Thanks everyone for answers. I guess some answers to direct and indirect questions:

- I am not dead-set on Mexico. I just gravitated towards it because I still need to travel inside the USA regularly, and Mexico is close enough and popular enough to make that reasonable.

- I'm not expecting you to know exactly what I want and tell me a place to go. I am just looking for everyone's experiences and opinions. So I like the suggestions so far.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:26 PM on August 7, 2008

Oh, and to answer the question about what I do... It has to do with technical training for corporations. I'm still pinching myself about it all, personally.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:13 AM on August 8, 2008

Research science. I work at a lab now. If you can get into a government lab, you're set. It's not super easy getting in, though. Bonus points for getting into one of the lesser known labs. It is very much a 9-5 that people leave behind at the end of the day, at least at this one, as well as the last one I was at (both DOE National Laboratories).
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 9:11 PM on July 27, 2008

I would definitely agree that you should hit the road. I could not imagine being with someone who had such a financial view on the world, and I did not even grow up in the same class you did.

Rather, I grew up in the "entrepreneur," or maybe, "immigrant mentality" class. On one hand my father taught me much about the value of financial independence, but also the value of never flaunting wealth. Looking back, this may have some bearing on my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:03 AM on July 24, 2008

Do you take a multivitamin? Certain brands cause certain people intense short-lived nausea.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 7:13 PM on July 20, 2008

Listen, man, I am what people consider to be "successful." I have "excelled." And yet, I sit here, and I feel the same way as you. I watch movies and get depressed that I'm not as strong or as intelligent or as quick as the characters. I read entire pages of books without even knowing what I just read, then berate myself for being an idiot.

I just watched Wallstreet, so I'm all contemplative and emotional and shit right now, but the message that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 9:52 PM on July 19, 2008

Find videos of runners. Emulate.

Resources:
www.flotrack.org
www.active.com (they now have some videos up)

If you find that you are lacking in the range of motion necessary to emulate the people you see on the videos, then you may need physical therapy. Alternatively, you can spend some hours learning physiology yourself and learn what you need to stretch and strengthen to get there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:58 PM on May 5, 2008

You should train for this beforehand. However, I don't think that there is really any way for you to realistically train for this beforehand.

With that said, here's how I would approach it. I once rode my bike around Lake Erie, did 850 miles in 8 days. So I averaged over 100 miles a day on the bike, which is probably a similar effort to what you're trying to do for what, 140 days? So what I'm going to say about that has some relevance and some things I obviously... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:12 AM on May 1, 2008

Well, firstly, I apologize for the misspelling.

I think that I've gotten a general gist of where each is applicable, and at least some anecdotal evidence to support my idea that Espanol is the more used term in the Central American region, with some exceptions.

I'm guessing that maybe Pimsleur was more focused on Argentina and Chile over the Central American region. It always boggles my mind how little attention is given to Mexico and the rest... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 10:20 AM on April 29, 2008

I think that a lot of people here are missing out on the fact that misanthropicsara is posing the hypothetical of being an admin assistant as an alternative to their current career.

It seems that a lot of people think she is just looking to "get out of the rat race" entirely and seek loads of free time while reducing personal expenses. These are fine and noble goals, but it seems to be not what she is asking.

So I have to point out... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:32 PM on April 1, 2008

As someone who is interested in the answer to this question... I have to ask politely to UrineSoakedRube why he/she does not like the Economist?

I could not find any substance in any of the links you gave. All seemed to be unsubstantiated opinions. Some of them were downright insulting in their arrogance.

I'm honestly looking for good critiques of bias here, if you've got them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 3:23 PM on March 31, 2008

I was under the impression that he was running and stopped when he was tired, ate when he was hungry, etc. That does not = running nonstop except to eat and sleep, EVEN if a reporter said that in the movie. Reporters want exciting stories.

As a runner, and after reading that it would only be 11 miles a day on average, I would say yes, it would be possible.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:24 PM on March 26, 2008

Weird, I just did a similar thing, moved from PA to another state, and I'm not getting any crazy letters and whatnot. Wonder how they got your info?
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 1:15 PM on March 24, 2008

It seems to me you either need to embed a language which can modify its own code, or you need to basically write an expression interpreter yourself. You write an engine that can handle any equation expressed within some rules, and then you store the expressions for use later.

Writing an interpreter is not hard. Parse through a string, at each point, identify the token. Is the token a value or an operator? A unary operator takes one argument, so do the requested... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 3:11 PM on March 20, 2008

Look up prefab housing... I think that I just recently saw a prefab home builder doing environmentally friendly jobs for under 100k. You might have to give up your 1500 sqft dreams though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 2:22 PM on March 7, 2008

It's easy. I recommend it. However, it's not always as cheap as you think. If you are traveling to or from the Czech Republic, find a Student Express office (bus line) because it's usually about 1/4 the price of the train and takes about the same time. The buses have attendants, movies, and bathrooms (though cramped).

