Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with large

What to do, what to do, what to do??? What mp3 player should I buy?

GrooveStix — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:50:51 -0800

Could you help me find a mp3 player that has large capacity and plays flacs? It seems to me that I am spending too much time googling on this matter, so I decided to finally post my question here.

After my trusty mp3 suffered a severe fall from my schmuck self, I decided to upgrade. Which is when I hit a wall... :(

I am something of an audiophile and have a fairly large, evergrowing collection of music, so I am looking for something that's a music player FIRST and everything else is secondary. So something around 120gb, or more. iPods don't play flacs, and I've been using Rockbox long enough to know that there isn't a port for the later generations (with bigger capacity) of iPods. Is there anything else that I can buy?

I am really not interested in a device that plays dvds, makes pancakes, and occasionally calls the boyfriends of my ex-girlfriends to have a chat, so lets make sure it's something reasonably priced and back to basics. :)

glasses for big nose

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:58:48 -0800

Where can I buy glasses that complement a large nose? Preferably something similar in style to this. Los Angeles area or online.

How do very large car parks deal with abandoned cars?

cdenman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:42:34 -0800

How do massive long-stay carparks (like those at airports), that have too many cars to keep track of individually, deal with the problem of cars that are never collected? I imagine it must happen - people park their cars in airports then disappear from the country. Not often but I don't think a couple of cars a year is an unreasonable guess.

How do these massive car parks deal with abandoned cars - do they ever know they're there?

In a small car park, a car parked in the same place for ages would be noticed after a short while, but in a car park that acts as a home for several thousand cars, surely the car just stays there for an eternity. Or is there some kind of checking procedure - and if so what is it!

How to cover 8ft windows?

cali59 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:19:28 -0800

What is the best way to cover 8ft high windows? Just moved into a new apartment, we've got two windows, one of which is normal style, the other is just panes of glass in a recessed area. The problem is they're both over 8ft high. What is the best way to cover them? Googling returns results for 95" or 108" curtains which would be sufficient, but would people suggest an alternative? What about spring-rods, will they hold up? I'd like to avoid putting holes in the walls if possible.

I want the biggest and smallest. The rest can suck it.

rileyray3000 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:37:42 -0800

Where can I find a list of the smallest things (and for that matter) the biggest things in America? I've got some time off coming I have to take and I'm thinking of taking a trip with my new camera to photograph some of these things. I'm thinking of stuff like the smallest bar in America. The biggest hamburger. The breeder of the smallest dogs. The biggest shoes. Stuff like that.

The only thing that would be ideal (but not entirely necessary) is that there's some sort of designation of some kind. Like a sign that says "Smallest town in Texas" or "Biggest shoe in Tulsa."

If someone has one of these lists somewhere please help me find it. If not, feel free to list anything you personally know about.

Gigantor Needs Commuter Bike

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:13:58 -0800

I'm huge. I want to get a commuter bike. What's a good one? I'm 5'11", 350 pounds on a large frame. I want to get a commuter bike for about a 1.5 mile each way commute over flat terrain, preferably one with minimal gears. What's a good bike? I like the look of Electra cruisers.

Help me move a huge file across the net is as fast a time as possible.

BrodieShadeTree — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:23:16 -0800

I'd like to move a big file (110gig) to a business associate across the internet. The file must arrive in as fast a time frame as possible in order to update a database with as little downtime as possible. FTP is an option, but the other party feels it might chew into their user bandwidth for too long. Are there file moving/bandwidth leasing options available for this sort of one time thing?

What are the pitfalls of installing my OS on a 1TB hard drive?

Sully — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:38:43 -0800

Due to a virus corrupting my USB drivers, I've been thinking about a fresh WinXP install. But I'm thinking of getting a 1TB hard drive (my current one is 250). My question is, are there any potential pitfalls in having a HD that is so big? Other than the fact that it might fail six months in and I lose a large chunk of stuff. The reason why I want a huge HD is that I like the feeling that I don't have to worry about all the crap I might put on my desktop, or how many videogames I want to install.

how much will a large dog cost per year

sponge — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:13:32 -0800

How much does it cost annually to keep a large-ish (50 - 80lb) dog? I'll be looking for a dog of a breed that is not known for health issues

I plan to feed it a healthy diet (but not steak).

I'd be grateful for any level of information about your experiences, and all types of costs.

Large Group Consensus-Building Methods

choragus — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:01:18 -0800

What types of large group (+50 members) consensus-building methods can prioritize information quickly? I'm working as a contractor to a US Government Agency. It is at a department level in one of the smaller Gov't agencies, so increasing profit is not a motive. Increasing departmental trust and collaboration is one of the primary drivers.

They conducted a culture assessment Q3 2008 indicating the leadership team needed to set a departmental vision and mission. That work is done. Their strategy was to have 8 teams of volunteers work for appox. one month on strategic approaches to implement the vision and mission.

The department is having a one-day outbrief meeting on from the teams who should be recommending 3-5 approaches to implement the four themes in their vision and mission. So, there could be anywhere from 24-40 items for consideration.

