September 16

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I love a specific kind of kitsch: fake versions of other stuff. Think Vegas casinos made to look like Roman ruins under a false sky, or themed hotel rooms where you sleep in a UFO. Help me fantasy-travel by telling me about the faux real in your neck of the woods.

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I have been lucky so far throughout the pandemic - I have lived in a house with several people who are all careful, so I have had lots of social interaction even when our city was very locked down in the spring. However, I will have to do a full quarantine for 14 days soon, in a very small studio apartment in another city where I will be staying for a few months. I have read other threads about quarantine tips, but in my situation, I have to completely quarantine (as in not leave the apartment at all, have groceries delivered, etc.), as the local authorities in the country I will be in are very strict. I will certainly have work to do, but I also want to try and incorporate things to help maintain my sanity, since I will be going from a situation where I eat most meals with other people, interact during work breaks, and also workout outside every day, to being alone in a very small space.

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Queer white AFAB person with brown hair seeks Halloween costume inspiration for COVID-style Zoom party.

Early video games would sometimes say they were set in "199X" or "20XX" to indicate a general setting without tying it to a specific year. Every now and then I run across other uses of this construction in very non-videogame contexts, and I swear I've seen this in 18th century lit but can't think of any examples off the top of my head. What's the likely earliest example of this variable/unknown date style?



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I want to buy some music (especially the cast recording to Mean Girls) to play on my phone. I also expect to move countries soon. What do I need to know?

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At work, I have this continuous feeling that after I do something that isn't super great, or average or whatever, my 'higher ups' are talking crap about my performance. I visualize this in my mind. It makes me nervous, impairs my work and makes me hesitate and slower at work. What's a good way to reduce these thoughts or let it less impact me?

For the 2018 U.S. midterm elections I used (I think) fivethirtyeight.com as a starting point for research on House/Senate elections to target donations. The site that I used had certain characteristics: it covered House/Senate/Governorships, it was easy to find close races and how close they were / how they leaned, and it was based on a broad bi-partisan aggregation of polling and statistical information rather than coming from a single organization. I thought that it was fivethirtyeight, but I don't see it there this time. Does anyone have a good site that fits these criteria?



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I bought some fermented bean curd today, brought it home, was excited to try it, had a small piece (half a cube), and then noticed that the expiration date is in 2017 -- three years ago.



anyone know what movie this clip of a chorus line of blondes wearing silver outfits is from? https://youtu.be/BV1eKphHFjY?t=120

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I remember in the late 1980s to early 1990s being in my local, small-ish public library and seeing a series of police procedural novels that fascinated me as a teenager. Seems like they were much longer than Ed McBain's 87th Precinct.

LOVE? Will you describe it, and would you recommend one company over another? more inside]

I'm moving to my own little place and I have a rare opportunity to start 100% fresh with bedroom furniture and bedding. I want to get a really, really good bed that will help winter be as enjoyable as possible. And I need it to all be delivered to me. Do you have a bed situation that you? Will you describe it, and would you recommend one company over another?

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I would love some advice about beginning a career in technical writing, copy writing, editing, or some combination thereof. I am a complete novice and am looking to enter the field. My background is in education and libraries.

It was a complicated journey but we’re finally together. I’m looking for sweet or poignant or inspirational media about people who took a complicated road but ended up happy and permanent. Thanks in advance!



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Help us name our new puppy!!

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After not buying a new game console for years (*cough*PS2*cough*), yesterday my husband and I both spontaneously thought "maybe we should get a new game console". But, which one? Snowflake preferences inside....

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I've been reading about mortgage brokers and I was under the impression that the broker, an independent firm, would get quotes from multiple banks to help me find the best options. However, as I actually look for brokers on the internet, they all seem to be associated with a particular lender (not necessarily the large banks, for example I see Guaranteed Rate frequently). Do independent brokers as I have been imagining them exist? How do I find them?

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I want to get a text or email delivery notification for a shipping company that only lets me check a tracking number on a website. Is there some way I can automate this?

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There's nothing quite like having your appendix rupture in the midst of a pandemic! Mine ruptured mid-June, and the docs decided to put me on copious amounts of antibiotics, keep me in the hospital for 3 days to get the infection down, and then remove it at the very end of July. And here I am, mid September, still having various side effects. You're not my doctor, but have any of you had an interval appendectomy? If so, what was your recovery like? More under the fold....

