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October 2005 Archives (all archives)
October 31
Who decided that the Portuguese explorer named Fernao de Magalhaes was to be known as Ferdinand Magellan?
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posted by vacapinta at 9:47 PM PST - 13 comments 
How can my girlfriend and I work past an aversion or barrier to intimacy that has come up in our relationship?
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posted by aussicht at 9:14 PM PST - 19 comments
I just got a new job in Manhattan, and while I've visited several times, I understand I don't have a great grasp on what it's like to
live there. Yet. (And of course, may end up living in another borough after a certain period of time.) Can you NYC MeFites give a Virginian some assimilation advice?
posted by Mikey-San at 8:14 PM PST - 52 comments
Does anyone know why every funeral home I see has a sign with a clock and weather info on it? I was curious about this after noticing it during a cross country drive in Canada. Is there some history or tradition to this?
posted by bryce.clarke at 8:11 PM PST - 17 comments
A few years ago I got a yen to rent "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins". It was the middle of the day and the middle of the week, and the Blockbuster was empty. I was at the cash paying for the movie when someone else walked in and asked the cashier: "Do you guys have Remo Williams?" What are the chances of such a coincidence happening?
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posted by notcostello at 8:09 PM PST - 37 comments
Someone told me that there was a 9 in 10 chance of getting shot if one is held up at gunpoint. Is this true?
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posted by spiderskull at 8:03 PM PST - 26 comments
2 year old AirPort Extreme Base Station is haunted. It keeps dropping our connection to the internet. Computers show in Network Preferences as having an IP and being connected to the internet. This happens every 15-30 minutes.
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posted by will at 7:45 PM PST - 6 comments
I would like recommendations for good places to buy high quality artificial flowers. Online stores or places in NYC. Money little object as long as they look good.
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posted by gaspode at 7:43 PM PST - 6 comments
Anyone ever had a tachycardia? I'm in a brunch line, not stressed, not active, just standing there talking. My heart rate shoots up. My dad, a doc, is with me. Says my pulse is 150 bpm. It gradually decreases over the next 15 minutes. The doc today says it's weird for a tachycardia to lead to a pulse shooting up so high. I'm scheduled to wear a halter monitor for a day, but outside that, he says there's not much that can be done. Why do these occur, and how do I keep them from occurring again? Also, if I have lots of stress in my life (just finished a PhD, new very high stress job), can it cause my pulse to race at a time when I am not stressed? Any stories, experiences, information is appreciated. (About me: 35, female, in good health, not overweight, yet not athletic).
posted by abbyladybug at 7:01 PM PST - 25 comments
I'm interested in tracing my family tree. I've toyed around on genealogy.com before, but the sheer volume of information is staggering... and a bit off-putting for a novice like me. Is there a good, reputable, online service that will wade through the garbage and provide you with a well-researched analysis of your lineage?
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posted by bjork24 at 6:24 PM PST - 11 comments
Windows XP help needed! I suddenly can't copy photos onto my laptop. I'm getting a weird error...
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posted by kdern at 5:32 PM PST - 11 comments
Download limit question: If I can only download 20gb of data a month, whats the best (free) windows software for measuring and analysing all traffic coming in (and out) of my internet connection? Thanks...
posted by kev23f at 5:31 PM PST - 6 comments
Is there a way to use my microphone input as a headphone output on a Dell laptop running Windows XP?
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posted by pissfactory at 5:05 PM PST - 3 comments
Help me write an amazing ad for my used car to sell it really, really fast - I'm moving abroad in two weeks. Lots of questions.
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posted by mdonley at 2:19 PM PST - 12 comments
Which HDV Hi-Def Camera should I buy? Looking at either the new JVC GY-HD100U (which shoots 720p) or the Sony HVR-Z1U (which shoots 1080i), both also shoot standard DV. I will be using the camera for business reasons...training videos, interviews, maybe a wedding or two. Basically I guess it comes down to 720p or 1080i.
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posted by UMDirector at 2:05 PM PST - 5 comments
Anyone have info on Ramouz? Ramuz?
W. G. Sebald writes of someone studying "Ramuz" in Rings of Saturn. I've found books by every other writer mentioned in R.O.S. but this one.
