Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with my

Oh my aching right foot that, along with its counterpart, is about to run a marathon...

holdenjordahl — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:03:09 -0800

i can't see a specialist for three weeks but i've got a marathon coming up and i need to know before that. these are the facts and i'm trying to figure out the cause...
1. i wear orthodics. the right one is the neutral one. it cracked. i noticed a few weeks before that that, below the third and forth toes, a dull sensation. i originally thought it was caused by the crack in the orthodic.
2. i went back to my prior set of orthodics. they were essentially the same orthodics as the pair i had been using.
3. now i'm noticing that EXACTLY after 75 minutes i get this sudden pain, as if i'm stepping on a marble (not a beebee, not a golf ball, a marble). it hurts like crazy. the pain doesn't radiate throughout the foot or up the leg.
4. and then, after EXACTLY 15 minutes, the pain suddenly vanishes.
5. i haven't done any sudden ramping up of mileage, i run mostly on sand, grass, or dirt. there's nothing that i've stepped on that could have wedged in my shoe, the interior of the shoe is smooth, et cetera.
6. i've looked on all the obvious running sites and can find nothing about what this could be. any suggestions, please???

My external hard drive wont work

sockpim — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:23:24 -0800

until today, my laptop wont read and open up my external hard drive. i haven't unplugged it without safely removing it or anything either. it also makes this constant tapping noise, like the sound of a tap dripping. (which it never used to make) does anyone know what i can do to make my laptop find my external or fix it? cheers

Turn Off That Loud Music!

czechmate — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:55:11 -0800

I have a problem with hearing bass music vibrating through my windows and walls into my home. It literally echos through my every vein and makes me feel insane. Is this a sign of age? Is something wrong with me? We live in a neighbourhood where the houses are fairly close together, and primarily Hispanic. The neighbours (and when I say neighbours, I mean anywhere within 7 houses around us) like to hold parties from time to time or they just play their music loud while doing whatever it is that they do.
My problem is the bass that I can hear through the walls of my house. The music may not be that loud, but I can still hear the "thump thump" and it really sends me into a cloudy, high-blood pressure induced grumpy mood. I can feel the thump thump going through every single vein... and I feel like a pacing tiger. I can't think, I can't do a single thing because my entire mind is obsessed with this thump thump. I literally "shut down'.

I don't think I'm so much looking for a solution on how to get rid of the thump thump (i.e. headphones, just leave and go shopping, call the cops, etc...) but I am wondering if this is a normal reaction.

Is it just a sign of age? Am I next going to yell at kids to get off my lawn? Or is something wrong with me in relation to that particular sound? I know it's an odd question, but none of my friends (or husband) seem to mind the noise.. I can hear it even when it's low and it affects me.

This only started happening to me about 3 years ago. I used to live in apartments and I don't remember ever *really* being bothered by other noises. Headphones isn't an option to "fix" it. I have a 4yr old. Thanks.

Should we stay or should we go?

hamandcheese — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:33:45 -0800

Life choices-filter: What should my wife and I do next? Hi all,

My wife and I are both well-employed and relatively successful mid to late twenty-somethings. We're currently in a mid-size Canadian city, but have aspirations to a lot more travel and work internationally. We'd like that to be soon, but could also pursue some pretty good opportunities here...

My wife works as the education manager at a decent size museum, and loves her work, but is not liking her job. The museum is owned by the government but largely operated by a non-profit society that does all of the fundraising, marketing, volunteer coordination, events, and education programs. Her society is in the midst of a major power struggle with the museum itself and her entire organization may quit or be kicked out before its all over, so she has no job security at all, and the work environement itself has turned into a rumor mongering, us vs. them, hellhole. Things are in arbitration right now, without the possibility for resolution until September (although they keep pushing the dates back, so there is no guarantee).

