Tell me about the best sandwiches you have ever made or eaten.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by doift at 5:32 PM on September 30, 2023 (75 comments)

I have an older Macbook Air (2013, I believe) that I freshly installed the OS on (Mountain Lion). When I try to update to a later OS, it tells me it "cannot access the App Store". When I google this, none of the solutions work. I just want to be able to run Google Docs and use this as a writing machine. More issues inside.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dobbs at 7:08 AM on September 19, 2023 (19 comments)

Do you know of any rail trips that are like a cruise? That is, I am mainly looking for a trip where passengers get multiple stops to sightsee, etc., but need to unpack their bags only once.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by NotLost at 7:08 PM on September 14, 2023 (17 comments)

Our only source of music was a borrowed pocket radio, hooked up to earbuds that cost three dollars at the commissary. At night, we’d crank up the volume and lay the earbuds on the desk in our cell. Those tiny speakers radiated crickety renditions of Top Forty hits. During that time, I heard tracks from “Red,” Swift’s fourth studio album, virtually every hour. I was starting to enjoy them. [The New Yorker]
posted to MetaFilter by DarlingBri at 1:41 PM on September 5, 2023 (14 comments)

Alan Watts, in some of his lectures, tells stories of the experiences of Zen teachers and their students- a sort of mystic, mythic history from ages past. Are there books of these sorts of legends?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by drd at 9:29 PM on March 12, 2014 (9 comments)

What would the positive and negative impact be of going back to horses as our primary mode of transport instead of fossil fuel powered cars? I've been rolling this around in my head recently as part of a thought experiment, but lack expertise on key points. I'm curious if others can fill in the blanks.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by EllaEm at 1:17 AM on July 28, 2023 (74 comments)

How do gnats do this?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by lpsguy at 12:44 PM on July 25, 2023 (4 comments)

Netflix seems to be full of Korean shows and it feels like a waste to not watch them but I have no idea where to start. Any recommendations for k-dramas that have already finished and their endings are not depressing?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by simmering octagon at 12:48 PM on March 29, 2023 (39 comments)

I need to create a simple website that'll consist of just a few static pages and a blog. I have experience with WordPress, but I really dislike it, mainly because of its editor. What's out there that's better than WordPress?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by akk2014 at 9:47 AM on March 29, 2023 (7 comments)

There are many areas in life where we immediately default to professionals. But not all problems are equally hard. Especially with the availability of an enormous amount of instruction videos it became quite easy to do some repairs. I wouldn't attempt to fix a mechanical watch, but I was able to change quartz watch batteries after watching one video! What are your examples of easy-to-do tasks, and what were the tutorials / videos that helped you do it? My examples are below the fold.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kmt at 3:07 AM on March 27, 2023 (33 comments)

There's a...genre of store in the UK that seems to exist somewhere at the intersection of hardware stores, small local manufacturers, zero waste, luddite fetishists, and MoMA Design Store-curated shopping. Examples include Labour and Wait and Objects of Use. Are there similar businesses in the US?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pullayup at 11:01 AM on March 26, 2023 (19 comments)

Emilie (seven) plays "Moon River" on piano for Sharky the dog
posted to MetaFilter by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 5:14 AM on November 13, 2022 (24 comments)

I'm redoing a bedroom, with a view to ultimately fixing up the whole house. It's shabby in all the predictable ways - peeling wallpaper, threadbare carpet, chipped and flaking door/skirting, etc. What's the proper order to do things in, so that I don't e.g. get paint on the new floor?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by wattle at 6:44 PM on October 24, 2022 (12 comments)

Obsidian users: What advice do you have for someone just starting with the app? Or what do you wish you had known when you got started?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:27 AM on October 7, 2022 (13 comments)

New York Times Magazine: A Genius Cartoonist Believes Child’s Play Is Anything But Frivolous
posted to MetaFilter by MrJM at 11:14 AM on September 5, 2022 (24 comments)

I’m helping a friend to set up a website for their web comic. Help us find a WordPress template.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pxe2000 at 5:05 PM on August 22, 2022 (1 comment)

I have been meaning to migrate my personal email and calendars from Google for a while...but I keep being intimidated by figuring out the logistics. I'm hoping the hive mind can help!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by philosophygeek at 9:16 AM on August 14, 2022 (5 comments)

45 years ago, some people invented the future. In the summer of 1977, Donna Summer (an American), Giorgio Moroder (an Italian) and Pete Bellotte (a Brit) were all living and working in Germany. Alongside engineer Robbie Wedel (an actual German) and a pile of Moog kit, they managed for the first time to sync up all the music tracks to a steady pulse, adding sinuous, ecstatic vocals to a robotic bassline.
posted to MetaFilter by YoungStencil at 11:41 AM on July 1, 2022 (50 comments)

