I agree - that Sudbury to Montreal stretch will be brutal. I would actually try and swing down towards Huntsville and stay a night in either the Muskoka or Haliburton region and then cut across Highway 60 through Algonquin Park to Ottawa. Ottawa's worth at least a lunch, Montreal a full day at least. If you're worried about time, go straight from Ottawa through Montreal to Quebec, stay in Quebec and come back along the same highway to Montreal, stay a night there and then go down to Burlington.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 5:04 AM on June 24, 2008 marked best answer

I agree with the rest of the comments - although you said it wasn't possible to decline to keep the friend's dog, I really think you have few or no options on this.

It's wonderful that your new dog has started to rally, but I think you're fooling yourself if you think that she has fully adapted already. She has been perfect, but that doesn't mean there isn't quite a bit of latent anxiety that could come out very easily if circumstances were to change radically so soon.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:17 AM on June 19, 2008

The Jazz Fest is definitely a great time for a visit. The city is generally very busy around that time of year, but not to the point where it's impossible. The festival area itself is of course super-busy, but if you wander to other parts of the central part of the city you won't really notice it that much.

The main thing is that once you're in Montreal you'll want to spend most of your time walking, in cabs, or using the metro to get around - so the driving thing isn't... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:33 AM on June 16, 2008 marked best answer

Good answers here. I'll add to and amplify what freshwater_pr0n said - you'll be surprised how many other people know about this person and will open up to you when they learn your situation has changed. I'd be very careful to be diplomatic, though, even though people will try and draw you out and get you "on the record". Now is the time to learn how to respond to questions about this person with, "Do you know X? How?" so that you know the score before declaring yourself.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:21 AM on May 20, 2008

Sounds like HTM to me as well. Great book, BTW. Well maybe not GREAT but it was quite good. Off the wall, but RU Sirius is terribly underappreciated as pranksters usually are.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:33 PM on May 16, 2008

Part of what you're facing is just a by-product of being young and inexperienced.

No matter what field you're in, you don't get to work on the really interesting stuff until you have a lot of proven experience. That applies to being a lawyer as much as it does to academia, business or anything else. So the real test of whether another path is going to be preferable to you is to look at the job you'd be doing after 5-7 years (or more) of solid, consistent high-performance... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 4:27 AM on May 9, 2008

I'm going to suggest a completely alternative tack on this one.

You don't *have* to telecommute from home. In many cities there are co-working spaces like
Station C in Montreal and similar kinds of things all over North America. These aren't the old-style "business centers" - they're generally very explicitly oriented towards providing a great place to work but also a community of co-workers and colleagues. The social aspect of one's working life... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 4:24 PM on May 3, 2008

I don't know that program specifically, but I know some of the names of the faculty and I know that the Cultural Studies program at York used to have a pretty good reputation and had some high-quality academics in the faculty and in the department. My sense was that it was considered quirky (as Cultural Studies programs are across the board) but good.

I wouldn't give a single thought to Ryerson's reputation in Engineering while making such a choice, though, so that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:54 PM on April 22, 2008

Lots of good (or seemingly good to me) answers here, but the thing that stood out for me was the idea that in your post a sarcastic comment = objecting. I'm not sure that it does, really - sarcasm in that context is a very gentle way of calling the behaviour out while winking that it's not THAT bad. At least that's how I would interpret it.

Point being that I think there is a (small, perhaps) chance that a serious, quiet, private conversation might actually have the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 5:17 PM on April 1, 2008

There's confirmation here: http://www.aavw.org/served/gipubs_up_bottom_abstract02.html that the phrase was in circulation among soldiers in Vietnam, as suggested in the Dictionary of Soldier Talk that zepheria cited. The letter reproduced in that link is from 1972.

I always thought it went back further than that to Vonnegut or Heller or another author in the post-WWII timeframe in the US, but I can't confirm that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 5:34 AM on March 27, 2008

Must we believe that heating with wood is environmentally friendly to answer this question?
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:15 AM on February 24, 2008

Toekneesan it actually does make a difference that you're remote and the fuel comes from close by, because wood burning - even with pellets or other high-efficiency wood stoves - is much more polluting than propane... but that calculation very likely gets more equal if you add the transportation costs of the propane (and calculate all the way back to the source, not just your local distributor). For someone that isn't remote and doesn't have woodlots in the immediate vicinity, there is no... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 11:54 AM on February 24, 2008

I would imagine that the school's responsibilities in loco parentis have a great deal to do with the reasons for such rules and likewise their enforceability.

