Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with coop

Pet chicken

boby — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:16:43 -0800

Can a chicken be raised in a cage like a canary? Commercially raised chickens are confined to a small cage for their entire life. I've seen store bought setups that are outrageously expensive. Just looking for a couple fresh eggs per week.

Coop TLD Registrars?

thebigdeadwaltz — Mon, 11 May 2009 06:12:09 -0800

I'd really like to get a Coop TLD, but I'm having a hard time finding an affordable and easy-to-use registrar. Any recomendations for companies that do a good job with this TLD? Any experiences? I'd really like to be paying sub-$20/year.

I wanna be a mechanical vagrant!

TheNewWazoo — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:27:07 -0800

I love renting a house in urban Atlanta! I hate renting a house in urban Atlanta! Can anyone help me find a place to fix my car... myself? So as much as I love living ~150yds from a MARTA station, and as little as I drive my car in town, and as nifty as my urban garden is, my car occasionally needs repair. I'm quite handy and would love to do minor stuff myself, but my steeply-sloped driveway and busy street precludes home repair. Can anyone help me find a public or co-op garage east-side ITP where I can work for a day or two?

Please help me filter out the good from my list of NYC doctors covered by my insurance.

scazza — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:04:27 -0800

Please help me filter out the good from my list of NYC doctors covered by my insurance. This is my last resort after days over months of searching trying to connect the dots and find doctors. Maybe you guys can help. I have searched on yelp, zocdoc, and all kinds of lists of good doctors (nymag) on google for ways to filter the list of doctors my insurance covers and have come up empty. I can't believe after days and hours online I've come up empty.

1. I am looking for a really awesome family practice doctor who can do it all OR a coop-type office that has multiple doctors (gyn, internal medicine, ortho or DO, etc.) I could see on my visit that takes my obscure crappy insurance First Health/Coventry Health Care.

2. Or techniques to filter out the good from the bad in an insurance's list of doctors.

I live in Brooklyn 11220, am often in 11215 and don't mind going to Midtown or below. I'd prefer a female or very nice male. I would really appreciate anyone who has wisdom about this or is willing to help. I'm at my wits end. Thank you.

what do you wish you would have known when you picked out your CSA?

ialwayscryatendings — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:13:07 -0800

For those of you who have gotten shares in a CSA, what information do you think would be helpful to someone trying to choose which CSA to participate in? More specifically, any recommendations on CSAs in the Twin Cities area? I work at a twin cities food co op, and am trying to put together a guide to local CSAs that we can offer to our customers. There is some information available online, but much of it is outdated and difficult to navigate, plus there are so many factors to consider that it's difficult to organize the information. For those that have experience with CSAs, what information do you think would be helpful to someone choosing which CSA is right for them?

So far, I'm thinking I could make a chart showing cost, what kinds of foods are generally offered, how much food is included in each share, when the food will start and finish arriving, how often shares will arrive, how food will be obtained (whether it can be delivered or must be picked up), whether food is organic, a little general information on the farm itself and whether they offer any other opportunities for share owners (like visits to the farm/recipes etc).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! And, of course, if you have any experience with a twin cities CSA, I would love to hear about it. Thanks so much!

Best way to play Fable 2 local co-op?

cacophony — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:43:58 -0800

Fable 2 local co-op question: Is it possible to play through the game once with a henchman tagging along, without the second player needing to play through their own game? My wife and I usually play games like Fable 2 together, with one person playing and the other watching and offering suggestions. Fable 2 seems to allow the unique opportunity for the second player to actually get involved. But what if we don't want to play the game twice? Is the henchman going to quickly get outclassed and become weak and useless? How should we calibrate experience division so we can play the game through once together?

We're worried even if the solution is 50-50 experience, and we have to play longer so each character can level up enough, there will be certain story elements that must be activated by each player separately for them to be of use later in the game.

Don't know if anyone else is in our scenario, but I thought I'd ask and see what others are doing. We don't really have time to play the game twice, and the whole point is to spend time together so each of us playing alone so we can play together later seems pointless.

Thanks for any suggestions anyone has!

Joining the Park Slope Co-op, worth it?

whoaali — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:53:54 -0800

Joining the Park Slope Co-op, worth it? I just moved to Brooklyn and am considering joining the Park Slope Co-op. I know there are a ton of Brooklynites on MeFi, so I'd love to hear some of your experiences.

Is it really that much cheaper?

Is it difficult to switch shifts (I realize there is some online thing to do it, but I'm wondering about how easy it is to actually find someone)?

Is 2 hours and 45 minutes a month as easy as it sounds?

Is it a good way to meet people in the neighborhood?

Is it worth it for someone that doesn't cook all that much from scratch?

I should add that while I like good fresh food, I have no particular preference for organic/locally grown food and don't normally buy it unless I am at a farmer's market or something. I do however eat a lot of foreign food, specifically asian food.

