Thanks. :) That's exactly what I needed to know. And kind of surprising, too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 2:26 AM on May 27, 2012

Well, it wasn't really a typical ER. It's a dedicated psych ER that functions as a triage center for all the local hospitals. At the time I was there, it was deserted except for a couple of patients and about half a dozen staff members. I can totally understand not being able to control what everyone can hear at all times, but I truly was startled by the interview of a distressed patient IN the waiting room when there was literally an entire hallway of empty rooms. By the time he was done I knew... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 7:04 AM on May 27, 2012

My dad has bladder cancer, currently in remission. He also has prostate cancer, which went undiscovered for longer than normal because of poor communication between his urologist and his regular doctor. I can't speak to your first question--my father's urologist is part of a large local hospital center and his prostate cancer has unusual features that are being managed through a specialist a couple hours away. However, I do have a few comments w/rt your second question.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:31 PM on March 16, 2012

In the original version of The Frog Prince, the princess throws the frog against the wall, breaking the spell. (see Frog Kings)
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:05 PM on March 15, 2012

I stopped biting and picking at my nails after 25 years by turning the care of my nails and cuticles INTO the new obsession. Whenever I wanted to bite, I'd moisturize or file or do a manicure. If I wanted to pick at my cuticles, I'd push them back using a cuticle stick or trim them carefully using scissors, never teeth or fingers. I always, always wore at least clear nail polish. My hands are rather strange--I've got slightly clubby fingertips, so my nails grow oddly. As a result, I keep them... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:11 PM on February 24, 2012 marked best answer

I still listen to TAL, and I also listen to a large percentage of the podcasts rec'ed here. I'll throw A Way With Words into the pot--it's an amusing (though occasionally twee) Q&A show about the origins of words and phrases in English, though there is infrequent discussion of idioms and such from other languages. I love hearing the stories from listeners about the sayings their relatives use and requests to settle linguistic arguments between spouses/lovers/siblings. Ask Metafilter is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 12:47 AM on January 22, 2012

My therapist brings her pug to sessions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:33 PM on December 1, 2011

A jackass in my apartment building attempted to treat his own bedbugs using spray and managed to infect 8 other apartments when they fled to juicier pastures. Don't use spray.

I looked everywhere for bugs and found none--thought I had escaped home free. Then the inspectors came and immediately found bugs in my office, bedroom, and couch while I was standing there. Maybe I'm a blind idiot, but I wouldn't necessarily count on your ability to spot bugs on your own. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 4:06 AM on December 1, 2011

Oh, forgot to add--our bedbug guys told us that drying everything on high heat was better (and easier) than washing it first. And he said that if it made me feel better to use DE I could just stick all the legs of my upholstered furniture in shallow cups of the stuff.

To be safe I left everything in bags for 3 months and put covers on my pillows, mattress, and couch.

My insurance policy didn't cover any damage to furniture as a result of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 4:15 AM on December 1, 2011

The issue with vases is that there isn't much surface area for gas exchange, exacerbating problems with insufficient water volume. TBH, I've done loads of research on freshwater fishkeeping and I've gotten a lot of pushback on keeping even a tiny school of danios in a 4G nano tank--just about everyone seems to recommend loads of water volume for healthy goldfish. A single betta would probably like your vase.

However, to answer your question, it's probably ich or lice.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 12:48 AM on December 1, 2011

Ravelry.com is an awesome place to find patterns, groups, and inspiration for felted and unfelted fiber arts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 5:43 PM on November 21, 2011

Ditto what HotToddy said. I had my thyroid out due to cancer at 26, and I am eternally grateful that my surgery was done by one of the top head/neck surgeons in my region--she took the whole thing out, did a great job, and my only complaint about the whole experience had to do with the treatment of the actual cancer, not the thyroidectomy itself. My scar is practically nonexistent.

