My word chops. Let me show you them.

In school I was always three grade levels beyond my peers in reading ability. I read the World Book Encyclopedias in the sixth grade. I am a published writer and poet (haiku). I hold a master's degree in communication. I was a newspaper editor for a decade and a half. I now run my own writing and editing business.

And to save my immortal soul I cannot win a game of Scrabble.

That was a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:01 PM on July 20, 2008

Treasures of the Steamboat Arabia. I'm something of a history geek, but my brother took me there once and I thought it was pretty darn cool.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:32 PM on July 3, 2008

"The Sound of Music" would seem to fit. The Third Reich did, after all, have a certain support in Austria. And it's based (loosely) on actual events.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:56 PM on June 23, 2008

I wish all of Kansas were as flat as stereotype makes it out to be. I grew up mostly in southcentral Kansas (but north and west of Wichita) and it's pretty flat. I spent years in western Kansas. Pretty flat. But I've driven many times through the Flint Hills and live in the Glacial Hills and it ain't flat in these places.

I hate hills.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:59 PM on June 17, 2008

Oh, I've been in Indianapolis quite a bit. Seems like it was quite on the level, but I'd be happy for a native (or at least a current resident) to comment.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:00 PM on June 17, 2008

This is the one I rely on. I've got a couple of others, but this is my favorite. It won't recharge the batteries and there's no crank, but it's got the other stuff you want. Mine is set to alert me for tornado warnings and nothing else. It's portable and has a travel mode that will keep it set to the nearest broadcasting station as you drive.

The one caveat: it runs on three AA batteries and you don't want to turn the thing on unless you think you'll need it (or run it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:31 PM on June 7, 2008

Imagine, by John Lennon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:39 PM on June 6, 2008

Book publishers and newspapers and magazines will have you take an editing test. This is true even if you have a Ph.D. and 40 years of experience. That's how you'll prove you have the skills they want (which may not be quite the same skills another outfit wants).

To offer your skills to others, as in your example of the non-profit, do a sample edit for them, a page or two so you know what they want you to edit for (spelling, grammar, punctuation are usually givens, but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 10:12 PM on May 16, 2008

As I've posted elsewhere on AskMeFi (too late in the day to look up my own citations), I've got fibromyalgia and I've been dealing with brain fog since my mid-20s. L-theanine has been a job-saver for me. I take 100 mg each morning and I'm set for a day of work.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:11 PM on April 26, 2008

I had a great time in General Semantics. I wish more people would take it. It helps you to know when somebody's relieving himself on your leg and is telling you it's raining.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:46 PM on April 25, 2008

Mmmmm... obstreperous (from Pastabagel, way back up at the top).

Digress, disingenuous, dilettante, dichotomy, and deucedly are five of my favorites from the fourth letter of the alphabet.

Honestly, the word I find the most use for these days is "fuckwit," a la Bridget Jones. And where I live, at least, it's not overused.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:14 PM on April 22, 2008

Way, way back in my college days, I would help my roommate wrap cars in toilet paper. Around and over and under, front to back and side to side. Several rolls per automobile.

Once, his girlfriend made mannequins out of newspaper and pantyhose and old clothing; it made for an interesting drive to campus. (I kept her old bra on my rear-view mirror for ages.)

But whatever you do, do not pull apart Oreo cookies and stick them... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:21 PM on April 12, 2008

I've got fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome, and the brain fog was eating my job alive until I discovered L-theanine. One 100mg capsule each morning and my brain is ready to go. I'm relaxed and can focus on my work. (I drink a lot of caffeinated beverage too, but I did that before the L-theanine and the caffeine alone didn't do much for me.)

Lots of folks will tell you to use it at bedtime to help your brain wind down, too. I don't bother, but YMMV.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:33 PM on April 11, 2008

Seconding Pater Aletheias' concern.

Permit me to add my fury for the folks who misuse the word "drastically," e.g., "That coat of paint drastically improved the look of the house." Bullbleep! It improved the look of the house dramatically.

Some days I think English should be studied as a dead language.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:16 PM on April 2, 2008

Amazon.com has BookSurge and CreateSpace. I've used BookSurge and am trying to use CreateSpace, but I'm having the devil of a time getting the PDFs uploaded (and I'm convinced it isn't my fault). The product is a good one when completed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:59 PM on March 23, 2008

If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.
-- James Herriott (Alf Wight)

How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven.
– Robert A. Heinlein

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
– Will Rogers
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 3:51 PM on March 12, 2008

In the 1945 Writer’s Yearbook, John Nanovic described his Triple-O method of plotting: Object, Obstacles, Outcome. Your protagonist wants something (object). There are speed bumps that slow him down in his quest (obstacles). What he goes through and whether he succeeds is the outcome, which gives you the climax and resolution of the story.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 4:36 PM on March 8, 2008

My parents have always called their in-laws "Mom" and "Dad," but my wife and I use first names for each other's parents. Feels perfectly natural.

