Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cups

I want seven swans a-swimming.... in tea

orange swan — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:36:24 -0800

I received this swan teapot for Christmas 2011. Now I'm on a mission to turn it into a tea set by buying a tea tray, sugar bowl, creamer and half a dozen cups and saucers that go with it. And I also need to learn to make tea properly, as opposed to thowing a tea bag in hot water, Canadian-style. I think my best bet for getting a swan tea tray is to keep an eye out for a secondhand wooden tray I can paint with a swan motif, but I haven't found the other items yet. Super Shoppers of MeFi, what items can you suggest that will be perfect for my swan tea set?

Apologies to Emily Post and Mrs Beeton

Diagonalize — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:52:47 -0800

As a "grown up", which dinnerware (plates, bowls, etc.) do you actually use? Or have, but never use? My fiance and I have been using a mismatched set of chipped hand-me-downs and castoff dishes for years, but now we're putting together a wedding registry and have realized we're finally ready to get some matching dishes. We found a dinnerware pattern we both like (Apilco Tradition), but we're not actually sure which pieces we should get.

Because we don't want to deal with a separate set of fine china, we plan on using these dishes for everyday and more formal occasions. All the registry "guides" recommend registering for 8 to 12 place settings, but we have the option of registering for individual dishes in sets of 4 instead of in a place setting with a dinner plate, salad plate, soup plate, and cup and saucer, which seems like it might be more practical. Are we going to honestly need/want that many soup plates and cups and saucers? Dinner and salad plates are a given, but the two of us generally use mugs and cereal bowls more often, so we're planning on getting those separately, but will we want the other stuff for company? What about bread and butter plates? Does it make more sense to get extra salad plates to use for serving dessert instead? Will people freak out if we register for a set of 4 salad plates instead of a full place setting?

I do cook a lot and like to entertain, but rarely in a super formal capacity, and I'll likely be moving in the not so distant future and don't know exactly how much room I'll have for dish storage. I just hate the idea of getting a bunch of beautiful dishes and then having them languish in a box for 40 years.

What are the ideal cupboard conditions in which to hygienically store cups?

troll — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:53:06 -0800

What are the ideal cupboard conditions in which to hygienically store cups? Some factors to consider:

The initial cleanliness of the cupboard

The particulate retention of the platform material

The presence or absence of a textured shelf liner

The presence or absence of cupboard doors

The amount of time the cup is stored before use

The amount of moisture still on the cup when it is put away

The arrangement of cups (stacks or singles; rim-side up or rim-side down)

The environmental effects of temperature, humidity, and open air on bacteria cultures

The pathways of contamination (any part of the cup that contacts the drinker or the liquid, e.g. a lip-sized portion of the rim and the interior; anything that touches the cup)

As you can see, the permutations are endless, so it is useful to fix or ignore some variables when considering the problem. Take, for example, a comparison of platform cleanliness, cup arrangement, and time stored (ignoring all but three variables). You might note that if you placed a single cup on a layer of dust in a cupboard with the rim-side down for one minute and then drank out of it, you would ingest more dust than if you had placed the cup rim-side up for the same amount of time (modifying only one of the three variables). Keep in mind that some of these conditions aren't worth consideration singly (a clean cupboard is obviously more ideal than a dirty cupboard), and take relevance only when paired (if a cupboard's surface was unavoidably dirty, a rim-side up approach might be better). So while I am reaching for an "ideal," we are dealing with real-world conditions and it would make sense to imagine an "average household" for the purpose of this question.

I have had this argument at length with multiple people. Most households have an idiosyncratic Correct Way which usually boils down to the rim-side-up-or-down dichotomy. While this is the most common form of the problem, I found the underlying precepts to be wide-ranging and marginalized by the debate over the rims. Many of those precepts are listed above.

So, what combination of these conditions is hygienically ideal?

Where do I buy paper souffle cups in London (UK)?

s01110011 — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 01:34:41 -0800

Where do I buy paper souffle cups in London (UK)? I'm looking for a source for 3.25oz paper portion cups, or souffle cups/pots as they're known.

Similar to these: SOLO Paper Souffle Cups - Genpak Paper Portion Cups

Requirements are that they be oven safe (non-waxed?) and available to public buyers in non-bulk quantities (i.e. less than 1000).

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. All I've been able to find are dry-waxed (which I'm not sure I want) cups available online from elsewhere in the U.K. Nothing in London, non-wholesale.

Trouble setting up printing from OS X (10.5.7) to an HP PSC 2410 shared from PC running Ubuntu 9.10.

weston — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:23:03 -0800

Trouble setting up printing from OS X (10.5.7) to an HP PSC 2410 shared from PC running Ubuntu 9.10. Mainly seems to be a problem finding a proper CUPS-aware driver on the OS X side. Is there a way around this? I've got a Hewlett-Packard PSC 2410 shared off of a fresh Ubuntu 9.10 installation. I've been able to send documents to this printer over the network from another Ubuntu machine. But so far, I haven't been able to find a setup where I can send documents to that printer from a MacBook running 10.5.7.

