Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TwinCities

Late-night wifi in the Twin Cities

beautifulstuff — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:13:41 -0800

Where can I find late-night wifi in the Twin Cities? I love bringing my laptop to coffee shops and working while I sip a nice latte, but my problem is that I prefer to work late, and no coffee shop with which I'm familiar is open past 8pm.

What other locations would you recommend where I could work until 11 or midnight on weekday evenings? The location should have power outlets, free (speedy) wifi, and not care if I take up a table for four hours. Good food, coffee, and/or beer are bonuses. It doesn't need to be quiet, but super loud and jammed with people might make getting work done a little difficult.

Libraries close way too early. I've tried Borders and B&N, but they usually close at 10pm and their wifi sucks. Few bars or restaurants seem to have free wifi, and those that do don't have power outlets and don't like me taking up a table all evening. Do places like this even exist? Am I asking for too much?

I'd prefer locations on the Minneapolis side of town, but if you know of a hidden gem somewhere in the East Metro, I'm willing to drive.

Thanks Twin Cities Mefites!

Quality portrait in the Twin Cities

Mrs. Green — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:19:06 -0800

Can you recommend any good, budget-friendly, family portrait photographers in the Twin Cities area? We would like to spend under $125 for a sitting fee, but don't really want to go to Sears or Target.

Reliable Taxi Co in Twin Cities, MN

judybxxx — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:26:41 -0800

Seeking a good (reliable) taxi company in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St Paul). A long term Insomniac, now I'm having trouble staying awake more than 25 minutes if driving alone, and want to have the option of getting off the road and calling a cab. Reviews on the web seem totally variable. I can take a pill in advance, but I try to minimize that. The thing is, traffic can change my travel time. If coming home, Minneapolis Lakes area and St Louis park would be the area, but I occasionally go all over (i.e. Maplewood, this Thurs, St Paul, North Mpls, etc). The reviews I read go from 'best in the cities' to 'horrible, never use them' for the same company. What do you use if you want a good chance they'll show up when they say, drive reasonably, etc.
(if I catch a cab, then I'd come back to get the car with a friend, at a convenient time, if you are wondering about the strategy).

I appreciate your concern, but please, lets not start with insomnia suggestions - believe me, I work hard at getting more sleep, in lots of ways, and that's not the question I'm asking now.

(I recommend the book, Insomniac )
So, cab recommendations, please!

Recommend a sedation dentist in the southern twin cities

TheClonusHorror — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:03:03 -0800

Recommend someone who specializes in sedation dentistry in the Twin Cities (and hopefully close or close-ish to Eagan). I'm a huge wuss ... with gingivitis. I need a dentist but have had several bad experiences in a row. If you know of a dentist who is kind and sympathetic to nervous peeps like me and does sedation, please halp.

Wherefore art thou, weather?

Think_Long — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:32:18 -0800

What's the most up-to-date online weather website for the twin cities (MN) area? Seeing as a line of storms is currently blasting the hell out of our fair city, I would like some up to date information about when, where, etc. I'm looking for something written like a blog with updates, rather than info mined from the national weather service as the WCCO website does it.

I don't have a sound system on my work computer, so I can't follow streaming radio or television broadcasts.

Thanks all!

One pill makes you smaller, and one pill makes you normal...

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:18:24 -0800

Is off label use of Beta Blockers for me? Will a doctor I've seen once be willing to prescribe a short supply? I'm a healthy male in my mid twenties. I'm getting back into dating seriously for the first time in a couple years, and I find myself getting more nervous than I've ever been for anything. I realize it's silly, and I think it'll go away. In the meantime though, I've got a second date with a woman I'm really interested in and I'd like to control the heart pounding (in a bad way), sweating, shaking, and nausea which ultimately will lead to slightly too much drinking and a touch of *verbal* diarrhea.
I have insurance, but not a regular PCP. There's a small family run clinic/doc in the box I went to a couple months ago for completely unrelated issues. If I go to the same doc and explain my situation, will they be likely to help with some sort of temporary pharmacological stopgap?
Nothing like this has ever happened before, and I really do think it'll go away, so therapy feel unnecessary and time consuming.
Will pills help, can I get them, or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?