I'm far from an expert on this, but at one point in history this kind of responsibility was widely disappearing, but then some parents' sued colleges when their kids did "bad" things and at the same time some colleges promoted this kind of thing as a way of attracting students whose... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 12:51 PM on February 19, 2008

I'm with misha on this one, and those who have suggested that there's not enough context considering we were asked to discuss this in the abstract and not related to practical issue.

In theory polyamory gives both partners the same freedom to express themselves emotionally and sexually, but in practice - in MY experience, of course - it's rarely as equal or ideal as that. Many of the polyamorous relationships I have seen in action have been heavily tilted toward the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 4:52 PM on February 5, 2008

Just wanted to add that addressing using USPS (or Canada Post for my fellow Canadians) standards - which are mostly the same, by the way - is important because letters are machine sorted, and a divergence from the standards could result in occasional delays. Those delays often occur no matter what you do, but still...
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2008

I had a side-by-side for many years, and although the form factor seems like it would be ideal, in practice it was pretty annoying. The freezer was very narrow and everything got piled in there in such a way that the "bottom of the toy bin" effect you're worried about happened anyway, even though it's the configuration you'd least expect to have that problem.

Now I have a counter-depth fridge with the freezer on the bottom (not a drawer though, a door with a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:11 AM on January 29, 2008

Is the "Jr" on the birth certificate? I thought such suffixes were a convenience, not part of the person's formal name.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:29 AM on January 22, 2008

I think the only place you want to go is Medic Alert for advice on this and appropriate products.

Medic Alert is NOT about the jewelery - it's about the medical condition encoding on the jewelery, and the database and 24/7 response behind the jewelery. Think of a Medic Alert bracelet as the thinnest of thin client interfaces - in just a few engraved characters, EMT personnel can get 24/7 access to anything in your medical record that they need. The information on the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:42 AM on January 22, 2008

2 Tone Records - mostly for The Specials, but they also released early recordings by The Beat, Madness, The Selector, Elvis Costello and more.

Bigger still -

I.R.S. Records - released music by REM, The Beat, Camper Van Beethoven, Squeeze and a bunch more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:02 AM on January 16, 2008

This is going to seem snarky, but I mean it sincerely.

The answer: you ask them. If you don't trust their answer, you rethink whether you want to make any representations about/for them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 3:39 AM on January 16, 2008

The first and by far the most meaningful thing you can do is to cut up all credit cards. Anything you do on the web is nothing more than a cherry on top of the information aggregated and sold by credit card companies.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:24 AM on January 4, 2008

I had a dental emergency that they treated at the Royal Vic - but that was a few years ago. The Dental Center might be closed for regular appointments but have someone on call for intake via the Emergency facilities. If you're close by I would check it out - and I've had good experiences there on several occasions with respect to the wait time - i.e., it wasn't super long.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 3:52 PM on January 3, 2008

One possible solution is perfectly reasonable - to not invite parents who are known to be difficult is a reasonable answer, as many so far have said.

I would tend to look at this from the other side of things. This is an opportunity for her to really become an adult person - which not coincidentally is part of being a good life partner - and deal with her parents straight up. To tell them what she wants and needs from them, and for her to make it clear to them that it's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 11:10 PM on December 7, 2007 marked best answer

Highrise from 37Signals is very nice to work with and should be simpler to use than SugarCRM.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 3:32 PM on November 12, 2007

I have used SuperDuper! to do this. To accomplish what you want, I would buy an internal HD and a bare enclosure. Then do a full backup with SD (or CCC), test it, and then take that drive, remove it from the enclosure and get it into the laptop. Test again, and then I would install the older HD in the enclosure and use it for non-essential things until it dies (if it is indeed on its last legs).
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:31 AM on November 12, 2007

It's still worthwhile to read Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community for background.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:02 PM on November 9, 2007

There are quite a few Montrealers in MeFi, regular question-answerers as well.