When I'm trying to set things up on the Mac side, I go into System Prefs > Print & Fax, click on the "+" mark, select "IP", pick "IPP", enter the IP address of the Ubuntu box, leave the queue blank, enter the Name and location, and I think it's when I get to the "Print Using" (driver selection) part that I'm running into issues.

If I use "Auto Select", it defaults to "Generic PostScript Printer", which the PSC 2410 almost certainly isn't (and sure enough, if I print, the jobs don't go through).

If I try "Select a driver to use...", there's not an option for an HP PSC 2410 (or even a generic 2400 series). This seems odd, given that I can plug the printer directly into one of our Macs and it immediately figures out the driver and I can print no problem. But that's the way things seem to be.

So, that leaves one option: "Other", which, when selected, brings up a dialog apparently for the purpose of manually locating a driver (.ppd?). I've tried visiting HP's web site. They have drivers for earlier versions of OS X, but state that after 10.4, OS X should just come with the relevant drivers.

I've also tried setting things up by interacting with the CUPS server on the Mac through a browser: I go to http://localhost:631/, select "Add New Printer", pick "Internet Printing Protocol (http)" for the Device selection, enter "http://ubuntu.machine.ip.address:631/printers/hp-psc-2400-series" for the Device URI, select "HP" for Make, and then on the next screen, which looks like another driver selection screen, we're back to the problem where the PSC 2410 just doesn't show up. There's an option to "provide a PPD file", which I assume would be the printer driver I can't find. So, things go about the same.

A Google search for "HP PSC 2410 ppd Leopard" doesn't seem to yield much other than a reminder that the printer is supposed to just work out of the box on Leopard. A local search for ".ppd" or "2410" on either Mac also doesn't yield anything that looks like a relevant print driver.

I've also tried setting the driver to PSC 22xx printers, to see if that might just work, but it has the same result as "Generic Postscript Printer."

I'm kindof stuck at this point, but it also seems that there's gotta be some way to make this work. Shouldn't I be able to somehow locate the driver my machine uses when the 2410 is plugged in by USB? Maybe there's a Samba focused solution instead of a CUPS one that's a little less anal about drivers? If nothing else, since the Ubuntu machine sharing the printer can talk to it just fine, shouldn't there be some way to image the document and just let Ubuntu handle the details of getting it to the printer?

Any advice appreciated.

Trying to print Word documents with a specific preset from the Finder. Impossible?

bigmusic — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:22:04 -0800

OS X (10.5) Printing difficulties: Trying to print Word documents with a specific preset from the Finder. Impossible? I hate clicking documents open to print and then having to close them. I have to print up about 20 word documents in a folder multiple times every week - those documents should be printed with a 4x4 layout - single sided. (n-up 4 in CUPs speak) - I'm switching from Windows and in windows I had two printers installed (actually the same printer) with different layout options, so all I had to do was make sure the default printer was the one with right layout options. However, on OS X presets seem to be ignored if you print from the finder [Finder |File |Print], it goes with the "Standard" preset no matter how I try it, from the automator, the terminal, applescript. If I open it directly in Word, the correct preset always shows up as the default preset.

Things I've tried:
I've located the PPD file and didn't see an option to set up the N-Up 4x4 as an option anywhere.

I've option clicked the print button with the correct preset.

I've tried switching the printer preset in the terminal.

I've tried using the automator, with the supplied word 2008 actions.

I've looked at the cups documentation, and see that there is an option for using the 4x4, I'm just not sure how I would go about setting that option for a specific printer instance, or how I would print to to that specific printer instance - any clues?

Either visible nipples or wonk-boob?? These are my choices!!?

mu~ha~ha~ha~har — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:37:43 -0800

Re-shaping bra cups. Has anyone ever had any success with this? As in removing the ripples, creases, warping, deformities ect. that tend to develop (sometimes within a month or two!) in what were otherwise normal looking padded/tshirt style bras.

How can I fix this!! Water does not seem to enable the re-shaping process, at all. What does work?

(And as the much lesser part of my question - how can I prevent this?)
(Btw - I already handwash.)

What was this musical cups game I played in the 80s?

c:\awesome — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:14:55 -0800

When I was little (think 80s), a neighborhood friend taught us a musical co-op game that was played with one plastic cup per person (maybe?), and at least 4 people (though it could go up much higher as long as the number were equal). Basically, it went like this:

You'd sit in a circle, so that there was always someone opposite you, and have a flat surface in front (a card table worked well for 4 people, picnic table for more) where the cups would lay, upside-down.