What are some aspects of your life which make it feel worthwhile?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kinddieserzeit at 2:43 AM on June 12, 2022 (28 comments)

'Mind blowing’ ancient settlements uncovered in the Amazon via Nature.
The urban centres are the first to be discovered in the region, challenging archaeological dogma. Mysterious mounds in the southwest corner of the Amazon Basin were once the site of ancient urban settlements. Using a remote-sensing technology to map the terrain from the air, scientists found that, starting about 1,500 years ago, ancient Amazonians built and lived in densely populated centres, featuring 22-metre-tall earthen pyramids, that were encircled by kilometres of elevated roadways. Some background Amazon ecology: Footprints in the forest.
posted to MetaFilter by adamvasco at 12:28 PM on May 27, 2022 (6 comments)

I'm find it hard to focus nowadays, so I would like some good book recommendations that are easy reads. By good I mean: with some thematic/emotional/intellectual heft, something that stays with you after you have finished it.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by unicorn chaser at 6:00 AM on May 25, 2022 (57 comments)

I need some recommendations for books that are easy to get through but are satisfying to read for me: lyrical prose, non cliched plots, allusions, experimental techniques, etc.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by redlines at 5:42 PM on January 3, 2021 (29 comments)

US grocery retailer Trader Joe's this year announced the winners of its 13th Annual Customer Choice Awards (podcast audio and PDF transcript; podcast is silly and includes a cooking segment). The podcast hosts mentioned that this year's overall winner has been "on the list as either the Favorite Frozen Product or the Favorite Entree, the favorite of whatever category in which it fits every year, since we've had the Customer Choice Awards" so let's look at the historical winners!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 5:42 AM on May 14, 2022 (82 comments)

I'm looking for songs to fill out a roller-skating playlist. Right now the foundations are: Lizzo's "Juice," Dua Lipa's "Levitating," Megan Thee Stallion's "Sweetest Pie," and Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More." What other self-assured ladies' pop/hip-hop/R&B songs can I skate to?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fiercecupcake at 12:21 PM on May 6, 2022 (19 comments)

Looking for dishes (probably from a cuisine different from what you grew up with) that blew your mind when you first tried them. Foods with flavor combos/serving formats/cooking methods/etc that made you realize the world of food is bigger than you ever imagined.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dede at 6:52 PM on May 4, 2022 (141 comments)

My girlfriend's spiraling into alcoholism. She's refusing help. What do I do?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by morning_television at 9:08 PM on March 23, 2022 (37 comments)

I've had a few folks ask me about cryptocurrency and blockchain. I have a reasonable understanding of the concepts involved, but I don't understand them so well that I can easily explain. I thought about finding a nice, short explainer video, but my search-engine-fu has failed me. Any recommendations?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by braveterry at 12:40 PM on January 13, 2022 (8 comments)

You: a medical or fitness professional of some sort, whether a practitioner or researcher. Me: an author writing a book of practical tips. What specific things do you wish more people did to maintain or improve their own health and fitness?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by yankeefog at 3:56 AM on December 22, 2021 (14 comments)

…as I near middle-age, and eventual death.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by po822000 at 8:52 PM on December 16, 2021 (28 comments)

Looking for blogs, instagram accounts, books, classes and other resources to help me learn to doodle and watercolor. iring.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Brittanie at 2:06 PM on November 3, 2021 (11 comments)

We've been enjoying the reality show "Blown Away," which features glassmakers competing against one another to make great art. Can you recommend any other reality shows like this that are uplifting, educational, and focus on the skill of the competitors rather than any "drama" between them? I'd also put the Great British Baking Show (which we like, too) in this category. Thanks for your ideas!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by DavidNYC at 7:55 AM on December 13, 2021 (47 comments)

I feel like I'm on an edge of falling into limerence, again. Being older and maybe wiser, along with reading about the mechanics of limerence, is so far is helping me be in a place of mindfulness about it, rather than losing my mind. I'd love a soundtrack of songs to listen to that capture what limerence is like, especially how it's utterly consuming despite simultaneously knowing you're in a state and the desired connection is unfulfillable.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 12:06 PM on December 10, 2021 (29 comments)

What's a product that you swear by and you would totally recommend to anyone? How has it changed your life/day/way of doing things?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pleasebekind at 2:59 AM on December 8, 2021 (45 comments)

I'm a middle-aged guy living in Scotland who suffers long-term with low mood, part of which I feel is due to being long-term single (since 2013). Reading articles it seems there are lots of men also not doing great, for example men whose wives were stuck with the emotional labour of arranging socialising, and now they are divorced and not coping well. Yet there's a subset of single people who are thriving. Are there particular things I need to build into my lifestyle to feel better or is it more a change of mindset that's required.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by AuroraSky at 7:57 AM on December 6, 2021 (16 comments)

