Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with high

Put them on the road to not Dislike Some Linguists

oflinkey — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:16:43 -0800

Good linguistics video or interactive links to show to high schoolers. Asking for DH and his foray into linguistics in his HS Anthro class.
I already have a good interactive IPA (Paul Meier's), so that the kids can hear the sounds that aren't used, or used so much, in Standard American English. This has a good British/American diph- and triphthong area, too.
However, my husband is on the lookout for clips he saw on an unnamed show that did some sort of demonstration of variations in phonemes, where they moved in increments from one phoneme (that a speaker of English would recognize) to another, but covered a number of variations in between. I am not really sure what he is talking about. I showed him a clip of the McGurk Effect-- not what he means.
...His main thing here is to show students that, yes, other languages recognize different phonemes that we would all lump together under /p/, for instance.

Any other suggestions for cool things to look at for high school students would be greatly appreciated. Anything at all.

Thanks in advance!

Have you taken Adderall and blood pressure meds?

keener_sounds — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:22:04 -0800

I have Adult ADD -- and about 5 years ago, I briefly got a huge benefit from taking Adderall. But that was before I had high blood pressure. For the past 2 years I've had high blood pressure that is pretty well controlled by meds-- when it was diagnosed it was *really* high (195/110!) I'm not really overweight nor do I have other risk factors for high blood pressure; just seems to be the way I handle stress. Anyway, I have just been given a beautiful bottle of blue pills with my name on it by a respected psychiatrist who says it's OK to take this Adderall as long as I continue take my blood pressure meds and monitor myself at home with a cuff. The regular doc also says it's OK. Only 5 mg of Adderall twice a day; I could take it once a day. But I'm terrified. You are not my doctor. But have you taken Adderall with controlled high blood pressure? The website says: Do not take with high blood pressure. Canada says: Adderall is banned due to sudden deaths and strokes. Docs say: Go ahead. My work says: Take the damn -- what? Was that a squirrel out the window? Oh yeah.
Please let me know if you have experienced this -- seems like it should be all over the web, but all I can find are warnings about high blood pressure, not controlled high blood pressure. Thanks hive mind.

Looking for High Res Pic of World Map

Atarah — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:57:00 -0800

Looking for a High Res. Political Map to Print on Canvas So I found this lovely Canvas World Map at IKEA. However, it's $200, and that's quite a bit over my budget.

I was considering creating my own version however. I have a friend who has access to a large HP plotter at work that can print high res. pictures on canvas.

However, I've been looking for quite a while on the internet, and I cannot find a nice, high resolution, political/geographical hybrid map, that looks similar to that shown at IKEA.

If possible, I'd like to find a map that is slightly brighter and more colorful than the IKEA one, but it shouldn't be really childish (putting it in an office). Also, it should be as detailed as most maps, but I don't need to have every city in the world plastered all over the map, with trade winds and currents, etc. Going for simple, but informative.

Something like this would be perfect, but I can't find a digital version similar to this anywhere!

Would any of you know where I could get a digital copy of a map that fits most of these requirements? Please let me know if I can provide anymore information. Thanks a lot!

The High-School drop-out would like some respect.

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:45:37 -0800

How bad is the high school drop-out stigma among the general public? I dropped out of High School before completing even one year, or month. It was dumb, I shouldn't have done it, you aren't my lawyer, etc.

Usually I don't mind admitting this because I've received my GED. Lately though it seems it is hurting my reputation unless I get a college diploma.

I'm not an idiot, but I'm not particularly intelligent. I don't have any really redeeming qualities in any kind of art to make up for the lack of education. I do some high-tech work and people seem to respect that. I'm just not really in tune with what they think about me.

Is the public stigma attached to this issue really bad, should I just never discuss it?

Minneapolis restaurant recommendation

Juicylicious — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:15:24 -0800

Restaurant recommendation for Minneapolis. Must have easy access for someone driving from downtown St. Paul and a menu friendly to a gluten-free, high protein diet. I'm thinking something on Washington Ave? Steakhouse?

Low threshold for noise

neworder7 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:33:43 -0800

I have very low threshold for certain sounds. I can't handle noise, especially I find high pitch female or children voice unbearable. I also have trouble with neighbors walking around, the high bass thuds etc. I am 35, male.I have always had this problem even as a kid or teenager. I cannot stand people eating or chewing noisy. I have left restaurants for that reason.

