Jonathan Lethem: start with Motherless Brooklyn or Fortress of Solitude. His most recent, You Don't Love Me Yet, is lighter and imho not as good as the other two I mentioned, but perhaps good for a summer read.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:50 AM on July 17, 2008

Unfortunately most of the interesting stuff is either much closer to Ithaca than Rochester, or quite a ways west of Ithaca past Keuka Lake. I agree Letchworth (while pretty cool) is a bit far for a day trip from Ithaca.

There's the Sonneburg Gardens near Canadauga, though it charges admission and would be more of a scenic stroll than a hike-hike. There's also the glen in Watkins Glen, which is a cool hike, though might be a little longer drive from Rochester than Ithaca.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 12:25 PM on July 15, 2008

Robert L Forward's _Dragon's Egg_ is set on the surface of a neutron star.

Someone mentioned Hal Clement's Mesklin - his Abyormen in _Cycle of Fire_ is also detailed and unusual. Clement in general was very good at unusual world-building, so you'll probably find something of interest in any of his books.

Greg Bear's Lamarckia (in _Legacy_) has a very unusual ecology.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:07 AM on July 12, 2008

If you've got one of the great pet urine-odor cleaners like "Anti Ickypoo" on hand, you might try that, but they would be more expensive to go out and buy than a new cat pan. most deodorizers like Lysol and scented house cleaning fluids are likely to simply add their own cloying smell to the peppermint, unfortunately.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:54 AM on July 12, 2008

You might google "cosmology" and start reading interesting stuff that comes up. For example the Wiki pages on cosmology and creation myths might be a place to put your toes in the water before jumping in.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:51 AM on July 12, 2008

Font tags, generally speaking, are considered deprecated, if that's where you were trying to look. If the page uses CSS, find the url of the stylesheet file in the page source and open that. Look for it inside a "link" tag, in the head of the page code, with attribute rel="stylesheet".

If the page uses Flash or lots of images for its text, however, you're out of luck. Sometimes something like whatthefont.com can help with fonts in images but not always.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:06 PM on July 7, 2008

As a sidenote, don't be surprised if they stop doing this at some point. Many drug stores and grocery stores that have been very lax about having a "store card" at the register or about letting cashiers give discounts on their own cards have been cracking down on this practice, one assumes for two reasons -- corporate wants rewards only to go to those who really "earn" them so as not to dilute the brand value of the card, and they want their purchasing / marketing stats not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:50 PM on July 3, 2008 marked best answer

Oh, and for the personal tip portion of my comment: I keep all those annoying store discount cards (CVS, Rite Aid, supermarkets, PetSmart, etc.) in an Altoids tin in my car or bookbag, so that they're all together and available (assuming I have driven or have my bookbag with me). I had to get them out of my wallet before I turned into George Costanza in that Seinfeld ep with the wallet that was giving him back problems.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:53 PM on July 3, 2008

EmpressC: I am not sure when you had that issue, but I am pretty sure it's not a problem in Gmail now (or for the last several years I have had my account). Mail goes to my Gmail account whether it's first.last@gmail.com or firstlast@gmail.com - Gmail considers them functionally equivalent, ignoring the periods. Because of this, new users cannot (or at least are not supposed to be able to) sign up for an account that is functionally the same (i.e. sans dots) as an existing one, which ought to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 12:52 PM on July 1, 2008

It could take time, but you might have to create a new ritual for yourself. For me, walks work best to help me ruminate, but it's different for different folks. I've never smoked, but sometimes other oral activities have helped friends who are former smokers -- brew and drink some tea, chew gum, eat carrot sticks/celery. Some work out, take a shower or bath, or they have a particular piece of music they listen to (classical or jazz pieces seem most often mention in my anecdotal experience) that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:15 AM on June 10, 2008

Often deer and other animals are clipped by cars and trucks, which is enough to fatally injure them but does not mutilate them, and either have enough momentum or panicked strength left to limp or drag themselves out of the line of traffic, or are flung a small distance by the force of the impact. They then die of massive internal bleeding -- hence the lack of blood -- and other internal trauma, along the shoulder or in the highway median.

Also note that the plural of deer is deer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 2:03 PM on June 9, 2008

I have heard people say that Yeats and Auden both ruined a lot of their work through excessive/obsessive revisions, but I'm afraid I can't offer specific examples from either poet's body of work.

Leaves of Grass is, of course, the classic example in poetry of obsessive re-writing over a long period of time -- though opinions differ greatly on whether the "originals" are better than the later versions of the work or vice-versa.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:37 AM on June 5, 2008

Yes, the moral of the story, which is probably hard for kids of the digital age even to imagine, is that those of us who worked in libraries in the pre-microcomputer, pre-barcode olden days did a heck of a lot of filing, indexing, sorting, and shuffling of pieces of paper.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:53 AM on May 24, 2008

Boy, these threads really do turn into "I will plug my favorite author regardless of the tastes expressed by the poster" don't they?

