Can you paint your project? If so, I'd build a tabletop puppet theater with lathed decorative columns on either side of the stage. It's small enough that it wouldn't take a whole lot of wood, it's unusual enough that it probably wouldn't suffer from comparison to someone else's project, and the garish paint would distract from any woodworking mistakes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:02 AM on October 10, 2008

And I'd probably add Billy Idol to that list of pop stars who've gotten better looking with age.
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 5:39 PM on October 9, 2008

For another angle on this, it's worth checking out the literature on psychological resilience, starting with Emmy Werner.

Children pick things up, but that doesn't mean they're sponges. They're not passive. People have individual differences in temperament that matter a lot. Outside factors matter a lot. Any given person who grew up in an abusive situation (whether that be overt, covert, physical, or emotional abuse) is not fated to recreate the circumstances of his or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:19 AM on October 3, 2008

sotonohito: have you tried Theo Chocolate? I'm a fan. They have milk chocolate bars in their "Jane Goodall" and "3400 Phinney" lines. I like the slightly odd ones best; the milk chocolate coconut curry bar is surprisingly good, and the chai milk chocolate makes the world's best s'mores.
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 5:06 PM on October 1, 2008

If you do have biphobic tendencies, and she is or thinks she might be bisexual, then the "140%" comment probably wasn't as unprovoked as you think it is. Just because you're not swanning around making nasty comments about how traitorous and fickle bisexuals are (you're not, right?) does not mean that she hasn't sensed a certain something in you that makes her defensive and anxious.

It doesn't take all that much exposure to biphobia (or homophobia, or sexism, or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 9:31 AM on September 22, 2008

I like physical therapy and deep tissue massage. (Ask around for a highly competent LMT; their skills vary quite a bit.) And then have her ask the physical therapist about the right exercise to keep on with. In my case, yoga was fun but not maximally effective for my particular issues. Pilates, on the other hand, was brilliant for me. YMMV.

Pilates, like massage, is an endeavor in which it really pays to look hard for a brilliant practitioner/teacher. For a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:37 PM on September 19, 2008

Oh, and a tip for finding a good Pilates studio? Find out where the ballet dancers go. Those people are hardcore, and many of them are fighting injuries.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:46 PM on September 19, 2008

Seconding that wheedle. Mmm, onion soup.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:59 PM on September 18, 2008

F = Fat Tire Ale from New Belgium Brewing Co.
Sm = Samuel Adams Oatmeal Stout
Cm = Chimay
La = some kind of Lambic
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 5:29 PM on September 16, 2008

Hs = Hale's?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 12:57 PM on September 18, 2008

He's really working hard to try to make you the bad guy here, isn't he? I'm seeing overtones in his letter about how difficult you are to deal with, how he doesn't want to have to deal with your feelings, and how immature you are. (After all, you're both grown-ups, right? And being grown-up means that this isn't really a problem, right?) For somebody who's constructed a pile of lies, this is a very lame attempt at making things right.

It's too bad, because it was such a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 12:47 PM on September 18, 2008

Nuts and berries.
Half and half.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:20 AM on September 16, 2008

This form would by no means have any impact on them in the sightest!

They're going to have to work with you, so they're sizing you up. Right now, a good deal of what they know about you is that you didn't fill out a form correctly. If your new job involves being conscientious or detail-oriented -- and most jobs do -- they're not going to read that as a sign of impending adequacy. This is particularly the case if your body language signaled that you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 5:37 PM on September 13, 2008

I agree with Quietgal. A sturdy stepladder is incredibly useful. Mr. Sculpin and I got one as a wedding present, five years ago; we've used it more often than all the rest of the wedding presents combined.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:37 PM on September 12, 2008

Rats, contraption beat me to it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 11:16 PM on September 8, 2008

Nthing the idea that different people respond differently. A friend of mine was on DepoProvera for years with no problems. When I tried it, I gained forty pounds, lost about 25% of my hair, and became a being of pure, incandescent rage. As hard as I tried to control my fury - and I mostly succeeded - I don't think I've ever quite lived down my reputation from that time, though it's been almost five years. I still haven't lost all the weight, either.

I went back to the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:14 AM on September 8, 2008

I spent a couple of months in the backcountry of Yellowstone working on trails. Rope is an "of course", as is a good pocketknife. You definitely need wool clothing. (Check Sierra Trading Post for wool t-shirts.) Be sure to get a good wool hat and a wool overshirt. Bring a bandanna or two, too -- you can use them to pre-filter water, package berries for carrying, mop the sweat from your brow, and a zillion other things.

