I've seen some quotes on the Bogleheads forum along the lines that it's easier to lose money chasing returns than in regular market fluctuations.

How much extra money would you make - even compounded - by moving your emergency fund to something riskier? How much worry would that cause you if you needed it at a time when your riskier investment had lost value?
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:12 AM on February 1, 2012

If you'd like to learn more about the scientific understanding of hypnosis, there are a number of articles on hypnosis at Scientific American. (Argh ... looks like a lot of them are just teasers for the now-paywalled archive ... but your local library may offer access to a database with back issues of Scientific American if you're interested.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:54 AM on January 26, 2012

I

am

just -




WOW.


The amazing thing is: I can tell everything everyone's recommended will be PERFECT - because I've seen about 25% of the recommendations and loved (or at least seriously liked) them all.

I've seen Gilmore Girls, Pushing Daisies, Freaks and Geeks, Jam and Jerusalem, The Vicar of Dibley, Cold Feet, and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:21 AM on January 25, 2012

dpcoffin, I did indeed see BallyK and quite enjoyed it (especially the first couple of seasons). All your ideas are spot on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 3:24 PM on January 25, 2012

You mentioned writing, but you didn't say what kind of writing - so I'm going to suggest some focused, exploratory journaling.

Give yourself a medium-term goal: say "I will write every weeknight through the end of March."

Then give yourself weekly assignments - maybe:

* week 1: imagine a complete life for yourself. Picture yourself 5 or 10 years in the future. Write vivid, detailed descriptions of where you live,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 5:39 PM on January 12, 2012

The San Bruno pipeline explosion. It killed 8 people and completely destroyed 38 houses.

P G & E (Pacific Gas & Electric) has admitted that a defective weld caused the explosion and that that weld was negligent.

A recent news story revealed that supervisor bonuses were based on their crews finding fewer pipeline leaks - incentivizing poor inspections rather than strong inspections and adequate repairs.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:50 AM on January 12, 2012

I wonder if you could make the interrupting issue a part of the tutoring itself. Something like,

"One thing I'm noticing is that I'm not getting to finish speaking, which means you're missing important parts of what you're paying me for. This probably gets in the way in class and study group, too. Let's work on listening skills as part of today's session."

Then provide some specific techniques to make listening work better. I think some... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 7:36 PM on January 10, 2012

Sorry, just to clarify - these are not available as podcasts or streams. FM is my only option here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 3:37 PM on January 10, 2012

Will Grayson, Will Grayson shifts back and forth every chapter. I believe Are We There Yet? does, too. Also, IIRC, Ralph's Party.

I can't remember anything I've read that shifts POV as often as every paragraph.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:24 AM on January 10, 2012

"Is it considered ok at your workplace to get up every hour or so and walk around?"

Yes, at most of the corporate offices where I've spent time (usually as a contractor), this is considered normal and even encouraged.

From a page about corporate life at Oracle.com: "Sometimes when I need an ergonomic break, I walk around the lake to stretch my legs ...

From a Wells Fargo health... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 8:44 PM on January 8, 2012

I found recommendations for the Car Talk Mechanics reviews on another AskMe - it seems a bit better than Yelp for auto repair.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 12:46 PM on January 4, 2012

I know you're asking about Season Two, but - like sandra_s - I came in to say "Darmok." I'm a middling TNG fan, and I thought that was the best episode of the series. So: when you're ready for Season 5, please do watch "Darmok."
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 6:38 PM on December 22, 2011

I am super-late to this thread, but I just wanted to toss in a few things:

The hard-copy version of Calculus Made Easy is nifty - it has an introduction by cool math guy Martin Gardner - but it's also available (without that intro) for free: Calculus Made Easy at Project Gutenberg.

Also: please go to your library and just browse the shelves in the math section. There will be scads of math books of all flavors, some with loads of word problems.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:33 PM on December 21, 2011

My favorite sites for this are PubMed (from our friends at the NIH) and the Public Library of Science.

A search for inflammation and diabetes at plos.org turns up hundreds of results, including Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes—Mendelian Randomization Using CRP Haplotypes Points Upstream and Differential White Blood Cell Count and Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional and Prospective Studies; the latter's Objective says,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 1:42 PM on December 9, 2011

In case you're still checking the thread, I just came across this link between inflammation and insulin resistance, chock-full of links to journal articles.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 7:55 PM on December 21, 2011

I love Jazz Musician's Christmas.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 2:09 PM on December 21, 2011

It's been more than 10 years since I saw it, but I think Eye of God fits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:13 PM on December 19, 2011

If you'd like to find some fake books or sheet music without breaking the bank, don't forget to check out your library.

