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More old maps:
Hargrett Library Rare Map Collection
UT Library Map Collection
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Helmink Historical Maps and Atlases
The Ryhiner Map Collection
posted to MetaFilter by TDIpod at 1:35 PM on July 22, 2009

I've heard straight males complain about the "squeak" Chesty A. Arthur mentions, saying strippers shaking their breasts in their face at strip clubs sound like potato chip bags rustling.

One thing to consider: cost.

The average total cost ranges from $4,000 to $10,000. The average cost for the implants is $1,000 to $1,300; the anesthesia fee is typically $600 to $800; the facility fee typically ranges from $800 to $1,200. The... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Juliet Banana at 11:51 AM on July 22, 2009

I grind beans every morning for my daily two cups. Initially, I switched to half/decaf, half regular. Lately, I've been going with just decaf.

Wean yourself off of the caffeine.

The other issue you should address is sugar. As a point of reference, a teaspoon of sugar is roughly 4.2 grams of sugar. Many sports drinks have 19 grams of sugar! That's four and a half teaspoons of sugar in one drink. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Even worse, a 12... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by 2oh1 at 11:37 AM on July 22, 2009

Please, no "see a therapist" answers, unless accompanied by a thoughtful explanation of how dragging someone who really doesn't want to go will produce a useful result.

You can't seem to identify the problem, despite everything being generally fine. That's exactly what a therapist is for. Something big with one of you is causing this--and causing the bickering. Finding out what that is is exactly what a therapist does. If you are really... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Ironmouth at 3:13 PM on July 21, 2009

What gives you the idea that permission was necessary?

United States Bill of Rights
posted to MetaFilter by Comrade_robot at 8:35 AM on July 21, 2009

What if we condensed the UK into a village of 100 people?

They'd be very heavy and dense, or very, very tall.
posted to MetaFilter by doctor_negative at 9:46 AM on July 21, 2009

British journalist believes readers will not understand concept of percentages.
posted to MetaFilter by Sys Rq at 8:02 AM on July 21, 2009

Go over and ask them what's up the kid screaming. Their response to that should determine whether you call the police in the future.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 10:17 AM on July 21, 2009

You might like this article, What I Learned from Lesbian Sex. It's written from the woman's perspective but I think the lessons are universal.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by muddgirl at 10:11 AM on July 21, 2009

For dupes, I use the inbuilt dupe functionality and mass tag the duplicates with something like "delete". Then, I sort via the browser, mass select and delete. No more dupes. I don't trust fully automated duplicate removers and neither should you.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:17 AM on July 21, 2009

Oh, shit, of all the goddamn tabs to mix up...
posted to MetaFilter by hifiparasol at 5:41 PM on July 17, 2009

1. Buy stock in Barnes and Noble
2. Hack into Amazon
3. Delete all LBGT-related books from all Kindles
4. Wait
posted to MetaFilter by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:13 PM on July 17, 2009

Hi. My name is J.D. Roth. I am not a financial expert, but play one on the internets. I've written a lot about this subject (because I lived it), including articles on how to get out of debt. In my case, I was $35,000 in debt and floundering. I managed to get rid of my debt in 39 months.

Now that I sound like some sort of huckster (which I'm not, as M. Haughey, etc. will attest), let me give the best advice I can. You say that you've learned your... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jdroth at 8:22 AM on July 17, 2009

On a partial tangent, if you have a condition like epilepsy or diabetes or suchlike, please make sure you have some sort of MedicAlert or other notification system in place.

You're going to be at a meetup with lots of people, some or all of whom may be strangers to you: if, God forbid, something happens to you, it may save your life to have something on you that has clear information on it for EMS personnel.

Also, if you get... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by scrump at 12:38 PM on July 16, 2009

Sure, and the next thing they'll claim is that fish don't need bicycles. That is not going to go over well in Toronto.
posted to MetaFilter by maudlin at 5:23 AM on July 10, 2009

and machines aren't available in the middle of the night to spoon and steal warmth from.

no, that's what *cats* are for.
posted to MetaFilter by Ella Fynoe at 4:12 AM on July 10, 2009

Why isn't he holding up his end of the bargain?

