Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with out

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?

Slim, but fat at the same time?

neworder7 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:03:52 -0800

Slim, but fat at the same time? I have a slim appearance, but I realize I am lacking the body mass that it matters the most, bone and muscle. I have very thin arms and somewhat weak upper-body. I am 35, male, 5'10" , 152lbs. As an adult, I know it is not possible to gain bone mass. How can I improve my physique so I can maintain decent fitness level when I get older? Here is a bit of history:

When I was in my teens I was very slim/weak and in my early 20s due to unhealthy diet in college, I put on some weight up to 180lbs and it was mostly fat (although not too fat, looked kind of flabby) .

In my late 20s I learned about nutrition (yes that late...) managed to get myself into reasonable shape. I have been eating well and exercised in moderation since then (I can bench press 120lbs).

But I see some people similar to my frame, but they weight at least 20lbs more and look more solid, stronger upperbody and healthier.

As a late starter of exercise and eating well, I feel my body has not picked up to a decent level yet. Maybe it is because I have thin arms and cannot build enough muscle on that. Could this be possible?

How can I develop more solid physique, stronger upper body? I am not in rush but I really want to build enough foundation so I maintain a decent fitness level as I get older.

I just don't want to be slim but fat any more.

It's the buzz buzz buzz in the drum of the ear, or, making my amplifier a tinfoil hat to stop GSM noises from my phone.

Halle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:22:38 -0800

It's the buzz buzz buzz in the drum of the ear, or, making my amplifier a tinfoil hat to stop GSM noises from my phone. Like many others, I have GSM buzz in my speakers. But, I frequently don't have the option of setting my phone to silent while I'm working, because I'm working on the phone. That leaves the options as a) not getting to listen to music while working, or b) letting hideous noises that come out of my speakers every hour at a much higher volume than the music make me aggro. So, I've done some research (and read the old and inconclusive GSM noise questions here in AskMe) and I've concluded that it's most likely my amplifier lacking shielding. I'm going to put ferrite chokes on my speaker and audio cables just in case, but the main plan of attack is to put a faraday cage around the amp since it's out of sight. What is a good way to construct the cage with the following specs:

1) blocks interference really well,
2) isn't terribly expensive,
3) will last/can be moved (i.e. alternatives to tinfoil),
4) has some possibility of heat dispersal so it doesn't kill the amp.
5) no negative electrical safety implications (I can't imagine what these could be but I thought I'd throw it in there in case there is anything I'm overlooking in this department).

Thank you!

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.

"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put the vowels all at the beginning... what?"

LSK — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:51:59 -0800

Help an aspie initiate making out with girls in college. I've adapted to most social situations, mostly due to reading about them, but this is one field that seems to assume that the participants have an instinct for it. I've had a friend with benefits before, but we met online, basically solely with the intent of a FWB relationship, and she had walked me through my first makeout session with her and with sex.

I'm not exactly sure wherein my issue lies, or what I'm failing to grasp. I've made multiple female acquaintances, some of whom live in my dorm, but I have no idea when it's appropriate to initiate making out, where to do it, or how to start. I've been told it just happens, but I don't think I'd ever initiate anything if I were "just letting what happens happen" - I'd be too afraid.

Admittedly I want to avoid a committal monogamous relationship through most of college. I genuinely want to get sex out of college, and avoid tying myself down in the non-kinky way (An education is a higher priority, but of less relevance to this post.)

Counting Out Loud

l33tpolicywonk — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:15:29 -0800

What word(s) do non-US English speakers use to count out loud? Okay, so, in the USA, school kids and many adults keep count out loud by using the word "Mississippi" each second (as in "One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi, etc). I assume this is because the word takes about a second to say. Does a similar tradition exist in other English speaking countries? Since I imagine they don't use the name of a US state / river, what words are used for this purpose?

Get this damn tune out of my head

hungrysquirrels — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:23:53 -0800

Any tips for getting a tune out of your head? There's this damn ice cream truck which makes several passes a day with like a 5 second loop of a tune, and it's been struck in my head for about a week. Can't concentrate on my work. I can only imagine how insane the poor driver is by now.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around...and then what?

librarylis — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:10:03 -0800

What's your version of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around? Miss Susie had a steamboat? Cinderella dressed in yella? I am doing a short presentation on children's jump rope rhymes and count-out games. I've noticed that a lot of these have regional variations.

Some rhymes I've come across frequently include Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around, Cinderella dressed in yella (made a mistake and kissed a fella), Bubble gum bubble gum in a dish, Not last night but the night before (24 robbers), Miss Mary Mack, etc. Variations on these and other rhymes definitely welcome!