I'd like to have a consensus from the approx 50-80 members of the teams on which of the items should be taken up. They will have about 90 minutes for prioritizing by consensus.

Sticky dots methods are not receiving much traction, so far.

I would welcome some discussion here. And, I suspect that there are links to blogs you've stored away ready to throw out should a need arise. Pull them out and toss them in the soup for all to benefit.

I want to hire someone to turn on my air conditioning too

Popular Ethics — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:58:35 -0800

Who are the world's largest employers? Googling the question just gives me Forbes 500 lists and the like, which only rank companies by dollar value. I'm more interested in people value. This article suggests that the Indian Railway employs 2.4 million employees, which is double Wallmart's payroll. Are there (or have there been) larger?

I need help with this creation.

CollectiveMind — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:01:55 -0800

I have invented a calendar that I think is unique in design and function. Last year, I spent six months reviewing copyrights and patents (and applications) from the US Patent and Trademark Office and US Copyright Office office and didn't see or read anything that fits it. I've since filed for a patent and a copyright. I'm told I'll get one or the other since it is either art or a device, but not both.
I think its design is to the standard calendar as the Reverse Polish Notation Calculator is to the standard calculator. I mean, it's initially confusing, but once you get used to it, it's much more efficient. To me, this means it would only appeal to a niche market, but probably a strong and loyal niche market - engineers, actuaries, event planners, etc.

My main question is, how can I get it printed for distribution and in front of my niche? I frequent a lot of thrift stores, and last week, barely missed buying an HP Large Format Printer for under $100. The office supply stores and online printers, by contrast, charge about $8 per sq. foot for the kind of color it has. And because I think it must be at least wall poster size to be of practical use, that makes the cost of each one nearly $70. That seems to much forthe market to bear. Does anybody know how I can reproduce this and get it circulating (and among whom) in the market, either by finding a cheap, large format printer or a cheap means for digital or offset printing?

Information on Shipping Large Items & the Best Rates

Audio Lover — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:22:17 -0800

I have a few large items that i would like to sell on eBay however the shipping charges are way to high, this is not due to weight but due to dimensional size. ie. 30" x 30" x 26" high or another item is a pair of speakers which are approx 50 lbs each and 20" x 24" x 34". The cost of shipping these items makes it impossible to sell them on eBay and get what they are worth. I hope some of you savvy sellers and shippers can help me out with this problem, i have many vintage items that are large and too expensive to ship via UPS, FedEx or Dhl. Thanks

LHC - Big Bang or Every Day Gamma Ray?

PigAlien — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:48:32 -0800

Okay, I know there have been 2 other questions recently about LHC, but both threads seem to have died. I have a question that I haven't seen answered anywhere else yet: 1) I have read quite often that LHC will create "energies not seen since the Big Bang." 2) I have also read frequently that "gamma rays magnitudes of order more powerful strike the earth regularly." So which is it? It seems to me those two statements contradict each other. If the former is true, how does the 2nd one jive with the first? If the first is true, why shouldn't we be concerned, unless the second is true, in which case, isn't the first statement false?

Games for large groups of people?

BoldStepDesign — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:40:55 -0800

So, I've got a small group of young college friends, about 10-15 people. I'm looking for fun running out door games with lots of competition. And when the winter hits some fun competitive indoor games. Any ideas for both indoor and outdoor games?

I am sick of babysitting creaking old printers.

By The Grace of God — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:31:49 -0800

I want to buy the Leaflet-o-Matic 5000 printer of awesome. I want a printer to print runs of hundreds of survey cards with addresses, etc. and leaflets for a political campaign. It should be a laser black and white, fast and reliable, with a capacious paper tray, duplex would be nice but not necessary. Network printer capability and plays nice with Macs, please. Budget of about £200.

I am in the UK if relevant. Many thanks!

Help my pretty up my house!

antifuse — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:21:29 -0800

Where can I get large prints of digital photos done online? (Or locally in Toronto) I'm looking to print up some of my digital photos extra-big for my new house. I've already got the enlarging handled (Genuine Fractals is AWESOME), and I've got the frames, but now I'm looking for a place to print them out!

Basically, I'm looking to print out some pretty big images, that don't seem to be covered by your average online printing shops. One image I'm looking to print is 22"x28", and the other is 11 3/4" x 36". I tried a couple different online shops, and they all seem to max out at 20x30.

Obviously, I'm looking for high quality prints, but if it's an online shop it needs to ship to Canada, otherwise someplace in the GTA (Toronto) area would work either.

Printer and Photographer speaking different languages..help!

lois1950 — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:15:25 -0800

I need to have a photo printed on a 4x10 poster: the photo I emailed was taken on a fancy digital camera but the printer says the photo file is too small. The file was 503KB and he says that if it printed at resolution, it would be 20"x8.32". He says it should be 120"x48" @ 150 pixels/inch at a 5:2 ratio.
It's being printed on a large format digital printer and I think that's the problem; since it's not CMYK offset, the file requirements are completely different and I can't translate what the printer is saying to the guy with the camera.

