Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with of

Finding work after you've been aged out

Summer05 — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:08:09 -0800

I'm a young 60 yr old woman aged out of my career of 30 yrs.--creating advertising for pharmaceuticals. Is paying for help worth it? I'm lost and must keep earning!! Suggestions? I no longer want anything to do with my previous profession. But I'm
totally blocked as to what to do. I'm a really good writer, and usually
a creative thinker. And the recession? Even in my NYC area, it's horrible.
Should I pay a job counselor?

Screw Ivy League. What should i do?

freddymetz — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:42:27 -0800

Screw Ivy League. What should i do? Im currently spending a year doing social work in a developing country and the time has come to start applying to universities.

Ive been working on my ivy applications ever since i finished high school (in germany) half a year ago, but somehow I lost sight of my old goals and do not wish to study in these institutions anymore.

Ive also come to doubt the effectiveness of studying there whilst spending approximately 30000 dollars per year.

I also believe that i dont need to study at university to create and build up businesses, but i have enough common sense to at least have a plan B if it all goes wrong.

So where should i study?

Im looking for types of institution or names of instutions (country doesnt matter, it can be in mexico, usa or japan) i should be looking at if princeton, duke and co dont work out.
They shouldnt be too expensive either.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and has relevant advice to give, im all ears for that too!

thank you.

spelling troubles: Master of Science vs. Master's of Science

figTree — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:22:09 -0800

Confused on spelling variations: Master of Science vs. Master's of Science. I am preparing some resumes, and found out that I have never needed to spell many varations of Master of Science.

I am confused about 2 points: the "'s" and the capitalization of Master

For example:

"I am currently finishing a Master of Science". I think this is wrong?

"I am currently finishing a Master's of Science" - is that right? or is it

"I am currently finishing a master's of science" (no capitalization)

Also, do thing become different when the sentence becomes:

"I am currently finishing a Master of Science degree". It seems to me in this case the possessive nature changes?

another case:

"I am pursuing a Master's degree" (or should it be a small m?")

If it makes a difference I am writing Canadian English.

very confused - thanks for the help.

ps: no i am not pursuing a Master's (master's?) degree in English :P

Anyone know anthing about Nashville School of Law?

roxie5 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:21:52 -0800

Anyone know anything about Nashville School of Law? I'm working as a legal assistant and plan to go to law school next year. I'm very strongly considering Nashville School of Law as it is affordable and will allow me to keep my day job. If anyone has gone to this, or any night non-traditional, law school, I would be very interested in hearing about your experience. Were you adequately prepared to practice? How was it finding a job? What areas of law were central to the curriculum (specifically public interest)? With a student body consisting of adults with jobs and families, what were the social and study-group aspects like? And anything else you wish to add...

Thanks in advance.

sydney cost of living

neworder7 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:24:25 -0800

CostOfLivingFilter in Sydney: I am 35 year old, professional in Sydney with a salary around AU$100K. I have no dependents, leading a normal modest life with no extravagant expenses. Why do I still feel the life is out of my reach? I am 35 and I think I am old enough to settle, stop living like a student. Maybe buy a property. I know mine is not a huge salary and I also think it is not very little either for a single person. I realized it seems that it does not look possible to buy a decent house/apartment closer to city without having to go "out west". Also, saving for a deposit is very hard while paying a rent even for an average place in the city.

I am not originally from Australia, been here for couple of years only, so please help me realize where I am placed financially in this society?

Thank you

Where is a good place to get breakfast near St. Paul's Cathedral in London?

Your Time Machine Sucks — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:47:42 -0800

Where is a good place to get breakfast near St. Paul's Cathedral in London? The hotel breakfast is extra and is priced nonsensically, and who knows if it's any good. Breakfast is a bit of a make-or-break thing for the day's mood while sightseeing and it's also something I like to get inside tips on, so I thought I'd ask if any locals or experienced visitors can steer me right.

I like English breakfasts/cooked breakfast with eggs, toast etc, she likes Continental breakfast, but this isn't a super-rigid thing. It doesn't have to be cheap although it definitely doesn't have to be in any way fancy, just good. Thanks!

How to take a terminal relative in to your home to die when there are multiple complications?

stormpooper — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:20:16 -0800

Mother with terminal cancer, dad being an @#$ about her care, I want to take her in but it's complicated. How do I handle it? My mother's cancer is spreading (metastatic breast cancer--now in liver, spleen, bones, spot in lungs). She's been on more aggressive chemo and it's not working. They want to put a port in her veins and she doesn't want it. Dad forcing her to have it. She just wants to stop all chemo and let things happen. However, my dad is getting sick of spending money (he can afford it + Medicare/insurance suppliment), driving her to 2ce a week chemo, seeing her "complain". He's in denial about her dying. On the other hand my mom is tired of everything, being controlled, not being allowed to recover because he forces her to live life like nothing is wrong (puking? What about my dinner? Go cook). Doc won't give time estimates with or without chemo (she probably doesn't know).

