MetaFilter

Drop Box charges a fee for anything over 2GB - that's ot a good plan -

1) Can this data be compressed? If it's largely text, you can probably get it down to a fraction of the size. If it's pre-compressed data, like JPG images or Divx movies, you won't have much luck. If you can zip it down, it will save you a lot of time transferring.

2) Does it have to be there immediately? If not, burn the data onto two DVDs and mail it. Quick and simple.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by chrisamiller at 2:25 PM on December 21, 2008 marked best answer

empath - I found Edward Conze's A Short History of Buddhism delivers on its promise very well and addresses the questions you mention.
posted to MetaFilter by Abiezer at 12:51 AM on December 20, 2008

One thing that is amazing for myself and boypublisher is to listen to the same podcasts (Radiolab, TAL, for example). Usually the topics are accessible, but the particular stories are things neither of knew much about.

This does a few things:

1. It evens out the knowledge base. No more feeling like I am in a minefield, about to make a comment that is obviously wrong or stupid.

2. It gets us both excited about the same... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by girlpublisher at 9:09 AM on December 18, 2008

"I'm a geographer." "Ooh, what's the capital of ____?" This is the easiest way to anger a geographer.
"I'm a cartographer." "Ooh, photography!" or sometimes "Ooh, car photography!"
"I work in GIS." "Ooh, you do google image searches?" This one is my favourite.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by troika at 4:53 PM on December 16, 2008

Some tactics I have found useful in dealing with my father, who is a lot like yours:

1) Move 2500 miles away from him.

2) Never speak to him on Sunday when he's all churched up.

3) If discussing certain topics always results in disharmony, the most expedient tactic is to simply unilaterally declare that you will not discuss those topics. When a verboten topic comes up, simply remind him that you are not going to discuss... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kindall at 8:15 PM on November 11, 2008

Let me just ask the obvious: Why are you teaching this course if you are not qualified? Seriously, I'll sub for you if you want.

On the flip side here's a few places to start:

Humanity's spread from Africa

A timeline of history from about the start of civilization onward

A bunch of articles on world history arranged by era

Just remember the basic timeline of any world... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Panjandrum at 9:08 PM on December 16, 2008

Hmm, I've spent a few hundred hours meditating and about twenty hours working with the book, When Panic Attacks (stupid title, brilliant book). If you're looking for a rapid way to significantly reduce anxiety, I'd start with that. Working with the book will still take you several hours to get going, but it's worth it.

Meditation is more of a long term, blanket solution. The book above is a surgical scalpel--you'll get *much* more mileage in the short term.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by zeek321 at 5:18 PM on December 15, 2008

Have you tried something like Sharepod?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by girlmightlive at 3:05 PM on December 14, 2008

Special Bulletin
posted to MetaFilter by Snyder at 11:11 PM on December 13, 2008

There is medication that can help. Once in the morning, once at night, and any time during the day you need it. It will calm you down and help you stay more peaceful in the face of frustrating events. It's psychologically addictive but not harmful. But it takes time to consume and to benefit from - around 5-10mins minimum each dose. Although you can take mini-doses if you are stuck in traffic a minute or two. These mini-doses can really help you get through your day.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Kerasia at 8:11 PM on December 14, 2008

Threads is much better, and a much more accurate (and frightening) depiction of what nuclear war would have been like at that point in history.

The link I provided above goes to the entire 108 minute film via Google Video.
posted to MetaFilter by chakalakasp at 9:35 PM on December 13, 2008

The whole movie.
posted to MetaFilter by twoleftfeet at 9:21 PM on December 13, 2008

What, no swoosh? No shimmery reflection or plastic "Beta" badge? Astonishing lack of modern design sensibility!
posted to MetaFilter by briank at 6:59 AM on December 13, 2008

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (800) 799-SAFE / 1 (800) 799-7233

I've lived with abusive people and I know your level of anxiety right now. You need help beyond what a lot of us can give you. If you have a bad feeling about the way this might end, chances are you might be right.

If you think your partner is capable of monitoring your web usage or checking your browser history and keeping track of your contacts, you must avoid... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jeeves at 9:16 AM on December 11, 2008

Ways of communicating that are least likely to result in screaming?

