The West End of Vancouver BC (downtown peninsula area) is a perfect place to live without a car. Its population density is actually higher than the average density for Manhattan island, which gives you an idea how walkable everything else. Do some googling about Davie and Denman streets.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:20 PM on July 22, 2008

Max budget is $3,000 US dollars?

Buy: Honda Civic.... Toyota Corolla, maybe an older Honda Accord. When I was between cars I bought a 1992 Accord wagon for $2800 and then sold it again 4 months later for almost as much as I paid for it. It had 200,000 miles on it and was still running fine.

Do not buy: Anything US domestic, anything with an engine larger than 4 cylinders / 2.0 liters.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:17 PM on July 22, 2008

Oh and DO NOT BUY A VOLVO. Not in your price range. Unless you live in sweden parts for Volvos (I'm assuming you're looking at 740/760/850 series) are twice as expensive as the same parts for early-90s Japanese cars. Labor for a mechanic that is familiar with the quirks of volvos can also be more expensive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:19 PM on July 22, 2008

$1200 for two struts and labor on a Camry is completely ridiculous.

For reference a set of front struts (more complicated) for a mid-1990s Toyota 4Runner cost about $220-240 for the parts. These are significantly beefier items designed for a light duty 4x4 truck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 7:23 AM on July 19, 2008

Try using the Eagle Creek Cube / Half Cube / Quarter Cubes. This lets you have all your underwear and socks and toiletries together in one easy to grab package. I have one for socks, another for underwear, and a third smaller one for medication/misc.

If you travel with a lot of technology they can also be useful to hold things like USB cables, chargers for cameras, extra batteries, flash cards in their little plastic snap-open cases, etc.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:05 AM on July 18, 2008

Immigrants (your wife), even by marriage, need to have resident status in Canada and live in Canada for at least 3 years before applying for citizenship. Your sponsorship will of course be helpful in getting the first step taken care of.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:00 AM on July 18, 2008

That's not a garbage truck, that's a 300,000 euro Unicat: http://www.unicat.net/en/intro.html

It appears more spacious in the photos because the top part pops up when it's parked.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 6:41 PM on July 14, 2008

Related to the OP's question, it's what's known as "dry" RVing... where you don't have any facilities to hook up to. Consider the following:

Electricity (solar panels?). Can you calculate the total kilowatt-hour draw of everything you'll be running in your RV? This will help determine cost of panels + inverter + batteries. Space and room for batteries?
Cooking: Most likely propane tanks.
Water supply for showers, doesn't need to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 6:46 PM on July 14, 2008

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you're going to be anywhere with cold weather you'll probably use a propane heater as well, which can run off the same supply as the stove. I have no idea what a tank of propane costs in the USA right now but the total expected consumption is something you might want to work into a year's cost-of-living budget...

As for finding land, it depends a lot on where you are. The BLM as previously mentioned owns huge chunks of the western US. If... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 6:54 PM on July 14, 2008

D300 is probably the best choice in the near-$2000 budget range.

D300 and a 70-200mm VR lens = teh win.

See dpreview.com for a really good in depth article on the D300's features/upgrades over the D80 and D200.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:16 PM on July 11, 2008

What make/model/year of car is it, and what is its condition? It's possible that CarMax's appraisal is not 100% accurate, could be low by $3,000....

However, if it's any sort of SUV you'll have a very difficult time finding a buyer for it in today's marketplace.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 12:01 PM on July 10, 2008

I'm curious why you felt the need to specify that it's a $3,000,000 property. Does that make it magically better for your kids than a more modest cabin on a lake somewhere else?
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 4:38 PM on July 8, 2008

"Gigabit ethernet is something of a scam. The speed you get depends on the chipset of the interfaces, the switch, the length of a the cable, and a slew of other factors you may not be able to plan for. It may not even be that much faster than USB2 in some cases."

Really? I have a Shuttle PC with two 500GB in RAID-1 and a 400GB drive in it working as a FreeBSD/Samba server on my LAN. With MTU set to 9000, plugged into a cheap Netgear 1000BaseTX switch, it will... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:37 PM on July 8, 2008

Find a larger x86 clone builder in your area that buys hard drives in bulk. Seagate and WD both use a 20-pack which is built of thick, dense foam with slots for 20 hard drives. Each slot is fairly deep and there is a foam "lid" which goes on top. These are usually thrown away by computer builders so you should be able to get them for free, if you can locate a source.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:30 PM on July 8, 2008

This "The Land of Veiled Women" is rather weird, I am guessing the author has a fixation on Arab women:

Kept in seclusion, languorous and without exercise,
it is natural that the thought and life of an Arab woman
should be sensuous. Flat roof adjoins flat roof, and it
is possible to journey over half Bou-Saada by the roofs.
An unforgivable offence is for a man to look from his
own roof upon the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 3:25 PM on July 7, 2008

I have an HSBC online savings account. Experience is pretty much the same as wondercow's. When I signed up it was at 5.05% APY and slowly dropped to 3.0%. Now it's back at 3.5% temporarily. Keep in mind that they calculate your interest NOT as an APR, but as a compounded APY, the rate you would earn over 12 months if you keep all of the interest in the same account, and the new higher total of your account with each month's interest added earns interest.

