Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with schedule

Help me plan a fair morning pre-school schedule for my 10 year old kid.

corb — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:35:30 -0800

My kid is late to school more often than I would like, because somehow the morning is never scheduled adequately. I'm not sure how much time is fair to budget her for things - obviously how much time it would take me to do them is too little, but how much time she would like to take to do them is too much. If I have a fair and reasonable morning schedule/wake up time, it might be easier to get her to stick to it and get her out the door. Other morning suggestions welcome. More details:

She needs to be at school at 7:50. The school is two blocks away, and she must cross two intersections to get there. Both intersections have walk signals. She is independent enough to get there, but sometimes dilly-dallies on the way if there is something cool.

She wears a uniform to school. In theory this should be quick to put on, but in practice it often is not. Particularly the shoes. (Is there a way to get kids to put on their shoes more quickly?)

She needs to eat breakfast. This currently ranges from cold cereal to waffles to fruit. She has eaten yogurt but is sometimes fussy about flavors. If any of those is optimal, please let me know!

She doesn't like to get up in the morning - if I wake her up, I will sometimes come back ten minutes later and find she is still in bed.

She takes a long time in the bathroom. Also, now, brushing her hair. (Oh, pre-teens!)

When she had an alarm clock, it would sometimes work - but she would set it for five in the morning, be perfectly dressed but playing videogames for two hours before the parents woke up and tired and less functional at school. Other times it would just go off for thirty minutes without the snooze button ever being hit.

Garmin-compatible bike training schedule for a 180-mile ride

Brittanie — Sat, 18 May 2013 08:39:49 -0800

I want to sign up for Bike Around the Bay. If you're familiar with the MS150, it's similar — 180 miles over two days, circumnavigating Galveston Bay. But I need a training plan. I am not a frequent cyclist — I am a hobbyist. But I have a good bike and am in pretty good physical shape.

I've run several long-distance foot races, and when I've trained for them I've used these awesome downloadable Garmin training schedules. You just select your race date and goal time, and then upload the entire training schedule to your Garmin and go. The schedules include speed work, long runs, tempo runs — basically everything you need to train for a half or full.

Does such a thing exist for a bike race of this distance? The longest ride I've ever done was 40 miles, without training, so I haven't the slightest idea of what sort of schedule I should be training at for Bike Around the Bay.

If downloadable schedules don't exist, I could program an entire schedule into my Garmin (if someone can point me to one for a 180+ mile ride) but I'm looking for something more convenient first.

How can I show group availability based on its members?

mrzarquon — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:19:57 -0800

I work with a team of engineers supporting sales people. I need a good way to communicate to the sales people when are times we are available for meetings and when are times we are not. What tools have people used to communicate this, quickly and effectively? Sharing every team members calendar with them makes it impossible to sort (since they aren't looking for a time we are all free, just one of us), and we would like to prevent certain sales members from continually scheduling meetings with their 'favorite' engineer. The end goal is for the sales person to be able to determine when is the best time someone from our team is most likely to be available, so they can schedule a time with their customer really quickly (ie, they are on the phone with them right then) without having to wait on us.

What software (one time, subscription, or free, as long as it works) have folks used to accomplish this (if any)? What should I be googling for or what terminology should I be using to help solve this? In essence, we should almost be manageable like a google calendar resource (ie, a Room) but also as real people calendars as well (show up when available, disappear when not).

We've looked at the common scheduling portals (genbook, etc), but from what I've been able to glean, most of them are all aimed towards helping you find the one person you should book with (and therefore don't provide any abstraction). Building something for ourselves hasn't been ruled out, but if there are existing tools that do all of this (awesome) or part of it (slightly less awesome but still useful) but can be extended, then that works as well. I also realize that no software will fix a process problem, but being able to visualize our teams availability in real time will help us know when we are starting to over extend ourselves as well.

In a perfect world, the software would allow for a sales person to enter in a week or two of when they would like to hold a meeting, the type of meeting (onsite or just webex / phone / remote), and maybe specific subjects from a pre defined list. It would then parse the teams calendars and provide a calendar view showing from green (being available) to red (unavailable) for time slots around the length of the meeting needed.

Availability would be determined by who wasn't already booked in a time slot, with a 5-10 minute buffer around that existing meeting (if onsite, it would factor in half day travel the day before / after, when the last time a person had done an onsite meeting previous), if they were qualified in the subject needed for the meeting, and how many people were free for that slot.