When you say "citizens in good standing" do you mean Canadian citizens? If so that would make things easier for sure.

In terms of immigration procedures and specifically what it will take for her to practice dentistry here I can't help much, but hopefully someone here will be able to help. I would be very careful about your research into what it will take for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 8:53 PM on November 8, 2007

I think most of the responses here are taking a far too limited view of the situation. This isn't one dinner, or even one special dinner - this is possibly (or probably) the beginning of many years' worth of special holiday dinners. And it is the first dinner - that's significant.

I would have a talk with your BF now, BEFORE Thanksgiving. Assuage his anxieties - which are probably extreme - about how things are likely to go on this particular occasion. Let him know that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2007

I'm not 100% sure about goose fat, but duck fat freezes really well and lasts for a very long time frozen.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 3:42 PM on November 3, 2007

I'm just a few blocks from there (in Outremont) and around here it's supposedly a madhouse, but I would doubt people will walk up the stairs out front on Park. I could be wrong though.

Apparently there's a killer costume party (for adults) later at POTE:TR.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:10 PM on October 29, 2007

I believe supplemental coverage is contingent on having provincial coverage. For Ontario, the easiest way to find out seems to be here: Who is eligible for an OHIP card?
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:40 PM on October 20, 2007 marked best answer

Screw the brand name - go to a really good shoe store and have a professional fit you into the right pair of shoes for you. It's tough to find a store that will really take care of you, but if you ask around (and there very well might be someone from Buffalo here in AskMe who can make the suggestion), you'll stand a much better chance of getting a shoe that will fit - and a shoe that really fits will last longer as well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 10:33 PM on September 28, 2007

I just moved back to Montreal, where I had lived on the Plateau for almost 20 years. Coming back, were were expressly looking for an area that was quieter than the Plateau but still close enough to gain the benefits of that area (including proximity to our friends. We chose Outremont, near where Marquis described (you can see exactly where in my profile).

The nice thing about Outremont is that it's an established neighbourhood rather than an up-and-coming area, which is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 11:06 AM on September 19, 2007 marked best answer

some teams are pronounced "dead" in April that are contending now...

As others have stated, it's almost a set-piece bit of theater by now. The counterpart to the pronouncement of death in April is September's assertion that, "that's why they play the games." It's just hyperbole, but fans and announcers both know that in some cases, a very poorly performing team can contend later in the season and even if they... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 3:23 PM on August 31, 2007

Excuse me sandra_s, but that's inflammatory hogwash. There are millions of immigrants in Canada who are every bit as much Canadian as any other citizen. It's pure US propaganda that you're spouting, and that you believe it is also the source of many of the equivocal answers to this question.

As a non-American who nevertheless has spent a lot of time there and has a brother who is a naturalized citizen, America is wonderful because it is inherently a paradox. A great... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:01 AM on August 17, 2007

iviken's desk pad solution is fantastic - it's what I use and it's ideal. For many years before getting that I would use large single-color plastic placemats to cover a large mousing area - I've always hated little mousepads which are too constraining.

Right-click weirdness aside, though, the Mighty Mouse is pretty great BTW.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 2:16 PM on August 1, 2007

You're pretty dangerous to everyone else on the road if you don't get your eyesight corrected. And I bet your insurance wouldn't cover you if have a problem and it comes out that you'd had a prescription but never updated your driver's license to reflect that.

You might not think it's that big of a deal, but it really is. My eyes are only a little worse than yours and I can't imagine not wearing corrective lenses all the time. I prefer contacts, but glasses are fine too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 2:00 PM on July 17, 2007

Things aren't all roses in Canada, to be sure. There are wait-time problems and certain access issues. But most of these can be solved, and slowly but surely they are being solved IMO.

