May 1
Storing wine in fridge?
Can I store unopened wine in the refrigerator? [more inside]
home equity loan after bankruptcy?
My husband and I had a chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2020 (discharged over three, but less than four years ago). We own our home outright, and I'd like to get a home equity loan or line of credit. I know banks differ on their exact policies about this kind of thing, but I'm wondering if anyone is aware of lending institutions with shorter timelines or more lenient policies...the bankruptcy was a direct result of Covid lockdown closing our business, so if there's any exception for extenuating circumstances, I think we would have a good chance.
Repair Almond Extract Spill
While baking, we recently spilled some almond extract on our kitchen island countertop. The countertop is finished wood, and now there's a big white splash where the spill happened. Wiping with water (which we did right after the spill) makes the white spot go away for a few minutes, but that's all. Help us fix it! [more inside]
Help finding DIY Art Framing Kits, Please
Can you help me find the extruded aluminum do-it-yourself art frame kits I used to be able to buy in brick-and-mortar stores? [more inside]
Cancer Forum Recommendation for Friend
My (non-US, English-speaking) friend has undergone 2 cancer-related surgeries, and is now frustrated that his doctor has suggested follow-up medication treatment - because he was told the purpose of the 2nd surgery was to avoid this - and he's also unsure about whether the side-effects will warrant the precautionary benefit. I suggested looking on cancer forums to find folks who have encountered similar choices, or have experience with the medication in question, but I realize specific recommendations would be much more helpful - can anyone help me with this? [more inside]
ELI5 : Getting a new SIM card abroad
Hello! I am wondering about the logisitics of getting a new sim card. [more inside]
Basic wristwatch with multi-hour stopwatch
Can you please suggest a cheap and cheerful watch that has a stopwatch function that measures in hours? [more inside]
Why does everyone hate Drake?
Can anyone provide a timeline of why all of rap-kind is dissing him? If there’s dunking to be done I want in on it.
2/3 Buried?
What does “Bury 2/3 of plant” mean? [more inside]
"Bee in the classroom!" poem
My children learnt a humorous short poem in primary school (UK) about the chaos that ensues when a bee enters the classroom. I'm unable to find it on the internet. [more inside]
April 30
laws about how early the trash can be picked up in Oakland, CA?
The garbage trucks are coming super early, multiple times a week, in my neighborhood in Oakland, CA. Is there a law that governs how early they're allowed to come? I heard 6am is the law but I can't find it on the books. A link to the law would be really helpful! Otherwise, who would be the point of contact to get the times moved later, and have you successfully done this?
Campy late 20th century movies with strong female characters
I’ve been on a campy movie kick (see also: FanFare). I’m realizing that I tend to prefer movies with women in leading roles - although I suspect it’s not about gender and is more about relational perspective.
Anyway, favorites include Heathers, But I’m A Cheerleader, Saved, and Earth Girls are Easy. Mars Attacks! was pretty good too.
I would very much appreciate your recommendations.
Course Building Follow Up: LMS allowing learner sign up with Twitter?
I’m building a business course for a client and looking for an LMS software recommendation. Following on from my most recent question, it would be very helpful if the course software would have students register / log on to take the course with their Twitter login. Suggestions gratefully received!
Time for a sea change
I've got an Australian passport, a modest inheritance, and psych meds. Where could I go for 2-3 months? [more inside]
Shingles after spouse got vaccine
Abour a week and a half ago, my spouse got his second dose of Shingrix. Today I have shingles. [more inside]
Help me with a verbally violent email thread?
I'm in the long address list of an email string that's trying to set up a dinner for an alumni event. I feel I need to stay on the thread because the same address list will be used again in the future, and because it might even contain pertinent messages about the dinner.
