Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with blue

How do you cheer up when you're sad?

EatMyHat — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:16:56 -0800

So I'm feeling miserable a lot lately. What do you do when you're feeling bad, to cheer yourself up? Restriction: Must be something I can do alone.

Did you get the Kelly Blue Book value on your trade-in?

Right On Red — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 06:00:13 -0800

I want to trade my car in and buy a new one. The Kelly Blue Book value of my trade-in is $7500, but the dealer's "Black Book" value is $3000-4000. Haven't visited the dealer yet - just using the tools on their web site. I know from experience with them in the past that if I say the Blue Book value is X, they say, "well you should go sell it yourself, because we won't give you anything like that."

The number I'm using from Kelly is for a trade-in (not a direct personal sale) and I'm under-valuing the condition just to be conservative (I'm using the figure for "Good" condition when it's really "Very Good").

Also, I want to pay the "Fair Market Value" for the new car, as indicated on the Edmunds site.

My question is: what was your experience when asking for the Kelly Blue Book value of your trade-in? Did you have to settle for a lot less, or perhaps pay more than you hoped for the new car? Or did you get the Blue Book value for your trade while still paying the price you had in mind for the new one?

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.

Coincidence, subliminal message, subconscious symbolism, or what?

xenophile — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:18:40 -0800

I've noticed some recurrent patterns in music videos (use of numbers, colors, etc.) that have piqued my interest. I'm wondering if any industry insiders can shed any light or if anyone has explored this concept academically or otherwise. Googling has only revealed a bunch of sites about wacky conspiracy mind-control theories. I'm not asking about whether the Illuminati controls Kanye; I'm talking more about videos as a developing art form which includes a unique system of symbology--or perhaps is sprinkled with insider references amongst video professionals, like that industry's version of 1337.

For example, the colors red and blue often form the basic palette of a music video. Color symbolism varies, but in Western culture, gender comes to mind: blue being a "male" color and red (more likely pink) a "female" color. However, in the past decade or so, the "red pill vs. blue pill" meme has cropped up in pop culture. Both symbologies refer to a deeper dualism. What I'm wondering is, how much of this is consciously present in the creation of a video and if so, what exactly does it signify (if anything)?

I've noticed the number 304 cropping up repeatedly too. In urban slang this refers to "hoe" (as in 304 turned upside down on a calculator). Then there's the HTTP status code 304 which a server will respond with if the website has not been modified since the date and time specified in the request. What I'm wondering about is whether there's any conscious use of this number in a symbolic way (whether related to hoe or HTTP or not) or theories that could explain it.

Oftentimes, this number occurs in videos as a time on a clock, as in Alanis Morissette's version of Seal's "Crazy" at 3:56 and t.A.T.u's "Bely plaschik" (NSFW) at 2:14. Interestingly, both of these videos allude to Lesbian themes and I wonder if there is any significance to that.

The trope also appears in Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" video at 0:14; in Bloc Party's "I Still Remember" at 0:31 and throughout (note color themes as well); and of course in the name of Jewel's album 0304. I'm not sure how 304 might be interpreted in these contexts but it does jump out.

There are quite a few other examples of motifs that seem to be emerging in videos; these are just a couple that really stand out to me and I'm wondering if there's anything intentional to the pattern.

New video card, blue colours are off

querty — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 05:22:01 -0800

Upgraded my video card from a Radeon HD 5770 to a GeForce GTX 660, now the blue colors are off (in some programs) and giving a purple tint... So the full blues look purple in some programs, like in Windows Photo Viewer and Photoshop. For example, I have an image of a deep blue sky and it looks fine as a thumbnail in Windows Explorer. But when I open it in either Windows Photo Viewer or Photoshop, the blues have a purple tint/cast. If I set that image as a Desktop Background, the blues look fine. If I open that image in a browser, it has the purple cast. And I don't think it's just photos that affected, the "Downloaded" bar in µTorrent looks a bit purple now as well.

