Good luck with the plan to reboot--it sounds like it might be what you need but don't cash out your 401K. Seriously.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 8:58 PM on October 4, 2008

I must note that the Pac Inn has the best fish & chips in Seattle.
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 11:16 AM on September 24, 2008

So damn sad.
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 9:59 PM on September 13, 2008

I fly very frequently and have status on United and I'd say that air travel this summer has been a complete and absolute misery.

It's hard to tell if the bag fees have had an impact, but I suspect they have, particularly among budget-minded infrequent travelers. But, at least on UAL, the most notable thing has been that flights are absolutely packed 100% and every flight I've taken in the past 3 months has had people who board middle/late in the process having to gate... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 4:11 PM on August 5, 2008 marked best answer

It won't help you with the hydros, but Colman Park is an easily accessible, and never too crowded place to catch the Blue Angels.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 6:27 PM on August 1, 2008

I really wonder what an egg peeler looks like.

Behold Odenberg, Inc's industrial peeling solutions!
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 7:19 PM on July 30, 2008

Make sure to check out Elliott Bay Books, which is located int he historic Pioneer Square district where you'll also find the Underground tour mentioned by nomisxid.

If you want to do something outdoors that's probably not on most tourist agendas, the UW Waterfront Activities Center rents canoes and row boats to the general public and you can paddle around the lovely UW Arboretum.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:38 PM on July 29, 2008

I guess as a follow up it's worth adding I'd like to use full names and proper nouns and I'm just nervous about the security of it all.

If you want something completely secure and private you're better off just typing in a Word doc (password protect it) and if you want to use it wherever you go, put it on a flashdrive on your keychain.

But seriously, LiveJournal is an easy way to keep a private online journal and also share... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 12:52 PM on July 22, 2008

mmmmm . . . is it possible there might actually--finally--be a Seattle Meetup I could attend? It appears so!
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 12:38 PM on July 22, 2008

I end up in Vegas a couple times a year on business and have to say that I've been consistently disappointed by the high-end brand-name chef restaurants so my advice is just skip'em altogether. On my last trip this Spring, though, three different set of people (including a friends who owns a restaurant in NYC) RAVED about the food at Social House at "TI" (formerly Treasure Island).

And I tell everyone that they must go to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge for a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 11:00 AM on July 22, 2008

Have used the hollowed out book method, which I think works if you have lots of books.

A true story of successfully hiding other types of "valuables" . . . a friend of a friend works as a pro domme and would often travel with a fairly expensive set of gear (which I'll leave to your imagination). After having had gear pilfered from her checked luggage, she resorted to this trick: before leaving, gear was placed in a bag marked "dirty" and latex toys... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:30 PM on July 21, 2008

I know you're ostensibly looking for advice on grad schools, but you've probably noted from the responses that the thing people are keying in on is your current state of being . . . which I think should be noted.

Based on what you shared, I'll share the following and hope that it's helpful in some fashion: I think we'd probably get along, or at least recognize each other. It sounds like you're a Black Belt in helping others and in making everything OK (or as OK as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:21 PM on July 15, 2008 marked best answer

"Play" those awesome cloud chamber bowls that flapjack at midnight mentioned!
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 11:21 PM on July 11, 2008

Matt's a friend and y'all should know that he generally pegs the start of his meme-dom to the 2005 MeFi post. Mathowie, he said he spied you at ROFLcon but failed to make contact.

As twoleftfeet noted, he's a really nice, incredibly modest guy who has done a great job turning a one-off project into a sort of vocation for the past few years.

It was surprisingly fun and emotional to join in the final dance in Seattle a couple of weeks ago with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 10:50 PM on June 27, 2008

Where the F the Matt? After Stride Gum went bankrupt, Matt Harding had to pay for all his own travel.
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 3:00 PM on July 2, 2008

Have you also checked out what Ning offers as a hosted service?
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 12:50 PM on July 2, 2008

The less you wear your suit the longer it will last. There are two ways that your suit gets wear.