Anyhow, based on the datapoints of early Paul Auster and Murakami, and Flann O'Brien, I would certainly second the David Mitchell recommendations. You might also try the rest of Auster's books (don't read his most recent, Travels in the Scriptorium, unless he becomes one of your favorite authors, however).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:46 AM on May 24, 2008

I have a closet full of Van Heusen business casual shirts that I can hang up right out of the dryer and never need to iron (it's the line that says "Wrinkle Free" on the tag). I can often take them out of a suitcase on a trip and hang them up without ironing too. (Their shirts with higher % natural fiber are nice too but usually require ironing and are not as stain resistant.) Also, I second the Van Heusen outlet rec for the savings factor and the ability to see a shirt in person... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 11:34 AM on May 21, 2008

(IANAL) Assuming the departed employee signed a non-disclosure agreement when he or she came to work for your company, it seems that, if you have evidence on the employee's workstation that he or she improperly sent/kept proprietary information, then the proper avenue would be to pursue it legally through your company's lawyers contacting the former employee or his/her lawyer. If your company doesn't have a non-disclosure agreement, then you might not have any (legal) course to pursue. Almost... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:52 AM on May 19, 2008

Make a great red enchilada sauce from the guajillo chiles -- by a long but ultimately fulfilling process of toasting, soaking, roasting, pureeing, and straining them. This is a pretty good page I just searched up with a method that approximates what we have done with various chiles to make great sauces. But then once you have the sauce it's pretty easy to wrap up some chicken, onions, and cheese in tortillas and bake them to deliciousness with the red sauce. (I am not sure I would go so far as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:09 AM on May 13, 2008 marked best answer

Also, in addition to the worms that vorfeed mentions, if you decide to store some long term and don't keep them dry you can also lose them to mold, which is just as annoying (if not quite as gross).
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:19 AM on May 13, 2008

Two years, and three-day notice -- seems like the moment may have passed. But if you're extremely self-confident and don't mind talking your way through awkward situations, you might have an outside chance of getting the offer renewed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:47 AM on May 13, 2008

Be sure whenever you resize an image in Photoshop that you are in RGB or CMYK mode. (You can tell via the menu Image > Mode.) If it's Indexed (which it usually is when you start with a GIF) then you should change it to RGB before resizing. Resizing in a restricted palette with do awful things to the details of your image.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:37 PM on May 9, 2008

If the tea is caffeinated, you might try switching to decaf or herbal tea.

In terms of practices, I've found meditation and tai chi / chi gung both to be calming, and to have a measurable effect on lowering my blood pressure over a short time. Plain old deep breathing is like meditation but without a focus, so if you find some calming image or idea to focus on when doing your slow deep breaths, it might be more effective.

I also have been a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:47 PM on May 7, 2008

In sixth grade we had a model community in which people got to choose various roles (mayor, newspaper editor, banker, doctors, etc.) and there was an invented currency and some sporadic non-realistic commerce. (I was the newspaper editor; ah, the smell of mimeo fluid!) Nothing of practical use, however, particularly not in any classes I took in jr high or high school. I wonder if the assumption (generally mistaken, I would think) was that if you could do trig and calculus you could balance a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:24 AM on April 28, 2008

SNPP is probably wrong if they attribute it to Hamlet. Shakespeare would have been more likely to use "watch" as a noun (as in "stand the watch") than as a verb. Likely it's just some mock-Shakespeare cooked up by the show's writers. If you want to dig around with word and phrase searching in Shakespeare, see
http://www.rhymezone.com/shakespeare/
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:14 AM on April 28, 2008

Along the lines of what acoutu said: Besides the higher salary requirement, are you otherwise "overqualified" for the position (is it a compromise from what you really want to be doing)? If so, they can probably tell from the interview.

I think there is a common fear that a prospective hire who wants more money and has extra skills (but presumably is willing to settle for an immediate job to pay the bills) means dealing with someone who will probably soon... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:30 AM on April 18, 2008

Maybe you need to calm down and think in a bit more balanced way about things you can do that might make the kind of difference that would matter to you? I wonder if this sort of crisis is a function of age: some people get to a certain twenty-something point and have an "oh shit" moment when they realize how fucked up the world is. Of course, the world has always been and probably always will be fucked up and seemingly on the verge of apocalypse, but sometimes people start noticing... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 12:30 PM on April 16, 2008 marked best answer

- cooking; cooking with gas
- jammin'; rocking and rolling
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 11:46 AM on April 16, 2008

If you're going to be sitting in the front seat, or yikes, driving, definitely don't carry the cat in your lap, for the same air-bag-danger-related reasons small children are relegated to the back seat. Put blankets or old flannel shirts or towels that smell like you in the bottom of the carrier. Don't forget to stop often to let your cat drink water and use litter.

