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Hi everyone guys! I'm looking for a surveillance station for my rec room. Where to install the surveillance station? Where to store the data from cams? Any pitfalls? Thanks in advance [more inside]
posted by georgehanson at 3:55 AM - 0 answers

I'm turning toward (alpine) skiing as a viable option for my son and me, as an outdoor recreation option this winter. I'm looking to maximize bang-for-buck—we don't own equipment; and I've never bought a season lift/rental package before. Putting aside my searching website-by-website, can you recommend a good place(s) within three-ish hours of Boston, (i.e. Berkshires, White or Green Mts, and maybe into Maine) in terms of good skiing and great season-ticket price? [more inside]
posted by not_on_display at 10:16 PM - 9 answers

I'm looking for some great two-player games for PS4. Criteria inside. [more inside]
posted by freshwater at 2:58 PM - 13 answers

My 9-year-old is currently obsessed with making board games and card games. Can you recommend a book that would talk about game design principles in an accessible way? [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:58 PM - 5 answers

My 11 year old would like to have more avenues for social contact, ideally via a video game. I am not video game fluent so am seeking suggestions for games that meet the following criteria: [more inside]
posted by lizifer at 2:31 PM - 6 answers

I saw in the news a couple of days ago variations of this picture, picture (first in the gallery) of riders hanging under the cable cars on their bikes. Why? What is going on here? They don't even seem strapped in. I can't seem to find anything about it, only that they are competing in the race.
posted by Lesium at 8:56 PM - 5 answers

I have a kid (middle-school age) desperate for in-person time with their peers. During the summer we were able to have safe meet-ups with other kids outdoors. But I live in the Northeast and winter means potentially endless months of harsh weather. The kids are all on-line and using screens during school hours, so I’m hoping to come up with non-virtual meet-ups. Any thoughts?
posted by Phyllis keeps a tight rein at 5:59 AM - 15 answers

I'm looking for new games that I can play for short amounts of time, but almost all my recent games have been games that require a lot of time or focused attention. Recommend new games for me! [more inside]
posted by benbenson at 6:59 AM - 16 answers

13yo boy wants to take K-pop dance lessons, but there aren't any nearby. Is it worth it for him to take hip hop in the meantime? [more inside]
posted by alicat at 10:19 PM - 10 answers

What's the best way to play Ocarina of Time in 2020? I seem to gather that at least a couple versions exist (N64/3DS ?), and that it may be possible to play either using some PC emulation software or by buying some old hardware. What are the options/considerations?
posted by Perplexity at 8:27 PM - 9 answers

I’ve been messing around with a small piano key accordion- it has about an octave and a half of keys and 8 chords that kind of work. So far I’ve learned the first bit of ‘le vie en rose’ but what other songs are fun and recognizable for this instrument? I can read music as I played violin as a kid but chords are kind of mysterious to me. Any genre of music is fine, although I’m not a huge fan of Celtic/Irish traditional stuff.
posted by genmonster at 1:47 PM - 3 answers

Our venerable inflatable kayak has developed more holes than I care to patch, and I'm tired of inflating it anyway. What kind of hard shell kayaks should I be looking at for casual day paddling on flat water? Needs to fit both 1 *and* 2 people since sometimes I'll be solo and sometimes my kid will be with me, but he's young enough that I'm typically doing all the work anyway so either way it's basically a solo for now. [more inside]
posted by Tehhund at 5:36 PM - 7 answers

My elderly dog and I are going stir crazy. We live in Albuquerque N.M. USA. We'd like to take a drive this week, and do something outdoors and socially distant. Special needs after the jump. [more inside]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:31 AM - 4 answers

Just before Covid "started" I relocated to a new city for work. I was hoping to take an art class or two to meet people and, obviously, I never took those art classes. However, the Arts Center is offering them again and I really want to take one? Should I do this? [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 11:07 PM - 9 answers

When a professional athlete arrives at their stadium, arena, or other game location, they are sometimes pulling luggage or carrying a backpack. All of their game equipment is provided by the team, so what are they bringing with them? Why are they carrying it in themselves instead of having it be handled by an equipment manager? Is this something generally done by just the away team, or is it common for the home team as well?
posted by zebra at 4:13 PM - 10 answers

I am trying to find a...place where people discuss LM Montgomery's works - obviously the Anne Shirley books, but The Blue Castle/Pat of Silver Bush are also welcome. Surely there exists a virtual book clubby place where I can chat with folks about raspberry cordial, or wonder whatever happened to Roy Gardner, or speculate about Priscilla's life in Japan. No? A place to chat with people would be the best (especially now with real life interactions being at a sad, sad minimum), but failing that I would settle for good fanfiction to immerse myself into. Please help! Thank you.
posted by Nieshka at 7:56 AM - 11 answers

I have this set of dumbbells. Where can I go in NYC to buy one of the spiral collar locks that it uses?
posted by andoatnp at 1:49 PM - 3 answers

What kind of at-home exercise are you doing? Please help me find something I will stick with. [more inside]
posted by latkes at 9:02 PM - 26 answers

My late MIL made a thing that was likely sold as part of a random lot in her husband’s estate auction. What can I do to try to track it down? [more inside]
posted by St. Hubbins at 12:23 AM - 2 answers

I'm looking for media (of any form, but primarily written or podcasts) that cover accidents in the backcountry. I'm primarily interested in less-technical backcountry travel -- particularly backpacking -- vs things like rock or ice climbing, but the more technical sports are interesting too. I'm looking for non-fiction that leans more towards the analytical incident post-mortem style (what happened, contributing causes, lessons learned, etc) rather than fiction or literary non-fiction. [more inside]
posted by jacobian at 4:29 PM - 14 answers