What? Three people on this thread claim to have been "upper middle class" and had chauffeurs and maids? Is it a sign of being upper class to modestly refer to oneself as upper middle class? Because otherwise this makes no sense at all to me.

Anyway, I think you approach this by remembering that no matter who you are, there will always be people with more money than you and less money than you, higher status jobs than you and lower status jobs than you. You... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 7:02 PM on May 6, 2008

A property management company will take care of everything--advertising for tenants, evicting them if they don't pay rent, arranging for repairs, landscape maintenance, collecting rent, etc. They generally take 5% plus costs in my area.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 6:47 PM on May 6, 2008

Also--I did have the repair guy out on this (for this same issue) while the range was still under warranty, but it's out of warranty now. Am I out of luck? Is it even worth my time to pursue it?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 2:41 PM on May 6, 2008

Yeah, I know I should have returned it right away, but I had my father-in-law and husband both telling me I was crazy. I'm not hearing that so much now that the gas company has confirmed that it is putting out like 100x the safe amount of CO. Funny how that works.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 3:15 PM on May 6, 2008

jet_silver: Yes, I am sure it's natural gas--we are the ones who paid to have the gas company connect the line from the main to our house. The flame is way too yellow, and too large--on a gas stove the flame should be a tight blue flame, but these are leaping, waving, blue-and-yellow flames.

GuyZero: We also have a gas "wood" stove that seems to work just fine.

CwgrlUp: Great idea, I called the gas company and their records say... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 5:26 PM on May 6, 2008

I had papillary thyroid cancer at age 39, with a similar tumor size except that mine was multinodal.

ThyCa is the best thyroid cancer support group. Don't get freaked out by what you read there, though--the people who stick around on there are, naturally, the few with continuing problems. Most people, including me, only hang around during their treatment.

I did a ton of research--just absolutely obsessively researched night and day--and the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:30 AM on May 5, 2008

Oh, and I also meant to say that she should expect to feel unbelievably tired for about two months, at least going by my experience. I remember lying on the sofa, starving to death and only about 15 feet from the refrigerator, but completely unable to get up and get myself a snack. I was so tired it was nauseating, but not in the normal way--very hard to describe. So you should be prepared to help her out a lot during this time.

Then one Tuesday I woke up and felt just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 1:31 PM on May 5, 2008

Biscotti has (yet again) given some excellent advice. (It's worth checking out all her other dog advice as well.) Dogs bark and lunge for different reasons, and judging by the Pomeranians I've seen, I'm willing to bet that your Pom is very reactive. A prong collar can be disastrous with this type of dog--they are already overstimulated and having trouble coping with all the sensory input around them; to add pain and more fear to the situation will only make it worse. The right equipment can help,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:01 AM on May 4, 2008

My in-laws do this to their neighbor. The neighbor has even offered to give them the cat, and they declined. WTF? I think it's because they like having a cat but don't want the responsibility of paying vet bills.

Anyway, what if you just said to her, "He usually spends the day outside and comes in around 6 pm, and when he doesn't show up, I get really worried. Do you mind just tossing him out by 5:00 so I won't worry?"
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 3:41 PM on May 2, 2008

Send a mom frozen Panang curry and feed her for a day; teach a mom to make Panang curry and feed her for a lifetime. Mae Ploy is, according to many (including me) the best brand of curry paste and also the best brand of coconut milk. Elephant is a really good brand of jasmine rice. These three things plus a recipe would make a really nice gift. Also, tofu can be bought pre-fried, if the frying is too much for her.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 12:22 PM on May 2, 2008

I have a dog who has a lot of anxiety and is very sound sensitive. She freaks out at the sound of loud buses, skateboards, etc. I recently took her to a behaviorist, who taught me counter-conditioning, and so far it has been working beautifully. Basically (bear with me here, I'll try to adapt it to your situation in a minute) I take her out with a bag full of super-yummy treats, like chicken or steak or cheese, and hang out with her in a spot where I know the buses pass by, not so close that she... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:31 AM on May 2, 2008

Whoops, meant to explain that once I see her looking up at me for a treat when she hears the noise, then I know it's safe to move to the next level, i.e., a little closer to where the buses are. Gradually she builds up a tolerance.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:34 AM on May 2, 2008

Okay, I've never tried this myself, but I have read about it. What you do is wait until fall, then get a spade and cut through the roots all the way around. You are going to be moving the root ball inside the circle cut you make, so you want to make it as large as possible but not so big that you won't be able to move it. Then you do nothing until spring. Meantime the tree is growing new little rootlets inside of the line that you cut, basically forming a more extensive root system in there to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:10 AM on May 2, 2008

I am so sorry for your trouble. Although I know the severity of my condition is less than yours, I have had surgery for a ruptured disk and currently have another herniated disk. Sitting in a regular chair can be unbearable. I have an Aeron chair that, for me, is nothing short of miraculous. It is completely adjustable and comes in different sizes. I can sit in this thing for ten hours at a time and not feel fatigued. The front edge of the seat is curved, and the seat itself is made of some kind... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 1:28 PM on May 1, 2008