However, some of the alumni feel that this is the forum to verbally attack each other for their ideas, or their agnosticism, about what people in the Middle East should or shouldn't do, and what the university officers should or shouldn't do. [more inside]
Spectrum of views towards Israel and Gaza
In a comment to one of the Gaza-related posts, I (thought) I saw a great breakdown of the ideological spectrum, ranging from “Death to the opposition!” at each extreme to what I thought was a very reasonable spectrum of intermediate positions in 10-15 steps. [more inside]
The Community Garden Plot Thickens
I enjoy gardening mostly in containers at home, but have the opportunity to expand my reach to a community garden plot. Now for the pickiest of questions: which annual plants are suited to my conditions and especially gratifying to grow in-ground? [more inside]
earbuds for a serial earbud killer
I lose my Bluetooth earbuds all the time, which makes me feel like a failure as an adult. I also break the ones I don't lose (due to sweating too much or jamming them into tiny pockets/cases or putting them through the wash). Help me find the sweet spot in terms of reliability/sound/price - under $50 for sure but $25 would be ideal. [more inside]
What would happen to you if you were deported from US to Russia 1930
I just got a family mystery landed in my lap and I have to work and can't look this up - writing on a photo says "she was a Russian Jew and was deported back to Russia with her daughter in the early 30s" I have so many questions. [more inside]
Does the Fallout show get less gross?
I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first episode of Fallout (no prior knowledge about the games) and the story is interesting, but it's unbelievably violent. Is this a "brutal inception of the hero", or is it like this the whole way through?
I can handle some violence but the story has to be the main thing. For reference, I enjoyed the Last of Us but thought the final rampage was stupid, and I would have enjoyed something like Game of Thrones way more *without* the HBO sex and gore corporate mandate.
Is this show just for gun-totin' bros? Thanks!
What’s cool in ABQ and Santa Fe?
Visiting for a FAST four days May 10-13, we’ll go to Santa Fe for the Georgia O’Keefe museum (studio tour is sold out BOO, TOMATO, TOMATO). What else should we do? We both like shopping local and finding fantastic food, even if it comes from a gas station. I love art, letterpress, jewelry, museums, independent bookstores, you get the vibe. We’ll have a rental car. Grateful for advice!
Help me scratch a New Zealander's back - literally.
An old friend is laid up in a hospital in Dunedin, NZ. He offhandedly mentioned that he'd love to have a simple bamboo backscratcher, and I'd like to have one delivered to him. What's the most sensible way to do this, given that I'm in California? [more inside]
How do the Moon and Jupiter protect the Earth from meteorites?
I've read that the Moon and Jupiter protect the Earth by slinging space junk away from us. But naively, for every space rock that was heading towards us that gets slung away, isn't it equally likely there was a space rock that wasn't heading for us that now gets slung at us?
MS Word formatting mess - fix or start over
I have a 200-page doc that was created over 20 years ago and edited annually by different people with poor knowledge of MS Word. Should I try to fix it or start over? [more inside]
Converting groups of TIFFs to a single PDF/
I have sets of 10-20 individual TIFFs that I need to convert into single PDFs - so far, I'm stumped as to how to do this seemingly simple task. [more inside]
How to track medical data?
I want to track some simple medical data over time: cholesterol, blood pressure, AHI, PSA, and the like. Is a spreadsheet the simplest way to do this, or is there some purpose-built tool? [more inside]
More books like these, please
Four books have really opened my eyes to the details of exactly how capitalism and imperialism transformed parts of the world for the worse: Sweetness and Power, Coffeeland, Late Victorian Holocausts, and The Making of the English Working Class. What I appreciated about them was that they told a historical story about a specific place with lots of detail, but also tied it to larger actions being taken to transform the world economy. What should I add to that part of my bookshelf? [more inside]
men's shaver for women??
I'm a woman who's fed up with using disposable razors designed for women. I often don't bother with shaving for a while and then when I do it's an absolute nightmare - it takes forever and I get bad razor burn. So I'm looking for alternatives! [more inside]
April 29
How do I find someone online to rearrange my living room?
I want to send someone photographs and some pinboards and have them tell me how to rearrange or Ikea-budget improve my living room. We have the DIY skills but not the spatial spark to make the room feel cosy and colourful for us. I see a bunch of websites offering this and people on Etsy - recommendations and advice on how to choose someone? [more inside]
Freeze Dried Las Vegas Food
I saw a story, I believe on CBS a few years ago, about a program that took uneaten food from Las Vegas casinos, freeze dried it on the spot, and took it directly to homeless shelters. [more inside]
lingering pet urine odor after travel
I can't find where the dog pee is, but I can sure smell it! Details inside. [more inside]
Squeezebox replacement?