Blogs about the twin cities or Minnesota

TheClonusHorror — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:08:57 -0800

I'm looking for your favorite blogs about things to do in or around the twin cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) or in Minnesota in general. In Los Angeles, I read Eating L.A., which is about restaurants around town, and Big Orange Landmarks, which is done by a guy who travels around to all the places on the National Historic Register and takes photos. It hasn't been updated in awhile but the archives are still great. This guy chronicles his walks around Los Angeles' various neighborhoods and his road trips.

So I'm looking for blogs along those lines (or loosely related), but about Minnesota. Or if you have any ideas of google terms I should search for or other jumping-off points, those would be helpful too!

It is hot, and I want a Sloe Gin Fizz!

Steve_at_Linnwood — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:09:19 -0800

Where can I find Plymouth Sloe Gin in the Twin Cities? I have called around, in vain, searching for Plymouth Sloe Gin at various liquor stores east of the Twin Cities (where I live) but have had no luck finding anyone who carries or is willing/able to order the liqueur.

I can find plenty of stores on the internet who sell the product, but Minnesota forbids the shipment of liquor across state-lines.

Does anyone know of a location in the Twin Cities, preferably in the St. Paul area, that sells this?

Live in the Twin Cities? Love your neurosurgeon?

ShadePlant — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:57:05 -0800

Does anyone know of a good adult neurosurgeon in the Twin Cities? I need to have a follow up MRI scan every two years for a childhood brain surgery I had. Pure maintenance/check engine scan. I grew up in Milwaukee and have mostly been seeing neurosurgeons there until I moved here in 2003. My last neurosurgeon at the U of M took a month to get my (normal) MRI results back so I don't want to go back to him. Coverage in the Health Partners network would kick ass. Thanks.

Best Apple Dessert

yellowbkpk — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:30:34 -0800

The best Apple Crisp/Cake dessert in the Twin Cities? It's my birthday weekend and after dinner I'd like to find the best Apple Crustata/Crisp/Cake a la Mode dessert in the Twin Cities area. Can the Hive Mind make any suggestions?

The best I've had so far is Bravo Cucina's version that they recently took off the menu.

Help Me Find A Twin Cities Headhunter

Waitwhat — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:32:16 -0800

I'm looking for a headhunter in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area who specializes in brand strategy, market research or advertising. I've done some Google searches but those have not been particularly helpful. Does anyone know of any headhunters or places I should look for headhunters specializing in these areas?

Minnesota Car Rental: convertible

pithy comment — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:35:47 -0800

Where can I rent a convertible this summer in the twin cities? We're hoping to rent a convertible for 3 or 4 days in July for our wedding. Nothing super special or specific, just a fun car to have available before and after the wedding and to drive off from the ceremony in. None of the standard car rental places seem to have convertibles available on-line.

Where can I rent an LCD Projector in the Twin Cities?

medea42 — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:24:22 -0800

Does anyone know where I might rent an LCD Projector for a weekend in the Twin Cities? I run a Doctor Who meetup for Minneapolis, and our meetup revolves around actually showing episodes of Doctor Who. Since the pub we meet at has its own policy about showing media we have to bring our own A/V equipment. Our system is to bring in laptops, DVDs or downloaded files (from legal sources) and run it through a projector onto a canvas.

We have a a conflict this month in that both the gentlemen who loan us projectors are unable to make the meetup, and the other members that have access to an LCD projector aren't sure they can make firm commitments. We also have a fairly large group coming this month and I don't want to disappoint them.

So if anyone knows where I can rent an LCD projector that will run through a laptop that is located in Minneapolis/St. Paul or within 20 miles of the Twin Cities, I will be grateful.

