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I have a wood tabletop (IKEA Gerton) that I'm going to use as a work surface. After sanding from 120 to 180 grit and applying a preliminary coat of water-based polyurethane (Minwax brand clear satin wipe-on) several large light spots appeared on the wood surface. What may have caused this, and can it be fixed? [more inside]
posted by One Thousand and One to Home & Garden at 1:48 PM - 0 answers

Would I be wrong to walk away? [more inside]
posted by unstrungharp to Human Relations at 1:15 PM - 6 answers

I'm in the middle-management/early-executive career band with a skill set defined by flexible generalist soft skills. Where can I find legit career coaching and high-end job search collateral creation help? [more inside]
posted by amycup to Work & Money at 11:18 AM - 1 answer

There's Mastodon, Scuttlebutt, Briar, and various others that seem like they might be up-and-coming. Have you tried some of them? What's your impression? [more inside]
posted by sibilatorix to Computers & Internet at 11:12 AM - 2 answers

My parents are looking to adopt a cat, ideally yesterday. Their much loved and extremely senior cat passed a month ago, and there's a huge cat-shaped hole in their hearts. My mom has never ever not had at at least one cat her entire life. They are really good, loving cat owners! But they cannot find a cat! Looking for ideas or avenues to chase down. [more inside]
posted by cgg to Pets & Animals at 11:11 AM - 11 answers

Looking for non-dramatic movies for sensitive 8-11 yr olds. [more inside]
posted by sol to Media & Arts at 10:58 AM - 21 answers

Can someone who did not apply for or receive the $1200 original stimulus check get added to the list, or is the recovery rebate credit the only option? [more inside]
posted by hworth to Law & Government at 10:51 AM - 3 answers

Asking for a friend. The speaker on her macbook doesn't work. She has a macbook, an iphone and an ipad. Only the macbook and iphone talk to each other. So when she has a Zoom meeting, she has to use her phone but would rather use her ipad. Is there a setting that would enable this? I can answer any questions. They all use the same AppleID
posted by lakersfan1222 to Computers & Internet at 10:17 AM - 7 answers

I have a gastroenterologist. You are not him. But I hope someone can shed some light on unusual changes that have occurred recently with my gastrointestinal tract. Content warning: Some gross descriptions of my GI function. [more inside]
posted by alex1965 to Health & Fitness at 9:09 AM - 11 answers

I have previously posted here about my endeavor to taper off of 40mg/day of Viibryd (vilazadone) while experiencing extremely severe discontinuation symptoms. I’m seeing a new and very helpful psychiatrist who suggested I take a small dose of Prozac during this process. [more inside]
posted by vocativecase to Health & Fitness at 9:08 AM - 4 answers

You love house plants. I'm looking for your favorite websites/ books/ vendors/shows etc. about house plants. Information on caring for house plants, house plant porn, information about types, basically anything house plant. [more inside]
posted by WalkerWestridge to Home & Garden at 9:08 AM - 6 answers

In summer my cat nibbles on grass. For some reason I haven't had much luck growing oatgrass for my cat this winter so she's taken to nibbling on houseplants best left alone. The food delivery service I use offers some growing microgreens. Which one do I get for kitty? [more inside]
posted by zadcat to Pets & Animals at 7:47 AM - 4 answers

I only have this fragment. Would love to know what it is!
posted by DMelanogaster to Media & Arts at 7:36 AM - 3 answers

The fireplace in our 1961 ranch gets a little bit of water in it during very heavy rains, but only heavy, gusting, sideways rain. We had a cap put on this summer, and while they were assessing for the cap they said that we'd have to waterproof and address the flashing at some point in the next five years, but that it wasn't a huge problem. Today it's raining sideways and there's a slow drip. How worried should I be? Snowflake inside. [more inside]
posted by The Librarian to Home & Garden at 7:08 AM - 11 answers

Is it a bad idea to get a SAD lamp for my desk? Should exposure to them be limited? [more inside]
posted by Flitcraft to Health & Fitness at 5:59 AM - 10 answers

