Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with weird

FM Interference & Potential Coinkidink

JoeXIII007 — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:05:23 -0800

Heard some strange radio interference Christmas day, wondered if a hypothesis is correct in relating it to the local 'terror' attempt at DTW??? So the family had gotten home from a Christmas gathering, and someone checked the radio randomly to see what was on the low end of the FM spectrum (88-89, 88.7 and 89.1 to be exact), and we heard light static followed by some horrific beeping that could have came straight from a loud Atari game. Not quite bass, not quite tenor, just loud, obnoxious, and alternating (low then high, repeat). It did not last long.

Thus the question: what could this have been. We live within 30 minutes of Metro, so it was thought that since this noise had not been heard since 2001, it might have had something to do with the terror attempt. Otherwise, no clue, and would like to know for later reference.

Ideas?

Stranger gives me a camera - why?

lootie777 — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:48:24 -0800

I have received a (used) Sony Cybershot camera with a charger and usb cord in the mail. I have no idea who the sender is or why it was sent to me! What is going on here? The camera and various parts are wrapped in plastic bags from other commercial goods - ex. a cosmetic bag - and placed in a plain brown box with newspaper as padding.

My name and address is spelled perfectly, which is really unusual. I have family members who spell my first name incorrectly. It's been sent by USPS First Priority and the stamp on the box shows the same city the return address is from.

The return address has a first name, with what looks like a residential address (per google maps) in Southern California.

I don't know anyone in that area of the country, and the only person that I've known with that first name was an elementary school friend who lives on the other side of the country.

I turned the camera on, there are no pictures in the memory and no extra memory card that I can see. The camera is about halfway charged.

The camera is used, but in very good condition.

Why on earth would someone send something like this to a stranger? I'm a little freaked out!

Hivemind, is this some supercool new thing to do that I'm too dorky to know about? Or is it something more sinister?

This anxiety is obnoxious.

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:46:21 -0800

I'm stressed. Frequently. It seems like it's always to do with interactions with friends and lovers, but it's dragging me down. I would love to be able to let go of this anxiety-- the need to analyze every interaction, every word spoken and minor gesture-- and to allow people to distance themselves from me. It seems as though at the first sign (no matter how minuscule) of someone close to me acting strangely I automatically revert to this weepy puddle of all-consuming worry.

Sometimes the refrain in my head is "What did I do wrong?" but recently I've been able to ask myself this question and answer it honestly without dwelling any more. So... why am I still such a stress case about weird "vibes" that I pick up from my friends? I want to allow people to feel however they want and to speak to me only when they want to, but I feel I know them so well that I can tell when they are acting weird.

I'm not sure what to do, but I need to get a handle on it because it's driving me crazy.

How can I let go and allow people to dislike me?

Journal Of Tanzanian Meat Sciences

benzenedream — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:49:06 -0800

I'm looking for strange magazines to give as gift subscriptions. Ideas? Ideally these magazines would be moderately-priced and worth reading as an insight into other fields, even if the reader has no deep interest in the topic. Trade journals and academic publications are fine. I'm not interested in magazines that are trying to be outrageous in and of themselves.

Breathing holes from a giant undersea Cthulhu

shammack — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:09:58 -0800

What is this thing that we found on the beach? We saw several of these things in the sand during low tide in Panacea, Florida. My wife poked at one and it fell apart. What is it?

The Mold Creatures. What ARE they?

lipsum — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:53:12 -0800

Hello. A weird one: In my bathroom there's some mold. I clean it up once a while, but it's kinda there. Anyway, from time to time I can see some bugs running through it. Little bugs, coming out where there's running water, and disappearing, once the water's out. They're *tiny*. Real tiny. Smaller than an ant. Anyone has any idea what I'm talking about? Can anyone direct me to any information regarding these bugs? Thank you!