Living without a thyroid is not a big deal at all. I get my blood drawn a few times a year... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 5:15 PM on November 20, 2011

The free download is no longer available, but here's a list of tools you can run from a thumb drive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:11 AM on November 8, 2011

Simplenote and the Syncpad Chrome extension might work for you. There is also a Windows Simplenote aware application called Resophnotes, or Notational Velocity for Macs.

Copy/paste from the web has automagic source links, and there's tagging.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 4:51 AM on November 7, 2011

*sigh* The thought of giving IOUs for Christmas and being continually frustrated and angry is very disheartening, but I suppose y'all are right. I'm just really really bad at making these kinds of decisions, mostly because I don't care about myself, which makes me do stupid things.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 10:29 PM on November 5, 2011

I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughtful responses and suggestions. (And kind words about my little knitting projects.) I'm going to the ortho tomorrow and I'll do what s/he says. I do have a tendency to expect the worst, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. :)

I do feel a little better about this situation, and I'm glad I asked y'all for your thoughts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:07 AM on November 6, 2011

Aquarium epoxy?
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 12:36 AM on November 4, 2011

I've read that cats do not respond as well to negative reinforcement as dogs do. To that end, I've begun dealing with my cat's annoying behaviors through a combination of ignoring stuff I don't like and rewarding stuff I do like, with very occasional bottle squirts for extreme situations. (Scratching, biting). I've found that rewards work best. In this case, I'd give a treat and verbal praise when the kitty plays with the toy I'm using for play, and I'd ignore *and stop playing* or squirt when... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 11:05 PM on October 18, 2011 marked best answer

Awesome, thanks everyone.

@HuronBob: I'm a deep cynic and therefore don't actually expect anything to happen or change, but I figure sending a letter wouldn't kill me. At the very most someone might file it away and use it to generate statistics or something vaguely useful to a future victim of this practice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 10:22 AM on October 16, 2011

Nothing quite compares to B&B--the character of Vincent doesn't have too much in common with the "bad boy" monsters typical of more recent shows. Angel, Buffy, The Vampire Diaries, and the like have some of the forbidden romance and magic bits, but they all fall a bit short, partly because of writing & characterization and partly because of the limitations inherent in featuring teenagers. B&B is a sweet and somewhat naive story (except for the WTF ending), so I can see how... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 11:25 AM on August 27, 2011

It wasn't The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, was it? No scenes from afar, though, and not really dark, but lots of circus imagery. When was your childhood?
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 10:29 AM on August 27, 2011

Deep Space 9 for me, too. (Ron Moore, who worked on this show, later went on to bring us the Battlestar Galactica reboot.) Terrorism, freedom fighting, politics, religion, war, slavery, drugs... and that was just the main arc. Some of the one-off episodes were brilliant, too. Far Beyond the Stars, a fourth-wall-breaking episode about racism in the world of science fiction writing, hit me upside the head with a baseball bat.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:25 PM on July 25, 2011

It definitely wasn't sweet. It actually didn't taste like much of anything. It was baked in a cake-tin, and was cut into squares like brownies. We *MAY* have put butter on it, but I could be making that up. It was very doughy, but crispy on the bottom and edges. For whatever reason, we saw the making of the mal-doo-jens as a treat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:13 PM on April 4, 2011

I actually don't think that's a long shot--the only ingredient I'm certain of is flour. Milk may have been involved.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:16 PM on April 4, 2011

Yay! I have absolutely NO idea why they would have called it mehl "doojan"--but, like I said, they weren't off the boat so some weird twisting probably happened. It definitely looked like the german pancake and mehl kuchen linked.

