MetaFilter

A ukulele might appeal to their interest in folk music.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by munchingzombie at 12:27 PM on December 20, 2023

Does he have a Hotwheels track? Those things are awesome!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dawkins_7 at 12:25 PM on December 20, 2023

How about a tool bag with a couple of real tools in it? I've had good luck getting kids a small hammer, some screw drivers, a tape measure, etc. Then you could also get him a little kit to build something like a birdhouse. They have those at Home Depot and sometimes at Harbor Freight.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dawkins_7 at 12:24 PM on December 20, 2023

Surprised this hasn't been covered already, even if it doesn't have the same feel as your examples: I'll be Home for Christmas (if Only In My Dreams)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by amtho at 9:04 AM on December 21, 2023

Jethro Tull - Another Christmas Song (I'd throw in the rest of the album too really.)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mersen at 8:46 AM on December 21, 2023

Robert Earl Keen - Merry Christmas From The Family
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sharks don't eat potatoes at 8:41 AM on December 21, 2023

Fairytale of New York obviously, especially this year
posted to Ask MetaFilter by runincircles at 8:19 AM on December 21, 2023

Does TFG actually need to be convicted of insurrection, or is what Colorado concluded enough to get by?

The opinion says that was already decided by a lower Colorado court:

After permitting President Trump and the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (“CRSCC”; collectively, “Intervenors”) to intervene in the action below, the district court conducted a five-day trial. The court found by clear and convincing evidence... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by teraflop at 4:37 PM on December 19, 2023

Good, it's a start. Fuck that guy.
posted to MetaFilter by They sucked his brains out! at 4:11 PM on December 19, 2023

I've got a squirrel one too. One very blustery morning when I was a kid, I was looking out the window onto the back deck of my parents' house, where we kept my younger siblings' big plastic pedal cars. And as the cars were blowing back and forth on the deck in the wind, I realized that squirrels were sitting in them, taking advantage of the wind to go for joyrides. And I swear, one of the squirrels even had its little paws on the steering wheel.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by capricorn at 7:45 PM on November 14, 2023

A friend texted this to me recently:

“I was traveling on a country road in my area. There was a tractor pulling a full manure spreader. Then a Tesla with New Jersey plates. Then me. The tractor had us meandering at top speeds of 25mph in a 50. Although I would have preferred to be doing the speed limit - what are you going to do.

The Tesla in front of me (directly behind the manure spreader) was losing his shit. The idiot was tailgating a shit... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by MonkeyToes at 3:48 PM on November 14, 2023

I've seen a UFO when I was 11 years old. It was in the daytime, a bright sunny day. I was standing by a pretty high building (14 floors or so) and it looked to me like the object I saw overhead was at least as high above the roof as the roof was above ground level. The object was white and oval (not elliptical or bombed shaped, and no pointy ends) and in a horizontal position, and seemed to be moving across the sky over a city at a constant speed and direction. It was not fast but I could... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Too-Ticky at 11:49 AM on November 14, 2023

While taking a walk, I saw a squirrel get a running start and jump over a duck.
posted to MetaTalk by michaelh at 11:31 AM on November 14, 2023

Twenty-plus years ago I was on my break from lifeguarding and decided to use my time to paddle way out past the breakers and just bliss out for a bit. The water was exceptionally clear that day and when I got to my spot, in maybe 12 feet of water, I thought I could see something shiny down in the sand below me, so I put on the goggles that I always kept around my neck (I wore contacts at the time) and dove down to take a look. When I got to the bottom I discovered it was just a piece of abalone... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by saladin at 10:34 AM on November 14, 2023

I cannot tell you how amazed I am at the Roomba universe. I won a little neighborhood raffle and have had a robot vacuum and a robot mop for about a month. Oh my god. I would absolutely buy replacements for these expensive little things when they eventually break down beyond repair.

