Is a refund enough? It depends what you want to get from this experience.

Are you entitled to a refund? Yes, and that's what you got. You paid for a cookie, and it was a faulty cookie, so you were out one cookie. So they refunded your money. When they did that, they made you whole.

You also had a concern that your faulty cookie might be an indication of tampering, and you wanted to make sure other people weren't injured. Which is great.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hot soup girl at 4:48 PM on September 4, 2008

They took you seriously, researched the issue, fixed the problem, and offered to make good on the property you were out. You weren't hurt so will have no further issues impacting your ability to live/earn.

I say take a few deep breaths, be thankful you helped them solve such an obvious flaw in workflow, and take your refund.

I'd also encourage you to keep doing business at the same place, because they handled this like professionals instead of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by batmonkey at 5:04 PM on September 4, 2008

as one of america's 45 million people without health insurance, i think bloated and inefficient healthcare would be a step up from zero healthcare. but that's just me.
posted to MetaFilter by sergeant sandwich at 4:22 PM on July 2, 2008

In very short form: the Fed has been printing too much money for a very long time. They've been entirely behind the ball, and fueled the expansion and popping of multiple bubbles; the stock market in Y2K, and the twin monsters of debt and real estate up to 2007 or so.

House prices should not go up 25% a year. They just shouldn't. Neither should stocks, with certain rare exceptions. These are both forms of inflation, caused by too much money being available. The... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Malor at 7:55 AM on June 27, 2008

Oh dear.

Well, since you've read the threads (likely including one of mine) then you know there's a club of women like you here on Mefi. Smart, hot ladies who just can't seem to find love (or even like.)

I wish I knew what to tell you. If I tried I'd only get started on my own sob story, and I know that doesn't help me, because for me, I've decided, there aren't really any answers.

Lots of people will probably come and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loiseau at 6:07 AM on June 26, 2008

Check out a couple of Shel Silverstein books from the library - many of the poems are pretty goofy but sometimes there are some pretty lovely ones. Here are a couple of quotes from this page.

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

"If you are a dreamer, come in.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by pocams at 12:24 PM on June 13, 2008 marked best answer

You mean like Myst, maybe?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 10:20 AM on June 10, 2008

You're missing the forest for the trees. It's not about trying. It's about how you try. Kucinich's move is purely procedural and certain to fail. Other forms of struggle, agitation and dissent could presumably work over time. Focus on what actually has a chance in order to get that chance.

Define fail. Do you truly believe Kucinich thinks that this will get Bush impeached? This is about communication. He is making a point. He believes the Bush... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by caddis at 8:47 AM on June 10, 2008

If Congress can impeach a sitting president simply because they regret a foolish vote they made a few years ago, our democracy is in deep deep trouble.

posted by drjimmy11

At this late date, I think impeachment is pointless, but it would not be based on "regret over a foolish vote". You better go back and review the situation. Bush committed real crimes, war crimes, crimes against the Constitution, crimes against... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by chance at 8:52 AM on June 10, 2008

I treat trying not to cry in public in what I assume is kind of the same way guys treat trying not to get a boner - mainly by thinking about something, anything else. I also avoid looking directly at the screen/close my eyes during sad parts of movies.

Other things: taking a few deep breaths sometimes helps, and pasting on a big fake smile really helps because it sort of triggers my body into non-cry mode.
posted to Ask Metafilter by vodkaboots at 3:58 PM on June 4, 2008

Oh my god. I just realized something earth shattering, something that will change everything about my day to day life:

I am a terrorist.

I have a camera, right here, and just yesterday I was taking pictures of bridges and buildings.

Fuck fuck fuck!

How could I have not known this? I mean, how does one go through his whole life and not realize that he's a terrorist? I always... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by quin at 10:47 AM on May 30, 2008

Let me quote a post by my favorite blogger, publius of Obsidian Wings and formerly of Legal Fiction:I pride myself on being fairly cynical. Like any good child of the 90s, I’ve watched more than my share of Larry David. And I understand the frustrations that Clinton supporters and more hardened, cynical Obama supporters feel when they hear all the naive gushing praise for him — particularly from young people.

But they need to understand that many of us have never had a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 5:30 AM on June 4, 2008

I really want to believe Obama can pull this off. I really do. But I think we're looking at McCain in '08.

