Sounds like you already know this, but the first thing to do is to take out the hard drive, put it in an external enclosure (can be had cheaply) and back it up. Then you can experiment without risking any data loss (who knows what could happen during one of these OS crashes).

Otherwise, if you can boot off CD or USB you could try some diagnostics, either memtest86 or manufacturer-provided (maybe available for download).
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:14 AM on July 24, 2008

I think this comes from a rejection/suppression of the aspects of your own personality that might lead you to do something just as cringeworthy as what you're witnessing in the other person. Not that you're likely to engage in exactly the same behavior, but you fear the possibility that you could wind up in such a situation. And in a way, the fact that you fear it kind of draws you to it--kind of like a vertigo thing, where it's not the fear of falling, but the fear of wanting to fall. And if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 10:50 AM on July 18, 2008

When I did this, my 'action' list (actual to-do list) only contained things that could be done immediately (given the proper context). I also had a 'calendar' file, which was also a text file, but contained things like:

7/1/08 check air in tires +1m

The tag at the end indicates a repetition. So, when I'm marking that as done, I just add the next one at the appropriate time. This is more flexible than an automated system because I can also... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 2:23 PM on July 7, 2008

I think it has something to do with the sine wave being the "smoothest" possible periodic function; both the function itself and all of its derivatives are continuous, whereas something like a sawtooth or square wave would have discontinuities in the first derivative.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:27 PM on June 28, 2008

But there are other that are other functions that have those properties.

Could you name them, please?

I'm pretty sure there is something that is mathematically most "simple" about a sine wave. The presence of discontinuities in other functions makes them more complex in some way (that I'm sure can be more precisely defined mathematically with the proper background).
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:57 PM on June 28, 2008

ochenk, yes, but that is a circular argument, because "harmonics" are just projections onto sine waves. You could use triangular waves as your basis and define "triangular harmonics", and then you'd be able to say that a triangular wave is the only one with no triangular harmonics.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 8:06 PM on June 28, 2008

Assuming the sine/cosine functions are unique in that regard, I still don't understand what the significance of that would be.

I'm just saying I believe there's a definite mathematical sense in which sine is the "simplest" (or "smoothest") periodic function (by nature of the continuity of its derivatives), and that this holds regardless of whether the sine wave does or does not appear in nature.

I think... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 8:23 PM on June 28, 2008

If you have a TiVo or other rewindable medium, try recognizing when your mind is wandering and rewinding back to before it happened. (Maybe try this alone if you're liable to really annoy your friends and family.) I find it interesting that, when I do this, I can pretty much always pinpoint the exact moment I mentally checked out for some reason.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:08 PM on June 28, 2008

How about just going to a store and buying an external CD-ROM drive? It's not like they're that expensive. In most cases where paid work is involved, it would seem better just to be able to get on with it, even if it costs you a few bucks up front.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 12:36 PM on June 27, 2008

Those USB enclosures go for as low as $10, so depending the price difference for machines with or without a drive (and how much time you're willing to spend), you could buy an enclosure, wipe the drive with some multi-pass erase utility, then sell the machine with the drive.

But it probably makes more sense to keep the drive as Ookseer describes.

In the past I've been able to get a pretty decent price for these on eBay, even being sold as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 11:45 PM on June 26, 2008

A recent one that comes to mind was Kristen Bell on Craig Fergusion.

Not so much on the "current" part, but there was a classic one with Richard Harris on Letterman where he told a story about a Dublin judge telling him to fly over in a helicopter instead of driving (drunk). Letterman seemed to consider it pretty much a perfect interview (couldn't find it on YouTube).
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:04 PM on June 26, 2008

I found this "Dream Yoga" site has an interesting process for analyzing dreams. Basically the idea is to try to take on the perspective of each character or element in the dream and see how it relates to all the other characters or elements. In this way you can reveal some of the shadow elements that you can't see from your normal waking perspective.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 9:40 PM on June 19, 2008

It's not necessarily within the domain of science to decide what is or isn't meaningful at a human level. For example, you could also make the argument that "science says all experience is just a bunch of brain chemicals", and reason from there that it is impossible for us to make any meaningful judgments about morality, art, etc.

I would agree that interpreting dreams from a strict "dream dictionary" approach is pretty worthless. However, the value... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 11:09 AM on June 20, 2008

To give a more specific example of what I mean about investigating shadow:

There's a technique you might try applying called the "3-2-1 technique". Basically the idea is to take a character from the dream, then relate to them in first the third, then the second, then the first person. In the third person you just describe them; in the second you imagine a conversation with them; and in the first you speak as if you are them.

For... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 12:49 PM on June 20, 2008

Our medical establishment is focused on treating conditions that can be defined as disorders, not on improving the "normal" condition. (Probably why what defines a disorder is becoming more and more broad in some ways.) You'd need the support of doctors for the kind of transhumanist projects you're talking about, which may be hard to find.

But I think this kind of thing is happening anyway, it's just that the ways in which it's already happening seem obvious... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 11:13 PM on June 4, 2008

This is affecting my success at applying to rent a new apartment.