My dad, being the controlling asshole that he is told her that she is going to be kicked out and have to die somewhere like a home. I am appauled and want her to stay with me. However, this poses multiple problems:
1. I have a 10 month old
2. Small house; all 3 bedrooms (mine, spare, baby's) are right next to each other at the top of the stairs so no privacy for anyone
3. my husband and her don't really get along
4. me and my mom don't really get along because she can be highly difficult (you can't thank 40+ years of abuse). She can throw temper tantrums, butt in where she doens't belong, swear/yell if she doesn't like something ,etc. My son is being cared for by a college student nanny. I can only imagine her being vocal about his care while we're at work. I can't have her impact others and lose a nanny over this either.

I do not believe someone should be shoved in a home to die alone. However, I'm her only option. I have to also worry if dad (out of loss of control) will cut all of her medical care since he pays for it. I would need him to continue her care, hospice, nurse care under my roof because I can't afford it.

Is it logical for this to work out so she can have at least her last days in some peace/normalcy?
How can I continue to have a normal house? (my husband and I are going through marriage issues as it is; she knows some of it and I don't want her instigating things either).
Finally, when is the right time to take her in? She's not dying right of yet and is fine but the way things are going, it doesn't look like this will be another year of this. Do I take her in during her final weeks? Three months before? When she decides to stop treatment or when my dad because impossible (not that he isn't right now)?

I have no answers but just want to "fix" this in the best possible way to give this woman some dignity--despite our history of severe ups and downs. However, I have a husband and a baby. I don't want it to impact them either.

Thanks.

FacebookFilter

nax — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:57:51 -0800

Facebook has been telling me "Your account is temporarily unavailable due to site maintenance. It should be available again within a few hours. We apologize for the inconvenience" for 5 days. I'm getting no response from them. Other people also cannot get on my page, and switching IP address or using a different network doesn't help. Anyone know why this happens? How do I get it back? Should I attempt to just delete my account (and how do I do that without being able to get on)? If I delete my account, will they let me start over with a new account?

Please no "FB is bullshit/for lamers anyway" answers. I'm concerned about hacking, plus I find FB useful.

Out of pocket or file a claim?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:35:35 -0800

Car scratch costs $500 to fix. Should I pay out of pocket or make an insurance claim? While pulling into a parking spot, I bumped into a car. This left some slight scratches on the left passenger side door of the other car, and some scratches on my front bumper. I left a note with my contact info and an apology, and the other car's driver took her car to two different auto body shops, both of which gave an estimate around $500 to fix the scratches on her car.

This is an amount that I could pay out of pocket, but since my finances are not great right now this would still entail some belt-tightening. Is it actually still worth it to pay this out of pocket, or should I do this through insurance now? I understand that insurance rates go up after a claim is made -- not to mention the inherent hassle of making the claim -- but I'm having trouble finding information that would let me gauge exactly how big that increase might be. I've sifted through Google and my insurance documents so far, and I've got nothin' conclusive.

My priority right now is just settling this with the other person (incidentally, I have no reason to suspect the other person might be out to screw me whatsoever). I do plan to fix up my own car scratch eventually, since my car is fairly new. But given that this is so cosmetic and that either way I'd end up paying some amount out of pocket anyway for fixing up my car (my collision insurance policy has a $500 out of pocket deductible), this really isn't a huge priority right now.

So, in short, if you were me, would you bother going through the claim process, or would you just suck it up and pay? I'm in Maryland, and my insurance is Geico, if that helps. This is also my first incident of any kind in five years of driving, so I'm a complete virgin to this. Anonymous because I'm paranoid: the throwaway email is asdfdsaf08@gmail.com.

Would someone die a gruesome death?

ThomThomThomThom — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:17:27 -0800

A handstand on someone's chest while lying on a bed of nails? Ok, so this came up in conversation with a street performer friend of mine. It's been a while since I've done any physics and figured that some of you might have been wondering the same as myself. So I am inclined to ask, dear AskMe! (In case you're wondering, I'm not planning on doing this. I'm just trying to settle an idle curiosity.)

