Probably the best bet is to force yourself to depend upon it.

But then again, I've always loved wristwatches.

Whatever you've gotten into the habit of using to check the time, try to catch yourself when you do so, and then check your wristwatch anyway. Try to convince yourself that all other references for what time it is are unreliable in comparison to your watch, which is now a part of your body which keeps time. Be careful in picking out... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:54 PM on September 19, 2008 marked best answer

First off: I feel ya.

I built my life plan around a woman whom I was planning to marry, and went to law school so that I could have some financial stability. Sad to say, that law school ended up being in D.C., while my beloved was in NY, and the distance (plus the strain of my workload) killed things for us. We are still friendly, thank God, and I understood why it was for the best almost immediately, which most likely make my situation a little better than yours.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:26 PM on September 17, 2008 marked best answer

I would anti-second Dave Eggers if I could (self-important, self-aggrandizing boring and boorish literary masturbation for people to name-drop so that they can seem hip) but I know that my taste isn't everyone else's, so even though I hate it with the passion of a thousand suns, and for very good reason, you might enjoy it. Who knows.

CNF is by far the genre I'm most addicted to - which might have some relevance into why I spend so much time on Metafilter, so just know... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:18 PM on September 14, 2008

Thank you all again, and I understand that the world isn't going to end, and that if it did (1/∞ chance) it would happen in a way in which we wouldn't even notice it happening, so what's the point of worrying about it.

I'm just looking for a way to explain (a) why this might possibly create mini-black holes; and (b) why they would be physically unstable. In kinda-sorta layman's terms, but for people who I know are smart enough to understand it if it's explained to them.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 8:13 PM on September 11, 2008

I'm a boxers man, myself, but I have one pair of briefs, and to be honest, my ex-girlfriend thought they were great (they were also orange, which may have helped.)

Wear what you want. It's like the old trope says, "once someone's got you down to your underwear, they probably won't change their mind because of what kind of underwear it is."
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:49 PM on September 11, 2008

I'd suggest re-writing the Sugeon General's Warning (or whatever the counterpart is for your country if you don't live in the U.S.) to be a cheeky warning about yourself, and then brand yourself as a bona fide badass.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:22 AM on August 10, 2008

I've done this same thing with a set of keys in an upscale manhattan apartment complex, and was told in no uncertain terms by the management that they would not do anything to help me retrieve them. By prepared to get everything copied.

(Still hope your management is a lot nicer though!)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:20 AM on August 10, 2008

Here you go. (second question in the column)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 8:04 PM on July 27, 2008 marked best answer

giggleknickers: that is because film is shot at 24 frames per second, and video displayed at 30 frames per second (and is layered for better fluidity.) For the record, 24 FPS, which should seem like a disadvantage, particularly because it is unable to do the same layering (that is, in film, we see one frame and then the next, versus the progressive scan of modern video) is actually far more accurate to how the human eye organically sees things. Whether you catch the single-frame inserts of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 8:32 PM on July 27, 2008

Start doing crossword puzzles. As much as you can.

As you get more comfortable with them (and I'd suggest starting with one that you find you realy enjoy and keeping up with that one every day) you'll find yourself accurately expecting which words will complete certain lines before ever reading the clues. Sure, some of those words will be proper names (Anais, as in Anais Nin, comes up a lot in almost any crossword, for instance, for the same reason that Enid, Oklahoma... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:21 PM on July 23, 2008

Yup. There it is. Weevil removed. Though the roller coaster carnage video fits it so perfectly that it's still worth repeat viewings. I suggest watching the bald guy in the black-and-yellow shirt at roughly 1:30
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 5:10 PM on July 21, 2008

I feel a little hinky doing this, but I recently started a project that's kind of like what you're talking about. Here's the page for it in Projects. If nothing else (because no one visits that site, s it most likely be of much use to you) you can see how simple it is to start up the kind of thing you're looking for on your own.

Hope that helps.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 1:56 PM on July 20, 2008

The Go! Team - Huddle Formation
Belle & Sebastian - Sukie in the Graveyard
2 Skinnee J's - Riot Nrrrd
Asian Kung Fu Generation - E (Listen through to the end, at least once. Best reappropriation of an Oasis solo I can imagine)
Outkast - B.O.B.
Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs

And what the hell...
Hanson -... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:40 PM on July 16, 2008

Adding:

Gabrielle - Dreams (provided you have no problem with the unabashedly cheesy as well)
Pavement: Carrot Rope
Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine
Skee-Lo - I Wish
The Beatles - The End
Reel Big Fish - Sell... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 7:19 PM on July 16, 2008

Some perhaps obvious examples: The captain's computer in Wall-E. Also, the computer with the "button" in Lost's second season, which very much became like an antagonistic character itself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 7:15 PM on July 13, 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.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 10:00 PM on July 12, 2008

Holy god that's a good mix, kimota! I'm sold just by them having both "Sugar Free Jazz" and "In the Meantime" on there, but the whole thing is just gold (except where it isn't, of course. I mean Candlebox makes an appearance, as does Silverchair, but I guess it wouldn't be an honest 90's retrospective without them.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:14 AM on July 13, 2008

That's a pretty tall order. From my experience growing up in Houston, it's just not all that social a place. Or rather, it's not a town that's very conducive to spontaneous socialization. Still, there are options.

