I'd like to develop a post-work habit or ritual for as soon as I arrive home. Something that will send a signal to my brain that "work is over, and now you're home." What habits, rituals or environmental changes have worked well for you?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nightrecordings at 4:58 PM on May 20, 2015 (39 comments)

Where do you travel to feel like you're the only travelers in a peaceful oasis? What I'd really love is an amazing sense of remoteness and quiet.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by hotchocolate at 3:33 PM on May 12, 2015 (31 comments)

Factual comics Friday: Shannon "Too Much Coffee Man" Wheeler sets the record straight on the McDonald's coffee lawsuit.
posted to MetaFilter by MartinWisse at 7:41 AM on May 22, 2015 (91 comments)

12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer Pitch-perfect reenactment of the Sidney Lumet classic. (SLYT - 21 minutes, and worth every one)
posted to MetaFilter by likeatoaster at 8:03 PM on May 6, 2015 (95 comments)

We are a party of 4 traveling by ferry from Seattle. We will not have a car. What are your favorite hotels in Victoria?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gryphonlover at 9:22 PM on May 9, 2015 (9 comments)

Please recommend well-written, funny, charming, gentle movies.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kristi at 8:16 AM on May 6, 2015 (87 comments)

It's become abundantly clear that the way in which I lose my temper and the frequency with which I do so is (and it's hard to admit this) abusive. My wife has rightly given me an ulitmatum. I need a plan and I have no idea how or where to begin.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 12:39 AM on April 20, 2015 (68 comments)

How inconvenient is it to change your email address in the modern Internet environment? Nearly every web application in the world treats your email address as your login or account name: is updating that everywhere feasible?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Nelson at 8:48 AM on May 5, 2015 (12 comments)

Wavelist lets you create and discover playlists of interesting podcast episodes. The first few playlist topics include marriage equality, the earthquake in Nepal, Sina Weibo and social networking in China, and weird birds.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by bwerdmuller at 4:43 PM on May 4, 2015 (2 comments)

How would we release a weather balloon and get it back without its exploding?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mike Mongo at 10:13 AM on May 4, 2015 (4 comments)

The famous "pizza on the roof" throw in Breaking Bad - Bryan Cranston got it on the first try. Same with Sigourney Weaver and the basketball in Alien Resurrection. These tickle me. I'm looking for other times when an actor pulled off some ridiculous unlikely thing on film, ideally on the first try.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dirtdirt at 6:41 AM on April 17, 2015 (43 comments)

I've been trying to find shows to watch streaming (Netflix US or Amazon Prime) that are interesting and entertaining without being cynical, negative, and/or over-the-top violent and gory, after realizing a lot of things I had been watching were pretty dark. Does anyone have any recommendations?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by flatluigi at 12:19 AM on April 21, 2015 (53 comments)

I'm a big fan of Kitchen Confidential and other "insider", confessional-type memoirs. After just finishing the rather disappointing Heads In Beds, I need recommendations for some really juicy tell-all memoirs about working in the service industry or pretty much anything interesting.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by catatethebird at 2:01 PM on April 4, 2015 (33 comments)

A highly addictive and adorable Japanese Smartphone Game Available for both IOS and Android and exclusively in Japanese, it's pretty easy to navigate, and a clearer explanation of how to play can be found here.
posted to MetaFilter by KernalM at 3:02 PM on April 28, 2015 (407 comments)

A self-proclaimed insufferable asshole named Matt complains about his new luxury watch. Turns out it's the most personal device ever, only not in an insanely great way. Still, he has hopes for the future of his new wearable computer. (MeFi's own mathowie at medium.com.)
posted to MetaFilter by valkane at 4:59 AM on April 27, 2015 (176 comments)

With Clarifai, an image concept extraction API utilizing convolutional neural networks, and ConceptNet, a lexical relationship database, I built a template system to generate paragraphs of text from photographs. word.camera is responsive — it works on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. The code behind it is open source and available on GitHub, because lexography is for everyone.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by TheMadStork at 7:20 AM on April 13, 2015 (4 comments)

word.camera generates paragraphs from a photograph. Example: photo of Hillary Clinton. A more detailed explanation at MetaFilter Projects; from Mefi's own TheMadStork.
posted to MetaFilter by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 12:22 PM on April 27, 2015 (45 comments)

Top space science influencers of today's pre-teens?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mike Mongo at 8:39 PM on April 24, 2015 (9 comments)

A friend tells me that there are few if any family-owned funeral parlors left in the US. Although nearly all funeral parlors appear to be small establishments, they are in fact operated by large corporations. The reason they maintain the family business atmosphere is because people don't want a big company dealing with their loved ones' remains. Is it true?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by stinker at 7:54 AM on April 24, 2015 (13 comments)

Toilet paper. Jumping off from my flub in the toiletlids thread, I want to know how you configure your new toilet paper rolls and and why you think that manner of installation works best. Toilet paper tongue over or under? More. Inside.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by brownpau at 12:09 PM on May 27, 2004 (28 comments)

