Ask MetaFilter questions in the sports, hobbies, & recreation category

Help me find this old school game...

chump — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:09:02 -0800

I'm trying to find this outdoor game I played back in the 70's. Basically, the game consisted of 2 ropes with handles and a swimming pool float. The float would zip back and forth when a player spread his arms quickly to "shoot" the float back to the other player. Can't remember the name of the game or where to buy it today.

Park City ski schools?

MattD — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:40:22 -0800

Can you suggest the best ski school in Park City, UT for my wife and kids (age 4 and 7) who are all first-timers? Obviously can be different programs for each, but needs to be on the same mountain. 2-3 days would be ideal, to leave some time for getting out on our own thereafter.

How can I improve my in game basketball shooting?

ben5757 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:46:14 -0800

How can I improve my in game basketball shooting? I have a pretty good shot when I'm just shooting around, but it drastically falls off in in-game situations. How can I practice in-game shooting when I mostly practice by myself?

Please recommend some accordion music to practice.

singingfish — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:40:35 -0800

Some interesting music to learn to play on the chromatic a. Accordion? I've started with fiddling around with chord combinations, "He's a Pirate", "La Valise de Amelie" and playing some pentatonic improv stuff. And a little bit of reggae. I'd like some suggestions for pieces to learn that will help with technique - left hand fingering and two handed playing. I just got myself a new (to me) chromatic (c system) 96 button chromatic accordion, and I really like the way that it's geometric layout makes sense of a lot of music theory that I kind of half know. It's a crappy chinese accordion that's been extensively rebuilt with italian reeds added, the key actions improved and a home made pick up system added. I couldn't afford it, but I knew it was a once in a decade opportunity!

So I've started learning a couple of obvious tunes, and I'm thinking about Bach's Toccata and Fuge in D minor to get some right hand dexterity going, but I'm interested in recommendations of pieces to learn or exercises to improve technique.

Help put my chain guard on?

crickets — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:38 -0800

How do I install the chain guard on my bike? I bought and assembled my bike a few months ago. Things are fine but now I want to get around to installing the chain guard. The original instructions don't say anything about it, but I can't seem to figure out how it's supposed to go on. Googling hasn't revealed anything -- my guess is that it's just too simple, and I'm just being dense.

Here's my bike.

Here is the chain guard and the pieces that came with it.

I thought the little bracket would go in back, by the rear gear, and the big bracket would go on the vertical tube by the front gear, but I can't seem to make it fit; the plastic guard itself seems to be like an inch or two short. (I also don't know where the washer is supposed to go, since the nuts fit snugly inside the brackets.)

I thought maybe the big bracket was meant to go on the other tube, but that tube is too fat, and the bracket doesn't fit around it.

Any help?

Dance videos with new moves

pica — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:48:39 -0800

Give me some dance inspiration! I'll soon be putting on my dancing shoes and head out for a brand new saturday night. What new moves will inspire me? French tecktronik is great and the Beninese zinli (watch from 3:35) blows my mind - what do you suggest I bring with me out tonight?

1st time marijuana smoker

goofyfoot — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:05:16 -0800

1st time marijuana smoker! My partner will smoke weed for the first time this weekend - a friend gave us a joint. What can I do to make this enjoyable for him? Besides making sure there are munchies? I started smoking weed, and stopped smoking weed, long enough ago that I don't remember what's necessary to make the first time an enjoyable experience besides the necessity of snack food and a comfortable space. Any tips for me and for him?

Will I ever be able to get a CCW?

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:40:44 -0800

I made a supremely stupid decision and am now wondering whether it's going to ruin my chances of ever getting a CCW. More inside. Last summer in the Bay Area of California, I superficially cut my wrists. The police came, put me in an ambulance, and sent me to a mental health facility. I asked them not to take me to the hospital. I was told I was being 5150'd.
At the mental health facility, I signed documentation that stated I was aware I could be held for up to 72 hours for observation before being admitted involuntarily. The box that said "You cannot purchase a firearm for 5 years without a judge annulling this document" was left unchecked.
In about two hours, I was interviewed by the psychiatrist, who then deemed that I was stable and could be released the same day. So, I spent about 6 hours sitting in an emergency room-esque area with a bunch of other people, and then I was discharged to a friend and taken home. A few months later, I was billed for the cost of the hospital visit. Insurance covered it.
I have residency in the state of South Carolina and will soon be eligible to apply for a CCW. I would also like to be able to carry in Georgia.