I work for an engineering company doing editing and graphic design, but find the soulless money-making focus and ridiculous stipulations put on my work by my corporate masters takes all joy and sense of purpose out my job. I want out pretty bad, but have managed to pay 3/4 of my student debt off in the past year, and know that I could get the last $6,500 paid within another 3 months. That would mean we'd be debt free, which of course would be awesome. On the side, I also have my own freelance editing, graphic design and photography business that has been growing fairly well without a whole lot of effort on my part. That said, it's still a pretty small-scale affair, but I feel confident I could do well with it if I had time to throw myself at it. I really enjoy this work because it is for myself and my clients, and because the projects are all very diverse. Photography has become my major passion, and my emotional side is telling me to quit my job tomorrow and throw myself into my own business to see if I can really grow it. I'm pretty sure I could make a go of wedding photography as well, and with all of these diverse things, could make enough of a living to get do reasonably well within a few months, and quite well within 1-2 years.

Now here's the complicated part: we've been talking about going overseas to work since we finished university 1-2 years ago. We don't really care where. If our debt was paid, we could take jo-jobs anywhere we could get work visas (such as British Commonwealth countries), and have a great time. With no debt, we could also look into volunteer opportunities in places like Africa. If we still carry some of this debt, we would probably be better off teaching english as a second language somewhere in Asia, but this would be cool too. I think we'd be happy to do pretty much any of these things.

Soooooo, with all of that as background, here's the dilemma: If my wife's society survives the museum meltdown, her job will be something worth sticking with a while longer. She's quite young to have a position like this and it is a really great opportunity for her if she sticks with museum or interpretation work, or if she gets her teaching degree (long-term goal). If this is the case, and we're going to stay here longer, then my choice would be to quit my job tomorrow (I dislike it that much), debt or no debt, and try to do the work I like doing. But we have no certainty that her job will last, and if I do quit my job to focus on the freelance work, and then she loses hers, we'll be a lot worse off financially than if I stick it out until they resolve it. (but I hate it!)

Should we stick it out, or should we start selling our belongings and looking into work visas?

Should I quit my job? Or would that be stupid? Should I throw myself into my own business, or would that be extra stupid since we plan to leave the country and travel within a year? (I really want to do both!)

Should we go teach english? Or do something else?

I'm not looking for definitive answers; I know we need to answer these questions ourselves. I'd just love some opinions. So lay it on me Mefites. Don't be shy.

Should we stay or should we go?

Expelling a board member

misspat — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:13:01 -0800

Our non-profit effort started just months ago, the secretary on the board of directors is a complete disaster. How do I get rid of her? I am the president, all the paperwork is in my name. We meet every week or so as we are writing the by-laws. The secretary insists on using a tape recorder and the minutes contain miconstrued gossip. Do I need a lawyer? We are in Florida.

Virus Scan Company That Accepts Submissions?

Quarter Pincher — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:31:59 -0800

Do any of the major virus-scan software sites permit sending in a questionable programs for possible addition to the ongoing alerts? Ultimately, I'm wondering whether the Marie Brighton / Synovate computer survey is safe to take -- they're asking me to install and run this program that sends them details about my machine (system name, machine name, installed devices, various settings, etc). It sounds really hokey. I don't want to just share the program with the world, here, in case it has account-related information along with it already.

Pretty much all the details are here, and requests to see whether I can just check off a manual survey of "do you have this"-style questions merely state that I'd only get the incentive ($20) for running the program. I've saved-as the program, but haven't run it yet. I'm just fine with simply not running it, but there doesn't seem to be any coverage of the subject on the web much at all, and I'm sure someone else would like to know also.

As for the original question -- I'm curious as to whether there's a well-established scanner/etc site out there that accepts user submissions of questionable programs, instead of just checking it with a scan. I'd like vastly superior details on the program, not just a red or a green flag.

lowcarb protein weightloss fitness

kitcat — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:44:52 -0800

Half a day on a low-carb diet and I already feel like hurling. Advice? Ok, so I'm wondering if a low-carb diet - 25% carb, 40% protein, 35% fat - is a bad idea for me. It's only been half a day and I feel heavy and nauseous. I can suck it up ( I elected to do this, right?), but I could use some advice.

Maybe my feeling ill is just sqeamishness? To my mind (and palate) meat is ok, large quantities - gross. Lots of fat - really gross. Protein shakes without soy milk and fruit - gross and indigestable. Fish - mostly gross. On the positive side, I love tofu and nuts. And shellfish. Eggs are ok.

