https://ask.metafilter.com/ The past 24 hours of questions at Ask MetaFilter Wed, 22 Apr 2026 02:11:00 GMT Wed, 22 Apr 2026 02:11:00 GMT en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60
I sometimes ride my bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, which has a shared cyclist/pedestrian area. It has a lot of ambient highway speed traffic noise, pedestrian tourists who sometimes step into the marked bike lane directly in front of oncoming bike traffic without looking first, tourist bicyclists who are frequently stopped in the bike lane, and several entirely blind turns where close call head on collisions are the norm. I'm looking for a bike horn that can be heard above the ambient traffic noise to beep at pedestrians and cyclists when I'm going around the blind turns and when a collision is imminent because someone has stepped into or stopped in the bike lane without first checking to see if it's clear.

This question was asked previously a decade ago about bike horns for car traffic. While I would occasionally find it useful to honk at cars, I'm much more concerned about signaling to pedestrians and cyclists and probably don't need something nearly so loud for that.

(Also if you are planning on walking across the Golden Gate Bridge anytime soon, this is a PSA to look both ways before leaving the pedestrian area. Thank you, it will keep us all safe.)]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/389511/Bike-horn-for-warning-oblivious-pedestrians tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389511 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 02:11:00 GMT A Blue Moon beepbeep bicycle https://ask.metafilter.com/389511/Bike-horn-for-warning-oblivious-pedestrians/rss
I love birds and frequently give the crows on my street a few nuts when I pass by. They know me by sight and almost always glide down and land a few feet away, and come as close as within reach to grab a cashew. I like to think we're at least on the bird-human friend spectrum.

These crows never attack or act aggressively toward me, as I know they do when they think you're threatening their chicks or something.

The crow in question is a known street crow, one of three pairs I regularly see. (I can't tell them apart by sight but by their location and behavior.) Normally it and its partner will swoop down from one of a few locations and meet me about at the middle of the block. (This was the more assertive of the two, for what it's worth.)

This morning, as I walked down the sidewalk in the normal way, it swooped in very close from directly behind me, dropping a very big poo dead center at the top of my back, absolute bullseye. Then continued its cruise to land some feet ahead of me and to my right, looking at me quite normally (until I realized what had happened and ran back inside to clean up).

My question is this: does this act have meaning to the crow, and if so, what is that meaning?

I know crows are intelligent. This one is friendly and playful - it will follow or hop along, or sometimes do a little dip or caw to get my attention. I know they play with one another, chasing and bumping one another and so on - I'm careful not to cause squabbles between the groups on the block but I see it happen anyway. And I know this crow knows me in particular as an individual, and has for at least a year.

Is pooping on something a playful thing for them, like chasing each other around? Is it an aggressive thing, like swooping people or biting? Is it a territory thing, like certain caws?

Or am I overthinking it (well - obviously I am) and this means nothing? I just can't bring myself to believe that the crow waited for me to come out, lined up, did a direct over-the-head pass, opened up at the perfect moment and landed a direct hit just by total chance. If it was a chickadee I would assume it was meaningless. But crows are dog-level entities. If a dog pooped on your bed (let alone head), would you assume it was an accident? I think you would suspect a motive!

So, again, my question to fellow crow enthusiasts and nature lovers is, what did this crow bombing run mean, if anything? Thank you for your indulgence.]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/389510/Did-this-crow-poop-on-me-deliberately tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389510 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:38:56 GMT BlackLeotardFront bird birds birdwatching corvids corvus crow crows ornithology https://ask.metafilter.com/389510/Did-this-crow-poop-on-me-deliberately/rss
This is a new role, so no one knew wtf they were doing.

I basically supervise trainees as they come onto the job. They can train for up to a year and hopefully, if they're successful, get promoted within the year. Previously, a senior manager supervised this group, but he was too swamped with his huge team that they didn't actually get supervised. So, it moved to the field supervisors, who actually do interface with the trainees at least weekly.

My role became the hub where trainees would formally fall under me, but my role is primarily within the office, not the field. They want me to systemize things because it's a huge organization, but to me... even as a first time manager, trainees and humans need some kind of supervision and guidance. I tried doing 1:1s at first, but then I started running out of time to do my other work. So I decided to do group quarterly meetings and offer to have them reach out to me whenever they needed. I broke them out into cohorts and saw each new cohort at least once a week for their first month and was able to connect with them.

When they're out in the field, I built a system where the field supervisors could provide me feedback about the trainees' performance and if I needed to shore up things with training. This worked for trainees who are pretty self sufficient, but those that need more guidance and management are not doing so well. So I thought that I should try 1:1s with those that aren't doing so well.