Why the hard sell on REI memberships?

grouse — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:54:33 -0800

Why do REI employees always push membership so hard? I feel like I get the hard sell for membership from multiple employees every time I walk into REI, which is strange, because they never seem to give me the hard-sell for anything else. Is there a quota or reward for getting people to sign up as new members? Is it just something they're directed to do by management?

Please do not speculate. Someone here has to either have worked for REI or know someone who has that they can ask.

Where can I find free chicken coop plans?

aqueousdan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:29:12 -0800

Can anyone point me out some free plans for a small chicken coop? I would like to make one which would house less than 6 chickens. Apart from that anything goes! The more interesting the better!

Any way around my coop's "no sublet" rule?

SampleSize — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 13:24:01 -0800

I own a coop apartment in New Jersey. They don't allow any subletting at all. Is there any way to get around that? Just doing it and hoping I get away with it isn't an option because I have nosy neighbors who would probably rat me out.

why a coop business model?

brinks — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:09:10 -0800

How does a co-op business model benefit the company? and can any industry use a co-op business model or is it reserved only for smaller/niche markets with passionate buyers? I am curious as to why a company would choose a co-op model? I have a local mec.ca and they are quite popular among the outdoor/hiking/camping/etc crowd. Their webpage states they are not about making money but to serve its community(members). What is it about co-op that allows them to operate the way they operate now that a non-co-op model can't? tax benefits? more $$ ? or is it really goodwill?

Can say, a computer store use a coop model? a video game store? an aftermarket car parts store?

So far, I have only heard of supermarkets and outdoor camping gear(rei.com, mec.ca) stores use a coop.

comments?

How to turn a corporation into a coop?

libertaduno — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:11:11 -0800

How to turn a corporation into a coop? I am the sole owner of a (very) small business (~$200K in annual sales). I want to explore selling the company to some or all of it's (400) customers. Are there any guides for this? Successful examples?

Is there profit to being a non-profit?(???)

mrgreyisyelling — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:51:40 -0800

An individual looking to buy a multi-family home to create a low rent situation for several artists. Is there a benefit to becoming a non-profit? Is there money to help support this venture that I should be chasing after? Not very complicated: I'm in the process to purchasing a piece of property, to allow a small group (8-10) of artists to live and work for reduced rent. Suddenly it occurred to me that I'm playing the role of a non-profit - I've been crunching numbers so hard I hadn't given it much thought.

1. Is there some benefit to purchasing this property as a non-profit, rather then a single nice guy?

1a. If I do go as a non-profit (what ever that means), does that mean I have to charge the logistically lowest rent? What does that mean to the profit from the property if/when I sell it again?

2. Is there money out there for this purpose that I should be pursuing that might help us out? (Currently living in Connecticut, but my search isn't limited to this state) Any way to make the monthly payments as low as possible.

3. And while I'm at it: Whats the wisdom to making a piece of property a co-op situation, rather then a tenant/owner situation? And would/should it still be considered a non-profit.

4. if things go ugly - is there a way for property to become profit again?

facts: Second piece of property, I AM a a low income artist as well, and I would like to live here as well.

Don't worry, I'm not going to run out and buy the house today or tomorrow base on what ever you say. Yes I'm going to go talk to a 'real' person if my 'internet friends' generally make noises like this could be a good plan.

The down-low on co-ops.

killdevil — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:05:00 -0800

Help my younger sister decide whether or not to buy a co-op apartment. There's some My sister is in her mid-twenties and is thinking about buying a relatively inexpensive apartment in a co-op building near Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. This would be the first place she's owned, and she's attracted to the idea foremost because she's not wildly enthusiastic about the prospect of throwing money at a rental apartment.

Neither she nor I know much about co-ops. How hard is it to sell a share in such a building relative to selling an apartment in a condominium? How well do such places hold their value relative to similar dwellings with more traditional ownership schemes?

What else should she be aware of as she contemplates the purchase? What should she know about co-ops and co-op living?

A guy looking an internship

stratastar — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:05:41 -0800

Help a French- Moroccan Engineering Student Looking for Internship/ Coop in U.S. I have a French-Morrocan friend (he has lived in France all his life, although is not a French citizen *by choice*) who is a Mechanical and Production Engineering student at the University of Metz in France.

He is in the U.S. right now for vacation (for three more weeks between D.C. and New York), and is looking to find a five or six month (paid or non-paid) engineering internship/ coop in the United States for next year (he has had previous internships in Paris). He is not picky about area, although he may prefer San Fransico, Washington D.C. or New York.

He's a smart guy, fast learner, is fluent in French and Arabic but currently has ediocre english sklls (he can learn over this year), so what companies (presumably MNC's?) can take most advantage of him?

His university has not been particularly helpful, and this is not my field so I don't know where he can start. Thanks for any assistance.