Stay away... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 7:51 PM on July 5, 2008

You can't really get a halfway decent road bicycle for $400, new, that won't even buy an aluminum framed bike with a poor wheelset and 100% Sora level components. Look around $650, take a look at the specs of the Trek 1000 or the entry level model of Specialized's Allez series. That extra $250 is definitely worth it to get you into a type of component set which doesn't totally suck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 5:06 PM on July 5, 2008

I should add that the reason why you want a $650 bike is to get into something with 9-speed shifters, rear derailleur and other drivetrain bits. The 8-speed Sora shifters found on the cheapest road bikes are pretty bad, but the modern 9-speed Shimano STI stuff is much better.

This will also mean you get a bike that is overall lighter, the wheelset will be of marginally higher quality, the crankset will be better, brakes slightly higher quality, etc.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 5:13 PM on July 5, 2008

Google "iPhone DFU restore".

Download the v1.1.4 firmware image and do a full restore...
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:38 AM on July 4, 2008

Yep, that looks like a pretty good example of a young Cannabis Indica plant. You can tell it apart from a Sativa plant by fatter and darker central leaves. It will also be relatively shorter and bushier than a Sativa. Most likely came from the crumbs in the bottom of a bag that somebody dumped there (or someone is playing a joke on you).
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:28 AM on July 4, 2008 marked best answer

1) In the price range under $500 the shop's sticker price is likely to be firm. There is VERY, VERY little profit margin on cheap bikes. If it's last year's model you might ask for a small discount. The profit in a LBS is in the accessories (helmets, shoes, locks, lights, tires, etc). The LBS employees I know would be insulted if somebody asked for a discount on a $430 bike.

2) If they are a big Trek dealer and you want a particular color, of a certain model in a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 3:45 PM on July 3, 2008

dobbs' suggestion to get a bike without a front brake is not a good idea for urban riding. 70% of your braking power comes from a properly set up and used front brake. coaster brakes are plainly dangerous, if all your braking power is at the rear wheel all you are going to do is skid. This is why fixed gear bikes are fitted with front brakes (not counting the insane. even the posengers in vancouver have front brakes).
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:23 AM on July 4, 2008

The economics of replacing a large number of parts on a bike frame don't work out, unless you have access to wholesale prices and are a skilled bike mechanic...

If you want cheap, decent quality transportation head down to a bike shop and, depending on whether you want a mountain or road bike, ask to look at something with a component set matching the SRAM X7/Shimano Deore level, or Shimano 105 for road bikes...
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:15 PM on June 30, 2008

Can you take some high-res photos of the bike in question from multiple angles and put them up on the web somewhere? I've built about five bikes from the bare frame up, do all my own maintenance and worked as a courier for about 1.5 years. Depending on what it is I should be able to tell you what you need to fix it up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:16 PM on June 30, 2008

OK last feedback... Can you read any labels on the current components of the bike, or provide answers for these questions?

make/model/year of frame? is the frame steel or aluminum?

type of headset and fork used? diameter of fork steerer tube?

tire size? if it's really ancient might be some standard like 27 inch, more likely 700C (standard road) or 26" MTB (559mm). What's the condition of the bearings in the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:34 PM on June 30, 2008

Does the $1000 a plate dinner usually get you a photo with the candidate?
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:13 PM on June 30, 2008

OK, I forgot to mention. If anybody has sample documents they would like to contribute, please feel free... Remove all identifying details like company names, personal names, email addresses. I will fill those in with John Doe type information. These would be copied/pasted and projected on a white board from my laptop for group discussion and diagramming/analysis of grammar, idioms, slang, explanation of synonyms for less common words, etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 8:39 AM on June 29, 2008

I suggest you spend at least one week in Vancouver, during the summer, before choosing Toronto... Perhaps I'm biased because it's my hometown, but Toronto is boring and has bad weather!
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:25 PM on June 28, 2008

Slightly safer than camping in the tribal areas of Baluchistan.

DO NOT CARRY UNLICENCED WEAPONS OR AMMUNITION IN MEXICO.

If you do want to carry a weapon in mexico you'd better be certain to go through the long, involved process of getting a permit from the federal government to do so (about as easy as getting a NYC carry permit or a Canadian concealed pistol licence, ie, extremely unlikely).
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:53 PM on June 28, 2008

It definitely looks like a bag that might contain a $3000 laptop and nice set of camera equipment, but you may want to look at the Brenthaven 15/17" laptop backpack:

http://www.brenthaven.com/catalog-apple-pro-15-17.html
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 8:40 AM on June 23, 2008

I would consider it extremely impolite if anyone tried to start a conversation with me in a men's room - or some kind of unwanted come-on...