Hmm, are you applying to super-exclusive places or something? I can't really imagine most apartments turning you down if you're willing to show them proof of your net worth. Remember, you're entering into a negotiation with them; you don't have to just go by whatever blanks are available on the application form. If they try to turn you down based solely on credit score, I'd just call... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 5:01 PM on May 28, 2008

I don't think Bolivia works. For example, consider the area near the border with Paraguay. e.g. if you picked Tarija and Puerto Aguirre as the two points, the line between them would run through Paraguay, violating the condition.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 6:03 PM on May 23, 2008

I'd suggest checking out the notebookreview.com forums. I've mostly only looked at the Dell forums there, but they generally have good instructions on how to do a clean install (with zero bloatware), as well as advice on performance tuning in general.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:40 PM on May 20, 2008

I use rdiff-backup. Its method of generating actual incremental snapshots just seems better to me than the rsnapshot technique of just hard-linking everything together. It also keeps a separate copy of the metadata (permissions, etc.), so I think it would even work on a FAT32 target, although I haven't tried it.

At my current rate, after excluding a few unnecessary directories like the Firefox cache, I'll probably be able to go a couple months at least without having... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 2:31 AM on May 19, 2008

I used to use a SqueezeBox for this. One nice thing about it is that it can connect to Pandora directly without needing the Mac to be involved at all. (Although you can still connect to the Mac to listen to your own music or do other things.) When I used it, it did require the paid version of Pandora after the 90-day free trial.

Looks like they have a new version now with a fancy remote.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 9:29 AM on May 9, 2008

Lots of time on Chess Tactics Server.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 10:28 PM on April 27, 2008

I don't think you'll be able to get one locally for under $50. My suggestion would be to buy the universal 70W Targus brand at Fry's (about $80), then order a proper one from somewhere else and return the Targus when you get it (Fry's == very liberal return policy).

I just went through the exact same thing in the past week. Watch out if the Targus says "power only" next to your laptop model; that means it will only power the computer, not charge the battery,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 8:28 PM on April 26, 2008

I would definitely be aware that the depression is going to make you catastrophize your current situation. It may be that it's not such a big deal to your advisor that you're behind on the project; it could be that he thinks you're valuable regardless of the outcome of the project, that maybe the project had problems anyway, maybe it doesn't matter so much if it's finished a little later, etc.

I'd make sure any judgment about problems with your work is coming from your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 12:42 PM on April 21, 2008

Obligatory recommendation for Feeling Good by David Burns. Seriously, I would get this book and just commit to doing the exercises without worrying about whether that means you're not truly accepting yourself or whatever else.

A key insight here is that all you're dealing with is your own thoughts. Your thoughts can tell you things are great in a seemingly terrible situation, or that things are terrible in a great situation. So one approach is to modify your thinking... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:15 AM on April 20, 2008

Red Hot Pawn is a good place to play correspondence chess, as described above, if you find that works for you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:43 PM on April 19, 2008

Although it sounds like not quite what you want, I will throw out, in case anyone doesn't know, that there is something called Joe's Goals that lets you do the checkmark-tracking thing.

They do have a "logbook" option which lets you write a few words instead of just putting in a checkmark; maybe that would be somewhat closer to what you want.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 5:15 PM on April 19, 2008

My vote is that he really was abused. Michael is still a somewhat honorable character, and I don't see him being cruel enough to have the Dad killed just because he was annoying.

Also agree that Chris is probably drawing on experience being raped in prison while beating on the Dad.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2008

I wonder if keeping a dream journal would help. If you'd written something down in the dream journal that would remove (reduce?) the possibility of considering it real later.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 1:42 PM on April 17, 2008

I think if you try to ignore or suppress dreams entirely, you're missing out on an opportunity to work out some internal conflicts before they blow up into externalized, real-world dramas. Hence, again, the suggestion that maybe by writing dreams down you could firmly place those experiences in the "dream" category right away and remove the confusion.

In any case, if it were me, my approach would be to see if I could use the dreams as allies rather than trying... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 2:50 PM on April 17, 2008

have not given him any reason to strut his stuff

Not that it justifies what he's doing, and not that you shouldn't call the cops, etc., but seeing a group of 21-year old females watching him and acting amused (laughing) probably does constitute a good reason to "strut his stuff" from his point of view.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:25 PM on April 16, 2008

I would agree to call the cops but not get involved otherwise. You don't want to make yourself an object of interest to a crazy person.

You can't really offer any help that hasn't already been offered more effectively by the police or other social services (and probably rejected). You can't rescue adults from their own circumstances unless they're making an effort to take the first step.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:47 PM on April 16, 2008

Hmm, I'm not sure how evilelvis's comment is being read, but it seems to me he said to call the cops and let them handle it, i.e. pretty much the same thing everyone else said.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 5:07 PM on April 16, 2008

Assuming a lot of effort is involved for essentially no gain, perhaps "Pyrrhic victory".
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 8:25 PM on April 12, 2008

Yes, the battery conditioning tips above should theoretically fix the bogus time remaining/% remaining predictions.

