Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with seat

Securing a bicycle seat

pulled_levers — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:08:58 -0800

Recommendations on securing a quick-release bicycle seatpost? I'd really prefer for my seat-post to stay intact without adding too much weight to my bicycle. Any recommendations?

How does your comfort level in relationships show?

hollygirl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:46:28 -0800

This is REALLY not about the toilet seat...or is it?!? Men, I need your advice!! Women, there is a question inside for you too! Help! My wonderful boyfriend of 2+ years has ALWAYS been considerate and has put the toilet seat down when he is done. I've never asked him to do this; he just did, which I really appreciated and expressed to him in the past.

We are very close. Have a solid relationship and have learned to adjust to each other.

Here is the weird part: All of the sudden, out of nowhere, he starts leaving the toilet seat up. All. The. Time. I've fallen in. I've shrieked in the middle of the night. I've asked nicely. It still stays up. AND AFTER TWO YEARS OF ALWAYS PUTTING IT DOWN!!!!!!

I've always believed that a change in behavior signifies something....I'm just not sure what in this case!

So I asked him about it in a relaxed, "Hey honey, I've always appreciated how you've been so thoughtful about this. Can you please make the effort again?" kinda way.

His response is that he is now comfortable with me to a degee that he was not before. I appreciate this and I want him to feel comfortable, but to me I feel like I'm being taken for granted. (GF has been around 2 years...no longer need to make the effort. That's how I see it.)

This issue of asking him to try and he saying he will and then doesn't has been going on for over two months now.

FWIW, I've been wanting to get married. He is completely committed to me but needs small steps to get there so part of me thinks that there is truth to his new level of comfort...and he DOES act as if he is more comfortable too. He is 43; I am 38.

My questions: Men, I want to know from you: is this REALLY an issue of comfort? Do men really get to a plateau that is truly indicitive of a level of comfort--that shows in an overt way?? Is this a passive-aggressive way to piss me off (ha ha)? For women: When do my feelings factor in? How do you factor comfort with the courtesies of keeping a relationship alive? And yes... I even told him I'd be willing to leave the seat up for him when I was done.

I HAVE seen all the other posts about the toilet seat, but my question is really one of reaching comfort levels in relationships without turning in to roommates....this just happens to be coming through in way of a plastic toilet seat.

Any advice and personal experience will be most helpful. Thanks everyone!

Kicking Children. Airplane.

zarq — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:12:09 -0800

How can I stop my toddlers from kicking the seat in front of them on an airplane? Can anyone suggest possible solutions for preventing or blocking a 19 month old toddler from kicking the airplane seat in front of them? Does some sort of shield-like contraption exist that keeps their feet from connecting?

My wife and I have flown with my kids a handful of times now, and as they've gotten older and taller, we've had to use our hands to block them from repeatedly kicking the seat front of them. That's only moderately successful. It makes every flight endless, as we (and presumably the people in the next row,) pray for them to fall (and stay) asleep.

They're too young to fly in a bulkhead seat, which would give them plenty of room. They're also still too young to be reasoned with... or bribed with a pony. (I tried.) Inexplicably, my wife still refuses let me pack them in with the luggage. ;)

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

The Best Automobile Driver's Seat

five fresh fish — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:11:11 -0800

Which driver's seat. To my surprise, replacement automobile driver's seat -baby -infant didn't google up anything useful. Surely there's a widely-held opinion as to which junkyard car seats are the best! If it matters, it would be for a custom desk, not for a car. Seems to me a car seat designed for long drives would make a good reclined seat for a geekdesk.

Do I need to replace my son's car seat?

anastasiav — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:42:28 -0800

Last night my husband was involved in a very low-speed crash -- the other party was a cement pylon. The crash popped the airbags and broke the plastic grill on the front of the car, but we don't see any other damage. My son's car seat was in the back of the car. (My son was not in the car.) Do I need to replace the seat? I know there was an Ask question about this a year or more ago, but I cannot locate it on search. Google results seem to be divided on "replace or not replace" but they guy at the repair shop (not an expert, I know, but he is a volunteer firefighter) saw the seat and basically said "ooohhh, you'll need to get a new one of those" even after we told him my son was not in the seat at the time.

Checking the NTSB site this accident met all the criteria for a "minor" crash except that the airbags did deploy.

