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I've noticed since working from home that I like to have little things around my home office for little work breaks. Ideally these would be little things which aren't too hard (at least initially, bonus points if they can be developed more), but take a little practice. Examples below: [more inside]
posted by Just this guy, y'know to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 4:08 AM - 2 answers

Sometime in the near future, I will have to build a webapp, and I have my choice of the technology to use for it. Details inside. [more inside]
posted by queen anne's remorse to Computers & Internet at 9:19 PM - 9 answers

I have heard in two different mainstream news sources recently that I should go get N95 masks because there "are plenty of them now". Where do I buy genuine 3M N95 masks without valves right now? No Amazon ( lots of counterfeits), other country equivalents, or other non-trustworthy websites. I'd be interested in main hardware stores (Lowes, Home Depot, others?) and reputable safety sites. I don't personally believe them when they say there are lots around, so show me where they are, thanks!
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Grab Bag at 9:18 PM - 7 answers

When I travel I've resigned myself that 95% of the time on a trip I'll wear my hiking shoes and it'll be fine. They're perfect for almost everything. But not going out dressy. What I'd like is the equivalent of women's ballet flats - ultralight, collapsible, simple - but for dress shoes. And for MEN. Is there such a thing?
posted by rileyray3000 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 8:19 PM - 5 answers

Hello, I am back with another fresh exciting Ask about this accursed website i've found myself managing with at least full cpanel control (previous). So the hosting provider (and this isn't my own account, so i can't quickly raise a ticket and bother them) did the bare minimum and zipped up the entire contents of the server for me to download, which i've done. I'm told they've wiped everything and restored access but based on the path address it's clearly a different location (home2/... instead of home/). Is this the reason why when I'm trying to restore from UpdraftPlus in a fresh WP install, and it didn't work? (internal server error) Let's assume I've googled search terms, 'how to restore website manually' and its variations and it didn't quite help. [more inside]
posted by cendawanita to Technology at 7:41 PM - 6 answers

In a weird and super fun twist, I have two upcoming funerals for family members, one this Friday and one...soon. I need to buy either a plus size solid black dress that isn’t a sheath dress, or a fancy black jumpsuit and I do not have the emotional bandwidth to do this right now. The second funeral will be my mother’s. These funerals will both be in south Florida where it is extremely hot and humid, so I don’t want long sleeves. Can you please help me find something to wear?
posted by tatiana wishbone to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 6:26 PM - 12 answers

Well, I've arrived in 2014 because I've just discovered quinoa. I've been making this "Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Broccoli and Tomato" recipe a lot for lunch lately and I LOVE it. Any suggestions for similar recipes with different flavor profiles? [more inside]
posted by VirginiaPlain to Food & Drink at 4:55 PM - 14 answers

If you look for recipes online, you know the kind of junk I’m talking about - all you want is instructions on making tomato sauce or whatever, but the site is packed with ads, photos, links, anecdotes, comments and oh, yes, somewhere in all of that, a recipe. You can always tell when you’ve landed on one because the scroll box is going to be tiny. Google loves to point you to them. [more inside]
posted by Epixonti to Food & Drink at 1:24 PM - 23 answers

I have been wearing glasses for 50 years. I never had trouble with a new pair until now. What next? [more inside]
posted by NotLost to Health & Fitness at 12:59 PM - 13 answers

Help me find what has to be the least fun 2nd birthday present ever. 😷 My tiny twins are quickly approaching age 2 and it seems like we should start (ok, we probably already should have started) practicing wearing masks. This a weird rite of passage. My twins are quite tiny - they are 22 months old, in the 2-5 percentile for height and weight. They just now moved into 12-18 month clothing, which is baggy. Anyone have experience with toddler size masks? Small ones? [more inside]
posted by atomicstone to Health & Fitness at 12:30 PM - 5 answers