Imagine, if you will, a young so-and-so lying on his back on a bed of nails. This bed of nails (as most do) extends the length of man's back - from the lower back, just above his buttocks, to his shoulders and the base of his neck. The nails' heads are approximately 1mm^2 in area at the point (we're talking longish ten-penny nails.) These nails are spread one per square inch on the bed (as are most standard beds-of-nails.) This fellow in particular weighs about 160lb, as does his friend, who now places his hands on the first young daredevil's chest and presses up into a handstand. Let's also assume that these young men (or women!) are shirtless. It's difficult to imagine people being so daring with clothing on.

Now for the million dollar question - did the first performer just meet a gruesome death? I imagine that the jolt of the handstand-er pressing up onto his friend's chest with his hands would add a considerable amount more force than would his simple bodyweight and gravity. Would that be enough to impale his friend? If that would be, what would the effect be like if the man on the bed of nails were to support the handstander's shoulders with his arms, while the handstand-er used his arms to brace himself on the lying-down man's knees? (knees which are connected to his legs, which are pressing against the ground, not touching any nails at all. From what I've researched, this pose is called the candlestick.) Would that take enough force away from the man's back that he wouldn't get impaled?

Thanks for humoring me, dear Metafilter. Inquiring minds simply *have* to know.

WHo benefits from an over appraised house?

will wait 4 tanjents — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:51:59 -0800

Buying my first house: Who benefits from the over appraisal? I have a feeling our house was over appraised and I cannot figure out why this would be done and yes I have googled.

It was appraised for $40,000 more than the selling price.
I am in the United States.
Any information - relevant or not will be most appreciated.

How long could a person live after having his or her arm cut off?

edavidoff — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:00:49 -0800

How long could a person live after having his or her arm cut off? I was watching my DVD of Kill Bill, for about the umpteenth time, and I wondered about the scene where Uma Thurman's character cuts off the arm of a pretty lady at the shoulder. The lady has a lot of blood spurting out of her shoulder, and she screams at bit, but by the end of the movie seems pretty OK about losing her arm.

Does anyone, maybe with some medical knowledge, have a good idea about how long a person could live after having an arm cut off before dying of loss of blood, or of shock, or probably both? In the movie, she lives at least 30 minutes, probably more, which I reckon could never happen. What do other people think?

[HealthFilter] How much does the average no complication birth cost?

gnash — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:59:17 -0800

Had a beautiful baby girl a few months ago. Previous baby due to excellent insurance cost exactly $0. This baby, with crappy Aetna insurance close to $4k. This is after deductible, and using a doctor that was non-preferred (which we paid more for) I am still puzzled how I ended up getting charged this much. Anyway I got to thinking. Why is my out of pocket cost $4k for a birth with no complications? Why is the total cost for this birth $17 - $18k? Some detail:
Pomosin (sp?)
Epidural
Misc pain killers
2 nights stay post birth
4 - 5 hours labor @ hospital, less than an hour for the "all hands operation"
Cord blood draw

My question - what was the total cost for YOUR kiddo's birth (or your friends)? Is this really what it costs nowadays for what is, for the most part, an incredibly routine procedure?

Apropos of nothing redux.

eschatfische — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:22:10 -0800

Four years ago, I asked if there was a way to get Eduardo Paolozzi's short film The History of Nothing on DVD, but there wasn't an obvious answer. I was wondering if things have changed. I saw The History of Nothing at the Tate Modern many years ago while traveling to the UK, and I quickly fell in love with it; I've seen it referenced countless times in other art, but my recollections of it are slipping away. I'd love to see a Paolozzi compendium of some sort, but browsing through the arts and rep film calendars, nothing has come up -- nor have I ever found any of Paolozzi's work on home video.

I'm in the Bay Area, in case anyone in the art community around here has a lead. Thanks!

$48 for marriage license; how much for gay couples to get similar protections?

hworth — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:06:22 -0800

We are a gay couple living in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. We would like to get as much protection as we can to make decisions for each other and visit each other in hospitals. I have been calling around to gay and lesbian lawyers in the area, and no one will give me a 'straight' answer about cost. How much is it going to cost us to get a health care directive, durable power of attorney, and medical power of attorney for each of us?

Why can't I count the Fs?

doublehappy — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:52:25 -0800

I have lots of questions about an email FW: I have received many, many times. How many times does the letter F appear in the following sentence?

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

This is ridiculous. There are 6. Even when I know there are 6, I struggle to recount them. The email suggests that only the super-intelligent will count 6, and the rest of us are idiots. I am of, perhaps, slightly above average intelligence, at best, so this may be true.