Thank you guys. I am actually gonna make this crazy thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:23 PM on April 4, 2011

You should probably take a look at some of the most popular digital painting classes and workshops available online to see if there's something you can offer that would make your classes competitive. (Price? Methods of teaching? Level of student?) etc. Determining the weaknesses or holes in current popular classes should help you narrow your focus a bit more. CGTalk, Gnomon, and ConceptArt.org are the obvious heavyweights to check out. Some artists (I think Jeremy Sutton is the guy I'm thinking... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:38 PM on January 30, 2011

I wanted to use google bookmarks, but I can't figure out how to keep my delicious tags upon import. =/ (And seriously, Chrome Bookmarks can't be automagically linked to Google Bookmarks easily? Makes me wonder if Google Bookmarks will die soon, too.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:21 PM on December 16, 2010

In my experience (2 year quit anniversary in 2 weeks!) after trying to quit 6 or 8 times, quitting smoking is a two step process. The first step is to break the association between smoking and certain activities, and the second is to withdraw from nicotine, a process much easier to deal with if you don't want a smoke every time you eat, drink, talk, play games, or screw.

Based on some this very basic common sense approach and using my experience with eating disorders and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 11:11 AM on October 10, 2006

I'm with Alison--I think at first he was trying to hoard money as insurance against an unknown future, and then all the wealth in the world couldn't buy the things they needed, rendering what remained useless.

The real-life Seita apparently blamed his sister's death on his inability to control himself while foraging for food. He'd scarf down what he found as he found it, leaving very little for his sister.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 10:41 AM on August 2, 2006 marked best answer

I've gotten these at Sam's Club, Staples, Office Depot, and my local grocery store.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 11:31 AM on July 24, 2006

It sounds like you might be feeling guilty about your exchange with the vet assistant and that you're worried that you've disrespected the memory of the dog in some way because of what happened. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, though, so if I'm way off base feel free to ignore me.

If I were in your situation, I'd try to accept that this was just an unfortunate miscommunication. Generally, you have to pay extra for a single animal cremation, which is what the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:59 PM on July 12, 2006

The guy at Renaissance Art seems to use coptic binding for his large fantasy/medieval journals, so maybe start by learning how to make signatures. Then from there graduate to putting signatures together in a coptic binding, then graduate to cover attachment, and so on. Make a few small books and go from there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 12:23 AM on July 8, 2006

Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Rome, Deadwood, Carnivale, and Firefly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 2:24 PM on July 2, 2006

I've got tons of irrational fears and phobias. No amount of rational explanation will alleviate my irrational fear because it's, uhm, an irrational fear.

Don't pressure. If she feels uncomfortable, then that's it. Let her do what's comfortable for her. If 20 feet with a flashlight is all she can handle right now, then that's what you will have to accept.

Generally it's best to do this sort of thing in stages to help desensitize. So I'd start with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 6:52 PM on May 25, 2006

Music licensing is weird. A show has to license music for different types of broadcasts and different formats--sometimes the music you hear in the original broadcast is replaced in syndication and changed yet again for DVD. How the licensing is done often depends on the artist/publisher. On a show like The O.C. or Grey's Anatomy, a publisher might give away a song for broadcast exposure but demand money for the DVD rights. Licenses can cost more for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 3:55 PM on May 11, 2006

I find that microwave popcorn in an 800 watt microwave is difficult to manage. It's either burned or half the bag is popped. For Christmas I got an 1100 watt microwave, and the popcorn is crushed by the bag, leaving maybe one or two kernels unpopped, in under 2 minutes. It's crazy.

But aside from popcorn problems, I just cooked everything the maximum amount of time recommended on packages. I made popcorn in a 20 dollar air popper instead, which was healthier anyway.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 2:55 PM on April 11, 2006

And I'd stop drinking until I'd seen a doctor.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 1:42 PM on April 1, 2006

I like to read The Book Forum.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:56 PM on March 28, 2006

I myself am not a Campbell scholar, but I've found him in interviews to be somewhat disdainful of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In one interview he said that he found it ridiculous that so much violence, hatred, and death was attached to a centuries old battle over a metaphor, and he also admitted to dropping his own association with the Roman Catholic chuch. To me it seemed that he wasn't so much an anti-Semite--more of a strident, angry atheist who felt morally and intellectually superior... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 10:52 AM on March 27, 2006

Thanks all, this information has been fascinating and/or helpful. Much obliged.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:05 AM on March 24, 2006

I like Hershey's miniatures for satisfying chocolate cravings without eating a whole bar (5 miniatures = 230 calories, but I just eat one or two at a time.) I freeze them when I have bags around Halloween/Easter/etc so that I won't overindulge. (All the diet/diabetic/low-fat chocolate gives me bad tummy aches, so I can't eat them. Plus they taste chalky to me.)