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My 4th grader, who is trans/non-binary, has expressed a desire to read more books featuring LGBTQIA characters. They are a precocious and voracious reader, so all reading levels are on the table, but I think they would get the most out of books geared to YA audiences. I’d appreciate specific recommendations of titles to look for. Thanks in advance!

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I'm looking for video games that require math skills, especially ones where a player could conceivably need to learn a bit of math in order to be more successful at the game, but that are not blatantly "educational" - one litmus test I'm thinking of is whether a kid would just start playing the game if you gave it to them, and they wouldn't roll their eyes and complain that it looks like something their teacher would give them. A few examples inside.

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I'm curious to know about the body of work (literature and science) concerning those people who try to leave society to live their lives alone but society won't let them. I remember a book from college about a colony of women who migrate to another planet but know eventually, men will come. Also, movies where people go into space to get away from humanity but it either follows them or destroys them because they try.

Given the table of contents of a Wikipedia page, identify the subject. What are some Wikipedia pages for which this is an interesting challenge, neither too easy nor too hard? more inside]

I got this idea for a puzzle genre:What are some Wikipedia pages for which this is an interesting challenge, neither too easy nor too hard?

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Can an email signup form detect my real address?

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What are your favorite magazines that have an interesting, well-designed, or "artsy" layout?

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It's an authoritarian country engaging in cultural genocide. But on the other hand...I'm an American, so...heh. Trying to parse how much responsibility I have to take these things into account when figuring out what country to live in, because on the small-scale, my wife and I are quite happy here.

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I need a durable, rigid badge holder for an ID that is 3 7/8" x 2 5/8" and which can withstand getting pulled on a bit. Can you recommend one?

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I'm looking for new games that I can play for short amounts of time, but almost all my recent games have been games that require a lot of time or focused attention. Recommend new games for me!

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Any tips for learning to speak and understand German when half deaf?

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My partner got COVID. I was definitely exposed. My antibody test is negative. Please help me understand why.

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Looking for guidance on how to shop for an office chair. Ideal budget is 500USD, can go higher if necessary. Hard mode: I live in a small city in China (well, by Chinese standards).

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Hi there. I have a relative with no immediate family who is in dire financial straits, and has some cognitive disability/delays. She got an offer from low-income subsidized housing through the LA government after being on he waitlist for several months and needs some help moving through the extensive vetting process. I'm burned out and far away. She has a complicated past and doesn't doesn't understand her rights on several issues. Who can I pay to help her with this? A lawyer?

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We're planning on getting married in the near future and think we'd like to set up a prenuptial agreement. How much prenup and lawyer do we actually need?

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Several years ago, I discovered my husband’s infidelity for the first time and received some excellent advice here, which I unfortunately completely disregarded. Many affairs later, I finally came to my senses and left. Now what?

Hello! A friend of mine is looking for memoirs about people who endure some tragic incident -- i.e., terrible car accident, spinal cord injury, etc. (does not have to be physical, but life-changing), then thrives and/or finds a way to make peace with what happened/channel their life in a new way. Probably best if one-off tragedy, rather than years of abuse, for example. Any suggestions?



Please be gentle as this is for my daughter who has a deadline on getting her drivers license. She is in her late 20s and we are in Australia. She is using an instructor some of the time, and spending time with her older brother and feels somewhat anxious. What's your best tips (I.e., line up middle of car with outside white line - I don't know, I don't drive, or for non-biological vision, use the placement of electricity poles to turn your indicator on). Thanks xo



September 15

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13yo boy wants to take K-pop dance lessons, but there aren't any nearby. Is it worth it for him to take hip hop in the meantime?

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How long would it take my language-skilled 5.5 year old to learn French in a fully French environment? Is 2 months "enough" in terms of language acquisition?

What's the best way to play Ocarina of Time in 2020? I seem to gather that at least a couple versions exist (N64/3DS ?), and that it may be possible to play either using some PC emulation software or by buying some old hardware. What are the options/considerations?



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I heard a song fragment on the radio today ... lyrics were something about going deep and drowning...

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Looking for durable placements (possible vinyl?) that we can wash like dishes.

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I was waiting for a signal to turn on what was technically the parking lot of private property. Is there any technical case for this to be called trespass?

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I recently posted an ask mefi question about moving to Washington State. After reading through all the responses, and breaking out in a nervous sweat, I'm back with a second question: Any recommendations for locations that are not Washington?

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My Dad died unexpectedly leaving quite a bit of unfinished business. How do I find out if or where his trust or will is so I can pick up and care of his property for the family etc?