There's a form of address that I like but could never pull it off without a "WTF?" from my Mrs. The only time I've heard it is in the old sitcom "The Jeffersons," as Louise would call George's mom "Mother Jefferson." Maybe someone else knows about this. It's both respectful and familial.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:00 PM on February 18, 2008

Corduroy

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 4:46 PM on February 18, 2008

If Dramamine helps, use the non-drowsy formula. It's also available as generic meclizine. That, and when you know you've got several days to go through, look away from the screne, as Taken Outtacontext suggested.

(I'm getting a little lightheaded just thinking about this.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 6:00 PM on January 31, 2008

http://www.freedom-pharmacy.com

They've always come through for me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 3:43 PM on January 22, 2008

An older cousin and I both lived in central Indiana, 10-15 years apart. The mold made us both miserable. It actually became life-threatening for him, a mere plague for me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:05 PM on January 15, 2008

The Road to Wellville
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 3:26 PM on January 5, 2008

I worked on three Midwestern daily newspapers (60,000 circulation, 25,000, and 5,000), and was the editor of one of them, during my journalism career. Even on the smallest paper there were no news or photography stringers; it was all done in house. Columnists, though, wrote and were paid and there were no contracts. Each of the papers asserted one-time rights only. Some of those columnists later published books of their columns, and the newspaper was pleased to trumpet that a little ("as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:00 PM on January 4, 2008

I grew up listening to my little brother play his trap set and now my stepson has one. I will likely never forgive the adults involved in these breaches of common sense. Drums are loud, and your parents have every right to freak out.

Before you get a full set, get a single snare drum and practice pad. The music store can set you up with a good beginning instruction book and appropriate sticks. You don't need a 16-piece set until you can execute a paradiddle and a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:49 PM on November 24, 2007

Let's not forget the ever-popular tornado porn.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:43 PM on November 10, 2007 marked best answer

Don't let anyone pressure you into doing something or having something (or someone) at your wedding you don't want. This day is for you and your fiance and all your friends and family are supposed to be there to be supportive and wish you well. It's not your job to provide entertainment in exchange for the toaster.

My wedding was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. Very small, music provided by a friend with a guitar, the reception was carrot cake there in the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 1:26 PM on November 6, 2007

Seconding the "clay is bad dangerous" notion. I've heard good things about Swheat Scoop but have never used it. My cats and I (and my scent-sensitive wife) get along well with Feline Pine. It's made (as you might guess) of pine sawdust compressed into little pellets.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:29 PM on November 2, 2007

I got a barometer to help me know when the pressure was changing. I find, however, that I'm often more sensitive than the barometer and the migraine outpaces the pointer. Still, it's better than nothing. I keep close track of forecasts too.

I take butterbur extract twice daily for migraines. Sometimes taking another as the "Uh-oh Feeling" hits (thank you for that, Sweetie Darling) helps ward off the pain, or keeps it down to a dull roar. I'll second Indigo Rain... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 3:22 PM on October 19, 2007

wordwhiz is right about the wages; beagle is right about being curious and asking good questions; thinkingwoman is right about the budget.

When I was the managing editor of a small-town daily (circulation roughly 3,000), and news editor of a 20,000+ daily before that, what I most wanted to see was not a resume (they can be faked), was not clips (that only told me how good an editor someone had had), but was instead proof on the spot that I had a thinking human being in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 6:11 PM on September 12, 2007

There's a practical advantage besides spotting another member of the club. When a ham drives into a disaster scene (say after a tornado hits a town) to provide emergency communications, his license plate tells the law officers that he's the genuine article and they should let him pass so he can help.

I'm an amateur radio operator, like my father before me.

