no soap, at all) and only put on my face what he tells me to. I also need to use a sunscreen. So, definitely see a doctor.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:24 PM on February 14, 2008

Is this for a research methods class? I ask because I'll suggest different questions if itznfor something else.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 4:21 PM on February 12, 2008

OK. You it sounds to me like you need two things... 1. Likert scale and 2. random sampling.

Likert scale to be used for the attitudes of people about location, price, delivery options, etc and for the opinions of people who have eaten at this place.

Random sampling because if you only talk to 20 people outside the library at noon on Tuesday you are not going to have anything representative of your schools population. You want the guys at the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:26 AM on February 14, 2008

I am a student of Anthropology/Sociology and a knitting/crochet teacher. I thought about this all through math class tonight because I didn't bring my knitting to school today. Here is the list I jotted down.

Words in license plates. My car is called Redux because the letters in the front half are RDX. I especially love the plates that people got intending to spell something.

My own long feet and seemingly longer thumbs.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:05 PM on February 12, 2008

Oh, and boobs. What what I notice is how similar to my boobs others are. Shape, size, bounce. Does her bra fit?

Now you know too much.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:07 PM on February 12, 2008

Oh, one more! I got a special Florida plate that donates to something every year. I always notice someone with the same special plate. But I also compare whether they got the plate before me, or after. If the former, I feel a special bond. If the latter, I feel a sense of superiority, because I beat them to it. (I know this makes me kind of lame.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:09 PM on February 12, 2008

I like cream team.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 11:44 PM on February 6, 2008

If I ate unlimited ice cream in the two or three days prior to my period or in the bleeding time itself, my already intense and terrible cramps would be much, much worse. In fact, dairy and meat are things I have to restrain myself around for about a week each month. I can't even begin to imagine an appropriate way to talk about this. I always want cheese on my period, but it's bad news if I do it.

Also, my cycle is 23 days, instead of 28. So might be good to get her a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 8:12 AM on February 3, 2008

Hey, I was an 11 year old girl in that situation! Except there wasn't anyone to get me out of the house. I'm in therapy now! It's pretty fucking hard!

She knows what's going on. As stated above, she has no control over her mother's behavior and please, please get yourself and the kid into counseling. Because if you keep slipping up like that, she's going to be even more screwed. I mean, really, "if you don't talk to her for long enough, she'll clean up for you kid.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 4:18 PM on January 29, 2008

Be aware that the Big Cypress Preserve is pretty far from....everything. Some friends of mine attened the big huge Phish thing there for New Years eve...1999. Traffic out after the weekend was...intense. And the most poignant story I hear from that trip is the driver trying to keep the car next to a Semi truck for the shade, because they spent hours and hours practically parked. The whole car full of people was pretty miserable, and when they got to the convenience store (seriously, there is one,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:08 PM on January 19, 2008

As a social scientist (6 credits shy of Anthropology/sociology in a combined BA), I have to suggest something that maybe you already know, but other readers here in future might find useful.

The best way to evaluate social research is to read the entire peer reviewed journal article. (This is especially true if you are reading materials from the 20's through 40's, it will help you keep some of your current "knowledge" about a topic at bay.)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 7:00 AM on January 19, 2008

When you make that granola, be sure to use old fashioned oats, not quick cooking oats.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:20 PM on January 16, 2008

A few things.
First, as my Spanish professor said, "Spanish in Miami is...different."

Second, about that transportation thing...you may not need a car, but I promise you are very very likely to want one. Don't make the decision about getting rid of your car in January. Make it in July.

Third, I go to school in Sweetwater at FIU. I live in Hollywood. I structure my life around the Turnpike because I think I-95 is mostly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 8:02 PM on December 21, 2007

How do you feel about Gig Harbor, WA? There are some water view type places to stay there. Can't think of any names off the top of my head.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 6:42 PM on December 21, 2007

Oh goodness. I was just diagnosed with Rosacea and (embarassingly) a sunburn yesterday. The doctor told me to only put things on my face that are approved by my doctor. Then he prescribed two creams and 30 days of antibiotics.

He looked at my face with a magnifying lens and told me the dry spots on my chin and cheeks are patterned in smears. The bottom half of my face is dry because I've been rubbing it. Not because anything is wrong with the skin. I just need to stop... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:35 PM on December 21, 2007

Can't offer advice on what to do. I'm 26 and at the point where I hear about women's miserable, god awful, puking every day, bed rest, gestational diabetic misery and think..."Awww, bring it. Bring me the babiiiiies." Seriously, I want a baby so badly that puking three times a day for 9 months seems like a fair place to start to get one. It's a really hard set of emotions. If you figure it out, please let us know.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:01 PM on December 21, 2007

I think the point is that there are people who just decide to have children, rather than getting ordered by their biological clock.

I'm not sure I believe there's a difference. In the end, everyone decides.

Ah. There are two things that make me disagree with this assessment. First, my grandmother hates children. Always had. Probably always will. We got along because I was just a little adult. She had open contempt for my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:29 PM on December 21, 2007

This is totally the question I should have asked! But if you want a list of glue and paste suggestions from 2 years ago, check this out.

To add a suggestion that might not help you in particular, but how about attaching paper to paper with sewing pins or something else that isn't obvious and so would be...interesting?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 3:45 PM on December 21, 2007

Roald Dahl wrote some racy books, "My Uncle Oswald" and "Willard and his Bowling Trophies" spring to mind. (He's the guy who wrote James and the Giant Peach.) Another writer that kids know is Shel Silverstein, but he also wrote some things that are not appropriate for small children. I think 16 is an ok age for some of it.

Richard Brautigan is another auther that tends toward the adult material.

These are books/authors I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:39 AM on December 4, 2007

I make granola and eat it out of hand. Bonus points because it doubles as breakfast if you stir in some yogurt and/or add fresh fruit.

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I have to get this at Whole Foods. DO NOT use the sticky sweetened stuff.)
1/2 tsp salt (This is also very important)
6 tsp maple syrup
6 tsp dark brown... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 2:11 AM on December 4, 2007

I hated extemp(oraneous) speeches in high school. I hated maintaining the boxes and boxes of files of pertinent information. I didn't enjoy getting cozy with every magazine in the library and choosing what to photocopy, and where to put it. But now, I am glad for the skills that drudgery gave me. I also sort of wish I hadn't used extemp to fill gaps in my competition schedule. (I stuck with events I was already good at.)

Here's the two tips I have. First, read a lot. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 6:21 AM on December 3, 2007

Do not eat nuts or taffy or popcorn or anything stupid until you get the filling taken care of.

This is not an emergency unless it starts to hurt. If it does, you should get a hold of the dentist as soon as you can. (Could be a cracked tooth or infection, or something else going on if there is pain.)

I am not a dentist. I will never be a dentist. This is not medical or dental advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 7:01 AM on November 22, 2007