So a 30 minute general technical call could be a bright green time slot across the week view during the times that two or more team members were available and met the criteria, while the times where no one was available would be bright red, and times where one person was available or it was close to other meetings would be something in between.

Other criteria:
Should be something that can be checkedul from a webpage
Has to be able source calendar info from google apps calendar

How can I hack my sleep schedule for 3 weeks?

ptsampras14 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:07:07 -0800

I have 2.5 weeks until my university final exams. I have a lot of review to do, but at the same time, I'm also learning quite a bit of new material in my classes so I need some extra hours in my day. Since I have no other urgent commitments in the next 2 weeks (such as midterm exams), I am willing to sacrifice on sleep. Normally I have a standard schedule: asleep from ~11:30 to ~7:30. I understand there are quite a bit of polyphasic sleep schedules, but I'm only looking for something temporary and those typically take a while and have a gruelling transition period. My schedule is occupied from 7am to about 5 pm.

How to survive 7+ hours of classes in a row?

Hey Judas! — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:36:55 -0800

I'm in the process of making my schedule for next semester and it looks like the only viable option is 5 classes in a row, twice a week. Has anyone done something like this? Does this sound like an awful idea? I would love to hear your opinions and experiences. I'm a mathematics major who is taking an extra year to graduate, so I really don't have that many options when it comes to my schedule. I have certain classes that I need to take, all of which are upper-division courses: 2 math, 2 computer science theory, 1 humanities class for a general education requirement. 10:00 - 11:20, 11:30 - 12:50, 1:00 - 2:20, 2:30 - 3:50, 4:00 - 5:20.

I commute about 20 minutes to school.

I'm having trouble deciding what to do. I've taken summer classes before that were 4 hours and it wasn't that much of a problem, but I'm not sure if I could do 5 classes in a row. I'm not the kind of person who can effectively study in short bursts, I usually need a few hours to devote solely to studying if I want to get anything done. Right now, I go to class a few times a day and sometimes come home in between classes, so I never really get "in the zone" of seriously studying. I usually put things off until the last minute. I'm very confident that this will not happen if all my classes are in one day because I will have so much free time to do everything I want/need to do. I've gotten an A in every upper-division math course I've taken during the summer because of all the time I had without taking other classes, so this is where that confidence is coming from.

For me, the pros are: having 5 days off a week (which seems absolutely amazing and is a pretty huge pro), being able to balance my life with studying instead of floundering around doing everything at the last minute, being able to focus on my days off instead of going back and forth to school. The cons are: most likely not being to eat lunch or go to the bathroom, having to rush between classes that are in different buildings, having to focus for such a long time, possible multiple tests on the same days and if I get sick I am really screwed.

I was just hoping someone here would have experience with taking a full schedule of classes all in a row. Any advice and opinions are welcome! I'm 80% convinced that it will work out, but I'm still a little hesitant. I could possibly change it to a normal schedule, but then I would not be taking the classes I ideally need and want to take.

Help me better utilize Office for work email, scheduling, etc

filthy light thief — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:56:06 -0800

I have MS Office Pro Plus 2010 at work, and I haven't used Office before. After using Gmail exclusively for a number of years, and never any scheduling tools beyond what came on my Droid from Verizon, I'm looking for ways to better utilize the email, organizational and time management options I have. I recently learned about flags and conversation view from a co-worker, but I feel like there are more features I should be using. I get 20-30 emails a week, which isn't a ton, but many of them need some action and those deadlines are out a few weeks. I keep all the email that require some response or action in my inbox, and old discussions get pushed down as I get new emails. I flag the key items, setting priorities for today, this week, or next week, or if there's a hard and fast deadline, I'll add the item in my calendar. Still, low priorities can fall by the wayside.

Beyond color coding events, my use of the calendar is pretty basic. My use of contacts is even more limited, because my work network includes contact information for everyone in our system, so I rarely add contacts.

My mailbox is about 900mb, and I've already used 200mb in my 4 months working here. I also have a 133 MB Outlook Data file with more email, saved on a work server.

Last note: I know there are some 3rd party add-ons that can add functionality, but my access to my computer is limited. Either those add-ons have to be able to run without admin rights, or they have to be good enough for me to sell the computer administrators on their usefulness (and they can't cost any money, unless they're really great, because I'm not allowed to purchase software and run it on my work computer).

How do you better manage your inbox, calendar, contacts, and your file sizes? Thanks!