Heh, well I have this down, I suppose. When I get in disagreements with my mom I put on a very level voice and try to be excruciatingly logical. She's called me out on talking like that before; I guess it sounds insincere or something.

So for better or worse, here's my communication strategy which doesn't result in screaming:

Enter the... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by losvedir at 3:09 PM on December 10, 2008

I took a good seminar once called "Non Violent Communication" given by Marshall Rosenberg. (He has a website, although I found the seminar more accessible).

One thing that stuck with me: All criticism is a symptom of an unmet need. When someone criticizes you, they have an unmet need. Understanding that need is the first step to defusing difficult relationships.

Normally when we hear criticism, our first reaction is to get defensive... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by storybored at 2:58 PM on December 10, 2008

I used to work as a battered women's advocate, and we referred to this wheel of Power and Control when helping people identify how dire the situation was. I agree that there's information missing in the OP, but to give other members of the discussion a point of reference, I thought I'd offer up the link.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by medea42 at 2:02 PM on December 10, 2008

Otherwise people would be suing the guy down the block because they preferred his house before he painted it blue. The courts would be clogged.

Sometimes they do just that.
posted to MetaFilter by TedW at 9:52 AM on December 10, 2008

Confucius sat outside of the gates of the city, watching visitors arrive. One visitor approached the old man and greeted him with a question:

"Old man, tell me something. What sort of people will I meet in this city?"

Confucius reflected on this for a moment, then asked the traveler, "What sort of people did you meet in the last city you visited?"

"God, that whole city was miserable. The people... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ian A.T. at 8:20 AM on December 1, 2008

I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice here, but just in case you want more than AskMe provides, here's a short list of books that often get mentioned -- How To Be An Adult In Relationships by David Richo
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman & Nan Silver
Why Marriages Succeed or Fail by John Gottman
Conscious Loving by Gay... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by salvia at 5:08 PM on November 28, 2008

When we are children, and have a problem with someone, we get angry. For whatever reason, that anger pushes the problem away, and we get the result we want. If it happens a second time, we react with anger, and now we know if we get angry we push the problem away. Then we practice and practice until we become masters of anger.

In the same way, we become masters of jealousy, masters of sadness, masters of self-rejection. All of our suffering and drama is by practice. We... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by netbros at 9:56 PM on November 24, 2008

b33j, along those lines: Transit Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden. Lots of different maps and a bit about each transit system, not too much information on any one system's history of maps. Plenty of eyecandy.

And, uh, pronoiac, I might have had exactly the same reaction. Maybe.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hattifattener at 2:11 AM on November 23, 2008

The thing about that mob is that in there were a few people who were concerned about him. All it would have taken is one person to have reached out while he was still alive. To have called the police or a suicide hotline and to have said they thought this guy was in trouble. That, for me, is issue #1. Not to blame them for not doing it, but to figure out what barriers they felt or had to reaching out. Would an autobot, responding to keywords in posts have made a difference? Some sort of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sweetdefenestration at 2:25 PM on November 21, 2008

This is getting completely out of hand. Asset forfeiture is one of the prime examples of how government law enforcement has stopped being a public service and has turned into a for-profit business.

The federal government bills asset forfeiture as an effective tool against organized crime. I suppose if it was used in a very limited, circumspect way, it could accomplish that purpose without causing enormous offsetting harms. Unfortunately, it does.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Law Talkin' Guy at 8:01 AM on November 21, 2008

This is a totally great idea. Good, succinct visual correlations.

The drawings of the sensory locus and directionality particularly interested me. Very chakra-like. The colors! wow.

Odd to have to wait for the concept of visualizing emotions by talking with strangers not fluent in English, when realizing this playfully, beautifully, creatively across a number of senses is long overdue in plain old English.

The color... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 2:33 PM on November 20, 2008

as a native french speaker I have entered the phrase here and found the result quite conform.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Baud at 3:32 AM on November 20, 2008

And for the Confederate Flag, there are various reasons to be proud of the Confederate Flag.