(1) Wearing it: You may perspire and this (I'm told) takes a toll over time on the fabric, etc. It also makes it dirty which leasds to:

(2) Dry cleaning. The chemicals and the heat also take a toll. Especially if the dry cleaner is doing things at too high a temp, you'll get shrinkage of the lining (which is a synthetic fabric on off the rack... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:48 PM on July 1, 2008

Twice in the last month I've visited my parents who have lived in San Diego for the past 30+ years and unprompted, on each visit, they've just gone off about how dangerous Tijuana and Baja have become in the past year or so. They say the local news has been filled with stories of tourists being robbed at gun point in areas where that just never happened (like Rosarito). There always used to be some crime adn you could expect to have to pay off a cop issuing you a ticket for no reason, but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 11:32 PM on June 27, 2008

I work with and am interviewed by various media types--print, online, video/tv--regularly and completely here your concerns . . . I'm often stuck by the sense that I'm bald and overweight and *damn* I hate the way I look. But that's my inner voice and nobody I know has ever seen a pix or video of me and had the same reaction. So point #1: realize you're your own worse critique. So breath deep and be kind to yourself.

You published a book! AWESOME!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 9:06 PM on June 26, 2008

grrrr I "hear" your concerns, in case you were wondering. ;-)
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 9:08 PM on June 26, 2008

I'd say cool your heels and wait for the App store in a few weeks--the game demos I've seen are mindblowing and are gonna beat hands down what you can do in a browser or what's going to be available for jailbroken(?) phones.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2008

I'd suggest the Elysian Fields--best microbrew in Seattle, centrally located in Pioneer Square, large space which they do reserve for groups.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 11:09 AM on June 17, 2008

Look into an around the world air ticket, and then start heading in one direction. Given where fuel prices are headed this would be one way to lock in fares. As noted, Europe is now crushingly expensive for Americans (even if you're not a budget traveler), so I'd suggest SE Asia and India. If you want to get knocked your moorings and plunge into a very different set of cultures/cities/peoples/food, that's a great way to do it. (And I'll note was what I did before I went to grad school--best... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 4:43 PM on June 14, 2008

You might give Access Line a look which has the kind of virtual pbx action that deepscene mentions. If I recall correctly you can even access vmail on your computer so it's kinda like Apple/AT&T's visual voicemail.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:39 PM on June 3, 2008 marked best answer

I used to work at a company that had "R&R" week--basically a free week of vacation, either the week before Labor Day or the week between Christmas and New Years. You could take one or the other. This resulted in two guaranteed slow weeks a year for the whole company and I thought it awesome.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 7:12 PM on May 30, 2008

Atlantis? Yosemite?
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:49 AM on May 27, 2008

All.star has a great idea--try and assess your audience and their needs ahead of time. Hopefully that's possible.

Regardless, I think you'd be well served if you can bucket the various features you want to show off into logical/memorable/useful categories. In my experience, if you structure the presentation around features people will get glazed-eyed and might tune out. So rather than say "pivot tables" maybe have a section on "Analyzing data" in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:47 AM on May 27, 2008

heavenstobetsy and squid patrol have it. If you use your AT&T sim in Europe they'll slam you with charges (oh, I know) . . . if you've unlocked the device and put in, for example, a pre-paid sim from an EU carrier AT&T will no nothing about it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:39 AM on May 27, 2008

The Whitney Biennial is on. For food in mid-town, I'm a fan of Becco.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 6:24 PM on May 22, 2008

I've lived in the Central District, which is typically considered the sketchiest neighborhood by Seattle standards, for ten years. As others have pointed out, nothing's terribly sketch in Seattle.

Seconding the bahn mi at Saigon Deli. You're also near fantastic coffee at Stumptown on 12th, which is next door to my favorite place of late, Cafe Presse.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 11:40 AM on May 22, 2008

I've lived on the West Coast all my life, but travel frequently to NYC, sometimes twice a month. And in all of my time there I've only ever found New Yorkers to be kind and helpful. Sure, they can be brusque and direct sometimes, but that pretty much describes the inhabitants of every major city I've visited. And if there's an arrogance about living in NYC, well I'd say much of it is deserved; it's a fantastically rich and diverse place.

