Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with public

Public Wifi Paranoia

amyms — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:20:39 -0800

I need a list of things that are safe/not safe to do online in a public wifi environment. I've recently found myself in a situation where I have a few hours to kill, several times weekly, in a town away from home. So far I've spent most of my free time hanging out in a coffee shop. They offer public wifi and I've been debating about bringing in my laptop, but I've never accessed public wifi before and I'm feeling a little paranoid.

So, talk to me like I'm a kindergartener. What kind of online things are safe (logging into Metafilter, email, etc.)? And what kinds of things are complete no-nos (shopping, checking bank balance, etc.) in this environment?

I can't work in the same room as "the little drummer boy!"

Bergamot — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:09 -0800

Help! What are some quiet study spaces that are open to the public during the holidays? Public and University libraries around here are closed between Christmas and New Year's, aargh!
I'm in Southwestern Ontario to visit family for the holidays, but I have to get some work done before Jan. 1st, and trying to work here is driving me absolutely insane! Even if my family could be quiet, their house is dark and uncomfortable and entirely terrible to work in.
Libraries in the area are closed for the holidays, and most cafes are both very busy and wouldn't be thrilled with me sitting with a laptop for hours on end. Any ideas of student-friendly workspaces that aren't wrecked by holiday hours would save my sanity in a big way!

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of?

ilumos — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:53:31 -0800

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of? Hi MeFi,

Myself and friends have been hosting private LAN parties for the past 3 years and with 20 or so atendees we've outgrown our normal venue.

What do we need to be aware of when hiring out a new venue with regard to public liability, insurance and the legality of sleeping overnight in the (public) venue?

I've done some research into other LAN parties, most of which have both rules and legal waivers, and some with insurance.

We hope it to be a successful event, but before we start approaching prospective venues we want to have an idea of the legal implications.

This is for a 48 hour UK based LAN on the south coast with hopefully 30+ attendees, and we'll be charging for entry to cover our costs.

Any information is greatly appreciated,

Many thanks!

short film suggestions

a womble is an active kind of sloth — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:26:23 -0800

I'm interested in watching more short films. What are your favorites? I recently read about 'The Red Balloon' in the NY Times, and I though I would like to watch more movies of this length.

I would like some suggestions about what to watch, and possibly where to find them.

My preference is for films 15 - 30 minutes in length and all genres and periods, aside from horror. Ideally, they would be public domain too but that is less important.

What was the searchable public records site for California?

BuddhaInABucket — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:05:20 -0800

There used to be a website for California where you could enter anyone's name and get a public record on them- all their driving and criminal history was available, free, online. I can't find it anymore. Help?

I want to solicit in a public place. Where?

heatherfl — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:46:52 -0800

I want to solicit in a public place. Where? I'd like to paint kids' faces for Halloween, nothing big. It would just be me and my paint, a small table, and two chairs.

I don't want to do it at my house. Who could I ask for permission to set up in, say, a parking lot? Or someplace similarly casual.

I have a registered business but not a tax ID (sole prop) which places like Wal-Mart would need. I do have insurance.

Thanks!

Public Liability Insurance

ninazer0 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:46:57 -0800

I need public liability insurance for a 1 day stall at a country church fete. Is there any Australian insurer who does this? The shortest term I can find is 3 months at $110 via AAMI. I have been given the run around all day and I'm at the end of my tether. All that I seem to have done today is write complaint letters about being given wrong info.

Any suggestions? $110 to run a jam stall at a tiny Church Fete seems utterly ridiculous. What are they going to do? Put an eye out with an exceptionally sharp marmalade?

Any suggestions? Because at this rate I'm ready to throw in the towel.

Public media business models

parmanparman — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:05:15 -0800

How does Gourmet: Diary of a Foodie get funded? Is it just like a non-commercial commercial for Gourmet magazine and its advertisers and then given away to public radio stations?

"You should get that looked at" -- yea or nay?

greatgefilte — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:13:19 -0800

How far does -- or should -- a medical professional's ethical responsibility go when it comes to the health and well-being of strangers (i.e. people one might see on the street, or in line at the supermarket)? As a purely theoretical example, let's say I'm paying for my groceries and I notice that the cashier behind the till has some pretty characteristic signs of a disease that may be potentially serious, but that they may not realize they have. (For argument's sake, let's say Cushing's syndrome or melanoma.) Should I assume it's (a) none of my business, (b) something that is my business, but perhaps is not a good idea to address because I could be wrong and cause unnecessary anxiety, or they could already be seeing their doctor about it, (c) something I should definitely mention, or (d) something else?