Pria bars are indeed yummy, but it's not like eating a chocolate bar--it's more like a rice crispy treat with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 4:46 PM on March 23, 2006

Not bad, but he messed up a few lines. And yes, I am ashamed, thanks for asking.
posted to MetaFilter by xyzzy at 10:34 PM on March 21, 2006

I don't have much advice for the wall sconce vs. task vs. track conundrum because I've always lived in apartments, but I would like to chime in and say that I absolutely adore the GE Reveal lightbulbs I'm using in my living room, which contains my desk, my reading chair, my painting and drawing workspace, and my television. I love them because they reduce the amber color cast typical of standard lightbulbs. They're great for women's bathrooms, too, because you can get a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 9:02 PM on March 20, 2006

Yeah, I was able to stop most of my carpal tunnel symptoms with the following:

1) Frequent rest breaks. A few minutes every half hour or so.

2) Improved posture. (Hint: My back doesn't touch the back of my chair.)

3) Correct keyboard height.

4) Switching to using my middle finger for the center button/scroll wheel instead of my pointer finger.

5) Wacom tablet for art tasks.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:30 PM on March 20, 2006

I'd bet on anemia, mostly because of the nausea. Get that physical.

With respect to stamina, I noticed significant stamina increase after 2 weeks of exercise (6 days a week). By 8 weeks I had quadrupled the amount of time I could spend exercising at my THR, from 15 minutes to 60 minutes of sustained cardio. I also do strength training 3 days a week and dabble in yoga and pilates when I'm in the mood. I'm 30, female, and an ex-smoker. Like you, I've never seriously... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 4:30 PM on March 20, 2006

39 here, but I tend to agree with saraswati - feeling hopelessness about treating your depression or blaming yourself for not having enough willpower is in itself a symptom of the depression you suffer from. If you have the means (money, health insurance, whatever) get treatment, both psychological and pharmacological.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 6:16 AM on March 13, 2006

Bulimia is very serious. The electrochemical imbalances caused by purging and the resulting dehydration can lead to heart problems. Also, a good percentage of pure bulimics (meaning, no anorexia) end up overweight because even immediate purging doesn't completely stop calorie absorption. Weight gain can lead to more frequent bulimic behavior and even anorexia.

There's a lot of great advice here. Seek treatment right away. Asking someone else to control your binging and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 3:52 PM on March 9, 2006

I take notes.

I find that the mental exercise of dissecting the text to zero in on the few important bits of my reading provides a welcome, satisfying variation to the otherwise rhythmic work of comprehension reading. Instead of a few 5 minute breaks I'm taking dozens of mini-breaks to jot down a thought in the text itself or summarize the material in a notebook. Because of this habit I've never had to re-read material to review for a test and I'm able to concentrate on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 6:54 PM on March 2, 2006

Right, as everyone points out, you can't make anyone fix themselves if they aren't ready.

When she is ready, the Anxiety & Phobia Workbook is quite helpful. It stresses taking responsibility for recovery without accepting blame for the illness. After a brief introduction to different types of phobias, anxieties, panic disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders (and their possible origins), the workbook moves right into specific strategies for dealing with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 8:46 AM on March 2, 2006

I'm fond of the Tennis Ball Technique.
posted to Ask Metafilter by xyzzy at 3:58 AM on February 23, 2006