Oh, and I meant to say that I bought the chair seven years ago, sit in it for 8-12 hours a day, and it's still literally as good as new. I mean I can detect zero change in the seat--it is as bouncy and supportive as the day I bought it. At this rate, I expect it will easily last another 15 years at least. So you can factor that into your decision.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:46 AM on May 2, 2008

Well I don't know about Bradford pears, but I have a mountain ash right outside my door that smells exactly like semen when it flowers. So I guess there's more than one. Yay.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 6:03 PM on May 1, 2008

Things I bitterly regret doing while living in our house:

1) Refinishing the wood floors by our inexperienced selves. Orange dust everywhere => orange popcorn ceiling.
2) Removing orange popcorn ceiling. Little bits of orange "popcorn" everywhere, plus--bonus!--we learned why the previous owners had put the popcorn up in the first place. See #3.
3) Re-sheetrocking the ceilings to cover up all the cracked plaster that the popcorn had... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 6:00 PM on May 1, 2008

Air "fresheners" only add odor; what you want is to remove it. You need to give your car a good cleaning, then turn over a new leaf. Keep some plastic garbage bags in there, and anytime you need to transport something stinky, put it in a bag. If the car is terminally smelly, then you could try keeping large quantities of baking soda or charcoal in there to absorb the odor.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 10:58 AM on April 29, 2008

41. I have this feeling to a really distressing degree. In my twenties and early thirties I had a wonderful feeling of mental clarity and quickness, and was quite accomplished academically and professionally. Now I sit down to analyze a problem for work and often feel like crying because I just don't have the brainpower to do it anymore. I believe the fog was brought on by medical problems. I've had several surgeries, long-term severe iron deficiency, went several years getting only four hours... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:26 AM on April 26, 2008

I don't have anything useful to say other than I think DarlingBri's idea is genius. And I don't even have kids.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 12:36 PM on April 24, 2008

I have not used it myself but in the course of dealing with my skin issues have consulted with four nationally recognized dermatologists, all of whom enthusiastically recommended Obagi if you can tolerate it. From what I have read online, it takes a lot of commitment to get through the beet-red/flaky/peeling/provoking-stares-from-strangers phase, but the results can be truly impressive. One of my dermatologists said she had to go off it because she just couldn't find a way... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 5:08 PM on April 23, 2008

Nthing the excercise, and not just walking but running. A tired dog is a good dog. Could you all pitch in to hire a dog walker/runner? I know it's your roommate's responsibility but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It also might help to change his food to one with higher protein. EVO and Solid Gold (and a couple of other brands I forget) make grain-free kibble that has a much higher protein content than other foods. My dog is definitely a little calmer since switching.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:29 AM on April 19, 2008

I can't help you with a restaurant, but if you want to make your own, I'm sure the rice was just short-grain white rice. It's also sometimes labeled "sushi rice."
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:16 AM on April 19, 2008

Well, this is kind of dated, but from the tourist perspective, we spent two weeks in Tokyo the winter before last, and felt that it cost exactly the same as spending two weeks in Seattle--hotels, restaurants, site seeing, etc.--comparing similar establishments. Of course there are the typical Japanese exceptions like the bizarrely perfect and exorbitantly priced fruit and so forth, but in general we were amazed at how directly comparable the prices were to those at home.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 5:23 PM on April 18, 2008

The closest, best place to the Warwick is the Spitfire.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 2:30 PM on April 16, 2008 marked best answer

"Best" in terms of number of TVs tuned to sports, I mean. Not particularly fabulous in any other way. That Sport place by Seattle Center would be fine, too, just a longer walk.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 2:34 PM on April 16, 2008

My wedding was at 4:00 in Washington, D.C.! I think the reception lasted until about 10:30 or 11:00, but you would have been fine leaving at 9:30.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:47 AM on April 16, 2008

Yup, the bell. I just took my puppy's paw and hit the bell right before going out each time. She made the connection in about two days. Then I spent the next two weeks taking her out every three minutes because I couldn't tell when she was playing with the bell and when she really had to go, but she was perfectly potty trained. Well worthwhile.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 9:18 AM on April 14, 2008

Yeah, the IKEA in Renton definitely has a "no tax sale" once a year, I think around tax time but I'm not sure. Why don't you just call them up?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 1:59 PM on April 11, 2008

This is easy. You don't want him doing chores during work hours. You might even forbid him to do any chores during work hours. It is sooooo easy when working from home to lose half the day with "oh I'll just pop a load of laundry in the washer" and "I'll be able to concentrate so much better if these dishes are out of the way" and "might as well put that laundry in the dryer now" and "wouldn't a batch of muffins be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 9:26 AM on April 10, 2008

Or mice. We once found a cache of Spanish peanuts in our car's air conditioning vent. Pretty cute, actually.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 3:18 PM on April 9, 2008

County Extension Agency.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 3:16 PM on April 9, 2008

I think you should go as a gesture of support for your co-worker. It is very important to people that their loved one's funeral be well-attended. There was a major rift in my family recently over this. One person's in-law died, and it appeared that there would be practically no one attending the funeral, so she asked her own parents to attend, for her husband's sake. Her father refused, saying he didn't know the deceased well and it wasn't his family. Cut to major brouhaha. Totally different... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 4:40 PM on April 7, 2008