I'm interested in cases where bending (or breaking) a genre convention is seen as an unforgivable sin (or at least false advertising) by the intended audience. A certain segment of people who identify as sci-fi readers get very loudly upset if they're "tricked" into reading a sci-fi novel that they feel isn't science-y enough (or just too touchy-feely...). What upsets the readers of other genres?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Lorc at 5:43 AM on December 6, 2021 (42 comments)

My favourite books are: Blindsight by Peter Watts The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch, The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Anything new out there like these? Amazon and Good Reads have failed me.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Dag Maggot at 5:22 PM on December 3, 2021 (27 comments)

Unless my memory is playing tricks with me, Katherine Langridge used to have a whole series of excellent essays about the Narnia books on her Seven Miles of Steel Thistles blog. But they've gone missing. Does anyone know why, or whether they are still accessible somewhere?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Zumbador at 9:19 PM on November 26, 2021 (5 comments)

…about as much as you think about them—but they don't think you're a mess. Researchers on the "thought gap" and the "beautiful mess effect".
posted to MetaFilter by bixfrankonis at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2021 (13 comments)

Long-time reader, first-time homeowner: We moved into a new construction house five years ago, and in one corner of the house we've noticed a mounting number of clues and symptoms--a couple cracks in drywall, an inexplicably sticky patio door--that leads me to believe that we might be having some issues with the house settling in that corner. We'd like to start working toward investigating and addressing the problem...but I confess I don't know who to talk to between here and a solution, or even where to start.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Inkslinger at 4:10 PM on November 1, 2021 (10 comments)

I've been "addicted" to the internet since I was a young teen and browsing and scrolling are my go-to activities. I really want to change this. It's hard!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Balthamos at 2:37 PM on October 22, 2021 (33 comments)

I am trying to reduce my sugar intake. Seeking advice about certain aspects of this I'm struggling with. [TW: some talk of past eating disorder]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by unicorn chaser at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2021 (28 comments)

I'm buried by garbage callers / texters. I'm seeking an app that will push calls / texts msgs into a junk folder. I know it can be done by dumping all calls and/or text msgs that are not in contacts, by using Do Not disturb, but I'd like to see -- on my schedule, when I want -- I'd want to see if it's valid, actually aimed at me.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dancestoblue at 11:52 PM on June 3, 2021 (4 comments)

I've made an offer within my budget on a fantastic house. Since the market is so hot and there have been recent bidding wars nearby, when I saw that comps from the last six months were $306-317,000 (list was $310,000), I decided to offer $325,000. As part of the offer, I also offered a $15,000 appraisal gap. Now I'm scared that the appraisal will come in low. What happens if it does?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nowadays at 10:44 AM on May 11, 2021 (15 comments)

What novels do you re-read and, more to the point, why?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by BWA at 9:04 AM on May 10, 2021 (66 comments)

I seem to have lost my ability to delay gratification. I used to be quite disciplined - I had no problems working on my goals, sticking to a diet or keeping up an exercise regimen. But for the last couple of years, I am less and less willing/able to do hard things, even when I want them. Help pls?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gakiko at 2:27 AM on June 10, 2020 (20 comments)

Want to get into game development, but find C++ to forbidding, Unity too HUGE, and Game Maker too expensive and prone to charge you hundreds of dollars for every specific export system? Then you don't really need to wait for Godot, which is only 27 megabytes (around 52 with Mono support), is both free as in beer and under the MIT License, uses a Python-like syntax with options for C#, C++ and others, runs on Windows, macOS, Linuxes and BSDs and even Haiku, exports to all of the above plus iOS, Android and HTML5, and is pretty easy to use.
posted to MetaFilter by JHarris at 12:15 PM on March 15, 2020 (18 comments)

I have the vaguest of question. But in this time where I'm forbidden from going to work until May. Ever since I read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose I've had this idea that I want to recreate the library-labyrinth in it in some game engine. And now that I'm mandated to stay home and do nothing, the idea came back. Sorry I don't even know what to ask exactly. Is this a bad project or can it be done? Labyrinth from The Name of the Rose?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Pyrogenesis at 11:14 AM on March 20, 2020 (9 comments)

What are the most detailed, extensively worked out galactic civilizations in written SF?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by signal at 8:42 AM on March 15, 2020 (21 comments)

I've come to realize that my least favorite thing about modern radio drama/ podcasts is their jokes, especially in the scifi/ fantasy realm. Are there any good genre dramatic podcasts that avoid jokes, pop-culture references, wry sarcasm, and are NOT influenced by the Whedon-verse? Like the most boring, dry, un-fun hard scifi podcast serial would be my ideal.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Think_Long at 12:30 PM on February 27, 2020 (13 comments)

Help me decolonise and broaden my Spanish learning. Details/snowflakes inside.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tamanna at 9:40 PM on January 30, 2020 (15 comments)