Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Light

Help me come up with a sassy quip in response to people's sexism.

euphoria066 — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:32:39 -0800

I work in a small shop in a male dominated trade. I am 26 but read younger (by up to 10 years if you have a weird idea of how teenagers look) small, blonde, and need to dress casually (jeans and a tshirt and sneakers) due to the nature of my work. Customer's ask me on a near-daily basis if I'm my boss's daughter. I hate this, I feel it undermines my value as an employee who has worked hard to be in the position I'm in. I'd like to think of a response that makes them feel like a ninny for one second, without offending customers. Despite my relative youth and "cuteness" I've been at my job and in my trade a long time. I'm lucky, but I work hard and am a fast learner and am creative to the point that my boss has a lot of respect for my opinion on how jobs should be done, and in the interest of me taking over the business has started introducing me to customers regularly. My job is great, I've been lucky to avoid most of the sexism in the male dominated (but changing) industry. It's a complete non-issue to my boss, which I love.

But, upon my being called downstairs from the studio to meet customers, about one in 3's responses are "oh, is this your daughter?"

I haaaate it. haha. but I don't want to offend. I just want to maybe poke their awareness in the direction of "oh, geez, that was pretty sexist and ageist of me, wasn't it. of course a young woman could train and work hard for a career she wanted in a male dominated trade and not just have it being a matter of following her father's footsteps."

it can be soft enough that if someone isn't aware of those kinds of attitudes being a problem it could roll off them. I don't want to piss people off, I'm usually quite good at the jibber jabber, but despite this being a common interaction, it hurts, offends and floors me every time and I just stutter "um... no."

I realize it may not be worth alienating someone by actually saying these things, but even if I knew one and I could repeat it in my head and make myself feel sassier, I'd enjoy that.

I think I'm living with a reptile?

Wretch729 — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:22:53 -0800

I suspect my partner may be an ectotherm. Is there such a thing as the combo full-spectrum lamp + heat rock that you'd get for a lizard tank but for adult humans? Anyone have any success making one? I've browsed through the various SAD-related AskMes and several people suggest variations on the wake-up lights or the small light therapy boxes. I'm not certain that would be enough light?

I have this vague vision of some sort of nest chair + giant sunlamp + electric blanket but I don't know how feasible that is, especially given our very small (and dark) apartment. Any advice or links to an actual product that's a bit bigger than the little Phillips wakeup light would be greatly appreciated.

Inexpensive desk lamp with adjustable brightness?

Scientist — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:50 -0800

I'm looking for a nice, inexpensive task lamp to put on my desk at work. It should have adjustable brightness (low/high is fine) so that I can have either a little or a lot of light, as required. Free-standing, not clamp-on. $30 or less would be ideal. Help? I often find myself at work wishing that I had a lamp on my desk to that when I am doing detailed work I can get a better view of what I'm doing. Where I sit, all the light comes from behind me and if I am doing something fiddly it can be hard to see well enough as I tend to block my own light.

I'd like to have a lamp with a free-standing (rather than clamp-on) base so that I can move it around the desk, and which has at least a high and a low light setting. The bulb should be shrouded well enough that I can use it to flood my desk without having to stare into a naked light source.

Other than that, it doesn't need to be fancy. I don't care much what it looks like or what it's made of as long as it's at least moderately sturdy. I would prefer a warmer light (so maybe an incandescent or halogen lamp, unless there's an LED one that makes a nice warm white) as the place where I work is lit by those nasty six-foot fluorescent tubes and it would be nice to have something a little less clinical-feeling.

Does anybody know of a light like this? Maybe you own one? Please let me know, I'd be overjoyed.

Fun Springtime Movies!

Mrs. Pterodactyl — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 06:48:32 -0800

Looking for a fun spring movie to watch on Easter. Every Easter we have a delicious brunch and watch a movie and we’d like some suggestions. It should be something light and fun but not stupid; we’ve often gone with musicals, Pixar movies, or something with Audrey Hepburn. Things that have worked well in the past include My Fair Lady, Up, and Roman Holiday. For logistical reasons, whatever movie we pick either needs to be available to rent off Amazon instant video or to stream on Netflix. Our plan this year is to watch Ratatouille but we’re looking for other suggestions as well. Thanks!