Putting baby on a routine

meech — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:55:17 -0800

How do you put a six month old baby on a routine? Or should you even try to? What kind of schedule worked for you? At the moment our baby is a bit random with when she sleeps and we would like a little bit of predictability. The books have all kinds of schedules but I'm starting to feel a bit dubious about the lack of research that goes into them. We know very few people with babies the same age as ours and so want to hear actual schedules that worked for people. Also what kind of routine did you get into during the waking hours - eg did you do a walk every morning, and play mat every afternoon etc?

Looking for an Android app.

Trexsock — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:51:30 -0800

Best Android app/s that will help remind me to eat regularly? I'm looking for a planning/schedule Android app which will help me remember when I'm supposed to eat, by deploying an alarm (preferentially customizable) or some sort of popup on my phone.

Thank you in advance.

Trying to add an iCloud calendar to Google calendar

docpops — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:54:20 -0800

Trying to add my spouse's iCloud info to my GCal... I've looked into this on the web and so far have not found a definitive answer that this cannot be done, so am here asking for help:

My wife uses iCloud for her calendar and schedule. It took me years to wean her from a paper system, and for this and other reasons, iCloud was the easiest and most foolproof way to sync her phone, iPad, and desktop seamlessly so that she wouldn't chuck all of it and go back to paper.

I use Google calendar, love it, and am trying to find a way to add her iCloud info to my Gmail. It's more critical that I follow her schedule with all it's kid and school info than vice versa, since my schedule is mostly empty except for call nights.

Thanks.

How do I get healthy sleep with a difficult, inconsistent work schedule?

none of these will bring disaster — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:30:20 -0800

I work 50+ hours a week in a job that I love. My schedule changes daily; some days are normal 9-6, but others are 2am to "whenever." How do I get healthy sleep while coping with this schedule? I've been working at this fantastic job for two months. About three weeks ago, I got moved to a schedule that I'm still struggling to handle. It looks like this:

Monday: 9 am to 6 pm (all end times are completely theoretical as I'm often there for another two hours)
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 9 am to 6 pm
Friday: 7 am to 4 pm
Saturday: 2 am to noon
Sunday: 2 am to noon

Tried melatonin and valerian root and they screw with my head far too much upon waking. Chamomile is ineffective. Actual drugs (benadryl, etc.) leave me stupid and drowsy in the morning.

I'm the sole producer/reporter for the Saturday and Sunday morning shows (meaning I'm on the air from 6am to 8am on Saturday and 7am to 9am on Sunday). So I'm the only person in the office when I show up at 1:30 am, and nobody else gets there until around 4am.

It's been a huge struggle not to fall asleep at my desk, since I'm usually only managing to get about four hours of sleep on Friday and Saturday nights. I always try to be in bed by 7pm at the latest, but this usually means that I'll have only two hours after getting home from work to cook dinner, try to relax, maybe talk with a friend, etc.

I've ended up lying awake in bed for hours, getting frustrated, getting up to try to do calming things, listen to music or boring podcasts ... nothing works or gets me to drop off any sooner than 10pm.

Then on Sunday nights, I crash hard from exhaustion around 4 pm and sleep until about 2 am, at which point I am wide fucking awake and have plenty of time to putter around until I get to work at 9 ... and then end up exhausted around 3 pm.

Add this to the fact that the culture of the office is very much "your schedule is meaningless" and if the work needs to be done, you're expected to stay there and complete it regardless of how much time you've already spent at the office -- since everything we do is, by its very nature, time-sensitive. It's not that I'm too slow during the day to accomplish what I need to, because everyone ends up staying this late and we are quietly shamed for leaving "on time."

Lunch hours supposedly exist but we are tacitly encouraged to take them at our desks so that we are always available to get something done.

The end result is that I end up working 10-12 hour days five days a week. I'm on salary so this is not for a monetary benefit. My schedule is going to look like this for quite a long time, as has been reinforced by my director.

My social life is suffering. The schedule change that was offered when I brought up some of my sleep issues was working all mornings ... which would put me on something a little later than "third shift," where I'd get to the office around 3 am and leave at 1 pm, to produce the 8 am and noon shows. The only thing I can see that doing is taking my limping social life and killing it dead. I haven't seen my friends in weeks since I can't hang out on normal nights. I'm supposed to have a housewarming party next week and the only night I can reasonably hold it for my own sanity is Monday or Tuesday, but no one is willing to come out to a dinner party on a Tuesday.

Enough rambling. What do?