In the Season 1 finale, Jimmy seizes the opportunity to reconnect with an old friend. Meanwhile, Chuck adjusts to a new way of life.
posted to FanFare by Catblack at 9:16 PM on April 6, 2015 (112 comments)

Engineerguy details the engineering choices underlying the design of a beverage can.
posted to MetaFilter by a snickering nuthatch at 11:24 PM on April 15, 2015 (35 comments)

I'm looking for, ideally podcasts, but websites will do too, that give advice for starting to use a dslr in full manual mode. I have reasonable familiarity with the various settings on the camera so looking for advice on bringing them together. Guides on 'what to do on you first day shooting in manual' and the like especially welcome. As are any tips you might have.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by roolya_boolya at 6:24 AM on April 11, 2015 (13 comments)

Sizzler is the one who brings us choices. A 1991 promotional video for Sizzler.
posted to MetaFilter by blue_beetle at 12:56 PM on April 15, 2015 (185 comments)

MotiveWeight is a submission-based Tumblr dedicated to showing healthy weight loss before and afters. Among the submission rules are: You must be using healthy means to lose weight. Your picture will not be posted if you are underweight for your height. And you can't describe your before picture as ‘disgusting’.
posted to MetaFilter by showbiz_liz at 7:41 PM on April 15, 2015 (78 comments)

The Brunching Shuttlecocks was (and is) a humor website that ran from 1997 to 2003. It was founded by David Neilsen and Lore Fitzgerald Sjöberg. Neilsen, also known on the site as The Self-Made Critic (which was wonderful), was a funny guy in his own right. But the focus of this post is Lore... who is a Metafilter member btw... twice, in fact. Here's a taste:
Porn Star or My Little Pony?  *  Ratings: Cat Toys ("Catnip Anything: Very entertaining.")  *  I Ought to be a Law (Note: Sjöberg's Law of Lexical Drift.)  *  Ad for PLACEBO^TM ("It Works Because You Want It To.")  *  Ratings: Star Wars Lego Figures  *  An Open Letter From Metallica (Published after Metallica sparked controversy when they sued Napster.)  *  The Björk Song (In RealAudio or MP3, with David Neilsen. Causes insanity.)  *  Pikachewy ("'Twas Beedrill, and the Starmie Gloom/Did Grimer and Gengar in the Mew")  *  Twelve AP Headlines Which Can Be Sung to 'Camptown Races' ("Man in Wheelchair Killed by Train, doo-dah, doo-dah")  *  The Geek Hierarchy: Abridged But Managable - Unabridged but Large - For Printing (PDF) - Frequently Paraphrased Questions (Perhaps the Shuttlecocks' most enduring legacy, you might still find new links to this around the internet.)  *  Roshambo Run (A Flash game. Read the intro, but in essence: lure the rocks, scissors and papers into each other, without getting eaten by them, and get to the coffee cup.)
posted to MetaFilter by JHarris at 12:01 AM on April 12, 2015 (65 comments)

Recorded on Wednesday, this is Matt's first episode as a civilian, and we basically couldn't shut up so it's nearly two hours long, covering a little more than a month from March 4th through April 8th.
posted to MetaTalk by cortex at 4:03 PM on April 10, 2015 (97 comments)

An interactive map pinpointing the locations of everywhere in NYC that a movie was filmed, 2011 - 2013.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by mgalka at 1:30 PM on April 2, 2015 (5 comments)

A generator of excellent swears. Text is NSFW, obviously.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by NoraReed at 8:20 PM on April 6, 2015 (12 comments)

... That we don't already know from chatting with you on the site. In fact, aim for the weirdest thing you do but don't talk about, or your stupidest human trick. Go!
posted to MetaTalk by Eyebrows McGee at 10:03 PM on March 29, 2015 (981 comments)

In 2013, Zappos founder Tony Hsieh announced plans to reorganize the company as a holacracy, or a management structure that replaces job titles and hierarchical relationships with self-organizing units. The move has generated resistance from Zappos employees; so much so that, in a long memo, Hsieh says he is going to "rip the bandaid" and give employees until April 30 to either get on board with holacracy or take a severance package. Meanwhile, Hsieh and his close associates are having difficulty saying what the principles of holacracy even are. Commentary on the memo from Andrew Hill and Kim Nash.
posted to MetaFilter by Cash4Lead at 1:36 PM on March 30, 2015 (187 comments)

With WrestleMania 31 mere hours away, let's talk about representation in pro wrestling. And really, lessons that apply for any form of entertainment.

If you don’t use positive representation to speak to new fans who look different, who act different, who have new ideas, you’ll never have new fans at all.

