I've got a couple plants on my balcony that started out as bagged supermarket basil. Even though oneirodynia is right and they'll bolt soon, you can still definitely double your basil by planting them. Pinch the leaves off that you need for tonight's dinner, plant the rest, and every leaf that grows is a bonus.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:15 AM on July 25, 2008

An aspect I forgot: when your basil bolts, it's not the end of the world; you get free seeds for next year! (Or for over the winter if you have a sunny place to grow plants.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 1:08 PM on July 25, 2008

From the Drew Carey Show:

Mimi: Yes, sir. You say, "Jump," I say, "How high...would I have to be to take orders from you?"
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 11:32 AM on July 22, 2008 marked best answer

It's easy. They have a monorail that goes to all of the terminals, and it's free.
Here is the information you need.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:30 AM on July 20, 2008

It's some kind of thistle, I think, in which case the answer to your last question is: very. Pull it up now and minimize the number that you have to pull up next year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 6:40 AM on July 20, 2008

My grandfather used to use a board like this to do his animated titles, back in the day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2008

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" uses Gianfranco Reverberi's "Nel cimitero di Tuscon" as its main sample.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 3:10 PM on July 19, 2008

Drink a gallon of water a day, no, really, a gallon. You have to fight the problem from the inside; smearing gunk on the outside won't help. And listen to Solomon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 4:26 AM on July 19, 2008

I play Fallen Sword and am in a guild that started out as people who know each other from a different hobby's message boards. People definitely have met IRL and become friends, mostly before the guild was formed. I still only know them online, but will meet a bunch of folks at a gathering next month. There's a father, his daughter, and her boyfriend in the guild, and at least one married couple. Other players have kids who play the game but who are in different guilds due to our guild's over-18... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 4:46 AM on July 17, 2008

It's a Haworthia. I'm sure someone is writing up a post now with links to the exact variety.

Don't worry about your black thumb. Don't water it very much, and give it as much sun as you can.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 3:59 PM on July 16, 2008 marked best answer

Ugh, the CoffeeMate label is like a handy checklist of everything that's really, really terribly bad for you. I'd go with the half and half, hands down. Or, better yet, full-on cream if you want that serious mouthfeel. (Try it in an iced espresso sometime!)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:08 AM on July 16, 2008

I wonder if you could find one of the pull-down ones that used to be in schoolrooms--a nice old one might be really lovely.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 4:26 PM on July 14, 2008

Bah. I've got some zombie messages (all from Japan; maybe something about the language encoding is making them stick) but doing this didn't help. They disappear when I delete them, but as soon as I open the mailbox again they're back.

I've asked about it on the Apple support boards but never gotten a good answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:21 AM on July 14, 2008

I'm impressed with your battery life. I get two or three hours of play out of mine, playing Animal Crossing. I hope it varies by game, otherwise I got a lemon!

I have a bunch of other games but honestly hardly ever take the AC chip out. I'd recommend WordJong if they like Boggle-type word games though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 8:01 AM on July 5, 2008

Stamp Connection have done me right over the years with stamps for a variety of surfaces. Send them an email and ask; they'll probably know the best type of ink to use for a job like the CDs. Their customer service is phenomenally good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 8:43 PM on July 2, 2008 marked best answer

If you're doing low-carb there's no reason not to get the ones in oil. I sometimes get the no-salt ones since the regular ones can be a bit salty, but they're kind of bland. I wish there were a middle ground.

I'd like to hear other non-bread options--I usually eat them in exactly the same way as scblackman. Maybe you could make Almond Thins or something and eat them on those?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:14 PM on July 1, 2008

Wow, Newsgroupdirect seems really reasonable. (Thanks for that link, willie11)
Anyone had experience with them?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 5:11 PM on June 25, 2008

I bet Sol Moscot could help you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 6:56 PM on June 19, 2008 marked best answer

You don't have to learn the Wilhelmus, you just have to learn the chorus to "Wij Houden van Oranje" by Andre Hazes.