Stubborn check engine light ideas

misskaz — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:48:10 -0800

A few months ago, my car's check engine light came on. They fixed it, it came back on again, they fixed it again, and now it's back on. I'm looking for possible explanations so I'm more prepared when I take it back yet again. My car is a 2004 Mazda3 hatchback with only 30k miles, purchased new by me back in '04. It has been a reliable car and given me no trouble up until now. I live in a big city and don't drive much - it's mostly a grocery getter and weekend-only car.

My check engine light came on right around the time a groupon I had for an oil change was about to expire, so that's where I took it. They get pretty good reviews so I felt ok about it. The shop pulled the codes for me without doing the "full diagnostic", saving me the $90. Luckily (they said), the code came back as the thermostat being bad, which is a relatively quick and easy replacement. They asked me if I was having trouble with the heat taking a while to warm up, and while I didn't think I was, I don't drive much and we had been having a mild winter. I also got the oil changed and they found a transmission leak around the pan gasket, so they replaced that for me as well. They said I'm also due for whatever fuel injection system work is required at my mileage, but I'm broke so I have put it off for now.

Like a week or so later, the check engine light came back on. I took it back to them - they said it there was air in the coolant system and fixed it for free - I'm assuming they must have introduced the air when they were working on the car before because they certainly acted like it was their mistake. While I was there I got my rear brakes done, which is likely irrelevant but hey they got another $400 from me.

A week or two after that, as I'm turning left out of my alley the check engine light came back on AGAIN. Since then (it's been a month; I've been too busy to take it in) I've driven the car and things seem mostly fine. The heat is maybe slow to warm up but it's really hard to tell - not something I would probably even notice if they hadn't asked me about it originally. The car is definitely not overheating. It seems to drive mostly fine, though the idle can be rough sometimes and the transmission doesn't shift as smoothly as it used to, but that's been the case for a while.

Any ideas? What's the likelihood this is still related to the thermostat/cooling system? Should I insist on (and pay for) the full check engine light "diagnostic" - does that give us more information to work with than just the codes? If the thermostat has just been replaced, what other possible problems that would throw the same code should I be aware of?

Thanks! Like I said, I'm taking it back in but would love to be maybe a little more prepared. I don't have the actual code the computer gave them so I can't google very effectively, and I am not noticing any related symptoms other than the light coming on.

Taking Suggestions for Library of Low Stakes Fiction

murfed13 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:30:21 -0800

My taste for bleak fiction is making me miserable. Help me lighten it up. I'm looking for novels with low stakes conflict. I don't want to read about any of the following: violent crime, poverty, illness, dysfunctional families, war, or death. The books can be occassionally funny, but I'm not interested in comedy per se (no Princess Bride, Hitchhiker's, P.G. Wodehouse etc.).

I'd prefer books written in the last 50 years or so. I'm open to different genres, but I'm not that excited about romance, scifi, or fantasy.

Oh, and I want books that are really good -- not beach good or plane good, but stories-that-stay-with-you good. Do these books exist? Lay them on me!

Is there a way to make my iPhone screen redder at night?

ladypants — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 20:19:29 -0800

A friend introduced me to f.lux for Mac, and I'm hoping to find a way to adjust the color of my iPhone screen to be more in line with my circadian rhythms. I'd been fantasizing about an app which made my iPhone screen dimmer and redder at night and brighter and bluer in the morning to help maintain regular circadian rhythms. A friend introduced me to f.lux, and I am enjoying it on my laptop, but I can't find anything like it for the iPhone without jailbreaking my phone.

Do you know any way to make my screen redder?

A timed app would be ideal - but I'd be happy with any way to adjust the hue/color balance on my iPhone.

