Questions in the Grab Bag category.
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August 8
Addled? Dimbulb? Misguided? A few sandwiches short of a picnic?
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.
August 7
Photo editing etiquette
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]
August 6
How to Table & Swag at a Music Festival
How do you figure out how much swag to lay out each day? [more inside]
Handprints and Smudges That Appear Only in Certain Conditions
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?
one-time-use credit card number
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]
Why can't I have a washer/dryer...or can I?
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]
Can you help me solve these 10 Boston Location Riddles?
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]
August 5
And they couldn't even talk about it
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.
August 4
Person Has Terrible Idea, Follows Through
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!
August 2
T'choupi à Paris
Where can my friend find a T'choupi plush in Paris? [more inside]
August 1
Google, show me jewels that will make my jaw drop
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.
July 31
How to dispose of a metal bottle cap collection?
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]
ISO: Baseball book for 5 year old
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.
July 30
Bike stolen from building, have footage. What next?
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]
July 29
What would be a "family discount" when selling a used car?
Details inside. [more inside]
RAT, but for everything
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]
July 28
Ventless portable AC in New England? Get landlord to pay for hotel? Cry?
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]
Used Lab Equipment Online stores
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]
July 27
The best sounding POTS landline phone?
In the history of landline phones, were there particular models known for having especially clear sound?
is a bidet for me?
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.)