Minneapolis bus transfer two-for-one?

gauchodaspampas — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:53:59 -0800

In Minneapolis, MN, I put my money in the fare slot for the bus, and two transfer tickets came out. Will they both work? I live in Minneapolis, MN. I was getting on the bus, and put my money in the fare slot, and two transfer tickets came out, instead of one. This is a relatively frequent occurance. Sometimes they just get stuck together or the machinery accidentally grabs two somehow, but I've never thought to try giving one to a friend to see if it works. Not that I would necessarily want to cheat the system, but... well yeah, I want to cheat the system. I'm poor and it's rush hour. Will both transfers work? Only one is timestamped and all that. It's not like it accidentally grabbed and processed two transfers. It grabbed two and thought it was one. The tickets used in Minneapolis are just paper cards with a magnetic stripe on them. I guess I've only ever gotten day passes in Chicago, but if I recall, they look basically the same. I don't know what other cities have similar or the same ticket system. The tickets look basically like the one here. On the back, there's a black stripe that looks to be a magnetic strip.

Hurry! Only a few minutes before I need to catch my next bus. Actually, in all likelyhood, I'll have caught it before anyone can provide a definitive answer. If we try using the extra ticket, I'll report back on if it worked or not. And hopefully I won't have any really important questions needing answers in the next month.

Help us feed our zygote some apples.

caution live frogs — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:23:19 -0800

Twin Cities mefites: Where can I find locally grown apples that are safe for a pregnant woman? Looking for an orchard, not a market. (Other hot tips on finding local, seasonal foods for a mother-to-be appreciated if you have them!) So we just found out that Mrs. Frogs is preggo. Hooray! Our first kid (and the only one we plan to have) so we're both excited, but we're also freaking out about Evil Chemicals.

We both love apples. We both also know that non-organic apples are high on the list of Most Evil Fruits in terms of pesticide residues. We can find some apples in local stores, but we were really looking forward to fall trips to local orchards. We plan to do some investigating ourselves, but I figured someone out there might already know.

Are there orchards within a reasonable drive that feature organic or at least low-penetration treatment apples? You-Pick would be ideal for us, but not necessarily essential.

We're trying to be as organic/local/sustainable as we can (and as we can afford) with the pregnancy. We have already been hitting the farmer's markets, but I think we'd both like to get to the source for a change now and again, for some fun weekend trips, so as mentioned above non-apple-specific seasonal food source recommendations are welcome.

Where to find an unfinished wooden tray in Minneapolis/St. Paul?

deinemutti — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:53:00 -0800

Where to find an unfinished wooden tray in Minneapolis/St. Paul? I'm looking for a decent, unfinished wooden tray so I can lay mosaic on the surface and then finish it to match my mother's kitchen. I want a decent sized tray (about 17" x 14" or more)

I already have checked JoAnn's craft section and Michael's (In Apple Valley/Burnsville if that makes a difference), but the ones they had were too small and the wood used was very thin and balsa-like (far too weak to support tiles), and seemed strictly for decorative purposes. Whereas I want one that can actually be USED to carry things.

I plan to check Mosaic on a Stick tomorrow and Clay Squared doesn't seem to sell wooden surfaces, just tiles and whatnot. Are there any stones that I've left unturned locally?

I already found some shops on the internet as a last resort, but I have a thing about touching and holding stuff before buying (personal quality control).

Biology Teacher Certification in Minneapolis-St. Paul

OlderThanTOS — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:58:26 -0800

Want to become a high school biology teacher in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul). The problem seems to be that no school offers this certification. In my mid-forties, I am looking to become a high school biology teacher in Minnesota (I have undergrad and grad degrees in biology). The only program I've found so far is at the U of Minn and runs on a cohort scheme, meaning I can't even start until Fall 2009. Life's too short, I'm too old and too broke.

So far, every other school in the area has proven to be highly christian and highly averse to certifications that might lead to teaching evolution, i.e. no biology.

Are there any sane, rotating admission programs to obtain a high school biology teaching certificate within 100 miles of the Twin Cities? I'm particularly interested in anyone's personal experience with these programs.

where to go to get my hair ripped out?

streetdreams — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:10:43 -0800

Any recommendations for good waxers in the Twin Cities area? I'm particularly looking for eyebrow and, erm, Brazilian skills. Thanks in advance!

