I'm not sure exactly how far it is from Hot Springs, but Eureka Springs is a really neat place.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:46 PM on May 28, 2008

Nevermind, I went and looked at a map and Eureka Springs is significantly further away from Hot Springs than I thought. Still a neat place though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:52 PM on May 28, 2008

If you are looking at hikes in Cades Cove, I would recommend the hike to Gregory Bald. It is a very unique location.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2008

Off the top of my head:

- OS X includes Apache, PHP, Rails, and other web technologies pre-installed, which is nice.
- You can run Windows with Boot Camp or in Parallels for testing sites on Windows browsers.
- TextMate and Coda are my coding applications of choice, both of which are Mac only.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 1:54 PM on May 8, 2008

If you are on a Mac, try Delicious Library. You can use your iSight camera to scan bar codes with it, and it will grab all the metadata automatically from the web. It is much faster than manually typing in the ISBN. You can export the library to a tab-delimited text file that will work in Excel. Also, it is delicious.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:24 PM on March 17, 2008

I know that design is a lot easier when you are your own client and you have freedom to do what you want. But to be truly successful you need to learn how to deal with clients. I *know* how frustrating this can be. But you can't control other people. In my opinion, an attitude adjustment on your part would make you better. Instead of looking at the clients as your enemies, just view them as a part of the challenge of the job. Every time they provide feedback that requires changing your design,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:35 AM on March 14, 2008

No real suggestions, other than to say that surely there are some Kossacks for Hillary over at dailykos.com

*Some* would be the operative word there. Last I saw of the dailykos straw polls at the end of January she was polling at 11% vs Obama's 76%.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 8:46 PM on March 13, 2008

Draft skills, not roles. Roles can change at any time on a manager's whim, and skills usually win out.

The most valuable stat to look at for both hitters and pitchers is, in my opinion, strikeout rate vs walk rate. For a pitcher, this is called a Command ratio, for a hitter it is called Batting Eye.

For a hitter, a healthy Batting Eye ratio (>.50) is not alone enough to make them valuable, they also need power and/or speed.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:03 PM on March 13, 2008

All I know is that the fear of this type of mistake happening is why I never deposit money via ATM. Once during a withdrawal, the ATM failed to dispense any money although it thought it did and spit out a receipt showing the withdrawal. I promptly visited my credit union and they took my word for it and gave me the $20. I would expect that your bank will take your word for it as well. If not, I would switch banks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 1:57 PM on March 4, 2008

Cloverfield takes its name from the fictional code name of the incident that occurs in the movie. Most movies probably derive their title from a central event, character, location, or theme of the movie. So, I don't think Cloverfield is a notable exception. In the same category could be many other movies like Million Dollar Baby, Braveheart, or Seabiscuit. These titles do not directly reveal anything about the plot of the movie either.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2008

I don't know if it is what you are looking for since it is not as advanced technically as the book you are talking about, but if your goal is to simply learn how to effectively develop your photos in Photoshop, a good starting point might be Scott Kelby's book 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3. But before you buy, you can listen to him talk about it on The Digital Photography Show Episode 74.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 6:39 PM on January 29, 2008

Yeah, this is what the RSS photocasting feature of iPhoto is for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:10 AM on January 16, 2008

Assuming your iMac came with Leopard, buy an external hard drive to use as your Time Machine drive. Backups are imperative and with Time Machine, they are automatic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:12 AM on December 17, 2007

As mentioned previously, Illustrator does have some simple but effective charting capabilities. I really think that is your best bet.

Another good option is Keynote from Apple's iWork suite (Numbers may also have the same capabilites, I haven't checked that out). Sometimes I use Keynote to generate graphs and then import them into Illustrator for some further tweaking, but Keynote alone can quickly create very attractive results.

I think the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 4:51 PM on December 13, 2007

What is your budget?
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 11:53 AM on December 12, 2007

The first thing I thought of (which is why I asked about budget) would be autographed or game-used items. You can buy Brewers autographed baseballs from MLB.com's shop. They are pricey, but sure to be authentic.

Another idea, as has been mentioned, would be the throwback hat or jersey. If he already has the "glove" style logo hat, a more obscure historical Brewers hat is also available at the MLB shop. I would browse around for something there, they have tons... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:05 PM on December 12, 2007

I'm trying to understand why you maintain your own separate list rather than just use the master list. Are you saying that the master list is in Excel format and your local copy is in a different format (is it an InDesign document?)?
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:26 AM on December 12, 2007

I think the most important thing is to make sure the ornament is in sharp focus. Like tocts said, use the macro mode. Also, a tripod would help (although I don't know if your camera is tripod-mountable, if not maybe rest it on something if you can). After you take the picture, when you review it on the LCD screen of the camera, zoom all the way in to confirm that the ornament is in sharp focus.

It looks like you are taking the pictures outdoors, which may or may not be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 9:21 AM on December 5, 2007

I would look into splitting the collection into multiple libraries, especially if there is some clear distinction that could be made. For example, have one library for classical music only. When you hold down the option key when launching iTunes, you can select which library to launch.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 6:46 AM on September 13, 2007

If they take the route suggested by holgate and solipsophistocracy, it wil take them right by the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC.

If they have some free time in Asheville (like all day ideally), THE thing to see is the Biltmore Estate. Admission is pricey, but I would suggest it is a must see.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 11:10 AM on July 18, 2007

The problem with accessing GMail through a desktop client like Thunderbird is that it is only a POP account, which means it only downloads the messages, there is no synchronization.