Anyhow, why low-carb then? Because despite my best efforts, I've only lost 2 pounds after 9 weeks of effort. I'm 5'2, 136 pounds, 29, female. I've been eating about 1400 cal/day, doing cardio (walk/jog/bike) 3 days a week and weight training another 3 days a week. On top of this, I also walk from work to the gym (40 min) 5 days a week. With only four weeks left to really work it before my vacation, I figure I need to switch something up. I'd love to lose 5 pounds. Is that too much to ask!!!!? So - I plan to maintain the same amount of exercise and the same number of calories, but switch to a low-carb diet. From what I've read, it's a pretty surefire method.

My question is this: will this feeling of grossness fade over the course of a few days? Advice for mitigating the yuck? Your low-carb success stories for encouragement?

How to walk away

CodeMonkey — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:54:39 -0800

I expect to find out by next week if I am laid off. I don't believe I will be able to find a job that pays as well and I am kinda burned out anyway. I owe 40K in cc bills and owe 227k on a house worth 187K. I have not missed a payment and have a credit score of 700+ but I have HAD ENOUGH. I want out.
If they do lay me off, I will get full pay for 10 weeks...then unemployment..
So there are three things to do about the house: 1) do a deed in lieu, 2) do a short sale 3) 'just walk away' Which would be the most advantageous to me? Do I tell the banks that when I am laid off or when I am on unemployment? How short is too short of a sale? What exactly is 'just walk away' in Colorado?.
.
Onto CC. I don't pass the means test for 7 so that's out. I can do the credit counciling route...but I don't know who to trust. I worry about picking a fraudulent counciling service that'll take my money and do nothing. Even then the legitimate ones work for the CC companies and will slant advice their way every chance they get. Even bankrupcy lawyers have restrictions on how they can advice you. And you KNOW just as soon as I tell one of these places I am in trouble the rest will hear about it and jack my rates to 30% because unemployed people have SO MUCH MONEY...so timing is also an issue..
I am hoping to get a list of things to do like:.
1) tell mortgage companies when you hear about layoffs and offer ###.
2) stop paying mortgage that day (or after the 10 weeks or after ???) .
3) keep paying cc bills (or stop paying cc bills) .
or .
1) Go to find a reputable credit councilor fount at (website or phone) the day you hear about the layoffs and tell them (cc, house, want out...).
2) stop paying the mortgage that day or in 10 weeks or ???.
.
After all this crap, I don't care if I never own another house again..
.
Now, lets say you have no idea what the best thing to do is...what is the thing I shouldn't do? OR who knows what I should do?.
.
I need a game plan.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. (or megapixels and HD Video?)

DrAlbin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:17:14 -0800

Buy the Canon 450Xsi or wait for the 500TSi? I have been on the ledge about to take the leap to DSLR from point and shoot. I have read previous posts for newbie’s, read the reviews, went to a store picked the associates brain for a half an hour, picked up and tried (as much as you can in a store) the different brands and models. I finally justified spending $700+ for a Canon 450xsi. This week was going to be the week. And what does Canon do to reward me for my future purchase? They announce a new version of the camera to be released "early May".

Would it be more beneficial to wait till "early May" for the Tsi (the extra $200 isn’t going to be an issue if it's worth it)? Or take the plunge and buy the Xsi (even though with the new release the XSi will probably drop in price in "early May")

Question is not so much "What should I do?" rather "What would you do?"

Video wouldn’t be a huge selling feature, I have a decent Vid cam, just not HD.

Me: 'Logic logic logic.' Mom: 'WHARRGARBL'

kldickson — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:18:14 -0800

Mom's acting weird again, currently wrt my independence in various respects. Long story. Where do I start?

I am a third-year undergrad neurobiology student, currently taking a year off after a disastrous last few semesters. Depression and anxiety, which were the cause of those disastrous last few semesters, were treated, and my grades are tons better (I'm taking two classes right now).

I go to a large public state school half the country away from my folks, and pay about $30000 per year in tuition.

Mom has, for what it's worth, attempted to drive me nuts, and the latest manifestation of her insanity is in the form of not allowing me to go to Europe, in countries that have VASTLY lower crime rates than the United States according to NationMaster, on my own dollar and by myself.

I addressed this in another post, but to make it short, I've actually printed out PAGE AFTER PAGE of NationMaster statistics and she will not budge.