I'm also bracing myself for some serious racism in the next few months. This is going to get nasty, and it's going to get painful. I wish I could say I think it would be a good thing to open the dialogue about race in this country, but I'm scared shitless that it'll cause more harm than good.

I just don't believe in Americans anymore. Not... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by lunit at 11:04 AM on June 4, 2008

vhsiv, I don't think anyone but Mr. Greenspan knows for sure. That said, however, from comments he's made, I believe he saw the reality of global deflation. China and India coming online and integrating into the global economy was one of the most powerful deflationary forces for labor and manufactured goods ever. So, with the Fed's (stupid) belief that it should be trying to fix the price of goods, he increased and increased and increased the money supply... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Malor at 5:07 AM on May 12, 2008

I'll take a shot at this...

If you google "Eighteen thousand worlds" you'll see that this phrase is used a great deal in contexts that suggest that the Creator made 18,000 worlds, and ours is one of them. Yet, in this poem, the Lover is saying that those 18,000 worlds are less than an atom's worth compared to all his works or creation - and that the eyes of men and jinn have never seen or even conceived of that vastness. But it's very specific that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by taz at 11:47 PM on May 2, 2008 marked best answer

I seem to recall that for virtually all recyclable materials other than aluminum, it takes more energy to recycle than to make again from scratch. I'm led to believe this, if only because I can't think of any other material you can get paid to recycle.

I'd say that the cans are probably a greener choice, should you actually recycle them.

Alternately, I do like to brew my own iced tea in the fridge -- I just put a couple of teabags in a bottle or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DoctorFedora at 8:15 AM on April 25, 2008 marked best answer

I take comfort in the knowledge that every person is the same color once you've flayed their skin off.
posted to MetaFilter by Faint of Butt at 1:48 PM on April 17, 2008

The number of palm-widths

Each finger is 15 minutes. Very useful for estimating when to head home to avoid having to find your way back in the dark. It's so reliable, I wonder if this is where hours came from.
posted to Ask Metafilter by StickyCarpet at 11:07 AM on April 16, 2008

not nature related, but handy nonetheless....

MileMarkers and exit numbers. If you are traveling a highway that runs north and south, you are usually traveling north if the numbers get higher, south if they get lower.

On east-west highways numbers usually get larger as you head east

it helps and surprising how many people don't know this
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mr_Chips at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2008

Reminds me of the old SWAT hand signals.
posted to MetaFilter by KevinSkomsvold at 6:58 AM on April 7, 2008

I've been outside. It's overrrated.

Traditionally Outside receives extremely high ratings by those who like to see others play it, and these people are in many cases comfortably ensconced Inside themselves. Outside was released many years ago, it was in fact the first massively multiplayer game, and yet it has always managed to avoid the double-edged Retro tag. In its favor, continual user updates have kept Outside current; there are always new things... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by aeschenkarnos at 4:19 PM on March 30, 2008

Renting is superior, for one indisputable reason:

People don't get loans to rent.

Rents are tied, fundamentally, to the amount of money people are actually earning. Sales -- even condo sales -- are tied to how much money banks will loan. With banks securitizing all the risk away, they got into the habit of loaning anything to anyone.

So, if you want a place to buy, you have to compete with what people can borrow. If... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by effugas at 5:46 PM on March 21, 2008

take off, you hoser
take off to the great white north
beauty way to go
posted to MetaFilter by not_on_display at 11:29 PM on March 7, 2008

I don't feel like I have advice for you, but I have to say, that in your summary of the problem, both of you seem like some of the most rational people ever to post a relationship question in AskMe. You seem to be asking the right questions and interpreting things in a balanced way. You really need to get to the point where you can answer the big question, which for each of you is 'Is there any way I can live with that?' If the answer for both of you is no, then I think you're going to have to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jacquilynne at 7:23 AM on March 7, 2008

As I see it, one of the big problems is that people expect the library to be all things to all people - which would take enormous amounts of money - but then they get upset when they're faced with the alternative of (a) raising taxes by an enormous amount or (b) funding other people's priorities in addition to their own.

People want the public library to be:
-A Barnes & Noble, but free.
-A Blockbuster Video, but free.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Jeanne at 4:18 PM on March 7, 2008