First things First: It makes a huge difference where you are. River Oaks bears very little resemblance to Sprng or the 1960 area, for instance, and one is not likely to be hanging out much with the other. Houston is a HUGE city, geographically, as you know,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2008

Whats something that's been influential and prevalent in your life, without being too on-the-nose?

When I adopted my two cats, I knew that if I got a female cat, it woud be named "Fitz," after Ella Fitzgerald. This was because of a cat named "Mingus" which an old room mate stole from me.

Upon meeting the first cat I knew would be part f my household, who was the biggest troublemaker in BARC, I knew that "Fitz" just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:25 PM on July 11, 2008

Thanks for your responses, symbolocks and troybob.

I'm well-versed in Campbell, which helps me with the protagonists' journey, and also well-versed in FIeld, McKee, and many others, and I know how to use small details to show a larger world, but I'm having trouble creating the larger, antagonistic world with , I guess I should call it "elegant simplicity." This might well be an impossible question, but I'm looking for common elements of the over-reaching... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:00 PM on July 4, 2008

My best guess is something along the lines of a lawyer, banker, architect, or monk. Logic and creativity and capacity to keep many different concepts in mind while seeing the whole that they are supposed to create.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 10:04 PM on July 4, 2008

IANAP, and if any MeFites with more experience in that arena tell you that my advice hear will do more harm than good, please believe them.

Still, what I think you need to do is go to someone or some group of people, probably your family, who you trust, and who already knows about you doing this, and then confess to the big lies (like the vomiting blood and so on) and then confess to them that you honestly do want to stop, and then ask that they start to call bullshit on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:43 AM on July 2, 2008

I've used a Jeep Wrangler in the Colorado rockies for almost ten years now, and it still acts like brand new, it handles the conditions (rocks, snow, etc) like it was made for them (which it was) and it's the very definition of "fun to drive."

I can't comment on the Subaru, but if you can find a used Wrangler in your price range, I can't see why you wouldn't get it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 7:04 AM on June 21, 2008

The Cure: Love Cats
Iggy Pop: I Wanna Be Your Dog
Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Relax

And even though she probably wouldn't listen to it...

Sam and Dave: Hold On, I'm Coming
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 5:25 PM on June 3, 2008

Few pertinent questions:

Is this a mid-eighties period piece?

Is this a guy or a girl she's with?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 5:39 PM on June 3, 2008

Largely along with what Jessamyn was saying, don't plan the kiss, but you can somewhat plan the surrounding circumstances. Make it a date or whatever of places you'd want to return to, that can be just y'all's. Down the line, you will have great kisses. This one is all about the tension and expectations and all of that, and unless one or both of you are just really bad kissers, that will be the emotion that carries the day.

Good luck!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:20 AM on May 5, 2008

My best strategy for dealing with this (and I'm Sully75 here, I feel guilty when I win and pissed when I lose) is to think, "How would I feel towards [random but specific other person playing] if they won? Would my opinion of them truly change in any way? Would I care a half-hour later?" If the answer to those questions is "No different, No and No" respectively, as it probably will be, then you'll have the perspective to chill. Otherwise, either just take yourself out of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:34 AM on April 22, 2008

IANAJ, but I've seen a lot of this in my mother's side of the family. Picture some awful and melodramatic Soap Opera like Dallas or Dynasty - that's the sort of situation. Lies, affairs, business, constantly rewritten wills - the whole shebang. The day before my sister's wedding, we found out completely by chance accident that my grandfather had just gotten married in a secret ceremony to his former mistress, and hoped to surprise everyone with it the next day. My father - who looked to my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 3:08 PM on April 2, 2008

Same here - I don't think there's ever been a good time to cross the GW, and since the Tappan Zee is really just part of the road (that is, no on-ramps or off-ramps) that'll generally save you a lot of time.

Plus, if you take the Tappan Zee you get to drive the Saw Mill River Parkway, which is something that everyone* should do at every given opportunity.

*"everyone" in this context means "exclusively me and maybe my friends if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:39 AM on April 1, 2008

She really does need to press charges, I think, and that's one of the trickier things here.

On one front, you and her boyfriend need to be there for her, and in my experience, the most important thing is for her to understand that being victimized doesn't change who she is as a person or her value as a person at all. This is a traumatic experience which she has survived, which she didn't deserve or invite, and that in the end, she should only come out of it wiser... but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:27 PM on March 30, 2008

Let me clarify, briefly. No, as others have mentioned, you shouldn't pressure her to press charges. I just wouldn't do anything to make her feel like "just getting past this" is the most important thing, only because it really seems to me as if her attackers will continue to do this. It isn't about justice as much as keeping further rapes from occurring.

