Ask MetaFilter

I need a water retainer and thickener that works a lot like cornflour/cornstarch - it doesn't need to be edible but does need to survive an extremely basic environment. What is cheap and readily available? [more inside]
posted by deadwax to Science & Nature at 10:12 PM - 1 answer

I've browsed the name of the company (Credence Resource Management) and am aware of their reviews and of reddit mentions where people have had similar encounters. But there are a couple of details about a call I received today that are giving me anxiety. [more inside]
posted by mediterranean spurge to Grab Bag at 9:13 PM - 2 answers

So I've noticed that in US films/TV shows set in the current day (2020-2025) people call strangers sir/ma'am a lot. Is this a thing that really happens in real life in the US, or is it just a Hollywoodism? [more inside]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries to Society & Culture at 7:52 PM - 31 answers

Is there any way, either system or software, to change the Windows keyboard shortcuts CNTRL+X/C/V to CMD+X/C/V? [more inside]
posted by flod to Computers & Internet at 7:14 PM - 3 answers

I hate that we have to think like this, but here we are… I’m leaving the United States for a week on vacation in Mexico. When I fly back, it’s easy enough for me to wipe my phone and restore from a backup, but my laptop, not so much. For the purposes of CBP I’m a white cis male citizen (by birth) with a extremely white name. Bring the laptop or leave it home?
posted by anonymous to Law & Government at 5:05 PM - 5 answers

I know this is crazy, but these are crazy times. Ok, so if Harvard loses access to all federal funding AND they lose their tax exempt status. What's in it for them to stay in the U.S.? I realize there are many things that would make this difficult to the point of being almost-surely-not-the-answer, but is it legally possible for Harvard as a legal entity to move it legal entity-ness to another country? [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Law & Government at 4:19 PM - 12 answers

My wife is a LCSW. Part of maintaining her license is taking some number of class hours each year as continuing education. One can't be a fully qualified social worker while having learned nothing professional in the last 20 years. Can one be a fully qualified high school language teacher while having learned nothing professional in the last 20 years?
posted by Lemkin to Education at 4:12 PM - 9 answers

Like Tomorrowful, I am looking for the perfect haggadah for my family’s seder. But my parameters are a little different! [more inside]
posted by capricorn to Religion & Philosophy at 12:18 PM - 2 answers

I'd like to start donating to groups providing mail-order abortion pills to women in states with abortion restrictions. The only group I'm aware of that does this is in Massachusetts, and its website doesn't have any contact information or info about how to donate. Are any of you aware of similar groups in other states/countries that i might be able to donate to? Thanks
posted by BadgerDoctor to Society & Culture at 11:30 AM - 3 answers

What are some options for a savoury sauce to serve with ham for Easter? Something rich and creamy, not something sweet. [more inside]
posted by kitcat to Food & Drink at 11:19 AM - 12 answers

I'm looking for a specific kind of film theory/analysis/symbolism book; more under the fold... [more inside]
posted by Molasses808 to Media & Arts at 11:00 AM - 4 answers

One of my PDLC sheets has stopped working. I know that power is reaching it, but it looks like the area around the plates has thinned out to the point of no longer working. [more inside]
posted by Tell Me No Lies to Technology at 10:02 AM - 2 answers

There is a piano piece during the opening credits of Amélie. No, it is not the famous one. Links to listening samples and more after the jump. [more inside]
posted by TinWhistle to Media & Arts at 9:11 AM - 3 answers

Has anyone here grown up in an autocracy? How do you think it affected you and other kids? [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Law & Government at 7:17 AM - 3 answers

The RSS service I picked out lo, 12 years ago, is now following in the footsteps of Google Reader into the grave. What's the currently recommended online RSS reading service (not an app)? [more inside]
posted by I claim sanctuary to Computers & Internet at 7:06 AM - 26 answers

I have arrived at the point in my language learning that I am able to express myself fairly clearly in most circumstances, but I don't use some more complicated tenses -- the subjunctive, the conditional -- to do it. I know the rules for using them, but they don't come immediately to mind, so I don't. How can I? [more inside]
posted by jacquilynne to Writing & Language at 6:38 AM - 8 answers

