Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree is pretty unusual, in that its a romantic song about a recently released convict. It seems to be based on an urban legend, or possibly true story (see the wikipedia link). So my question is: Can we work out what the dude was in prison for? [more inside]
posted by memebake on Nov 1, 2009 - 26 answers

Population Filter: I have a problem that's been bugging me for a while. Looking at the qualities I tend to be attracted to, can you help me figure out the ballpark number of potential matches? [more inside]
posted by Phalene on Feb 16, 2009 - 19 answers

If I think the Dutch housing market will crash, how can I make money from that belief? [more inside]
posted by dhoe on Nov 18, 2008 - 8 answers

Any Investment Bankers out there? I have a question about Credit Default Swaps. [more inside]
posted by UncleJoe on Oct 22, 2008 - 8 answers

How do I submit an advertising campaign/billboard idea to a company? Who do I approach? Is there a way of presenting my idea without their angency just running off with it? [more inside]
posted by upc_head on Oct 25, 2006 - 6 answers

I gave up my old domain name (which is a made-up word meaningful only to me) in February. The domain is still getting serch engine hits for some pages I had up as a tribute to a Christian band I was in; the problem is that the domain was bought by some kind of speculator and is redirected to a very unsavory adult website. He'll sell the domain back to me - for $500. This really makes me sick. Any ideas of what I can do to mitigate the damage?
posted by DandyRandy on May 12, 2005 - 7 answers

With all this talk about potential touch-screen voting machines, I was thinking, "What, exactly, is the big deal? Worst case scenario, even?" I've heard 1/3 of the senate is up for grabs, along with the entire house of representatives and the presidency (correct me if I'm wrong). So, what would happen if there is some touch-screen SNAFU and they all came back republican? Is there anything anybody could do? Also, with a CURRENT republican majority in the house, the senate and a conservative leaning supreme court (that might not have jurisdiction), what if the probable investigations are stymied until January?
posted by taumeson on Sep 7, 2004 - 10 answers