In my experience having a modern laptop battery wear out that much in 15 months is pretty much normal if you use the battery frequently.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 1:57 PM on April 5, 2008

I've often heard it said about chess that it's better to follow through on a so-so plan than to keep changing plans or not have a plan at all. Maybe a conscious effort to apply this idea would help a bit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:25 PM on March 18, 2008

There's a magical spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office in the Harry Potter movies and books.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:00 PM on March 13, 2008

It's normal for the circadian rhythm to have a dip in the afternoon (around 6 hours after you wake up). To a certain extent you may just have to accept this and plan around it. Making sure you get enough sleep all around should make it less problematic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 4:06 PM on March 7, 2008

Not sure if it's the best solution for you, but you can affect the monitor power management using the 'dpms' option to the xset command. For example,

xset -display :0 dpms force on

would force the monitor to stay on (use 'off' to turn it off). To set it to blank after 5 minutes, it would be:

xset -display :0 dpms 0 0 300

See man xset for more information on the options.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 5:24 PM on March 4, 2008 marked best answer

Yes, you should be able to do that. For example, something like this in your .bashrc should work:


function totem
{
xset -display :0 dpms force on
/usr/bin/totem $*
xset -display :0 dpms 0 0 300
}


I have a similar problem with vlc--it disables the power saving when it starts, but doesn't turn it back on when it exits. I have something almost... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:08 PM on March 5, 2008 marked best answer

Some of these don't seem wrong at all. For example, what's wrong with "...and this bird you cannot change"?

Was "As I Lay Dying" bad grammar when Faulkner used it?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 9:42 AM on March 5, 2008

I had a problem like this once--deposited a check and withdrew $40 or so, and the ATM just gave me the receipt showing the $40 withdrawal but didn't give me any cash. I called the bank right away, feeling sure that I would have problems because I had essentially no proof, but fortunately they credited me back right away. It probably helped that it was a small amount, and also that I had a large direct deposit coming in regularly.

The newer ATMs I'm seeing these days do... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 3:15 PM on March 4, 2008

Maybe narcolepsy is not quite the same as sleepiness, but perhaps this would be useful: Narcolepsy in popular culture.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 11:28 AM on March 4, 2008

Hmm, I'm not sure this would be so easy at Caltech specifically. For one, they only have 800 undergrads, so there aren't going to be a lot of huge lectures unless it's the one required Intro to Physics course or something. Also, I'm not sure they hold regular classes in the summer at all.

But of course I'm sure someone else will know better...
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 1:57 PM on February 27, 2008

Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but Radiant Mind is a good presentation of the nondual spiritual traditions that is very low on any kind of dogma.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 1:05 AM on February 27, 2008

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that the age of your credit lines is a significant factor in your credit score. If this is a particularly old account, or you don't have many credit lines total, you may just want to set the card aside as opposed to cancelling it, if you do get to that point. (Use it occasionally so they don't cancel it on you--maybe put a small recurring monthly charge on it, and have it automatically paid through your bank's billpay.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 10:21 PM on February 20, 2008

You can do it without a cron job. Just open a Terminal window and type something like:

ping -i 300 www.google.com

That would be a 5-minute interval.

Now maybe for some the cron job would be more convenient, but I'm guessing anyone asking this question would not be in that category.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 3:19 PM on February 10, 2008

I doubt doing your own thing for a year will hurt your employability at all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you could come back to the exact same job at the same company.

If your company needs you as badly as you say, you can probably get them to continue to pay you on an hourly basis as a consultant. Pick up a couple other clients and you have a legitimate resume line item, and you can live indefinitely without relying on savings and still set aside a significant... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 7:24 PM on February 9, 2008

In WoW, the concept of items being "soulbound" (already mentioned by samsara) seems to be pretty important. Most good items can't be traded off a character once being equipped, or sometimes even once picked up. This keeps them from being devalued by having the market absolutely flooded with them.

There also need to be sinks that remove money from the economy completely. Repair costs in WoW would be a good example of this.

You might... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 2:11 PM on February 9, 2008

Sometimes I find it can be helpful to create a rough hour-by-hour plan of what you're going to do for the rest of the day. Just take 5 minutes and write down a few words for each hour. Don't make it all chores and errands, but include a lot of fun, simple things, e.g. play guitar, watch movie, go for coffee, etc. It helps to feel like you've got a bunch of specific activities planned rather than that you're just staring into a big chunk of unstructured time. You don't have to feel obligated... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 8:05 PM on February 7, 2008

Well, I am stating the obvious, but does this software have some kind of progress meter? Why not just let it run for n minutes and then do some arithmetic? If you're wiping the disk anyway, it's not like you're going to lose anything if you interrupt it and start over. I don't see much reason the progress would be non-linear.

And this is tangential to the question, but security only really makes sense in relation to the likelihood of a particular attack. I would... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dixie flatline at 11:08 PM on February 6, 2008