Like everything else in my house, my doorbell button is an anomaly with three wires. I am trying to replace the buttons, but no one believes me that there are three wires instead of two. Since it’s low voltage at the buttons, can I just short out combinations of two wires until the bell rings? What’s the third wire for? An illuminated button? [more inside]
posted by TinWhistle to Home & Garden at 11:52 AM - 17 answers

Rain, sleet, or shine, you spend 4+ hours every day in the fresh air getting some exercise. A driver's license is not required for your position. Riding in a motor vehicle is also not required. You get paid an hourly wage because you are a legal employee, not a gig economist. You live in a city. What is your job? [more inside]
posted by aniola to Grab Bag at 11:42 AM - 30 answers

I want one of those "NAME's First Day of School." "I'm in ____________" "My teacher is _______" "My favourite books are...." etc. boards. Having browsed some available online, none are exactly what I want. I'm pretty handy with inDesign and Photoshop. Surely somebody has made a template for these things so it has some nice chalk-fonts/ effects, some suggested layout guides etc. Something designed for making cafe chalk-marker menus or outside-the-cafe signs would also work, since the look is the same. Obviously I am willing to pay the creator of said template, but it's for non-commercial use, so let's not go crazy.
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Media & Arts at 11:24 AM - 5 answers

I need to stock up on masks for my elementary-aged kids who will be back in school in the fall for the first time since March 2020 (that is to say, they have not regularly worn maks all day yet in a social setting). Parents of kids who have optimized the tradeoff between cost/comfort/safety for your kids, what have you found works best? I'm looking for both styles and specific places to buy. [more inside]
posted by lab.beetle to Health & Fitness at 9:51 AM - 14 answers

I'm finally handing a big data entry task off to a capable co-worker. Yay! I have to document the whole process. Boo! Doing the task while pausing after every step to screenshot and explain it is tedious and I absolutely hate it. Is there a way to frame this in my mind to make it fun or interesting? [more inside]
posted by Recliner of Rage to Work & Money at 9:31 AM - 9 answers

After a lifetime of wearing glasses, I'm thinking about getting lens replacement surgery, and I have a few questions... [more inside]
posted by essexjan to Health & Fitness at 9:22 AM - 6 answers

New neighbors moved in upstairs in my old, three family brownstone building. The last neighbors were the quietest people on the face of the earth. I got used to their soundless existence above me for a number of years. I realize the new neighbors are just walking, which is well within their rights to do! But it's a thud, thud, thud when they walk. Hopefully I'll adjust. But any suggestions for speeding this process on my end? Mentally? I don't really think there's any sound mitigation I can do.
posted by swheatie to Home & Garden at 8:34 AM - 11 answers

My Samsung j6+ with android 10 suddenly decided to read out loud when I have a whatsapp message or upcoming meetings. I never turned this on and there is no scenario where I would want this to happen. How do I turn it off? [more inside]
posted by signal to Technology at 8:27 AM - 11 answers

At our school, all teachers have to 'volunteer' for early morning screening of staff and students (our government wont pay for someone to do this, so it's up to us). It's become an eternal stressful bun fight due to the usual stuff: people not putting their names down, or not pitching. And then there's the tatty paper based list which circulates around the school, getting lost and scrawled on. I'm thinking an online shift roster might help, if it can do the following: [more inside]
posted by BrStekker to Technology at 1:16 AM - 4 answers

I’ve just started putting a part of my savings in stocks. I am not intending to buy and sell, I just want to sit peacefully on some stuff until retirement in twenty years. For that reason I am looking at some big stocks like Disney for example. But… [more inside]
posted by J.R. Hartley to Work & Money at 12:49 AM - 20 answers

I feel that I have no right to make art because I didn't go to art school and am just a amateur dabbler with delusions of grandeur who would look foolish to others. [more inside]
posted by whitelotus to Media & Arts at 9:06 PM - 43 answers

I've just accepted a new full time job after consulting for a bit. I've had a pattern of being unhappy in previous jobs because I feel like I've been stuck in an admin rut. [more inside]
posted by My Kryptonite is Worry to Work & Money at 7:18 PM - 7 answers