The most interaction that should take place in there is a nod or short one word greeting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 8:34 AM on June 23, 2008

You want this Firefox extension:

http://www.downloadhelper.net/

Load the page with the FLV on it, save to disk, open with VLC.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:55 AM on June 14, 2008

I don't know how official you could call it (it's not like they had a press conference to announce it) but in March 2000 the secretary of state, Madeleine Albright was quoted as saying the following:

"The Eisenhower administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons. But the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development and it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America.""
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:50 AM on June 14, 2008 marked best answer

I am sure that if you ask nicely at http://bb.nsmb.com (Vancouver BC area mountain bike forum) or http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=41 (Road biking specific forum) people will send you some very gory photos of crashes with head damage due to no helmet. Sometimes people post that sort of stuff for fun and to show how hardcore they are....

Google "Fabio Casartelli" too. Dude crashed at 70 km/h while descending a mountain on a road bike and hit his... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 3:44 AM on June 7, 2008

Oh yeah. Forgot one thing. There is a sort of solution to the "dork factor" related to helmets and armor. It's not cheap, but google "downhill mountain bike armor" or search for topics related to armor at the abovementioned bb.nsmb.com. The freeride/downhill scene has evolved some pretty elaborate full body armor including articulated spinal protection. You can also get some great elbow armor that visually resembles a black polycarbonate version of something gladiators... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 3:47 AM on June 7, 2008

Most modern systems, on failing to find any sort of physical boot device will try booting off the network. If it has any sort of Intel or Broadcom 100Mbps/1000Mbps LAN card it's trying to find a LAN boot server.

Dead hard drive, no power to hard drive, bad cable, corrupted MBR but the hard drive is physically OK, all sorts of possibilities.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 6:59 PM on June 2, 2008

You can get outdoor enclosures suitable for the Linksys from http://www.fab-corp.com and http://www.hyperlinktech.com . Larger omnidirectional antennas which have a N-Female connection on them are also available for less than $75 online. Buy the prefabricated pigtail cable which is N-Male to (whatever connector the AP needs).
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:32 PM on May 31, 2008

Probably the most difficult to accomplish would be the purchase of a single "pork belly" from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. What exactly would that look like, delivered to your door?
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 2:23 PM on May 28, 2008

Genghis

Attilla
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 2:14 PM on May 28, 2008

If you are using Firefox you can also change the search box. I am located on an IP address registered to an APNIC block that is supposed to be Pakistan, so Google.com by default gives me a non english page.

Locate the google.xml file in your searchplugins directory and copy it to google2.xml , replace all instances of google.com in the file with google.ca , google.us, or google.co.uk , save the file and restart firefox.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 12:20 PM on May 27, 2008 marked best answer

Mazdaism = worship of Ahura Mazda, sun god of the Zoroastrians?

I'm assuming the Iranians haven't suddenly decided to worship a Japanese car manufacturer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 5:09 PM on May 26, 2008

I found it, it's at:

34°51'37.73"N

33°22'55.81"E


Who_Am_I located a smaller facility further south, I'm not sure what it is, appears to be one large dish and a couple of smaller ones.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 4:30 AM on May 9, 2008

I know a family with a dog named "Dog" (Well, the dog's name translates as "Dog" in Dari, but it's the same idea)
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 7:08 AM on May 4, 2008

This obviously isn't going to jive with the politics of the current DoS regime, but everyone going to an Arabic-speaking country should read this book. It's amazing how few American citizens know the detailed history of the Iran-Iraq war:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Civilisation-Conquest-Middle/dp/140004151
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 9:32 AM on April 5, 2008

I'm going to second the recommendation on the Petzl Tactikka Plus, I have one and it works very well. It has three brightness settings from high to low, a red filter and a blinking mode.

http://www.amazon.com/Petzl-TacTikka-4-LED-Headlamp-E49P/dp/B0007Q3R3E
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 7:20 AM on March 30, 2008

qvtqht: Also, macbook and macbook pro have no problem running with the lid closed in Windows XP or Vista, with boot camp... Although I probably would not leave my macbook pro running prime95 or the distributed.net client with the lid closed, it does get pretty warm just under normal loads.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:03 PM on March 10, 2008

The latest generation of controllers from 3ware and Areca will let you create an expandable RAID5 array, should you buy more drives in the future... You'll need a 12 or 16-port card (not cheap).

This won't magically expand your partitions, if you add more drives to the RAID5 in the future you'll need to create another logical slice and partition + mount point for the new capacity.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2008

Seconding what Moitz said, and you definitely want to take the old battery with you to be turned in, since it has recycling value... The plates in the battery contain about $10 to $15 worth of metals.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 12:12 AM on March 9, 2008

Oh, I did forget to mention, this would be performed by a European company... We're familiar with the US embargo, OFAC and Commerce Control List.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 11:26 PM on March 8, 2008

It's unfortunate that Volkswagen keeps promising a 50 mpg+ (highway) Turbo Diesel Golf/Jetta for the US market, but it never shows up... Unlike what they already sell in Europe.

The UK market Diesel version of the 2007 Accord gets 55 mpg highway.
posted to Ask Metafilter by thewalrus at 1:36 AM on March 8, 2008