I suppose the life benefit is that they work. It really surprised me. I set up the vacuum first, thinking I'd get some mileage out of it and just sell on the mop. My flat... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:56 AM on December 15, 2023 marked best answer

I don't know what you all have against Last Christmas.

I feel the same way about "All I Want For Christmas Is You." It's an exuberant song that puts people before presents. Maybe it's Mariah Carey? Some people out there hate Mimi that much? I dunno.
posted to MetaFilter by Halloween Jack at 7:32 PM on December 8, 2023

I like "Last Christmas" unapologetically. I also own the 7-inch of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and while I wouldn't say I like it, I'm entertained by it.

I do like Christmas music and I have accumulated quite a collection from the traditional to the weird. I somehow ended up adding 5 new albums and one new 7-inch ("Santa Claus and His Old Lady") because I asked for recommendations and my friends over-delivered.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by edencosmic at 1:29 PM on December 8, 2023

I don't know what you all have against Last Christmas. So many great lines. It's my favourite Christmas song.
posted to MetaFilter by Klipspringer at 12:56 PM on December 8, 2023

This is list: You're welcome.

[Compulsory slide-shows on websites are rage - making]

30. Sonic Youth, “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out On Dope” (1996)
29. The Crossfires, “Santa And The Sidewalk Surfer” (1964)
28. Max Headroom, “Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You’re A Lovely Guy)“ (1986)
27. AC/DC, “Mistress For Christmas” (1990)
26. William Shatner, “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” (2018)
25.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Faintdreams at 8:11 AM on December 8, 2023

Overnight being inside would be the worst of all, I'm sure.

you know her best, but I think it's pretty likely that if she had a few good hiding spots inside, she'd bolt to one of those and stay there for the duration. IMO this seems far safer than her bolting outside on a night when people all over may be letting off fireworks- she could just bolt further and further away until she's in unfamiliar territory. This is how most people lose their pets... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by oneirodynia at 4:12 PM on December 10, 2023

Don't travel. Keep her in your house and give her a few hidey-holes in case she gets stressed. She may be tougher than you think (and tougher than she looks, what a sweetie).
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nkknkk at 5:59 PM on December 9, 2023

Oh she looks so soft and her coat looks well cared for, you are doing a great job!

I think probably the best route here is to start her on a litter box right now and trap her in your home the night before or the morning-of. That way she will have had time to learn that there is a place for bathroom stuff in your home and her smells will be a lot stronger so it will feel like her territory a lot more and she is more likely to be calm inside for a day or two. Also of... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mizu at 5:21 PM on December 9, 2023 marked best answer

Correction: I had the ratings wrong. VRBO goes 1-10 and you should be looking for 9.0 or better.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by JoeZydeco at 6:39 AM on December 7, 2023

I've rented a few vacation homes, mostly in the Caribbean, but I'd think my strategy applies to US properties as well. I always use VRBO, never AirBNB. I've always been happy with VRBO's customer service and how they work with property owners/managers. They offer a way to send messages without exchanging personal emails.

I look heavily at ratings from previous visitors. The property should have a 4.0 average, the closer to 5.0 the better. There should be very few 1 star... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by JoeZydeco at 6:31 AM on December 7, 2023

Just to add, a neighbor of ours put in a shed without realizing she needed zoning approval. She was nearly required to take it down till the board granted her retroactive permission, so don't miss out on getting all your paperwork done, whether you build it yourself or purchase.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mmf at 10:08 AM on December 5, 2023

That is wildly inappropriate language to use about a child. It's also inappropriate as hell for her to speculate about the sexual preferences of a little girl(!) based on who that kid wants to play with.

If it were me, I would have a frank and private conversation with Bill, explaining everything. I would let Bill decide what to do, but personally speaking I wouldn't want this woman to spend much time around any children, let alone young girls who might be the victims of... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fight or flight at 10:33 AM on December 5, 2023

I, too, would like a button that mutes stupid/offensive/annoying people. Maybe they could be installed at birth.
posted to MetaTalk by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:09 AM on November 23, 2023

A programmable smart bulb like a Philips hue (there are many cheaper off brands that work great) with a little note that says something cheesy like "you make my work day brighter 😊."