Essentially, I am wondering if a) I should answer "No" to "Have you ever been adjudicated mentally incapacitated or committed to a mental institution?" on the South Carolina application and if b) I will pass a NICS background check.

On the 4473 form for purchasing a handgun, the section Adjudicated Mentally Defective states "A determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition or disease: (1) is a danger to himself or to others; or (2) lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs. This term shall include: (1) a finding of insanity by a court in a criminal case; and (2) Those persons found incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of lack of mental responsibility."
The section Committed to a Mental Institution states "A formal commitment of a person to a mental institution by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority. The term includes commitment for mental defectiveness or mental illness. It also includes commitments for other reasons, such as for drug use. The term does not include a person in a mental institution for observation or a voluntary admission to a mental institution."

I know you are not a lawyer, but I have been unable to find clarification about this. I will likely speak to a lawyer soon, but perhaps some of you have insight. I really, really hope that an immature decision will not jeopardize my gun-owning chances for the rest of my life.

Throwaway email at 5150gunownership@gmail.com. Please email me for any clarification or advice. Thanks so much.

Canon -> Nikon

aeighty — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:33:55 -0800

Switching dSLR systems, going from Canon to Nikon? I'm curious if anyone has done this. I've been photographing with a Canon Digital Rebel 350D for about 4 years now. I'd like to get a little more resolution for larger prints and better nighttime sensitivity. Recently, my father bought himself a Nikon D90, so I figure if I upgrade in the near future, I might as well upgrade to a compatible system so that we may share accessories (flashes, expensive lenses). I'm not heavily invested in Canon. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, Canon f/1.8 50mm prime and the crappy kit lense. Oh and a flash. Over the years I've gotten used to Canon's menus and ergonomics, so I'm never fiddling with settings; equipment almost never interferes with the process.

I'm concerned that I may hate "the Nikon experience", although truth be told my initial Canon decision was somewhat arbitrary. At some point in the near future, I will borrow my dad's D90 to play with, but I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Thanks

Need family friendly party games!

royalsong — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:43:11 -0800

Birthday Party for a 30 year old. Need ideas for short, 10-20 minute games/activities to do. A dear friend is turning 30 years old and my sister is throwing her a party. We have the hall, food, and invitations set. My sister plans to do a Family Feud and/or $10,000 Pyramid style game show as well as a Roast of the birthday girl.

We still need to plan out prizes for those big games.. but we also need a handful (3 or so?) small games that we can keep the party goers busy with while we set up the larger games.

So I'm looking for ideas or websites for short party games. These games need to be family friendly (young and old will be there and the birthday girl is a very 'proper' type of person) and able to work with around 50 people.

on the cheap would be for the best, as well.

I'm sure there are a bunch of askmetas out there about this, as well as on the web - but my searching skills fail me.

Thanks!

What to do in the Bay Area for New Year's?

mingodingo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:46:49 -0800

San Francisco filter: Early planning for New Year's Eve in San Francisco? Fun things to do that don't revolve around nightclubs/dancing? Here's the deal...my brother and his girlfriend are coming to visit over New Year's Eve. We'd like to go to the city (I live in the East Bay) to do something fun, but not necessarily something really crowded.

They're both science majors, and were really excited at the possibility of going to the California Academy of Sciences Nightlife event. Unfortunately, looks like they're not having the event on New Year's Eve.

So, we're basically looking for something fun and unique that wouldn't necessarily involve a nightclub scene. For instance, they loved Martuni's the last time they were here, but we weren't there on New Year's Eve, so I'm not sure how crowded it would be.

So, ideas for something similar to the Cal Academy nightlife event, or to a place with the Martuni's atmosphere? Not exactly similar, I know, but will hopefully give you an idea of what we're not interested in. Thanks!

What are Monopoly's "52 Fundamental Playing Flaws"

ThePants — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:02:23 -0800

Is there a public list of the "52 fundamental playing flaws" (fun fact #3) that Parker Brothers cited when they rejected Monopoly in 1933? I can't find one.

Running for the Greater Good

ginagina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:11:07 -0800

Philly Runners: How do you combine running and volunteering? I'm working on compiling some resources for runners in Philadelphia. One aspect I'm having trouble with is finding ways to combine running and volunteer work. I know about Back on My Feet (http://www.backonmyfeet.org/) but I'd like to find other Philadelphia-based organizations that need people who run (dog shelters? after school programs, etc).

Thanks for your help!

