MetaFilter

Credit cards bad.

Are you a good photographer? I'm assuming yes, given that you're interested in upgrading your equipment. Why not try taking the best shots you can with what you've got, and hire yourself out as a low-end portrait/event photographer? If your school (you're a grad student, yes?) has a theatre department, you may even be able to broker a deal to use some of their space and lighting gear as a studio for a cut of the proceeds. If you've got a good eye and a… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:20 PM on March 11, 2008

I'll second Silverstein!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 11:54 AM on March 11, 2008

Adding to notsnot point above, what you specifically need to be concerned about is the Affadavit of Support that SOMEBODY has to sign, and prove they have sufficient resources to ensure the "alien" does not become a fiscal burden on the United States.

This does not have to be you; you can have co-sponsors if you don't make enough to meet the support requirements, for instance. But it looks VERY suspicious if you don't want to sign the sponsorship and you DO… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 7:02 AM on March 10, 2008

Thanks for the pointers to date. I've got the furnace off now, and it will stay off for the night; I've actually got a 220 construction heater downstairs, so I may just pull the stove away from the wall, unplug it, and jack in the construction heater to heat the upstairs 'til all the ice melts off the roof (hopefully within the next three weeks). My electricity bill will obviously be hell on wheels, but at least I won't be dead.

I'll call the oil company tomorrow to see… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 5:52 PM on March 9, 2008

I've just tried that this morning -- unfortunately the window is above the sink, and if I balance myself precariously I can kind of whack at the icy overhang by holding onto the very end of the shovel with both hands. No good -- it chips a bit of the ice at the bottom, but makes no difference overall. I've pulled the hell out of my left shoulder hanging onto the ladder while being hit with that giant chunk of ice on my leg, so even holding the shovel is a challenge.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 3:59 AM on March 10, 2008

Mixing 90% water with 10% white vinegar to load your spray bottle works wonders, too. They &?%$ hate that smell.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 7:16 AM on March 7, 2008

It may be worth your while to invest in a (FAT-formatted) external HD -- you can buy an old HD pretty cheap, and an external case (USB 2.0-compatible); format the external drive as FAT, and then dump everything you want from your Toshiba onto that. The Mac can read/write FAT-formatted external drives, and you'll be getting a convenient backup for your old PC stuff in the bargain.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 7:53 AM on March 6, 2008

"Take Your Mama" by the Scissor Sisters has a fantastic post-Elton piano vibe. One of my favourite air piano songs.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:54 PM on March 5, 2008

Decades after being a cub scout (in Canada), I saw this question and immediately sang "O Lord our God, thy children call, grant us Thy peace, and bless us all" in my head.

The only clean recordings I could find are grandfather clocks on Sound Dogs, but they charge bout $7 for the (royalty-free) recording.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 10:24 AM on March 5, 2008

Was sleepiness a defining characteristic of Jughead Jones? I know he was always hungry, and kinda lazy, but he seemed to sleep a lot in the Archie comics of my youth.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 1:00 PM on March 4, 2008

Irfanview can't batch-process a folder from the Explorer view, but IIRC it's pretty easy to select all the files IN a folder for its internal batch-process dialogue. You add other commands to the batch process (where to put the processed files, what to name them, etc.) as well. It's an extraordinarily handy program for this sort of thing.

I'm no Windows Server 2003 expert, but it's a very lightweight program that has run on every other version of Windows I've ever tried… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 8:23 AM on March 4, 2008 marked best answer

Ditto Nelsormensch. Now I need to listen to it!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 10:14 AM on March 3, 2008

Make a Lucy Booth:

Psychiatric Help: Five Cents
The Doctor is IN/OUT (depending on whether you are there or not).
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 10:12 AM on March 3, 2008

A goofy mind experiment that has actually worked for me in the past to get back on a regular exercise program:

Tell yourself you have hidden arcane knowledge, and actually know a magic spell that you can cast to make yourself more confident, more energetic, better-looking, and more successful in life overall.