But, as has been said above, that isn't your job. If she does press charges, though, it's definitely... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:51 PM on March 31, 2008

This might not be what you're looking for, and you've almost certainly read it already, but the Hitchhiker's Guide books are all basically built upon the singularity of the "infinite improbablity drive," which was reached when the creation of the finite improbability drive allowed someone to calculate the probability of the (seemingly impossible) infinite improbability drive, which was then created, and changed universal history.

It's all... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:05 PM on March 30, 2008

The Go! Team - Huddle Formation
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:08 AM on March 28, 2008

Savannah, or yeah, New Orleans.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:20 PM on March 26, 2008 marked best answer

In Bruges and the original Italian Job.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 5:41 PM on March 25, 2008

Get an iHome.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:19 PM on March 25, 2008

nthing see a doctor for penis blood but also just suggesting that, even though this only happens when you wear a condom, you should probably keep wearing a condom during intercourse if you have a recent history of blood coming out of your penis.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:17 PM on March 25, 2008

If you drive through Oklahoma City, stop by bricktown and get the best Vietnamese food the country has to offer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:12 PM on March 25, 2008

Yeah, the Breeders story seems a bit weird to me (Still should pick up the album, however, as it kicks ass). However, I have heard that Michelle Branch apparently decided to learn guitar as a teenager by locking herself in her room for a week and just asking her mom to deliver her her meals. By the end of the week, she had written that three or four-chord song of hers that became a hit. This seems entirely possible to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:31 PM on March 24, 2008

You also fail to mention if you're still in your late teens/early twenties, in which case you can channel all of your angst and whatnot into playing a lot more per day than you'd realize.

It sounds silly, I know, but I'm not kidding, and it helps.

If you're a bit older, it'll take a bit more discipline, but that's what maturity's for, right?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 10:36 PM on March 24, 2008

I thank you all for the help. I should mention that while Rock Band seems to calibrate very nicely from what I've seen on HDTV's, Guitar Hero doesn't at all, and in fact only gets worse and worse as you try to work through it, like a drunk man steadying himself on ice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:51 PM on March 10, 2008

Wow.. Yeah, I remember the "courtship" fad. That creeped me out a bit, but even when I was a true Christian, CHristianspeak always bothered me for some reason I could never put my finger on, but as has been said above, that doesn't mean there's anything necessarily onimous about its meaning.

Also, Welcome Back, Konolia. The place hasn't been the same without you. Seriously.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 6:47 PM on March 10, 2008

Seconding thebrokenmuse's suggestion. Arnicae, ranking doesn't necessarily correlate to the job market as far as law schools are concerned. Georgetown, for instance, is ranked at 13, but has the highest number of recruiters. Fordham is generally ranked around 30, but is one of the tops for starting salary. Also, one must consider the ability to get onto journals and barristers' council and so forth, which is done entirely within one's law school. There's a lot more to consider than just U.S.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 2:56 PM on March 6, 2008

Copy of Kingdom Hearts
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:25 AM on February 3, 2008 marked best answer

Okay... Thanks to everybody (and to anyone else who can answer and help.) I think I've got an idea of how to put this into the terms and ideas of structure from my schooling and experience in screenwriting. However, thinking I've got it is exactly what led me to this position in the first place, so I'd like to hear what y'all think of this:

In screenwriting, basic structure is as follows.

First Act: Introduce your characters, the main goal of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 4:41 PM on February 2, 2008

Amizu, thanks... as a current Georgetown student, that helps alot.

Though I'm a section 3 kid... any hope of similarity there?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 10:27 PM on February 2, 2008

Stuntman

One f my best friends sort of fell into doing this, and loves it. Amusement parks around the country will have stunt shows, and you just need to get hired by one of them, and they'll train you. From there, you can move into film or anything else you want to do with it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 11:30 AM on January 22, 2008

The question of whether to let him remain your roommate or not has been answered above and better than I might do so, but as far as being a worried friend is concerned, here's what I'd do.

First, treat him normally, but don't ignore the incident. Maybe the best way to breach it, if he seems genuinely better in the near future, is to bust his balls about it a little bit, in the way that friends do. While IANA Therapist, I'd bet that most of the risk of repeated attempts... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 9:12 PM on September 11, 2007

The Hitchhiker's Guide books. Can't say it enough.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 1:06 PM on August 16, 2007

Normal? Probably not, but who cares?

Healthy? Probably more so then having his brother shut down his fantasy's as "freakish" when he's only seventeen. He's not harming anybody. Leave him be.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Navelgazer at 12:59 PM on August 16, 2007