I am aware of: this previous AskMe as well as this one, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, Brian Sutton-Smith, and a whole bunch of scholarly articles.

What's your variation? I'm looking for any type of jump rope rhyme, any type of counting rhyme (playground, not classroom), that sort of thing. It would help if you would explain what region you learned the rhyme in.

My toe continuously keeps threatening to drop out of joint causing much distress and pain - any ideas about what's going on?

Chorus — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:49:53 -0800

My toe continuously keeps threatening to drop out of joint causing much distress and pain - any ideas about what's going on? Back in February while out walking, the second toe of my right foot popped right out of joint with no prior warning. After much pain and clutching with both hands, did the toe go back into joint and, while the foot was incredibly tender and sore for the rest of the day, I was up walking fine the next day and... fine also for the two months since. So I just wrote it off as one of those things.

However in the past week, foot-matters have seriously deteriorated - rapidly and out of the blue. What began as the odd niggling 'uh oh here we go again' sensation has now become quite debilitating. It's gotten to the point where if I walk for longer than 5-10 minutes, it feels as if that second toe is going to drop right out of is socket! I get a weird, heavy feeling in the toe, accompanied by a 'knot' of pain in the front/top of the foot or the occasional weakness in the inner side of my right knee. To look at it, the toe doesn't seem swollen or sticking out at a weird angle, nor is it discoloured. When I'm walking, I get the feeling that I shouldn't lift my foot too high [or the toe, you know, drop out] and also the overwhelming urge to scrunch up my toes or grab my foot to keep everything in place. If I DO scrunch my toes, I have to be very, very careful because the dislocation feels like it's going to happen again.

The real weird part is, I can walk around and manage fine if I'm just puttering about the office or house, but the other morning I couldn't complete my usual 30min walk to work and today just walking by the end of the day is making me pause and gasp every few steps, wincing at the pain and what *might* happen. But I've no numbness anywhere and after rest the foot is fine for a while.

I've finally going to the doctor in the morning, I'm just wondering if what's wrong with me will get dismissed as a mere sprain or something trivial [considering I can walk on the foot after resting for a bit and the toe itself isn't, you know, black and swollen], when honestly it feels so much worse. I know what a sprain is like and this is so removed from that. But if it was a break - since February? - I'd certainly know about it before now.

Does anybody have any experience with random dislocation and might know what it is/causes? Or what treatment is ahead of me tomorrow with the doc?

Should I ask her out now?

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:31:14 -0800

I'm moving nine hours away and she'll be closer....eventually, should I ask her out beforehand? I met this girl through an online dating site. She was listed as looking for friends but I thought I'd try my luck and over the course of a few months we've been on three "hang outs" and it's been great.

I'm moving nine hours (car ride) away next week for a job and graduate school and she will be coming up in the summer (she is from there). Also a few months after she comes back up she will be going to Europe for 6 weeks for a study abroad program. After all is said and done she will be back home (where I will be).

My question is: should I ask her on a "date" next week with the express intention of telling her that I like her a lot or should I wait until summer, or should I wait until after the whole Europe stint?

I know (from reading a lot of askmeta) that long distance relationships don't work, but this one is confusing in its complications.

Another alternative I was considering was to just -over the phone- tell her how I feel about her.

Help.

Great ladies running clothes and gear?

mintchip — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:06:25 -0800

Great ladies running clothes and gear? Amateur running looking to get out there 3-4 times a week (for 3-5 miles each time). I'm looking to get some more gear but don't really know much about what I should be looking for. My challenge is adjusting to weather that is often cold/wet/windy when I start out and then feels warm pretty quickly once I get moving.

I really don't know what I should be looking for in "good" running gear, since I've always just used old sweats or discount off-label workout clothes like those you can get at TJ Maxx. I'd like to get your recommendations here and then look for them at online discounters. Basically, I'm looking for favorite brands and advice features to look for in:

1. tops
2. pants
3. outer layers
4. workout bag
5. accessories (fanny pack, etc.)

Bonus if you can recommend a great padded sports bra (size A here). Thanks!

Inexpensive RCA-in, RCA-out, In-line DVR with no subscriptions?

Quarter Pincher — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:55:28 -0800

Inexpensive standalone (non-computer) DVR solution for in-line video game recording? Preferably RCA in, RCA out, with 10+hours record time uncompressed/highest quality. I'm looking for something that'll essentially perform like a "press record now" device akin to a VCR, that will record anything coming in through the RCA input, but with relatively uncompressed quality. I make a lot of video game YouTube videos, and most games do not have their own go-back-and-watch features.

I tried this with a VCR to "technical" success (but with hideous recording quality) and am considering digital options now. My father suggested a hard-drive-based digital video camera that has RCA ins and outs, but I wouldn't know where to begin.