Disagreement at work about best photography practices!

rhooke — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:18:50 -0800

When shooting and preparing an image file for print, I've always tried to set things up so that the highlights are bright, the shadows are dark, and everything else is in the middle. At work, I've occasionally been told by my immediate superior that I'm overexposing my images, and that the highlight detail is, in their words, 'blown away'. Checking my files, the highlights in the images in question cut off around 245, sometimes as low as 240! Is there a reason why they'd want the highlights even greyer? There is an extended back story to this, but I'll try and keep specific to my immediate quandary. I've been working as a photographer for a small company for a little over three years. Our head office is in another city, and that is where the senior photographer (who's been with the company for decades) is located.

To my eyes, the images we produce are adequate, but not stunning, and to put my best work in, only to have the outcome be mediocre is extremely disheartening. The perennial problem is lack of contrast, the images coming out flat and grey. It seems clear to me that we're not using the full tonal range of the images, and these muddy photos are the result. However, after trying to ask my superior why this is the way things are done and getting nowhere, I've alternately tried talking to the owner, sneaking in edits that bump the contrast, talking to my superior again, all to no avail.

I can probably figure out the office politics in the situation, but before I dig my heels in on this one, I thought I'd educate myself on metafilter, as my knowledge of CMYK processes is a little sketchy.

Can y'all think of any reasons why one would want to produce images that only run from 15-230 instead of 5-250?

Light weight foldable wheel chairs

Carbolic — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:24:37 -0800

Need a bare bone light weight fold able wheelchair - But with the normal size wheels. Not the little casters qll round.. My wife uses a wheel chair 30-50% of the time, other wise she walks with crutches. I see beautiful chairs with great construction AND DESIGN , and lightweight products like this for $4k that perfectly fit the bills. problem is this is isn't an acceptable price for us (if that what we have to pay so be it )but i bet there is a minimalist wheel chair maker out there (coming from a guy who put almost 5K into fitting up a Tommasin sintesin bicycle Frame) its hard for me to believe there isnT a high quality wheel chair out there with some degree of the workmanship for less thaN $2k We find overkill $3K to $15K chairs that I can often appreciate the value but not the price they ask Any suggestions for higher end but not highest end light weight wheel chairs mot extremely exaggerated, Oh Yeah - Needs to be light weight and have a foot tray rater than th fold down foot supports Sorry for mispellings and caps my key board hates m3 - THANKS

How can I make my dormitory hallway's sound activated light stay on cons

crawltopslow — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:44:25 -0800

How can I make my dormitory hallway's sound activated light stay on constantly? We hang out in our dormitory hallway, and have to clap, or clang a key against the metal handrail, or scream, to make the light turn back on, every time it goes off after about 60 seconds I guess. We hang out there often and it is annoying to have to clap every 60 seconds.

Does anyone have a way I can make it stay on constantly? FYI any sound made while the light on does not count towards the next 60 second sequence, it will absolutely turn off at 60 seconds even if you clapped at 59 seconds.. So I think there must always be a slight period of darkness.

Maybe I can rewire it somehow without anyone knowing? or I can put a tiny mp3 player up near the light somewhere wherever the sound detector is? Does anyone have a better idea?

I can take a picture of the device if needed. They are common in stairways and hallways here in China.

Can you explain to me this shadow-line phenomenon in a photo?

heyho — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 10:16:23 -0800

I feel like I understand a thing or two about light, but I can't figure out how/why this particular phenomenon happens. This photo I took shows a shadow line cast by my bank (on the right) that seems to just hang in the air. I can never see this with my eye, but it shows up in my photos sometimes, so far only when I'm shooting straight up.

What causes this? I mean, I fully understand that the bank building is blocking sunlight that would otherwise hit the nearby buildings, those cables, and everything on the ground, but why do I see a shadow that's not really cast on anything? This baffles me, as the light source is not coming from the direction of me, there was no visible smog, and it was a cool, crisp, bright, sunshiny October day.

I haven't tried to recreate it with any of my film cameras or a better digital because I'm sort of in an exclusive relationship with my little point & shoot at the moment, but I can't imagine this phenomenon is peculiar to this camera.