Why are airplane seatbelts different from car seatbelts?

gleuschk — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:20:39 -0800

Why are airplane seatbelts different from car seatbelts? It seems odd that we would have these two totally different designs for seatbelts. If the airplane one is better (safer, easier to unlatch in a hurry, whatever), why don't we use them in cars? If not, why do we use a design that has to be explained to people? Is there something about the two designs that makes one better in a plane and the other better in a car?

no, I am not talking about bidets!

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:48:20 -0800

Why do public bathrooms in France commonly not have toilet seats on their toilets?

It looks like either a king-sized beverage spill or small pools of dried blood, and neither are upholstery colors.

fujiko — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:24:34 -0800

The rear seat belts on a 1997 Honda Accord bleed onto the upholstery. Is there any way to stop this? I have a 1997 Honda Accord that I use to transport animals sometimes. The upholstery has to be cleaned every couple of months, but I just now figured out that the rear seat belts bleed a chestnut brown dye anytime they get moist (dog drool) or wet (upholstery cleaner). Unfortunately, the upholstery itself is a pale beige color and so it often looks like someone has spilled a king sized, dark-colored beverage in my car. Right now, I have the seat belts covered by plastic umbrella bags so that the upholstery can dry.

Is there any way to seal the dye into the seatbelt? Scotch Guard? Other fabric protectors? Any ideas?

need to dry car seat right now!

goethean — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:45:48 -0800

Need advice on drying out car seats quickly. Left my rear car window open about 2" today. Massive thunderstorm came through, with apparently horizontal rain. Rear car seat is damp. (Not a child's seat, a normal seat.) Leaving on a road trip tomorrow morning at 5 AM with three passengers. I already vacuumed it. I'm going to leave it in the garage with all the windows rolled down tonight. What else can I do? Should I leave towels on the seat?

Did Ford change the Aerostar seat size?

The Giant Squid — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:01:03 -0800

Will a 1997 Ford Aerostar third seat fit in a 1994 model? I'm assuming so, but Ford did make a number of changes to the 1997 model. I'm close to buying one, but I don't want to waste a trip.

Any help would be appreciated...

Safety restraints - no zip

Acari — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:44:17 -0800

Sluggish seatbelt retracting thingers: How to fix them? It's annoying, and too many older cars suffer from this for somebody to not know how to fix it.

The seatbelt doesn't go back into the mysterious seatbelt-dispensing portion of the car like it used to. And then you slam the buckle in the door, and look like a dweeb while you jiggle it up and down to try and feed it back in there.

I removed the mechanism, jiggled it around, poked at the pokable parts, and came to the conclusion that in this particular car [an 88 K-car], the issue is not friction/lubrication in the unit itself, but a spring weakened by age and overuse. Everything zips/spins/clicks like it should when it's just the belt and the retractor, but when it gets re-mounted and encased in plastic panelling, there's no poop/zip/vim.

I can't get at the spring so far as I can see; the retractor doesn't appear to be serviceable. But maybe it is and I just don't get it. Anybody have any clues?
Is this one of those times when I should just go to a junkyard and tug on all of the seatbelts I find?

[you know. like all those other times where that's the answer]

Out of State Seatbelt Ticket

crashlanding — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:58:06 -0800

I just received an out of state seat belt ticket, how will this affect my insurance? I go to graduate school in Evanston, Illinois and I was pulled over three blocks from my apartment for not wearing a seatbelt and was given a ticket. I have no big problem with this, I was guilty but I'm trying to determine the best course of action.

In Illinois, not wearing a seatbelt is considered a moving violation, something which I was not aware of since it isn't in NJ. Now my license is from NJ since I still list my parents' address as my permanent address, but my car is registered in Illinois and has Illinois plates. To be honest, I've been meaning to get an Illinois license but I've been putting it off.

I have three options, plead guilty and pay a fine, plead guilty and take traffic school online, or go to court. Now this is where things become cloudy. The first and, most likely, third options will result in a conviction on my record which will be reported to NJ. However, NJ does not assign points for this type of ticket so will it affect my record or my insurance (which is also Illinois insurance)?

Part of me thinks that NJ will look at it like IL sent them notice that I got a non-moving violation and throw it out, but that also sounds like wishful thinking to me.

Also, if I do go to court, what do I say? I was alone in the car and not wearing a seatbelt so it seems like it would be open and shut and I don't think the prosecutor would be willing to make a deal like he would for a speeding ticket or other moving violation.