That is precisely my point. Everyone goes through periods where they don't. Usually they can not because of some strain like this. Staying committed beyond their crap is where the deep bonds are formed. If you make it out the back end after something like this the bonds are significantly deepened.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by caddis at 9:11 PM on July 6, 2009

I had the same idea as you about roleplaying for a while. And then I finally tried it and it was nothing like what I was imagining — real and honest and sexy and fun and not at all fakey.

It turns out I'd gotten all my ideas about roleplaying from adult novelty stores. You know, those joints that sell Sexy Nurse and Sexy Pirate and Sexy Stewardess costumes along with penis-shaped macaroni, blow-up dolls, whoopie... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nebulawindphone at 7:07 AM on July 9, 2009

I don't have anything useful to add. But, I just wanted to let ya'll know that you've made my day knowing that somewhere, it's completely normal to have gecko eggs in your underwear drawer.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Netzapper at 10:23 PM on July 8, 2009

There is a significant percentage of men who are erotically aroused by imagining themselves as women, and often transition to a female gender identity and live a lesbian lifestyle.

There really isn't. The diagnostic criterea for "autogynephilia" can be turned on cis women and, ooh look, a majority of them tick the same number of boxes as the people JMB and his friends judge to be "autogynephiles". The motives ascribed to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ArmyOfKittens at 6:00 AM on July 8, 2009

I don't understand the obsessive desire many people have to dissect a celebrity's sexuality.
posted to MetaFilter by heyho at 9:09 PM on July 7, 2009

I go against the popular sentiment here.

You say you feel remorse about two things: Not recognizing his efforts in the relationship, and cheating on him. My advice is to write him a letter with an apology for not recognizing his efforts, leaving the cheating part unsaid. Make it a letter, so that neither of you feel that the apology is an effort to get back together, or disturb his current relationship, or an attempt to start dialogue at a too-early time.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Houstonian at 3:52 AM on July 8, 2009

#4 doesn't look like a flip to me, but having one majorly manipulated image calls everything into question.

Here's a technique to try, if you have Photoshop or something like it.Open the image in question using PhotoshopCreate a new layer that's a copy of the imageFlip the new layer horizontally (so that it's a mirror image of the original)Set the blending mode of the new layer to "difference"Align the new layer as closely as possible to the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by FishBike at 3:41 PM on July 7, 2009

You seem to be making the (incorrect) assumption that people have sex with lots of partners once or a few times because it's preferable over having sex with the same partner lots of times. In my experience that is not true.

Most single people have sex with multiple partners because they are looking for someone they are physically attracted to, is not psycho and that they can stand being around for more than 3 days at a time. You have that. Don't fuck it up.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fshgrl at 7:01 PM on July 6, 2009

I wrote a long, rambly post about how much the Seiko Cleancut (link is SFW but URL might look weird) is better than waxing here on MetaChat.

I'm not going to go all into it all over again but

-Waxing is stupid; a few days of smoothness, then a month while you wait for it to grow out enough. You can use the Seiko every single day as part of your shower routine, it takes less than a minute.

-Waxing is painful. It is pretty... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Juliet Banana at 9:40 AM on July 7, 2009

You need to be 100% clear with him that quitting is not an option without a new job to move to. It sounds like you've been super supportive and understanding and non-nagging and you deserve a lot of applause for that. You also, however, deserve a fucking break from that routine. It's time to pull out a little tough love and remind him that for the vast majority of humans, being a grownup frequently sucks, and it's called work because it isn't fun.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by DarlingBri at 8:15 PM on July 6, 2009

"Mom, when you say things like [example] it makes me feel like crap, and I can't help but to think you are doing it intentionally. If you say anything like that again, I will walk away or hang up the phone without explanation or engaging you in conversation about it. You owe me an apology for the times you have done this, and it can't keep happening or we won't be able to have a relationship."