And davejay, the Morse requirement has bit the dust. I think my dad (who was licensed as a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 4:09 PM on August 27, 2007 marked best answer

jamjam, that's really interesting about migraines and color perception. I do have auras with (most of) my migraines, I see blue just fine, and I'm not taking Viagra (place macho virility comment/joke here). I do seem to have slightly off color perception; I've had "discussions" for years with various folks about what color something is. Blues and greens must look a little different to me than they do to others.

davejay, there is, in fact, a kid across the road... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 12:14 PM on July 26, 2007

5-HTP has never done anything for my chronic pain, and I've never gone to a naturopath. I can, however, recommend butterbur extract for migraine. It has made a nearly miraculous difference in my life. It's available for around $20 in well-stocked natural medicine stores or online (just for an example). I take one of those capsules in the morning and one at night; that pretty well takes care of me. If a migraine gets through that, I just pop one more and I'm good again.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:16 AM on July 20, 2007

Forgot the obligatory IANAD and YMMV.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:18 AM on July 20, 2007

tastybrains suggested a vitamin B deficiency. Let me scoot a couple of letters to the right and offer the possibility of a vitamin D deficiency. This is an area I've been researching online lately because I might have this rather than fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue.

As a place to start (in addition to Googling "vitamin D"), here's the Vitamin D Council, where you can read lots of good info. Doctors are now talking openly about folks in the Western world having... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 1:40 PM on July 19, 2007

Here are a few handsful of non-Bible quotes you may enjoy:

I do not feel obliged to believe that that same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use.
– Galileo Galilei

You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
– Anne Lamott

I still say a church steeple with a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:51 PM on June 27, 2007 marked best answer

Sorry, magnusbe; I can't locate a source for the quote other than that it came from Napoleon Bonaparte.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:13 PM on June 28, 2007

"Takin' Care of Business" by BTO
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:55 PM on May 21, 2007

Lots of good advice above. I'll be brief [?] with mine, but first let me thank you for putting so much thought into your new pet. Too many people treat a companion animal like a piece of furniture, one that is discarded when it's no longer interesting. Makes me nuts.

Cat litter: Arm & Hammer good, Feline Pine better (really kills the odor).

Socializing: Whatever kitty wants. You'll need to make crystal clear to every guest that kitty does not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 1:32 PM on May 14, 2007

Seconding shadow vector on the portable Communion set. My late uncle Charles was a United Methodist minister. Someone gave him such a set and he loved it.

Also, my parents discovered a company (three decades ago; don't know what it was) that would put together a blank book with a hardcover and any title you wanted that started, "Everything I Know About Being..." and the folks finished that up with "a Minister." My uncle kept that prominently displayed... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:34 PM on May 9, 2007

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 8:56 AM on April 20, 2007

The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, has several pregnant characters. Including, of course, Morgaine with her half-brother Arthur's child. It's the Arthurian legend from a woman's point of view. Marvelous book.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:05 AM on April 20, 2007

N.T. Wright was mentioned above. I would add a recommendation for the books of John Shelby Spong, former bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Newark, N.J.

Marcus Borg is also well worth reading.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:12 PM on April 8, 2007

Last year, I started reading an excellent popular history book about Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain. In the first five pages I found three serious errors. Grant's name was listed two different ways and he was given two different birthdates. I forget the third one now but it was of that caliber.

I wrote a nice letter to the publishing company about the errors. I received a friendly letter from the VP thanking me but saying these were pretty common sorts of errors and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:02 PM on April 7, 2007

I'll second the enclosed box and a non-clay-based litter. A couple of them have been mentioned here; I use (well, okay, my cat uses) Feline Pine. My wife, who has a scent detector any good bloodhound would envy, can't detect any cat odor, so it's gotta be good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 1:45 PM on March 16, 2007

Curious George.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 7:06 PM on March 14, 2007

Yes, some of us absolutely do get sick of seeing our SOs in sexy undies. Take them off! Now!

:-)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 5:01 PM on March 8, 2007

Second or third the editing. I'm a freelance book editor. The pages (yeah, actual paper) come to me from a great distance, I edit them and mail them back. I see the UPS guy and my postmaster. Beats all to heck being an editor of a newspaper, where everyone and his dog come in to growl at you or make ridiculous demands.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 4:35 PM on March 8, 2007

Something I've never seen mentioned in a migraine answer is the stuff that has worked for me for a year and a half: butterbur extract. I take 75 mg twice daily (sometimes the capsule also contains feverfew, which is another herbal remedy for migraine). The NOW and Nature's Way brands are good but there are lots out there. Just don't pay a bunch of money when you can get it for $20 or less. It's available in the better herbal stores or many places online.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 9:02 PM on February 26, 2007

As an addendum, I might note that a migraineur needs to know what triggers the misery. The best way is to keep a migraine journal so you know what you ate, what the weather was like, how much sleep you got, etc., that might have caused the migraine. Me, I'm light sensitive, so I keep the brightness on the computer monitor way down; wear sunglasses outside; and don't look out the window on a halfway bright day, especially in the morning. Morning sun is toxic to me. As previously mentioned,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bryon at 10:59 PM on February 26, 2007