A Saturday afternoon in the TDot

dnesan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:02:22 -0800

Can you tell me something great to do this Saturday afternoon (Nov. 7th) in central/downtown Toronto? My friend is getting married, and we're having a pseudo (co-ed) bachelorette party for her. We already have the evening mapped out, but need something to do before dinner. Stripperobics (and that sort of bachelorette faire) aren't exactly our/her style.

We're all GTA residents (or close enough to it), and we're having both lunch and dinner in the downtown core. We'd like to find something to do between hunger pangs (say around 3pm-7pm), something that's fun and memorable despite the fact that we already spend a lot of time in the city. There must be some little known gem that I don't know of.

I'm considering the ROM, but think it might be too staid. The bride loves the distillery district, if that helps define her at all. I want to find something that feels special for her, she has broad tastes and interests over all.

We're all late 20's men and women, money shouldn't be the prime concern but none of us are millionaires. We'll have cars to travel in if needed.

Can you help us do something great?

Looking for swim cap recommendations.

jennyb — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:07:05 -0800

Tell me about swim caps. I take water aerobics twice a week. I'm growing my hair a bit longer and want to start wearing a swimming cap to protect my hair and to comply with the pool's regulations.

I bought a basic silicone cap but it pulled my hair and gave me a headache and I hated it and threw it away. I'm hoping there is some magical alternative out there.

I have a large-ish head and slightly longer than ear-length, thick-ish hair, if that helps. I don't care too much about looking foolish, but I am not entirely lacking in vanity.

Exercises with partners

bleucube — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:39:37 -0800

I'm teaching a physical class that involves close contact. For warm up exercises I like to have people work in pairs to get comfortable touching. I can only think of a couple... 1. Sit up paddy-cakes
2. Stacked push ups (taking turns with feet on back)
3. Piggy back squats
4. Piggy back running

I need a lot more - any suggestions?

What does it mean that the community owns the Packers?

xmutex — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:42:02 -0800

Green Bay Packer fans love to point out that the Packers are the only community-owned professional sports team. Are there any actual benefits to this? Does it mean anything? Are the citizens of Green Bay allowed to cast a vote on team operations? Do they receive dividends of some kind? Can they sell their 'share' in the team?

Not just any boat, but at Shel-Ca-yak-atemer-noe

DetonatedManiac — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:11:14 -0800

WaterSportFilter: I want to buy a small versatile Kayak like watercraft. I have different (competing?) things I'd like it to do (Paddle AND Row; single and tandem riders) can I get all of this into one boat? Are there available modifications? What should I get? I got a chance to use "hybrid, open top ocean kayak / canoe" at the coast a few weeks ago. It was amazing. I want to get one but I know very little about kayaks and similar craft.

What I would like to use it for:

1)Exploring various waterways: Lakes, Coastlines, Rivers--NOT whitewater.
2)Fishing.
3)Exercise (see below)
4)Eventually it may be an extra tender when I get a larger Sailboat.

As two added twists I have these additional requirements:

First - I will often use this boat by myself, but it MUST be able to accept a second paddler/passenger,

Second - This is more wishful thinking I believe, but, while I like paddling most of the time just fine, I'd really like to have a modular retrofit or add-on or something (??) so I can use the craft as something like a recreational shell rowing setup as well. Mostly for the exercise (I hear that rowings gives a good full body workout) and because it seems more elegant. But to be clear, I don't intend to race or anything, and it is OK if the "performance" of this aspect of the boat is compromised.

I expect that last requirement forces me to buy a completely separate boat, in which case I can do without it, but if possible I'd like to get all of this in one packager (or maybe with a little custom fabrication on my part?).

Thoughts, recommendations?

Immersive Xbox environments

Hugobaron — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:59:36 -0800

Gamers: I am an Xbox newbie. Please recommend first-person games with excellently-achieved immersive environments. I'm new to first-person gaming (recreational, playing on Normal, enjoying exploration of well-realized scenarios rather than merely cut-throat battling and dying constantly - but some fighting is OK). I have just acquired an Xbox 360, and already I am loving GTA4, Arkham Asylum, Halo 3. When these are exhausted, what else will I enjoy? Which older releases should I now get on the cheap?

Needed: Guitar Nut for small childs guitar.

yfatah — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:50:52 -0800

I found a kid sized guitar in the trash the other day and it's missing the nut. The neck at the the nut measures exactly 1 1/2". The E string to E string length would be 1 3/16". I've checked all the guitar nut sellers online and no one seems to have a nut that measures this size. Do I need to just get a blank nut and do the slots myself or is there a seller I'm missing?