I took a bus from Budapest to Bratislava, it was very nice, and a train from Bratislava to Prague. The train I thought was much more nerve wracking... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 2:01 PM on February 27, 2008

I work at a research lab right now. I don't work in the CS division, but rather as a CS person in support of another division. Most of my work is in C++, although I use Python to automate simple tasks and "glue" things together sometimes. I'm forced to work on Windows because of certain political things where I work, which causes me no end of grief when it comes to using the tools and open source things that could help me do my job.

The one thing that keeps... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 9:02 PM on October 28, 2007

I think the problem lies in the fact that there is no right way to take photographs.

So your question about teachers changing methods is not really valid, from the beginning. If there was a right way to take pictures, that's what they would teach, and photos would be uniform and therefore boring, and so bang that way isn't the right way.

So the idea is that this thirds idea makes decent photographs more often than any other... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:41 PM on September 26, 2007

I don't think understanding the history and development of human thought and reasoning (presumably the intent of a Great Books education) is mutually exclusive with understanding how to approach problems and continue your education.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 11:47 AM on May 5, 2007

Become awesome. But schedule a bit of the awesomeness in some way that forces you to become awesome.

Don't listen to any silly Americans telling you to work yourself to death. That's pretty much how we roll, and it sucks. Take time off, pick one or two things to focus on, and spend the rest of the time purposefully doing nothing.

/jealous
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:42 AM on May 2, 2007

The comment above this one may be a good reason to go with a judge. Common sense says that you did do something wrong, but the technicalities of the law (if the law is as you have stated it, and you can prove the circumstances you stated) will allow you to get off.

In either case it's really luck either way, as you can get a judge who has a hardon for punishing people who try to get off on technicalities, and you can also get a jury with the same issue.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:25 PM on April 29, 2007 marked best answer

Sorry, i meant to refer to DieHipsterDie's comment in mine. Preview eluded me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:25 PM on April 29, 2007

Muse - Take a Bow (lyrics).
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 7:32 AM on April 19, 2007

I think it's more offensive to whites than Indians. I ran into a family of Bay Mills Indians once, and after we talked for a while, they described themselves as such.

If you're worried about distracting people, stay away from it though. You're going to get some 90's style Political Correctness Nazi who has never even met an Indian up in your face eventually.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:45 PM on April 18, 2007

Take advantage of the beautiful thing that is Presque Isle. I have gone to school in Edinboro, about 25 minutes south of Erie, for four years. I wish I had gotten up to Presque Isle more often. If you like to run, walk, bike, or swim in the summer, it's a great place.

Know that winters are hellacious, but not as bad as they are where I live just to the South. Not even close, snowfall amount wise. Learn about what lake effect snow is (or don't as you won't have a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:25 PM on April 18, 2007

I have the E521 and Ubuntu works fine on mine.

HOWEVER, there was one major hiccup. I had to update the bios before usb devices would work correctly. Before I updated I fought with a random USB freeze error for weeks, posting bug reports, recompiling kernels, ahhhh the frustration. Turns out it was an outdated BIOS causing all the problem. It looks like the C521 has a similar motherboard so make sure you update that BIOS when you get it.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2007 marked best answer

Oh shoot it looks like others have that same problem as me on preview of damn dirty ape's google results. Maybe I should tell them...
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:33 PM on April 11, 2007

In short, some people will like the fact that you wear wigs. Some people won't. Don't change yourself for either group.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:15 PM on April 7, 2007

It's three years difference. And legal (double check your legal research). Everyone's being ridiculous. If things go well, fine. Don't worry about what all the prudes in here are saying, though.

My parents are 7 years apart, for goodness sake.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:41 PM on April 7, 2007

Thanks everyone! I'm quite encouraged by all the good comments about Mormons especially.

And yeah, I love to run, and cycle, so good scenery for that is fantastic. My version of good scenery right now is a few hills and the rare sunny day. I'm looking forward to the Grand Tetons as a backdrop.

I don't do a lot of the typical winter sports as it is, because I just don't have the time or money to do so right now, and the local area almost has an... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:23 PM on April 6, 2007

Forgiveness
Is the mightiest sword
Forgiveness of those you fear
Is the highest reward
When they bruise you with words
When they make you feel small
When it's hardest to take
You must do nothing at all...
-- Jane Eyre.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:27 AM on April 5, 2007

Do you really object to people being on your property, or to people stealing things or damaging things on your property.

There is a difference, and your approach to the problem should be different in each case.

Someone said you should remove or disguise things that someone might want to steal, which is a way to discourage the theft, not so much the presence on your property.

Discouraging someone's presence is covered by... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:43 PM on April 2, 2007

Second for Far Tortuga. It's hard at first to get into the style and the dialect, but when you do, you really do. It was a very surreal experience, reading that book. My only regret was that I spaced it out over a month while reading 5 or so other books, it would have been better all in one go I think.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:46 PM on March 21, 2007

Wow, that SIRC Guide to Flirting linked above was amazing. I had multiple epiphanies about why my social interactions are constantly failing while reading it.