I remember many years ago seeing an essay about a kind of declinable noun, which went "Fashion:class:style". The point was to provide an example of each, and the examples as I remember them were "Fashion = Farrah Fawcett; Class = Marilyn Monroe; Style = Katherine Hepburn". I'd like to find more of these "declinable nouns", or some up to date examples for the one I've just given. Better still a source. As you can imagine, this isn't easy to google. [more inside]
posted by Logophiliac to Grab Bag at 12:12 AM - 7 answers

Ive been driving past this image for a while, what is it?
posted by kittensofthenight to Media & Arts at 7:55 PM - 12 answers

I've just noticed that Kanopy via my public library has a ton of The Great Courses available to watch. Which ones are the best? [more inside]
posted by VirginiaPlain to Media & Arts at 6:59 PM - 10 answers

All of the instructions I can find online for adding a shortcut to the Action Button say to go into Settings on the Watch, then hit Actions, and then choose Shortcuts. There is no Shorcuts option on that menu for me. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by dobbs to Technology at 6:27 PM - 4 answers

I imagine that a successful real estate agent in a large city would need to make themselves available for clients and showings on many weekends and evenings. How would the agent carve out time for themselves?
posted by Lemkin to Work & Money at 3:46 PM - 2 answers

(Disclaimer: I know you are Not My Accountant). I've been getting rid of stuff on eBay, and this is the first time I've sold enough to make a "profit" and receive a 1099-K from eBay. EBay's 1099-K only lists the gross total without the deductions for fees, returns, etc. Where/which forms would I list/incorporate these deductions to show what my actual 'income' was? [more inside]
posted by gtrwolf to Work & Money at 3:17 PM - 6 answers

Can anyone help navigate finding a place to stay in Germany for about two years? [more inside]
posted by snsranch to Travel & Transportation at 2:03 PM - 6 answers

Back in 2014, IIRC, I bought a basic Kindle. The screen is now showing wear where my finger has repeatedly touched it for some operation. I will now demonstrate my basic lack of understanding about touch screens and ask, is this going to affect my ability to use my Kindle at some near point? Do I need to get it refurbished or think toward a new one?
posted by bryon to Computers & Internet at 1:23 PM - 4 answers

Is there anything you wish you'd known before LASIK/refractive eye surgery? [more inside]
posted by ambulanceambiance to Health & Fitness at 12:52 PM - 22 answers

There is a popular genealogy website that has a secret "Native American Project". You have to have 100 edits to get into it so I have not had time to do that. I have a relative in my family, I want to keep his privacy so I will use a pseudonym "John Red Crow". [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Human Relations at 9:56 AM - 10 answers

I'm looking for resources I can refer to for best practices for multilingual building signage, and specifically guidance on what threshold percentage of users should prompt adding another language(s).
posted by sepviva to Society & Culture at 9:53 AM - 1 answer

Can you recommend some theatrical plays that read like Whit Stillman films? [more inside]
posted by hapticactionnetwork to Media & Arts at 9:26 AM - 5 answers

I’m not ready to commit to a style, I just want to get a bed frame that will accommodate a headboard at some point in the future. What kind of frame would that be? [more inside]
posted by cotton dress sock to Home & Garden at 8:30 AM - 6 answers

There's a conversational pattern that I notice over-and-over -- stating opinions or preferences to someone else that I know they know and I know they agree with and I am wondering if there's a psychological or communications explanation for why we do this. [more inside]
posted by jacquilynne to Human Relations at 8:01 AM - 10 answers

Spotify is fine and what I currently have as a streaming service. But I'm an Apple user and none of the playlists on my computer can be played in Spotify for the usual obvious and dumb reasons (no rants please). I have a few questions about switching and AM. [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher to Technology at 7:16 AM - 7 answers