I have a Logitech Squeezebox Radio that’s 15 years old and needs to be replaced. Any recommendations for "recently" released alternatives with the same functionality? One button music (after setup) is a requirement. Thanks for your help.
Watching beavers at work
Where, in the continental U.S., could one find a cabin or bed and breakfast on a river where it is a certainty one could watch beavers at work, either directly from the place or a short hike away? I do not want to disturb the beavers.
Help me replace jog.fm
I use jog.fm to find new songs based on BPM to add to my running mix, but the website is annoying to use on a good day, and recently seems to be out of commission. What other websites serve the same function? [more inside]
Bots at Work
I'm looking for examples of exceptionally precise and delicate work done by robots/automation. What have you got?
Bilingual baby from a distance?
I have a spouse who speaks Spanish natively, and I can speak Spanish at an advanced-ish conversational level. We have a new nibling on another continent, who we will see maybe a few weeks every year. We have Skype. Nibling's parents would be thrilled if nibling could grow up even a little bilingual, or even just with a head start on learning the language. Is there any scenario in which we can contribute to nibling's language learning, or is this just misión imposible?
Can an untrained ear detect major differences between violinists?
I went to a concert of graduating students at a well-respected music school and sometimes I thought I heard notes that sounded a little off-key or just muddled in some way. I wasn't sure if it might have just been the acoustics of where I was sitting--I would have assumed that someone graduating from a school this would have the basics down. But wonder if I'm making an incorrect assumption here. Would you expect there to be a big difference in the sound produced by a concert violinist and a young graduate?
National, State and Local Advocacy and Legal Aid for 55+
I returned to University to get my Master's degree at age 61. It turns out that the school seems to have ageist policies that some of my teachers (off the record) have confirm.
Outside of AARP, what other advocacy and legal aid groups are available to me.?
Short morning meditation
I'm trying to improve my morning routine.(Which right now consists of coffee and doomscrolling...) I'd like to incorporate a 10-20 minute meditation, guided or otherwise, but I keep striking out. Largely, I think, because I struggle with anything that focuses on breath and with certain kinds of visualization. I'd really appreciate ideas. [more inside]
My conservative Christian friend wants to learn about gender identity
She is perplexed by talk of "nonbinary" and "transgender" and says she wants to learn more (I'm her token liberal she goes to with these kinds of questions). She specifically wants a book to read. Any recommendations? [more inside]
Is there a large portable induction burner that can heat a 12" pan?
I have been using a Duxtop portable induction burner for a few years now, and I am totally converted -- I love it, and I use it for everything. The only thing I don't love is that it seems to only have a nine-inch coil, and that means that the max size pan I can use most effectively is a pan with a 10-inch base. Are there any induction burners that have a larger coil, and could actually heat all of the actual surface area of a proper 12-inch pan? [more inside]
Makeshift window screens for non-standard sized windows
Up next on This Old House… My current residence has triple track non-standard size windows, and is in need of an interim screen solution before custom screens can be procured. [more inside]
Why do my hair dryers keep dying?
About three years ago, I let myself get a fancy hairdryer (pricier than drugstore, not as expensive as a Dyson), and it made my long, fine hair look and feel great. About six months later, it started shaking, and smoke and a burning smell soon followed. I replaced it with a different fancy hairdryer. Less than a year later, it refused to turn on. After months of bad hair, I bought a dryer identical to my first fancy hairdryer. Yesterday, it wouldn’t turn on. I’ve had it for less than six months. What is going on? [more inside]
Where do you go for inspiration?
My laptop crashed and, with it, my entire RSS reader's links directory, which I had been lovingly cultivating for 10 years. As I rebuild it from scratch, I figured I'd ask this community for some recos. [more inside]
Mourning(?) one who contained multitudes
My father recently died very unexpectedly. He was, by all accounts, a devoted, loving, and supportive father and husband -- to his young second family. I am a member of his first family, all of whom were in varying states of near-estrangement stemming from his being alternatively absent and terrifying during my childhood and emotionally manipulative in the decades since whenever we tried to reconnect. [more inside]
How to easily spread out one column into several in Google Docs?