E-mail, letter, or verbally. Then follow through.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by The Deej at 9:04 AM on July 6, 2009

you: All that happened was he sent me an email transfer of $1000 to my EMAIL!!!....I had to go into my email, just like you would do if a family/friend and picked my bank....$1000 was wired to my account and I picked it up and withdrew it. It was then in my pocket.....$30 was for gas, however I had a bike so I pocketed it. I had to transfer the rest after the Western Union fees of 63$ and sent 907$ in Nigerian funds....That was it...I went home with 30$ and had a good night...in the ad... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by koeselitz at 11:54 AM on July 1, 2009

Related: the daunting case of a 6-year-old schizophrenic (LA Times link).
posted to MetaFilter by scody at 12:36 PM on July 2, 2009

Lisa Marie Presley weighs in on Michael Jackson - a must read. She says she really loved him, that their marriage was not a sham, and that she tried -- and failed -- to save him.
posted to MetaFilter by Quiplash at 12:00 PM on June 26, 2009

I've been the trailing spouse who agreed to move somewhere reluctantly and I hated the place I moved to every bit as much when I left it 5 years later as when I moved there. There are few decisions I really regret, but letting myself get talked into that move is one of them.

My take on it now is that if you're moving only for the sake of your relationship, then the relationship itself really has to compensate for that. I also learned that if I think I'm going to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Lolie at 2:56 PM on June 30, 2009

I was a little beyond MJ and his music by the time he went world-wide in the '80s, but I grew up with him and the Jackson Five on the radio speakers and the turntables all through the '70s. The dichotomy between the little angel kid who sings "ABC 123" and the final result is simply and heart-breakingly too much to bear.

For those who only know him as a pop phenomenon, you have to know that he was one of the world's great musicians and songwriters as well as a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Aquaman at 9:13 PM on June 25, 2009

About a half hour ago I was on line at a bookstore in soho and the guy behind me goes 'holy SHIT' so I turn around, and he looks at me and goes ok, my friend who works at tmz just tested me to say michael Jackson just died.' so I say '...what?' and everyone on line and within earshot starts freaking out. Everyone whips out their phones. I go outside to get a better network signal and while I'm standing there everyone gradually stops dead in the street because they're all on the phone. People... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Dormant Gorilla at 3:45 PM on June 25, 2009

I think I'll deactivate my twitter account for the next 24 hours...
posted to MetaFilter by kolophon at 3:15 PM on June 25, 2009

I've watched thousands of people "die" on television and in the movies. I've seen more than a dozen people die from grenades, shells and sniper bullets. I'm sad to say that this looks just like the real deaths I've seen. I started shaking and I'm still really upset by it.

Perhaps I'm just a heartless bastard, but I don't see why this should be linked. We know it happens, is it necessary to have a video of it on Youtube? If so, is it necessary to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Dee Xtrovert at 6:59 PM on June 21, 2009

But because we make no empty gestures now, and don't rationalize that we've done something, it means we'll be more ready later to jump in when we can really make a difference. I don't know when or how that will come, but I'm watching for it.

This makes no sense. How does doing something-- however small-- now prevent you from taking larger action later? In fact, a lot of research shows that doing small things (the "foot in the door"... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Maias at 4:50 PM on June 20, 2009

Purely anecdotal, but in the early 90s, I met some black South Africans who were in the U.S. on a book tour. They'd all been imprisoned at various points for their anti-apartheid activities. In college, I had been active in the divestment and anti-apartheid movements, and some of what we did on my campus got a fair amount of press.

I got to chatting with two of the women, and one of them asked me where I'd gone to school. I told her, and she and her friend burst into... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by rtha at 3:53 PM on June 20, 2009

Chocolate Pickle, what would you suggest? I've done 'empty gesture' myself and suspected it to be just that. But what options are realistically open to me, an American non-Muslim without money or influence? What could/should I be doing? Serious question.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by HumuloneRanger at 3:14 PM on June 20, 2009

Basing your global outlook on a couple of personal experiences is not going to yield accurate results. There's research on successful marriage.

