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Seeking recommendations for Canadian personal banking options and credit card plans that include but are not limited to low fees, actually useful reward points, incentives, conditions for eligibility/balance requirements, etc. [more inside]
posted by Alvy Ampersand to Work & Money at 3:25 PM - 1 answer

My wife and I were all set to take a sans-kids trip to Toronto for a concert this week, staying two nights. Our childcare fell through, so now we are bringing the kids with us instead. What to do with them? [more inside]
posted by number9dream to Travel & Transportation at 1:44 PM - 4 answers

Someone I know was told by a friend about an opportunity to interview at Amazon. It's a "walk-in interview". [more inside]
posted by Serene Empress Dork to Work & Money at 12:32 PM - 7 answers

I told ChatGPT 4o to make a Van Gogh painting of my cat. The dingus took two minutes to finish. How much electricity did ChatGPT consume in doing this? (As expressed in, say, how long that electricity would power a modern refrigerator - or whatever units would most usefully illustrate the matter.)
posted by Lemkin to Computers & Internet at 12:24 PM - 5 answers

I don’t know what to make of my niece’s reactions to me. She used to be open to me, like her sister and brother are. This suddenly changed around the time her mother decided to leave my brother. [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Human Relations at 9:22 AM - 11 answers

Have seen the advice about having an immigration lawyer engaged and carrying/assembling all paperwork. But if someone gets snatched, how can their loved ones know as soon as possible? [more inside]
posted by troywestfield to Law & Government at 6:37 AM - 12 answers

What are your tips and techniques for negotiating a raise? I work as a Principal Product Manager at a very profitable startup. My equity is laughably low. I have shipped a ton of stuff. I had zero direct reports, now I have four. The founders have said I am one of their MVPs. Help me negotiate a 20% raise. [more inside]
posted by jasondigitized to Work & Money at 4:54 AM - 10 answers

{ excluding Portra and Ektar, which are basically specialty films } [more inside]
posted by cotesdurhone to Technology at 9:41 PM - 12 answers

A friendly acquaintance has desperately been looking for a co-sponsor for her mother to acquire her green card and have asked if I would consider. I would like to help if I could. What do I need to know to make a decision? [more inside]
posted by violetk to Law & Government at 9:00 PM - 6 answers

Please give me all your ideas and suggestions for helping my limited-mobility parents navigate their upcoming arrival in Seattle: checked bags, rental car, stabbing pain & anxiety! [more inside]
posted by eraserbones to Travel & Transportation at 8:48 PM - 13 answers

This is in the context of the TV show "Your Friends & Neighbors". [more inside]
posted by Ickster to Work & Money at 7:57 PM - 2 answers

When somebody sends me a message in Google Chat, a sound plays if mail.google.com/mail/ is the focused tab (in Chrome on Windows 10/11), but not if it is an unfocused tab. Other websites do not work this way, they play sounds even when not the focused tab. How do I get the sound to ALWAYS play when somebody sends me a message? (This is a work context, I am familiar with arguments to otherwise avoid Chrome.)
posted by one for the books to Computers & Internet at 5:17 PM - 2 answers

I moved and acquired a new backyard with twenty rosebushes, some big and old. I have no idea what to do with them. I like them, I want to help them be their best selves, but I'm really busy right now and can't afford to spend much time on them. Especially not on learning the right method. I don't want the best way to care for them, I just want to know I'm helping them survive until I can learn more about them. [more inside]
posted by toucan to Home & Garden at 2:41 PM - 13 answers

I asked a professor if they would serve as a professional reference, and also if they would write a recommendation for my LinkedIn page, but they’ve responded with radio silence. Have I committed a faux pas? What should I do? [more inside]
posted by Hoenikker to Human Relations at 1:27 PM - 15 answers

Breast cancer statistics for English majors: If a 59yo woman has a 43% lifetime risk of breast cancer but has never had it, what is her risk of getting it in the next 20 years? Does the risk change the longer she goes without it?
posted by HotToddy to Health & Fitness at 10:38 AM - 7 answers

We are considering moving out of the US in the next few years once we retire. Portugal is currently our top choice. I would like to learn some Portuguese - at first just enough to function as tourist when we visit Portugal to check it out and then later enough to function as a resident. For now, I want something on-line that I can do at my own pace that will start at the very beginning. Suggestions?
posted by metahawk to Education at 11:39 PM - 10 answers