The Confederate flag1 has always represented slavery and racism. South Carolina's justification for secession is largely a defense of slavery. The Confederate constitution (line-by-line comparison with the US Constitution) explicitly endorses slavery and doesn't weaken the central government in favor of states' rights.

The first... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kirkaracha at 5:51 PM on November 17, 2008

I know I've seen other great resources, but here's a bibliography on gentrification.

Also you'd find a ton of ancedotes from other cities if you search 'gentrification' on citydata, which might be a starting point at least.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ejaned8 at 9:23 AM on November 14, 2008

It's good that he's starting this now, rather than later; it keeps the AllBamaAlltheTime theme going.

Still, it would be extra extra good if he moved from just the FDR-with-a-webcam bit and took a page from Perot and Gore (and Edward Tufte)-- that is, employed some simple charts and graphs.

Powerpoint to the Nation may not be all that dignified, but it does have the potential to make proposals more concrete.

Numbers,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by darth_tedious at 10:20 AM on November 15, 2008

Not much is said about the law in Britain regarding this issue. Instead the issue is pitched in human interest terms. Any sentient being must sympathize with the plight of young Ms. Jones. When the story is looked at only from her point of view, the solution is obvious. When the story is looked at a broader moral perspective or from medical ethics or legal philosophy, it gets far more complicated to identify the core issue we seek to protect as a society.

There is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dios at 1:56 PM on November 13, 2008

When I was 14 I lost my mother after a long fight with cancer. I remember during her last few months she would always be so cold and dress in full out winter clothes, stocking hat, coat, gloves while inside. At the same time my Dad was really into Rush Limbaugh's short lived TV show and after the show ended each night he would pontificate for a few minutes about how whatever crazy bullshit left Rush's mouth that night was pure unadulterated truth.

It so happened that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jlowen at 1:56 PM on November 13, 2008

Non Prosequitur writes "hey it's the government's park and the government took the Ten Commandments monument as a private donation which they elected to have shown out of respect for the civic history of the local culture, rather than because of religious reasons."

Hey, it's the public's park. Hey, the government is supposed to not establish any religion.

And really, the Ten Commandments are... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2008

The reason the media ran with this is that it agreed with their preconceptions of Palin as "Caribou Barbie", and because it furthered the cause of helping to get Obama elected.

Yeah, a story that broke the day after the election was definitely a big factor in helping Obama win.
posted to MetaFilter by decagon at 7:05 PM on November 12, 2008

That is tremendously hurtful, not to mention un-Christian. My own (dittohead, overbearing) father likes to bait me about politics and it took me years before I learned how to keep from getting sucked in. Whenever he starts, I say, "Daddy, I love you, but you know I'm just as hard-headed as you are and we're not going to agree on this. You want some more pie?" Repeat as necessary.

So I'd start there -- try to set up some firewalls around politics and anything... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dogrose at 8:06 PM on November 11, 2008

What the fuck does this have to do with Obama?
posted to MetaFilter by gman at 9:53 AM on November 11, 2008

Just send 'em. Maybe elude to how life as a married couple is busy, but that's enough. This helped me write mine.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Green Eyed Monster at 9:44 AM on November 11, 2008

Meditation Timer.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Jawn at 4:21 PM on November 10, 2008

re: protests, and Zen.

The Japanese forcibly prostituted thousands of Korean women, and claimed after the war that the women served willingly, despite all sorts of evidence to the contrary. These women have demonstrated in front of the Japanese embassy in Korea for over thirty years - demanding an apology from Japan.

"What does that achieve?" I don't know, but I'm personally proud of them.