Road trip! Wisconsin to Arizona

charmston — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:24:05 -0800

From Thursday-Saturday, I'll be moving from Eau Claire, WI to Mesa, AZ. I have to drive. Money-saving tips? Day 1: Eau Claire, WI to Wichita, KS
Day 2: Wichita, KS to Albuquerque, NM
Day 3: Albuquerque, NM to Mesa, AZ

I have family to stay with in Wichita, but will have to get a hotel in Albuquerque. I'm open to tips ranging from gas station rewards programs to driving tips.

Taipei comes from a big family, apparently.

Electrius — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:04:09 -0800

Browsing through the ever-informative Wikipedia, I stumbled across something bizarre: Taipei, Republic of China has a ton of sister cities, including every Central American capital and a surprising number of very major American cities. Why does Taipei have such an aggressive city-twinning program? Is it related to the Republic of China's status being in international limbo, or to the former close relationship between Chiang Kai-Shek and the United States?

Jimminy Cricket!

charmston — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:26:36 -0800

I'm looking for a cell phone plan similar to Cricket's Choice plan (emphasis on the lack of an annual contract,) that is available in the Twin Cities. Bonus points if it's a service portable to Phoenix, AZ.

the care instructions say it, so it must be true

streetdreams — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:41:55 -0800

Recommendations for professional leather cleaners in the Twin Cities area? I have a suede jacket that I need to get cleaned, and I'm not entirely sure I trust the local dry cleaner to do it well. Where would be a good place to take it? Thanks!

Curl-savvy stylists in the Twin Cities?

cabingirl — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:57:05 -0800

I am looking for a hair stylist in Minneapolis/St. Paul who is good with curly hair, including color, and will tell me what will look good on me. My last stylist was awesome. She was very good at suggesting cuts and colors that she thought would work for my fine, moderately curly hair and she was almost always right. She stopped cutting hair, though, so I had to move on. I started seeing another stylist at the same salon and she's very nice but last night she murdered my hair. I can't even tell what is wrong with it exactly, but I know it's not good and I think it's because she didn't take my hair texture into account. I don't even want to go back to her to get it fixed. I'd prefer someone in the east metro but if they're that good, I'll go anywhere.

Selling a book from the middle of nowhere?

InnocentBystander — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:38:34 -0800

Help on how to sell a really awesome rare book my wife and I found at a library sale. While perusing our college's library sale (all books $1 or less), we came across a book my wife had been looking for for about 10 years: Annie Allen, by Gwendolyn Brooks. This book is very, very rare -- the lowest price on Alibris is for a volume that, judging by the description, is all but falling apart with no dust jacket, and it's listed at $80. Copies with tattered dust jackets go for upward of $250.

Well, this copy is pristine. Insanely so. In spite of being at a library sale, it must have been donated since there are no library markings of any kind. Other than a couple of tiny tears to the jacket, it's perfect, and the book itself (not the dust jacket) literally shows zero indications of wear.

This brings me to the problem. We both wish we could keep the book, but selling it would be better for the time being, given our status as poor college students. We unfortunately have NO IDEA where and how to sell it and get a fair price. We listed it on ebay (you can see the auction here, not because I expect mefi to have a bunch of big spenders but so you can see the quality of the book) here. As you can see, though, we've gotten no bids, which I somewhat expected: Ebay is a terrible place for rare books, and they go for far below their value, especially if they're a niche item.

So how do I sell it? I don't have a seller account on alibris or abebooks, nor do I have a bunch of other books to sell, and I think anyone would be dubious about a seller claiming to have -- as their only book for sale -- a rarity like this.

We live about 3.5 hours from the Twin Cities, which would be the nearest place we could take it to a bookshop to sell it. Does anyone know of a good place, or is this just going to lead to us getting royally ripped off? Is there another way to do this that we're just not thinking of? Help us, o ye gods of rare bookitude!

Where to take a date in the Twin Cities?

TacoConsumer — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:19:44 -0800

What are some fun, affordable places to take a date in the Twin Cities? I'm looking to start dating again and don't know much about what's available in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. Bars, restaurants, anything! Oh, and suburbs count too. Thanks!