Being of only slightly above average intelligence, I have lots of questions. Why? Why does our (forgive the simplification, for I don't know how brains work) language brain override our shape recognition brain? (When did language become more important to survival than shape recognition? Are they in fact the same thing?) Wouldn't this also mean that the more intelligent you are, the less Fs you will count, (if we accept language skills are a good measure of intelligence). I take it that this obviously doesn't work in languages where the pronunciation of F and V differs from English, among others (a couple of google searches suggest that the brain perceives'of' as 'ov'). The text is often presented with non-standard line breaks, and I haven't seen this online with different sentences. Is this a phenomenon that can be seen in other texts, or is specific to this particular sentence? Does this phenomenon have a name?

What is the best way to pluralise letters? It seems common to use an apostrophe, and according to a lecturer I had four years ago, this is okay with decades, for example, the 1980's, but it just feels wrong next to a single letter. It's a proper noun, right? So the pluralisation should just be a simple 's'.

Is language even the best tool to talk about language? (See how I accidentally used the word 'talk' in there, presupposing that the only way to have discourse about language is to use language? What's that, post-structuralism?) It seems strange to me that we would, as a species, have reached the best form of communication so early in our existence. Is language the killer app for Humans, alongside thought? (Are they the same thing in some ways?) You can talk about dancing, but you can't dance about it. You can think about talking, and you can talk about thinking.

Sorry - got a bit carried away there... I'll settle for an answer to 'Why can't I identify the Fs in 'OF'?

Shenzhen cost of living

comatose — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:32:49 -0800

Shenzhen, China cost of living questions. I have been doing research on the possibility of accepting a job offer in Shenzhen, China and I am being asked by my potential employer what I think a fair salary would be for a college graduate in the architecture field.

I have read plenty of expat/travel forums on living expenses (people claim it to be a rather expensive city) in SZ but they are not very detailed, nor are they in agreement with each other. I read that for a furnished 2 bedroom place in a nice part of town can run from 1800 to 8000 rmb a month. By comparison to my current expenses in the USA this site makes SZ seem somewhat cheap. I've read that 15,000 rmb a month is a perfectly adequate, if not a good wage for a nice place and some decent pocket money. In another forum people agree that 30,000 rmb a month is a fairly good wage.

I need to come back to him with a number that can cover a 1 bedroom furnished apartment in an undoubtedly nice part of town, $400 USD per month in loans, taxes, transportation, health care, living expenses, and entertainment, plus a fair amount of money for personal savings. This is an entry level position and I don't want to be unreasonably high and by no means am I going to leave everything here for a salary that is not going to give me at least the basics of a comfortable lifestyle. Comfortable = Adequately accommodating basic living needs in a nice safe area, basic food, basic entertainment, money to save and money to spend for a 25 year old guy. You know, a good 'entry level' position salary. For comparison sake: I would expect a salary of $44,000 in Boston or $39,000 in Cincinnati to cover my expenses/financial goals/personal needs... so what would be a comparable salary in Shenzhen?

Need Lily of the Valley Flowers - end of August

yulka13 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:45:30 -0800

I need to get the flowers of the Lily of the Valley for my wedding at the end of August. Please advise where I can purchase these flowers either in New York or in Maryland. I am also willing to buy this flower online. Thank you so much!

Use MacBook mic instead of headset in WoW? Why not?

musofire — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:02:29 -0800

Why can't I use my MacBook's microphone to play World of Warcraft? Why do I need a USB headset? We're out in the country without my stepson's headset, and anyway, I'd like to hear the chatter. (He's showing me the game.)

Is there a way in WoW to use the regular microphone and speakers instead of a USB headset? If not, is there software that will allow me to use the regular mic and speakers to spoof a headset?

How to make the Sound of Music sluttier?

Sully — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:55:40 -0800

Most Halloweens I have a small Rocky Horror Picture Show party at my place. But this year I wanted to screen a different musical. Still, I want people to dress up, and I want the night to carry the same raucous, raunchy tone. How can I "slutify" The Sound of Music?

Mall of America--best hotel to stay and where should I take my 5 year old?

lynnie-the-pooh — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:26:42 -0800

What is a good hotel that is right next to or connected to Mall of America? And what are the "must go to's" for a five year old? We are looking for a hotel that is clean and nice that is right next to or connected to the Mall of America. It would be nice if there was a restaurant attached to the hotel, although that is not necessary. Also, we would like a clean pool, preferably one that is kid-friendly, where there are steps that lead off down the pool and then there is a gradual recession in the water.

Also, is there anything that I just HAVE to go to in the mall, where my five year old will LOVE it?

Thanks!

Lynnie-the-Pooh

What can we do about all these overdraft fees, which we think are unjustifiable?