What equipment can I use for a food photography setup in low light?

sunnychef88 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:07:40 -0800

What kind of equipment could I purchase within a $300 budget for the backdrop and lighting? My house is naturally very dark. I use white plates and minimal props for the food. My camera is a Canon 40D. I don't have much time lately so I'll spend a little more for convenience. My house is quite dark so I have a tough time finding bright back drops for my food photos. I would love to show a sunny kitchen table or a brightly lit cutting board and ingredients in the background of my food photos, but my kitchen is so dark naturally that I end up taking the same shot with the window in the background, or just an aerial view of the food. Poor lighting has always plagued my food photography despite my use of reflectors (white foam boards and foil covered posterboard) and artificial tabletop lamps. I just have a dark house not conducive to photography!

My photos are shot with a Canon 40D (this lens) or a Fujifilm finepix digital. The lighting is much more problematic when I use the DSLR.

What kind of equipment could I purchase within a $300 budget for the backdrop and lighting? I know a tripod could come in handy but I'm not sure whether a table top or a full sized tripod is best for shooting food on a table. I don't have much time lately so I'll spend a little more for convenience.

Help me protect my car from vandalism.

phaedon — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:47:24 -0800

Is there a practical way to keep someone from f-cking with my car? I live in a neighborhood with a relatively high rate of break-ins. I had my old car broken into multiple times. Over the past couple of years, twice they've broken the window, and the one time I parked on the street, somebody had the gall to succesfully crowbar my side passenger door open. If you want a characterization of the typical criminal in my neighborhood, I would generally say "crackhead" - one time, my car belongings were completely unended, all my change was stolen but my credit cards were left behind. I mean, what the fuck. I accept that each of these times there was probably something of value inside the car that visible from the outside. Anyway, that piece of shit car is history.

So now I have a much nicer car. I know, stupid. Now, my apartment building's 8-car parking lot, while physically removed from the street, is not gated, and there's nothing I can do about this. There are often vagrants going through the dumpster, and occasionally somebody will sleep back there. I know, crazy. The only "security measure" we have is a pathetic motion-detecting light that only half works, and only serves to help people who can't see in the middle of the night. Which is not great.

Is there anything I can do to stave off any potential intruders, or perhaps catch a criminal in the act?

My ideal would be to buy a light that turns on when motion is detected and instantly records and saves the video. Does such a thing exist? Or do you have any other tips on how to deter would-be criminals?

The only other comment I can think worth mentioning is that I would not have access to an outlet or power supply.

Looking for theatre plays with important light prop

landonmoon — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:17:27 -0800

I'm looking for major theatrical plays, set no later than 1950, that feature a lamp, flashlight, or other luminous prop as important to the story. If possible, please summarize the prop's usage including where in the story the prop is used. Thanks in advance!

Can I use a CFL or LED bulb in an outside flood light type fixture that is hooked up to an in-wall Intermatic timer?

dottiechang — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:41:06 -0800

Can I use a CFL or LED bulb in an outside flood light type fixture that is hooked up to an in-wall Intermatic timer? I was told no but I would like to confirm. If that is the case, I'd love a short explanation in plain English. I tried Googling but I'm still confused. I had an electrician install a new flood light type fixture outside that is on a timer that part of my light switch (brand is Intermatic). I thought I could use energy efficient bulbs in it but the electrician told me no. He could not explain why to me and I wonder if it is because he didn't want to go back on his ladder to change out the bulbs. He had really poor communication skills overall and I never got a good answer from him.

Now those bulbs have burned out and I want to know if I can replace them with CFL or LED bulbs.

SO:
1) Can I use LED or CFL bulbs?
2) If not, I'd love to understand why I can't!

Can I dim these lights?

masters2010 — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:01:37 -0800

How can I dim these lights? I recently purchased these light fixtures and realized afterwards that these do not have dimming capabilities. They take 22 watt 2-pin CFL light bulbs.

