I just started screwing with buddyway. It's cool, and in beta so if you ask nicely you can probably convince the devs to hack in whatever function you're looking for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:55 AM on August 6, 2008

WARNING: TSA will think this is a bomb and hassle you endlessly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 11:16 AM on August 5, 2008

It's been like five years-ish since i read it, but the impression that I got was that both stories are simultaneous tellings of the same events and it's up to the reader to determine which one is reality. Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe I'll re-read.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 11:29 PM on July 30, 2008

You be empty for a while. There's really no magic fix. Time makes it better, but you spent time basically digging a hole in yourself and keeping things that made you happy in it, then removed the things that made you happy and now all you have is a hole. It won't happen overnight, but time will fill in the hole. Just do stuff, even if it bores you or you hate it. Sometimes you just need to pass the time until you're tired enough to sleep. The best advice I've heard about getting over addictions... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 4:02 PM on July 27, 2008

The freecreditreport.com commercials make me nerd rage.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 9:20 AM on July 25, 2008

I have no personal experience, but I've heard good things about beta blockers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 1:38 PM on July 13, 2008

My `03 Golf is awesome. I love driving it. I'm probably going with a GTI when it's time for a new one. Manual transmission is a must, of course.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 1:35 PM on July 13, 2008

I don't know if this is even true, but a tour manager from the UK told me that the casinos over there will convert dollars to pounds with no commission, presumably because they're going to get it anyway.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 9:04 PM on July 12, 2008

Write fiction.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:33 AM on July 2, 2008

previously.

I'd like to add: a solid packing plan for everything. Bringing a bunch of cool stuff sucks when it's wrecked all over the van. I am partial to one bag packed with clothes only so it can be thrown around and stashed in the trailer and one bag for laptop/ipod/headphones etc.

Socks can't be said enough.

Also be aware, regular AAA won't even come out if you tell them you're in an RV, or towing a trailer. AAA... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 2:16 PM on June 25, 2008

You are not your parents' opinion of you; you are your opinion of yourself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 12:07 PM on June 12, 2008

Warped tours are always in places with no shade, like parking lots, racetracks, etc. Sunblock is your friend. So is water. They pump in extra sun, so don't get burned or dehydrated for maximum fun.

Travel light, don't get robbed, enjoy the music.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:15 AM on June 11, 2008

Sam Adams Boston lager.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 2:53 PM on June 10, 2008

Wal-Mart gets tow-ey after like 3 days or so.
RV's start to smell pretty quickly, clean often.
If you get one with a toilet, you need to regularly treat the holding tank and even more regularly empty it. Driving around/living with a large tub of pee or poo is unpleasant.
Showering needs a supply of fresh water in a tank, so does the sink.
Change the oil on the generator regularly and plug in to shore line electricity whenever possible.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 11:03 AM on June 9, 2008

Sunblock, and reapply frequently. Otherwise you'll have to get the tat touched up periodically.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:19 AM on June 9, 2008

Grand Buffet! You earned that favorite, churl. As far as stage presence, it's hard to nail down really, especially without seeing your set at least twenty times. You may be suffering from not being on tour, as you're not playing the same set every night in a different place, you're probably playing a different set in the same area.

I can offer some general tips:

Ask the crowd questions. "How's everyone feeling tonight?" "Where are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 3:21 AM on June 2, 2008

Not sure if they do this, but don't let your guitar players get away with tuning their instruments out loud on stage. The need to have muting tuners so they can take care of this without anybody hearing it.

bears repeating.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 5:26 AM on June 2, 2008

I'm a big fan of the Mbox by Digidesign. The Mbox2 mini has 1/4 inch in and XLR in with phantom.

link.

There are other models, the regular Mbox2, the Mbox2 Pro. See what you want/need.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 9:50 PM on May 6, 2008

Get yourself a roll of quarters and find a video arcade to while away some time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:57 PM on March 5, 2008

all epic suggestions. also, less than three TDT.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:12 PM on February 24, 2008

Well, your tongue is made of muscle, and can be trained with exercise like any other muscle. Find some tongue twisters to practice on.

You don't get better at something by staying in your comfort zone, you need to push yourself. Record yourself speaking (reading a passage, doing tongue twisters, singing) and listen back to it with a native speaker, maybe a friend who's accent you admire, and have them point out areas you need improvement in, maybe show it to a few... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 12:34 PM on February 17, 2008

Go to the Borgata. Every other casino sucks in comparison. The Pier at Caesars is cool shops and an Apple store if that's your kind of thing, but it's on the other side of town. If you transfer casinos, make sure you get a transfer receipt to park free at any other casino in town. Make sure you get a player's card wherever you gamble. Have fun.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 11:51 AM on February 17, 2008

I've had a problem like this before, I had my wifi card set to 'g' only instead of 'b+g'. It's buried somewhere in the hardware settings.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 5:10 PM on February 16, 2008

Modded, so it will have a modchip? Just a quick look around leads me to believe there is no modchip for the slim PSP, but I'm not as deeply embedded in the homebrew scene as I once was. The chip for the original PSP (called 'undiluted platinum') required some serious soldering chops to get in without bricking the PSP, if I'm not mistaken. Make sure you at least get to turn it on and see that it is running a game/app off of the memory card and not the UMD drive. Otherwise, you may be taken... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:44 AM on February 15, 2008

I was going to get an iphone, but it's more a toy than a business tool. I settled on a AT&T Tilt once I realized the iphone lacks:

-copy/paste
-send MMS
-IM
-take video
-3G
-handwriting recognition
-tethering
-physical keyboard

I switched over from verizon after having a treo 650 for 2 years and I was sick of waiting for vzw to get a modern handset selection.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:54 AM on January 22, 2008

1- Just go out. Smoke butts outdoors, until they make that illegal. Lobby your favorite bar for an outdoor smoking area with those propane patio heaters. Get other smokers onboard. Be warm.