GrooveStix — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:51:07 -0800

My girlfriend received $506 in fees for overdrafting about $40 from Bank of America. Is there anything we can do about this? Here's her question, since she doesn't have an AskMefi account:

Hey Everyone, I urgently need guidance on how to deal with some outrageous banking fees.

I have a checking account with Bank of America. My card has a credit card function on it, which I used last week in order to purchase food. Meanwhile, I had not realized that the bank hadn't processed several of my other past charges - they decided to process all the charges at once, over-drafting me by $40 and slamming me with 5 $35 overdraft fees. Apparently (I just learned this tonight from a cold-voiced manager at a Customer Service center) it's the fault of the merchants, since they gave me a receipt, meaning the charges would be consider debit - NOT credit, even though each of the 9 charges were specified as credit. When I called on the 22nd, I learned that if I didn't pay what was originally $216 in fees, the total balance I owed would jump with 6 more incoming overdraft fees. Being a struggling college student, I couldn't just pay it all off and move on; the total balance is now $506 and are about to jump again. All of my attempts to escalate the problem via phone have failed, despite my threats to use legal and public action. I am also awaiting replies from emails I sent to CEO Ken Lewis, as well as several other executives - I am sending more emails tonight.

Is there anything else I can do? I really need help soon! I have a paycheck coming in next week that auto-deposits and, if I don't have a solution before next Friday, I will have MORE overdraft fees (as explained to me by a service rep) and I won't be able to cover a payment to my University, which was a strict agreement.

Please let me know what can be done. Thank you so much!!!

Hoping to listen to the Singalong Sound of Music with audience participating.

Sully — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:12:39 -0800

Can anyone help me find an audio version of the Singalong Sound of Music with the audience participation included in the recording? I am not looking for a short clip (the only things I've managed to find so far) but rather, the entire show. Thanks.

Does she not want to go home?

tylerfulltilt — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:32:52 -0800

[Spoilers for Song of Ice and Fire books] Why is that Arya Stark... In a clash of kings, When Arya is at harrenhall and Roose Bolton takes over the Place from Vargo Hoat, why doesn't Arya reveal herself to him and ask him to take her home? She couldn't have known that Roose was gonna betray her brother. She should have known that Roose was her brother's man, right?

This has been bugging me

Lord of the Rings Playing Card Game

spiderskull — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:07:19 -0800

We're trying to find the rules for a Lord of the Rings themed playing card game, and we can remember about 90% of the rules. We've searched online to no avail (including Card Games Website). Hopefully someone here knows.

So far, this is what we can remember:

You use a regular deck of playing cards. Ace is high, order of suits is spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs (highest-to-lowest)

The objective is to collect an ace, a queen, and a king which will allow you to "visit Mordor" and try to destroy the ring. If the suit of the queen matches the suit of a randomly selected, but hidden (to everyone except the person trying to destroy the ring) Mordor card, then you win

There's a small pile in the center, where the players are competing for the top card that's face up, with the basic rules of War. We'll call this the target card.

Every player has a small pile of soldier cards, with the top card face up. This is the player's soldier that competes against other soldiers to win the target card. The player with the highest soldier card at the end of the turn gets to take the target card, unless someone plays one of their character cards (described below).

Everyone initially starts with 5 cards and you put them into a diamond formation (face down), where each of these character cards serves a specific purpose when played:
- An archer, which can shoot an opponent's soldier card if it is a higher number than the soldier
- A hobbit, which can steal the target card if it has a lower number
- A mage, which forces another player to put their current soldier card at the bottom of their pile, and reveal a new soldier, providing that the suit of the mage is different from the soldier it's attacking
- A hero, which we forgot the details of, but we think can take out all face-up cards that it is higher than
Order of play each turn is determined by the order of the soldier cards, from lowest to highest. So, if there's three players, the one with the lowest soldier card goes first

Players can immediately retaliate if their soldier is attacked

The round is over once all of the target cards are claimed, and a new round begins
- To start a new round, all of the players can choose which cards take the roles of archer, hobbit, mage, and hero. The remainder of the cards become the soldier pile (which need to be shuffled).
- At this point, if anyone has the queen-king-ace combo and wants to go to Mordor, they can test their chances
- The new target card pile is taken from a central unused deck, and has N cards, where N is the highest number of soldier cards any player has, plus one.

Each player has a separate discard pile. All attacked soldiers, target cards acquired, and character cards go here.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Are there other card games with this name?

A small warning: we tried playing with these rules, but the game seemed unbalanced, and we were filling in the gaps as went along. Any small rule change to the hero's role seemed to have a drastic impact on gameplay.