In Google Docs, I have a list of dozens of words that runs down the page on the left-hand margin. How can I easily "spread" these words out horizontally as well, effectively making several columns of words? [more inside]
April 28
Help plan my weekend tour of Yellowstone + Grand Tetons NP
What's the best way to drive from western Montana to visit Yellowstone and/or Grand Tetons NP, *and back* -- in a long weekend? [more inside]
Hypothetical medical question for a story
If a person were to be instantly transported in a way that only the parts of their body that were actually them were to come through, but all the other organisms that live in/on us -- all their intestinal bacteria and eyelash mites and whatnot -- were left behind, how quickly would that kill them, what would be the symptoms, and would it be possible to save them with probiotics or a fecal bacteria transplant or something like that? Also is there a distinction that makes sense so that a virus could still ride along even when all the bacteria we depend on to survive could not? Prefer a sci-fi explanation to a magical one. Thanks!
Replace Electrical Light Switch
What did the Chunichi Dragons baseball cap look like circa 2002?
Presumably it was blue with a white insignia.
Present day, the hat has the white insignia of an overlapping “CD” in block letters.
In the 1992 movie Mr Baseball, the white insignia was a script “D.”
But what about 2002? I care because a character wore one in the 2002 Haruki Murakami novel Kafka on the Shore.
I want to buy the same hat.
Bookfilter: Non-dystopian, re-imagining the present or near future
Sometimes the state of the world gets me down. I'd like help imagining a better future that we can work towards. Does anyone know of any good near- future or present fiction that imagines that we did things differently and better? Bonus points for Indigenous, Black, or People of Colour authors.
Library career prospects with lots of experience but no degree
Librarians of Mefi, your attention please: what would you think of a resume that has ~10 years of public library reference desk experience, but no MLS? [more inside]
Blueprints for building a library (of construction fiction)
I'm looking for stories where one or more significant characters are some kind of builder(s): a plumber, a carpenter, a pile driver, an engineer specializing in building construction, a general contractor, etc. Bonus points for stories that center autistic, neurodivergent, queer, and/or disabled characters, as well as women and BIPOC builders. [more inside]
How do I create full environments on a single Fedora Silverblue machine?
This is a bit beyond my expertise with networking and certificate signing. I want to create a template that replicates a prod environment. Keeping this a bit abstract, I want to have a monorepo or polyrepo for dev, a way to test dev, push it into a private git repo, use build actions on pre-commit, then on post-commit run the equivalent of a "GitHub Action" to push the resulting OCI image to a private image repository, then eventually into a K8s cluster. It obviously doesn't have to be accessible outside my machine, but I'd like to add a host entry for each "workspace" using certs and a daemon for the various services to talk to each other. More details inside. [more inside]
Picking up Piano Again as an Adult
I "studied" piano in college and played the flute prior to that complete with music theory classes. I want to get back into playing piano as it by far my favorite instrument but I have questions. If you picked up piano (or any instrument) later as an adult, I'd love your advice. [more inside]
Looking for more writers like Matt Levine
Does anyone know commentators with a similar tone, approach, style etc. to Bloomberg’s Matt Levine? Not looking for additional folks covering his topic area, but rather writers who have a similar vibe writing in other areas. [more inside]
If you consider yourself an activist, what media do you consume?
If you consider yourself an activist, what media do you consume to inform your opinion? For example, I am generally very involved in local, state and federal (in the US) politics, and I read newspapers that cover those issues to inform my opinion. I don't though typically watch movies or use social media (even first person accounts). I never listen to the radio and rarely listen to podcasts. My question isn't about judging that choice, I'm just curious what others use. [more inside]
Where to print bookmarks?
I need custom-sized bookmarks in small runs—500 or less. Online design tools are also necessary. We're in a small town with no comprehensive print shop, so must go online. Recommendations?
How do I keep my banana bread good/fresh for a long time?
I tend to make banana bread every now and then from scratch in a 13x9 pan. Oftentimes, the bread goes bad before I could finish it. As I live alone, it's hard to consume all of it. Tips for longevity? [more inside]