Boyfriend Acting Weird

xopaigexo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:33:43 -0800

Boyfriend acting different all of a sudden? Me and my boyfriend have been together for 7 months. We love each other very much ( Ive never doubted that ) and were getting to the point where we can tell each other pretty much anything. I know that guys are entirely different than girls in alot of ways, and i often have trouble with that fact when he says something i think is mean or insensitive, which 95% of the time is me taking things personally and he didn't mean what i thought he did. On the other hand, I wish he could understand me more sometimes. I also know that relationships change at about the 6th month, where the initial attraction goes away and in this case, we are realizing that we dont have absolutely everything in common and handle our problems in much different ways. I like to talk about things, to let steam off, and he likes to keep it inside except for telling me maybe the main issue. He never says how he feels about it, says hes fine, but then acts weird and down the rest off the day. Today, I asked him if he wanted to hang out and go somewhere tomorrow because I'm getting my license and i want to celebrate my "freedom". He said he couldn't, that he had tutorials. I asked him what he was doing after and he just said stuff and that he couldn't hang out. I knew something was up, just by how vague he was being. I asked him what was up and he just said he didnt want to hang out with me. He's never really acted like this before, and i asked him if it was about me and he said he just doesnt want to hang out. Earlier today was fine: he seemed happy like nothing was wrong, and it was just like any other day. My best friend (guy) told me that i shouldn't take it personally, that guys just need time to themselves sometimes. Hes never been wrong before about a situation, and I believe him. I just need some insight on the way hes acting all so sudden, when i never did anything wrong. More important, i need help and advice on how to understand my boyfriend better and vice versa. I know it should seem simple but i need help

Odd blogs, please?

qldaddy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:56:19 -0800

Mefites, please show me the oddest blogs you have ever seen? I am going to be leading a discussion at work and as part of that discussion, I would like to show some examples of odd or eccentric blogs. You know, when you hit the “next blog” button and something pops up and you think “Why would anyone spend any time putting that up of the web?” Like scans of tractor catalogs from the 70s or pictures of home-made clay models of imaginary beetles (I actually saw that once and have not been able to find it again). In English would be best, but I’ll take other languages if the intent and weirdness is universal.

Thanks

GrossFilter: Sometimes when I talk for long periods or get really mad, I get this buildup around my lips and eyes.. which I discover afterwards and feel embarrassed that all that time I had shit growing on my face.

In Heaven — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:21:11 -0800

GrossFilter: Sometimes when I talk for long periods or get really mad, I get this buildup around my lips and eyes.. which I discover afterwards and feel embarrassed that all that time I had shit growing on my face. It's really strange, maybe since I don't talk much anymore. But when I do, and what I mean is... say I'm in this long heated argument, or something where you're really in the convo and take no breaks, and kind of tense, like bulging eyes and stuff lol. I'm talking hours.. few times it happened, luckily I was on the phone. I got off, went to the bathroom, and in the corners of my lips, where they meet, was like white stuff, like when my lips open and close in the crease it leaves a white shit that's like half skin mixed with saliva turned solid white grossness.

Well today, it happened again, but this time I was with someone, and it wasn't my lips.. it was my freakin eyes!! The two outer corners, that white shit was there. I was like wholy fuck. It looked like I had two dabs of lotion on my eyes.

Has anyone had this happen?? It never used to happen, maybe it's old age?

Any way to treat it other than making sure to wipe my face every half hour?

Why does packing tape smell like vinegar?

rawredmeat — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:47:25 -0800

Why the heck does plastic packing tape smell like vinegar? Has anybody else noticed this? We're talking plain old clear plastic packing tape, which has a VERY distinct vinegar smell when you use it. In roll form, it is apparently odorless, but as soon as you tape a box, WA-BAM! Vinegar smell! Has anyone else noticed this? Any thoughts?

What are these bugs coming out at night and why do they die so fast?

rintako — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:47:50 -0800

What are these bugs coming out at night and why do they die so fast? At night usually past 12PM, these bugs about 3-5 times the size of fruit flies come out of no where and start flying insanely, mostly gravitated towards my lamp. After a couple of minutes of this, I'll hear a plop and look at my desk to see them upside down as if they're struggling to survive or something, and then they die.

What are these bugs, why do I have them, and why are they dying so fast?

Odd music anecdote online somewhere...

ricochet biscuit — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:34:09 -0800

Looking for an anecdote -- possibly on MetaFilter, possibly elsewhere -- about someone's roommate connecting with her deceased father through music. Within the last few years, I read a curious heartwarming story online that affected even my flinty heart. I thought it was on MeFi somewhere (I lurked for years before ponying up my five bucks last August) but I am having no luck finding it. Maybe it was elsewhere... still, Google hath availed me naught.

This is something like the occasional "Identify this book/movie" questions in that some of the deatils are fuzzy, but I will recount it to the best of my recollection.