It's cool, practical, won't aggravate anyone's allergies or religious sensibilities, and if they don't want it it's extremely regiftable.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by phunniemee at 8:21 PM on November 26, 2023

5 gallon buckets are easy to get or buy and are roomy enough for dyeing clothes. Any stain on the sink or tub will come out with bleach.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by theora55 at 11:50 PM on November 26, 2023

Starter pieces: Down On The Corner (Creedence) and Monkey Man (Toots and the Maytals).

Gazing up at the dizzy heights in awe: Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Pallas Athena at 8:18 AM on November 15, 2023

You know this is an insane system because literally no other restaurant on earth does anything like it.

I spent 15 years in restaurant kitchens, working in everything from college town pizza joints to very high end fine dining.

Every restaurant has some kind of weird system like this. Every single one of them. It's just that Waffle House had the good sense to codify it so that it was the same across the franchise.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ralan at 7:45 AM on November 11, 2023

It makes sense to me. My first job was at a Burger King, a job I did for over two years. Our system had the capability for kitchen printers but we didn’t use that. The rule was “pull your wraps.” What that meant was that when an order was called back, you would take the appropriate wrapper and put it on the left side of the prep table. Someone calls back a whopper with cheese, no Mayo or onion, you pull a whopper wrap, mark the cheese icon, cross out the Mayo and onion icons, and put it on the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by azpenguin at 4:57 AM on November 11, 2023

it's a whole hell of a lot to learn for a job that probably pays minimum wage

You can spot the people in this thread who've never worked retail or food service.

Y'all, there is no such thing as unskilled labour. There is only undervalued and underappreciated labour. These jobs are hard and they take real skill to learn and do well.
posted to MetaFilter by mhoye at 4:43 AM on November 11, 2023

My condo has an HOA, and my husband and I are members of the HOA board, along with one other guy. About half our building is owner-occupied and the other half is long-term renters. A couple young guys moved into the rental unit next door about six months ago, and they liked to smoke weed every day in the non-smoking building.

The other board member lives off-site but does more of the administrative stuff, so he send the owner of the unit a letter than every time they... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jabes at 8:16 AM on November 10, 2023

Some years ago I was having breast implants as reconstruction after breast cancer. My surgeon recommended that I have the implants placed sub-glandular rather than sub-muscular, for a variety of reasons including that I tended to work out my upper body a fair amount. On the day of my surgery, it was delayed quite a long time and when my surgeon came to apologize and say that a prior surgery took much longer than anticipated and that it was now my turn, I said, "Have you had anything to eat?... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by janey47 at 3:25 PM on November 10, 2023

Fully agree that calmly mentioning JCAHO (Joint Commission) is a good strategy, as is whatever state agencies regulate medical care and track medical errors -- here in Florida, it's the Agency for Health Care Administration and the state Board of Medicine, YMMV.

Honestly, if the hospital is on the up-and-up, they've already reported the error, which may take away some of your leverage. But here's something else that can work. I worked for several years as the regional... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by martin q blank at 10:47 AM on November 10, 2023

How big is the hospital? Is it out in the middle of nowhere or is this an accredited large hospital? If it's a big one, you might want to call their Patient Advocate office and mention "Joint Commission Sentinel Report" and see how fast and how high they jump. Ask them for a copy of the Sentinel Report filed on your behalf (they may or may not have done this). It's a big deal; they should've filed one since they operated on the wrong site.