However, I don't really see/do their work enough to give them great feedback or help. The field supervisors should be doing that, but they're also overwhelmed with work, so they're not doing it that often.

If the solution is pick back up 1:1s with those that are struggling, I question if my time with the trainees will be helpful. I'm very much a first-time middle manager with not that much power, so I feel the only thing I can really do helpfully is tell them about the nuances of our culture and the red tape that lines leadership, and advocate for them for promotion. Is that even helpful in a 1:1? I also feel awkward because the few times I've shared feedback (that came from the field supervisor... that they didn't share with the trainee but expected me to) I didn't have enough context to adequately share feedback in a helpful way. When I did, I get an upset trainee that wants to talk to the field supervisor and hear it straight from them.

I just... I don't know what to do. My boss doesn't want me directly supervising the trainees because "that's what the field supervisors should do and you have other things we hired you to do" but they're not doing it. I'm still their manager in title and thus will be expected to follow up on these things. If field supervisors are not doing supervising/managing, the trainees are suffering or in the dark and don't have an opportunity to do better. Then it reflects poorly on their training (which is what I manage.) I also feel an obligation to the trainees. At least to know I tried to do what I can so they have the opportunity to move up, if they're doing well. But I feel like this is a formula for failure except for those that are already strong self-starters.

How in the world should I approach this? I am losing sleep over this. Or do I just let them fail because the system sucks?

I am also looking for a job where I don't have to be a manager. When I accepted this job, it was not a managerial role. But they switched it after I accepted it. I'm still pissed about that, but for now, I am working with what I got.]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/389509/I-am-your-manager-but-Im-not-your-manager tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389509 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:38:43 GMT socky bottoms direct indirect manager reports https://ask.metafilter.com/389509/I-am-your-manager-but-Im-not-your-manager/rss https://ask.metafilter.com/389508/How-to-donate-medicine tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389508 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:27:13 GMT BlahLaLa MedicineDisposal MedicineDonation Metformin https://ask.metafilter.com/389508/How-to-donate-medicine/rss
He seems to perk up in the morning and paces around yowling to go outside and sit in the sun on the deck, but then gets worse as the day goes on, and he won't eat except treats, and sometimes not even those —so I think it's time.

As sad as I am, I've been trying to figure out what to do. The place I'd like to use for euthanasia will be here Wednesday morning. But he's going downhill at a pretty fast clip, and there's a possibility that he doesn't make it until then. In that case I'm trying to figure out what I would do with his little body if it happens after normal business hours. I would like to have him cremated, rather than bury him myself in the backyard. I did that for one of my cats and it was quite a miserable experience.

There's a place near me that a friend raved about that does water cremation and I'd like to take him there if he passes naturally. But if he does pass during nonbusiness hours, what would I do with his body? It's cold enough here at night that I could probably put him in the garage, but I fear that would attract pests (it's a completely detached garage quite a few feet from my house proper). It's not rundown and has never had anything in it besides spiders, but who knows. I couldn't fit him in the fridge freezer so that's a suggestion someone made that's right out.

If I kept him in the house, would that smell (and possibly also attract pests)? I know I will be a basket case but I feel I need to make plans.

Although the little brat just now woke up and decided to make a run for it when I took in the garbage bins and now I have no idea what to think.]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/389507/Pet-death-logistics tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389507 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:50:04 GMT kitten kaboodle cats death Pets https://ask.metafilter.com/389507/Pet-death-logistics/rss
Priority 1 is to replace our microwave. We use it every day, multiple times a day, and our current model has broken in a truly disturbing way. (It turns on every time you open the door. Yes, it runs with the door open.) We use it to reheat food, make nachos, and sometimes warm up water for tea. We don't use it to cook meals, and don't aspire to do "microwave cooking".

Priority 2 is the possibility of getting an air fryer. I've been interested in getting an air fryer for a while, but haven't bothered to fully investigate the topic because we don't have room in our kitchen for another appliance, even a small one. Is this our chance to get an air fryer, by getting a combo unit? Are those any good, or will a combo unit just mean its a bad microwave and a bad air fryer?

We live in the US and have access to a 120 volt outlet.

I would appreciate general wisdom as well as specific recommendations based on your personal experience.

Thank you!]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/389506/Looking-for-a-good-microwave-or-microwave-air-fryer-combo tag:ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.389506 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:19:04 GMT Winnie the Proust AirFryer Appliance Appliances Kitchen Microwave Nuke https://ask.metafilter.com/389506/Looking-for-a-good-microwave-or-microwave-air-fryer-combo/rss