meh, I doubt it. To be a good programmer, you just need a certain kind of mind. It is true that many of the people who have that kind of mind were drawn to computers early in life. However, I think there are lots of people out there with "the programmer mind," who've just never really considered doing it, for whatever reason.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:02 PM on August 5, 2008

Really depends on what you want from your drummer.

Most of the bands that I know who have had "a really difficult time finding a drummer" want their drummer to play a very specific way. In other words, they gave their drummer little-to-no artistic freedom. They wanted him/her to play a certain piece, note-for-note, beat-for-beat. I usually just tell these guys to get a drum machine.

Not saying that you're one of those bands, but it's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 8:56 PM on August 5, 2008

I think it's safe to say that Ayn Rand didn't have an ironic bone in her body.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 11:24 AM on August 4, 2008

If you don't feel comfortable going condom-less, you shouldn't do it. Furthermore, she shouldn't be asking you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Why does she care, anyway? Doesn't it make more of a difference to you, sensation-wise, than it does to her?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 6:41 AM on August 2, 2008

Cable is typically an order of magnitude faster than DSL.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:49 AM on July 30, 2008

I can do this, but only in my sleep. Typically happens when I experience sleep paralysis or hypnagogic hallucinations. Read up on sleep paralysis, and you'll find that it scares the crap out of most people, but a small percentage finds it intensely pleasurable. My guess is that the people who find it pleasurable do exactly what I do.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 7:21 PM on July 23, 2008

I do this. Except what I do is repeat a random word or phrase a few times. Usually, it will have nothing to do with the memory itself, and will be some sort of nonsequitur. Sometimes I just say it in my head, but oftentimes it slips out.

Awesome, I feel less weird now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 7:11 PM on July 23, 2008

Here's a hint - NEVER play using the Scrabble dictionary. It contains all kinds of abbreviations and words that aren't words. For example, 'za' (as in "short for pizza") is considered a word in the Scrabble dictionary. Only use a real dictionary.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:23 AM on July 22, 2008

What a terrible way to play the game.

Scrabble should be about enjoying the English language and improving your vocabulary. If you play with the scrabble dictionary, all that you're doing is proving your ability to memorize a book of fake words.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:09 PM on July 22, 2008

Besides, using a real dictionary levels the playing field. Only obsessive players use the Scrabble dictionary. If you use a real dictionary, you're erasing their unfair advantage.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:10 PM on July 22, 2008

I can't really tell if you're trolling or not

Not trolling at all. In fact, I'm answering the question.

The OP wants to impress their ladyfriend with their Scrabble skills. Obviously, they're not playing in a tournament. Which is more likely to impress a non-tournament player? Superior grasp of the English language, or words like 'za'?

A game played using a real dictionary rewards intellect above... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 4:04 PM on July 22, 2008

There's a big difference between XI and ZA. XI is a Greek letter, and can be found in most real dictionaries. ZA is slang. Even worse, it's BAD slang. So bad, that if one of my friends used it, I'd shove them.

Playfully, of course.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 5:47 PM on July 22, 2008

Yeah, bedbugs are a very specific sort of nasty. If all you've found are a couple bug bites, it could literally be anything. "looks like a bedbug bite" doesn't really mean anything - just do a google image search on bedbug bites, and you'll see that they take many different forms.

I'd say keep an eye on your bed and sheets for evidence. Check every couple days or so. If you start to see more bites, call an exterminator. Otherwise, no need to panic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:32 PM on July 20, 2008

Yeah, they're ripping you off. I just got two prints framed, and it was much, much less. Estimates vary wildly, so it pays to shop around.

For example, the first place I went to was Pearl Paints, a popular local chain. The two prints I was getting framed were large - one was 28x40, the other was 36x40. They wanted roughly $600! Mind you, this was for the simplest, most basic frame. On top of that, they said that it wouldn't be ready for 6-8 weeks!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:13 AM on July 20, 2008

What intrigues me the most about Madame Bovary is how it is at the same time a romantic novel and an indictment of romanticism. Kind of like Love in the Time of Cholera in that regard.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:38 PM on July 13, 2008

Wow, what a great thread. There are times when I really love the community, and this is one of them.