Then today, I'm reading Raymond Carver, and he has a poem about a Hamid Ramouz, "soldier, scholar, desert explorer". . .
I'm wondering if this is the same guy, and does anyone have info on him, as i can find none in my initial research.
TIA,
ScottR
posted by scottr at 1:53 PM PST - 2 comments
Whose side would you choose to be on in the American Revolution? Assume that you are a person of the times and not a time traveler carrying 21st century views on race and society in your baggage. Assume that your focus is on your immediate world and your information does not have the completion that you are familiar with from history. This question comes up from time to time in conversation and I am still on the fence as to which way I would fall. The Unknown American Revolution by Gary B. Nash is a good (and the only) history that I have found that discusses this question. Nash also shows that the Red State/Blue State thought divide has been with us from the beginning. Any other books/texts out there where this is discussed?
posted by Raybun at 1:37 PM PST - 32 comments
Any tips, books, exercises on learning how to paint with oils?
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posted by j at 1:35 PM PST - 10 comments
I'm 23 and I have more acne than I ever did in high school. This is a general problem, but I've also got a (first) date on Thursday--got any miracles?
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posted by CiaoMela at 1:34 PM PST - 53 comments
What are some recommendations for SF stories/books that deal with the end of the universe (or lack thereof)?
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posted by gilgamesh at 1:34 PM PST - 17 comments
GeekFilter: I want to strip all HTML tags from a page of text, leaving plain text. I have Text Wrangler and OS X.4. I thought it would be easy…
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posted by al_fresco at 1:31 PM PST - 17 comments
Windows XP Remote Desktop. I know there are many info on this, but I really need simple version for my brain to compute.
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posted by curiousleo at 10:55 AM PST - 14 comments
FloodOutTheLittleGuyFilter: This is on the behalf of a friend of mine. His parents own a small business in a small town in New York. A few weeks back there were heavy rainstorms and flooding in the area. The town decided to direct the floodwaters away from from the new Wal-Mart--and it ended up in the shopping center where the business is located. Now they're under over three feet of water, everything's ruined, and they didn't have flood insurance. Half of the stores in the center have dropped out of the lawsuit they were preparing against the town. What now?
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posted by schroedinger at 10:54 AM PST - 7 comments
The little triangles and squares used to identify control buttons on media players, both analog and digital; What are they called and on what product did they first appear? Would you call them tape-control glyphs? That's what I'd call 'em. But my google-fu is fruitless. You know - two right facing triangles means fast forward >>, a broken box means pause, etc.
posted by bendybendy at 10:39 AM PST - 10 comments
For those who've seen The Grudge (Ju-on) and The Ring (Ringu), do you know if there is any significance to the visual similarity between "The Evil" in both films? (SPOILERS inside)
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posted by xyzzy at 10:31 AM PST - 7 comments
Lately I've been fascinated by "smart" songs: songs with witty, intelligent lyrics, especially if the lyrics are literary. Can you recommend more music of this sort? [samples inside]
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posted by jdroth at 10:24 AM PST - 100 comments
Favourite scenes from B-movie monster flicks? I've been asked to make a game...
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posted by Yogurt at 10:20 AM PST - 16 comments
PropertyAbroadFilter: I'm from the UK, I live in the US, I want to buy in France. My idea is slightly crackpot...
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posted by forallmankind at 9:53 AM PST - 6 comments
I need a way to keep track of small bits of information. This pertains to BOTH my virtual world and “meatspace.”
Here is a typical scenario that explains what I mean. I am an I.T. Manager and sit at a desk for many hours throughout a day. However, I also walk around a moderate sized manufacturing plant as well as a remote plant frequently. Many times in my travels people stop me and ask for things or give me information, “Hey, my printer’s not working…” I say I’ll get back to them but then end up forgetting by the time I get back to my desk.
Little pieces of paper get bunched and mangled into my pocket so that hasn't worked well. Small notebooks get left behind, or I forget to take them with me when I go make my rounds. I have written notes on the side of my hand…and that works great, but I don’t want to have to write notes on the side of my hand! I have tried using an IPAQ thinking it would allow me to hand write my notes and then sync them with my pc but the perceived fragility of that thing made me not want to use it and risk breaking it ($$$). I ended up selling it. I liked that idea…just wasn’t cost practical.