I know you're not my lawyer and any advice is just general advice and not specific legal advice.

Another car shopping question, this time concerning seats and back support.

_sirmissalot_ — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:33:16 -0800

I test drove a Nissan Versa and I liked the car very much, but felt that maybe my lower back hurt after 45 minutes or so of driving--even though the seat felt good when I first climbed into it. Otherwise, great value. And when I talk to other people who own this car, they tell me how comfortable the seats are. I'm 5'11", 160 pounds--pretty average I would suppose. So my question: 1) How likely is it that my back will "adjust" to the car? 2) If the seat doesn't work after awhile, has anyone had success with lumbar support products (pillows, etc.)--or is that just wishful thinking? For what it's worth, I also test drove the Honda Fit. I liked the firm seat. Didn't like the price tag for such a bare-bones car.

My milkshake brings all the stains to my car

sprocket87 — Fri, 18 May 2007 08:56:29 -0800

Spilled chocolate milkshake + cloth car seat + several months time = Icky stain. Remedies? The seat material is a rough cloth, dense, coarse and sort of woven like burlap. It's not very absorbent like a plush fabric, but the stain has set for some time. The seat material is black in color.

What's the best technique(s) and product(s) to remove this stain? Thanks :)

How do I remove rusted toilet seat hardware?

lattiboy — Thu, 17 May 2007 09:49:30 -0800

So I have an OLD toilet seat with hardware that is pretty much completely rusted/broken down. I cannot get the nut down the plastic screw with ANY type of wrench/screwdriver/plier combination. How do I remove the seat hardware without breaking the toilet??? I believe it is inadvisable to Google any phrase involving "toilet" and "screw" at work. I shudder to think of the results...

Seat backs with no spine! Why?

Rash — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:33:23 -0800

Why are chairs so uncomfortable? I mean the less-expensive corporate type, like you might find in an American meeting room or new-style classroom. There's only negligible support when you lean back! I understand why the rounded edges of the new chairs dig into my thighs, 'cause I'm a big guy and maybe the average person only needs a smaller seat... but why is the back flexible? Fiddling with the controls, adjustments can be made in various levels and angles, but locking the back into postion doesn't seem to be an option. And a classroom I know has seat-desks with midway hinges on either side of the seatback, left and right of the hole -- in other words, leaning back is impossible, no spine support (unless you recline all the way, like you're almost horizontal). And now at the stadium-seating theater at the multiplex, same deal, bouncy seat backs, all, where it used to be every other row. What's going on? Does an ergonomic theory claim a fixed seat-back is detrimental?

Car seats in the city

pomegranate — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:31:13 -0800

Car seats in cabs/cars for hire in NYC? We're going to NYC with our two-week old. (Long story, we know it's not recommended to travel so early, we gotta go.) The only time we will be in a car will be from the airport to the city. Do we need to bring a car seat, and if so, do we need to tell the car service about it ahead of time? Do car services have them available so we don't have to drag one with us?

Help! I desire a $700 chair. Is there any hope?

iamkimiam — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:44:27 -0800

Is $700 too much to spend on an office chair? Are there any alternatives to the HAG Capisco Saddle Seat chair? I know good office chairs are expensive (my $5 IKEA red school chair is no longer cutting it), but $700 for the chair I want seems outrageous. However, this is the chair I really want. I sat in it over at a chair store in SF (they want more for it than online) and I really like the saddle seat, and the fact that the back is a "plus" design. It feels really good on my back/posture, plus you can sit in the thing backwards (Major plus!)

I am a really tiny woman, so it is hard to find comfortable ergonomic chairs. This one also has a foot ring/foot plate that is really convenient (for $70 more). I also have a very small apartment, so the compact size of this chair is very appealing.

I have been thinking about this chair for months and months (every time I sit in my crappy $5 IKEA in fact).

I have not been able to find this chair used ANYWHERE. Does anybody know of a similar chair (one you can comfortably sit in backwards), or a way to rationalize/diminish the cost?

Dry out my Yamaha!

zardoz — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 20:59:08 -0800

My scooter has a wet seat. Not at first glance, but the foam cushioning seeps out water when I sit on it (I left it outside a while ago in some heavy rain), making it necessary for me to sit on a plastic bag every time I ride. It's been dry everyday for two weeks, and the thing still seeps water! How can I dry the seat out? I've considered dismantling the seat to remove the foam to dry or even replace it, but I simply don't have the tools, and it looks like a royal pain in the ass. My McGuyver skills have failed me.