As far as I can tell, no version of Visual Studio past Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 can build C++ projects (in my case, a DLL using Standard Windows Libraries) that run on Windows XP, even if the Platform Toolset is v141_xp. I would like to download a Community 16.7 installer, but all the installers I can find, even on webpages that say they're for earlier versions, seem to install 16.11.46 instead. [more inside]
posted by one for the books to Computers & Internet at 6:29 PM - 6 answers

I know untreated apnoea comes with an increased risk of heart events, etc. But does that go for individual nights? [more inside]
posted by toucan to Health & Fitness at 4:20 PM - 11 answers

I am 40. The case was one involving public disorder and property damage in the US when I was a student. I paid the restitution even though it wasn’t me. I was the guy who got arrested. The case was dismissed with no admissions of guilt or liability. I have the documentation of the dismissal of the case. Does anyone have advice in the current climate about someone I can talk to in order to work this out? I previously got a visa to travel (in Obama days) but it seems the world has changed. This worries me as a now middle aged man haunted by this. I want to travel to participate in an academic conference about social impacts of AI.
posted by hankmajor to Law & Government at 3:56 PM - 55 answers

Ricin is listed as an ingredient in my hair product (leave-in conditioner). I use about a tablespoon a week, and I don't rinse it out, meaning a small amount of it is always on my skin & my pillow. Is that... bad? Or is it just a translation error for the nontoxic part of castor oil (a common ingredient in cosmetics and hair products).
posted by vanilla.extract to Science & Nature at 3:43 PM - 4 answers

Some family members and I really need to get proper wills. We are not rich. We have the real estate we live in, some underwhelming bank accounts, and maybe a car. I have a son. Do you know a lawyer who specializes in wills who is appropriate for simple folk like us? [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Law & Government at 2:51 PM - 4 answers

Dermatologist recently recommended taking Heliocare daily supplement (for skin damage repair/prevention). What is your experience with this? [more inside]
posted by falsedmitri to Health & Fitness at 2:18 PM - 5 answers

So I opened my patio door a little bit ago for the first time in a while, and there is some sort of small insect nest in between the glass door and the screen door. Pic inside. [more inside]
posted by Serene Empress Dork to Home & Garden at 1:55 PM - 8 answers

I read a short story recently that I now cannot find. It's about a woman who goes to visit her somewhat estranged grandmother at her beach cottage. Somewhere in the Gulf Coast, maybe? [more inside]
posted by clockwork to Media & Arts at 12:22 PM - 4 answers

I'm looking for cookbooks or online recipe collections specifically designed for people who live alone, move frequently, and so have limited pantries and cooking equipment. The ideal recipes would use a minimal number of readily available ingredients (e.g. 3-5, not counting cooking oil, salt, pepper, etc.) and require only basic cooking methods like pan-frying, boiling, or baking: for example, 'season and saute a salmon fillet, serve with vegetable X prepared in way Y + rice'. [more inside]
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness to Food & Drink at 11:43 AM - 18 answers

How did the people there come to have this time free? How are they occupying that time? How are they getting along with the other people there? What are they discussing? What are their professional preoccupations? (The more surprising the answer would be to the students in the hall outside, the better.)
posted by Lemkin to Education at 9:53 AM - 19 answers

There is a 0-10 scale for pain severity with descriptors, eg 1 = "My pain is hardly noticeable"; 5 = "I think about my pain all of the time, I give up many activities because of my pain"; 8 = "My pain is so severe that it is hard to think of anything else. Talking and listening are difficult". Is there any scale like this for describing physical fatigue/physical exhaustion?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries to Health & Fitness at 2:30 AM - 12 answers

Last summer the National Association of Realtors settled a lawsuit which says that sellers no longer are required to pay agents representing buyers. My realtor says that in practice sellers are still paying the same 2.5% commission to buyers’ agents. Is this actually true?
posted by billsaysthis to Home & Garden at 9:42 PM - 4 answers

Do you have the calm app? Please lisyen to the fiest 30 seconds of the sleep story "a baseball story" amd tell me what the song is. It's driving me crazy. I can almost hear the lyrics in my head but I cant make them out.
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Media & Arts at 7:43 PM - 3 answers

How big a deal is it for children of evangelical Christians, upon reaching adulthood, to choose to attend a church of a different denomination? Would a pious Texas Baptist mother bemoan that her daughter is going to Presbyterian services on her eastern college campus?
posted by Lemkin to Religion & Philosophy at 6:49 PM - 15 answers