What has worked best has been a combination of many Post-its scattered about my desk looking like a big salad along with a notepad for those other occasions when I need more space than a Post-it. Then I email myself at home or back to work with information that will carry me between both places. This works but it is far from perfect and does not cover making rounds.
Ideally, I would like to find a way to merge both worlds so that I can have the portability of the paper solution and the technology to merge the two …but obviously in a practical way. Thought of using a voice recorder but again, I am concerned about the cost/fragility ratio unless it was small and maybe wearable…plus, speaking into a small device would make me feel awkward with a bunch of manufacturing gorillaz looking at me. I am definitely willing to sacrifice technology to achieve my objective as the need to track this information is more important than my desire to play with toys. I would use a paper-based solution if I could keep track of all the confetti (which is basically what I am doing). Is there something out there that you guys use that works?
posted by SparkyPine at 8:48 AM PST - 23 comments
My friend got a letter from the cable company accusing her of violating the DMCA. The alleged offense is downloading some sort of fighting game. Thing is, my friend is a near retirement, middle-aged woman who lives alone and has no interest in games and doesn't download anything. What is the proper way to respond? Links please.
posted by KrustyKlingon at 8:25 AM PST - 16 comments
Can someone give me a quick dump on the various offerings for auto-play pianos -- including Disklavier, PianoDisc, Pianomation, Pianocorder. Are they worth the investment? Is this a cop out for "real" playing? How is the sound?
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posted by terrier319 at 8:09 AM PST - 2 comments
Where and how do we throw the mother of all New Year's Eve bashes ... in Baton Rouge ... on New Year's Eve?
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posted by kuperman at 6:10 AM PST - 9 comments
Is TIVO dying?
I was about to buy a Tivo Box (I have DVR from Time Warner and it sucks) when a friend of mine mentioned that he heard that Direct TV was dropping Tivo and hinted that the company (tivo) was hemorrhaging money. I am a little concerned that I may buy a box and service that won't exist in 6 months...
Has anyone else heard anything on this?
posted by keep it tight at 5:30 AM PST - 24 comments
How come every time i download or open an mpeg from a website it opens up in a small quicktime screen on another page? I want it to be downloaded and opened using windows media player? Only started happening since i bought a new computer!
posted by indio1919 at 5:06 AM PST - 2 comments
Suggestions for Birthday Dinner restaurant in SF? I'm planning on inviting a whole bunch of my friends to dinner for my birthday next weekend and I was hoping to get some suggestions of good places where I could host a gaggle of 20-odd (or 20 odd?) folks.
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posted by ooga_booga at 1:00 AM PST - 12 comments
October 30
Yet another font identification question. Kinda. Please come inside if you know anything about Scotch Roman.
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posted by Leon at 5:19 PM PST - 5 comments
Recently I found out that my 10th grade flame is not only doing well, but has ditched a potential husband and come out. She looks great.
I wouldn't think anything of it, except that my first true love and the first girl I ever kissed also decided they were gay after seeing me.
What're the odds? Am I recruiting for the other team?
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posted by anthill at 5:09 PM PST - 28 comments
Besides Japan and Iraq, what other countries have constitutions that were drafted either by or under the direction or assistance of the U.S. (or allied occupation made up of at least the U.S.)?
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posted by sublivious at 2:46 PM PST - 13 comments
Where can I get a custom rubber stamp made cheaply (<$30US), within 2 weeks, from artwork I provide...over the Internet?
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posted by griffey at 2:36 PM PST - 7 comments
I am looking for an armband to use at the gym that will hold an Ipod Nano, a car key and my ID.
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posted by KenFox at 2:17 PM PST - 6 comments
Is there a particularly good mail-in photo processing company that you can recommend? Or how about a good place in Philly?
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posted by The Michael The at 1:43 PM PST - 11 comments
I seem to remember a book from when I was a wee lad, called "The Dark Green Tunnel", or so I believe. Any help finding it?
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posted by deadmouse at 1:34 PM PST - 4 comments
Are there any groups in the UK campaigning to change the laws on self-defense and weapon ownership?
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posted by lunkfish at 12:12 PM PST - 25 comments
I am a Windows administrator who is trying to learn how to configure a Linux server. What would be most helpful to me at this point is a reference that walks me through the process of configuring major server rolls, preferably comparing and contrasting the process to doing the same on a windows server.