It was written by, I believe, a Gen-X woman. At some point in the last twenty years, she had been talking to her roommate about music and the writer had recommended the Doors' first album to the roommate. The roommate had had a listen and found it a mixed bag, but hadn't listened all the way through. Specifically, she had felt tired after listening to the third song, "The Crystal Ship," and turned off the stereo to have a nap. A few days later, the roommate tried again but again found "The Crystal Ship" made her tired. Weirdly, this happened again, and always at the sanme point: "The Crystal Ship." (The song in question, by the way, is pretty sedately paced and arguably more melodic than anything else on the album.)

The roommate mentioned this strange sleepy reaction to one Doors song to her mother and her mother blurted out, "The Crystal Ship?" The roommate was startled by this, and the mother told the roommate daughter that her father (who had died when the roommate daughter was very young) had sung "The Crystal Ship" to his infant daughter as a lullaby. Now grown up, she was still conditioned to want to go to sleep when she heard the song.

Ring any bells?

Dreaming about public indecency

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:30:59 -0800

I'm constantly dreaming about masturbating in public. Is this normal? If not, how can I stop? Background: I'm a 25 year old gay male with a pleasantly active sex life. Recently, within the past six months or so I would say, I've suddenly started to dream about masturbating in public.

I have one of these dreams usually every other night, although sometimes several nights in a row. Nothing in particular seems to trigger them and I'm not aware of anything that might have started it six months ago.

The dreams all follow a standard formula: I'm hanging out in a public venue -- sometimes a parking lot, somtimes a neighbor's front lawn -- church, work, the grocery store, the side of the freeway during rush hour, in my car during rush hour, on the set of a TV show, etc. when suddenly I dream that I have the irresistible and overpowering urge to masturbate.

I start doing the deed and usually end up getting arrested or otherwise "exposed" by family or friends (who are usually laughing at me). I'm not sure if it makes any more sense, but these dreams are usually immediately followed by dreams of catastrophic disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc.). They so often follow each other, actually, that sometimes I wonder if they are just two parts of the same dream.

Normally I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to stuff like this but the frequency and vividness of the dreams is starting to disturb me. I'm not used to having ANY vivid dreams every night or every other night, let alone weird/nightmarish sexual dreams.

So, is this normal?

If not, is there anything I can do about it?

I meet my greatx10 to the 20th grandmother, things happen. What happens?

sully75 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:53:50 -0800

Disturbed-that-I-Keep-Wondering-This-Filter: I keep wondering if I were transported back in time, to different points of human history, could I reproduce with the ladies of the, erm, period? Say my time machine takes me back to 15 B.C. or so. I meet a swell Sumarian, things get weird. She forgets to drink her magical birth control herbs. Does she get pregnant? Is there anything that's happened evolutionarily, microbiogically, or otherwise that would either prevent her from getting her pregnant, make one or the other of us sick or harm the baby in her womb? What if I went back 10,000 years? Are there DNA implications because I suppose chances that I'm mating with one of my own ancestors are pretty good.

I'm really not sure why I keep thinking about it, but I do.

Weird Geeks 'r Us

diode — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:57:42 -0800

I've been tagged with labels like 'weird' or 'geek' since high school. This is usually coming from someone who has no positive frame of reference for something I've said or done. Hey, I'm unusual, no doubt, but I just get tired of hearing this word. What's a good comeback that doesn't leave scorch marks? Let's say I've posted something on a blog or social networking site that's creative, unusual and/or funny. A subset of my friends don't know what to make of this information, so the default response is, 'you're weird.' I've been running into this forever. I can't help it if they can't process the information. These are my friends though and I don't want to download on them with a big flame-out about their lack of imagination.

From my perspective, about 98% of the populace is mentally beggared by too much TV with a vocabulary to match. That's where 'weird' comes from, an inability to find a descriptive term that is suitable other than the pejorative use of 'weird'. I understand that people's default response sometimes is 'that's weird.' It's just gets kind of old and it would be nice to have some comeback that informs and teaches, without lecturing, hectoring or leaving burn marks on the receiver.

I suppose I could own the term and make it something positive for myself. I'm curious if anyone has a way to bounce this interaction back at the sender. 'You're a geek' falls into this category too.

I suppose creative people in every field of endeavor run into this response and have for millenia. I suppose one attitude is to ignore it or acknowledge that any response is better than no response.