The first person would start with a *clap* *clap* of the hands, followed by three slaps on the table, one more *clap*, and then you'd pick the cup up with your left hand, slap it against your right hand, slap it on the table, pick it back up with your right, with maybe a few more claps or slaps in between, and pass it to the next person. The person on your left is doing this too, and pretty soon the entire table is clapping and slapping cups in unison to the beat.

There was no drinking involved.

Did anyone else play this? What was it called? Are there any videos online of this? Help!

Help me find fun plates and cups.

melodykramer — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:49:58 -0800

I want to buy funky plates and cups (different for each place setting) The more eclectic and weird, the better. Do you have a favorite plates/cup that you got online that are cheap, funny, and safe for human consumption?(no traces of any chemicals that may cause blindness, irritability, etc..)

CUPS + Ubuntu server: Help

caution live frogs — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:46:15 -0800

CUPS server config issues. Why can't I see or use installed printers on my Ubuntu server? I have an Ubuntu server (Gutsy) running LAMP, CUPS and DHCP, acting as a router for my local network. I have CUPS up and running. Printer is an HP LaserJet 6MP on the parallel port. CUPS found and installed this printer with no issues. I can print test pages from the server or remotely from the CUPS config page at server.address:631. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the hell my laptop is not allowed to print to the server. Every attempt to set up the printer fails (http backend fail, usually). My Mac refuses to see the printer, even though my net access is provided through this server.

I need this printer to be visible on the local subnet (running off of eth1). If I could also access it from home (over eth0, the external NIC) I would be even happier.

Bits from the CUPS config file below:



LogLevel warning

SystemGroup lpadmin

# Allow remote access

Port 631

Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock

# Share local printers on the local network.

Browsing On

BrowseOrder allow,deny

BrowseAddress @LOCAL

DefaultAuthType Basic

DefaultEncryption Never

Access and admin are set to Allow all; valid user required for admin access. What am I missing here? I've been searching for help on this for three days. Getting kind of pissed that all of what I am finding assumes I either have a GUI rather than command line, and that I'm trying to configure a client rather than a server.

(For those trying to helpfully suggest that a networked printer would be easier: Yeah, it sure would, but I'm not in charge of the IT budget in my workplace. IT funding is locked down. If I can't get this to work, I can't print at all.)

Who owns open source code?

crypticgeek — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:43:22 -0800

Legalfilter: Who really owns an open source project? A friend mentioned to me that Apple had bought the CUPS source code. Which is rather interesting to me because it brings up the question of ownership. Clearly to sell the source code to Apple, some person or group of persons must own the source code and agree to the terms of the sale. So my question is, who owned all the code?

Obviously I assume many people other than the original author have submitted patches to the code. Do they relinquish their ownership of the code when they submit a patch? I know the sqlite project makes patch submitters agree to release their patches into the public domain. Do other projects make similar requests to their submitters to release their rights? If it's not done explicitly, can it be an assumed implicit release of rights? You'll have to forgive my ignorance here. I've never contributed to a project before so I'm not quite sure of the "standard practices", if this is one. I intend to develop my own open source project someday, so this would be good to know.

Xchat is another example that comes to mind here. I recently learned that the lead developer has for some time now charged for the windows binary while claiming it was still GPL'd with source available (except for the code that controls the 30 day expiration of the software). Did patch submitters give up their rights to their code (thereby allowing him to release and relicense in this manner), or is he flagrantly violating the law and the license of code he doesn't entirely own? He has said he has a standing offer to remove or rewrite any patches someone might have made if they ask him to, so that makes me believe he does not infact own all the code. If so, could then someone who wrote a patch sue him since he's making profit off their work?

Can I find a printer with many paper trays?

stereo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:30:10 -0800

Printing documents using about 25 different pre-printed forms, mixing a4 and letter formats. Where can I find a printing system with about that many paper trays? They count how many pages of each type they're going to need on the screen, collect and sort them manually and put them in the input tray. The required paper types (3-4 + white paper) change. Printing a single document, if no paper error has been made, takes 10 minutes total. Printing volume is about 2000 pages/month. I want to at least partially automatise the process.

The cheapest option would be to get a lot of printers with many paper trays. For example, the HP 4700n would cost $3300 with 6 trays, the HP 4250 $650 for 5 trays. This means I would need 4 or 5 printers, which isn't very practical.

I found an 8.5-tray module for HP printers, but they only handle one type of paper per printer. Linux is supported with minor hackery. The next step seems to be huge, high volume, expensive printers that have a maximum of only 12 paper trays.

Can I find a printer, or a machine that will sort the papers in printing order, with that many trays?

If not, is there software that can turn a cluster of three of those tower tray printers into a virtual printer, distributing letter and a4 forms between the 'real' printers? CUPS classes seems to only support 'mirrored' printers for redundancy.

Linux compatibility vastly preferred. Open source software a definite advantage.

