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A friend was given an iPhone 6 by a relative. The iPhone started its life in the US, but is now in NZ. Putting in a local SIM leads to a long-winded error message implying that it's locked. Most online advice seems to start with 'ask your carrier', but how do you proceed if you don't have that information? [more inside]
posted by inexorably_forward to Technology at 5:33 PM - 6 answers

I'm writing a poem for my beloved youngest niece's wedding. [more inside]
posted by intrepid_simpleton to Writing & Language at 4:46 PM - 7 answers

I have spilled juice on my Surface tablet keyboard. I detached the tablet, blotted the keyboard and turned the keyboard over to dry on a bunch of paper towels. Is there anything else I should be doing? It is an older model. If need be, can I replace the detachable keyboard?
posted by hurdy gurdy girl to Computers & Internet at 3:08 PM - 4 answers

I have a very small back yard. Twice last year I found a decapitated garden snake back there. This seemed disturbing, unusual, and improbable. I just found another one this morning. What is going on? How do I protect the snakes?
posted by papergirl to Home & Garden at 6:45 AM - 7 answers

In Canada, are there cases besides marital breakdowns where a pension valuation report would be used? [more inside]
posted by NoneOfTheAbove to Law & Government at 6:21 AM - 2 answers

So at work I have to learn this new technology, I don't particularly care for it and I don't really see what the big deal with it is. To perfectly honest this technology looks like crap and to me it seems to be like the sort of thing someone with very little intelligence would use. I will get it done regardless because they trusted me to do it and I'll do it well too. [more inside]
posted by Braxis to Work & Money at 6:15 PM - 46 answers

We're having a "Screw you stroke, I'm still kicking" party for a dear friend who suffered a massive stroke last year. We want to put something funny on her cake - I am all tapped out. Give me your best stroke humor! [more inside]
posted by Suffocating Kitty to Writing & Language at 3:12 PM - 17 answers

My son is dying to play Skyrim - he loves RPGs and this seems right up his alley but when I look at reviews I've seen mentions of rape potentially in the game. Looking at other RPGs, like Octopath Traveller, there is some major objectifying of women. Is there an RPG that is appropriate for an 11 year old on Switch? [more inside]
posted by a22lamia to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 1:41 PM - 18 answers

I've got a 2011 MacBook Pro I'm stubbornly attached to, but I'm sick of splurging on new adapters (60W Magsafe). Are there any sites that sell refurbished or gently used adapters from people who have upgraded? They're all lasting me about a year before shorting out. [more inside]
posted by waninggibbon to Computers & Internet at 12:45 PM - 4 answers

I have to kill 8 hours in the Rome airport, and I will desperately need a nap. Where can I go? [more inside]
posted by silverstatue to Travel & Transportation at 10:52 AM - 9 answers

My (female) dog has a slew of heath issues: cancer of the mammary glands, pulmonary fibrosis, congestive heart failure, liver values that are off the charts and hormonal chaos. Amazingly, she is very sprightly & lively 6 months after the vet estimated she has at most two months left to live and most of her issues seem under control. But apparently, me loving her too much wreaks havoc with her hormonal system and makes her spontaneously go into false pregnancy & triggers her mammary tumours, which are popping in and out of existence depending on whether she is lactating or not. So ... how can I love her less? [more inside]
posted by doggod to Pets & Animals at 10:07 AM - 22 answers

I always used to travel with my laptop, docking it at home with a big monitor and good keyboard. But I've never undocked this one, due to 1. increasing iPad power, and 2. new work patterns. I should switch to Mac Mini (or, once external monitor dies, iMac). But I'm scared! [more inside]
posted by Quisp Lover to Computers & Internet at 8:12 AM - 6 answers

My city offers an amazing two way bilingual K-8 program. My daughter got a slot. We are delighted but also nervous. She is a super verbal, not very physically adept (comes by that honestly...sorry kid!), English speaker. Most of the other students are native Spanish speakers or bilingual. Neither myself, nor my husband speak any Spanish. I have some ideas for how to help her prepare/feel confident over the summer, but would love other tips. [more inside]
posted by jeszac to Education at 6:57 AM - 25 answers