'No!'
'Why?'
'Because I said so.'
'Come on, you've got to have actual REASONING. Besides, I'm 20, not 15; that shit will NOT cut it with me.'
'... You have depression and anxiety!'
'Those were treated.'
'... You can't pay for it! What about your tuition?'
'Provided I contribute, well, most of the money I earn toward tuition, I don't think it's unreasonable to set aside a predetermined amount of money for a trip overseas.'
'*sputter* NO!'
'Unless you give me actual reasoning, I'm going to tell you you're an idiot.'
'NO!'
'You're an idiot. Give me some GOOD reasoning and I'll stop thinking you're an idiot.'

That is essentially how a conversation tonight went. It probably wasn't a good idea to call her an idiot, but 1) I can't unsay it, and 2) I got fed up with the disrespect. I will tell her 'sorry I called you an idiot; at the same time, not having good reasoning is FUCKING IDIOTIC and not telling me the reasoning behind the way you would deal with me in various circumstances is FUCKING IDIOTIC and I feel disrespected.'

Maybe she's trying to tell me to move the fuck out or become completely independent or something (completely non-cognizant of the fact that despite the fact that that would be GREAT, I can't really do that right now because I have to study and a job would detract from my studying).

Moving out is not an option, because of curriculum, tuition, and the fact that I need to get into grad school and want to get into grad school - job will detract from study and I need good grades.

Any suggestions for what I can do, hive mind?

My wireless lan connection is enabled, but i cant turn it on!

freddymetz — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:55:50 -0800

My wireless lan connection is enabled, but i cant turn it on! It seems to be in perfect working order, the only problem is that to turn wifi on, i have to press a soft button above my keyboard.
Since installing windows 7, these buttons don't work (they make a sound when i press them, but they have no function)
http://www.magicdevices.de/produkt-foto/notebook-medion-md96630.jpg
Thats a picture of my laptop (medion md9330S) and the buttons in question.

Is there any other way to turn wifi on?

Ive tried reinstalling the vista drivers and also theres no fn key combination to turn on wifi on my laptop..

Help me help my wife

roxiesmom — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:19:50 -0800

How to help my wife deal with my eating disorder? I have had an eating disorder for about 10 years, I have been to a clinic twice to treat it. Both times I went into a clinic I was under 100 pounds. My father was really the only one who recognized I had a eating problem, and took the steps to help me. My mother and the rest of my family was the main reason I had a problem. I was constantly being told I was fat (and when I was really skinny) that I looked really good and I needed to keep that weight. After the second clinic visit I was able to get it through my head that nothing was wrong with my weight and everyone who said I was fat was wrong.

Now I'm 24 years old, and I've had a serious relapse. My mother passed away 8 months ago, after her death I went into a bad place and didn't come out for awhile. I felt I had no control over anything, and the only thing I could control was the food I ate, and if I would throw up or not.

I have realized that I need help and I am getting that help. But my question is how can I help my wife deal with it? I need like books or other reading material that could help her understand how she can be there for me. She can empathize with me but she doesn't know how to support me or be there for me.

Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance.

Retaining Firefox as default web browser

ozred — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:49:47 -0800

Firstly I am elderly,and not computer experienced..I have set Firefox as my default web browser,and yet I constantly receive messages from Firefox saying they are no longer my default. Please in simple terms could someone advise how I can set Firefox without interruption.Thank you

Please help me with my powerbook keyboard conundrum. Are you geniuser?

citybuddha — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:44:15 -0800

Please help me with my powerbook keyboard conundrum. Are you geniuser? Since March my powerbook g4 keyboard has been acting wonky.
In march some of the keys on the right end of the keyboard would'nt work.
The p, return, 0, \, and couple other over there as well. I had it replaced under applecare in late March. Come September the same issue is happening again so I had it replaced. My applecare has expired so I needed to pay out of pocket. The day I picked it up the same thing is happening. According to the genius the problem was the keyboard. I don't think so anymore.
It seems to work occasionally. eare are a few things I must do to get it to work properly.
I must zap the pram once. After that the keyboard works fine until the computer goes to sleep. After that the problem reappears so I must zap again.
I tried a simple restart three times but that did not solve the issue,I need to zap the pram.
Just a note here, in March, when the problem began, there were a couple more keys that did not work. Those keys were also on the same side of the keyboard.
Also my lower ram slot is not working.
I await your brains

First Church of Gern

GernBlandston — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:03:19 -0800

Can I somehow declare my house as a church and not pay property taxes? What tax benefits can I enjoy by starting my own church? Where can I find the laws that govern this?