I have tried rolling back the drivers, but no luck. Not sure what to do next, any suggestions on how to fix this? If the blue is fine as a Desktop Background, then blues on the bottom layer is rendering correctly? But if the image is on a layer/in certain programs, the video card renders the blues incorrectly?

Specs (if it helps): Win 7 64-bit on i7 machine

Can I Eat It?

b1tr0t — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:35:57 -0800

Can I Eat It: Blue Cheese Olives? I bought a jar of blue cheese olives yesterday. Minutes ago, I opened the jar and found some greenish goop around the top of the olives. The tops of the olives were exposed above the brine, and the pale green goop seems to be mostly above the waterline. The cheese stuffed in the olives looks very white.

Is this normal for blue cheese olives, or should I discard and get a new jar tomorrow?

Bonus question: are blue cheese olives delicious in a martini?

There's a hole in the countertop, dear Liza, dear Liza

raztaj — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:36:20 -0800

What should we do with this big 1'x2.5' hole in the top of a bathroom countertop? We're doing a little fixing up of our 1978-built family home. Our goal right now is to rent it out for a few years, then sell at some point. We're not interested in any big or costly fixes for the time being.

The bathroom is mostly navy blue and beige. When we moved into the house in the mid 1980's, the hole had a galvanized tin container that fit over the hole, and was meant for plants and some other greenery. The container has since been thrown up, after it was found in the garage with some super gross stuff in it.

The question is, what do we do now with the hole? What can we build? We don't have any more of those tiles, so closing it up seamlessly isn't an option. What would look the least weird as possible?

As for what's around it - to the upper right, is a bathtub. Opposite that, is a wall with a big mirror. The countertop continues with two beige sinks. I don't have exact measurements, but it's approximately 1 foot by 2.5 feet, and the hole continues to the floor.

Dreamy atlantic blue song

googly — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 07:53:55 -0800

Song ID help: spacey, dreampop, female vocalist(s), with the refrain 'memories of Atlantic blue.' Yesterday while driving near Burlington, Vermont, I heard a song on the radio, and was out of range before it was back-announced. Due to a busted radio dial, I also do not know which radio station it was, so I can't find an online playlist (I'm guessing it was a college radio station though). The song attributes, best I can remember:

- Female vocals, possibly two singers.
- Music was guitar-based, dreampop-ish, quiet, somewhere between Tones on Tail's 'Twist,' Lush, and the Cocteau Twins.
- The phrase 'Atlantic blue' (or something similar) was repeated several times, including the phrase 'memories of Atlantic Blue.'

Googling brings up a whole lot of songs with 'atlantic blue' that are nowhere near what I heard.

Blue Olympic Pole Vault Cattah!

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:38:36 -0800

What is the story on the 2012 Olympic Women's Pole Vault stuffed kitteh? I was watching the Women's Olympic Pole Vault and I saw a stuffed toy cat sitting on the collection of poles (photo should be here, photo number 3).

It's blue and cute and ... what's the story? Who does it belong to? It disappeared after the competition, and I worried about it being stolen, or wandering off in the sewers of London, lost and unloved. Nooooooo!

Does anyone know the background to this cat?

The most beautiful blue of blues

xicana63 — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:44:25 -0800

Yves Klein blue paint dupe? Hi there! I'm in love with Yves Klein blue (International Klein Blue) and I know that I can get the pigments for the color through ktColors, but I want paint in this color, not pigments. I would like to paint a desk this color and live in the States (Midwest) so it would be nice if you could recommend paint shops I can actually find here.

So can anyone recommend where to find paint in this color? Or a mixture of paints that make this color?

And while we are at it.. how about clothes dye in this color? (oo can you imagine the possibilities?!)

Makeup experts: can you recommend a dark brown eyeshadow without a blue tinge to it?

heatherfl — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:08:31 -0800

I've bought several packs of neutral-natural smokey brown eyeshadow collections (including these two) just trying to look natural. Instead, they all turn blue-ish when put on my eyelids, and I look exactly like I'm wearing artificial colors. Trial and error is getting way too expensive! Has anyone had any luck with finding a set of browns that are actually brown? Thanks!

an odd little blue book

elwoodwiles — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:43:05 -0800

Does anyone know anything about Twenty-Two stories by J.D. Salinger, or more specifically this edition? I came across this in a bargin bin and picked it up - except it has no ISBN and I can only find passing references to it on the internet. There's no mention on Ebay or other places I can usually glean information from. Anyone know what this is?