Parents of MeFi, share your day to day!

peanut_mcgillicuty — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:18:06 -0800

My daughter is home from the hospital (yay!). Now what? I'm looking to hear from stay at home parents of infants up to toddlerhood. Can you give me an idea of your daily routine at various ages and how you developed it?

Showtimes a few days before?

bluefly — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:28:17 -0800

Movie theaters seem to only post show times on their websites for Friday-Thursday on Friday which makes it difficult to make advance plans for Friday night. Is there some other website/service that posts the times earlier? (I vaguely remember finding some site that did that, but I can't find it now). Also, why do theaters do things this way? I'm in the DC/MD area if it matters.

Looking for Wordpress conference plugin

beagle — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:21:59 -0800

I'm organizing a conference which has a Wordpress website. Can anyone recommend a plugin that facilitates easy setup of pages/posts with speaker bios, session descriptions, locations and times, and an attractive auto-generated conference schedule page with links to the bios and session blurbs? This one would appear to do the trick but seems to be defunct in terms of continuing support and upon trial looks like it is incomplete. So not that one.

Looking for a website to plan a sports trip

kag — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:55:24 -0800

I'm looking for a website where I could select a date & US city and it would tell me if professional sports teams are playing locally on that date. My friends and I are planning a sports trip in March. We would like to see hockey and basketball (as baseball and football will be off-season).

We are trying to find out which cities will have a basketball AND a hockey game during our vacations.

OSX calendar software sync to Google Calendar?

zardoz — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:28:10 -0800

Is there any calendar/scheduling software for OS X and Windows that can sync info with Google Calendar? I have an iMac at home and a PC at work. I'll be doing some scheduling work at both places so want them to sync with the same info, preferably with Google Calendar. I find entering in info into Google Calendar to be awkward at best, and frustrating on my low-RAM work computer, so software more robust would be great. Any ideas?

Baby in the air

kestrel251 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:36:39 -0800

Travel with baby filter: which of these flights is a better idea for an 8 month old baby? In a month or so, I have to travel cross country for work (from the east coast of the US to the west coast). For various reasons (largely breastfeeding but also nearby family to visit) Mr. Kestrel and baby Kestrel are coming too. Baby Kestrel will be 8 months old.

Her schedule: typically she wakes up between 6 and 7, takes a 1.5 hour nap about 2 or 2.5 hours after she wakes up, takes a shorter nap about 3 hours after the second nap, and goes to sleep at 7.

Our choices: one outgoing flight leaves around 5:30 in the morning, has two stops, and we arrive at the final destination about 3:30 East Coast time. Another leaves around 11 in the morning, has two stops, and we arrive at the final destination about 9:30 East Coast time. A third option would be to fly to a different city -- only one stop -- and drive the rest of the way. That would mean trading in the final ~2 hours of either itinerary (layover plus short flight) for renting a car and a 2 hour drive.

Clearly, either trip will suck in various ways. But, oh parents of metafilter, which will suck less? Getting her up way early and arriving at a reasonable hour? Or letting her take at least part of her morning nap at home, and arriving late? I'm somewhat inclined towards the latter, because I think it will help her cope with the time difference.

Any other tips appreciated, though I have read various Asks about flying with babies (from which I learned that I should nurse her during takeoff and landing, for example.)

Bangkok to Ko Mak — Make it happen!

klangklangston — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:53:27 -0800

Bangkok to Ko Mak and back again: Help me solve an impending travel conundrum in Thailand (Transit nerds and Thai-speaking timetable readers welcome!) We will arrive in Bangkok at 13:30 at Suvarnabhumi Airport. We're booked that night at a hotel in Koh Mak (alternately Ko Mak, Ko Maak, etc.).

I see that there's a bus out of Suvarnabhumi Airport at 16:10, which seems pretty feasible, but I think it will get us to Trat around 21:10, and then it'll be a half-hour taxi to Laem Ngop pier.

So: Is there a better option for the bus? An hour and a half seems a long time to spend in a Thai airport (though I could be all Dunning-Krueger about my ability to navigate Thai infrastructure). Apparently, there are more frequent busses from another terminal, which would help if we could also go to Laem Ngop more directly, but I don't know if intra-terminal transit would take too long on its own. (Bus schedules here.)

Second, related question: How available are ferries after 21:00 from Laem Ngop to Ko Mak? Will there be dudes waiting around to take us over, or are we going to end up spending the night in Trat?

