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The Economist has just published a (very simplistic) piece on Goth culture - Goth culture has returned from the dead [archive.ph], the most interesting thing to me is the image with the article [economost.com] - by the photographer Jess Hand for Time Out, it really is something special. I'd really like to know more about the photo as forty-five years ago some highschool classmates went seriously Goth / visually Punk - and have stayed there. I'd like to know if the photo is staged, or happenstance - I've travelled a lot and have seen as unlikely especially in the UK. [more inside]
posted by unearthed to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 8:54 PM - 4 answers

I'm a cancer patient who needs to make frequent calls relating to my medical treatment. These calls are to: health insurance and dental insurance companies, hospitals/medical providers (including behavioral and various specialists), and medical device companies. The struggle to actually get the help I need on the phone is making my life markedly worse, and I would like concrete suggestions. [more inside]
posted by CancerSucks to Technology at 6:23 PM - 7 answers

I was looking at the FDA sheets to see if my covid tests were expired, but the most recent tests listed expired in April. Mine expired 10-31-2024. [more inside]
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock to Health & Fitness at 6:07 PM - 2 answers

I have a freezer full of local beef. I have plenty of applications for steaks and ground, I'm struggling for new (flavor profile) ideas for roasts, stews, etc. [more inside]
posted by so fucking future to Food & Drink at 5:16 PM - 11 answers

Insurance company accidentally cancelled my auto insurance earlier than what was requested and now there is a gap in coverage. I know this would affect my risk category in shopping around for auto insurance, but I don't know how long this will take to back date and correct. I am currently on another insurance plan that is planning to terminate my auto insurance in 2 weeks due to a completely different reason, so I'm feeling very overwhelmed in terms of time frame. Do I wait for this error in gap coverage to be fixed and then shop around for auto insurance? Would this count against me? Or do I just shop around for auto insurance now -- because I don't know how long this error is going to take to fix and because I am short on time? [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation at 3:52 PM - 4 answers

For reasons that aren't relevant here, I need to configure a decently powerful PC that will run Windows 7 and can easily stream 4K video. I did some research and found what seems to be a reasonable computer on eBay. I would like a second opinion before I order the machine. [more inside]
posted by akk2014 to Computers & Internet at 12:41 PM - 6 answers

A very small organization I work with is migrating to Hubspot from Salesforce and has determined I'm the one to do it. I have not done this. My palms are sweating, because they are a nonprofit and Salesforce uses "household accounts," which may be difficult to map to Hubspot properly. Have you done this, and if so, do you have any advice? Snowflake details inside! [more inside]
posted by rednikki to Technology at 12:39 PM - 1 answer

Wondering if anyone has developed a collaborative outline tool (like good old omnioutliner), where it could be shared as a card sort or tree test (like the tools from OptimalSort or UX Tweak) ? [more inside]
posted by specialk420 to Computers & Internet at 12:34 PM - 1 answer

Let's say I die alone and am found by the authorities. Let's also say I have a will - either with lawyer X or online - and I have no living relatives. How do the authorities determine that this deceased person with no living relatives (i.e. who might know where my will is) has a will with lawyer X or online? Or what steps can I take now to ensure lawyer X or my online will is located when required?
posted by 4th Matryoshka Doll to Law & Government at 11:37 AM - 11 answers

I am interested in hearing how people have adapted or coped with the loss of holiday joy and traditions due to loss and change. [more inside]
posted by fies to Human Relations at 11:27 AM - 10 answers

While I've been largely avoiding the news since November 5th, I can't bury my head in the sand indefinitely. What are your strategies for digesting news without being constantly nauseated by the latest Trump awfulness? [more inside]
posted by brookeb to Law & Government at 10:13 AM - 32 answers

Have you mastered the art of consistently using a paper planner throughout the year? Tell me your secrets. [more inside]
posted by wormtales to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 9:39 AM - 18 answers

Laptop: MBP 17” Early 2011, has: Gigabit Ethernet port; FireWire 800 port; 3 x USB 2.0 ports; Thunderbolt port; Audio in & out. Monitor: LG 29 UM58-P LED monitor, has 2 HDMI ports. I tried an HDMI to USB 2 converter, didn’t work. [more inside]
posted by cotton dress sock to Computers & Internet at 9:29 AM - 9 answers

I have a large set of owned B2B data in spreadsheets - customer information, prospect information, email database, etc. I also have a much larger set of leased B2B data. I need these lists deduped against one another, and I would like for an affinity model to be created from our customer and prospect information, and used to flag ideal direct mail prospects from the leased data set. I need this done once or twice a year, and it's a fairly small job as these things go (100,000 or so direct mail pieces compared to millions), but way, way too big for me to do in Excel. My data lease service used to do the affinity model, but no more. Where do I find either a service or a software that will do this for me? I can't believe this is such a hard thing to google. 
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty to Work & Money at 7:01 AM - 1 answer