I've tried not to demonize Emma too much; in many ways, she was a product of her time. Women in early 19th-century rural France weren't allowed to pick their husbands, and I'm sure that many of them wound up in truly awful marriages. However, Emma was a terrible mother, and that's pretty hard to forgive.

In the end, I probably agree the most... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:32 PM on July 14, 2008

And I understand that. I'm more curious as to what, if any, feel the 90's is now being pre-packaged under for consumption by younger generations


I think that grunge will be the easiest to pre-package for future generations. One could argue that it came out pre-packaged. Grunge was one of the few musical movements of the 90s to have its own pseudo-ethos. It had a look. It had a "spirit." It had a cohesive musical styling.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:10 AM on July 13, 2008

Make brownies.

If you really want to get it into your body, cook it down into some oil or butter and make brownies.

Oh jesus christ 1000 times no. This is the one thing you shouldn't do. Eating moldy weed can make you very very very sick. Do you really want to take that chance?

Just throw that shit away. It's only pot. It's a renewable resource. You can always buy more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 11:20 PM on July 9, 2008

I can't believe that nobody's mentioned Ad-Aware. They're the gold-standard, last I checked.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:56 PM on July 9, 2008

Drop "not" into a question.

"Are you not hungry?"
"Do you not agree?"
"Is he not awake?"

This confuses people, because a simple "yes" or "no" could be taken either way.

This is especially troubling for people like me who work with computers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:47 PM on July 9, 2008

I would think either craftsman, inventor, or possibly a monk, depending on what kind of programmer you are.

I think that most programmers have the type of disposition that's well-suited to working out painstaking details over a long period of time. I think that any highly-involved craft work would lend itself to this kind of personality.

Lots of programmers are primarily craftspeople, but are always looking for a better way to do things. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 11:17 PM on July 4, 2008

while the city sleeps - mc 900 ft. jesus
here is where the story ends - the sundays
everybody knows - concrete blonde
i've got spies - dramarama
the church of logic, sin, and love - the men
lights are changing - the bevis frond (or mary lou lord)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 8:35 PM on July 2, 2008

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I've already been to Ikea and that I don't like their couches.

Maybe it's just me, but their couches are a bit too "deep" for comfort - like the bottom cushions are too long or something. I don't know what it is, but all their couches seem to have it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 11:55 AM on July 1, 2008

Also, I've heard that there's a big warehouse-y furniture store in DUMBO that isn't West Elm. One of the guys I work with was telling me about it, but he couldn't remember what it was called. Anybody here know what he was talking about?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 7:54 PM on July 1, 2008

I was going to give a similar answer to briank. When I was a very young child, my hair was close to platinum blonde. Now, it's closer to what my hairdresser refers to as "light ash brown." In otherwords, barely blonde if at all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 8:23 PM on June 23, 2008

First off, I wanted to thank you all for your responses thus far. You've been a lot of help, and please keep the recipes coming.

Secondly, I'd like to make a minor clarification - under "dietary requirement," I listed "non-vegetarian" as one of my bullet points. Just to clarify, I'm looking for vegetarian AND non-vegetarian recipes. In the bullet point, I was stating that I, myself, am not a vegetarian.

I figure that most... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 4:04 PM on June 18, 2008

Yeah, $650 sounds like a lot.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 8:39 PM on June 3, 2008

Hey all,

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I wound up going with this guy that one of my friends recommended. Moving day is tomorrow, so if the guy is any good, I'll post back to the thread and give y'all his info.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 10:35 PM on June 6, 2008

War and Peace
Gravity's Rainbow
Don Quixote
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:02 PM on May 22, 2008

Don't use ASP under any circumstances. It's terrible, awful, no-good, and very bad. Which is to say that it's your typical scripting language, rife with #include directives, lacking type safety or meaningful OOP, and featuring some blatantly absurdist syntax rules. (functions vs. subroutines, anybody?)

However, ASP .NET is pretty goddamn awesome. The whole MS stack works together seamlessly, and the API is like an infinite backpack that just happens to have library... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:04 PM on May 18, 2008

(and, yes, if you are coding in .NET, it is a bad idea to refer to it as ASP, as you will confuse anybody who's familiar with the technology)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:05 PM on May 18, 2008

Bah. Don't get bogged down by that "kid with potential" crap. They just told you that because you were a bit smarter than the other kids around you. Had that not been true, you would have been "the future athlete" or "the future star" or or something else. Grownups have to tell you things like that to encourage you to do your best.