Is there any cost-effective way to make these dimmable? Can I simply track down a 2-pin dimming CFL (if they exist) or do I have to replace the hardware with a suitable ballast? Returning and replacing the light fixtures is not an option.

Thanks!

Bathroom lighting emergency -- need a battery powered lantern!

Wossname — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:26:50 -0800

I've lost power in my bathroom (and adjacent room) and it will be a week before it gets fixed. What's a good battery-powered lantern I could use while I shower? I need a nice and bright battery-powered lantern I can buy locally in Orlando. (I'd rather not use a floor or table lamp to get light, because I will have to run too much extension cord and the cats will most likely tip things over.)

My bathroom is roughly the size of a typical gallery kitchen. Unfortunately, there are no windows. Ideally, the lantern would also be water-proof, so I can just bring it in the shower with me. Otherwise, it will have to sit on the toilet.

Please help me not have to shower in the dark!

SAD and Light Therapy

LivinginYes — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 00:36:56 -0800

I'm looking to buy a "light box" to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'd love some recommendations on a good quality unit. Suggestions from those who have tried and tested would be much appreciated!

Light up her life: find an LED version of a 40W incandescent

sciencegeek — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 17:46:01 -0800

Looking for a LED light that gives an equivalent brightness and spectrum as a 40W incandescent. Can you help me? My mother dislikes strong lights because she has sensitive eyes.

She is unenthusiastic about compact fluorescent options (please do not suggest compact fluorescent options, she will not get them).

She likes 40W incandescent bulbs, but these are becoming more difficult to find. It would be nice to find something that has a similar spectrum and brightness and it seems like a LED option would make the most sense.

Please help me help her find the lights of her dreams.

Small wireless strobe trigger?

crookedneighbor — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:34:58 -0800

What can I use to trigger a strobe light or a flash that is small, handheld, wireless, and not too expensive? I'm doing a performance where I want to be able to trigger a very quick flash of light, from the stage, without using a visible cord. I know there are remote camera flash set-ups, but they require a camera to trigger the flash and they also seem expensive. Is there a way to do this using something I can hide in my hand?

(Possible example of someone doing what I'm talking about: David Parsons' Caught)

Light the night!

po822000 — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:58:24 -0800

Please give me your night light recommendations. I have a two year-old who keeps coming into our bed because he's scared of the dark. He has a plug-in/hallway-type nightlight in his room, which is apparently not cutting it.

(Or, you know, making his toys seem particularly homicidal or otherwise ill-intentioned in the night time.)

I'm looking for a night light we can put on his bookcase across the room that we can switch on and leave on all night. What has worked best for your kids?

Switch doesn't switch correctly.

adamrice — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:00:01 -0800

Please help me understand this bizarre home electrical-wiring problem, and how to fix it. I've got a mid-50s house. I wanted to put an outlet into the second bathroom, which has none, and it looked like the easiest way to do that would be to replace a wall switch with a combination switch/outlet (specifically, this one). This is not a GFCI outlet, but there is a GFCI outlet on the same circuit, which is sufficient (right?).

The instructions for the combo device show a few ways to wire it up, depending on the wiring going to it. The only way that made sense for me to wire it up was to make the outlet switched with the light. This required me to create a jumper (which I did, out of a conductor scavenged from some romex) between two connectors on the unit, and break off a built-in jumper. I triple-checked that I had everything hooked up correctly according to the instructions.

Like most older houses, this one has some weird electrical stuff going on. Most of the wiring in the house was updated a few years ago, but apparently not the leg to the light switch. And for some reason, there are two neutral wires and one hot wire connecting to the light (but only one each at the switch).

Since the wiring for the light switch does not include a ground wire, I grounded the switch to the adjacent fan switch, which is grounded (it has a ground wire, at any rate).

Anyhow, here's what happened when I got everything hooked up: Turning on the light did not result in the light turning on. When I plugged in my work light to the outlet and turned that on with the light switch on, the work light did not come on, but the ceiling light did. Weird. I felt like I was in a Marx Brothers sketch for a moment.

What Did The Office Workers Of The 1600s Eat?