I am trying to find the name of a short story about a Borges-style infinite library. People find themselves in the library in various parts of it. There are many floors to the library, and some groups are climbing the stairs to find out if there is a top or a bottom to it. There's various scenes where people jump into the stairwell and fall for hundreds or maybe thousands of stories, and thus get separated from their friends, and start climbing back up. I think you can't die but can get hurt? There's a scene maybe where someone is trying to land on a particular floor?
posted by dmd to Media & Arts at 5:12 AM - 4 answers

I have tried all online suggestions to get latitude and longitude to display on the Compass app on my iPhone 16 Pro Max. Nothing I reset gets them to show. I have reinstalled the Compass app and restarted my phone. I've wiggled the phone around in a figure-eight pattern. Do you have any other suggestions for me to try? [more inside]
posted by Joleta to Technology at 4:21 AM - 5 answers

I'm after a pair of active speakers. Mostly they will be in my shed (6m x 3m) but sometimes they would be used for a small (25 people) private disco in a village hall. Bluetooth connection is a must. It'll always be dance music. What's a good compromise that doesn't break the bank? [more inside]
posted by dowcrag to Technology at 4:10 AM - 2 answers

This isn't a question about what specific religions think happens when a person dies. It's a question about what you personally think happens. Do you believe in an afterlife? Do you think you stop existing? Something else? And the important part: does that belief bring you comfort? [more inside]
posted by underclocked to Religion & Philosophy at 12:16 AM - 51 answers

Max is turning 4. He loves trains (but has so many including woodedn and Thomas); he loves music and loves instruments (I bought him a floor mat oversized piano keyboard that you stand, jump and play on but it didn’t seem to go over as well as I expected. He has a toy kitchen and a shopping cart. He has a bike. Any suggestions? It has to be a WOW present he will love and never forget
posted by Lylo to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 12:06 AM - 26 answers

Do you know of anyone with expertise on cults who has written or spoken about the Trump cult?
posted by NotLost to Law & Government at 10:00 PM - 5 answers

Given that there are so many modes of communication these days, I am wondering how much consistency there is between the ways different people handle different mediums. I'd like to know what you and yours do and expect, and what are your demographics and geography. [more inside]
posted by NotLost to Human Relations at 8:15 PM - 15 answers

What could I have missed? I literally work in IT and this is my job and I'm stumped. [more inside]
posted by Snuffman to Computers & Internet at 8:03 PM - 14 answers

In late June we'll be flying to Santa Fe and getting a rental car from the airport, for local excursions. In all likelihood we'll return the car to the airport before we fly out a week later. However, there's a very small but nonzero probability we'd need instead to drive the car several hundred more miles -- across state lines -- instead of boarding our return flight. Is there a particular rental car company you'd advise choosing, or other tips, tricks, guidance? [more inside]
posted by jerome powell buys his sweatbands in bulk only to Travel & Transportation at 6:38 PM - 7 answers

We (partner, me, 12 yr old son from Boston) are spending a few days in Memphis and then driving to visit family in Talladega, AL. [more inside]
posted by jdl to Travel & Transportation at 5:52 PM - 11 answers

I've been meaning to post this Ask for a few weeks now, but this article about someone hacking the crosswalks in three California cities with AI voice clones of Musk and Zuck has prodded me to actually ask where are the ethical hackers? [more inside]
posted by AbelMelveny to Computers & Internet at 3:55 PM - 9 answers

I’m going to Mexico City for work. It will be my third trip in a few years. I have 2 extra days/nights. I am staying in Condesa near Parque Mexico. [more inside]
posted by vunder to Travel & Transportation at 1:37 PM - 7 answers

We are taking a trip to the Berkshires soon to do some hiking. Do you have any up-to-date recommendations for food (vegetarian options a must), shopping and generally weird stuff in the Pittsfield/Lenox area?
posted by rednikki to Travel & Transportation at 1:14 PM - 10 answers

My six year old son desperately wants a paid membership to the Prodigy online math game service. I have questions. [more inside]
posted by rustcellar to Technology at 12:16 PM - 5 answers

I'll be in London for a few days next week with my wife and my daughter, and I'd really like to keep it simple and enjoyable for us. [more inside]
posted by nicolin to Travel & Transportation at 11:24 AM - 12 answers