Any suggestions for brands and models to start looking, or have similar experience to share?

Optoma HD70 projector flickering crazy colors, then whimpering out

icetaco — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:15:18 -0800

Optoma HD70 projector flickering crazy colors, then whimpering out - just over a year old, with a brand new bulb installed 6 months ago -- tech support not very helpful. Anyone have ideas, or sympathy at least? I live in LA, but it's not even hot enough to overheat the lamp yet. I am getting an amber lamp light however, and customer service says it's the lamp. But they just replaced it, and they're expensive! Warranty no longer an option. Hmmm...

Maybe not so silly, but still conflicted :/

big open mouth — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:19:25 -0800

Okay, it's me, back again with yet more break-up/move out questions. If you guys get tired of me asking these just let me know, I'll quit. Details inside... ugh... Okay, so if you remember reading my recent questions you will remember that I am 21, living with my 37 year old boyfriend. That is, I am for the moment. I decided to move out about two weeks ago and have since found an apartment. My friend and I are filling out the application now, and if all goes well we'll be able to move in just one week.

So here's the rub. I had always felt incredibly conflicted about my boyfriend. He's much too old for me, and I know we have no future... but still he's very important to me and has been a good friend of mine for some time now. It makes me incredibly sad to think that I am going to break his heart, and that combined with my fond memories of times we've shared have left me more confused than ever.

Then again, perhaps I'm not really confused at all. In fact, I can feel deep down that I need to break up with him, but still I hesitate, reminisce, feel immersed with guilt whenever I consider it. When I came back from my grandmother's funeral in another state he dumped me, but the next day told me I had misheard him. That we were still together, but only until I moved out. Didn't make any sense at the time, and since that conversation have spoken several times about the fact that we're not getting along very well, but that we were going to give "us" another shot once I moved out.

He's been pretty complacent and has helped me even with seeing potential apartments, but I know he's holding a grudge for a few not-so-perfect (but honest) things I've said to him. He denies that he's upset, but I can tell by the way he acts.

So, great, right? I move out in a week, shouldn't be a problem. We're doing okay and it seems like it won't be too overwhelming for anybody. So why don't I just wait?

Well... because this week I've been really sick and he hasn't really been acting like a boyfriend, or even like himself. He's gone out every night that I've been at home sick, and he's seemed incredibly put-out by everything I ask him to do or he offers to do for me.

So, I'm miserable. I know that my heart is saying this relationship is dead, and that I'm not happy anymore, but I still don't know how to go about this. I know probably no one here will think I should, but would anyone advise me actually giving him another shot?

If not, should I break up now? If I wait until after the move it will look like I've planned this all along (something he already thinks) and will reflect poorly on me, and he'll probably do a fair bit of "I-told-you-so"ing, but do you think that's the best plan?

Ugh, maybe I shouldn't even be asking people I've never met before, but you've always given me good information before, HiveMind, and I know that you are all experienced, kind, thoughtful and mature people with good heads on your shoulders. So, what do you think? (Sorry it was long!)

Babies, not Rabies.

ashaw — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:28:20 -0800

Urgent Rabies Vaccination: I'm worrying (nay, freaking out) about whether I should get a rabies vaccination. The course of the rabies vaccination is 21 days. I made the monumental error of youtubing rabies, and now I am freaking out. I should be able to get it tomorrow locally for a costly fee (£100+), but that's IF i'm able to get an appointment and first shot tomorrow....with the final shot taken hours before I depart. I will be be going to Lima, Peru and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Cuzco. In addition I will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Iguassu Falls, and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

I've read the past mefi question on this, but would still like more personalised answers.

Is this shot really necessary for the things I will be doing (trekking etc)?

Is the post-exposure vaccination available at all the locations I will be at?

Is the vaccination really worth it? I understand that regardless, in case of exposure the vaccination will only buy me some more time and is not full proof...

Dogs are one thing, but how do you protect from bats in the night? I heard there's absolutely no marks on your body after being bitten. Am I screwd?

Prior to the inca trail, I will be in Lima for 3 weeks, should I/can I/how can I get my vaccination done there (I heard in some places you get it in your stomach!)?

How many times does one ask a girl out?

isoman2kx — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:00:33 -0800

How many times does one ask a girl out? I don't get a lot of numbers a week right now or even come in many situations to get numbers, but when I do , I wonder how much is too much when asking a girl out? Do you say one and done after the 1st asking? If it's a legit excuse the 1st time , do you ask a second time? I know the answer is a little more clear cut if you draw 3, 4, 5 numbers a week as there's less "chasing"/bs. However, in my situation where there's maybe 2 numbers every 2 weeks or so, how much stock do I put into the girls I pursue?