I went to my first and second Al-Anon meetings today. Can you help me find more resources for parents of alcoholics/addicts: personal stories, advice, etc.? Most of what I'm finding (apart from Al-Anon) seems to be SEO for residential rehabs, or geared towards adult children of alcoholics. It's specifically the experience of being a parent of an alcoholic or addict that I would like to read about. Thanks for any suggestions!
posted by pH Indicating Socks to Human Relations at 7:11 PM - 2 answers

So as long term AskMeFi readers know, I have a curse wherein noise disrupts my sleep no matter where I move. Most recently, I moved to an apartment four months ago that I explicitly picked because it was quiet at night and the bedroom was at the side of the house instead of the front or back (no street/alley noise that way). For four months, I slept well. Then new neighbors moved in, and it went downhill. [more inside]
posted by LSK to Human Relations at 5:48 PM - 21 answers

Our family of cousins and second cousins gets together for five nights every three years. Usually we do this in a place with a common gathering area and kitchen. The reunion fund pays for the common area and for the ingredients for dinner. Everyone pays for their own motel/hotel room. In lean years, some people (me) have stayed in nearby campgrounds. [more inside]
posted by SLC Mom to Work & Money at 3:59 PM - 13 answers

I keep trying and failing to jump back into online dating. It's been such a long time since I've been in the swim that it's taking a LOT of psyching myself up. (Not to mention Covid dysphoria.) In the past I did OkCupid, but now I'm thinking Bumble. But are there others I should consider? I'm in NYC, a cis het woman, early 50s, looking for relationship-minded guys. I'm not on Facebook, so can't do any that require that. Thanks for any recommendations.
posted by gigondas to Human Relations at 3:04 PM - 5 answers

Have you switched from an Android to an iPhone in the past year or two? Tell me about your experience, especially if you're pretty baked into the Google ecosystem or are otherwise a semi-power user. (If you switched to Android and loved/hated it, tell me about that, too!) [more inside]
posted by knucklebones to Technology at 2:55 PM - 17 answers

Last night I realized both of my newish piercings (earlobes) are slightly infected. I took the earring out of my left ear since it was the most irritated and today the hole is healed over enough that I don't want to push it. Should I take my other earring out, too? [more inside]
posted by Hermione Granger to Health & Fitness at 2:11 PM - 10 answers

There appears to be several sites offering MV tours. Cliff Palace is closed. What is the best option?
posted by ebesan to Travel & Transportation at 1:59 PM - 2 answers

My coworker is becoming increasingly toxic, but my boss refuses to do anything about it. How do I keep from losing my sanity? Snowflakes inside… [more inside]
posted by lawgirl to Work & Money at 1:26 PM - 12 answers

Is anyone using the free app GoldenDict? I need help on how to reactivate it. [more inside]
posted by ragtimepiano to Technology at 1:23 PM - 1 answer

My coparent seems very confused right now. We communicate only on a coparenting app (OFW) due to a high conflict divorce. There was very little communication for the past month. Suddenly coparent is repeatedly making out-of-the-blue and difficult-to-understand accusations. There is some history of diagnosed (and undiagnosed) mental illness and/or mini-strokes for coparent. I'm not sure what to do. [more inside]
posted by u2604ab to Human Relations at 12:18 PM - 17 answers

Are there any health issues if I get another vaccination? I want my card to match my ID [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness at 12:12 PM - 5 answers

Any legal eagles on the green? Here's an example of a sticky issue that might come up at a certain workplace I know of: Let's say an employee has tested positive for COVID. They don't know if it's Delta or not. [more inside]
posted by cartoonella to Law & Government at 11:52 AM - 16 answers

I’m making roast chickpeas. I soaked a bag of then overnight and then spread them out on a baking sheet to dry on the counter before roasting but I didn’t get around to doing it yesterday. Now some of them have dark spots? [more inside]
posted by TWinbrook8 to Food & Drink at 9:26 AM - 3 answers