Can I recover My Documents from an XP Installation?

watercarrier — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:30:18 -0800

Will an installation of XP over 98 re-write over My Documents? Does XP not rename the old My Documents when it is installing itself and if not and the folder isn't given another name is it rewritten and the contents lost forever or is there some way to get the contents of that original MD back?

Is there a place on the internets that I can get an idea of what my records are worth.

citybuddha — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:52:21 -0800

Is there a place on the internets that I can get an idea of what my records are worth. I have a large collection of vinyl I am thinking of selling. Many are obscure new wave stuff from the 70's and eighties. I am looking for a site or two I can use to get an idea of what they are worth individually.
I have some tasty CDs as well
Gotta a suggestion?

crunch-filter: how do I stop my stomach from being sore?

krautland — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:36:07 -0800

crunch-filter: how do I stop my abdominal muscles from aching? it seems I went a bit too far with my crunches this week and now I'm unable to sleep with an aching tummy. I realize there's probably not a lot I can do about that right now I'd like to keep this from happening again, mainly because a sore stomach feels horrible. it's as if you were sick and wished you could throw up but just can't.

so is there a way to stretch your abdominal muscles? especially the upper ones seem to be the issue for me.

career guidance much?

project 2501 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:27:45 -0800

I have been working steadily and consistently for the last three years but not at jobs that show growth or project development (which everyone seems to want to know about). How do I find a new (better) job now? After graduating college and earning an elementary school teacher's certification I immediately moved out of state and was not eligible for a full teaching license in my new state. I worked as a substitute teacher for 3 years while my wife finished her doctorate. I was also employed as a Customer Service rep for a national co-operative (part time).
Now I'm moving back to my home state but am having serious reservations about entering full time teaching after becoming disillusioned about our education system.

Question:
1.What do I do with my life?
2.How to show on my resume that I am intelligent/ valuable given my limited (professional full-time) working experience especially at 28 years old.

A bit about me...
internet/information junkie
good people person
very tech oriented (my main hobbies including building computers and tweaking software, but I have no certifications or way to show my skills on paper)
experience working with children
emotionally stable /reliable
eager to learn and perform
available for long hours of hard work

We will be moving to the West Hollywood area from the upper mid-west.
Thanks for all of your help!

p.s. I did see these posts here and here but feel this is a bit different.

What should I do after college?

rybreadmed — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:05:07 -0800

What do I do with my life after college? I want to do something I don't hate, and might even like. I want YOUR suggestions and ideas. I'm in my late 20s and am a bit less than a year away from receiving a BS in mechanical engineering from a not-very-prestigious state university in Los Angeles County. I already possess a BA in creative writing and an MBA in finance. I went back to school for the BSME a couple of years ago. My grades are quite good (mostly A's, with a couple of B's every so often--nothing below a B). Next quarter, I'll be attending a very prestigious engineering school (also in the LA area) for a class on an exchange program (I'll get credit at my own institution for work done at the prestigious engineering school). I've also been working at an engineering firm doing actual engineering work.

So I ask you: What do I do next? I enjoy finance and engineering (and creative writing, but that won't put food on the table). I've thought about going to school to study quantitative finance, but more school? Another masters? Do I want to be in school forever? Do I get an engineering job? The idea of JUST doing engineering work kind of bores me.

Do I try to find a consulting job? Consulting sounds exciting, but do they hire engineers fresh out of school? And my undergraduate institution for my BSME isn't prestigious. From what I hear, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group hire from schools everyone's heard of (such as the prestigious school I'll be attending next quarter).

Also, it has been said that my participation in this exchange program would help my chances of getting into their graduate school. From this particular institution, I wouldn't mind another year or so of school for a Master's, but there's no guarantee of getting in (or even succeeding in their exchange program).

I ask you (yes--YOU!) for your ideas. I want to hear things I haven't thought of. I want to make a pretty good amount of money. A lot of money would be great. I don't want to work 80 or 90 hours per week unless there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, I want to see my girlfriend for more than an hour a week. No, I don't want to join the Peace Corps. No, I don't want to move to Qatar to take part in their huge economic boom. No, I don't want to join the military (as suggested by the idiot career adviser at my school's career center).

