What is a good heuristic for the usage of 'that'? [more inside]
posted by ageispolis on Nov 25, 2009 - 10 answers

Which products or goods improve with age and use? [more inside]
posted by Earl the Polliwog on Oct 28, 2009 - 36 answers

In the interests of science, please tell me how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) your house or apartment used last month and how much it uses in the middle of winter. If possible include variables like whether you use electric heat, air conditioning, electric or gas hot water heater, etc. [more inside]
posted by thewalrus on Oct 14, 2009 - 27 answers

Having enjoyed my share of jet travel both locally and across the globe for the last couple of decades I was surprised last week on an interstate Qantas flight at the persistent use of the word "customer" in the inflight communications rather than the usual "passenger". [more inside]
posted by l'esprit d'escalier on Aug 11, 2009 - 7 answers

If I know my current power usage, how do I calculate my daily kw? [more inside]
posted by matholio on Jul 17, 2009 - 12 answers

Why do people say or write "price point" instead of "price?" [more inside]
posted by msbrauer on Apr 14, 2009 - 19 answers

Craigslist HD TV deal..it was $25. The rub being it "doesn't always turn on". The first week it was fine. Then it started not turning on until later in the evening. The boyfriend (possibly) diagnosed the problem and will attempt to fix it when it becomes absolutely necessary. However, until then we are leaving it on all the time. [more inside]
posted by Epsilon-minus semi moron on Mar 15, 2009 - 20 answers

Need help from someone with Acrobat 8 Pro (or higher) to add "usage rights" to a simple PDF file [more inside]
posted by AstroGuy on Jan 22, 2009 - 2 answers

Dear mefites, Is it legal to use creative commons stuff, properly licensed and attributed, on a political website that 1) expresses views that the original author might not like, and 2) raises money, such as for a candidate or a party's branch? Particularly interested in stuff that's got a non-commercial license but is okay to use for derivative works. This is in the U.K. Thanks!
posted by anonymous on Jan 12, 2009 - 6 answers

My dad lives in a retirement village that provides a shared computer (in a common area) used more heavily by just a few people. Supplies (ink/paper) are covered by dues everyone pays. What's the best way to have those that use it more pay more, e.g. somehow track usage, or maybe have users pay a nominal usage fee to cover ink/paper supply costs (and cost when it's to be replaced). [more inside]
posted by idad on Nov 17, 2008 - 8 answers

Do teachers have their students use the Internet? [more inside]
posted by unreason on Sep 22, 2008 - 23 answers

Tools for a scientific publisher to provide usage statistics for its subscribers? Is this a good idea? [more inside]
posted by chillmost on Sep 5, 2008 - 3 answers

What are people actually doing on the internet? [more inside]
posted by quiet on May 29, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm looking for a bandwidth monitoring tool for OSX. I need it to do some specific things. [more inside]
posted by jammnrose on Aug 21, 2007 - 5 answers

When filling in for a superior that has resigned, before a permanent replacement for the position is identified, is there any difference between a job title of "acting $POSITION" and one of "interim $POSITION"? Specifically, does one indicate that the temporary replacement is or is not in consideration to be the permanent replacement? (This is a position in a university office, if that matters.)
posted by genehack on Aug 6, 2007 - 7 answers

"Most all" - it is wrong. Right? [more inside]
posted by ClarissaWAM on Jul 2, 2007 - 45 answers

In the Stan Rogers song "The Mary Ellen Carter", what does "crumble into scale" mean? [more inside]
posted by Johnny Assay on May 7, 2007 - 5 answers

Wary vs. Leery- what is the distinction? [more inside]
posted by I_Love_Bananas on Nov 27, 2006 - 16 answers

When does a "list" become a "laundry list"? [more inside]
posted by otherwordlyglow on Oct 25, 2006 - 17 answers

Correct use: "consists of" vs "consists in" [more inside]
posted by primer_dimer on Oct 6, 2006 - 9 answers

Bruce Sutter's Hall of Fame plaque notes that he ..."lead the league in saves five times." Is this a typo? Or this one of those things that can go either way? ("led" or "lead" for the past tense of "lead")
posted by stupidsexyFlanders on Jul 30, 2006 - 14 answers

So there has been an invasion of portuguese man of war jellyfish locally..... [more inside]
posted by sgobbare on Jul 29, 2006 - 16 answers

Can anyone speak to acquiring a license (if it's even necessary) to use AP Photos on your web site? I've searched and I've searched and I've searched.
posted by xmutex on May 20, 2006 - 3 answers