I am lost with passwords for my iphone, my google account, my mac passkey, password ........ Draw me a chart that explains all this. Why can't I pick ONE thing, run it by a password strength tester, memorize it and be done?
posted by ebesan to Computers & Internet at 3:28 PM - 18 answers

I feel like my brain just short circuits periodically. I don't know why and I can't stop screwing up because of it. [more inside]
posted by anonymous to Human Relations at 2:06 PM - 17 answers

My question is a follow-up to a previous AskMeFi post. I want to configure my home network to block web ads, but without affecting my ability to click on links I receive from promotional emails. [more inside]
posted by akk2014 to Technology at 1:16 PM - 4 answers

We had this discussion earlier today, but our list was sadly pitiful. There must, surely, be a lot of things you can feasibly do with something as versatile as the potato? Or, maybe not? (And, yes, we thought of putting the potato up your bottom - it's a done thing in England, so there is no need to repeat that suggestion).
posted by Wordshore to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation at 11:55 AM - 48 answers

As Americans headed to Japan next month for vacation (previously, thank you all btw), I've been pondering whether we (or others traveling abroad) should be taking any steps to identify ourselves passively or preemptively as anti-Trump, and how. [more inside]
posted by BlackLeotardFront to Society & Culture at 10:53 AM - 37 answers

I have come into ownership of this Rado Golden Horse watch, or anyway one that looks very much like this--steel on the outside, but a slight brass tint on the watch face that you can miss if you blink. There is a tiny (gravity-controlled?) rotating anchor on a red background, and the date is also red. [more inside]
posted by kensington314 to Shopping at 10:09 AM - 3 answers

A while back my mother-in-law got my kids a toy that plays a song on a loop. Can anyone identify the original? It sounds like it’s been sped up. Here’s a link to a recording I made of the song.
posted by Kattullus to Media & Arts at 8:38 AM - 2 answers

Looking for a video about gay rights, I think it was from some time between 2000-2015, details to come. [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher to Human Relations at 8:28 AM - 1 answer

It's been a while since I posted an AskMe to help me make a book and the technology has changed since then! I'd like to make a book with recurring characters, settings, and other elements. My art skills are...meh? I was thinking the best way to do this might be to use one of those programs content-creators use to make simple animations. I could have my characters and my settings and objects and arrange them, move them, make them have expressions, etc. the way I need them and then take a still (or just make the still). What software do I want? Note: the art would not be the focus of the book, so it doesn't to be amazing or do any heavy lifting quality-wise. [more inside]
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Computers & Internet at 8:24 AM - 8 answers

When I try to activate Password Autofill on my Macbook, it opens up a dialog asking for a code, and another small window next to it showing me said code. This is pointless. [more inside]
posted by signal to Computers & Internet at 7:05 AM - 6 answers

Okay, so it appears that at least in the spring into summer there will be real supply chain problems due to tariffs. What am I not thinking of, stock-up wise, that one actually can stock up on? [more inside]
posted by Frowner to Shopping at 6:27 AM - 11 answers

I swear I am not a high school student doing an assignment. Someone on metafilter posted a link to an online version of Grapes of Wrath (I lost this link immediately) and so I read the book over the past week. It is, like all Steinbeck, compelling, and I’ve been especially thinking about the ending for days now. …Warning birth complications ahead… [more inside]
posted by Vatnesine to Media & Arts at 5:36 AM - 10 answers

I'm working on my Advanced Healthcare Directive, but I'm not actually sure how to answer some of the questions about medical care I do/don't want to receive if I can't make my own decisions. I have a sense of what I want, but I don't know enough to feel like I'm making an informed choice. What factual resources can help me better understand the medical care options? (I'm just asking for resources on the medical care questions, please no advice on any other part of the Advance Healthcare Directive form or process.)
posted by rhiannonstone to Health & Fitness at 10:24 PM - 7 answers

After two years of taking community college classes as a high school student, I’m deciding between attending a small, private university in the US and a large, public university in Canada. I could use some help. [more inside]
posted by SockboroughFair to Education at 9:31 PM - 21 answers