There is supposed to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dancinglamb at 9:00 AM on November 10, 2023

IANAL, IANAD, but surely they should compensate you for unnecessary surgery, not charge?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Phanx at 7:51 AM on November 10, 2023

There also is a grievance process. An incident like this should have been reported through where ever they track patient harm, because an invasive procedure in the wrong place is a big mistake and should be reviewed thoughoughly. Your hospitals patient advocate people ( sometimes this is called patient guest services, patient support, guest experience, there's a bunch of similar sounding names for this) can let you know if that happened or not and help with the billing part as well.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by AlexiaSky at 6:32 AM on November 10, 2023

Are you thinking of sending money by wire through Western Union?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by potrzebie at 11:11 AM on November 10, 2023

This is not actually a lot of different things. This is basically one thing: "I only value myself through other people's eyes." And then you act based on what you think you see there. And then you don't complain or ask for kindness from others until you're at the snapping point, because you're supposed to be serving them and not have any needs.

You might want to find some books or guides (therapy?) on how to handle people pleasing tendencies, and on loving... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Lady Li at 8:40 AM on November 11, 2023

Chuck this list in the trash and get a new therapist. Making that list was a ridiculous exercise. Therapy is supposed to make you better, not worse. Much easier and more rewarding to work on one thing at a time and celebrate success along the way. Try DBT or some other skills program.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by shock muppet at 8:17 AM on November 11, 2023

Oh good, you get paid free time to jobhunt. Try to turn it that way in your head - these idiots are literally giving you money in exchange for not doing your job duties. (And lawyer up, especially if you're in any kind of discriminated minority. Different country, but a woman I know hit up her employer so hard for age discrimination when they did this to her the moment she became unfirable due to being close to retirement age. Paid off house kind of money.)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by I claim sanctuary at 9:26 AM on November 11, 2023

1. Document everything - every meeting you have been disinvited too etc. Keep copies outside your company’s ecosystem.

2. Gather all your good reviews, times you met your targets, positive feedback. Keep it all in your personal email/Dropbox/whatever.

3. I’m glad you have a lawyer.

4. Grieve but realize this is now a game of chess. The winning of this game involves money. There’s no personal stake... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by warriorqueen at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2023

My kids are adults now but I can unequivocally say that if they were still under my care I would have them fully vaccinated, including the new booster*. Not only is it better for them, it's better for society in general. No brainer, for me.

*not so incidentally, they both are currently fully vaccinated including the new booster
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cooker girl at 11:40 AM on November 3, 2023

More context from that article: "COVID-19 deaths were considered in 12-month periods between April 1, 2020, and August 31, 2022 ... There were 821 COVID-19 deaths among individuals aged 0 to 19 years during the study period, resulting in a crude death rate of 1.0 per 100 000 population overall; 4.3 per 100 000 for those younger than 1 year; 0.6 per 100 000 for those aged 1 to 4 years; 0.4 per 100 000 for those aged 5 to 9 years; 0.5 per 100 000 for those aged 10 to 14 years; and 1.8 per... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:23 AM on November 3, 2023

COVID is the 8th leading cause of death among children in the United States.

And this is almost burying the lede. It's

fifth in disease-related causes of deaths (excluding unintentional injuries, assault, and suicide), and first in deaths caused by infectious or respiratory diseases [...] it caused substantially more deaths in CYP (children and young people) annually than any vaccine-preventable disease historically in the... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pullayup at 11:08 AM on November 3, 2023

COVID is the 8th leading cause of death among children in the United States.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by heatherlogan at 10:55 AM on November 3, 2023

Vaccines and boosters work, and despite the defunding and downplaying of COVID, it’s still a threat to both my children (3 and 1) as well as anyone they come into contact with who are immunocompromised. They are both boosted and will continue to get boosters (along with flu and other recommended boosts) as long as they are available. To me, there is no downside.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by knownassociate at 10:35 AM on November 3, 2023

This specific variety of bullshit are like, textbook depression symptoms. One of the insidious things about depression is that it drags you away from trying to seek help. Please talk to a therapist, they would love to help you!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by capricorn at 2:46 PM on November 3, 2023