Ask MetaFilter posts by cog_nate

Satisfaction with Mechanical Turk work?

cog_nate — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:16:36 -0800

Have you utilized Mechanical Turk workers for anything even remotely complicated? Were you satisfied with the results? This particular project involves hand transcription of seven or eight digital documents -- one per Mechanical Turk worker -- of fairly short length (600-1000 words). So yeah, just writing something out longhand and then mailing them to me. Pretty non-demanding, and it would pay well (compared to most Mechanical Turk HITs that I've seen). Has anyone utilized MT for this purpose or something similar? Did the end result(s) turn out to your satisfaction?

Thanks.

How was that Gödel, Escher, Bach carving made, and how can I do it at home?

cog_nate — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:10:46 -0800

I've always been fascinated by this book cover for Gödel, Escher, Bach. Anybody know how the woodcarving was designed, how it was made and how I could perhaps make one myself? Would it even be feasible to do by hand or a jigsaw? I have access to a jigsaw, but I'm not fantastically crafty

Thanks in advance.

How can I wax cotton, preferably denim?

cog_nate — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:08:57 -0800

How is cotton waxed? What's the process, and is it feasible to do at home? I'd really like to make a denim saddlebag for an upcoming bike tour. It seems like it'd be a simple and fun project to do. Additionally, I would prefer to waterproof it. Is it feasible to effectively wax cotton at home, and how would I got about doing it?

Best stage production musicals available on DVD?

cog_nate — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:30:55 -0800

Please point me to some of the best-produced stage production musicals available on DVD. I want to familiarize myself with musicals, but want to view live-recorded stage productions as opposed to feature film versions. What are, in your view(s), the wittiest musicals and the best stage productions of them that are available on DVD?

Thanks in advance.

Which Creative Commons license is most like public domain?

cog_nate — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:52:48 -0800

Which Creative Commons license is most like public domain? Does it make any sense to license the content I've posted if it's in the public domain? I have a collection of images on flickr which, from everything I've read, are in the public domain.

Here are the options Flickr gives under licensing:
None (All rights reserved)
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons
Attribution Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Flickr has no "public domain" option. I'll be honest, I got confused as to which is most like public domain and whether I should or even can license the content, and how. "None" can't be right, can it? Since I only mined images out of a database and there's nothing expressive about the reproductions, it's still public domain. Right? In the set descriptions I've inserted that, to my knowledge, the images are in the public domain. Is that all I need to do? Is there a CC option that fits this collection?

Will gluing together a laptop's LCD screen panels work?

cog_nate — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:49:31 -0800

Will using superglue or gorilla glue to glue together the LCD screen case on a laptop computer work? I bought an old beater laptop for my wife to use for at least one month. The laptop works fine, LCD looks great, but the outer panel edges around the screen's case are a bit loose (and are currently being held together by not-very-confidence-inspiring tape). Can I use a few drops of super glue or gorilla glue to fasten the edges together? Or will it off-gas and/or turn solvent and somehow damage the plastics and/or electronics? (This is a Sony Vaio GRZ610, if that makes any difference.)

Thanks in advance.

BIOS update failure

cog_nate — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 11:44:05 -0800

I tried updating my computer's BIOS the other night. The update didn't work, and now neither does my computer. I have a Gigabyte motherboard (model GA-K8NS Ultra-939). I tried updating the motherboard using Gigabyte's @BIOS utility. It would save a backup of the BIOS, but would not write the new version of the BIOS. I swear I soft rebooted (Restarted Windows) without a problem after trying to update it. Yesterday I turned the computer on (cold start) and after POSTing it would not boot; all I got was a black screen. That was bad. I tried booting Windows in Safe Mode -- it would get as far as "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\Mup.sys" and then freeze. (See these for some
POST info and the last bit of the last line I just mentioned.) That seemed worse.

So, it seems to POST correctly but will simply not boot up regardless what I try. I popped in a linux liveCD to see it it would boot; it would start loading but then freeze. I've sent Gigabyte a support request via e-mail, but don't expect to hear enlightening things from them in reply.

It definitely is the BIOS, right? Anyone know whether there's another way to update or reprogram the BIOS without performing radical surgery on the motherboard? (This motherboard is dual-BIOS, but when I enter the Q-Flash utility it freezes. Could I have a technician replace the borked BIOS with the good one?) Could it be a different problem?

Thanks in advance.

Start seeing earlobes.

cog_nate — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:26:09 -0800

I don't recall seeing a painting or illustration in which someone has attached earlobes. Why? Seriously. I'm virtually certain that every painting or drawing of a person with enough detail to show their ears includes detached earlobes on that person, excepting perhaps a few realistic portraits of real-life people. This has turned from a "Huh, that's odd" thing into a "Just what the hell is going on here?" thing for me.

Are the ears just some throwaway detail that doesn't matter? Are detached earlobes just easier to draw or paint? Is it some subconscious bias against attached earlobes? Am I imagining the whole thing?

Can a 35mm film scanner be used to digitize microfilm?

cog_nate — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 12:58:16 -0800

Is it possible to use a 35mm film scanner -- such as a Minolta DiMAGE or Nikon Coolscan -- to digitize 35mm microfilm? Film scanners like these are much cheaper than microfilm scanners and take up much less space. Has anyone tried this and been successful?

job in the Netherlands?

cog_nate — Mon, 15 May 2006 13:25:29 -0800

One-year position in the Netherlands: Should I take it and how do I prep for it? I've been offered a one-year archival position in the Netherlands (Nijmegen). I'm in the US. It pays less than what I get now and even less than a job I was just offered today. However, it's doing something that is directly in line with my schooling/training. Plus, it's perhaps the only chance for my wife and I to cut away for a year abroad. From my perspective, the only major negative is that it would require my wife to give up her job, which she enjoys. Those of you who have done one- or two-year foreign fellowships, etc., how did you think/work through these issues? How did you prepare to be gone for only one year? What special considerations did you take into account for your spouse/partner? Also, how did you transition back after the fellowship? Finally, anyone with experience getting a place in Nijmegen -- what are the going rates, and could two fairly frugal individuals live comfortably on 1.575 EUR/mo? (General encouragement is also welcome.)