MetaKnitters, help me seam, please. I have a hat to sew up by tomorrow and I am doing my nut over it. [more inside]
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 5:20 AM - 6 answers

I'm having a health thing, and as part of that I need to do regular monitoring, as directed by my doctor. Unfortunately, this is playing absolute havoc with my anxiety and quality of life. How can I monitor health markers without letting it affect my anxiety? [more inside]
posted by unicorn chaser to Health & Fitness at 2:47 AM - 16 answers

This is for some speculative fiction worldbuilding. I'm looking for something like an estuary but with a different specific example. The same sense of something where two (or more) different elements mix and mingle. Could be ecological, chemical, really from any field. I'm wanting this for the name of a somewhat chaotic, emergent social field of people encouraging forbidden exchanges between alien cultures, so something like a faction of criminals/scientists/artists so something that has illicit but relatively benign vibes would fit best.
posted by overglow to Grab Bag at 12:23 AM - 28 answers

My brother has a hip mobility thing that makes it hard to get eg jeans on and off. He works at a school, and while drawstring sweatpants are easy to get into, he needs some soft pants that can at the very least pass as business casual, and ideally as regular business trousers. He’s about 6’, between 180 and 200ish.
posted by klangklangston to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 11:04 PM - 13 answers

I don't remember much about it, but the one strange detail that sticks out is that the clan had a special skill in paper marbling. [more inside]
posted by tavella to Writing & Language at 8:28 PM - 3 answers

Santa always brings my son Christmas books. Since Santa brings the books, they're basically books for next year. The thing is, I feel like he's kind of over books that are too about Christmas. So maybe I'm looking for books that aren't necessarily all about Christmas but are set at Christmas and have some general feel-good tone. He is 7.5, in Grade 2, and reads well above grade level. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Grab Bag at 7:48 PM - 17 answers

Is there an "authentic" Indian curry recipe that would work well for either shrimp or lamb? I understand that "curry" is quite a broad category, and obviously there are regional variations, but is there a dish/sauce/curry that is traditionally prepared with lamb OR shrimp, to equally delicious results? Totally okay if the answer is "no, lamb curries are always totally different than shrimp curries" Please only Indian curries, no east Asian/southeast Asian suggestions like Thai curries. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by Grandysaur to Food & Drink at 7:37 PM - 9 answers

I'm trying to pad out my Goodreads history, do you know the title and author of this book? I must have read it in the early 2000s, but it wasn't necessarily contemporary. All I remember is the protagonist was a Rabelais scholar and possibly a professor at an American university. It clearly left an impression on me!
posted by erpava to Media & Arts at 5:28 PM - 2 answers

It's about the Immaculate Conception, from Mary's point of view, with an unsettling tone - like she's not sure she's ready for this.
posted by Lemkin to Media & Arts at 4:36 PM - 5 answers

In January, one of our sons will travel from Florida into the teeth of his first winter at his Minnesota college. He'll have long walks to the music building and if his fingers freeze off, the clarinet will become even more challenging. [more inside]
posted by martin q blank to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 2:22 PM - 42 answers

Ok I figured out what my son would like for Christmas. We have a Meta Quest 3 VR headset. He has a bike. I want to put the bike on a trainer. Put the headset on him and have him ride in VR on some super fun adventure or race. Think Mario Kart on a bike. Presumably this would require attaching a cadence sensor to the bike or some such. Please tell me about anything along these lines that exists or could be jury-rigged. Or, please create a start-up and launch your Kickstarter to ship by Christmas.
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Computers & Internet at 1:39 PM - 6 answers

Looking for a photo I think I saw here from a housing estate in London, with a prominent way finding sign, kind of like a looped arrow, white on a bright blue ground, showing how to get over a bridge onto a tower. Also, any other examples of arrows in british housng estate
posted by PinkMoose to Media & Arts at 1:36 PM - 0 answers

I am looking to buy a 3d printer for my yarn shop to make little items like stitch markers and point protectors, little rubber and plastic tools, both basic and decorative. Currently these are almost exclusively made in China, and I expect them to get a lot more expensive next year. I’m looking for a printer that will work with both stiff and flexible filament (PLA and TPU, I think), ideally in multiple colors. I would love something that doesn’t require a lot of frequent calibration and babying. Low price is less important than easy maintenance. [more inside]
posted by rikschell to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 12:23 PM - 10 answers