I can't stand hearing chatter coming from the distance.

I can't seem to focus at work (cubicle farm) or never feel relaxed at home.

However I don't have any problem listening to music loud, or traffic, or animals, or nature.

I have a history of OCD / depression/ anxiety, tendency to get obsessed. I know you are not my doctor, but where do you think I should seek for the solution?

Is this a psychological problem or is it there a physiological condition in which a persons senses are just too acute/sensitive? I am asking this because under fluorescent light my face and eyes turn red too.

Any good job ideas for quadriplegics?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:38:30 -0800

I am a 52 year old quadriplegic (C-4,C-5 incomplete) former oil and gas senior executive. Until recently, I've been able to both support my family and afford the post-Cobra health insurance premiums available through our Texas High Risk Pool. I'll will soon be overtaken by the myriad of expenses now beginning to snowball. Does anyone know of any legitimate stay-at-home jobs for people like me? While I can leave home occasionally for meetings, etc., realistically I need to find something (computer-based, in all likelihood) to do from my home. I would like to supplement my income by a minimum of $25,000/year.

What is that smell in High Line Park in NYC?

Jimmie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:13:28 -0800

What is that smell in High Line Park in NYC? There is a relatively new odor in the air around High Line Park. It is sharp and pungent, smells vaguely of cilantro. Other passersby have also noticed the aroma, many of which have stopped to locate, but nobody can. Any thoughts?

I Can Has High Holy Day Podcast?

airguitar2 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:33:15 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur podcast? I'm hoping to prepare for the high holidays this year by listening to some good podcasts. I'm looking for podcasts about getting ready for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, about the spiritual background of the holidays, or general meditations that might help make the holidays more meaningful for me this year.

Any recommendations for good podcasts?

How can my 74 yr old ex husband make an informed decision about his super high PSA results?

naplesyellow — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:12:36 -0800

I am good friends with my ex husband. He learned a couple of months ago that his PSA was over 20. He was also having a serious problem with his leg at the time (he had a femoral by pass surgery). That surgery went well and he has recovered from it..but during that time the high PSA results were put on the back burner until he could get through the surgery. Ex was buoyed by reading that very high results can be accounted for by other reasons aside from cancer and his urologist prescribed Avodart and scheduled a new PSA test (which came back recently..much improved..down to 8).

Far from congratulating my ex for this improved number the urologist told him today that ex very likely has prostate cancer and he should have a biopsy and whatever treatments the biopsy indicates. The trouble is that ex h and I have both read articles that indicate that biopsies might actually cause cancer to get into the bloodstream (and if you think of it this seems very logical). When this concern was raised with the urologist today (according to ex's account) the Doctor lost patience and told ex that it is all his decision and he can't decide for him..and further, that the article my ex cited is "old."

Ex's problem is complicated by the fact he has a colostomy and his prostate can not be accessed by normal means. I realize all these health problems I have described make him sound like a total wreck..but he isn't, he has had quite good health for most of his life and he is strong and youthful.

I know you aren't his doctor...but what about his age (74) and the idea that biopsy can spread cancer? How can anyone be expected to make a good decision with so many conflicting ideas about both PSA and biopsy?
This is quite a terrible predicament where you have to rely on people who make money with surgeries and strategies that you have no way of knowing are going to extend life or not! When ex asked the dr what would he do if he were in ex's position the answer was naturally biopsy and surgery!

Please help us to figure out where to go for better easy to understand information that can help him to determine a good plan.

Hello new shoes, bye bye blues...

triggerfinger — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:25:41 -0800

Help me find comfortable walking shoes! With high heels please. I am going on vacation soon and will spend a great deal of time on foot walking around a city. I have worn high heels (3+ inches) all the time for as long as I can remember. I am very comfortable walking in high shoes and would maybe even go so far as to say I walk better in heels than flats. The only flat shoes I own are my running shoes.