Unbleached paper coffee cups

neustile — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:09:16 -0800

Is there a place (online or real-world) to buy unbleached (brown) paper coffee cups, say 100-500 of them? No logos or design on them, just straight unbleached paper cups, 16-24oz. This apparently is harder than it seems. All the cafés I used to get these at moved to white cups or cups with red designs on them. The online shops I can find on Google have been out of stock for at least a year. One site says "As of 2/25/05, Chinet is discontinuing manufacture of unbleached paper coffee cups. These cups will be running out, and there is no other maker in the USA." Has anything changed in the meantime?

Keep me from stealing Waffle House Plates!

keep it tight — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:13:52 -0800

Much like the question a couple hits below...anyone know how the purchase a Waffle House dinner set? Plates, bowls, coffee cups with the Waffle House logo?

How is the volume of a 6 oz tea cup measured?

Handcoding — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:45:25 -0800

How are the volumes of (tea) cups commonly measured? For instance, does a “6 oz” tea cup hold 6 oz of liquid when filled to a normal level, or must it be filled to the brim to reach 6 oz? I’m thinking about getting some tea cups like these. Like the premise, those are “6 oz” cups; however, in the photograph on that page, is the tea shown at about the 6 oz level or would the cup have to be filled to the brim to hold 6 oz?

On a related note, is 6 oz a respectable volume for a cup of tea? I suppose what I'm looking for is roughly “standard mug size” (?) — an amount that would be suitable for, say, pouring oneself to accompany reading the paper on a Sunday morning. And, in case 6 oz is deemed too small, I see that Adagio also offers 10 oz tea cups (unless that would be too big?). Then again, I’m not ruling out other retailers; I like the look of transparent tea cups, but I’m open to other shops if you have someone else to recommend.

PS For our metric-system friends:

6 oz = 177 ml

10 oz = 295 ml

Complex Printer Sharing in OS X using CUPS?

plaidrabbit — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 09:58:53 -0800

CUPS/MacOSXFilter: I can't seem to figure out how to get my new MacBook Pro to recognize and assign the right driver to a RAW printer feed on another OS X computer. Help! (While I'm not a total *nix n00b, I'm not the most well versed about commands - in your explaination, please assume I don't know what I'm doing.)

Back when I actually owned a Windows lappy, I was successful in setting up a raw feed under CUPS on my OS X Desktop so I could print using my Window's driver. It worked beautifly, allowing me to access all the options on my printer that I wanted to use.

However, now that I'm an all Mac household, I'm having trouble doing the same thing with my new Mac lappy. While basic printing is easy enough, the problem I'm trying to fix with this solution is having access to all the options available on my printer. My desktop is now a server of sorts, and it has my printer and a fax line hooked up. I want to be able to print, but not only just print - I want to be able to use things like double-sided printing, an auto-sheet feeder, tell the printer to print slower (for envelopes), etc. These options are available on my desktop when I go to print, but when I go to the laptop, the options are not there.

I know why this is happening - the 'true' driver (the one installed from the CD or website) isn't being used, so it doesn't know to give me those options. I still have the RAW feed setup in CUPS, and the laptop sees that, but:
1) The MacBook Pro won't assign the right driver by itself in the printer browser, I assume, because the RAW feed doesn't tell it what printer it is, and
2) I can't select the right driver, possibly because I can't find where it's installed. Spotlight is no help finding the driver, as is opening the driver installation package. I can't find it in any of the archives under there, either.

So, in summary - is what I'm trying to do just not possible in OS X? My Google-fu has come up with nothing, and I'm frustrated that I could do this really easy with Windows and can't get a damn thing in OS X. I do a lot of printing that uses these options, and without them, I'm doing a lot of running back and forth between computers and it just sucks.

Thanks in advance. The specifics, if you need them, is a 17" MBP and a G4 Tower, printer is a Canon iP3000.

Where can I find plastic iced-coffee cups in NYC?

rustcellar — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:39:28 -0800

Where can I buy large quantities of those plastic cups (with lids with straw-holes) that you get with iced coffee or tea in a coffee shop? (I'm in NYC.)

Looking for Measuring Cups

ebeeb — Mon, 16 May 2005 21:36:20 -0800

Alton Brown Filter: Hey, does anybody know where I can get those great measuring cups Alton Brown uses on Good Eats? I think that they're probably not meant for use as measuring cups but they sure look handy. (You know -- the cups that sort of look like giant syringes, but without the needle, that squeezes the indredients out?)

Are there cup holders on the International Space Station?

shepd — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 23:14:55 -0800

Okay, here's an odd question that's been making me think...

Does the ISS have cup holders? If so, are they the huge ones that fit Double Gulps? If not, are they specially designed to fit some sort of "Space Cup"?

If not, do they have to hold their drinks the entire time?