Just want to reiterate to anyone else in here that it's worth reading, and don't let the length or the slow start scare you off.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:51 PM on March 20, 2007

Be careful here. I've cultivated a look and air about myself which has allowed me to go from age 13 to 22 without anyone ever bullying on me, even though I'm skinnier than a rail. I even have people telling me they think I could beat someone up even though if they looked at my body it would be obvious I couldn't.

But the downside to this "aura" is that people think you're mean. And not just bullies, everyone. People actually have told... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2007

most Europeans speak English
Not in my experience, especially older people.

In my experience (not extensive, two trips, 25 days, east and west europe), I met very few people who didn't.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 1:57 PM on March 3, 2007

I just want to say that I can visualize a really cool photograph coming of this, and would be interested in seeing the result. Email in profile if you're keen on sharing some low-res goodness.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 9:51 PM on March 2, 2007

Warming up will help, but probably not much for you, if you are badly out of condition. When I was in condition I used to run 3-4 miles as a "warm-up." DON'T DO THAT!

I agree with above, ice and stretch, get lots of sleep, and eat well. Eating well means eating a meal as quickly after the workout as you can containing a good amount of protein. Don't stress over the details of that. If you're a meat eater, eat some meat.

Other than... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:16 PM on February 25, 2007

She Wants Revenge - self titled album... the entire CD fits the description of repetitive driving to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 9:16 PM on February 13, 2007

I don't know how long it has been since you have been there, but when I went last March for spring break, we were a little disappointed in the night life.

Not to say you can't have a good time because we found a little dive bar called... ah I can't remember what, and we basically owned that place for a week. The bartenders were great. I'm just not sure if this relative dearth of bars was a new thing or if it was always like that. We were expecting many places and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:53 PM on February 13, 2007 marked best answer

Now I remember the bar: Whispers. Just looked it up, 2nd Av. South and Ocean Bvld.

Ah, how I love dive bars.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:56 PM on February 13, 2007

I think the original idea of the supply eventually matching the demand more equitably if rent controls were removed has several major flaws, some of which have been pointed out already.

A major one I'm thinking of is that Manhatten is an island. As in, no more space to spread outwards. In that case, the only direction you can go is up, and that is much more expensive to do than sprawl. So the incentive to make more units has to be extremely large to actually drive the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:40 PM on February 6, 2007

As much as I hate to say it, I would go with Java at this point. Partly because there are scores and scores of jobs available for it, and because Sun is making Java open-source very soon, which will only increase its viability.

However, you can't go wrong with the C family of languages (C, C++, C#). That's my area, only because that's what my school teaches. However I am glad because it got me into some operating system work that Java would never have been appropriate... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:41 PM on January 28, 2007

Oh and for the record, it's not hard to move back and forth between languages once you have one mastered. For that reason, I often recommend C as the first language to master, as it is more low level than the others. It's easier to go from lower level to higher level, IMO.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 5:45 PM on January 28, 2007

If you're worried about looking weird shaving at work, pop out at lunch to the local ::insert coffee shop/fast food joint:: and do it there.

The only people who'll think you're odd will be randoms you don't know.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:53 PM on January 17, 2007

The person asking to stay is not being rude. Rude would be showing up at your door with a suitcase.

Take the advice above and say no with no excuses. It's sad to me that we live in a society where hospitality is so little valued, but at least make it clear to her that the answer is a full on "no." Anything else would be, well, rude.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 8:44 PM on January 16, 2007

I work for a librarian who does pretty much exactly what the other person above was describing as "educational technologist."

He serves on a committee that determines how technology fee money gets spent throughout the university, he oversees a multimedia lab where students and faculty can digitize old records and edit audiovisual stuff on computers, he oversees all the computers in the library and makes sure they are working and doing their stated purpose.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 4:44 PM on January 15, 2007

What if you die in a year?

Although to reply to caddis, $10m at 5% interest (that's very modest return at that level of investment) is $500,000. If you can't retire off that, you ain't too smart.

Back to answering the OP's question....

Do you really think that 10 years of pursuing nothing but money will not change you?

Have you ever heard of anyone successfully doing what you plan to do, with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 6:59 AM on December 15, 2006

I second i_am_joe's_spleen on everything he said.

Looking ripped involves having muscle to show.

Having muscle to show involves gaining weight. Do this by compound exercises using free weights, and increasing food intake.

It is not your weight that determines how you look (and feel), it is your body fat percentage.

Congrats on losing your weight, but now you've got bigger fish to fry. It's time... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 6:03 AM on December 12, 2006

I second Moistener with dedicating yourself to a difficult cause. The key is your mindset going in. Go in looking to help, and things will eventually fall into place.

I also second his advice on upping testosterone (through natural means). Squatting heavy weight, and lifting in general, has been shown to increase testosterone, which is a primary facilitator for being in a good mood.

In the end the advice about doing something hard with no... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zhivota at 12:13 PM on December 10, 2006