There's a deep paradox, though, that is evident when comparing the centrally controlled Canadian system (systems, really, each province has its own) and the supposedly "free" US system (not free as in $$ of course). In the US, it is my understanding that access to physicians is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:07 AM on July 6, 2007

Don't they all work like that? That was the standard interface when I used Omnipage extensively over ten years ago. Assuming it's not the default/standard, then Omnipage used to do this very well...
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 12:47 PM on July 4, 2007

I think you have some huge trust and boundary issues with your boyfriend. It doesn't seem that this has anything to do with your boyfriend's concern for the "other woman" but that he thinks he's found a way to put a large wedge between you and work guy. He feels threatened, so he's using what he thinks should pass as a morally correct thing to do... but his real goal isn't morally pure, it's to make sure that the other guy hates your guts.

First of all, change... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:55 AM on June 19, 2007

Ditto the folks suggesting backups.

Back up, probably every night, and I would further recommend automating it and not just copying files to some other drive yourself. SuperDuper and others will do a good job for you, though you will need an external USB2 or Firewire drive to do this properly.

But if I KNEW I had a good, bootable backup of my system in such a situation, I would definitely continue using the machine until it died or until I had... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 11:01 AM on June 18, 2007 marked best answer

Everyone's being so nicey-nice here, but you could just as easily say that miracles were a specific tactic used by the overwhelming political and economic elite to deliberately cow the population and ensure compliant and pliable subjects.

Miracle creation, though, works best when the overarching theology demands that humans NOT read and study the bible but approach Jesus Christ strictly via a mediator - the Church (of course, this is the Roman Catholic Church).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 7:11 PM on June 12, 2007

As others have said, although you are out of the age range commonly associated with risk factors for heart disease, the family history is very important - some would say (& have told me) that family history is THE most important risk factor in assessing a person's risk - more than smoking status or other things.

I am not trained in this so I have no opinion one way or the other about whether this is the case or not. But that's my guess as to the reasoning behind your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 10:59 AM on June 7, 2007

In one incarnation of the Teen Titans, they had a member who wasn't (at first) super at all, and he was just called "Mal" or something. He later got a super power - actually, a super horn, and became known as "Hornblower".

Definitely much worse!
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 11:59 AM on May 14, 2007

I'm joking, but there's some truth to this: it should be illegal to marry BEFORE age 30.

At your age you're just starting to actually be the person you are. It's hard to get that except with hindsight, but as someone approaching 40 (and still very possibly with parenthood in front of me), I can attest that, at least for me, it's absolutely true.

There's nothing about having kids at 35 that isn't a "wise idea" by the way, and there are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 10:49 AM on April 19, 2007

To do this right is really easy even if you don't want to learn about it. The most important part is to understand that it's not about one cheese - it's about 3-4 different cheeses. None of them has to be in large quantity, so going with 3 isn't necessarily more expensive than with just 1.

But first the wine. You're totally right that you don't have to spend a ton of cash. Pick any popular Australian Shiraz or Chilean Cabernet and you'll be great. If you can find a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:14 PM on April 2, 2007

I don't know why aladfar was marked as best answer - it is far from the best answer. No offense, aladfar - it's just that you missed the only really important information.

THE critical piece of information for you is that when you fly from Toronto to Chicago, the US port of entry is NOT in Chicago but in Toronto airport. Customs is there, so when you go through and get on your plane, you're already IN the US, for all intents and purposes. The flight from TO to Chicago is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 12:37 PM on March 21, 2007

Some more:

Mississippi - Bob Dylan (from Love and Theft)
Woodstock - CSNY
Tennessee Flat-Top Box - J Cash
Rock Island Line - Leadbelly
Arkansas Traveler - Michelle Shocked
Memories of East Texas - Michelle Shocked
(Making the Run to) Gladewater - Michelle Shocked
Redondo Beach - Patti Smith
A Heart in New York - Simon & Garfunkel
Losing California - Sloan
New Madrid - Uncle Tupelo
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 2:38 PM on March 15, 2007

You could take another approach and use pretty much any word processor with Antidote. There's a list of programs it integrates with quite seamlessly and you can use it with any program via copy/paste.

In my experience Antidote is miles ahead of any built-in WP language tools.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 6:08 AM on March 2, 2007 marked best answer

Template modules are apparently a not-very-efficient way to do things like this. I use them in the way you do as well though!

The best resource for something like this would be a) MT Technical support, if that is available to you or b) Six Apart ProNet.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mikel at 9:48 AM on February 28, 2007