The Whelk — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:10:19 -0800

I always hear that the traditionally heavy US diet ( or any " traditional" cuisine, really ) was developed for people working long hard hours of manual labor, farm work, etc., so what did the people who had sedentary, less active jobs eat? What were the historical diets of people who didn't haul lumber through the woods or dig ditches, but recorded numbers or did accounting or translated documents?

Our Haier is hot is it a lost cause or can it be fixed?

Saminal — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:57:27 -0800

My fridge is hot, not just not cold but actually hot. Can I fix this or am I shopping for a new fridge? My Haier ( model HBQ18JACLSS) which conveyed with our house has been acting up. A few days ago I came home to find it was not cooling at all. We bought coolers and ice and got a repair guy out. He told us the fan that blows the air into the fridge had come loose and that he put it back in place, secure it and things should be fine. Their work comes with a 90 day callback.

Just now my husband opened the fridge and it smelled like something electrical was burning and the fridge wasn't cold. Not only that but on the inside back wall, there is a box a vent on it and a light on either side of the vent and it was hot to the touch. Like, uncomfortably warm. We unplugged it and didn't find any obvious clogs, dirt, or frost. We plugged it back in and the vent inside the fridge and freezer are currently blowing cold air.

I did double check to make sure the lights are going off when the button on the door is compressed and it is.

Obviously we're calling the repair guy back UNLESS you can help or convince me it is a lost cause and any more money should be spent toward a new fridge (which we really can't afford right now).

Just in case, I am off to buy ice but will check in shortly as naturally we JUST bought a ton of groceries yesterday afternoon.

No I do not sparkle.

Because — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:50:33 -0800

Summer SAD-- this constant light is killing me. Anyone have any ideas for getting through the next couple of months? Blizzard ahead-- you might want to put some chains on your tires before proceeding. Short version: does anyone have any ideas, no matter how ridiculous they may seem, to help me convince my body that it is dark outside when it isn't?

Really, really long version: I have always had problems with summer. When I lived in the American midwest and on the east coast, the heat was horrible, of course. That hasn't been a problem for the past couple of years, though, in the Pacific Northwest and now the West Midlands in England. But the amount of daylight has gotten progressively worse as I creep steadily northward. And this year it is KILLING me.

I have a mild sun allergy, which I know how to deal with-- cover allll the skin, all the time. Easy enough, though I do end up with terrible hat-hair. But it seems it's not just direct sunlight that's the problem. I'm nocturnal as all hell, and there just isn't any nighttime anymore out here. When I first got here, in the winter, it was getting dark at 4 PM, and it was great. Now the sky is getting light by 2:45 AM, and it's only getting worse for a couple of weeks. An when it does get better it will be slow.

I've been googling, but all I get about "Summer SAD" or "Reverse SAD" is the occasional mention in an article about the standard, winter version, and the writers always seem to think that the summer version is only and always hypomania. Well, not here. What I am getting is a worsening of my standard depression. It's gotten to the point where I'm completely nonfunctional, and I absolutely have to do something about it.

So I'm brainstorming, and all my ideas are stupid so far, and I would love some help in coming up with more stupid ideas. If anyone has had this problem and has found things which helped, that would be great, but I am up for any suggestions which might help me trick myself into believing it is still sometimes dark outside. So far my ideas are to put cardboard in the windows of a sort of Retreat Room, and to make myself some sort of facemask with dark lenses for the eyes for when I have to go outside when it should, in my mind, be darker than it is. Like I said, stupid. But there's no darkbox equivalent to a lightbox.

Please help me get out of bed. I can't handle two or three more months like this. I know the solstice is soon, but I've been near the breaking point for weeks already, and, having broken, I'm going to need a little more darkness than I've had for a month already to recover.

I am already on medication for depression, though as soon as I am capable of figuring out the UK health care system sufficiently to do so I need to get to a psychiatrist and see if it needs adjusting. And please, no comments about how no one is really nocturnal and I must be deluding myself. I have heard them, and they are unconvincing.

Thank you.