How can I fit my nocturnal self into a diurnal world?

dubadubowbow — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 01:07:56 -0800

I'm almost nocturnal but feel almost guilty about it, and don't see it working out in the long run with a family even though it is the perfect set-up for me right now while I'm on my own still. Definitely want a family, though... Any advice or similar situations solved or coped with? I'm looking for anecdotal or scientific support or advice here. I am a nocturnal person, and I've always struggled with fitting it into the normal daytime hours I feel are expected of a worthy, grown-up, responsible human being, and that school pressed on me growing up. Well I tried an experiment and just worked from midnight till early morning, slept till noon, resumed working until 6, had dinner and went out or did my own thing till midnight, and repeated.

Well, I've never been more productive than that couple of weeks, and it made me pretty darn happy with myself. Problem is, I'm single now but would like a family, and apart from that, I feel a lot of pressure to keep "normal" hours for some reason-- a combination of internal and external. So I feel like I can't make this last forever... can I?

Okay, so has anyone been in a similar situation and made the transition to "normal hours?" Anyone with a family? I'm self-employed, and my job happens to work fine this way-- just working at night, dealing with people in the afternoon.

I guess I want to hear from anyone who's solved a similar situation or learned to deal with it, and now feels kind of objectively "successful," I guess.

How to schedule a phone call?

Mroz — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:26:20 -0800

Phone Call Scheduler: How can I schedule a phone call to automatically call me every morning? I have a call I need to make every morning. I would like to set it so my phone rings at the same time everyday and dials the number I need to call when I pick up.

I use google voice, but any search regarding scheduling google voice calls seem to be out of date.

What should a kid not miss at Comic-Con 2012?

Mo Nickels — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 11:47:56 -0800

What events would you take a five-year-old to at San Diego Comic-Con this year? I'm taking my five-year-old son to Comic-Con this year. It's the first time for both of us. He's got a healthy interest in superheroes, cartoons, movies, books, etc. He watches mainly PBS kids shows with almost no broadcast TV but he's seen every major kid or family-fun movie released in the last 30 years. He has a big imagination. He draws constantly. He's into puppets and puppeteering, as in, he knows all the major Sesame Street and Muppets puppeteers by name, voice, and characters. He also makes his own puppets, in his own fashion. He's pretty much your demo model for a healthy, interesting kid. We let him consume media above his age level -- for examples, he's seen five of the six Star Wars movies multiple times and just saw The Avengers.

But the Comic-Con schedule is massive and I've never been before. I've looked through it and found things that could be very good but I've got a fear of missing out. So, can you recommend events, panels, demos, screenings, activities, etc., that would be good for a kid like that, from age five to 12? If there's a chance of a poster or little gewgaws or other kinds of kid-oriented swag to take home, that's good, too.

I realize lines and waiting are a part of it. We are perfectly happy doing something kind of half-lame if it means doing it right away with little or no waiting, instead of doing a lot of waiting for something super great. Think like a "now now now now" kid rather than a "your rewards will come in time" adult. He doesn't have a preconception of what's cool or what the other kids think he should be viewing or reading, beyond knowing the "big names" among superheroes.

Hit Me With Your Best Shots!

Quincy — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:47:22 -0800

How do I decide how best to have my dogs vaccinated? And what vaccinations are really necessary? And possibly going against my vet’s wishes. Detailed snowflake inside. So here is the deal MeFites, my dogs Watson and Agatha are both coming up on the time for their annual vaccinations. For other reasons, which have since been remedied, both dogs have been to the vet within the past few months and been both physically examined and had blood work done (all healthy results). So this whole quest began with me looking for more cost effective vaccinations, instead of taking them to the vet and paying double plus the examination fee(s) that they don’t require at this time. I noticed that some places offered a 7-in-1 shot, and others a 5-in-1, and some prepackaged with the bordatella vaccination, and others not. So I began researching what was best for my dogs. This has led me epic quest for truth, and I need your help to finish it!

I found that what I had always heard from my vets differs from that which is recommended by both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association. According to the vaccination guidelines for both Associations, for a healthy adult dog, these are the recommendations: For the core vaccinations (DHPP: distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, and parvo) every 3 years, for the non-core vaccinations (lyme, bordatella, corona, lepto) only recommended for dogs at high risk for those diseases, and only then annually. Our dogs are both healthy adults at very low risk for all of these things (they aren’t kenneled or show dogs, or otherwise frequently around lots of other dogs, lyme disease is extremely rare in our region, they aren’t hunting dogs etc) So I presented my concerns to the vet, expressing that I did not want to over-vaccinate my dogs, but I also do not want to leave them at a risk unnecessarily. I want to do what it right for them, but I am also not going to blindly follow along with everything I am told. Needless to say, my vets office pretty much dismissed my worries, and reinforced that all vaccinations should be yearly.