That and some orange face paint and orange wigs and orange clothing and orange clogs and orange tulips and maybe some orange bunting and do you have any dyeable pets?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:32 PM on June 18, 2008

I'm doing the same thing, fixing the tags in my non-small (>50K songs) library. It's rough going, but I've found that the Applescripts on Doug's Applescripts page have been invaluable for the many poorly-tagged files I have.

I haven't used MediaRage but I've used its earlier version, MP3Rage and that was an extremely powerful tool.

There used to be a program called Clutter for finding album art, but I understand it's incompatible with the new... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:50 AM on June 16, 2008

For the record: though it may seem like a good idea to get your stove powder-coated Ferrari red, it's really not. It looks cool from a distance and at first, but once you start cooking with it you'll find out that the stuff really doesn't do well with heat.

(It still looks cool from a distance, but the top is trashed.)

I have tons of red stuff in my kitchen, a collection cobbled together over the last few decades from catalogs and stores. Just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 6:57 AM on June 14, 2008

Quitting sugar and eating low-carb helps my periods a lot. I'm not sure if it reduced the duration per se, but otherwise it had almost as much of an effect as BC pills. I'm also not sure whether it's just the sugar or the whole low carb thing, but something is working. Couldn't hurt to try getting off the white stuff.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:40 PM on June 11, 2008

Mr. Scruff
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 5:33 PM on June 8, 2008

I definitely have this issue with AdBlockPlus and YouTube. Like bibliowench, I've just gotten used to scooching the page up until the window hits the top, but it's always irritating.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:03 AM on June 3, 2008

This sounds like it but they don't seem to have an answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:06 AM on June 3, 2008

Bananas really don't have all that much potassium. Here is a PDF of a bunch of common foods, sorted by potassium level...bananas don't appear anywhere near the top.

What you want are potassium (you can get supplements but be careful; too much potassium is bad for your heart), calcium, magnesium (you may be able to find calcium/magnesium supplements) and vitamin E, and it's very important to drink lots of water.

Gin and tonics are nice, but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 8:06 AM on May 28, 2008 marked best answer

Maybe Macy's or one of the department stores in the Manhattan Mall?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:32 AM on May 23, 2008

This one is supposed to produce less smoke than others, but it's not cheap and it apparently isn't too good at dark roasts. OTOH, it does a pound at a time.

We use an Alpenrost and have been known to attach a bit of dryer vent to the output to direct it outdoors...something like that may help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 12:47 PM on May 20, 2008

Ugh, the stuff that comes out of a kitchen drain is even worse. All the pipes under the sink were clean as a whistle after all the plunging, vinegar and baking soda, Drano, and boiling water that we used, none of which had any effect at all. We had to open up the big pipe downstairs and my beloved spouse got to spend an hour snaking that fetid anaerobic mess out of there. Great way to spend a Saturday night (and Sunday, cleaning up the garage and doing a lot of laundry.) Looking at the length of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 4:32 PM on May 18, 2008

They also missed We'll Meet Again.

"They'll be happy to know
that when you saw me go
I was singing this song"
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 5:09 AM on May 11, 2008

Also obligatory mention to not use baking soda toothpaste with the Sonicare since it causes the plastic to crack.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:42 PM on May 7, 2008

Tom Robbins mentions a Tequila Mockingbird in one of his books, though I'm not sure which one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:28 PM on May 4, 2008

Banjo uke is tuned like a uke. That said, there are lots of options... George Formby had a set of them, all tuned to different keys. You can play clawhammer on a banjo uke--heck, you can play clawhammer on a regular uke too...

Found one set of chords, from the Ditty Bops:

SISTER KATE

D7
If I could shimmy like my sister Kate

G
Shake it like a bowl of jelly on a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:19 AM on April 26, 2008

Fight it. They're slimeballs and Verizon knows about them. You may have to jump through a hoop or two, but the Verizon billing department will credit you the money.