You, a teacher, have perfected your last week of summer vacation. Tell me your secrets. [more inside]
posted by goodbyewaffles to Education at 8:16 AM - 6 answers

I am about to drive cross country from Charlotte to Anaheim am and looking for places to go and things to see. This is a one-way trip and I'll be making it over the course of one week. I'm not a big camper (not against it though) and probably will be booking hotels throughout. Google suggested two routes - one through AR, OK, and NM and a more southern route through TX, NM, and AZ. One thing that interests me about the southern rote is that I'll be able to see some MLB stadiums I've never been to (Braves, Rangers, Diamondbacks). But I'm also interested in nice drives, and remote areas that have cool things to offer that I wouldn't otherwise know about (the Four Corners monument in NM seems like it may be worth a stop). Also love good food, breweries, etc. Any suggestions are much appreciated! :)
posted by matt755811 to Travel & Transportation at 7:19 AM - 13 answers

I am currently working as an admin assistant for the NHS in the UK. I have been asked if I would like to undertake the role of contacting patients with Hepatitis C and persuading them to attend a clinic appointment. [more inside]
posted by charlen to Work & Money at 4:19 AM - 4 answers

We were given a few years ago the Noma guide to fermentation. We failed to ferment some berries at the time, but we've decided to try again this year and had much better success. However, we have no real idea what to do with the fermented berries and their tasty, tasty juice. So, what should we do with a bunch of lacto-fermented berries? [more inside]
posted by vernondalhart to Food & Drink at 12:22 AM - 9 answers

How do I remove this garbage disposal at the pictured connection? Everything I’m reading and watching online, e.g. this timestamped guide, says I’m supposed to be able to insert a long screwdriver into that holder and spin to detach after doing the previous steps, but we can’t get the disposal to budge at all. What are we missing, assuming we’re trying to spin in the correct direction? [more inside]
posted by michaelh to Home & Garden at 9:36 PM - 18 answers

Twice in the last ten days I have been woken up in the middle of the night with violent calf cramps in BOTH legs. I don't want this to keep happening. Help. [more inside]
posted by nayantara to Health & Fitness at 5:08 PM - 35 answers

I'm a leaseholder-renter in an apartment with two spaces for rent — one for a roommate, one for a self-contained WFH office. Relocation, new mates or jobs, etc. mean that I end up having to rerent one or the other space practically every year. I've developed a set approach to doing this, which gets me good renters whom I like, and vice-versa. But when they decide to move, most of them forget that I requested six weeks notice, and only give me a month's notice instead. Practically speaking, a month is not a whole month. Typically, most replacement renters only actively seek space for the first 2-3 weeks of the month, and by the last week or 10 days, they've either found something or are waiting till the next month. That means if I don't succeed in rerenting a space in that relatively short window, I have to pay rent on two spaces, rather than just my own. (This is where all my savings went during the pandemic.) Can you help me think out ways to get six weeks notice instead? [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Home & Garden at 5:03 PM - 14 answers

What short-form delicious dinner can I prepare without dinner-party level menus in any season? [more inside]
posted by Elsie to Food & Drink at 3:22 PM - 20 answers

I have a hard time putting myself into someone else's shoes when it comes to physical feelings. When I'm full, I can't imagine being hungry. When I'm hot, I can't imagine feeling cold. When I'm feeling okay, I have to force myself to register intellectually that because the other person has a headache they might not want to do XYZ. [more inside]
posted by Omnomnom to Human Relations at 3:02 PM - 14 answers

My doctor wants me to try a FODMAPs diet, but not the usual routine. The usual approach is to spend a month or more eating no foods with FODMAPs and then introduce challenges. But my doctor wants me to try to eliminate one group per week while continuing to eat foods from the other three groups. Week one, eliminate oligosaccharides but continue to eat things from the other three groups. Weeks two through four, eliminate di-, then monosaccharides, then polyols while still eating from the other three groups. [more inside]
posted by sevenstars to Health & Fitness at 1:22 PM - 5 answers