I second the soothing music option -- that has worked for a couple of my cats over the years (though... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:26 AM on April 15, 2008

Given the four authors you originally cited, I would strongly suggest Jonathan Lethem, David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten), Geoff Ryman (particularly Was, Air, 334, and The Child Garden), Maureen McHugh's China Mountain Zhang, Christopher Priest (maybe start with The Extremes, or The Prestige), Haruki Murakami (start with Hard-Boiled Wonderland..., or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), and Steve Erickson (not to be confused with fantasy writer Stephen Erikson; start with Arc d'X or Days... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:48 AM on April 14, 2008 marked best answer

I assume you're talking about tipping valets and bellhops. It's just a matter of being prepared -- don't wait until the valet has gotten out of your car and is walking toward you before starting frantically to fumble for your wallet, but have the bill(s) ready beforehand in your pocket folded in half -- and doing it a few times to get comfortable (everything gets easier with practice).

It's not a big deal, really, other than when you're on vacation or in a situation... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:36 AM on April 7, 2008

Before you get too worked up, I should mention here that I've been summoned 3 or 4 times over the last 20 years for jury duty, and have never actually ended up having to serve on one yet (a lot of trials get postponed or plea bargained at the last minute, it seems). But as others have said, if you do make it to the interview stage of a trial and say the sorts of things you have said in this post, you'll probably be dismissed since you are upfront about your prejudices and don't agree with some... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:26 PM on April 3, 2008

The problem with some of the solutions above is that it suggests that the debt collector has a relationship with me. They don't. They only have a relationship with my phone number. Why on earth would I seek validation of a debt on behalf of some deadbeat who does owe the debt and is using my number?

I didn't get the impression anyone here thinks that, but the blockheads at the collection agency will assume the worst, and act as if you are lying on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 12:39 PM on April 2, 2008

So they're jerks. Are you saying they will be the only jerks at this family event? (If so, you are luckier in relatives than most of us.)

Call me naive, but I think you should take the high road. If there is to be unpleasantness about the event, don't be the one who initiated it. If others need to initiate unpleasantness, don't stoop to their level and retaliate. You'll be a better and ultimately happier person for it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:27 AM on April 2, 2008

Indian and Thai food is essential for me during periods when I eat vegetarian and crave variety. Some of my favorite cookbooks are Maddhur Jaffrey's World of the East (she might have some other veg Indian cookbooks as well), Julie Sahni's classic, Thai Vegetarian Cooking, Real Vegetarian Thai, and don't forget delicious Middle Eastern dishes like tabouli, hummus, baba ganouj, and felafels, all of which are pretty easy to make once you buy a few of the basic ingredients (don't be scared of spices!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:11 AM on March 26, 2008

As for all the writers listed - as Lore said, most writers have had some kind of day job or alternative career to make money -- this is certainly true of those I have known -- so none of those cites are surprising. (I imagine the same thing can be said for most actors before they hit it big.)

That said, poets William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens were a physician and insurance executive respectively. T.S. Eliot worked for many years at Lloyds Bank in London, and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:23 AM on March 24, 2008

It sounds like both Mike and you were unrealistic about what the break-up would mean for him emotionally. It sucks like almost nothing else in adult life to have someone divorce you and take up with someone else, no matter how much they try to play the "it's not you it's me" schtick. If you really want to "be there" for him you might need to cool it with Melanie and her super-groovy new dude for a while. (And that "for a while" might last quite a while.) Also, you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:33 AM on March 17, 2008

You are entitled to check your credit rating once a year for free, and you should do so (the "official" site is https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp). Perhaps the damage isn't as bad as you feared (one can hope). I'm sure many people have said it, but always try to make those minimums on the CCs no matter what. In addition to this, it's always good to be on top of the credit report since the reporting agencies are very sloppy even when you're in good financial shape. Every... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 6:40 AM on March 17, 2008

Most of us like chili, yes, but bear in mind the spices don't agree with everyone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 12:01 PM on March 6, 2008

In addition to the Windows indexing and antivirus scanning, which are both very good suggestions, look for crapware utilities that might have been installed for peripherals (printers, cameras, scanners, etc.) spend a lot of system resources looking for their appointed peripheral. (I had a Microtek memory resident scanner utility once that crippled my desktop computer if the scanner was not powered on.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:27 AM on March 6, 2008

I think this question, which pops up every few months here, merits a bit more thought than the common response, "X [often Dune or some Heinlein or Niven title] is a classic of the genre, make her read that."

