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I co-lead a group that partners with Vote Forward to write letters to people in swing states, encouraging them to vote. Because research has shown that an insert with the letter increases the recipient's inclination to vote, we came up with four prototype bookmarks (#1, #2, #3, #4) to send with the letters, which will be mailed in October. Could you weigh in on which design you like best, why you like it, and any other comments/suggestions you have? The printing costs will take a big chunk of our funds, and we really want to get this right. TIA
posted by DrGail at 12:26 PM - 41 answers

Can you find me books with characters named Jolana that were published 1966 or earlier? A friend was told her name came from a book character.
posted by shadygrove at 4:03 PM - 4 answers

I work from home, and have a large blank wall on my side. I like to take breaks from the screen, and was thinking that having something on the wall that actively helps me do that rather than a piece of art would be nice. [more inside]
posted by redlines at 10:21 AM - 18 answers

I am sending a small care package from the US to a friend in Manitoba, and wanted to add on some treats that are hard to find up there if at all. [more inside]
posted by angry.polymath at 7:10 AM - 20 answers

[Book Recommendation Filter] I would like your recommendations for memoirs and personal diaries written by people who made a conscious choice to live a more ascetic life, and in turn discover how to better appreciate simple, but meaningful, pleasures. [more inside]
posted by nightrecordings at 6:26 PM - 27 answers

Helping a friend clear out her garage, which contains decades of family stuff, and we've found this. Possible scribing tool or measuring equipment? (And subsidiary desk function question.) [more inside]
posted by paduasoy at 1:08 AM - 7 answers

What fun, silly lyrics can I use with the traditional Happy Birthday song? [more inside]
posted by hydra77 at 8:45 AM - 10 answers

We received this strange item in our Tabasco Sriracha sauce order via Amazon (it was in the bag with the sauces). It does not seem to interface with the bottles in any way. Seems 3D printed, the inner white piece doesn't move freely but maybe could if it connected to something else? 3.5" diameter bottom, 1.6" diameter top, by 2.25" tall (6.5cm, 4cm, x 5.8cm tall). Reverse image search turned up nothing. Any ideas?
posted by danapiper at 7:04 AM - 5 answers

As per my previous question I paid for a koboReads subscription for a month because it actually has a series my son has been begging for. I also put some other books on and will side-load some other books. Ok, but now what about my kobo? Can can we keep different books on each kobo or is it going to fill my kobo with his books and books with mine? [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:41 AM - 3 answers

I have really enjoyed a few specific types of online team activities. Key features have been that you could join without assembling your own team, and that there is a list of possible tasks to tick off for a group effort at max points or other completion goal. Also key is some amount of team comradery/accountability/encouragement over chat or whatever. [more inside]
posted by lemonade at 11:15 PM - 2 answers

Recommend me either a high-back booster or a car seat that meets as many as possible of the following criteria: A) Prefer something with a harness (booster used as boosters don't typically have a harness, so this would technically be convertible booster/car seat). B) Airport- and Plane-friendly. So light. Ideally has a travel bag with wheels available. Happy to gate check or overhead. Could also actually use in-flight if it's so awesome that my son would be more comfortable that way than in plane seat. It would be nice if it folded up somehow, but haven't seen any with a harness that do that. C) Easy to install and uninstall in car. D) Ideally somewhat on the narrow side. Must be available in Canada. Would love to spend less than $300, but willing to consider options. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:47 AM - 5 answers

I'm going on a trip with my 6 year old for a little over 3 weeks. We can't go to swim lessons without a pile of chapter books in the car. I cannot possibly take enough physical books to keep him happy for 3+ weeks. I want to take an e-reader (not a tablet). I don't want to spend a truckload of money. Please advise. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:48 PM - 12 answers

How can I sterilize these awesome cork panels if I can't heat (oven not cold enough) or bleach (they float/resist water) them? [more inside]
posted by amtho at 2:33 PM - 14 answers

For the last few years, I've been taking riding lessons. Riding teachers like to say things that can't be true ("Make yourself heavier") or that are too vague for me to interpret ("Use your leg like a wall"). I am apparently too literal-minded for this — it doesn't offend me or anything, I just never seem to find it as clear or helpful as other students do. Is there something I can watch/read that puts this stuff in literal terms? Not to replace my lessons, just to help me out a little when I'm confused. [more inside]
posted by Birds, snakes, and aeroplanes at 10:56 AM - 9 answers

I have some wall mirrors and framed pictures I would like to hang without poking nails into the walls. I've hung posters and stuff with 3M strips before but these would be too heavy. I feel like there must be a simple solution out there I'm not thinking of so please enlighten me!
posted by madonna of the unloved at 10:44 AM - 11 answers

I’ve been having some trouble feeling confident to walk in the current (“traditional”) shoes I have now, and some online sources say that barefoot-style shoes would be much better and the chances of re-spraining my ankle would be very little/nil. Is this true? [more inside]
posted by thoughtful_analyst at 8:06 AM - 20 answers

This is a cast-iron, shoe-related ... thing that I found in the family home and do not know the provenance of, but there were shoemakers in our past. Have you seen anything like it? Was it something that might have been used by a shoemaker in 1880-ish, is it decorative, or what? Looks like it was meant to be mounted somewhere.
posted by expialidocious at 3:58 PM - 5 answers

I saw a welwitschia recently and it triggered a very vague memory of a book or story I read where one of these plants, or something very like it, sent its leaves out miles and miles across the desert. I remember absolutely nothing else, except that it was possibly? ominous. Do you have any idea what I'm recalling?
posted by phunniemee at 11:01 AM - 3 answers

The mug in the linked photos was purchased from a pop-up shop in Duluth, MN ca. 2018. It bears the maker’s mark “b π“. I recall this being a playful take on the maker’s name. I have recently cracked the mug and would like to replace it with something from the same maker. Photos here: google photos link [more inside]
posted by dbx at 5:36 AM - 4 answers

I'm in Kuala Lumpur and need to print a statement from a bank account with a decent amount of $'s. There are print shops here where you hand over a thumb drive and they do the printing for you, but that doesn't sit too well with me from a security angle. The best option I've found so far is this place which does self-service document printing: what is the level of risk here, or am I worrying about nothing?
posted by my log does not judge at 8:24 PM - 9 answers