Put my money back together again.

dkleinst — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:59:17 -0800

Accidentally split a twenty dollar bill in half. What's the best way to put it back together?

How can I sell my Wireless?

Benzle — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:05:48 -0800

- Anyone had any luck in (re-)selling internet access through their wireless routers. The program LinSpot seems like the perfect answer but alas, Mac only. I live in a military barracks where people are constantly coming and going, where they charge $5 an hour for WiFi, I would like to do it for about a buck a day. Right now I give it away but sometimes it just gets too slow. Thanks everyone.

What do I do with an ant Queen?

asavage — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 11:49:46 -0800

So last night, I found what I think I've determined is an ANT QUEEN crawling across the carpet in front of my tv. I caught it. What in blazes do I do now? Make a little crown? It's weird and looks closest to this.

Though with a more traditional ant head, antennae and no pincer things at the rear end of the rear section (which is six segmented). The proportions are dead on tho'. It's about 1" long. No exaggeration.

Is this a rare thing? Should I contact my local entomologist? The East Bay Vivarium? Does anyone want one?

What does it eat?

Help me shave my own back

Noodles — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:13:40 -0800

Is it possible for a guy to shave his own back? I recently became single and would like to know if they make an extra long razor or an attachment that would enable me to shave my back. By the way my girlfriend was a pain in the butt. -wolfman

It's getting a little chilly up here...

mariokrat — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:50:06 -0800

What are my rights as a freelance writer? If I'm writing about employees competing on a company-sponsored team, do I have to clear everything I write with their PR people?? I was invited by a friend to join a sports team his company was sponsoring to compete in an upcoming festival. Aspiring writer that I am, I pitched an idea to the local free paper, and to the other team members to see if they'd let me talk to them and write an article about the team and the event. The response from both was positive, and things went well. About a half week after I sent the e-mail out to the team describing what I wanted to do, the de facto leader of the team got a bit nervous...

She (let's call her 'Jodie') prohibited me from naming the company or any of its employees on the team unless I got prior approval from their corporate communications manager on the article I wrote before I sent it to my editor. She said this once in a conversation between me and her, and again in front of the entire team at a post-practice lunch. Needless to say, the rest of the team had cooled to the idea of talking to me after that.

It was a Sunday, and I explained to her that my deadline for the article was Monday morning. My compromise solution was to send the article to both my editor and their communications officer at the same time, and have the communications officer deal with the editor about any problems the company might have. Jodie's repeated that their communications officer had to give approval before anyone else saw the piece, and that if I was unwilling to do that then I had to remove all mention of the company and its employees.

I decided then that I had no choice but to remove them, and spent that night re-writing the article into something I am not at all happy with. I sat there enraged thinking, "What the hell? Why am I having to write this piece in this way? Why should I need to get the company's approval?"

Monday morning, Jodie e-mailed me again and told me that it was 'imperative' that I contact their corporate communications before I sent my article to the editor or for any sort of publication. Their communications manager got back to me separately (my friend in the company had e-mailed them for me), and after explaining that the problem was no longer really a problem and that I had re-written the piece, I asked her to clarify their company's policies about such things. She explained that it was unlikely that they would have asked to screen the article in advance of publication, but that they would have asked about what I was likely to write, and who I had talked to. This answer, while better than the one Jodie had given me, was still a bit too ambiguous for me.

My view on the situation is this: Whatever issues there were with my mentioning the company or employees in the piece, they were between the employees and the company. As a non-employee, I believe I was within my rights to write what I wanted within the bounds that I had laid out in my original e-mail to the entire team. It seems to me that there should have been no reason for me to submit my article for approval prior to its even being seen by an editor at the paper.

But: I have very little idea about what rights I actually have about writing in a public forum about a team sponsored by a private entity. If I am participating on a team that is sponsored by a private entity, am I automatically subject to whatever corporate rules they have about talking to the media, even if I'm not an employee myself? Help! I feel like I've self-censored, and it makes me feel dirty. Did I really? I'm in Canada, and so advice about my Canadian rights would be appreciated.