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I want to write some essays in which I treat of people who support grossly unfit political candidates, are anti-vax, climate crisis deniers etc., because, though they may otherwise be reasonably intelligent and capable people, they lack the capacity for abstract rational thought it takes to develop a genuine grasp of issues that don't (yet) directly affect them. This will require a well-stocked non-ableist vocabulary. I turn to you, MeFites, for apt ways to describe such people. Be they civil or insulting, formal or colloquial, all expressions are welcome as long as they are non-ableist.
posted by orange swan at 8:12 AM - 26 answers

I recently had a Big Event and hired a professional photographer to take pictures. The photo-shoot was great and fun, but the photographer has only offered to edit/touch up a very small number of photos (10-15). Is this typical? If not, how can I ask for her to edit more? [more inside]
posted by sleepingwithcats at 6:51 PM - 6 answers

How do you figure out how much swag to lay out each day? [more inside]
posted by feistycakes at 7:32 PM - 2 answers

This is a wall of my apartment. The marks only show in light, and only in heat or humidity - they're often completely invisible. Note the square corner mark by the plug, which makes me think it relates to temperature or humidity behind the wall too. Separately, note my handprint. What causes this? If this is skin oils or something, how would one clean this?
posted by MollyRealized at 4:48 PM - 7 answers

I want to sign up for an online service, but I don't want to give them my regular credit card number. For one thing, random web site; for another, they want to automatically charge $159 one year from now, and won't let me turn that off without canceling access to the entire service for the rest of the year. Is this Visa gift card service, linked from this visa.com page, a legitimate and safe answer to this conundrum? [more inside]
posted by amtho at 3:21 PM - 16 answers

I live in a condo building that was originally built to be rentals. That means there are no in-suite washers or dryers allowed. I've heard this is something to do with the plumbing in-units not being suitable for washing machines. What might this mean? And might it not be true anymore? [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:54 AM - 23 answers

I'm in a competitive scavenger hunt that takes me across boston, to be the first to find a small token. They are placed in the last few days and just released. It's fun, but I'm in a competition where we are supposed to "use all of our resources". Askmi is a resource, right? [more inside]
posted by bbqturtle at 8:44 AM - 26 answers

I'm interested in experiences (historical, fictional, your own) where someone was in crisis but couldn't talk about it. I don't mean things like abuse, diagnosis, or non-disclosure agreements. More along the lines of, say, people who were in witness protection and couldn't talk about their "real" lives. People who were passing as white and hearing a lot of racist comments.
posted by mermaidcafe at 10:50 AM - 18 answers

I realized after seeing Six Days With a Big Lollipop on MeFi, and remembering one of my favorite things ever, My 14-Hour Search for the End of TGI Friday's Endless Appetizers, that whatever-you-call-it (people having a creeping, terrible idea, and undertaking it), is my favorite internet thing. MeFi also mentioned I Drank the Velveeta Martini, and I've seen and enjoyed, I Ate at Every Rainforest Cafe in the Country, but I need MOAR - please help!
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:38 AM - 37 answers

Where can my friend find a T'choupi plush in Paris? [more inside]
posted by donut_princess at 6:51 PM - 4 answers

For a project I want to find pictures of particular kinds of jewellery, but I want completely over the top stunning jewellery. Like the kinds of things that come from the crown jewel collection. Gems smaller than a cherry or less shiny than the sun need not apply. How do I find these images? I've adding to my search terms "crown jewels" "priceless" "stunning" and "breathtaking", but I still get mostly very nice jewellery, but get very nice, but not jaw-dropping jewelery. What's my search term here? Here's an example of something I'd like a more extravagant version of.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:26 PM - 22 answers

I need to find a way to dispose of an old bottle metal cap collection. What's the smartest way to do this, in terms of making any money and/or recycling them properly? [more inside]
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 12:18 PM - 5 answers

My 5 year old son has this soccer book. He's asked for a similar book about baseball. I assume that would be easy to find, but I can't find anything like that. The kids baseball books I see are basically giant blocks of text (e.g. everything kids baseball book). I want little chunks of text both because it's what he's asking for (a similar book) and because in small chunks like that it's less intimidating so he will practice his reading. Can be about MLB or the sport in general. If MLB, bonus points for lots of Blue Jays content, but it doesn't look like I have enough options to be picky.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:15 AM - 2 answers

An Amazon delivery worker stole my (foolishly) unlocked bike from the building lobby about 12 days ago. I have him dead to rights on security footage. I also know who in the building picked up the package he dropped off, though we've only said hi in passing. I'd like not to involve the police because I'm anti-carceral, so I'd like to hear suggestions for what I can do next to ideally recover the bike and less-than-ideally penalize the thief in some way, to prevent or discourage further thefts (like from other delivery sites). [more inside]
posted by coolname at 12:21 PM - 16 answers

Details inside. [more inside]
posted by rhonzo at 12:41 PM - 18 answers

How realistic is my dream of a test, similar to a COVID Rapid Antigen Test, to tell you if you're sick or not? [more inside]
posted by freethefeet at 5:12 AM - 10 answers

We moved, yay! New place is supposed to have central air, it is broken, may take weeks to fix and there is a heatwave scheduled PLUS for extra fun the windows are non-openable, boo. Any hope? [more inside]
posted by prewar lemonade at 12:49 PM - 13 answers

For an IRL work project- can people suggest a couple of good online stores that sell used lab equipment of various types, that will let me search by manufacturer name and model number? [more inside]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:23 AM - 16 answers

In the history of landline phones, were there particular models known for having especially clear sound?
posted by fake at 7:48 PM - 17 answers

i am intrigued by bidets but have one of those very small old fashioned toilets and i am superfat. i am also a renter so can’t replace the toilet. given tiny toilet and much larger than average butt, is a bidet likely to clean me sufficiently? (i am a cis female.)
posted by misanthropicsarah at 6:14 PM - 15 answers