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posted by worstkidever at 7:43 AM PST - 8 comments
October 29
Help! How do I replace a broken car key? I have no spare. My car is a 1991 Nissan Maxima.
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posted by geonags at 10:27 PM PST - 17 comments
Phantom e-mail: I keep getting e-mail messages that don't appear to be from
anyone at all. No sender, no recipient, no subject.
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posted by emelenjr at 9:51 PM PST - 18 comments
Moving to the SF Bay area for work and I've been talking with an old college friend about potentially sharing a place (he's living there already). Wondering if anyone knows how to locate rental properties that would offer us a degree of privacy in our living arrangements, while still letting us share utilities and other costs?
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posted by idontlikewords at 9:07 PM PST - 7 comments
Ive had some problems with mould killing my house plants so Id like to sterilize the dirt from an old pot before i plant some thing new. Can I just bake the dirt or will that hurt the nutrients/good microbes? Other ways to sterilize dirt?
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posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 8:22 PM PST - 10 comments
Empirically speaking - Who are the most popular musical artists of the modern era (e.g., since 1955)?
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posted by crapples at 8:12 PM PST - 28 comments
A sudden increase in spam making it past my email client's filters. I'm on a Mac using "Mail" for my email program. Up until three days ago, my junk filter caught all but a couple of spam emails. Now, for some reason, about ten times more spam emails seem to be making it past my filters. Any ideas why this is or how I can get back to a better signal-to-noise ratio?
posted by sharksandwich at 7:37 PM PST - 15 comments
Mefi astronomers: From San Diego, CA, I can see a very bright object in the lower Southwestern sky. Is this a planet? It is the brightest object in the sky and almost imperceptibly moving west along a plane. Note the time 7:06 pm PDT.
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posted by snsranch at 7:10 PM PST - 23 comments
What's meant by, and/or where to get 'em: Steel-Rimmed Glasses. I see them mentioned in older books -- a usual reference is, frames issued to GIs during WWII.
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posted by Rash at 6:50 PM PST - 5 comments
I am curious about the meaning of an image listed as one of the
Top 40 magazine covers of the past 40 years . Specifically, what was the meaning behind magazine cover #37, which is a Wired from June 1997 with an Apple Computer logo wrapped in what appears to be barbed wire, along with the word "Pray." What does the barbed wire signify? Why are we being told to "pray." ?
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posted by crazyray at 6:16 PM PST - 20 comments
Does anyone know of any good articles or essays regarding 'making of' documentaries or non-fiction films about filmmaking?
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posted by feelinglistless at 4:06 PM PST - 14 comments
Need source for plotter paper with recycled content. The biggest cause of paper waste in my office are the 24"x36" (and larger) plots that we use for design work. I've checked with our usual suppliers and even wrote www.treecycle.com, but can't find anything. I would think with all the LEED work and general interest in sustainable design this would be easy to find. Anyone have sources?
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posted by donp17 at 3:39 PM PST - 1 comments
LostWalletFilter: I was at a bar last night and left my wallet on a table in a fit of brilliance. I went back to the bar this morning and got it back, but a few things are missing. Should I worry or take any preventative action?
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posted by adamk at 3:28 PM PST - 13 comments
Does this device exist, and if not, how can I modify cheap consumer digicams to create it:
A cheap portable digicam that will endlessly record video to some kind of small memory buffer, say enough memory for 1 minute of video, such that I could leave it running for days on the off-chance of it recording something interesting, and when something interesting happened, I just press a "Stop Recording" button, and the last 60 seconds of video are sitting in memory.
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posted by -harlequin- at 1:56 PM PST - 13 comments
What kind of potentiometer do I need? Electronics and electrical math confuse the hell out of me, so I'm just going to lay it all out.
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posted by cloeburner at 1:54 PM PST - 7 comments
Creepiest / most double - entendre laden Rock n' Roll era love songs? I've been listening to a lot of XM radio lately, and it's re-ignited my love for 50's and early 60's pop, especially the significant minority of songs that are hauntingly creepy or surprisingly explicit...