I got "crammed" by one of their companies a month ago and successfully disputed the fraudulent charge. Using the word "fraudulent" goes a long way. Be polite but firm and you will get your money back.

You can also request that a block on third-party services be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:10 AM on April 26, 2008

Blue or green light inside your fridge will gross you out. If you're doing this to lose weight, it'll work.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 6:43 PM on April 20, 2008

Get a Flea, you'll never regret it. It can stand right next to your couch for whenever your noodling inspiration strikes and, once the strings do their initial stretch, it'll pretty much be in tune every time you pick it up.

If it's light and portable you're looking for, a banjo uke would work better than a standard banjo. But even those are kind of heavy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:31 PM on April 19, 2008

You could try Espresso Parts Northwest. They tend to be more commercially oriented, but I've gotten similar replacement parts from them for a non-professional espresso machine and maybe they have something that would help you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:39 PM on April 17, 2008

I was especially outraged by the actions of a bad man (initials F.P.) and gave a bunch of money to GLAAD. I asked them not to send me any mail, but they sent me a couple of pieces. Fortunately, my donation was large enough that one of the pieces included the business card of some fundraising mucketymuck and it only took one phone call to stop the mail completely.

I also give to Black Box Voting8212;I get emails, which I like, but nothing in the postal mail except for a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 5:29 PM on April 16, 2008

I have a Swiss neighbor who believes that everyone must touch glasses with everyone else, and it's important to make eye contact with each person as you do it. This is in a reasonable group of four to eight people, though. I haven't seen what she does in larger groups.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:24 AM on April 15, 2008

There was a sort of ratchet and spring mechanism that controlled the shutter. I don't think you'd be able to do it fast enough by hand.

The use was different from the website that alexei posted. It was a challenge to read the word, phrase, or sentence in the fraction of a second that it was revealed. Then you'd go on to the next one.

I think that website would be good for speed reading too, though!
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:50 AM on April 13, 2008

I found this, which sounds like it may be the same thing or similar. I thought there was some kind of spring loading but maybe I was wrong about that. (This was an awfully long time ago, early to mid '70s, I would guess.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 10:01 PM on April 13, 2008

A guy I know did some research on a similar topic several years ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 11:14 PM on April 8, 2008

Stuffed grape leaves, the kind filled with rice and in a nice lemony sauce. Slice them into 1/4 inch coins and put on pizza with olives. So good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:38 PM on April 8, 2008

Wax paper, in an UNSEALED ziploc bag to kind of hold things together and keep it neat in the fridge, but open so it can breathe.

Cheese is alive! It needs to breathe! It's when you suffocate it that bad things happen.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 11:41 AM on March 22, 2008

Moe's Bait and Tackle in Jersey City, NJ sells lots of shirts, my favorite of has the slogan "I support filet and release". Their website doesn't exist, but maybe you could call them to order one: 201-795-2529.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 11:19 AM on March 19, 2008

How about SAD? Maybe the most strongly affected people are the ones whose bedrooms face in a direction that doesn't get any sun, or don't go outside for some reason?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 12:38 PM on March 16, 2008

Married since '92: no kids, no regrets.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 9:20 PM on March 11, 2008

Hollisimo's got it. Ukulele all the way. Cheaper, easier, and more portable than the guitar. Quick results even if you just teach yourself using free lessons from the internet. It can be played quietly while you're learning if you're shy, or loudly while you're playing with other people if you're not. You can be playing a song within minutes. The strings are plastic and kinder to tender fingers than most guitars.

There are Meetup groups all over the place, which are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 5:21 PM on March 11, 2008

I agree with artifarce. Knowing how to spell words with single letter/pair of letters is really useful. Necessary, tomorrow, satellite, recommend, desiccate, etc.

Also words that just plain look wrong even when they're right: supersede, iridescent, affidavit.

I remember winning a spelling bee in second grade with Indian. "CAPITAL I..."

I won another one in high school but don't remember... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:31 PM on March 5, 2008

Take up the ukulele.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bink at 7:19 PM on March 5, 2008