I do some walking in my day to day life but not extensive amounts - usually just around the city for an hour on my lunch breaks. It usually takes about an hour or two of walking before my feet start to get sore, regardless of the thickness of my heels. I plan on doing much more walking than that on vacation and don't want to be distracted by sore feet. Does anyone know of shoes that will be comfortable for a lot of walking but also provide some height? At least three inches would be best, but I know that might be pushing it. All of my pants are too long to wear with flat shoes and I would rather buy new shoes than buy new pants. Closed-toe would be best as it will be in October and I don't care what kind of heel the shoe has, just as long as they provide some height and are black. Does such a shoe exist?

High school honors

Anonymous — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:13:55 -0800

Is there any way to prove someone was awarded/received a high school honor such as induction into the National Honor Society or being a National Merit Scholarship finalist? I was both (way, way) back in the day, but I don't have any documentation of either. Obviously, it matters little (or not at all) now but I wouldn't mind having some kind of documentation - just in case.

Business major -> English teacher

firei — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:39:16 -0800

I've decided I want to teach high school english. Problem: I have a BS in Business Admin. How do I do this? I want to teach english in a NY state high school. This decision aside, I need help.

I graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship this May. While I was in my last semester, I realized that I've always wanted to teach. This decision may have been hasty, but let's assume for the moment that teaching will be everything I've dreamed it to be, because that's not the focus of this question.

Current thoughts include a community college for the english credits, then a SUNY or Marist or Mercy for the masters in education. I've been on the NY education site, and found it a bit jumbled and slightly confusing. The individual grad program sites are even less helpful. I know I need to call the schools, but I can't do that until next week, do to my work schedule.

Any MeFites have experience with this - majoring in something unrelated to what you want to teach? How did you do it? Can I do it in less than three years? HELP!

High School movies?

mooza — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:19:00 -0800

I know Heathers, Clueless, Breakfast Club, Carrie, Dead Poets Society, all the obvious ones... can you complete this list? Thank you, Hive Mind.

Prank a high school!

storybored — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:20:18 -0800

Do you have any ideas for a prank against a rival high school at our reunion? Our grad class is having a high school reunion. There is a longstanding rival high school which is about two miles away. Our class plans to walk over there and -----------.

Can you fill in the blank with a fun, harmless and neato idea?

Picking Short Stories for a High School Literature Class

John of Michigan — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:00:31 -0800

If you could plan a high school course introducing freshmen to the short story, what stories would you recommend? I'm designing a ninth-grade class, Introduction to the Short Story, and I've got a rough idea of what I'd like the students to read, but I've had a lot of luck polling Metafilter users in the past, coming up with a lot of texts I wouldn't have thought about, so let's try this again. (Yes, I've spoken to reference librarians, other teachers, and a couple of professors at a nearby college, but, c'mon, there are tens of thousands of readers on this site, so . . . .)

In addition to building reading comprehension and improving students' use of reading strategies, I'm going to focus on plot, character, theme, point of view, and setting, so, Metafilter, what stories do you think I should teach?

(Reading levels will vary, from third grade- to college-level readers, with a couple of ESL students, too.)

$2100 in overage charges on my cellphone bill

Dragonness — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:33:27 -0800

Outrageous cellphone bill, my fault entirely. Any recourse? I have $2100 in overage charges on my cellphone bill, accumulated over the course of four months, while I was working on an unusually communication-intense project. I never noticed it because I’ve had Auto Pay for two years, and usually have about 2000 rollover minutes to spare.

I work remotely and we didn’t have a landline at home until recently, so I use my cellphone for work.

My usual bill is in the range of $117-$127. Last month I discovered that since I started this project the phone bills were $677, $907, $590, $410 (I was on vacation much of December). All this added up to $2100 in overage charges.

My husband and I never noticed the deductions because we were doing construction on our new place at the time and money was continuously going out of our bank account, in the hundreds and thousands, to pay for the work.

When we finally found out, I immediately switched over to a higher minute plan. AT&T credited me back $680 for the last two months, but wouldn’t go beyond that, after several phone calls. They said they usually never go beyond one month, so they went out of their way by crediting me two months’ overage.

I can’t bill this to the customer because they never signed up for it, and my manager has said as much. I choose to work from home, and whether I use a cellphone or landline my company is not responsible for it.

It’s entirely my fault.

I’m wondering if the Auto Pay/trust angle gives me some options legally. AT&T’s line is “Stop worrying about paying bills and sign up for Auto Pay!”. They’re telling me I don’t need to worry if I have Auto Pay.