Any ideas about what to tell the photographer to do or do need to find someone who has an even fancier camera?? Thanks!

Where to find BIG stuff. The opposite of miniature versions.

Wild_Eep — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:00:49 -0800

Is there an online store that carries nothing but humorously large versions (preferably functional) of everyday items? Like a 2-foot long paper clip, ceremonial ribbon-cutting scissors, these solo cups, a huge clothespin, a six-foot-long pencil, etc.

New PC games run slowly on large LCD monitors?

stuehler — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:29:41 -0800

I just bought a pretty high-end Dell PC with a large LCD monitor. It's got dual Core2 CPUs @ 2.66GHz, 4 GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card. The monitor is a widescreen 27" Dell Ultrasharp. So far, I like the PC. But I was disappointed to find that the first PC game I tried (BioShock) runs TERRIBLY. The game does run pretty well on my slightly older PC, which only has a 19" monitor. So, I think the large, widescreen monitor is the problem. Is that correct? Are there tricks to running the latest games on a large LCD monitor? Many thanks in advance for any advice and insight.

What is filling up my local hard disk?

DZ-015 — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 03:56:04 -0800

Does Windows create temp files on the local disc when copying a large file from an external drive to a network share? I'm trying to copy a large Windows Backup file (65Gb) from my external USB hard drive to a network share on my employer's network. I reckoned this might take a while so I left it overnight. When I came in to work this morning, my local (C:) drive was full. I'm not copying the file to C:, so does Windows create some kind of temp file when copying from an external drive to a network share? When I cancel the copy, my hard disk returns to 10Gb free......

Where can I buy 4x5 Polaroid Sheet Film in Rome?

Bengston — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:23:18 -0800

Where can I buy 4x5 Polaroid Sheet Film in Rome? I'm heading off to Italy this afternoon for a little over two weeks. Although I don't have much time to do any photography lately I still want to take some photos with my field camera and so I purchased a couple of boxes of Polaroid film, however I figure it is very likely that once I get there I am going to feel compelled to take more than a couple of photos a day. Does anyone know where in either Rome or Florence I can pick up some more 4x5 Polaroid sheet film? I currently have typ 59 and type 54 but I would be interested in other types also (but I don't have any ND filters so they would need to be rather low ISO) Is it going to cost me an arm in a leg more than what I am used to? (I normally order from B&H)

Help me shrink my screen!

escabeche — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:32:17 -0800

Why does my computer (Linux, Gnome) suddenly think my screen is 3 feet wide? How can I convince it otherwise? My computer boots in both Windows and Linux. Today, when I restarted in Linux after finishing in Windows, the machine behaved in a strange way -- it seemed to feel that my screen was about twice as big in either direction as it actually is, so I could only see a quarter of the desktop at once -- moving the mouse to the edge of the physical display scrolled it along so I could see everything. I tried changing the screen resolution from 1024 x 768 to 640 x 480; this had the effect of getting everything on one screen, but now, well, the resolution is very low -- one terminal window takes up the whole screen, if I try to make text small it's unreadable, etc. Do the Metafilter Linux/Gnome masters understand what it is my computer is confused about, and how to set it straight?

What is it like to be a large animal/rural veterinarian?

internet!Hannah — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:26:53 -0800

What is it like to be a large animal/rural veterinarian? I'm currently a freshman in college, working on my undergraduate degree which I have been planning to use as a pre-veterinary course. For a good part of my life to date I've wanted to be large animal/rural veterinarian (the 9-5 nature of a small animal practice sounds stifling to me, while large animal/rural vets get to travel, meet interesting people, and hold varying hours, all of which seem very appealing).

Unfortunately, while it's easy to see what it's like to be a small veterinarian, I don't have a very concrete knowledge of what it's like to be a large animal veterinarian, especially as far as the day-to-day menial activities go--and seeing as how I'm on my way to devoting 8 years and untold amounts of money to this career, I'd like to have a good idea of what I'm getting into. However, I've been having trouble finding materials or media portraying life as a large veterinarian, which is something I'd like to be more familiar with as I continue down this course. Google hasn't been successful in turning up more than articles on the shortage of rural/large animal vets or very cursory info pages aimed at young children.

So, my question is this: does anyone know of any books or other literature about the lifestyle of a large animal/rural veterinarian? Online articles or blogs would be greatly appreciated as well, as well as other suggestions on how to become more acquainted with the large veterinary lifestyle.

Oh, and I have been looking into finding a friendly vet who might let me shadow them, but this is usually done through the college farther into the course (final year of undergraduate degree at the earliest). However, if anyone knows of any summer internship programs or anything like that, I'd be interested. (I'm in Texas, if it helps.)

Thanks in advance for any help.

how do I send files >1GB? OSX

lukeomalley — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:53:37 -0800

I am a mac OSX user and I want to send Huge (>1GB) files via the internet. Does anyone have a solution other than Yousendit, dropshare or AIM?