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All my hobbies are passive - with one major exception, but still. I usually just sit and read and watch and scroll. Why, and how can I change this? I want to be a person with more hobbies and interests. [more inside]
posted by unicorn chaser at 5:35 AM - 32 answers

Could you help me find the counted cross stitch pattern for a ring of mushrooms with "You cannot kill me in a way that matters"? Image
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 4:10 AM - 3 answers

I have an idea for a chess variant where initial positions are internally jumbled and you start in a state of ignorance about your pieces' identities, and must discover them by attempting to move them. I'm wondering if this exists already, especially as a computer game, and if not how one might make it. Details inside... [more inside]
posted by nightcoast at 7:20 AM - 1 answers

My partner and I are avid cyclists and make each other scavenger hunts on bikes. What "concept" can I come up with for a series of fun, interesting rides/hunts? Examples and details inside. [more inside]
posted by ClarissaWAM at 2:50 AM - 10 answers

I (unexpectedly) learned from last time that I really need my travel nights occupied, or my anxiety implodes. What's there to do in DC March 14-16 in the evening? [more inside]
posted by cuculine at 8:21 PM - 9 answers

Do / have you used a pair of electric cordless scissors ? I'm considering buying a pair. [more inside]
posted by Faintdreams at 4:16 PM - 6 answers

I'm throwing myself a birthday party - a Crow Party, to be specific. There's a post that's been going around for a year or two that says "We should have a crow party where everyone brings and trades silver trinkets and we wear black and whoever brings the best object is crowned the crow lord/lady". This sounds SO delightful. Can you help me make it a reality? [more inside]
posted by firei at 8:33 AM - 17 answers

Sometime in the last decade, I thoroughly enjoyed an ebook about a young woman in college, working part time at a coffee shop, who joins an escort service. The only (PG 13-ified) details I remember are inside. [more inside]
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 10:53 PM - 1 answers

Looking for a late 90s/early 2000s murder mystery puzzle set in a photo lab darkroom. [more inside]
posted by creatrixtiara at 4:48 PM - 4 answers

I have a free trial of Apple Arcade. I don't play a lot of computer games, although I enjoy Freecell, and used to like SimCity and Cosmic Osmo. What should I play? Is there anything I can play for language practice? [more inside]
posted by kristi at 8:28 AM - 14 answers

One of my closest friends passed away last month. I’ve found lots of help, from friends and family as well as literature, in dealing with grief. However, one aspect has been unexpectedly difficult to navigate, namely our shared sports fandom, and not having him around to celebrate or complain, depending on our team’s fortunes. Have you ever been in a similar situation? [more inside]
posted by Kattullus at 9:16 AM - 10 answers

There is a racially based term (not that common) that comes up every so often in skiing circles. Without using the term here - this old Reddit Thread has it in the title It was popularized in an old skiing movie. What would be a good replacement for it that people may understand the chaotic, uncontrolled, sometimes dangerous, unsanctioned nature of this type of race. "Ski race" doesn't really convey it. A ski scramble? A Ski cannonball run? Or maybe there already is another term and I don't know it! It came up in the context of another forum recently, and I'm trying to find a natural replacement for it,
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:23 AM - 13 answers

I really suck at being a beginner at a hobbies. I've tried to learn pottery and sewing and I quit attending both classes because I felt like I sucked compared to the other classmates. I know that neither hobby is competitive, but I want a hobby where I can at least feel SOME success at the beginning and not like a total failure. I want to attempt another artsy & crafty hobby, but I need one that is "gentle" on beginners. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by VirginiaPlain at 4:05 PM - 30 answers

I love reading and learning, but every now and then I'm struck by how little of what I read is actually retained. Are there ways to better retain the information or do I just accept that I'll retain the broad strokes/themes while inevitably losing the facts and figures? [more inside]
posted by Method Man at 11:28 AM - 15 answers

I'm a beginner needle-felter and not much of a fiber-crafter otherwise. For Christmas, I was given a little roll of something labeled "felting yarn" from Penfelt Studio in Portland, and I can't figure out what kinds of projects it's intended for. It's already felted (not roving), about a half-inch in girth, and undyed. I cannot find this product on the internet. The closest thing I can find is this but that stuff is sold in quantities that are clearly intended for knitting, whereas mine was packaged in 3 foot increments, which I interpret to mean it was meant to be used in some other way. Help?
posted by juliapangolin at 10:12 AM - 6 answers

I told him that Ask Metafilter has had a really good track record of finding books, so I grabbed as many details as he could remember! He called it a Science fantasy (?) novel about a strange new material and a boy/young man looking for its missing inventory. [more inside]
posted by sharp pointy objects at 8:05 PM - 2 answers

Yesterday, a post popped up on Reddit that was an audience taping of the February 6, 1979 Grateful Dead show in Tulsa, OK. For many years, people thought it was a lost show; it had been the latest date without any recordings. People in that community are excited. It made me wonder: what are some other examples of "holy grails" that had been elusive in a specific collector community and that have been found after many years? [more inside]
posted by AgentRocket at 12:05 PM - 24 answers

People talk about how they "played too much video games" (or watched too many streaming shows) and regretted it afterwards because they could've been doing something "better" with their time. If this happened to you, what did it feel like while you did it, and why did you regret it afterwards? [more inside]
posted by sandwich at 5:57 AM - 18 answers

Looking for an engrossing, feel-good video game with gorgeous visuals, an aesthetic that’s not gritty or masculine, low or no realistic violence, and more criteria inside. [more inside]
posted by daisyace at 9:58 AM - 48 answers

0.03 mm sheet steel has the perfect qualities for my project and also has a quality of slicing fingers. There is plenty of stuff on the web for cleaning up the edges of 1 mm sheet steel, but I haven’t found anything for metal this thin. I don’t mind gaining some thickness at the edges. Ideas?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:26 PM - 10 answers