I also learned that they do notify customers of high usage but only for international calls.

Can anything be done? Is it true that AT&T can’t credit me overage beyond the past two months?

Looking for foldable high chairs.

Magnakai — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:42:52 -0800

Stoolfilter: I've been tasked with finding a UK-available comfortable folding high chair for use behind a counter. I'm not having much luck so far. Help! I part-time in a cinema where the front of house staff have to sit behind a chest-high counter. We're currently using some relatively high office chairs, but they take up quite a lot of space and it'd be handy to have some folding ones to put away. The current ones are also sort of falling apart, and the manager's not going to replace them with non-folding chairs.

The new chairs don't have to have backs, but it would be nice. The main thing is that they're comfortable, as they'll be used for long periods of time.

I've looked for draughtsmans chairs, bar stools, lab chairs, checkout chairs, counter chairs, all to no luck.

I've hit Google hard for this one, but I'm not having much luck. The only suitable thing I can find is from the US-based Brookestone. Have a look. Does anyone know if they ship to the UK?

Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!

Is HDMI hook up necessary for awesome High Def TV?

zzazazz — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:40:06 -0800

I have a new Samsung 1080/120hz hi def LCD yadda yadda yadda... The cable company provided RGB cable when they hooked up hi def cable. My question is whether or not I should get an HDMI cable. Does it make that much of a difference? It looks pretty darn good right now.

Will I test positive for MJ if my neighbors smoke pot but I don't?

agentsarahjane — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:34:30 -0800

Do you think that I will pop positive for my neighbor's party and do you have any suggestions that would help me with this possibility? I can tell them about my neighbors but will that be enough? I really want this job and would be totally mad if their party kept me from getting back to being paid what I used to make Hi! This is my first question ever and I tried to see if it was asked before but no one has ever asked this in the way I am looking for an answer: My neighbors smoke pot and we live in a house that was converted into apartments. Although the heating systems are separate, I know they smoke pot from the smell... hubby didn't believe me until yesterday when he found a baggie with sticky icky on the ground next to their car in the garage we share with them so we stuck it under their doormat so they would find it. I am no nark and he and I used to smoke a looooong time ago but neither I wish to take it up now since the smell of pot brings up unhappy memories of my long-gone ex, nor hubby who smoked it a couple of times recreationally before we met however we decided to stick to the stoner code.

My concern is that I am looking into a new job, one of which is with insurance and they are notorious test poppers. I have no doubt I'll do okay with the prescriptions I have since I can prove I have been prescribed for Xanax to be taken PRN and for vicodin due to a severe drug reaction I had 2 weeks ago also taken PRN ... but my concern is the party that is taking place downstairs now and the interview I have monday and probably will be asked to take a pee test since I have no doubt I will do well on the interview :)

Choosing an affordable projection screen for my living room?

cortex — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:08:32 -0800

What do I need to know when choosing a wall-mounted projection screen for my living room? We're looking at upgrading our ad hoc living room theater setup from our current White Sheet Clothespinned To Drapes to something in the way of an actual screen. Looking at 84"x84" as the best fit for our setup, doing a mix of movies and console gaming.

As far as I can tell, we'd probably be fine with something as simple as a Luma or Luma 2 or Silhouette—and in fact I'm not clear what the significant difference between those is other than the styling of the hardware. The Luma at under $200 bucks is attractive as the budget choice, but is there anything I should know? Any surprises here?

The other question: surface treatment. I know ambient light might be an issue for daytime use—setting aside the use of drapes and such on our windows to minimize that, is there a good reason to drop the extra cash on a high contrast grey type surface instead of simple matte white? Or is the distinction fairly minimal in practice?

Two Master's Degrees... What are my options?

msposner — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:57:38 -0800

This spring I will be finished with my second Master's degree. I've been at my current job for almost three years and while I enjoy it immensely, I am wondering about other opportunities that having two graduate degrees might open up for me. Am hoping to obtain answers especially from individuals who have multiple degrees and have gone into somewhat different career paths. My first graduate degree is a M.S. in Secondary School Education. I am qualified to teach in public school (context area: Social Studies). I also am certified to teach at schools for the deaf but that is not something I want to focus on because of how such institutions are being shut down at an alarming rate.