If You Can't See It, You Can't Be It: The Importance of Representation in Modern Day Wrestling
posted to MetaFilter by misskaz at 2:06 PM on March 29, 2015 (17 comments)

What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar.
posted to MetaFilter by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 4:13 PM on March 23, 2015 (58 comments)

Creating just online social spaces - Aria Stewart, Geek Feminism

"The last two months have seen two Slack chats start to support marginalized groups in the technology field, LGBTQ* Technology and Women in Technology, and we’ve had a lot of discussions about how to run the spaces effectively, not just being a place for those who it says on the tin, but to support, encourage and not be terrible to people who are marginalized in other ways than the one the particular group is trying to represent. "This is a sort of how-to guide for creating a social Slack that is inclusive and just, and a lot of of this will apply to other styles and mediums for interaction."

posted to MetaFilter by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 9:41 AM on March 16, 2015 (4 comments)

People always talk a lot of shit about Ted Talks, but there must be some that are fantastic. What are they? What are the Ted Talks that are outstanding?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by josher71 at 4:18 PM on March 15, 2015 (31 comments)

How to Leave Your Internet Job. Advice for @mathowie on his new adventure by Jessamyn.
posted to MetaTalk by zarq at 9:20 AM on March 10, 2015 (102 comments)

We are planning a week in Spain, and the itinerary looks rushed. Our tastes are rather... not Rick Steves. Help us simplify the itinerary.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dw at 9:59 AM on March 13, 2015 (10 comments)

Lifehacker asked "What Necessary Adult Skills Were You Never Taught Growing Up?" Since personal hygiene skills was a popular response, the site created "An Adult's Guide to Hygiene (for Those Who Weren't Taught Growing Up)"
posted to MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 3:51 AM on March 8, 2015 (84 comments)

Janne Lappi flies one of his Final flight sequences at 2015 Finnish Open
posted to MetaFilter by dhruva at 8:37 PM on March 7, 2015 (18 comments)

Good news for fans of the now-defunct Dear Sugar advice column (previously on Metafilter): Sugar is back!
posted to MetaFilter by Stacey at 7:18 PM on March 6, 2015 (4 comments)

So, mathowie, you are still with us for one last night, as a so-called moderator. Interesting. Beguiling, even. Show us then: what are the uncouthnesses, insubordinations and downright fripperies up with which you will not put, while you are still in power?
posted to MetaTalk by MiguelCardoso at 1:57 PM on March 6, 2015 (617 comments)

Facebook and Twitter are indifferent to your conversation, as long as you’re having it on their platform. A veteran of the Rotten Tomatoes forums laments the decline of online forums in the age of social media.
posted to MetaFilter by emelenjr at 9:31 PM on March 5, 2015 (65 comments)

Mom went to Citibank this morning to collect some items from her safe deposit box. Today, she opened it (with the employee's assistance, per the bank protocol), and they both discovered that the box itself was gone. We spoke at length with the branch manager, but they're refusing to give us any written affidavit or anything that we'd need to file an actual police report. Does anyone else have any info for situations like this? (Beyond lawyering up, which I'm ready to do!)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by raihan_ at 12:09 PM on March 5, 2015 (25 comments)

After 16 years of doing a bit of everything under the sun here, I’m stepping away from the day to day of running MetaFilter and moving into the background. Never fear, I’m leaving it in the best of hands and things are looking good for the future.
posted to MetaTalk by mathowie at 1:03 PM on March 4, 2015 (948 comments)

Many moons ago I read a short story about several children who lived in a world that was almost perpetually dark, with the exception of something like 15 minutes of sunlight every 30 years. These children were horsing around outside, and two of them locked a third in a shed. While this child was in the shed, the sun came out, depriving him/her of the only opportunity they'd have in their life to see the light. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Imogenetic at 2:44 PM on March 2, 2015 (16 comments)

VMSave is a small tool to help you preserve a lost loved-one's voicemail greeting, because sometimes that's the last fragment of them you have.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by zrail at 5:53 PM on February 24, 2015 (2 comments)

We used to have an LCD clock radio that glowed various rainbow colors. I "voted it off the island," so to speak, because it seemed like clock radio was a waste of space in the age of clocks-on-everything, but we missed spacing out while looking at it, so I put together this web substitute.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by ignignokt at 9:19 AM on February 15, 2015 (14 comments)

Nada, a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
posted to FanFare by MoonOrb at 7:27 PM on February 25, 2015 (14 comments)

Photographer Andrew B. Myers makes photographs that don't look like photographs so much as like clean-edged graphic design illustrations. Much of his work combines vibrant colors, flat, non-gradated lighting with crisp shadows, and a long-lens isometric composition to create tableaux that resemble old-school screensavers or wallpaper prints.
posted to MetaFilter by cortex at 10:18 AM on February 23, 2015 (7 comments)

Was a physical description necessary for early 20th century railway travel? I've been looking through a lot classifieds from around 1910, specifically the For Sale and Wanted ads (mostly in Oregon), and there are a lot of rail tickets listed. In the ads the people almost always specify what they look like.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by addelburgh at 7:51 PM on February 21, 2015 (10 comments)