I am left feeling very frustrated. I cannot get a straight answer from a vet that I doesn’t feel muddled by alternative motives (i.e. getting me in and racking up a bill). I am not usually a very “alternative” person with my dog’s health care or mine, but the more research I have done, the more I realize that the dangers of over vaccinating and potential adverse reactions are very real, and I do not want to put my dogs at risk. I have almost definitely decided against any of the non-core vaccinations because of their lack of effectiveness combined with the risks, but I really want to honestly know if I am being a neglectful by choosing to only vaccinate every 3 years instead of annually. I don’t want my vet or other dog owners to think that I am choosing this route because of monetary reasons instead of health reasons.

So the question is: has anyone else had this dilemma? What did you decide on in the end? Have you had any complications? If you vaccinate triennially have you had any issues with your vet or other animal specialists giving grieve? What about animal rescues, we are thinking of getting a third soon, will they see us as unfit because of this? Horror stories of either method are welcome. Just overall advice on how to make a decision about something this important to my pets health, and choosing to go against the advice of the “professional” in this case.

(Note: I did not mention the rabies vaccination because it is required annually in my state so is therefore not a part of said dilemma)

(Other note: My issues regarding “what people will think” may stem from the fact that I recently had a friend, who used to be a vet tech, lecture me about my potential choosing to use a low cost vaccination clinic as opposed to visiting the vet, in a rather demeaning fashion I might add)

Today is a Tuesday, right? I'm supposed to do something on Tuesdays....

troika — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:48:07 -0800

I want to be able to stick to a calendar and I'd like to do it on my phone. Any tips? I've never been able to reliably use an agenda or calendar! I'm tired of thinking "June 26...hmm...I know I have something today...." or apologizing to friends for having to be constantly reminded of upcoming events. How can I get better at this? I have a terrible internal clock.

I think the best way to do this would be something on my phone. I want to be able to add events really quickly, be able to look at weekly or monthy schedules, and receive notifications for upcoming plans. Is there a good app for this? It is an iphone.

Of course, any general tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you!

Cleaning Schedule that Works?

InterestedInKnowing — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:14:45 -0800

I live with two roommates and need to provide a new cleaning schedule. The once a week, one person does everything, seemed ok until someone started missing weeks. Is there a way to get our place on an effective cleaning schedule when the end of the week wasn't so great? Also, should I break up duties that it makes it easier to take care of the apartment weekly? Not sure how to go about it, since I'm responsible for making the schedule.

Can Jimmy come out and play?

garlic — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:48:10 -0800

I've been failing on getting some friends to go out and do stuff with me, and need some help figuring out what I can do to get better success. Let's assume that they'd be just as interested watching the lecture on basket-weaving differences between the 14th and 15th century as I am.

How do you get your friends to come to events you're interested in going to with them? Is there a sweet spot on giving them enough notice that their schedule is free, but not so much that they'll forget about it? Is there a specific way to invite them that's more successful than others ( email / phonecalls / texts / facebook / twitter) ?

I missed meeting Ron Swanson! I'll never be able to eat bacon and eggs again...

RolandOfEld — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:43:08 -0800

What is the best way to monitor the schedules of speakers, bands, shows, or other things* of that sort so that you don't miss them when they come to your neck of the woods? So, this recent FP post got me thinking about how sad I'd have been if this lecture had been in my area and I had missed the opportunity to see WB speak in person.

Actually, this is all the more relevant because Nick Offerman actually did come and speak at the university my fiance attends and we didn't hear about it until after the fact. She's just not in the loop as much because grad school keeps her head down on work instead of paying attention to incoming speakers and such.

Back on topic, is there a way to monitor the tour schedules/calendars and have a centralized monitoring and/or notification system setup such that I would know about and be able to obtain tickets to said event?

Clicking around websites whenever I think about it stinks and isn't all that reliable due to the human (me) factor.

*Examples of what I'm thinking of when it comes to things I'd like monitored: A Prairie Home Companion, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Wendell Berry, Andy McKee, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Christopher Moore, a local beer festival, and so on and so forth.