I'm looking for a visual calendar, that is photos in chronological order, of what blooms each month in my zone (zone 5/6). Like an Instagram feed or calendar populated with images at the general bloom time of all the plants I might reasonably grow in my area. [more inside]
posted by cocoagirl to Home & Garden at 6:55 AM - 5 answers

Are there any games (primarily video/digital games but I'm open to all kinds of suggestions) that involve crosswords as part of a larger game and/or as a game mechanic?
posted by divabat to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 6:05 AM - 6 answers

I've been struggling with sleep-maintenance insomnia for two weeks. Previously I've had bouts of insomnia when under stress, but usually one night of poor sleep was followed by one of good sleep. Now it's a long run of bad nights, and I'm feeling the effects (poor concentration and impulse control, vertigo, rumination, despair). I can recognize these feelings as essentially biological, and that takes some of their sting away, but I've still gotta get through the day. What tricks do you have for managing difficult emotions and staying productive when sleep is elusive?
posted by eirias to Health & Fitness at 12:45 AM - 25 answers

I love the kitchn's weekly meal plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I live alone. Are there other meal plans like their "How I Prep a Week of Easy, Satisfying Meals for One"? I'll list the features I like inside. [more inside]
posted by sockermom to Food & Drink at 8:30 PM - 10 answers

I'm working on changing my attachment style from anxious to secure. In the meantime, what are some strategy or techniques I could use to manage my anxious attachment? Those who are anxiously attached, please share your stories, advice, or tips! Special snowflake details inside. [more inside]
posted by postmortemsalmon to Human Relations at 6:03 PM - 10 answers

I would like to sport a queer-positive tee for upcoming Pride, and also just generally to wear. I like this shirt and I like supporting HRC. But as a cis nonqueer person, I am teeny bit worried that me wearing this message might make the tone read as condescending or -- I don't know. You know? What do you think?
posted by Ink-stained wretch to Society & Culture at 8:13 AM - 30 answers

I am looking for the term used to describe an image that uses the details of a scene to create a second image. For example, a painting of a forest where the details of the trees, shadow, landscape, etc, create the image of someone's face. I would provide examples, but I am at a loss as to what to search for.
posted by cirgue to Media & Arts at 6:37 AM - 25 answers

I am looking for laments, in any format. Musical laments, of course, like those in the Celtic music tradition are the obvious answer. But I'd like them in any and every genre - poetry, quotation, art. Short, long, anything that breaks your heart. A good lament is stirring and gives you hope while also delineating the long-term futility of anything but acceptance. Have you got anything for me? [more inside]
posted by Jane the Brown to Media & Arts at 5:41 AM - 58 answers

I've started getting a few invites to Slack channels, based around professional interests, but not necessarily company specific. I can definitely see the upsides here. But, the etiquette is unknown to me, and particularly, I was wondering: Is it okay to join channels and just be quiet a lot, or should I be upping my communication game a bit here, and taking advantage of what Slack-based interaction could offer? [more inside]
posted by carter to Computers & Internet at 4:39 AM - 9 answers

This book was probably more in the YA range. I definitely read it before 2002 but it could be much older, maybe from the 80s. It involved a quest by an elf-like person to fix the dimming sun. [more inside]
posted by DSime to Media & Arts at 2:44 PM - 4 answers

Simple question. If you have a fairly good idea you're a decent singer, but you need to make sure, where can you get some objective opinions? [more inside]
posted by kitcat to Media & Arts at 12:37 PM - 15 answers

There is a deer with baby fawns in our back garden. Sometimes the fawns get shutout of the garden near a road / separated from their mum. Should we just leave gates open to prevent this, or take active measures to discourage them entirely? [more inside]
posted by inflatablekiwi to Pets & Animals at 11:19 AM - 16 answers

Short version: Mother-in-law needs money to pay property tax. We want to know why the daughter who has lived with her for 20 years is not paying the property tax. The challenge is how to keep emotions/reason in check and not destroy family relations. More below the fold. [more inside]
posted by turtlefu to Human Relations at 10:39 AM - 18 answers

I work in a small organization whose director recently died suddenly and completely unexpectedly at a relatively young age. He didn't have an administrative assistant, so we'll be facing the task of figuring out how he organized his files and digital resources, and how he handled all of the things he handled. It's underlining our lack of a good organizational system whereby all employees document everything that would be necessary for someone to step into their role and handle their tasks, and stores the documentation where people can find it. [more inside]
posted by Creosote to Work & Money at 9:29 AM - 6 answers