Did "based on" beget "based off of"? [more inside]
posted by Mr Stickfigure on May 16, 2006 - 28 answers

Usage and Grammar: What is considered the usage and style manual? [more inside]
posted by frecklefaerie on Feb 26, 2006 - 26 answers

I recently purchased a new Palm T|X with WiFi & Bluetooth. It's been a long time since I had a Palm, and it was the old Palm Vx running Palm OS 3.x. Obviously, they've come a good ways. I'd appreciate any recommendations as to cool Palm apps. I really don't need to be uber-heavy on the games (although I do like nostalgia games, i.e., stuff from the '80s and Doom), and would appreciate more how-did-I-ever-live-without-this kind of convenience/useful apps. I'm aware of Pocket Quicken, SiEd, and MealTip. And, for what it's worth, I'm on a Mac. [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Dec 14, 2005 - 12 answers

BrakeFilter: My dad and I need to settle a bet about driving habits affecting brake pad life. [more inside]
posted by AlexReynolds on Mar 20, 2005 - 13 answers

St. Paddy's Day? Or St. Patty's Day? The latter makes me grind my teeth. But I'm seeing it more often. (Google calls it even, more or less.)
posted by stupidsexyFlanders on Mar 9, 2005 - 13 answers

Language bigots: adapter or adaptor? [more inside]
posted by jnthnjng on Jan 7, 2005 - 28 answers

Ukraine vs. The Ukraine. Is the latter outdated now that Ukraine is an independent nation? Do Ukranians feel strongly about the difference? I hear people refer to it both ways.
posted by hal incandenza on Nov 26, 2004 - 6 answers

When should I use "presume" and when should I use "assume?" Or are they interchangable?
posted by davebug on Nov 5, 2004 - 10 answers

UK versus American English usage question: In a recent post, the one on Chinese singing, I noticed that English speakers from England seem to use 'to' where most Americans would use 'from' or 'than.'
Example: "So 'bang' with a rising tone is different to 'bang' with a falling tone is different to 'bang' with a rising then falling tone."
Why is this, and how did this difference in usage originate?
posted by geekhorde on Sep 5, 2004 - 19 answers

Ethical considerations aside, are there any issues I should be concerned with if I were to use my neighbor's wireless internet without his explicit permission? Say, my computer getting hacked, my passwords being intercepted, my email being read, my browsing history being revealed, etc etc.
posted by TheIrreverend on Sep 2, 2004 - 10 answers

Can genius be used as adjective, as in this example from the BBC: "Send Dave your genius idea."? If so, why? [More Inside.] [more inside]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Sep 2, 2004 - 29 answers

Are there any reports, stats, or studies which might give me a more accurate picture of the percentage of people who use Windows or the Mac OS at home? What I'm curious about is how the numbers break down after you remove the vast number of PCs / Windows machines purchased by offices, and the rather inaccurate way that market share is determined.
posted by theNonsuch on Jul 11, 2004 - 19 answers

Academical? While listening to NPR this afternoon, a UVa student giving a tour used the word "academical" in describing a portion of UVa's campus . The use of "academical" struck me as sounding very odd although it is arguably correct. Is it all academic?
posted by Dick Paris on Jul 3, 2004 - 10 answers

You know the stereotypical pirate and/or salty sailor accent? What is that? Where does it come from? It sounds like it must be some kind of bastardised English accent, but it's fairly distinctive. Or is it something created and perpetuated by film and television?
posted by picea on Jun 29, 2004 - 9 answers

Is there a difference (other than spelling) between "normalcy" and "normality"?
posted by casarkos on Jun 26, 2004 - 10 answers

I'd like to know which applications on my computer are using how much of my internet connection's bandwidth. Something like Task Manager for bandwidth. Any recommendations for something free for Win2K that's easy to install, use, and uninstall? Or is there a built-in utility I'm missing?
posted by scarabic on Jun 10, 2004 - 9 answers

Line trimmers. I'd like to go with an electric line trimmer, but they don't seem to have the same amount of torque as the gas variety. Does anyone have experience with a very robust, torquey electric line trimmer? It has to be able to cut through blackberry bushes, for example of growth it needs to whack down.
posted by grefo on May 25, 2004 - 3 answers

What are the practical uses of a DVD-RW drive? [MI] [more inside]
posted by Seth on Jan 16, 2004 - 19 answers