Also, you might still be able to find some tablature (or at least chord charts) online if you play with your search strings a bit - for example, a search for "house of the rising sun" "am7" brings up a number of potentially useful results.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:09 AM on December 16, 2011

guster4lovers's great techniques reminded me of Teach Like a Champion, which also focuses on positive reinforcement and has a lot of very specific advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 2:53 PM on December 15, 2011

My hack for anything like this is:

* try any given hack for a week
* evaluate
* repeat and enhance

Pick any hack you think is doable. Can you commit to writing for 30 minutes every weekday before breakfast? Can you commit to PhoBWanKenobi's 500 words a day?

Here's what I would do:


Commit to 500 words every weekday.
Start a list of Writer's Hacks (a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 3:31 PM on December 14, 2011

Paulette Cooper.

From the Wikipedia article:

Cooper was born in the Auschwitz concentration camp to Belgian parents around the time they were murdered there. After spending years in various orphanages in Belgium, she was adopted by the Cooper family at age 6 and came to the United States. At age 8, she became an American citizen.

She began her freelance writing career in 1968, after completing a master's degree in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:31 AM on December 14, 2011

PBS aired a documentary called Broadway: The American Musical. It's been released on DVD; check your library. (Also, do check out that link; they have tons of resources.)

Deconstructing Harold Hill has some pretty great insights into a number of classic musicals. (It's a follow-up to From Assassins to West Side Story.)

The Teaching Company's Great Courses collection has a lecture series on How to Listen to and Understand Opera - again, check your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 5:23 PM on December 11, 2011

Also - look for the biographies of Stephen Sondheim. The stories of how Oscar Hammerstein mentored him, and some of the other show-specific insights about various works he's written, are pretty great.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 5:24 PM on December 11, 2011

I wonder if LibreOffice might work for you?

I'm pretty sure the database part - called Base - can hold images. I'm not sure about PDFs, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 8:41 AM on November 30, 2011

Here's a possible resource for you: Berkeley Parents Network. Note, particularly, the K-12 Schools section - but note that there's also stuff on housing and commercial services.

This might give you some additional information from locals about good schools, good neighborhoods, and good local resources. Also, don't forget to try very specific searches on AskMe - for example, I was curious about how the bus system in Oakland compares to SF's Muni, and a Google search for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 6:08 PM on November 25, 2011

"I have to say AT&T is so infuriating that I'm going to report them to BBB or whatever appropriate body I can find."

I'm so glad you want to do this.

Your profile says you're in DC, so here's a possibility:

Consumer Protection

"The Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs are aggressively pursuing businesses trying to make a quick buck... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 12:04 PM on November 24, 2011

I'm so sorry you're going through all this.

"I know I should also just sort of hermit a little and force myself to eat scrupulously well and sleep on a regular schedule, though the depression makes that hard and adding "rules" just adds more stress."

Try thinking of these things - eating well and sleeping well - as taking care of yourself. Whenever you have a free moment, and whenever you have a stressed moment, ask,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 12:00 PM on November 24, 2011

I wonder if you might like Eva Ibbotson? I've They're often classified as teen/young adult books, but I quite enjoyed them. I've read A Countess Below Stairs, Magic Flutes, and A Song for Summer (warning: World War II).

Two others:

I really enjoyed A. S. Byatt's Possession.

I'm also nearly finished with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which takes place in the UK and has very likeable main characters.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:52 AM on November 24, 2011

Might you enjoy having a pen pal?

I used to belong to International Pen Friends, and it was fascinating to get letters from all over the world. Writing letters would take up a good chunk of your free time, and it's an activity that directly connects you to other people.

There are lots of other pen pal organizations listed in this pen pal thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 2:36 PM on November 17, 2011

"I hear that now might be a good time to buy a house."

It might. It might not. There are certainly some good arguments to be made that prices will keep falling. If that happens, how will you feel?

Here are a couple of things that make me think prices will continue to fall:

* This week in the Washington Post: There may be a new round of defaults on the way

* ARM resets... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:04 AM on November 17, 2011

Many thanks for the great answers, everybody!
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 1:49 PM on November 12, 2011

"Is there a way I can, without just researching and buying all the songs separately, listen to compiled playlists of 'songs by x' that are not one lesser-known artist doing a retrospective but actually include the original recordings of the songs?"

Todd Rundgren's An Elpee's Worth of Productions has original tracks by Meatloaf, XTC, Patti Smith, New York Dolls, Grand Funk, and more.

Also, totally seconding, thirding,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:16 AM on November 9, 2011

The above stories are amazing. Thank you for asking this question.