Flash Video Troubles

CautionToTheWind — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:01:42 -0800

The red and blue channels of *some* videos I watch with the Firefox Flash plugin on sites like youtube are swapped. Halp? I'm running Xubuntu Precise Pangolin 64bit. I'm kinda stumped at this one. My google-fu failed. Thanks.

Anyone know of a wireless Cherry MX Blue keyboard?

Pterofractal — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 01:58:35 -0800

Anyone know of a wireless Cherry MX Blue keyboard? I want to buy a wireless cherry mx blue keyboard but I can't seem to find any. I did a few simple searches and all I can see if a cherry mx brown keyboard. Does anyone know of a nice cherry mx blue wireless keyboard or something comparable. I was typing on my friends filco keyboard and it was divine.

Where should we go on our hike?

ohsnapdragon — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:41:03 -0800

Suggestions for the absolute best short hike near Asheville, NC? My fiancee and I are heading to Asheville for a very short weekend. We will have approximately five hours to go on a hike (in order to fit in the other things we want to do.) I'm looking for suggestions of the most beautiful, scenic, or otherwise awesome options for hiking that are within one hour's drive of downtown and can be completed in 2 to 4 hours. We will also have our dog with us. This will be next week, so not warm enough to swim, but pretty waterfalls or swimming holes, etc are also bonuses.

I grew up hiking in western NC but haven't been back in years, and my fiancee has never been, so I really want to wow her with gorgeous views and lots of wildflowers.

Ideas?

What's that flash game?

michaelh — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:26:44 -0800

Help my wife and I remember this (likely flash) game. Blue backgrounds progressively transitioning to black, horizontal scrolling and snowfall may have been involved. It's not flow. We went through the games at Orisinal and it's not there. It's not Blueberry Garden. However, it's most likely an artsy game that would be enjoyed by people who like those.

Details:
-Flash game or something else that could be shared via a link.
-She remembers a lot of blue, and said that the blue becomes darker and darker until it's black or nearly black.
-She thinks it was not a combat game but doesn't remember what the actual gameplay was like. She does remember moving the character around.
-She thinks I showed it to her in 2010 or maybe early 2011, but that doesn't mean it was created then.
-If there is snowfall in the game, she thinks it might have snowed harder and harder as the game went on -- but she's not sure there was snow.

Any ideas? Feel free to ask follow-up questions of us.

Chicago Sky color average

Sreiny — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:03:52 -0800

I need the color of the sky in Chicago every day for the last year. Does this exist anywhere? Or, I need an average of the color of the sky in Chicago over the course of a year. Does this exist? Would Tom Skilling know? Thanks.

Fluid Robot

Capa — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:18:12 -0800

Help IDing a TV commercial involving a clear robot run by blue liquid OK, so I'm remembering a commercial where they've got a fairly tight shot of a robot's head. The camera is panning around slowly, with some cut shots of closer details. The robot may be seated, or it might even be a bust. The thing I remember most vividly is that the robot's outer covering is clear, revealing the inner workings which appear to be run by some type of blue liquid.

The design was very minimal and quite beautiful. Does anyone know what I'm describing?

What dye could we use to replicate robin's egg blue on a chicken egg?

hegemone — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:21:04 -0800

What dye could we use to replicate robin's egg blue on a chicken egg? This is pretty far in advance for Easter, but my sis-in-law are plan-aheaders. Instead of using the usual Paas dyes for our yearly Easter Egg dye extravaganza, we want to try to replicate the color of robin eggs. We were also thinking of getting small, blown out craft eggs and dyeing those too, for funsies and seasonal decor. We don't think Paas is up to the task, so are there other dyes out there that could accomplish the hue and saturation of a robin egg?