Is there a name for the style of architecture (1980s-1990s) that features lots of glass (or transparent plastic pretending to be glass), curved or circular lines (especially semi-circles), with strips of plastic or metal in between the glass that are more likely to be white or primary colours than black/metallic in colour? Examples inside. [more inside]
posted by terretu to Society & Culture at 4:42 AM - 8 answers

I froze a big tub of Greek yoghurt because I was going out of town for a few weeks. I've now defrosted it in the fridge and it's gone from thick and creamy to a watery soup. Can I put it to good use? Perhaps in baking or in a curry or something... Or should I just throw it away?
posted by iamsuper to Food & Drink at 4:13 AM - 13 answers

Looking for creative ways to hide information online and in the real world. [more inside]
posted by multivalent to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 2:52 AM - 5 answers

I'm out of work and narrowly losing job offers because I can't disguise my resentment over my past workplaces and disappointment with the state of work in general. I need coping strategies and mental hacks to reframe this when I interview. [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Human Relations at 12:02 AM - 13 answers

I have a question about offering to sell a domain name to a business. [more inside]
posted by Ruki to Technology at 9:48 PM - 1 answer

A few years back I was lured in by a deal on My Pillows at Costco and came away with a couple. Shortly after I started using them I learned about the fascism. Are there near-identical replacements for this product? [more inside]
posted by Mizu to Shopping at 9:02 PM - 11 answers

The cleaning service I use sent a text to all customers about COVID-related measures, including a bit about asking people not to leave cash tips for their cleaners. Since the pandemic started, I have been leaving a cash tip (15-25% of the overall cleaning cost) for the cleaners each time they come. What should I do? [more inside]
posted by joyceanmachine to Work & Money at 6:30 PM - 20 answers

I have a 1920s lithograph poster I would like to have linen-backed and ~possibly~ restored. The most obvious NYC business doing this (posterfix) has very sketchy reviews so I would like some recommendations (or anti-recommendations) from people who have used other services.
posted by beerbajay to Media & Arts at 5:09 PM - 4 answers

My High School senior is part of a three year-old school, and a member of the first-ever graduating class. The school is part of a well-known California university, sort of a "public" private school. Given this is the first class, we're thinking of ideas to give something back, and to start a new tradition. Given this is a class in COVID-19, we're wondering what we could do that would capture the spirit of this distributed, school-at-home moment. [more inside]
posted by carlodio to Education at 2:39 PM - 9 answers

I am self employed and in Spring 2020 I applied for PUA unemployment (in NJ) due to reduced work from Covid. I was approved, although only was paid for 2 weeks when my income dipped below the threshold to allow me to receive benefits that week. I kept the claim open and have been reporting hours should I fall below the threshold and qualify for more weeks. [more inside]
posted by ridogi to Work & Money at 2:08 PM - 4 answers

I love books and shows where a minor mystery leads to a major mystery - especially if the major mystery turns out to be far deeper, weirder and more sinister. Help me find more! [more inside]
posted by BlackLeotardFront to Media & Arts at 1:49 PM - 49 answers

My apartment lease states that the apartment was built after 1978, and thus my landlord didn't need to provide a lead based paint disclosure, however, after signing the lease I've found old photographs of the building from the 1950s. [more inside]
posted by ataxia to Home & Garden at 1:19 PM - 12 answers

Good examples include (a) The Gentlewoman magazine (b) The Cherry Bombe Cookbook (c) Reformation Clothing. At the risk of revealing my own opinion of it, I would characterize it as "Boring bold sans-serif typefaces used where they shouldn't be, mixed with a color palette that's somehow both garish and muted at the same time, plus photos that looks like they're lit by Terry Richardson." Bonus question: how and why did this style become so pervasive, dare I say popular? [more inside]
posted by rjacobs to Media & Arts at 11:43 AM - 13 answers

(Subtitle: TAKE ME BACK, NERD WORLD! Forgive me, and I swear I'll never stray again!) Can I reinvent myself and return to engineering at the tender age of 58? After years of doing “mostly business stuff” for a few decades, can I convince someone in a company I’ve never worked for to take me on as an electrical engineer/system architect/technologist? Special snowflake details inside ... [more inside]
posted by ZenMasterThis to Work & Money at 11:02 AM - 8 answers

