Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with practical

list of wisdom nuggets?

k7lim — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:12:07 -0800

is there a thorough list of basic life things that adults should know? (e.g. go to the dentist twice a year, get your oil changed every __ miles, send thank you notes after interviews). not sure if these qualify as etiquette, common wisdom nuggets, or rules of thumb... but basically i want to make sure that i know what the average wise adult does.

i spent some extra years in grad school, with video games, in the dorms, and want to do a sanity check on my basic American practical knowledge (I understand there's some cultural bias to this; I didn't grow up with the full complement of American Values and Wisdom).

i've seen some books to this effect, but they seem too "self help" or "for dummies." perhaps something a bit more like the rules for my unborn son blog. i've seen rulesofthumb.org and found it a bit meandering and unfocused.

Ladybugs

docloch — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:14:47 -0800

How do ladybugs get inside without being smushed?

Sometimes I wonder how I keep from going under

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:49:07 -0800

How to deal with a bad aesthetic environment whilst bringing up a child. To cut a long story short, I am married and father of a 2 year old baby girl. Both me and my wife are degree educated and were both privately educated. Unfortunately both of our families circumstances took a turn for the worse and whilst our peers have been assisted with house deposits and the like, we are struggling and now both supporting our parents as opposed to the other way round. I am not looking for sympathy but trying to explain the background to our present circumstance. We are living in a relatively run down part of town and whilst we both work, those surrounding us invariably do not. We both suffer from mild depression and are sensitive to our environment. Some people do not seem to notice the impact that living in a run down location has. We go to sleep to the sound of police sirens, I have been accosted by prostitutes on my walk home (though couldn’t bear to tell my wife) and am offered drugs and/or pan handled with alarming alacrity. As father figure, it breaks my heart that we are brining up our daughter in such an environment though I am doing everything within my power to try and get us out of this situation (disciplined financial budget, no credit cards, no mortgage). I am well aware that many have it worse but to be told that I should just be grateful for what we’ve got does not cut it. I know that as long as our daughter is loved that she is too young to pick up on the environment but I feel terrible. As I’m sure any of you who are parents know, you want to mollycoddle your offspring and protect them from the world.

What I am looking for is practical advice, especially from anyone who has been in a similar situation, as to how you make the best of living in such an environment.

Help me give a gift, not reduce closet space

dino terror — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:48:49 -0800

I need a gift idea for my late 20's brother living in Japan, but going to be receiving the gift in Toronto. ~$50. MUST be something 'useful'. I refuse to give gifts where the receiver will say 'great, what am I supposed to do with this thing now'. Anything consumable qualifies. Gifts that I consider a burden on the receiver: clothes, decorations, media (ie. books, movies), etc. Unless I happen to know they specifically would have purchased that item for themselves.

Working artists together online.

allterrainbrain — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:08:13 -0800

Working artists together. Do you know of any online community or email list where artists from all disciplines discuss practical working issues? Issues like negotiating commissions and contracts, our experiences with residencies and artist colonies, etc.? The discipline-specific forums I've found are mostly basic beginner/student questions (which are good karma to answer, and which I can often learn something from, but which aren't what I'm looking for here).

I guess the big issue is that people who've invested years in learning about these things, and who spend our time researching/doing applications even more than on actually making whatever art we make, just don't have as much time for online community-building as students do.

But a few discipline-specific examples like the very high quality photo.net forums (sadly not my discipline) have me holding out hope that there's something like what I'm describing, that doesn't focus on one discipline and is mostly filled with discussion of working/post-school issues.

Have online grocers or drug stores become practical?

sdis — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 10:11:45 -0800

I live in Los Angeles, and I was wondering whether online grocers or drugstores have become practical, cost-effective, or actually convenient yet. I figure the day will probably come when ordering baking soda or toothpaste online makes more sense than driving to the store. How far away is that day?

Gift for Grandfather

yeahyeahyeahwhoo — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:53:21 -0800

DentureFilter: I need gift ideas for my elderly grandad. For father's day i am going to visit him. He's 90 years old and starting to feel like it, i try to give him stuff to make his life easier when i visit (things like a portable phone, new space heater). I'm on a tight budget now, but I won't be next time, any ideas would be appreciated. He can't get around the house like he used to, and since I can't live in his town, I really want to do what I can to help him out when I'm able to visit.