Weeks ago, I did Kid Blah's taxes via TurboTax, and he ended up owing $2.00 to the state of CA. We filed the taxes and did the payment electronically via his bank account, both of which I re-confirmed today…when he got a hard copy check in the mail for $2.00 from the state of CA, marked "state income tax refund" and labeled "tax year 2024." Um, why? [more inside]
posted by BlahLaLa to Work & Money at 3:14 PM - 13 answers

I am looking for software that can help create schedules that meet specific constraints around availability and types of presentations for a conference. I am certain there must be tools that will do this, but trying to find them among the endless sea of event planning tools and personal calendar management tools that show up when Google searching is impossible and I don't think I know the right keywords. [more inside]
posted by jacquilynne to Technology at 1:55 PM - 6 answers

I got some matzo ball soup delivered yesterday in a quart deli container (the transparent plastic cylinders with the snap-on tops) which was wrapped in plastic wrap. It was delivered hot. I forgot it after unpacking the delivery and it sat on the counter overnight. Can I eat it? [more inside]
posted by tzikeh to Food & Drink at 1:32 PM - 5 answers

I’m at my wit’s end. My five year old is a chameleon. When she is friends with a well behaved and engaged kid, she is the same at school. When her friends are the mischievous troublemakers, she’ll happily follow them even if it means getting sent to the principal. [more inside]
posted by redlines to Human Relations at 1:12 PM - 23 answers

I'm not going to Paris this time and have already been to Nice [more inside]
posted by winterportage to Travel & Transportation at 11:34 AM - 13 answers

I'm a heavy Word (for Mac) user and I'm having a fun, brand-new problem. If you're really great at Word, please can you help? Please pass on this question if you have any kind of answer that starts with switching to a different program. [more inside]
posted by BlahLaLa to Technology at 10:45 AM - 23 answers

My Airpods suddenly lowered the volume of my Android phone after months of working fine. Phone calls only. [more inside]
posted by shaarog to Technology at 10:38 AM - 8 answers

A recent MeFi answerer said: I used to have my paper checks (remember those?) sent to my local [bank] branch. I'm not on the same page as this flippant MeFi answer. Of course I use fewer checks every year, but how can anyone suggest no longer having or even remembering paper checks? [more inside]
posted by JimN2TAW to Work & Money at 10:28 AM - 97 answers

My political organizing group is rightly examining our lack of racial inclusivity. What should we be reading and doing and not doing? [more inside]
posted by theora55 to Society & Culture at 10:19 AM - 9 answers

I have to write a bunch of short passages for kids (grades four to six) on topics they'll find engaging. What do kids this age like and find interesting? I'd prefer to avoid pop culture (mostly), since what's big today might be out tomorrow. I have to write a LOT of these, so all ideas welcome!
posted by swheatie to Grab Bag at 9:53 AM - 15 answers

How can I stop the Messages application from creating pop-ups on my macos Monterey version 12.3 Macbook Pro? I will be watching a TV show in Firefox, with the Messages app not even OPEN, and yet if someone sends a text message to my phone, I get multiple popups interrupting my TV show.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries to Computers & Internet at 6:14 AM - 3 answers

I'm looking for a comic where a secret agent is being tortured by having his adolescent views read back to him. I thought it was xkcd, but apparently not. Help?
posted by Tell Me No Lies to Media & Arts at 5:51 AM - 2 answers

Can you recommend an accessible introduction to the study of African-American Vernacular English? Preferably something written for a popular audience.
posted by Lemkin to Education at 6:51 PM - 9 answers

I need to get a new used Mac laptop to replace my beloved 2012 Air workhorse, which has been sending out "I'm dying" messages to me for a while now. When I bought this used many years ago, I got it from a shop that dealt with used Apple stuff, but they're no longer around here. There are some things about doing it on a site like Swappa that I need advice with. [more inside]
posted by kitten kaboodle to Computers & Internet at 4:46 PM - 14 answers

I have Windows 11. Is there a way I can absolutely prevent Windows Update from restarting my PC? Several times, I've had large downloads running in the background and checked on them to discover that Windows Update had restarted my PC automatically and it's becoming frustrating. [more inside]
posted by NoneOfTheAbove to Computers & Internet at 4:43 PM - 6 answers

Earlier this week, my periodontist told me I need a whole mouthful of gum surgery, at a cost of over $10,000. A friend in Mexico is encouraging me to come have the work done there. As a disabled person who uses a mobility scooter, I am concerned about accessibility. [more inside]
posted by Well I never to Travel & Transportation at 4:41 PM - 16 answers