Oh god, yes, it's come for me. My elderly mom just revealed that she was tricked into buying a timeshare. Apparently it was weeks/months ago so it's beyond the period when you can cancel. Help. [more inside]
posted by BlahLaLa to Work & Money at 10:59 AM - 10 answers

Back, back before the pandemic, I bought several jars of fancy relishes from a local farm stand. Saving them for a happier time, I have not eaten them yet. They have been unopened in the refrigerator. [more inside]
posted by Frowner to Food & Drink at 9:54 AM - 9 answers

What is the correct time signature for this riff? Included there is notation in 4/4 but its not right.
posted by falsedmitri to Media & Arts at 9:48 AM - 11 answers

The IKEA MYDAL pine bunk bed is rated for 200lbs max. Suppose one wanted to build it as a loft, but also reinforce to safely hold much more weight on the top bed. How would one identify the weak points needing to be reinforced? [more inside]
posted by Bardolph to Home & Garden at 8:00 AM - 14 answers

Can you recommend a family lawyer in Maryland, ideally near Frederick or Hagerstown? This is for a family member. This doesn’t have to be a lawyer-to-the-stars, due to cost, as my family member is elderly and low-income. I’ve tried the elder law line, Legal Aid, and the university and struck out. Thank you.
posted by Ollie to Law & Government at 6:25 AM - 0 answers

I had cause to drive someone else's Smart car and the brakes behave very differently to every other car I've driven. Is this normal for the model, or indicative of a problem? [more inside]
posted by Lorc to Travel & Transportation at 2:38 AM - 10 answers

I love female vocalists, dramatic sometimes uptempo songs, and heavy piano, usually indie/alt genre. Examples inside. [more inside]
posted by cboggs to Media & Arts at 8:12 PM - 35 answers

I am going to propose to a couple local garden/nursery businesses to offer my work for sale. (See website link in bio for pics.) What would be the financial arrangement likely to be used? [more inside]
posted by falsedmitri to Work & Money at 3:57 PM - 3 answers

I have to read many (too many) PDFs, mainly academic journals, and I'd like to buy an e-ink reader to read these to help with eye strain. I grew up with an early (incredibly zealous) Apple product adopter and have only used Apple products for the most, and gd; I realize how obnoxious this sounds; I don't know a lot about shopping for nonapple electronics. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by spacebologna to Technology at 12:35 PM - 9 answers

At Pearson airport (Toronto YYZ), how far is it to walk from the security check-in (or baggage drop-off and check-in for that matter) to one of the farthest gates (e.g., Gates E70-E80, or Gates F60-F70) in Terminal 1? [more inside]
posted by feelinggood to Travel & Transportation at 11:31 AM - 6 answers

Right now it would make my life way better if I had a cute way to hide a lackluster haircut. I'm seeking options appropriate (and non-appropriative) for a middle-aged caucasian woman in the heartland whose style veers from lazy/practical (non-designer jeans, unfitted tees) to femme (cute dresses). [more inside]
posted by bunderful to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion at 8:04 AM - 21 answers

My bathroom scale has gone wonky. I can step on it a few times in a row and it will give me a slightly different weight each time. [more inside]
posted by SageTrail to Health & Fitness at 6:44 AM - 13 answers

My wife is a US citizen living overseas, and she was born when the medical recommendation was to only get one shot of the MMR vaccine, so that's all she got. She has an upcoming trip to the US that she can't put off, but it's to a part of the country that has a lot of measles and she's hoping to get another shot - we're trying to figure out if it's possible to get one in the UK. More details inside. [more inside]
posted by eternalhedgehog to Health & Fitness at 5:15 AM - 10 answers

I'm looking for two words for my dogs to learn: one should mean "flop down and stay", used when they're running toward danger. The other should mean "turn around and run to me". I need both cues to be instantaneous. I know how to make this happen, but I can't find the right words. [more inside]
posted by toucan to Grab Bag at 1:37 AM - 19 answers