Author and critic Samuel Delany has written a lot on what the difference -- in style and construction, not just the "rockets and spaceships" technophilia content angle -- between mainstream and science fiction, even when the latter is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 7:32 AM on March 4, 2008

Leon's mention of Ian McDonald reminds me that McDonald's two recent novels, River of Gods and Brasyl, might also fit the bill. With the same caveat I gave before that some people might not like sf no matter how well it's written, etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:26 AM on March 4, 2008

Do you have ventilation ducts, gaps in the wall, storm windows that make an air space between inner and outer windows, etc. where they could be coming from? Also, HVAC units can collect moisure inside, so perhaps that's where they are coming from.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:16 AM on March 4, 2008

Read the labels carefully to be sure it's actually pseudoephedrine, and not just something else under the Sudafed brand name (on Preview, yes, as others have said). Note that the Nyquils you can buy OTC these days also have a decongestant that is not pseudoephedrine as well.

Boy, did I have to jump through hoops to buy the real thing last time (upstate NY, a month or two ago), show ID, sign a special form, pay for it as a separate transaction than my other purchases.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:12 AM on March 4, 2008

I was just in Vegas and I have a few probably idiosyncratic quick tips: 1) Be very aware that things on the Strip will be much farther apart than you think they will be. Each of those "blocks" on the handy maps you come across are like 1/4 mi. long - it's a huge place. 2) I can recommend the breakfast buffet at Main Street Station casino downtown, if you find yourself near there. 3) If you're a geeky type who wants to go to Star Trek Experience at the Hilton (it was great fun), get... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:47 AM on March 3, 2008

If the cat used to leave them alone all night, and now wakes them at 4am, something somewhere has changed. If not a subtle health problem -- and this could be anything from constipation to a urinary tract infection (is the cat eating, peeing or pooping more, or less?) to a mild upper respiratory infection -- then it could be something external. They should think hard about whether they have changed anything in the cat's environment -- litter brand, food brand, is water dish always full, have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 11:33 AM on February 15, 2008

I honestly don't want to be a buzzkill here but consider carefully that -- particularly if you are in a visibly good relationship yourself -- if you give "consolation prize" flowers to your single women friends, it might hurt some of their feelings by highlighting their lack of a partner who would otherwise give them this gift. It sounds like you sincerely mean well, but it's dangerously easy to be inadvertently condescending in situations like this, and Valentine's Day is already an... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:22 AM on February 14, 2008

Not sure about Dallas, but most communities have "senior center" organizations that offer everything from crafts and computer lessons to travel slideshows and low-stress dancing. You might see if there's something like that in his area for him to consider. Taking a class or two might be a low-profile, limited-commitment thing that would get him meeting people.

That said, a month really is not very far into the grieving process, particularly for the loss of a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:10 AM on February 14, 2008

I wouldn't worry too much. Tell Mrs Writer to just relax, dress casual, and have a good time.

As Durhey suggests, if you're not used to rock concerts, get a couple pairs of earplugs in case the volume gets to you. But it's hard to imagine a less threatening fan base than the folks at a TMBG show. (Maybe Todd Rundgren fans would be as nerdy and friendly as TMBG fans.) Anyhow, there'll probably be people dressed oddly and almost certainly be people singing along with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 1:12 PM on February 13, 2008

Older generation:
- Ursula LeGuin (many classics like The Dispossed and Left Hand of Darkness; still prolific)
- Joanna Russ (70s angry feminist, brilliant but controversial; Female Man in particular)
- James Tiptree Jr (real name Alice Sheldon; many brilliant short stories)
- Kate Wilhelm (mostly I remember Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang)
- when I was young Andre Norton and Madeline l'Engle's books were important to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:30 AM on February 8, 2008

Can't belive nobody mentioned Children of men by P D James.
posted by ilike at 10:07 AM on February 8

I think there's a lot of backlash among regular sf readers against mainstream dabblers like Atwood and James. (Personally, I do think Marge Piercy and Doris Lessing have made better efforts at writing sf than either Atwood or PD James.) It doesn't help when Atwood and James (in particular) disparage sf in interviews and say their... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 9:37 AM on February 8, 2008

I would talk to a doctor about it. Does it feel like a surface muscle, or something deeper inside?

If deeper, well, as another data point differing from Shaarog, my diverticulitis pain usually is much worse when pressure is applied, and is closer to the left hipbone than navel. Have you been eating irritating / injurious foods, like tortilla or potato chips with sharp edges, or nuts not chewed sufficiently, particularly in combination with spicy or irritating foods?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aught at 8:38 AM on February 8, 2008