If it's not venturing too much into the realm of ChatFilter, how would you feel if someone came up to you and said, "Excuse me, I'm a doctor/nurse/dentist, and I think you should get [x] looked at."?

Picking up girls with my dog

isoman2kx — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:17:23 -0800

General low-down on picking up girls with a dog I'm really surprised this isn't on google more than like the 3-5 poorly done articles on it. I've always wanted to use my dog as another aid in getting to know girls at parks/public places better. How best to do this? Are there any sort of general strategies/tips on what to do and where to steer the conversation after first contact? My dog is a 2 year old girl that's a mix of German Shepherd/Retriever/Chow.

Thanks for any help :)

Pimpin' the Public Domain?

AzraelBrown — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:41:38 -0800

Someone wants to license a public domain photo from me - does that even work? I am one of those guys who likes to scan old photos and magazines and put them online. The stuff from Popular Mechanics, nobody emails me about. The 19th century cabinet photos, a little moreso: about once a month or so, I get an email from an advertising agency or other company, requesting information and rates on licensing these photos. In the past, my attitude has been to say, just credit me, or ignore them if they feel spammy.

I understand that, in a rough gray area, converting these photos by digitizing them might kinda possibly make them a derivative work, but not really. Beyond that, they're old enough to be public domain, and really, since I'm not the original artist, I wouldn't have any copyright ownership of the originals anyway. I "own" these images in that I've got the physical copy, but I have no claim to the copyright...which doesn't exist for these in the U.S. anyway.

Still, since I'm the only person with this image, I'm still a gatekeeper of sorts, and I put a high enough resolution version of the images online that they wouldn't have to go through me, but they're covering their butts and they are required to ask, and if there's a revenue stream here I'd hate to ignore it. On the other hand, the AP got a crapstorm for expecting licenses to be paid for public domain things, so I don't want to be "that jerk with the old photos," either. The reason I didn't find anything related in previous AskMetafilter searches is usually people are asking copyright questions to stop somebody from duplicating their stuff, or use something without securing rights. YANAL, yes, but my question is: is it possible, legal, ethical for me to set up a form and a rate sheet on my website, and expect people to follow it when licensing these public domain photos?

Chongqing - How is the expansion of the metro going?

priorpark17 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:21:09 -0800

Anybody in Chongqing? How is the expansion of the metro going? Especially to the Tiandi development? I am meant to be moving to Chonggqing. I don't like cars. I am looking at the Chongqing Tiandi in the Yuzhong District. Any locals know if it has public transport. I think a new line on the metro/light rail is planned/under construction. Anybody know anything?

20,003 Leagues under the sea, by Jules Verne and Jane Doe?

Izzmeister — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:47:54 -0800

YANML. is it legal to rewrite a public domain book with a new co-author? Is it legal to take a public domain book (say the art of war, for example), and rewrite it and update it, adding lots of material...

and republishing as "the new art of war, by Sun Tzu and John Doe"?

Or "think and grow rich in the 22nd century", by napoleon hill and jane doe...

(the version that is in the public domain, obviously.)

you are not my lawyer.

thank you!

I forgot about the ticket because of all my drinking...

apetpsychic — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:53:50 -0800

So I probably have a warrant out for my arrest on a very old (3 years ) ticket for possible public consumption, in New York City. I want to take care of this, but what repercussions can I expect? Do I go to the courthouse and turn myself in? Will my fine be exorbitantly higher than the ticket? Additionally, I need to renew my license in Brooklyn before my upcoming birthday. Would I be able to do this if I do in fact have a bench warrant? This is my first "I screwed up" question, so please take it easy on me! Thanks!

Is there a public domain resource for pictures of people along with their ages at the time that the picture was taken?

HappyEngineer — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:05:38 -0800

Is there a public domain resource for pictures of people along with their ages at the time that the picture was taken? The best I've come up with is places with government info which have pictures of politicians. Anything better with a wider range of types of people and ages? Obviously dating sites would be a great place to get this info, but none of them are going to be public domain.

Bathroom History

AsRuinsAreToRome — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:35:48 -0800

At what point in history did men and women get their 'bathroom rules'? Specifically, I'm wondering why men have public urinating and women have their own stalls always. What determined this? For instance, in a men's bathroom there are urinals. This involves going pee in the presence of other men. Also, at many gyms and in movies where they show boys locker rooms, they is one big shower with lots of heads and guys shower 'together'.

