Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Rolling

Rollo's

Black_Umbrella — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:31:06 -0800

Why are corners cut on some rolling papers? I have been rolling cigarettes for a while now but never thought to ask why many rolling papers have cut corners. Some have the corners cut, some don't, the same brand will sell papers both ways. Whats the deal?

all the main streets, on one long sign.

twistofrhyme — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:14:06 -0800

where can i find a rolling sign from the top of a toronto transit streetcar? i'm talking about the changeable, white-text-on-black-background signs that indicate the route. better description and photo inside. i love signs like this. in a condo ad a while back, i saw a similar sign from a TTC streetcar- it had all the main routes (spadina, roncesvalles, king, queen, college, etc) on it. it was a lot bigger than the san francisco bus sign in the linked photo- like 8 feet long by 2 feet wide. anyone know where i can find one- or even what they're properly called?
(typography side-question- i don't know the word for the way the font is laid out on the TTC streetcar sign, but if i did, it might help me find one. what's it called when each font is scaled so all the words in a column are the same width but different heights, like in the top left corner of this book?)
thanks!

The mystery of the open garage door

wexford_arts — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:37:06 -0800

Why did I find my garage door open this morning? I haven't opened it with the garage door opener entry pad for several days, and I know it was closed completely the last time I used it. I have a detached garage off my back yard. (Lined up: house, back yard, garage). There is a standard door leading from the yard into the garage, but the main garage door can't be seen from the house because it is on the other side. So I can't easily see if the garage door is open or closed unless I walk around there and look.

I had a Chamberlain Whisper Drive installed last year that uses a rolling code transmitter. I generally open the door by either pressing the large button on the wall after entering the garage by the door leading into my backyard, or by entering my code into the keypad by the garage door itself.

But this morning I found the door wide open (Luckily, my bike and a few other valuable items were still there.) I don't have a car, so I don't go out to the garage daily, so the door may have been open for minutes or even days, as the last time I opened the garage door was Monday night.

So far, my theories are:

1) The small remotes stored in my back room may have been nudged so that the open buttons were pressed.
2) Someone guessed the correct code, opened my garage -- and took nothing.
3) One of my neighbours' remotes somehow opened my door, but given the rolling code, isn't this astronomically unlikely?

Any other theories? And what steps should I take to prevent this from happening again?

It would be fast and easy to change the code on the keypad, if this was somehow compromised, but I may have to actually clear all codes to make sure the small remotes are cleared, too, and only reprogram the keyless pad. (Remember, I don't drive and don't need the remotes, although I want to keep them if I sell the house so the new owner can use them).

How do I clearly explain the benefits of a rolling or moving average compared to straight data?

scottso17 — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:44:35 -0800

I report on weekly sales and pricing information, and weekly data points are often skewed by one-time promotions, seasonality, and other random effects. When I create a 52-week rolling average of the data, it shows trends much more smoothly -- and accurately, I believe. My coworkers are not accustomed to seeing data as a rolling average, and I'm concerned that they won't understand it. What is a clear way to explain to them 1) how a rolling average works, 2) why it is useful for visualizing trends, and 3) any other benefits?

Walls on wheels, please

Smalltown Girl — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:57:49 -0800

Where can I find big partitions/doors/walls that I've seen used in lofts? I'm looking for those with heavy-duty wheels (?) that run along tracks. I want to be able to partition my messy office from the living area, but have the flexibility to roll the wall/door out of the way.

Yamuna Body Rolling?

sdis — Sat, 05 May 2007 16:59:45 -0800

Experiences with Yamuna Body Rolling, anyone? Specifically the foot-savers part of it? Other foot-strength-training exercise programs for people with foot pain/flat feet/plantar faciitis? I have flat feet and bad plantar faciitis, and I'm looking for some way to strength train my feet. I've read somewhere on the internets about this YBR stuff, and that nurses tend to find large amounts of success with it despite standing all day. Anyone know anything more about it personally?

john lennon in the rolling stones video?

bukvich — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 23:30:38 -0800

In the sympathy for the devil video posted by stavros... does anybody else see John Lennon in there? Is it my imagination? http://youtube.com/watch?v=waFOyhezIPA

Why does a detached tire roll faster than the car?

spiderskull — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 21:59:07 -0800

[PhysicsFilter] In movies, when a tire comes off of a speeding car, it begins to move faster than the car. Why does the velocity increase? This is a topic of debate among some of the post-doc Physicists in my lab. There were a few theories proposed that I don't claim to understand:

* The lack of constraints on the tire causes a shift in energy (by conservation of momentum), which simply translates from rotational to kinetic velocity. I don't really understand their argument here, since there is a removal of active forces, and possibly a change in mass of the system (from rotating tire-wheel-axel combination to just tire).

* The diameter of the tire changes, since there's no more weight on it, and so this causes the acceleration. This is counterintuitive simply because the diameter should increase, causes a reduction in angular velocity.

* The process is akin to alpha decay, where the mass of the car is much greater than the tire.

Also, in the movies, the tire seems to jump first, then land and speed ahead of the car.

Rolling Stones Airline Commercial

matimer — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 11:23:49 -0800

TV Commercial Filter: I swear that "You can't always get what you want" by the Rolling Stones was in an Airline Commercial a couple years ago, but I can't seem to validate this claim using my Google skillz.

An article from Rolling Stone Magazine About A "Game"

AMWKE — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:05:42 -0800

The article was about a game that was played amongst a few teams, almost like a scavenger hunt, insane clues were given and the mastermind teams unlocked them and went on quite a journey. I remember one clue led them to a party with about 40 people and they all turned out to be actors or something. Quite a fantastic tale. It said that these games take place all the time. I'm looking for the article from RS, or a link to anything remotely close to this. Thanks you