My appliances w/ electronic panels(washer, stove, microwave) have failed recently, likely due to power surges from my incompetent power company. Is it worth trying to find a washer that doesn't use an electronic panel? [more inside]
posted by theora55 to Shopping at 10:22 AM - 10 answers

I'd like to take some time over the holidays and come up with a set of goals for next year. And then create a plan for achieving these goals. Is there a template, a process I can follow?
posted by aeighty to Grab Bag at 9:16 AM - 10 answers

There's an ftp server that I upload to frequently that is very slow on my desktop computer, but normal speeds when on my laptop. I'm using filezilla. What's going on and how can I fix it? [more inside]
posted by msbrauer to Computers & Internet at 9:01 AM - 17 answers

I use instapaper to save articles to read later. I'd love an app with similar functionality that also does great text-to-speech, so I can listen to articles while I walk, do housework, etc... Any suggestions? I've tried pocket, which as okay, but the quality of the Text-to-speech seems worse than what I encounter in other tools. Like I want something that sounds as good at chatGPT in voice mode. Does this exist?
posted by ManInSuit to Technology at 8:12 AM - 6 answers

My dad (RIP) loved AD&D, and played a lot from ~1988-1995. I'm going through his stuff, and there's a box of modules, adventures, etc, often unusued. I'd like to not have these in the cellar forever, but I want to discharge my responsibility to them honourably - they mattered to him, and that matters to me. [more inside]
posted by wattle to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 8:05 AM - 9 answers

How many of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian homes have two stories? I've heard they are "rare", but is there a database or even a spreadsheet somewhere that lists details like this?
posted by wnissen to Home & Garden at 7:40 AM - 6 answers

How or if to say something to a nice coworker who has to one up everything I discuss? [more inside]
posted by shaarog to Human Relations at 6:39 AM - 34 answers

Is there an easy way to compare a downloaded copy of wikipedia with the online version? [more inside]
posted by CynicalKnight to Computers & Internet at 12:11 AM - 4 answers

Our current dishwasher isn't draining at all. It seems like there's been a lot of problems with it not draining, clogging, etc. recently. I was going to contact a repair company to get it fixed then I found a lot of "advice" online saying that modern dishwashers are pretty much "disposable." When does it make sense to buy a new one vs fix it? [more inside]
posted by VirginiaPlain to Home & Garden at 9:43 PM - 26 answers

Please explain this to a 5 year old: Where does Chi come from, where does it penetrate the body (is it the brain/body?) where is it stored, is it self-generated, and what does it look and feel like? Is it tangible? Are people born with a certain amount or can someone actually pull Chi to them and if so,please name the masters who have perfected the art. Thank you.
posted by watercarrier to Health & Fitness at 9:15 PM - 5 answers

What would you call this fabric pattern/shirt? [more inside]
posted by superna to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 7:00 PM - 13 answers

I am a manager at one of the three letter US civilian government agencies that has been targeted by the incoming administration. My staff (career civil servants who have very competently served the interests of the American people and a variety of administrations with a variety of priorities) are very concerned. I'd like to put together a (sourced) guide on reductions in force (RIFs) for the civilian federal government that addresses questions. I'm looking for something that is very straightforward and avoids speculation and is based on law, regulation and policy rather than 'norms'.
posted by anonymous to Law & Government at 6:02 PM - 8 answers

Please tell me about your experience with being uncomfortable in wide open spaces, in finding comfort in enclosed spaces (or whatever else works for you).
posted by falsedmitri to Human Relations at 5:46 PM - 6 answers

My college age daughter has requested a makeup mirror with these features: light around the mirror, sits on a tabletop, has magnifying option (flip-over?). She is new to makeup, and is just out as a trans woman to immediate family. I have seen expensive ones from Vera Lara and cheap questionable ones on Amazon. Is there a decent and trustworthy mid-point? Tips for related purchases are welcome.
posted by anonymous to Shopping at 3:58 PM - 8 answers

I had my interim appraisal today. My manager told me to stop being quiet around the CFO and that he has queries around whether my work constitutes a full time job. Could do with some advice around steps to take next. [more inside]
posted by Sunflower88 to Work & Money at 11:57 AM - 27 answers

Around 1987, I read a choose-your-own adventure book where you played an acolyte or adept exploring a waterlogged city. You were sent to recover a giant orb ("The Eye of the Dragon" or something), and fought coral-encrusted foes called "kappa" (no relation to the Japanese yokai) [more inside]
posted by jibberish to Writing & Language at 8:03 AM - 3 answers