Do bring a paperback book. You want... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 11:53 AM on September 5, 2008

Food. It is a pain in the neck to cook for yourself while balancing on one leg. Personally, if I majorly busted my ankle, I would love nothing more than a pan of really, really good macaroni and cheese.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 2:06 PM on September 3, 2008

I should probably have mentioned that you can actually have that particular mac-and-cheese shipped overnight. (Crazy, huh?) And Amazon.com isn't too bad in the grocery department, as I recall.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 7:33 PM on September 3, 2008

In my late twenties, my best friend at the time was in Rob's position. He was bored, he wanted out, and he couldn't bring himself to be straight with his Emma about it. He could certainly make it clear to everyone else, though, which was none too comfortable. I tried a bunch of things: I supported him; I admonished him with advice like the advice that Fairchild mentions; I washed my hands of it and refused to let him whine about it at me until he did something. The only thing that I saw that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:44 AM on August 30, 2008

As it happens, I toured a chocolate factory last Sunday and picked up a bag of cocoa nibs myself. One of the workers there says that she once binged on half a cup of the things and started hallucinating. So unless hallucination is your goal, you'd want to keep it well under that. (Assuming that she's telling the truth, anyway.) I'm finding that a couple of tablespoons a day is plenty.

Incidentally, they're great in oatmeal. Nom nom nom...
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 5:34 PM on August 27, 2008

Try exploring ideas without going straight to their merits or lack of them. That takes imagination. You can think of it as an intellectual, conversational version of improv -- learn to say, "Yes, and..."

For instance, what about raising unicorns? That seems to me to be a perfectly fine topic for conversation. I imagine you'd have to find yourself a supply of virgins, for instance, and what would that entail? Would abstinence programs start... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 5:38 PM on August 24, 2008

I suppose this the kernel of how I disagree with plinth and many commenters -- I seriously doubt that he'd be wondering why something like that couldn't be enacted. It's the word "irrelevance" that tips me off. (That, and your mention of being at home in the "rough and tumble of intellectual debates", which is a mild red flag for me about instinctive oppositionality. See also.) Every mathematician I've known has been a dreamer, and I've happened to know a few. If he really... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 9:24 AM on August 25, 2008

By the way, much of where I'm coming from here owes a big debt to Peter Elbow's concept of "the believing game". When I was in college, I read his essay on that in Writing Without Teachers; it's served me well for almost twenty years now. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of how to "go with it" and gain a certain kind of intellectual flexibility, you could do a lot worse than looking into his stuff and giving it a try.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:26 PM on August 25, 2008

Assuming for the moment that Martha actually is an evil temptress, still, you were pretty much asking for it. When you treat people like objects, expect some of them to try to even the score. Being objectified can be an infuriating experience.

It sounds to me like you're coming across as both misogynistic and vulnerable. You might as well be going around with a big sign over your head that says, "Attn women! Please mess with my head!" You appear to understand... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:35 AM on August 20, 2008

Hooray! Welcome back, nickyskye!
posted to MetaTalk by sculpin at 1:14 PM on August 3, 2008

It's a long shot, but you might try contacting your congressmember. I've heard of a few of them occasionally leaning on agencies, with some success, on behalf of constituents in difficult binds such as yours.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 9:30 PM on July 27, 2008

I've been on the receiving end of the kind of stonewalling cyanide recommends, not so long ago, and it did not discreetly minimize the friendship. It ended the friendship, and I still hope that someday my former friend will fall into a sewer and be swept out to sea.

If you still want this domineering person to catch up with you once a year or so (for whatever reason), then be more and more sluggish in returning phone calls, but do return them at... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 5:56 PM on July 23, 2008

It looks to me like redroot pigweed, a kind of amaranth. I'm up in Seattle, and our pigweed is similarly lush.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:04 AM on July 20, 2008

That said, the deafening silence from Cory and the other BB principals is at the very least really weird at this point, and I'm genuinely curious what the deal is.

Weird is the word, all right, and I've generally considered Cory to be one of the good guys too. It's made me think, "What would I be thinking and feeling, if I were in Cory's place?" I take it from one of PNH's comments that it was somebody else at BB who was making a fuss over... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 7:26 PM on June 30, 2008

When I read that the posts had been zapped a year ago, my first thought was, "Huh. Looks like adipocere was right and I was wrong, wrong, wrong-o." I do feel like a chump now for thinking so well of Cory, Theresa, and most of the Boing Boing lot.
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 2:02 PM on July 1, 2008

"Strains of human evil" didn't make your most trollish list? Gosh, that was my favorite part.
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 5:40 PM on July 1, 2008

And now XJ has edited that comment about the "unpublishing" policy without noting that she's edited it. Does this woman never, ever catch a clue?
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 9:24 AM on July 2, 2008

(Shoot. I would have been faster, but I had to go pick my jaw up off the floor again.)
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 9:25 AM on July 2, 2008

chimaera, I think your list is right on target. There's just one thing I'd add:

2a: Ask a level-headed, critical-minded, relatively emotionally uninvolved party to read over your statement before you post it. Take any advice they might give you about it.

Because at this point, I wouldn't swear that any of these folks (well, maybe Joel) would know when their statements were defensive. Or offensive. Or plain ridiculous. I'm not sure they're... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 10:06 AM on July 2, 2008

This brouhaha sure GivesWell.