I wouldn't sweat it, though - the people made you "the kid with potential" are proud of you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:35 PM on May 18, 2008

Buddhism?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 1:46 PM on May 5, 2008

My "most beautiful place" so far is the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

I recommend Shi Shi Beach.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:26 PM on April 29, 2008

Selling bootlegs is kinda unethical. You should digitize it and give it away for free.

Somewhere along the line, someone is going to buy it and then put it on the internet for free. And they will DRINK. YOUR. MILKSHAKE.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:23 PM on April 29, 2008

"How do we get the damn space ship off the ground?"
"How about a nuclear reactor."
"Nah, too risky."
"What about 1000 hamsters in 1000 wheels?"
"Nah, too cute."
"Solar panels?"
"Will burn up in the outer atmosphere. Any other bright ideas?"
"There's rockets."
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:19 PM on April 29, 2008 marked best answer

Bad tippers suck, and they make dining awkward.

I tip a flat 20% at all times. I had a roommate who would only tip 15%. Pain in the ass. Even had this stupid little wallet card he'd look at because apparently calculating 15% was too much for his little brain to handle. And I guess that $1 - $2 he was saving by giving a crappy tip really meant a lot to him.

So yeah, I always did what pedmands suggested and threw in the difference. It was... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 1:27 PM on April 28, 2008

Itching that just won't fucking go away. Especially at night.

Anyway, the easiest way to deal with this situation is to just have someone make like the Beastie Boys and "check your head." Seriously - you don't even need to go to a dermatologist to do it. Any doctor could do it. Or hell, you could even do it yourself. Run a fine-toothed comb through your hair, very close to the scalp. You'll see the little fuckers and their eggs on the comb. They're not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 7:47 AM on April 26, 2008

However, you can keep lice at bay really easily with tea tree oil shampoo.

Tea Tree oil can make little boys grow boobs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 1:19 PM on April 28, 2008

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 1:10 PM on April 26, 2008

Also, The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 1:16 PM on April 26, 2008

Nothing is more important than your everyday enjoyment of life. Lots of people have "exciting" jobs and are totally miserable. So you can count yourself among the lucky few who get to make good money doing something they enjoy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 7:59 AM on April 26, 2008

Fuck the third date rule. Do what you feel comfortable with. Uncomfortable sex = bad sex.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:31 PM on April 15, 2008

Check out my previous question on the subject.

In the end, I settled on a Cowon D2, which I've been rather happy with (except for when it broke and I had to send it back for a replacement)

But yeah, nobody should have to use ITunes or Windows Media Player. Fortunately, most MP3 players that aren't completely retarded let you copy stuff over as if it were a USB drive. Look for a player that features MSC functionality. If it only supports MTP... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:13 PM on April 6, 2008

William Collins, from Pride and Prejudice
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:04 PM on April 6, 2008

This is my approach to SEO :

All the gimmicky shit that people try to tell you to do - like keyword density and things like that - is bullshit and should be avoided. In some ways, it's like an arms race. The SEO folks come up with something, the search engine people invalidate the tactic, the SEO people come up with something new, etc. It's a vicious circle, and there's no winning.

HOWEVER, there is a very clear way to make your site more... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:17 AM on March 23, 2008 marked best answer

(on post, what jacquilynne said)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:18 AM on March 23, 2008

(oh, and I should have mentioned, I do have less than $100K in my savings account)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 12:28 PM on March 20, 2008

Thank you all for the help. This thread went very well, and you gave me some good advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 5:56 AM on March 21, 2008

Hmmm. What you basically want is a simple calculator. All the math that you want to do is more-or-less simple algebra, right? Stuff that even a cheap graphing calculator would have.

I don't know much about the Java community, but perhaps there's some sort of 3rd party calculator library that you can leverage. I'm sure that enough people have needed something like this to where somebody's done it before. If nothing else, I'm sure you could find a good algorithm for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Afroblanco at 9:32 PM on March 20, 2008