What'sthescamfilter: I am getting emails with my full real name telling me that I should contact them to have my student loans forgiven. I have literally never had any student loans. Details inside. [more inside]
posted by Melismata to Work & Money at 7:52 AM - 12 answers

Family made a reservation for a U-Haul truck this Friday. U-Haul doesn't have a truck available. All is chaos. [more inside]
posted by Space Kitty to Home & Garden at 9:40 PM - 16 answers

He's an avid reader, reads well beyond his years and has asked for a poetry book "Well, i like poetry books, maybe ones that are a bit deeper? Not just where the sidewalk ends and that sort of stuff" I'm thinking Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, like that. What can you recommend?
posted by lois1950 to Education at 8:18 PM - 47 answers

Since my cat died two months ago, I have not been able to sleep through the night. I fall asleep fine, but I wake up between 1-3am every night, and I often don't fall back asleep. This means I am regularly functioning on 2-4 hours of sleep during the day and I am seriously struggs to func. [more inside]
posted by figaro to Health & Fitness at 7:37 PM - 33 answers

After many freezer avalanches, the final straw was taking 2L of ice cream to my toes. My freezer is small and above the fridge and is full of awkwardly shaped frozen meat and unstable veggie bags. Any change to the status quo risks avalanches. I need something to corral the packages. How do people do this? Do those clear plastic amazon bins survive activity while frozen? [more inside]
posted by platypus of the universe to Home & Garden at 7:04 PM - 15 answers

Should I confront a long time friend who seems to have "quiet quit" our friendship? [more inside]
posted by ljs30 to Human Relations at 5:39 PM - 25 answers

Help me find a leather care kit for my brother’s nice work bags and other things? [more inside]
posted by Mizu to Shopping at 5:02 PM - 2 answers

It's mid-December and I got nothing for my 7.5 year old. I'm completely stumped. He's kind of past the toy age. I likes Snap Circuit. I was thinking maybe an Arduino starter kit of some sort? But what would he do with it? And what kit would I get? Do you have a kid this age who Arduinos? What do they do? I am also willing to hear "No, this is to young/a bad idea/not a good gift" etc. etc. Please come give your opinions/thoughts. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Computers & Internet at 4:53 PM - 18 answers

My 14 yo is enjoying the poker club at school. Can you recommend any gifts for the budding poker enthusiast? Chips, yes. Maybe a particular book?
posted by Ollie to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 4:27 PM - 7 answers

I would like to give my grown children some form of electronic thingy that helps them find their stuff. One has an Android, one has an iPhone. It would be nice to buy a 4 pack and split it. Is this doable? If so, with what? [more inside]
posted by mygothlaundry to Shopping at 4:05 PM - 4 answers

OK, MetaFilter. It's come to this. I'm less than 3 months into a new (white-collar, tech) job, and after getting feedback from new boss over the past few weeks about slow throughput, today's 1-on-1 was unequivocally the end. He told me the first 90 days are about figuring out whether it's a fit, and it's not a fit. But... [more inside]
posted by Mayor West to Work & Money at 4:04 PM - 20 answers

So somehow I ended up with a Solar Trickle Charger for car batteries. It has a male plug that plugs into the car's cigarette lighter socket. When the sun shines, power is routed into the car's battery via the lighter socket and eventually the battery is charged. I would like to use this charger to charge my smartphone? What kind of adapter do I need? [more inside]
posted by storybored to Computers & Internet at 1:43 PM - 11 answers

For quite a few years now, I've been making myself a small flat-white coffee each morning (after my homemade nut smoothie). But I'm looking for a solid food accompaniment, to sit alongside the coffee, and add a little bulk and chew in the mornings. [more inside]
posted by many-things to Food & Drink at 11:34 AM - 30 answers

I have donated to DonorsChoose website, which connect you to classroom teachers all over the country and their unique little projects for students. But there are practices of the website that I don't know if it's best. Looking for other perspectives and other similar charity organizations. [more inside]
posted by Pantalaimon to Society & Culture at 11:06 AM - 9 answers

I tried using an Envirosax bag on a recent trip, and it does *not* pass muster. Can you help me find a better replacement? See below the fold for the needed criteria. [more inside]
posted by concinnity to Shopping at 10:55 AM - 6 answers

I had a flood in my condo and need to replace the flooring in my entire unit. I need to decide whether to let the insurance company's contractor do it or hire my own contractor. Please help me decide and tell me about your experience. I also need to know about your experiences with movers who pack and unpack your stuff, if you know about that. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Home & Garden at 10:36 AM - 6 answers

My 11y.o. really wants a Warhammer set. I would love to find them an equally engaging but less violent alternative... [more inside]
posted by marlys to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 10:14 AM - 14 answers