Here's hoping that umbú writes a song about this one, too. "We'll take the world on, you and me, committed to transparency..."
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 10:22 AM on July 2, 2008

I'm sure she's a perfectly wonderful person, she's just extremely condescending to people she moderates.

This is another one of those statements that's designed to make the heads of ST:TOS robots explode, isn't it? I see your game.
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 1:05 PM on July 3, 2008

I have a phobia of dogs, vastly better than it used to be but still occasionally troublesome. (I acquired it pre-verbally; a large, unleashed dog attacked me in my stroller and had to be fought off. Joy.) And I generally react in a quiet, tense fashion. I express myself rationally, explain myself seriously and openly, and calmly request that dogs in my presence be physically restrained and, when appropriate, slowly and carefully introduced to me -- or, if the dog growls or (God forbid) snaps,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 12:59 PM on June 28, 2008

I've seen a silver ring with a bezel-set tooth in it, set roots up. It looked fantastic! So I'd bezel-set each tooth in silver, and link the bezels together. Well, in truth, I'd ask my friend the jewelry artist to do it, but that's me. I've been assured that bezel-setting is doable by amateurs.

Alternately, you could wrap the teeth in silver wire. Include a couple of loops in your wrapping and link each wire-wrapped tooth into a bracelet.

You... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 4:59 PM on June 16, 2008

Seconding the Xtracycle. They're unspeakably useful and fun. To keep the cost down, you can get the base frame for $224 and, as the Xtracycle folks suggest, make your own carrying system out of lumber and conduit. But I'd just save up for the kit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 11:45 PM on June 15, 2008

It's less intense than the stigma around mental health, but there can be plenty of stigma around physical health issues, too, particularly if they're serious enough to disable you for years at a stretch. If you absolutely must make a truthful excuse, it's not a bad one, but I think it's safer to avoid the whole matter. Say as little as possible, and follow it up with an upbeat note. E.g., you took a few years at the beginning of college to be sure of what you really wanted to do; once you did,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:22 PM on June 15, 2008

Cops. Lawyer. Gift of Fear. Documentation. Right away.

When you talk to your friends, and that is a very good idea, there are a few things to make clear to them. It's likely that you're going to have to make a display of seriousness. Tell them that you've retained a lawyer and have spoken with the police. Request explicitly that they neither pass on information about you to him, nor try to broker some sort of compromise between you two. There can be no... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 12:12 PM on June 8, 2008

I know the same professional poets that hades does, and I can think of only one thing they might possibly use -- software to help them remember which poems they've submitted where and when, and whether it was a simultaneous submission. They might like having the option to get a reminder about a poem when it's been sitting around unacknowledged for ten months. (At some point you figure that the journal in question is hopelessly disorganized and it's time to consider submitting your poem elsewhere.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:59 PM on June 3, 2008

I'd advise getting a second opinion, especially if she doesn't have a long and excellent relationship with the dentist. Dentists do have different styles and different judgments; she may get a different answer from a more conservative dentist.

I'm fairly sure I had a drill-happy dentist once, many years ago, and I regret not having a second opinion on his recommendations before letting him at my teeth. The guy swore up, down, and sideways that I was going to need a crown... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:48 PM on May 30, 2008

Seattle Freeze
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 8:21 PM on May 28, 2008

In your shoes (and I have been there, or in very similar footwear) I found that part of my unhappiness had to do with talking to the person, and part of it had to do with the fact that they were calling and bugging me. It made me feel like they were taking control of the relationship and, by extension, trying to control me. So I'd get evasive and distant and dreading, and they'd get whiny and fake-friendly and manipulative -- the whole Borderline... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 11:47 AM on May 24, 2008

spit, spite, spot
posted to MetaFilter by sculpin at 10:46 AM on May 23, 2008

I have a CL grain mill and it is, as far as I can tell, indestructible. Grinding is a little work, but it's enormously easier with the handle extension. One of these days we'll hook it up to an exercise bike -- that should be fairly easy.

The comparable workhorse at a lower price is, in fact, a CL mill! We got a price break by asking the Country Living guys if they had any cosmetically blemished mills on hand. I don't remember what the price break was, off hand, but it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 10:24 PM on May 21, 2008 marked best answer

I'd do it by measurable effort, not results. A few years ago, my husband and I had a competition we called "STP@home" -- we raced on our treadmill for a distance equivalent to the distance between Seattle and Portland.

It was a good way for us to compete despite being very physically different. He's stronger, faster, has more physical stamina, and (unlike me) has no chronic illness; I have more tenacity. Maybe I just like it because I won handily! But in any... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 9:30 PM on May 20, 2008

I've rooted geraniums in water. It's slow, but it works.

It seemed to me that once I'd rooted a cutting in water, the next batch of cuttings rooted more quickly in the water I'd used for the previous batch. Maybe a cutting exudes some kind of water-soluble rooting hormone once it gets going; I dunno. It'd be interesting to try a little experiment with that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sculpin at 1:54 PM on May 19, 2008