Teach me subway manners

fogster — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 08:29:17 -0800

Teach me manners: when to give up my seat on public transportation. Much I'm a healthy 20-year-old male. The other weekend I rode the subway extensively. At one point, we got onto a train that was just about empty, so myself and the girl I was travelling with (same age, just a friend, if it changes anything) both sat down. The train got progressive more and more crowded; eventually, a lot of people were standing.

Although my parents always stressed manners, we never took public transportation, so I'm not quite sure where the bounds of this are. And it's particularly compounded by the fact that by offering my seat, I'd be subjecting the girl I was travelling with to sitting with a random stranger.

Where do I draw the line? Do I offer it to a 40-year-old man? How about a 40-year-old woman? (Is this insulting?) A girl/woman my age? (Does it then appear that I'm hitting on her?) Senior citizens only? Do I say something to them, or just stand up?

Car seat covers

Noodles — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:10:29 -0800

Does any know of a company that makes sedan seat covers for the back seats. I have searched the web only to find front seat covers. The make of the car is a Honda Accord.

Generating student seating charts?

chr1sb0y — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:59:51 -0800

Dear Mostly-Random-Student-Seating-Filter: Can you think of a tool (or a clever method) for regularly generating new seating assignments for students sitting at tables? Other criteria inside... The seating assignments need to change every 2 weeks, there needs to be a mostly even mix of male/female at each table, and each table needs to have a mix of different grade levels at it. (I found a freeware program called "Seatem" but the only download I was able to get at seems to be corrupted or something - it throws an error when you start it up.) Does anyone know of another similar program, or a clever way to generate seating, given these limitations? (I'm asking for a friend, and I may not be able to get much more info than stated here.)

How to fix a bike seat post in place?

spiff101 — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:29:46 -0800

How can I fix my bike saddle to the correct position? I made the mistake recently of picking my bike up by the saddle instead of the frame and the seat post came out. It went back in easily enough but now the saddle moves round - ie, the post revolves around so that the saddle faces sideways/backwards etc - far too easily. I can't see any way of tightening it - the only bolt is for the saddle rails at the top that deal with forwards/backwards tilt. sorry I don't have a digital camera for pics. any ideas?

Mini Question

punkfloyd — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0800

Will a standard baby seat properly (comfortably) fit in the back of a new MINI? Anybody have experience with toddlers and Minis? Are they incompatible?

For the last time, I'm not going to buy a @#$@ing SUV!

crazycanuck — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 11:09:07 -0800

Cars and car seats: I have a 2-door 2005 Ford Focus ZX3. The baby is coming in six months. Should I plan on buying a new car? Soon it will be time to start shopping for one of those rear-facing infant bucket seats. They look huge! Although the back seat of the Focus is surprisingly spacious (ie, adults don't complain about being shoved back there), I'm concerned about the logistics of cramming in a car seat.

So I'm looking for opinions on the following:
- Have you used a rear-facing infant seat that fit well in a compact car? If so, which one did you use?
- Have you used a convertible car seat that fit well in a compact car (in both forward-facing and rear-facing positions)? If so, which one did you use?
- How much of a pain is it to use a car seat in a two-door car?
- In theory this child is the first in a series of two. I am thinking that 2 car seats in a two-door car is a no go. Would you get a different car now, or later?
- Which alternative vehicles would you suggest to a growing family? No minivans or SUVs, please, but a station wagon is ok. I like hatchbacks. Must fit two car seats (one infant rear-facing with 45 degree incline, and one forward-facing) with 6' tall individuals in the front seat comfortably. Ideally, I would like to get comprimable gas mileage to the Focus. Also, must be new/fairly recent vintage (I'd prefer less than 50k miles) for around $15k (US, Seattle metro area).

I just bought the damn Focus a year and a half ago, not realizing at the time that I would be married and pregnant at this point. I own the car outright. It is in suboptimal condition (some scratches that would require more than one body panel to be pounded out and repainted).

My original plan was to drive this car into the ground. I am now cursing myself for not buying a used Mazda 6 that I test drove and liked, but could not justify at the time. I will only spend more money on another car if I will be wishing for my own death while wrangling car seats in the Focus. Will I curse myself if I don't get another car?