I had an idea for a project, but I'm not sure what platform would work best as its home. [more inside]
posted by kevinbelt to Computers & Internet at 10:48 AM - 9 answers

Both Criminal and civil court - especially in NY. [more inside]
posted by fantasticness to Law & Government at 10:06 AM - 2 answers

What happens if my microwave doesn't have the manufacturer's recommended clearances on each side? Will I burn down the house and die horribly? [more inside]
posted by phoenixy to Home & Garden at 9:25 AM - 5 answers

Am I being unreasonable by choosing my mom over my ex to be there with me when I deliver my son? [more inside]
posted by CosmicSeeker42 to Human Relations at 9:23 AM - 55 answers

My wife and I are struggling to find a way to divide up the to-do list in a way that is both fair and maintainable. Added difficulty: I'm like 90% at fault, in part because my lack of executive function makes me terrible at doing chores. Do you have (or are you) an ADHD partner, and did you find a way to divide up the list of stuff to do in a way that felt fair to both of you, and then find a way to keep it working? [more inside]
posted by Mayor West to Human Relations at 9:08 AM - 40 answers

We bake a lot and end up with a lot of stale bread. I've been thinking I'd like to use some of it to make croutons. What are your best recipes, tips, and advice for crunchy and delicious croutons? And how do you use them?
posted by Stanczyk to Food & Drink at 8:58 AM - 14 answers

Looking for recommendations for an almost-12 year old. We'll ask the local library, but any & all recommendations are welcome. Paraphrasing her: "Fiction or non-fiction. Not fantasy or sci-fi, ok to have magical elements in it but it should be based in our world. 1st person or 3rd person are both fine, focused on people, ok if it's from one person's perspective or there are chapters or sections from different people. Things I liked: All the Answers, 11 before 12 series, Graphic Novels like Roller Girl and Raina Telgemeier's books."
posted by true to Media & Arts at 8:52 AM - 18 answers

What is the best cookbook for Mexican food? I order a lot of take-out from the local taco trucks and I would like to start making some of this stuff at home. [more inside]
posted by miltthetank to Food & Drink at 8:51 AM - 10 answers

I have an idea for a very light hearted software project, based on a pun on "Geronimo". Do you think this is appropriate? [more inside]
posted by Cannon Fodder to Society & Culture at 8:43 AM - 11 answers

I want to build a few apps (or websites, where applicable) that are databases that can be queried and then filtered. The filtered part is the key. Like Zappos: you search "snow boots", it returns you 2000 results, and then you click "blue" and it reloads only the blue snow boots, and then you click "size 8" and you get only the blue size 8 snowboots. What system do I need to learn to make this? [more inside]
posted by xo to Computers & Internet at 7:15 AM - 16 answers

I'm selling my old 2005 model Ford Mondeo. It's got a slow leak in the front passenger's side tyre which is annoying and a battery which doesn't hold much charge. [more inside]
posted by dance to Travel & Transportation at 5:12 AM - 12 answers

I broke the cardinal "two weeks notice" rule for an adjunct position before the start of the semester, after the department head notified me of a paycut. AITA? [more inside]
posted by Sock Meets Body to Work & Money at 8:44 PM - 30 answers

I enjoy public art. I'd love to hear more about public art, and public art like pranks (think the MIT Hack gallery). Another similar thing is: http://www.spril.com/StealthForceBeta/ from New Mexico Tech in the 1990s which I think I found on here. [more inside]
posted by azalea_chant to Grab Bag at 8:03 PM - 9 answers

I have a high schooler who wants to find a good book on ancient Greek history in the years between Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. He has expressed interest in details on the Syrian Wars and Mithridatic Wars (although a book doesn't need to focused on those). Any suggestions?
posted by ShooBoo to Grab Bag at 4:51 PM - 2 answers

[colectomy filter] A friend is having his colon removed next week. I can look up dietary recommendations and recipes online, but if this was you, what kind of snacks or meals would you want in the fridge? What would be a special treat? [more inside]
posted by AnOrigamiLife to Food & Drink at 4:37 PM - 12 answers