In November I will be spending 2-3 weeks in Bogota, Colombia. I'm looking for suggestions for neighborhoods and specific places to stay. [more inside]
posted by Pineapplicious to Travel & Transportation at 6:46 AM - 5 answers

ASCAP and BMI both have searchable online databases where you can see who is credited for writing a song, but they don’t include the date that song was registered. Is there any way of finding this out other than asking the artist directly? [more inside]
posted by ataxia to Media & Arts at 9:22 PM - 3 answers

About 15 years ago I bought & read a used paperback about Russian history that I seem to have misplaced, and I'd like to find it again. I think the green is my best chance! Here's what I remember about it, although this could be wrong: first published in the 1950s, in Britain, for a general (i.e. non-academic) audience, broadly surveying Russian history from about the early days of the Rus through the Russian Revolution. I'd like to give a copy as a gift. [more inside]
posted by paul_smatatoes to Society & Culture at 7:46 PM - 4 answers

My sweet and wildly energetic new rescue dog loves this stupid toy. It's a plastic ball that screams and shakes, with a padded cover. But she can crack the ball inside in a couple play sessions--we are already on ball #2 and it's only been a week! What are some other toys that are plush outside, but rigid (not just squeaky) inside? They don't NEED to make sounds; she loves the sounds but I think she'd be almost as happy with any other toy where she could chomp on its "bones."
posted by assenav to Pets & Animals at 5:38 PM - 9 answers

A half-marathon race tracker marked a split called "MC". What does it mean? [more inside]
posted by quadrilaterals to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 4:03 PM - 11 answers

This is the sort of thing I assume exists in the droves on this Internets of ours, but an initial search has been lacking. I'm looking for an archive of scanned (preferably high-res) images of old hand-writing exercises. You know, the type you had to do in grade school when learning how to write, like this. Either handwriting or cursive is fine.

• I'm specifically looking for older historical versions from the US. The older the better, but lets say 1920-1970 would be ideal.

Any help appreciated!
posted by jeremias to Education at 3:07 PM - 9 answers

My mother was diagnosed with Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease. It's progressing rapidly. We're flying to Australia from the UK next week so she can meet our 8 week old daughter while there's still time. I have no idea what to expect or how to interact with her. [more inside]
posted by nerdfish to Human Relations at 11:34 AM - 13 answers

Google is failing me, or maybe I'm failing Google - I've only got a couple of lyrics from this song, which seems to be about an itinerant bible salesman. It's an older song, maybe alt or alt-rock? Kind of an easy, contemplative beat... [more inside]
posted by invincible summer to Media & Arts at 10:01 AM - 3 answers

My kid wants to buy a hoverboard with birthday money. Budget: $140 tops. No bluetooth needed (kid does not own bluetooth device). What should we watch out for? What have you owned and can vouch for? What should we not buy?
posted by MiraK to Shopping at 9:46 AM - 3 answers

Pittsburgh folks to the rescue! My parents are celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. My brother and I offered to throw a party, but they said they just wanted something with the immediate family. Can you suggest something special we can do together so our memory is of more than just a nice dinner? [more inside]
posted by snowymorninblues to Travel & Transportation at 8:09 AM - 4 answers

I've been able to find sources on approximate weight of a pigeon and how much blood a pigeon has, but what I would like to find is the mean volume of a typical, uncompressed, dry, London pigeon. (as in area that a pigeon takes up, not how loud it is). [more inside]
posted by Just this guy, y'know to Pets & Animals at 7:48 AM - 7 answers

Today is my day to post original content on our office's social media (Twitter and FB). In an attempt to be zeitgeisty, I want to do some sort of tie-in to Game of Thrones, but I can't think of anything! We are an international center for a public urban university, offering study and intern abroad programs, internship placement and international business support. Help! [more inside]
posted by Liesl to Work & Money at 7:43 AM - 3 answers

I was a practicing Soto Zen Buddhist for over a decade, since lapsed but only because I got busy and lazy. Husband also practiced for a long time. We now have a 6-year-old who knows that Mommy is Buddhist and is curious about what that means. I am bad at explaining. Need books. Help. [more inside]
posted by soren_lorensen to Religion & Philosophy at 7:25 AM - 11 answers