I'm looking for a plug-and-play USB webcam that does NOT have a mic built-in that I can buy online and ship to Anchorage. My mic setup is great, I don't want to mess with it with yet another competing audio source, I just need video. Under $50 would be ideal.



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Can you help name a black cat who loves to warble like a bird, head-butt, and burrow?

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Asking on a friend's behalf: "I'm leasing a <100sq office as an individual, not a business. I need to obtain property insurance for it but have no idea where to start, I've only ever used residential insurance. The office is furnished; total value of my property in it is around $2k (most of that's a laptop)."

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I received a verbal offer from a firm, and was told the contracts would be emailed. Cue the crickets. Now what do I do?

I really love Pure Leaf Sweet Tea but I would like to find a caffeine-free substitute to drink sometimes. I know they make an herbal hibiscus tea that is caffeine free but I've never tried it and am assuming it has quite a different flavor. Is there a good caffeine-free drink that is close to the flavor of sweet tea?



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I'm moving to Vancouver, BC, at the end of this month. I'll be moving most of my stuff in a UPack ReloCube , which will be placed in storage until I find long-term housing and get it delivered, which I'm guessing might take something like three months give or take. It turns out the cubes are stored outdoors, not in an indoor climate-controlled facility as I'd assumed. Vancouver is rainy. The cubes are supposedly weatherproof, but what with humidity and temperature changes, I'm worried about my stuff, especially my books. How best to pack to prevent damage? Or is this just a bad idea?

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I (F, 40s) have been married to my husband for five years. We have a young child and a joint mortgage, but even now I still can’t get him to be open with me about his personal finances; in particular he has a lot of feelings of shame about having credit card debt. I see this as a problem that we need to work through together, but he won’t even tell me how much credit card debt he has, which is worrying me a lot. I need advice on how to have this conversation with him.

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Should I turn down a wedding invitation to my brother in laws wedding across the country because of Covid?

I’ve been messing around with a small piano key accordion- it has about an octave and a half of keys and 8 chords that kind of work. So far I’ve learned the first bit of ‘le vie en rose’ but what other songs are fun and recognizable for this instrument? I can read music as I played violin as a kid but chords are kind of mysterious to me. Any genre of music is fine, although I’m not a huge fan of Celtic/Irish traditional stuff.



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Buying a house across the country during a global pandemic while job hunting - what's the order of operations here? I have a solid job history and nearly perfect credit and would like to do this right.

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Lots of details below, it's long. I'll sum it up here. Been married 3 years to a woman who has struggled with depression her whole life. The depression has gotten about as bad is it can get and she refuses to get help. I've given her the ultimatum: Therapy or Divorce. So far she is opting for divorce. So my question is, what else can I try to save the marriage? And if there is nothing, how do I leave her without abandoning her outright or letting her manipulate my concern into a protracted event?

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After watching too much sports talk on cable television, I became convinced the national media is obsessed with only a few storylines. I work in computer vision and AI, so I'm familiar with extracting information out of photos. Is there a similar way of extracting context with natural language processing or something similar the way broadly I would with labeling an image and feeding it into a model? No sports knowledge required, but I'll explain what I mean inside.

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In the hopes of getting my hands on stuff before it disappears - what is scarce right now where you are?

I want to digitize an old, rare book (into a text file/epub) without destroying it. I have an iPhone, an ipad, a computer with Windows 10 & Ubuntu, and a lot of time on my hands (so I don't mind physically taking a picture of the text on each page.) I do not want to spend money on this. What's the best combination of programs to use to do OCR on each page and then combine all the OCR'd text into one document that I can then proofread/correct?



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I would like to start lightly scenting my living spaces, but I'm fussy as heck and don't want to purchase a candle for $60 only to find out I hate it. Where can I buy small sets of sample candles? I bought one from LOHN and even though I wasn't nuts about any of the scents, the sample package was really convenient and nicely done. I saw Sephora has some Voluspa sets, but I am not a fan of that brand. I live in Canada and would prefer not to pay duty fees.

I've seen quite a few over the years, but are there any A-class documentaries on Ytb as there are movies? Like, you have to pay for a movie these days on YouTube, and I would gladly also pay for a good documentary film. But I can't say I see many available there. Another site would be fine, I just don't know where to go. I see lotsa less professional fare there, and have viewed many. I think I'm caught up on Netflix, Hulu, etc., too. Most PBS doesn't interest me. Maybe a specialty channel somewhere? But YouTube is convenient...