Some of the girls I've been asking out lately are flaky as hell and I'm wondering what's going on. This one chick I asked out said she was working with her dad this past weekend (I asked her wed) . So I asked her this saturday for tues night since we're all on spring break now for college and she said she'd call me back on monday. So I sent her another message today just shooting the shit and then asked her for friday and she hasn't replied yet.

How do I find out which bank a publicly traded company uses?

Damn That Television — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:57:53 -0800

How do I find out which bank a publicly traded company uses (without asking them)? They have headquarters in Canada, but mostly operate in America. They've filed reports with the SEC.

Quit signing me out, Google!

wsg — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:18:15 -0800

Every time I close my browser (Firefox) Google signs me out. How can I stay signed in? It's very annoying. Googling has not returned an answer to the question.

Can't access an SSL page on Craigslist?

Twinedog — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:20:07 -0800

I can't access the craigslist accounts page to edit/ or post from my home computers? Okay here is the situation. I can't seem to access the craigslist accounts page from my home machine. I can access the regular craigslist site and my home city site losangeles.craigslist.org

However, for some reason on my home machine only I can't access the accounts page. The requests keep timing out. I even tried tracert and ping and it keeps timing out. I tried getting a new IP address from my provider and that didn't resolve it. I tried deleting all private data including cache and its not working. I tried using IE and Firefox and no luck.

The weird thing is I can access my account from other locations like a family members computer. And I could still access my account.

Is it possible they changed server location and not all the DNS servers have gotten the update? Is there a better explanation for this? Any insights would be appreciated.

Commented Out Text Bad?

pixelnark — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:35:23 -0800

/* Is a lot of commented out text bad for a home page? */ When content is no longer being used on the home page, we are told to comment it out instead of removing it. Are there potential downsides to doing this besides there being a lot of extra code that must be downloaded? And besides the fact that is messy, extraneous, and somewhat unprofessional.

The content being commented out are modules that have sales which are no longer valid or current.

Where can I find the clip of Andy Hurley on Cable in the Classroom?

thebrokenmuse — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:13:39 -0800

Where can I find the clip of Andy Hurley on the safe sex Cable in the Classroom speical on MTV last night? I don't know what it was called but he, along with members of Liz Phair, OK GO and other random people on the street were talking about safe sex and sex myths. I can't find it anywhere, my google-fu is failing me.

In the clip, he said that he heard that "pulling out was kind of effective."

I can't explain why I need this, but its urgent. Ha.

Tax exemption online?

CFMartin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:18:56 -0800

How do I file an out of state sale that I made online. I know that I do not charge tax to out of state customers but is there a exemption form that I need to fill out or somewhere I can get more information on this process. I run a company in Connecticut and we have been making more and more out of state sales and I need to figure out how to go about the exemption process. Thank you for your help.

Is it better to buy a house or rent a place, considering the current economy?

photomusic86 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:50:44 -0800

Is it better to buy a house or rent a place, considering the current economy? With house prices falling, maybe it's smart to buy a house. But several sites and reports are coming out now that suggest it's wiser to rent.
More personally, I've just started looking at moving out of the parents house, so this would be my first foray into being on my own. I'm looking for places in or around Brunswick OH. Help please!

Want to birfday but I has the dumb

Cat Pie Hurts — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:28:43 -0800

It's my Kryptonian birthday, and other than destroying Superman, I'm out of ideas for what to do in the Boston area. I have no local friends and my local family is too busy for nighttime shenanigans due to the recent emergence of my squeaky new nephew. I've made amazing strides over the last several months in pushing through a terrible social phobia, so rather than play the hermit and be miserable and lonely as usual, I'm really in the mood to go out and have some fun, meet people and perhaps get a little tipsy ( or a lot). What are some good, casual non-frat-kid-filled places where I could sit, consume tasty beverages, perhaps (attempt to) chat with random strangers and revel in my advanced agedness on a Tuesday night in the Boston area? Eclectic/eccentric atmospheres are double plus good.

How can I find out if someone I used to know is in prison?

Sully — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:49:09 -0800

How can I find out if someone I used to know is in prison? I live in Canada, and about a decade ago, I knew this guy who had just been charged with robbing someone at knifepoint. And before that, he always told me that he always wanted to be a "godfather" kind of person. He watched the movies over and over. At that point, I basically stopped talking to him and avoided him at all costs. Sometimes, I google his name, but I just get other people. But at the same time, I am curious as to the trajectory of his life. I'm curious what transpired. How can I find out if this dude is in the penal system?