You have to cast this spell once a day for it to be successful, and it takes about half an hour to go through the magic ritual. The ritual… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 7:17 AM on March 3, 2008

Anna Falchi as "She" in Dellamorte Dellamore (which I originally saw as "Cemetery Man" here in Canada) -- a criminally overlooked weirdzo zombie-movie masterpiece. The Mayor's Daughter, Valentina Scanarotti, played by Fabiana Formica, is also great.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 7:11 AM on March 3, 2008

neckro23

Thanks for pointing out that Steam link! I used to have a pirated copy of Deus Ex but felt a little bad about it, so I never finished the game. Then it was really hard to find. Problem solved!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 3:59 AM on March 2, 2008

Leon: That's a great idea (and not really that obvious); I don't have a lot of copies of the book (as the author, I only get a certain number of comp copies), but maybe a PDF would do the trick.

Brandon: I do have a Web site for it, from back when it was first coming out; I opted not to add a forum because my feeling is I don't have the skills to create/maintain one that doesn't reek of ineptitude, and they require a lot of management to prevent spam creep from taking over.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 3:16 AM on February 29, 2008

Holy crow! What a pile of excellent suggestions. Thanks ever so much -- I'm going to get on this today!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 6:55 AM on March 1, 2008

Nathan Shumate's Cold Fusion Video specializes in reviewing straight-to-video horror and SF movies. He's very good; the reviews are frequently hilarious (as the movies are frequently awful), but he's also capable of praising the good ones intelligently, which takes a lot more talent than slamming something comically.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:01 PM on February 28, 2008

Canada, for example, places significant restrictions on its citizens' freedom of speech.

I'm genuinely intrigued by this statement. I'm a Canadian, and if anything I'd characterize our public discourse and media as far less stifled than that of our Southern neighbours.

What leads you to believe Canada has fewer freedom-of-speech rights than the U.S.?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 10:30 AM on February 27, 2008

Not too much time at all; I often make chicken that way. It comes out tender and delicious.

My secret weapon for crockpot chicken is cranberry and almond with some basil leaves; it sounds a little weird but almost always comes out delicious. Like you, I'm a crockpot minimalist -- that's about as complex as I usually get (and some crockpot recipes get REALLY complex). I prefer to integrate minimal stuff, then season in the last stages.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:18 PM on February 25, 2008 marked best answer

RavinDave: yes, sorry -- canned cranberries. I imagine fresh would give you something pretty bitter. I use whole almonds and chop 'em, but shaved would be just as good.

Really, I recommend just trying stuff in moderation; worst-case scenario you add some BBQ sauce and make chicken sandwiches with the delicious, delicious meat.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 1:11 PM on February 25, 2008

Have you covered John from Cincinnati yet?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:29 PM on February 25, 2008

As far as the Ennis/Gaiman Hellblazer issues in particular, they've been TPBed (I think), so there's no particular draw in having those ones offered as separate issues; it would inevitably cheaper to buy the runs as TPBs unless you wind up selling them for a dismally low amount.

I'd go whole-run; you can punch up the Ennis and Gaiman runs in the product description and listing to ensure they remain draws.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 12:34 PM on February 22, 2008

I think what you're interested in is "file sharing;" searching that will probably be a lot more fruitful than "downloading," which goes back to Telnet days. Actually, you're interested in "Internet-based file sharing," because people have been copying intellectual property since the day after Thag decided he liked Gorg's mastodon drawing and decided to do one of his own.

I'm no authority, but the people to talk to would be old-school BBSers… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 11:28 AM on February 15, 2008

As a fellow worker in the ad trade, I feel your pain. I question what I'm doing for a living every day, but I'm fortunate to be working at a place where my co-workers are very interesting, warm, open and all-around decent people, which eases the torment. A bit.

That being said, there may be ways to try to recuperate your current experience; at our office, I've actually pushed to get us involved in several charity gigs to help causes we collectively can get behind, and… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 1:56 PM on February 14, 2008

I'm currently applying for a K1 visa to marry an American, and there are a few things you should know:

1. You can't work legally, as the above people said. Period. There is no way you'll be able to get a visa in the time allowed, and -- outside of NAFTA certified jobs, which bartending isn't -- the only way to get a work visa in the USA requires the employer to provide evidence that they require somebody with your rare and specific skills, AND (this is for Canada, but I… [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 1:29 PM on February 14, 2008 marked best answer

Ice sculptures probably aren't available on this kind of short notice, but that's the first thing that popped into my head when I thought of "disappearing presents."

Some sort of ____gram would probably be best, as it's a service rather than a good.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Shepherd at 1:10 PM on February 14, 2008