2- I quite smoking about a year ago. I still go out with the smokers to hang when they're out getting their fixes. Smokers have better conversations for some reason. Just use a line like this: "I'm going out for a smoke, wanna come with?". If they say no, you're not being... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 2:27 AM on January 16, 2008 marked best answer

Get a good knife. Be prepared to use it to defend yourself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:13 AM on January 15, 2008

It's $50. For added bonus points, take the optional insurance. It may seem silly until you find yourself in a situation where you need it and didn't get it. If you get into any kind of accident in a rental car without insurance, you're going to be surprised at how quickly you think, "We're fucked."
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:25 PM on January 14, 2008

If you want your organization to support mac and linux in addition to windows, you're going to have to sink more money into getting the IT people at least one additional mac and linux box to test and ensure all network resources and applications work properly. Then, you're going to have to pay them for the time to make all those things work as required. Right now, it seems like you have a system that works reasonably well, save for the occasional crash (macs crash too, save early, save often,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 4:48 AM on January 14, 2008

Possible workaround: check if the distortion exists via the dock connector, you're going to need dock-style speakers or an old-school ipod dock with a line out to check.

Also, since it's used, make sure the EQ settings are set to flat and not some wacky setting that's causing the distortion.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:15 AM on January 10, 2008

i'll be your friend. mind you, i'm a big dork and i'm really only good as text at the other end of a wire, but you're welcome to full access to my (awesome) brain. send me some mefi mail and i'll get you my nerd-contact info.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 7:00 AM on January 9, 2008

i'm a huge fan of the word 'dunch', both as the meal between lunch and dinner, and its other meanings.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 1:14 AM on January 8, 2008 marked best answer

DOB-DOD is never, ever tacky for a tattoo. Seriously. Maybe arrange a domino layout with the pips as hearts representing the DOB/DOD thing, that's the first thing to come to mind. That would make a cool sleeve.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 7:58 AM on January 7, 2008

what's the approximate budget and timeframe here? the best gifts i've given/gotten are the ones used every day, so you're always reminded of the giver.

perhaps an ipod, nicely engraved with a personal message, pre-filled with all sorts of nice sentimental songs. of course, ipods are very expensive. smoker? drinker? engraved flask/cigarette case/lighter.

maybe a musical instrument, if she plays, but that's a pretty personal item, and if she's a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:05 AM on January 7, 2008

Get her an awesome tattoo, maybe get yourself a matching or complimentry one at the same time. Pain and sentiment and memories all rolled into one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:40 AM on January 7, 2008

unpossible.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:06 PM on January 6, 2008

and a wiki link.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:09 PM on January 6, 2008 marked best answer

we can all learn a valuable lesson here:

paying attenention in school gets you nothing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:18 PM on January 6, 2008

i'm listening to the thriller cover from here. There's some more pop shaz, too.

more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:18 PM on January 5, 2008 marked best answer

MIDI-assignable knobs are very fun and useful in progs like FLStudio.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:08 PM on January 4, 2008 marked best answer

There are a few angles you can take here. If you're willing to spend up to $1000, you're willing to spend more than enough to get a great guitar.

Here's what's up:

-Depending on the type of music he wants to play, an acoustic might not be the ideal. The only real difference in learning on an acoustic vs. learning on an electric is that on acoustics it's slightly harder to press the strings down on the frets, building a little more finger strength,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:05 PM on January 4, 2008 marked best answer

I have this exact same problem. The only thing that solves it is going into rounter config and doing a quick release/renew. Sometimes I don't even need to release, just renew. I hate it. It's only myspace that does it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 12:23 AM on December 17, 2007

Gamecube controllers (at least 2) & Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash, at the very least. Wii's will play Gamecube games, and these two are some of the best ever.

If you have a HDTV, get component cables so you can play in higher def.

I agree with having at least 2 Wiimotes + nunchuks. They'll come in handy, and rechargeable batteries + charging station lessens battery costs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:10 AM on December 15, 2007

Take lots of pictures of yourself and others. Buy a moleskine and fill it up. Get a really awesome tattoo. Watch every episode of an awesome tv series in one sitting. Do some stand-up at an open mic night.

If all else fails, fight club.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:22 PM on December 9, 2007

I read this q before and had no answer, but I recommend The Contortionist's Handbook but Craig Clevenger. Quick read, pretty awesome, might spark something as of yet unsparked.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:03 PM on December 7, 2007

1-60 was fun, but being 60 and progressing to high level content was more fun. 60-70 was also fun, but since I started seriously raiding and doing all the 70+ content is awesome.

I can understand why someone would want to skip the level grind, as it can get pretty boring, but people who buy accounts are mostly viewed pretty unfavorably. I don't think you're really going to find anyone who is going to be like, "oh, you bought your account? great! that's so cool!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 4:18 PM on December 5, 2007

drumcorps is brutal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 6:12 PM on December 3, 2007

Learn to lie by practicing lying and committing to the lies. Make something completely outlandish up in your head and see how far you can take it. Not showing emotion or consciously expressing neutrality is pretty much lying, and lying is just another skill you can be good or bad at, one that gets better with practice. As has been mentioned, playing poker and acting/improv will help you hone the skill.

More advice: Actively train yourself to not react. Instead, observe... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 9:38 AM on November 27, 2007

Memorizing a string of digits, like pi.
Counting cards in blackjack while appearing as if you're not counting cards.
Starting a business.
Learning a trade, like carpentry.
Playing a MMO.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 8:18 AM on November 26, 2007

In case you hadn't heard, rural NJ kind of has a bear problem. Be careful what you're attracting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by knowles at 10:52 PM on November 24, 2007