What the fruit?

designbot — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:27:34 -0800

What are these things we found in our sink? I found these bizarre things in my brother's sink this morning. Neither of us remembers seeing them before this morning, or putting anything unusual in the sink recently. They look a little like ancient strawberries, but there are no seeds on the skin.

Any thoughts on what these might be, and (bonus) how they got in the sink?

Buying your own appliances is the hot new thing for renters?

ignignokt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:00:38 -0800

As a tenant, how feasible is buying your own major appliances for a place you're renting? I've been hunting for apartments in Boston, and when I ask whether or not a building has a washer and dryer, I sometimes get the answer, "No, but it does have a hookup for a washer and dryer so you can get your own." They say the same thing about dishwashers sometimes.

This isn't a response I've heard from property managers in Chicago.

So, I guess some tenants actually do this? The thing is, washers and dryers appear to cost at least $300 a piece, then on top of that, there's delivery and installation. And when your lease is up, are you really going to deinstall it and take it with you?

What am I missing? Please shed some light on this mystery. I'll probably ask the next property manager I talk to about it, but they also tell me things like "oil heating than gas heating is better because it's much cleaner burning" so I figure it's good to hear it from people with a less vested interest.

What is HAZZOLA RESCUE?

carsonb — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:37:18 -0800

I witnessed the oddest thing driving in Los Angeles Friday afternoon, and I wonder... could you help me figure out what happened? I was on my way to work, driving West on Beverly Blvd. through what I believe is 'The Fairfax District'. It was about 3:30pm, and I was stopped at the light at Fairfax Ave, right in front. Perhaps my favorite thing about driving in L.A. is the ridiculous number of people-watching opportunities the crappy traffic and crowded sidewalks provide. So I was looking around, hoping for another gaggle of blondes at the CBS Studios gate, and instead my eye caught on a guy approaching the intersection from the opposite side of Fairfax.

He was a normal looking guy. He had a blue sweater on, some slacks, casual dress shoes, a yarmulke, average height, weight, like I said, normal. Considering the other folks I was lucky enough to observe so far on the drive, in all their gloriously deranged splendor, he actually stood out for how normal he seemed. He was about fifty yards away from the intersection, walking East at a regular pace. Didn't seem to be in a hurry, didn't seem to be lagging or limping in any way, again just normal.

Anyway, by now the light is green so I step on it. About a hundred yards later I hear sirens, check the mirror and yep, here they come, pull over and stop. I'm watching in the mirror as the flashing lights gets closer and the siren louder. Sounded like a police vehicle, but as it neared it turned out to be an FJ Cruiser, blue and gray with gold striping and lots of flashing lights, top, front, etc. It goes through the intersection, coming up behind me, and screetches to a halt just past Fairfax. That guy, Mr. Normal, darts off the sidewalk into the middle of the street, the back door of the truck opens, and he jumps right in. The second both his feet are off the ground the Cruiser is squealing off, and it zooms blaring right by me. On the back of it, in very large, reflective print, was the phrase HAZZOLA RESCUE. I didn't recognize any city badge nor do I recall whether there was any other text on the vehicle.

My life proceeds in its usual fashion thereafter. I've asked just about everyone I know in this city if they could tell me what HAZZOLA RESCUE is, why they exist, or just what exactly was going on there? To shaking heads and no ideas and that's weirds. I've tried google with no results. (Well, OK, 1 result, an OCR error for 'Mazzola' in the back pages of Swimming World Junior Swimmer Magazine, March 1973.)

So now I'm asking you. Do you know what is, who are, and/or whyfor HAZZOLA RESCUE?

USB Mini Male to Big Female

neustile — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:18:16 -0800

I need to buy an adapter or cable that lets me plug a normally-sized USB plug into a "mini" USB receptacle. I must be doing something wrong in my searching because I can't seem to find something that lets me do this anywhere. Specifics: on the device (a speciality microcontroller) there is a female mini-USB port meant for connecting keyboards/mice to the device. It's the kind of port you see on blackberries or cameras. I have thousands of cables that go from that port to a male version of the "real" usb connector, but I want male mini to female big (and not the female big that looks like a square with the notch cut out.) Where can I get?

Name this weird dance

crazylegs — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:47:10 -0800

What's the name of this kind of dancing? There's a certain kind of dancing, I guess it's considered break dancing but I'm not sure. I'm looking for videos of it online but don't know what to call it. It's hard to explain; basically the dancer moves parts of his/her body while isolating other parts so it looks like the parts are kind of melting into each other. I don't know how else to explain it. Anybody familiar with this? Anybody know what it's called?