My second graduate degree is going to be a M.S. in Professional/Rehabilitation Counseling, which I'll be obtaining in May of 2009. I'm not going to be pursuing my Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) certificate because I was recently on their advisory panel and signed a waiver stating that I promise not to take the CRC test for at least five years due to first-hand exposure to potential test questions. This is perfectly fine with me because I'm not planning on having my own independent counseling practice and I have no desire to work for any of the major insurance companies around here.

I currently work at a state agency as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and while I do enjoy this job very, very much, lately it seems as if I'm often hearing from people (respected professionals) that I should be doing something "better" and so forth.

For me, "better", would be to obtain employment as a researcher (researcher scientist?) or a professor at a college/university, which is actually my ultimate goal but I'm also open to acquiring other, relevant experience that might enhance myself as an educator. I'm a voracious reader and I'm always conducting research- I'd really like to go into education/rehabilitation policy if the opportunity ever presents itself.

For now, my intention is clearly to "stay put" because as I mentioned, I love my job and I enjoy working with my colleagues, however, I have my goals outside of this field and have oftentimes thought about returning to the classroom as a high school teacher.

In a nutshell, my inquiries are defined as follows:

(I) I've been told that having Master degrees in both education and counseling will make me very attractive to school systems. True?

(II) Will the fact that I do not have terminal degrees in either fields (education and counseling) hurt my chances in obtaining research-based positions and/or work as a college instructor?

(III) For someone with two Master's degrees, what are the other fields I could go into when I have specialization in both education and counseling?

(IV) Has anyone experienced negative pitfalls of having multiple graduate degrees such as frequent rejections on the basis of being overqualified?

--------

Caveat #1: I am profoundly deaf. This, unfortunately, creates a lot of barriers for me in the workplace. Many schools have refused to hire me because in order for me to instruct in public schools, they would have to also pay for a full-time sign language interpreter since I communicate primarily in American Sign Language. In their eyes, I'm not cost effective- I'm a budget burden. As I mentioned earlier, I do not want to work at schools for the deaf because of the lack of job security and their notoriously low salaries.

Caveat #2: I've mentioned that I love my current job. However, I am also trying to plan ahead (1-3 years) and have always been open to other opportunities.

Caveat #3: Not really looking to relocate anytime in the near/distant future. Wife loves her job and is pregnant with our first child. We also put a lot of work in our present home.

Caveat #4: I'm 27 years old.

Caveat #5: My current job is paying fully for my second graduate degree, which is really the only reason why I went back to school after I completed my first Master's.

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions/insights.

Help me earn 4.5% APY in my rewards checking account!

charlesroper — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:40:30 -0800

In order to earn 4.5% APY in my checking account, I need to make 12 debit card purchases/month. What is the cheapest, most automatic, least time consuming way to do this? I have this rewards checking account.

This question has been asked before, but there were only a couple answers that fit my situation. The ones I liked the best were the AmazonS3 idea (@ $0.15/charge) and the Google checkout idea (@ $0.20/charge).

Let me make this very clear - I will not use my debit card for regular purchases (groceries, gas, coffee, etc.), so please refrain from suggesting that. I am simply looking for very cheap items/services to pay for online that can be setup to charge automatically every month - I probably won't even use the service - I'm just trying to earn that 4.5% APY on a sizable balance in my checking account.

What ideas do you have that are automatic and can beat ~$0.20/charge?

Where did artist Elizabeth Peyton go to high school?

abirae — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:57:26 -0800

Where did Elizabeth Peyton go to high school? This week's New Yorker had an excellent profile on the artist Elizabeth Peyton. They mention that she was her high school senior class president, but they didn't mention where she went to high school. I'm curious... and my google fu didn't bring up much. Does the hive mind know the answer?

maybe I should just clean my glasses

randomstriker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:58:41 -0800

37" widescreen LCDTV viewed from 12' away, do my eyes have the resolving power to justify getting a Blu-ray instead of upscaling DVD player? I realize the best way to the answer this question is to go into Best-Buy and see their demos or something, but it's hard to find demos setup exactly the way I need to make an accurate, objective comparison. Everything seems to be setup to sell me the most expensive thing.

Hopefully someone with knowledge of the anatomy of the eye can provide advice based on "first-principles".