I've studied... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by lupus_yonderboy at 5:35 PM on November 8, 2008

I've been a practicing Buddhist for about 30 years now, and I'm a huge admirer of Thich Nhat Hanh, but I'm not a gaddam wimp. I don't advocate hating the Mormons or the blacks who voted for this bill or the whites or whoever. But there's nothing un-Buddhist about massive civil disobedience, questioning the Mormon church's tax-exempt status, or boycotting Utah.
posted to MetaFilter by digaman at 5:14 PM on November 8, 2008

someone's glorified servant

That's pretty much the definition of a great person. I mean, there are infamous people who could be called great in some sense--people like Hitler and Stalin--but generally, when we accord someone the status of greatness, it's because of the magnitude of their service to humanity. Is Obama really great, or is he just driven? We don't really know yet, but we will decide on the basis of how well he... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bricoleur at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2008 marked best answer

Everyone will get their turn.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Obama's election is historic and unprecedented, but I think in a hundred years people will wonder why he didn't win every state except Arizona and Alaska. That the race was ever even in question given the disastrous mismanagement of the McCain campaign, and the incredible fundraising and effort of the Obama campaign, is strong evidence of a persisting unrecognized racism in our society.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Riki tiki at 4:53 PM on November 7, 2008

I think the issue here is what you define as 'living'. Think of it this way: You have the option to take the time and energy to find a fabulous homemade cake, filled with organic goodness, made with all the flavors you love. You may have to go into unfamiliar neighborhoods to find it, and people may say you're crazy to go through all the trouble, but it's what you want, and your adventure it to find it.

This guy is offering you a sad little processed twinkie, that you... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by anitanita at 10:41 AM on November 7, 2008

Don't be flattered that a man wants to sleep with you once or twice. That's basically only an affirmation that 1) you have at least one functional orifice, and 2) you aren't dead. It isn't an affirmation of your gender, because plenty of guys ain't that picky, and it certainly isn't an affirmation of your attractiveness. Saying "I want an open relationship" is essentially saying "I want to have sex with you but I don't want to have to put any effort into getting you to put out.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by valkyryn at 9:56 AM on November 7, 2008

The FB group established to organize a protest against the MTV remake is classified as a Religious Organization...

While no one advocates violence, there are some mentions of drive-by toast throwing at MTV offices.
posted to MetaFilter by angry jonny at 6:56 AM on November 7, 2008

And I'm imagining the Change.gov Agenda page being updated every 3 months, with the first revision looking something like this:

"Now that we've revived the economy, successfully nationalized health care, ramped up support of our education and social security systems, have not only defined but made significant progress towards to energy independence, ended the war in Iraq AND quelled sectarian violence, and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and converted Iran into... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2008

The remake is a bad idea, right up there with the remake of Hairspray (although the musical did give us Marisa Jaret Winokur. rrrowwr. Rocky was a product of it's time and place and that's waht made it so great. We live in a different time and place now. Plus, the fact that filmmakers seems interested in only remaking other movies and old TV shows is really fucking depressing.
posted to MetaFilter by jonmc at 3:14 PM on November 6, 2008

I think the article (so far) is great, but as someone who appreciates "old school" Woodward/Bernstein journalism, this strikes me as leaving a few troubling questions/implications on the journalistic ethics side of this story.

(In some ways it is similar to the "embedded journalist" in the military issue.) Is the public being best served by a journalist who is "sworn to secrecy" until after the election? What if they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by spock at 1:27 AM on November 6, 2008

There seem to be subtle clues in the language of Joe's responses that help non-Asperger Syndrome people detect the intent:

"I don't care about a commemorative cup, I just want the biggest smoothie you have." Here he rejects the commemorative cup.

"I don't care if I have to pay one dollar more, I just want the biggest smoothie you have." Here he accepts the additional cost. "I don't care if I have too pay..." is the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by luckypozzo at 7:39 PM on November 5, 2008

To me the difference between the cases is obvious.

He would have gotten the smoothie regardless of whether it was in a special cup, but he would have had to go without if he didn't pay the extra dollar. So he intentionally paid the extra dollar.

Aspies can understand, er, our normal brains by backtracing the logical answer to the question of "why". Why did he get the cup? Well, he didn't really mean to actually. Why did he pay the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dydecker at 7:20 PM on November 5, 2008

If you're really serious about converting people on this point, then please take it from the story of a convert himself. Accusing people of being hateful, and treating them hatefully, is not going win anyone over.

I mostly agree with you. And I have no intention of being hateful to anyone (to their face, at least). But a hateful action is a hateful action. Intent is irrelevant in this situation. The fact that a bunch of my fellow citizens don't think... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 1:53 PM on November 5, 2008