Avantgarde Operatics in London

0bvious — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:11:48 -0800

Avantgarde London: I want to take my girlfriend out to a biggish music/sound performance/event. I want it to be avantgarde, unexpected and unique - the kind of night that would send most music lovers screaming into the distance. I am thinking maybe opera, but I know NOTHING about it. And, as I said, I want avantgarde opera in London. Where do I start? My girlfriend is an experimental performance poet. She likes it weird. It's her birthday (soon). Can you help?

better than sex

randomstriker — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:35:05 -0800

Vancouver source for biggest selection of ketchup chips? A friend of mine loves ketchup chips, lives overseas. I get on a plane tomorrow morning. I want to buy as many different brands of ketchup chips for her as possible, so would like to know where in Vancouver there is a store with the biggest selection.

Where is Woody Allen?

bru — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:20:49 -0800

I just watched the Golden Globe Awards show and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona won the Golden Globe for best movie (musical or comedy). Except only a bunch of producers and Penelope Cruz went on the stage, tens of people were thanked and nobody, nobody ever mentioned Woody Allen's name. WTF?

Help me turn the weirdest job ever into a career

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:24:53 -0800

I have fallen into a strange line of work. I like it. I would like to turn it into a career of some kind. I was in graduate school a year ago for social work and really unhappy with the whole thing. Too many things going wrong to explain in this post, but basically social work isn't for me. Before graduate school, I worked in schools, summer camps, or doing other social service work. I freelanced a lot too doing some writing gigs, or personal assistant work, but I felt like I needed to move on. Some of these jobs were good, some bad, but overall I was never very satisfied with them in my core. I love people, and I am very empathetic and warm, so I sort of figured I would just make a good social worker or therapist. My parents were really thrilled about the idea of me going to graduate school and since I didn't know what else to do, I just kind of headed along course.

I ended up leaving graduate school, not knowing what in the world else to do. I was having a really hard time. Doing therapy, watching a lot of "In Treatment" and kind of freaking out. Then I found a job, just through kismet, buying and reselling vintage audio equipment. This wasn't even a job really at first--just kind of tinkering around with someone I knew who offered to pay me a little to help do some research. I would have never "chosen" to do this if hadn't been sort of desperate and in total limbo.

Turns out, I really like it. It's like the weirdest job ever- you'd never see it listed in the classifieds. I do a lot of research and work on the phone a lot developing leads, finding clients, and figuring out where to place our bets. I love the research side of it more than trying to close a deal, but the business/sales side can be fun and I don't mind it as much as I thought I would before I tried it.

Basically, I work with a couple other young, smart people. We're not making great money yet but we're getting by as a small company. I know this job itself probably won't last forever (too much chaos in everyone's lives, and probably not enough money in the long run for the equipment we deal in). But I 'd like to find something in a related field. I've thought of things like headhunting, real estate, antiques, or other sales work, but I'm not sure. I can not STAND the corporate lifestyle, but I am very driven, self motivated and independent. I am a hippie girl who secretly wants to make a bunch of money (*make* it, not just have it or be given it). All I know is that I like this job much more than anything I was doing beforehand. I'd like to see what else is out there for me in this field.

Trippy music is my favorite

One Second Before Awakening — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:42:17 -0800

Recommend me some good, extremely psychedelic rock. I'm a huge fan of a certain sort of rock music that goes so far out into experimental, weird territory that it sometimes just barely qualifies as rock music at all. It's music that takes the concept and techniques of psychedelia to an extreme. Often various non-rock influences will be mixed in (most commonly musique concrète) to give the music a special texture or vibe. I don't mind if the music is difficult or avant-garde.

I dig interesting and lush production, but I don't mind standard or even poor production. I also dig really varied, interesting instrumentation.

Bands that express the qualities I'm looking for:
White Noise
The Olivia Tremor Control (and much of Elephant 6)
Analog Birds
Pram (especially the song "The Owl Service," which isn't on youtube)
"Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles
Porcupine Tree (especially songs like "Drown With Me" and "Stars Die"
Brain Eno's album "Another Green World," especially the song St. Elmo's Fire
Boards of Canada(though they're not really rock)

And to a lesser extent:
Phideaux
Radiohead's album "Kid A"
dredg's album "el cielo"