Quick update: I had the same issue, white MacBook cover all FUBARed. After reading this, I ordered the Novus plastic polish that Perplexer recommended and just finished using it. Voila! It's not flawless but it looks pretty damn good. If I were sufficiently motivated, I believe I could get it looking nearly flawless, but I'm too lazy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 12:27 PM on April 6, 2008

Well, for beef, Alderspring Ranch seems to have a truly impressive operation for raising organic, grass-fed beef. I recently started eating meat after 17 years of being a vegetarian, and this is one of the few places that I feel comfortable buying from. It's gotten great reviews, beating out wagyu beef and Niman Ranch. They will ship their beef to you frozen.

I recently found Thundering Hooves, which sells grass fed beef, pork, lamb, goat, and pastured chicken and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 11:57 AM on April 6, 2008

A rolled up newspaper and a few days is all you need.

PLEASE ignore this! There is never any reason to hit a dog. Virtually every dog can be trained to be well-behaved using positive methods, and I'm sure your mini-dachsies are no exception. If your husband isn't interested in doing it, why don't you take it up, or hire a professional trainer for one or two sessions? It's fun, and it will certainly be cheaper than replacing all... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 12:52 AM on April 5, 2008

I bought my recorder online from a place that spelled out its policy of letting you try out the instrument and return it if you weren't happy, regardless of the reason. Unfortunately, I'm just dumb enough not to remember the name of the place or recognize it when I try to search for it. It was a site that sold only recorders/recorder sheet music/etc. I'm sorry I can't find it for you, but I thought I'd throw it in just so you know that such a place does exist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:03 PM on April 3, 2008

Also, as I recall, the return policy applied both to wood and plastic recorders, cheap and expensive alike.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:05 PM on April 3, 2008

Ah HA! It's Collins and Williams Historic Woodwinds, and they let you try it for two weeks before you're locked in.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:11 PM on April 3, 2008 marked best answer

Third?ing "Black Diamond Canadian Extra Sharp." I weep for all the years this cheese eluded me, when it was probably sitting right there in my grocery next to the decidedly second-best Tillamook Extra Sharp (sorry all you Tillamook lovers!).

I had a friend who once worked on the Tillamook cheese "assembly" line. She said the guys "cutting the cheese" used to amuse themselves by fashioning genitalia out of the cheese and putting it on the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 5:32 PM on April 3, 2008

How strange--I heard this expression for the first time just a week or so ago in an e-mail from a friend, who said "The trial is coming up on April 7th. I'll be pretty much out of pocket until then." It sounds wrong to my ears.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 7:04 AM on April 3, 2008

Connections.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 3:17 PM on April 2, 2008

This sounds like the kind of thing that would seem quirky and sweet in a movie, but has too much potential to go wrong in real life.

For basic French, you need Pimsleur. It's not cheap if you buy it, but hopefully you can find it at a library.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 9:39 AM on April 2, 2008

Here's a This American Life episode that might shed some light.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:35 PM on April 1, 2008

It's pretty easy for me because we moved at least once a year, often twice, and I was constantly changing schools, apartments, towns, and states. Also, both of my parents went through numerous relationships, so I can tell by whichever S.O. is in the memory. I've always wondered how people with normal childhoods could tell what age they were in memory!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 12:44 PM on March 28, 2008

Yes, Pimsleur.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 1:48 PM on March 25, 2008

Also similar to Floradix is a product called Hema-Plex. It's an iron pill with a bunch of other things in it that are supposed to make the iron absorbed more efficiently.

In the past I have been prescribed ferrous gluconate on the theory that it is less upsetting than ferrous sulfate, but it gave me diarrhea. Everyone is different, though--right now I'm taking SlowFe and it's fine.

I was told by my doctor to always take my iron with either a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 7:37 PM on March 23, 2008

You know, rereading your question, I think maybe you should consider finding another doctor who is more expert in treating this condition. If you are short of breath and nearly passing out, it seems to me that the iron in a multivitamin would fall far, far short of what you need. For purposes of comparison, my recent bloodwork revealed my ferritin levels to be 4 ng/ml (I think that's the correct unit), and it's supposed to be 51. This is a years-long condition for me; even so, I am not short of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:39 PM on March 23, 2008

I wouldn't read too much into it. My father-in-law is constantly winking at me for no apparent reason, and I'm pretty sure he's not coming on to me. Also, people will sometimes wink at you as a way of silently commenting on something another person in your party has just said. Could that have happened in your case? Was anyone spouting a wacko theory or saying anything else notable?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 8:58 PM on March 22, 2008

Nthing those who have said that if you are planning to tether the dog or ask a stranger to hold the leash while you dash inside, make sure you clear it with his owner first! I personally would not be okay with this, but even if I were, I'd want to know about it beforehand.

I wonder why service dogs don't spread dangerous germs? Or debilitate those with dog allergies?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Enroute at 2:15 PM on March 21, 2008