Ow! Another sharp rock!

Netzapper — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:19:46 -0800

How can I keep my kneepads on my knees while sprinting, sliding, crawling, and kneeling? Or, recommend some kneepads that would work better. I play paintball. In the course of play, I spend a great deal of time sliding around on my knees, crawling, slinking, and kneeling. Not only is it hard on my knees to begin the slide, but it also hurts to kneel on pebbles as I shift around for better position.

I've tried two different varieties of kneepads. Soccer-style kneepads with an elastic cuff don't work: the cuff rolls into a skinny, knee-strangling snake of elastic in the crease of my knee. They go on fine, but the moment I flex my thigh, they roll up. And then they don't really do their job.

I have a pair of tile-laying kneepads with a pair of straps: these simply don't stay in place. They seem designed for kneeling only, not for a mix of sprinting and kneeling. But they do work better than the soccer-style ones... barely.

I've tried wearing the pads on the outside of my pants, on the inside of my pants but outside my baselayer, and against my bare skin. It doesn't seem to matter where I put them, they won't stay put. I even tried big honkin' safety pins. That experiment ended in blood.

If it matters, and I believe it does, I am kinda fat. I've asked around at the field, but most other players are skinny kids whose legs are more cylindrical than my conical ones. They seem to have no trouble with whatever kneepads they wear, simply strapped or slid on in the usual manner.

Any suggestions?

Price is not an issue. But paying $150 for professional tactical kneepads only to find they suck too... that would be an issue.

How do you play card game: Bomb City

metadave — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:06:49 -0800

A couple sitting next to me on a plane were playing a fast two person card game that looked fun. I asked what it was called and they told me it was "Bomb City". Possibly I heard the name wrong. I figured I could easily look it up online and get the rules. No such luck. Does anyone know the rules for "Bomb City"? It was a two person game ( possibly more - I dont' know ), played with a deck of standard playing cards including jokers. I think each person started with three piles of two cards in front of them with the top one frace up. Each game seemed to take 5 or 10 minutes. Thanks in advance. - Dave

Negima reference site

Chocolate Pickle — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:04:01 -0800

I need the best fan/reference site about Mahou Sensei Negima. This site is an example of what I want, about Aa, Megami-sama! It contains character bios, an encyclopedia, and in particular it contains an up-to-date synopsis of the whole series.

It isn't a blog. It is loaded with spoilers, and this is a plus for me. And it's current and actively maintained.

I want to find the same kind of thing about Mahou Sensei Negima. Wikipedia ain't it; the information isn't current. A lot of the information is out of date, and it just isn't as complete as I'd like. I want something better. Anyone know where to find such a web site?

What is the game where you put a card on your forehead?

Wink Ricketts — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:32:23 -0800

What is the card game where everyone puts a card on their forehead? Everyone has a card on their head and you can see everyone else's, so you're trying to figure out your own card based upon how others are betting looking at it. Where can I find rules?

naughty fun in broad daylight for a couple, possible?

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:28:23 -0800

Give us some ideas to have naughty fun in the day time. I don't know what I mean by naughty. really, I don't know. something risque. something fun. something we didn't do before but possible to do in the broad daylight. I and spouse want to spend entire day together having fun we never had before, while our kid goes off to daycare.
In last 3 years, after birth of our kid, we have not done any outdoor activity as adult/couple. We don't know anyone close enough to take care of our kid. We don't like the idea of having someone babysitting. So last 3 years have been just busy/burdened/not having any fun alone. so this time around, we want to chill out for one day - 9 to 5, without worrying about taking care of our kid.
If we could go out at night, we could go to club and dance. Or try something more risque like visiting a swinging bar. But going out at night is out of question in this case.
So, you all experienced askme users, please put on your creative hats and give us some ideas to make our day exciting, thrilling and fun and naughty too if possible.
The only idea we came up with so far is to go to universal studio. It's fun adult outdoor activity but not risque/naughty at all LOL.. But we are just going to go with this if we can't think of anything else.
I created this throw away account since I'm posting this annonymously - throw_away (at) fastmail (dot) fm
misc. tidbits - It's a weekday. We are taking off from work. We are in LA.
P.S. we love having kid/raising her. we love all the activities we can do along with her e.g. going to disneyland every once in a while. Just being with her, watching her is sheer joy. but we need a break.