Women on the other hand have separate toilets always (I'm aware urinals wouldn't work and that men also have separate toilets for pooing), and separated shower stalls (in my experience).

Why?

Is the Robot vs Aztec Mummy public domain?

clockworkjoe — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:41:02 -0800

What is the copyright status of the movie The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy? I watched through it and it doesn't have a copyright notice, which is similar to Night of the Living Dead. So, logically, it should be public domain. However, archive.org hasn't added it to its collection of public domain movies. So, does anyone know if it is public domain or not?

15 cars and 15 restless riders

nayrb5 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:19:40 -0800

[Chicagofilter] Is it possible to search for businesses near an entire El line, rather than just an individual stop?

Magic Bus or not so much?

Freedomboy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:26:17 -0800

How easy or hard is it to travel from London to Edinburgh on either train or bus when compared to a quick flight as an option? Is the experience worth the time and how does the cost versus hassle play out?

Where's the Richter vid?

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:16:51 -0800

Can someone help me find a specific, public art, time-lapse, academic video possibly guest starring Gerhard Richter? It's a video examining the question: is art more interesting/valuable/important just because it's inside of a museum? The makers of the video enlisted Gerhard Richter ( i think! ) to re-create one of his own paintings in a public space, under anonymous conditions within a makeshift "studio". when finished, the structure was removed, and the public's reactions to the painting were monitored via time-lapse video. Richter's website seems to be unaware of it. nothing on youtube. nothing on google. pretty sure i'm not dreaming this up.

Marin Car Rentals Accessible Via San Francisco Public Transport

justcorbly — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:55:12 -0800

I'm thinking of flying into San Francisco (SFO), renting a car, driving up the coast, and flying home from Portland. I'll spend a few days in the city before heading north. I want to avoid renting the car either at the airport or in the city. (This is a fun trip. Driving in San Francisco is never fun for me.) I've rented before from a small Hertz shop within walking distance of the ferry landing in Sausalito. Are there other rental car shops within equally easy reach from public transportation or a cab from the city into Marin?

How do I get a job in public radio?

Lutoslawski — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:36:00 -0800

How can I go about getting a job in public radio? I'd really like to work in a production capacity for public radio - either as a producer of a news program (or similar show such as Fresh Air or This American Life) or as a producer of music. Outside of listening to copious amounts of NPR (my home station is OPB), I don't really have any radio experience. I'm going to volunteer training this week to start volunteering at my local community radio station (of which I am a member). After volunteering for awhile, I'll be able to take some basic intro classes at the community station on radio production basics. How can I best utilize this resource to launch a career for myself in public radio? What other things can I do to get my foot in the door? I would be willing to relocate for the job.

I'm 24, degree in philosophy from a good school (i know, I know...), and am currently working as a grant writer for a museum.

Thanks in advance everyone.

What is the difference between an I.S. and a J.H.S., and what does IS stand for?

nonmerci — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:22:47 -0800

This is a stupid question, but can someone please explain to me the difference between an I.S. school and a J.H.S. school in the New York public school system? It seems both schools cater to grades 6, 7 and 8 so I'm curious about the difference in naming and the history of this system of abbreviation. Also, what does I.S. stand for? I know this is a silly question, but I've spent a lot of time googling it and I can't find it, and my curiosity is killing me. I'm sure the answer is obvious, but if you can answer the history dimension that might make the question a little more interesting.*

*question arose after reading this article and wondering what a P.S./I.S. was, and failing repeatedly while trying to search for these terms

Is a public library film festival via YouTube legal?

Knicke — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:40:11 -0800

I would like to put together a playlist of short films posted to YouTube and show them for a group of kids at my public library. Legally, can I do this? I am planning to use only original films that have not a whiff of copyright infringement about them and that are content-appropriate. However, I'm having trouble figuring out whether this is OK according to YouTube's Terms of Service. Lots of info about the API and the actual content of the videos...nothing about public performance/showing as far as I can tell.

Normally I'd just go ahead and do it, but I'm new to this job, my information law class was several years ago, and I really don't want something (even a minor something) to bite me in the butt after the fact!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to landlords who accept Section 8 Vouchers?

anthropomorphic — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:06:49 -0800

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to landlords who accept Section 8 Vouchers?