Help me find these earrings! They mean a lot to me.

carpediem — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:32:17 -0800

Help me find these blue rose earrings, please. My autistic brother bought me earrings with money he had saved up years ago. He chose them all by himself, and I love them!! They both fell out of my ears at dinner tonight and I am pretty sad over it (I know, I know, they are just objects) but if I could find ones that are exactly the same, I would cry from happiness, and if not, then at least I can say that I've tried.

They are hook earrings, one bright blue/teel rose per ear (perhaps made of some sort of metal, they aren't the ceramic/resin types of roses that are so popular lately). Also, there are 4 baby blue (maybe swarovski?) crystals adorning the rose, two side-by-side on the top, bottom, left, and right of the rose.

The rose part of the earrings looks like this. Although, the jewels are set more to the side of the rose in mine, as opposed to the way these are behind the rose like in the picture here.

Here's a brighter blue rose that, color-wise, it's probably is closer to.

I've looked on etsy and ebay with no luck. Maybe someone out there has better luck online or knows where I can find them in-store. I seem to remember a store in a huge mall near my house that carried a bunch of this type of jewelry (probably where my little brother went to get them), where all the necklaces and earrings are jewel-toned (blue, deep purple, deep green and red etc) and everything was blinged out in tiny multicolored-swarovski-type crystals.

Any help would, seriously, be much appreciated! Thank you metafilter, for at least being here, so I can at least sleep knowing that I tried!

Blue only US flag?

ackptui — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:38:35 -0800

I am looking for "left" or "blue state" American flags or patches in which all the colored part of the flag is blue (eg blue stripes instead of red). Maybe I just cannot get the correct search terms, but I have not been able to find these. Anyone know where such an animal can be got?

Please help me regain some happiness in my life.

sockpim — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:26:22 -0800

Please help me regain some happiness in my life. K, so I'm going to sound like a self victimised d*ck here, but here goes.

My sister told me a great line the other day. She said 'is there anything in my life that is or should be making me feel blue/depressed'. It's a sound statement and there really isn't that much in my life that should make me feel blue. And yet I'm just not feeling that happy these days. I'm 22; I'm not pessimistic, though I have been called cynical before.

I've recently finished university and got the grade I was hoping for and last week I passed my driving test. Both things have made me really happy. But in general I still just feel unhappy (it's almost as if nothing I do is good enough any more). I have enough motivation to continue eating healthily and doing bits of exercise here and there but little else. I'm currently doing temp work and am looking for a full time job (preferably something to do with what I studied at uni).

I suppose my question is can someone give me some advice on how I can seek out lasting happiness (whether it be some helpful comments or just a reminder that I need to bog wash some sense into myself.)

Best source for art prints?

facetious — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:37:01 -0800

Best source for art prints? I'm looking for some art for my office, and I'm trying to find the best sources for high-quality prints. I've seen the usual online sources that Google returns, and I'm wondering if there are better or different.

Specifically, I'm looking for art from Van Gogh to the Blue Rider - roughly 1890-1925 European and American modernist or quasi-modernist art (e.g. Albert Pinkham Ryder). I'm not worried about framing, I'm just looking for good-quality prints themselves.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Map of big Silicon Valley companies?

harwons — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:21:35 -0800

How can I find a map of large high-tech Silicon Valley companies? I'm looking for a map of large or important high-tech Silicon Valley companies: Apple, Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, Tesla Motors, AMD, Intel, HP, 23andme etc.

There's a poster like that here, but its very old (no Facebook on it).

I figure some Google use must've created a "My Map" of these companies, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to search public Google My Maps (as a test, here's a public My Map of mine with apartment complex in the SF Bay Area; try searching for it).

Other ideas? I'd be happy mashing up some sort of KML with Google Maps, if it comes to that.

They have a lovely silvery-blue hue and maybe also moonletters?

clockzero — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:07:49 -0800

How can I find and devour blue java (also known as "ice cream") bananas, those rarest and most delectable of all bananas known to man and God? Complicating factor: I live in upstate NY. They're supposed to be crazy delicious, and I absolutely love bananas. Help me make this happen, mefi, won't you?