The first thing I thought of when I saw your question was this guy who couldn't get into the college he'd always dreamed of so he tried business school, but he only managed one semester. He started his own business when he was 35, but it went bankrupt. It took him 13 years to pay off the debts. He tried taking night classes in law when he was 40, but he dropped out. But around the same time, he got an... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:23 AM on November 8, 2011

I am not a teacher, but I was intrigued by some stuff in the thread on classroom management that charmedimsure linked to - specifically, a set of techniques that Doug Lemov assembled, described in a NY Times article called Building a Better Teacher and spelled out fully in a book called Teach Like a Champion.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 12:02 PM on November 5, 2011

Cherish - I'm guessing it's about 3/4 of the way through the movie, when Zoe finds her stalker's home and sees all the pictures of herself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:12 PM on November 3, 2011

If you get tired of cafes, keep in mind that most branches of the San Francisco Public Library have free wifi.

Here's a map of the branches - I'd say you're pretty close to the Main (on Larkin, near City Hall) and the Chinatown branch (on Powell); I haven't been in the Chinatown branch much but the Main is large and generally cool; there's a cafe in the basement and usually quiet empty spots on the upper floors.

A couple of other cafe... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:23 PM on November 1, 2011

The Boglehead approach makes sense to me - index funds with low fees give you a real advantage in helping your investments grow.

A few quick searches at the Bogleheads forum shows the folks there aren't terribly impressed with Primerica:

Jan 2011: "I'd run away ASAP. ... Just search Google for Primerica and you will find plenty of sites talking about the questionable practices of this company. "

May 2007:... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:11 PM on October 31, 2011

There are witches in Neil Gaiman's Stardust, and I think he's a terrific writer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:19 AM on October 29, 2011

Nthing Ani DiFranco. Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:51 AM on October 26, 2011

"DiFranco: with a discography spanning two decades and a great deal of breadth, where does one start?"

Okay, specific Ani DiFranco songs (links are to lyrics):

from Imperfectly, 1992:
I'm No Heroine
Make Them Apologize

from Puddle Dive, 1993:
Willing to Fight
Blood in the Boardroom

from Out of Range, 1994:
Out of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 6:17 PM on October 27, 2011

Monty Python: The Case Against offers a detailed look at the censorship of "The Life of Brian".

Also, to follow up hms71's WorldCat search: you can probably search by subject using your local library's online catalog.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 5:49 PM on October 27, 2011

Do keep Project Gutenberg in mind for source material. Use the search page to search for books in a particular language.

Many of their books are available in ePub format.

I've also used Calibre to convert articles from German and Spanish news sites into ePub format - works great.

Another great source of source material in German: Deutsche Welle. Some of their programs, like Sprachbar, offer downloadable mp3s and PDF... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:43 AM on October 26, 2011

I just wanted to mention Betty Edwards's Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which talks about the period kids go through when they realize their stick figure drawings don't look like the real world around them and get frustrated with their inability to make art that DOES look "right".

I grew up thinking I couldn't draw very well, but a few hours with the first few exercises in the book made a big difference for me.

I would suggest... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:15 AM on October 18, 2011

I was going to suggest what labberdasher did: if you can own the results, sure, go for it.

If Company owns the results, though, it doesn't sound like a good deal for you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 10:56 AM on October 7, 2011

I don't think Hildegard of Bingen wrote an actual autobiography, but she did talk about her life in many of her writings.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:39 AM on October 1, 2011

Just echoing the idea that you don't HAVE to track any more than you want to track.

I think your ultimate goal here is "have more savings and plan for the future". Tracking is just a tool to help you get there. You may be able to do that without tracking anything other than how much money you're putting into savings. As Jessamyn said, if you know you're overspending on beer or clothes or movies, you can make a decision to cut back on that category and put that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:54 AM on September 16, 2011

Skimming this thread and learning that "resumptive modifier" is a term used only by Williams himself, I pulled my copy of Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace off the shelf and looked up "resumptive modifier" in the index.

In my edition, it's discussed on p. 172:


Resumptive, Summative, and Free Modifiers

You've probably never hear [sic] of these terms before, but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 3:07 PM on September 9, 2011 marked best answer

Over the weekend I got to discover an amazing Billie Holiday song, Don't Explain, courtesy of Wesla Whitfield, whose music I like a lot.
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 6:05 PM on September 6, 2011

Seconding parrot_person on the commute - I did SF to East Bay for a contracting gig a while back, and going off hours it was actually really pleasant. Also, I'm not certain, but I think SF to East Bay is actually better than East Bay to SF (although morning seems better than evening, since all the SF-to-Peninsula traffic affects the East Bay-to-SF traffic).

Can you talk to your former boss about the timing? If he's created the role with you in mind, he'd probably really... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 11:31 AM on September 3, 2011

Great suggestions above. I just wanted to add: this is a great opportunity for you to practice identifying and expressing your preferences.

"We do have a good relationship, I just suck at being straightforward/bringing up potential areas of conflict, and I'm not sure if I'm being overly petty!"

A lot of us have trouble doing this. It seems so much easier to just go along with what the other person wants, because, after all, it's just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kristi at 9:40 AM on September 1, 2011