- Ten Important Research Findings on Marriage and Choosing a Marriage Partner
- New research is revealing some of the hidden ingredients of happy marriages
- the Gottman Institute... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by theora55 at 9:14 AM on June 18, 2009

My boyfriend was into me from day one and I knew it. He had the exclusivity talk within two weeks.

Let me tell you how much interest I did not lose. It was incredibly awesome to know that he was secure enough to not be shy about his attraction.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by peanut_mcgillicuty at 1:51 PM on June 18, 2009

Well to the people talking about the dangers of hiring women in their 30s try something "Not nearly as dangerous as being sued for discrimination on the basis of gender and age." They'll catch on that you don't think it's funny.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by If only I had a penguin... at 12:02 PM on June 17, 2009 marked best answer

Thinking about it: This sort of ignorance of the bloody parts of Buddhist history is part and parcel with the Western "cutesy-fication" of Buddhism. Awww, look at da pwecious wittle lama! His country is so nice and peaceful! Dawwww. There's a religion where they don't hit each other! Isn't dat sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttt.
posted to MetaFilter by grapefruitmoon at 11:14 AM on June 12, 2009

The Monkey:If HIV really was endemic in the industry, then there'd be no problem. You can't catch it twice, right?.

This statement is false. There are a couple strains of HIV (some worse than others), so you can, in fact, catch it twice. Regardless of what strain each partner has, increasing one's viral load is a bad thing to do. (I don't know how much an additional exposure will increase viral load, though.)

Additionally, if... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by SirNovember at 7:19 AM on June 12, 2009

Forget it and take it to the grave.

You can't imagine yet the dumb crap you did that you'll regret when you're facing forty, or at least, the dumb crap I did at twenty (and, sigh, at thirty) that I deeply regret now. One of my biggest mistakes was thinking that just because I felt something it was Really Important and required Action independent of any logic. It sounds like you (unlike me) have the sense to be questioning whether or not to do anything, and since you've... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by A Terrible Llama at 3:57 AM on June 12, 2009

Western Buddhist converts form their own distinct sub-set of Buddhists whose beliefs are vastly different from "native" Buddhists. No Tibetan ever paid $125 for a meditation pillow ordered from the back of Tricycle.
posted to MetaFilter by GuyZero at 3:12 PM on June 11, 2009

Both the Dalai Lama and Dorje Phagmo are considered tulkus, or incarnations.

Yeah, but they're considered incarnations of Bodhisattvas, not Buddhas. That's because they've taken the Boddhisattva Vow, promising to defer their own Buddha-hood (because once you attain full Buddha-hood you don't come back again after death--that's the whole point of attaining Buddha-hood) until the world of Samsara is empty of all sentient beings.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by saulgoodman at 2:40 PM on June 11, 2009

Take the J-Church train up to the top of Mission Dolores Park. It's very beautiful, and not very touristy.

You'll be on Church St. You can walk back to Market, all downhill and it's a groovy little street with some nice eating places.

OR you can start at the bottom of Mission Dolores Park (the view of downtown is breathtaking from the top) and go west on 18th for a few blocks and end up in the middle of the Castro, which has it's own charms,... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Danf at 2:40 PM on June 10, 2009

Have you considered exchanging your husband for a less-monstrous one?

Ok seriously this time: buy the jerk some earplugs, tell him never to threaten your cat's life again or he will be a divorcee.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mullingitover at 4:14 PM on June 9, 2009

Optimus, I think you're being a little extreme.

She's at her ropes end trying to find a way to please her husband and keep her beloved furry family member. Especially when she has as little as two weeks. The shock collar is a bad idea, but you noticed she asked - instead of just going ahead and doing it.

I'm not interested in a debate - I want what is best for this woman and this cat. I know she is "trying to find a way... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Optimus Chyme at 3:49 PM on June 9, 2009

completely dousing her in the shower (she may or may not settle down for one night, but starts the next night, and getting up multiple times a night to douse her is more disturbing than her behavior). Plus punishment is a possible issue if she's happier to get negative attention than to be ignored.

I am considering getting her a shock collar for small dogs.

Please give up on changing the cat's behavior, find a new home for... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Optimus Chyme at 3:36 PM on June 9, 2009