I'm trying to locate a poem. The author picks coconuts (or possibly bananas/something else) and plays up his background like his family has a long history and tricks of the trade for picking the coconuts, but it is really done in jest for white people who seem to expect such things. It uses some "Caribbean speak" to help play it up while indicating he actually speaks perfect English. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
posted by cokelessrome to Writing & Language at 4:30 PM - 6 answers

ones that you happen to know staff (or have in the past staffed) higher ed administrative positions. And what was your experience there (from either the hiring or job seeking side) like/how have you heard of them..
posted by elgee to Work & Money at 2:39 PM - 2 answers

I bought smoked duck breast about 6 weeks ago. It has been in the fridge the whole time. Can I eat it? [more inside]
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity to Food & Drink at 2:30 PM - 9 answers

About two hours ago, my shopper started shopping for food, then delivered it about ten minutes ago. I'm uncertain of the condition of some cold foods, including meat. Doesn't help that I'm a newbie at cooking. What are your thoughts? [more inside]
posted by dubious_dude to Food & Drink at 1:40 PM - 20 answers

Calling all educators! And everyone else with ideas on how to provide opportunities for high school students to get their voices heard. What have you done with your students to empower them to engage politically? What ideas do you have for how I might help my own students do so? [more inside]
posted by nancynickerson to Education at 12:42 PM - 12 answers

A friend's partner's employer is refusing to let his employees work from home during the pandemic. What options do my friend and her partner have? [more inside]
posted by orange swan to Law & Government at 12:31 PM - 9 answers

I recently started doing work as a virtual personal assistant. So far I've been receiving payments via Venmo, but I'm worried that my account will get flagged, payments frozen, etc. I would of course like to avoid paying the 3% Paypal merchant fee. What are my options? [more inside]
posted by Questolicious to Work & Money at 12:31 PM - 6 answers

Where is my friend on the vaccine priority list? Type 1 diabetes, works at a college, in New York. [more inside]
posted by greta simone to Health & Fitness at 11:52 AM - 10 answers

My wife and I are first-time home buyers, and were interested in getting a USDA rural development loan. I applied to one mortgage lender I found on the USDA site, and was approved, but then discovered that the loan officer and I had misunderstood each other -- she assumed I wanted a FHA loan, since the company had recently stopped offering USDA loans, so that was what she approved me for. She said she would find out if they could still do the USDA loan, but I never heard back from her, so I assumed not. [more inside]
posted by Ser Dirtnap to Work & Money at 10:50 AM - 3 answers

Some people are saying you can't impeach and disqualify an ex-president. But others say that if that was the case, the law enabling it wouldn't make sense, because anybody could avoid disqualification by simply resigning 30 seconds before they were disqualified. So therefore we interpret the law in a way that makes it sensical because we assume legislators are smart. Without getting into the merits necessarily, is there a term for this doctrine? YANML/YAN45'SL. Thank you!
posted by ftm to Law & Government at 10:45 AM - 9 answers

My aunt passed away very suddenly last week. For various reasons, I came to an acceptance of her death very quickly, and my grieving process hasn't involved much sadness. The rest of my family is struggling mightily with this, and I'm wondering if I'm a monster for not being more sad. Please help me assess. [more inside]
posted by nayantara to Human Relations at 10:08 AM - 27 answers

I feel like I have a lot of difficulty with people in positions of authority who feel like they can comment on me or my life. [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Human Relations at 8:43 AM - 22 answers

I just read this article this morning saying we should be wearing better masks to protect from covid-19 and the newer variants. [more inside]
posted by toastyk to Health & Fitness at 8:36 AM - 17 answers

What is causing the majority of Covid vaccine doses "distributed" to not be administered? Depending on what numbers I see 50-75% have not been given. [more inside]
posted by wnissen to Health & Fitness at 7:47 AM - 18 answers

My 13yo loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet but they're sort of meh on A Closed and Common Orbit. Also loved The Last Human (by Zack Jordan) and the Not Your Sidekick series. What should they read now? [more inside]
posted by signal to Media & Arts at 7:13 AM - 23 answers

We bought a house, against our better judgment. It was a big mistake. Our brains keep screaming at us, "This was a mistake! You have ruined your life!" What can we do in the meantime to stay functional and un-f**k our lives? [more inside]
posted by chara to Home & Garden at 7:12 AM - 31 answers