A friend of mine--a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 1:24 PM on May 20, 2008

The man has been a Senator longer than the 41 years I've been on the planet. As y2karl pointed out, he's a been a tireless legislator, more of a "work horse" than a "show horse" as Congressional scholars would note. I'm saddened.
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 1:18 PM on May 20, 2008

It's totally reasonable for you to have wanted to save $1000 on what will be your single biggest expense of the trip.

You also should feel completely comfortable setting a budget you're comfortable with and sticking to it. This probably won't be news to you, but with the dollar where it's at these days Europe is shockingly expensive so you should feel no guilt or shame in being budget conscious.

I've travel abroad with someone similar (petty,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:20 PM on May 11, 2008

This thread is confusing my tiny brain. But: Go Owl Pellets!
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 6:08 PM on May 10, 2008

Count me in.
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 1:12 PM on May 8, 2008

I'm gonna guess this was the "Viva Las Xmas" talk. Some other talks can be found here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:02 PM on May 8, 2008

Whoops, missed the more inside saying you'd probably looked at these. I cited Viva Las Xmas since it's one of the most frequently referenced talks he's made . . . any other hints? The notion that the "default world" is anti-community is a pretty standard part of Harvey's talks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 1:06 PM on May 8, 2008

From the NYT article about this:

“He saw how distressed I was,” Mr. Quint said of Mr. Khalil. “He just gave it back to me and he noticed I was in no condition to go home by myself. So he said, ‘Why don’t I give you a ride home?’ I said, ‘No, no, it’s OK, I’ll take a bus, I’ll take another taxi. He said, ‘No, I’m happy to give you a ride back, because you’re my last customer.’”

As he had planned for months, Mr. Khalil retired from... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 4:48 PM on May 7, 2008

I second kindall's suggestion to get the hell out of the Eastside. It's my urban bias, to be sure, but despite a lot more trees the "urban" part of the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond) is about as exciting as a strip mall in Orange County, CA. (Downtown Kirkland and the waterfront there is kinda cute.)

If you don't have a car, then King County Transit is your friend.

In Seattle the touristy stuff is absolutely worth doing--as noted the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 6:04 PM on May 2, 2008

I also do not use my tongue, and find the idea a bit off-turning

Well I think that hotness is a two-way street and you might want to rethink your above statement as one possible way to increase said hotness which might improve the odds of things being "excellent." Just a thought.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 4:32 PM on May 2, 2008

If you give anal, just make sure she's experienced.

And you read up on it, go slow, and use lots--LOTS--of lube.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 5:24 PM on May 2, 2008

Well someone has gotta mention it: Burning Man, the mother of all arts happenings and also a "festival" that's been the subject of academic research and is chock full of art installations, performances, and technology.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 6:18 PM on April 30, 2008

OP, here, just popping up to note that I did have second thoughts right after I posted this, thinking that the link wasn't long for the world and I know that's not awesome FPP material. But damn, I was blown away by the cover and wanted to share and thought the non-video link to the LA Times article was worthwhile.

Finally, I'll note that after 6+ years on MeFi I've finally done something worthy of MetaTalk. Not sure if I should feel dirty or excited that I've finally... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 5:35 PM on April 30, 2008

Make sure you have a huge metal fan at the party.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 9:41 AM on April 15, 2008

You should make an air travel relaxation program

Listening to people talking about the internet in the one place that there is NO internet access would drive me up a wall.

I save the MeFi podcasts specifically for my airplane trips! Love what you kids are doing out there on the intertubes.
posted to MetaTalk by donovan at 9:29 AM on April 15, 2008

Um, the second clearly breaks this story down as a joke chock filled with inside foodie references.
posted to MetaFilter by donovan at 1:35 PM on March 29, 2008

I made this recipe and substituted spelt and it was good.

See also this spelt-specific riff on mac & cheese.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 11:40 AM on March 27, 2008

The Tilt is the refresh for the 8525.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 2:53 PM on March 26, 2008

Whoops, sorry you said 8125.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 2:54 PM on March 26, 2008

Kuhlman
Le Frock
posted to Ask Metafilter by donovan at 10:22 AM on March 23, 2008