How can I get photos on my Android phone to upload to Google immediately after taking them, without any action on my part? [more inside]
posted by dobbs to Technology at 11:52 AM - 7 answers

What are your experiences with bill negotiation services like Truebill or similar? Have they successfully negotiated cheaper internet service for you? These services work by taking a portion of the savings they negotiate. Over what length of time is that calculated? [more inside]
posted by hoyland to Work & Money at 11:27 AM - 2 answers

I bought a small air horn to use inside my house in the event of a break-in. [more inside]
posted by cyrreb to Home & Garden at 10:46 AM - 11 answers

I’m going from making $42k a year to $85k. Other than the smart financially responsible things I will do, I’m curious what changes others made if they’ve been through the same thing? [more inside]
posted by emotionalmotionsickness to Work & Money at 7:22 AM - 45 answers

I live in Brooklyn and I'm looking for places within, say, a two hour drive that I can go with two adults, a three year old kid, and a 25 pound puppy to ideally hike, swim (or at least splash in some water) and paddle around a little in our inflatable kayak. It's surprisingly hard to find places around the city that allow all three of those things -- swimming, dogs, and kayaks! [more inside]
posted by EmilyFlew to Travel & Transportation at 7:11 AM - 3 answers

Quick question about iOS 14.7 and wifi connection issues... [more inside]
posted by konaStFr to Computers & Internet at 4:04 AM - 4 answers

I want to write beautiful, generous, precise, and insightful short fiction. I have a writing routine now, but I don't know how to improve my craft. I would love recommendations on concrete tactics, exercises…and maybe workshops to take (online or in London). [more inside]
posted by w-w-w to Writing & Language at 4:00 AM - 11 answers

I just had a surgery out of state and will be flying back home in 10 days. Doctor has approved this as long as I don't lift over 10 lbs. Will airline staff help me move my luggage around the airport? [more inside]
posted by CancerSucks to Travel & Transportation at 2:40 AM - 11 answers

A lot of the cryptocurrency world I do not understand, but who is creating NFTs? Is there a subculture out there in Discord or hedge funds or some other group that controls this? I realize that the answer is an ephemeral "anyone" but Goldman and others sold Michael Burry CDSes and not me. I'm not asking about how the technology works, but if I asked how I start a venture capital firm the answer would probably be something like: have or make a lot of money in finance or technology, have deep connections and a good network in what you want to invest, be lucky. [more inside]
posted by geoff. to Computers & Internet at 11:07 PM - 9 answers

I'm selling some of my art as digital downloads and have the high res files. I want to offer files suitable for printing a range of sizes. Is there a site or an app that can convert one image into several files, each sized differently? Are there other tools that will make this simpler than converting each size for each image separately?
posted by mermaidcafe to Computers & Internet at 9:09 PM - 4 answers

I had to emergency manage a website in the last month. I did manage to run a backup, but I didn't download it to my local drive in time. For a few reasons, the hosting provider had to suspend the site, and we can't access the cpanel at the moment. How do I access previous versions? The usual methods (Wayback Machine etc) only managed to cache the main landing page but not the other sections. [more inside]
posted by cendawanita to Technology at 9:04 PM - 3 answers

Please recommend a hard or soft shell case for my new MacBook Air (M1). I also welcome suggestions for keyboard covers and preventative measures for reducing track pad "polishing" if you have any favorites. Thank you!
posted by Hermione Granger to Computers & Internet at 8:08 PM - 3 answers

I am catching up on three years of tax returns but would like to get 2020 done ASAP. How should I proceed given the insane backlog at the IRS? [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Work & Money at 7:18 PM - 6 answers

I am looking for a set of bookcases - one tall one and two short ones. They should be made of wood and of decent quality. [more inside]
posted by silverstatue to Home & Garden at 6:54 PM - 20 answers

Are there any good, reputable, online classes or programs to learn piano? Specifically for a human with functionally none experience. [more inside]
posted by furnace.heart to Media & Arts at 6:37 PM - 8 answers