Some of us forward all of our GMail to another IMAP mail account in order to emulate this functionality. Instructions here and here. The second link talks about tagging the mail too.

(The only issue with this method is that your sent mail doesn't show up as sent on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:43 AM on July 13, 2007

If you are planning on running Photoshop and InDesign to do real work on a regular basis, I recommend maxing out the RAM. If the CS work is only casual, then you might be able to get by.

In general, maxing out a computer's RAM is always worthwhile. It definitely does make a bigger difference than the bump in processor speed would. But that is also something that can be added later on down the road.

CS2 on Intel Mac was not pleasant. I have a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 10:51 AM on July 5, 2007

I think you should give Path Finder a try. It won't change the Save dialog, but it as a Finder replacement it is vastly superior in many ways.

For the Save dialog, Default Folder is helpful. What I like about it is that in the dialog, you can click in the area of any Finder (or Path Finder) windows in the background and the Save dialog will update to that location.

These apps are around $35 each I think. I really don't understand your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:41 AM on July 3, 2007

There was an article in WIRED about this: This is Not a Test
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 8:31 AM on June 27, 2007

Paragon, thanks for the heads up. We don't want to be too cautious, but at the same time, we obviously want to minimize any potential controversy that might be caused by her book club. It seems like parents take offense at quite a lot of things these days. So, the first book of the series is "safer" in this regard?
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 5:39 PM on June 12, 2007

Wow, thanks for all the input. This is the original poster's wife, and I really appreciate all the book suggestions and the advice about the club. We are actually smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, but I'd still like to consider The Golden Compass, especially since the movie coming in December ups the chances that more people will be excited about it. I'll have to see what my boss thinks. I actually work for the library, so the club will be library-sponsored. That is one reason I want to be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 8:12 PM on June 12, 2007

I don't know if anyone is still reading, but again, thanks for the suggestions. I have a lot of material to consider now. I had forgotten about the librarian in Discworld, Grangousier! Isn't he an orangutan, though? I'm sure everyone would get a big kick out of that!

Thanks guys!
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:02 AM on June 14, 2007

Oops. Forgot to mention in the last comment that it was daser's wife, not daser.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:07 AM on June 14, 2007

Another one: Waltograph
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 1:40 PM on May 31, 2007

In this case, I'd say hold the baby if that is what he needs, or else keep trying new things (have you tried one of those doorway bouncers or an exersaucer? My baby doesn't like to sit down either, she likes to be play in things that allow her to stand up/jump/etc.) I would be willing to bet that this behavior will go away sooner than you expect. By next week, he might be over it. I remember thinking that my daughter would never be able to sleep at night without being swaddled and then all of a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 7:22 AM on May 22, 2007

allthingsfixable, I'm guessing because there aren't very many illustration jobs, most illustrators work as freelancers.


apipameme, you say that you already have the technical skills and the software knowledge. That is most of what you need. Just don't think of graphic design as Art. Graphic design is a craft, and I mean that in the highest sense of the word. I think the technical skills are the basis of the work. But of course, you also need to know how to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 2:09 PM on May 9, 2007

You can try it, but I don't know if the flipping the coin trick is valid. My guess is that if it lands heads, you'll notice a slight feeling of disappointment that it didn't land tails, and vice versa. If both options are truly attractive to you, just the act of making the choice (eliminating one of them) will create a bit of regret.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 9:21 AM on April 25, 2007

I use DeltaGraph by Red Rock Software for advanced graphing and charting (like the kind that would use curve-fitting for example) and then take the results into Adobe Illustrator for additional tweaking. For simple line graphs and such, Apple's Keynote can create graphs from data sets is a fast way to get attractive results.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:18 PM on April 12, 2007

I saw Imogen Heap at an outdoor performance one night last summer. There was a storm approaching and she was so nervous about all of her equipment getting rained on that she had to end the show early. To her credit, she played for as long as possible even after it started to sprinkle. She was great. It was just funny because you could tell that she was so worried the whole time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2007

You have one thing that you can use to your advantage - that the 5th speaker wasn't installed. Unless it would be easy to replace that one speaker alone without buying new set, I think this puts you in a strong bargaining position. Tell them you'll install a new system (at a cost of your choosing) or give them some money towards the cost of a new system, but you will not give them the complete BOSE system.

In my opinion, a GOOD realtor is one that makes all terms of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 11:57 AM on February 2, 2007

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. If it were me I'd try to get the Pro if I could afford it, mainly because of the larger screen. But, if you are looking to save money it might be better spent on additional RAM.

I'd say just go to the Apple Store and test each model. You should be able to decide for yourself.

As for coding software, definitely try TextMate. I really like it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 12:23 PM on September 8, 2006

Adobe CS2 will be almost all he needs for graphic design. I can't really imagine doing a lot of graphic design on a laptop, but I guess that is just me. I do all my work on a desktop machine.

Some applications that I find necessary and good (not all graphic design related) that have not yet been mentioned:

TextMate (text editing for web development - I used BBEdit for years but switched to TextMate recently and I love it)
Transmit FTP... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 1:17 PM on August 18, 2006

I would reccommend at least 600dpi. Try it and see if the file sizes are too large, but I don't think they will be. For one thing, most old photos are small, so I think you will want as much resolution as possible. And while 300dpi is the standard for print-quality photos, in my experience with consumer scanners I suspect they greatly exaggerate their dpi settings. Maybe it is just my scanner, but I am not as satisfied with the results when I scan at 300dpi. Also, old photos can be digitally... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by daser at 1:12 PM on August 17, 2006