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posted by crabintheocean at 1:33 PM PST - 35 comments
iPodFilter: Some songs on my iPod are not being played until the end. I did an extensive Google search and found lots of relevant solutions, but I already did half of them and some others seem strange. I'm now looking at the things I haven't tried yet, and have some specific questions.
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posted by easternblot at 11:53 AM PST - 13 comments
There is an old piece of music called "Little Ballerina Blue" that Art Bell (of all people) used to play on his show years ago. It was a simple piano piece - but really nice. I once had a copy that he had posted on his website in the late nineties, but lost it, and have not been able to find it anywhere since.
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posted by Independent Scholarship at 11:42 AM PST - 2 comments
Does anyone know of a way to be let back into AdSense after being banned? Thanks.
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posted by ac at 11:42 AM PST - 7 comments
The large majority of hits to my food website come from Google and about three weeks ago I became unGoogleable. I was told that when Google was doing its indexing my server was down and it missed me---that it should right itself soon. But it's been three weeks and my traffic is rapidly dropping. What can I do?
posted by adrober at 10:23 AM PST - 9 comments
I have 2 weeks left to write a pre-production document. But I cant get motivated. I don't feel I know what I'm doing. I'm always tired. Always have more interesting things to do. Help me get motivated.
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posted by lemonfridge at 10:19 AM PST - 5 comments
Put on your movie sleuthing hats on, I'm being itched by a movie I saw some time ago and want to ID it and scratch that itch once and for all.
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posted by stavx at 10:04 AM PST - 5 comments
I've been happy with my IBM Thinkpad T21, but I want CD-RW, DVD and something shiny & new. I'm looking at an IBM TPad R40 model 2681 - Celeron 2.0GHz RAM256 HD40G CD-RW/DVD + 802.11B Wifi from a reliable online vendor. US 575. Will I regret the Celeron as opposed to PIII?
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posted by theora55 at 9:34 AM PST - 14 comments
I just lost a month's worth of journal entries in a locally saved plaintext file. Is there any way to get them back?
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posted by skoosh at 8:02 AM PST - 11 comments
Can I use a
SodaStream to make my own sparkling mineral water, such as
San Pellegrino? or would this be soda water instead?
Here in Australia there is a difference. We prefer mineral to soda and would like to save money by making our own if it's possible.
posted by mule at 1:57 AM PST - 17 comments
I'm trying to track down information about an incident where a murder victim's body was disposed of in an industrial crucible.
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posted by Lazlo at 12:23 AM PST - 13 comments
October 28
I moved out of a shared house into an apartment, everything is great except for my cat. He was an indoor/outdoor cat (we had a doggie door), but now I live in the city, and he can't run free. I'm looking for some way to keep him in close proximity of my apartment should he jump down from the balcony like he did today.
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posted by hatsix at 11:10 PM PST - 8 comments
ChessFilter: is it possible to tell someone's ethnic background by the way they play chess?
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posted by Quietgal at 9:30 PM PST - 16 comments
My close friends are about to finalize their adoption of a baby from Saratov, Russia. The baby has spent some time in an orphanage in Saratov, and I think a nice gift for him would be a CD of songs that might have been sung to him during his infancy. Can anyone recommend a good source for Russian children's music?
posted by nixxon at 8:53 PM PST - 6 comments
Experiences with acupuncture for your doggie, in particular an older companion with arthritis?
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posted by vito90 at 8:23 PM PST - 11 comments
A work friend is going nuts trying to finish a website and is stuck on a javascript popup menu problem. Characters look different when he uploads them to his server. Help?
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posted by ig at 8:09 PM PST - 12 comments
So, on Tuesday, the Red Cross is deploying me to the gulf coast for three weeks to assist in their ongoing hurricane relief efforts there. What should I bring with me?
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posted by dersins at 6:37 PM PST - 3 comments
I'm considering what to do with myself next summer (I know it's a long way off), and have hit upon the rather vague idea of working as a counselor at an Arts/Music Camp of some type, in America. I like in the UK and there isn't quite the same tradition of Summer Camp. How do I go about finding somewhere I'd like to work and finding out if they'd like me?
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posted by Lotto at 5:33 PM PST - 10 comments
How do I make a fake bone? I want it to protrude from my pants leg for a costume and am trying to figure out what materials to use to quickly and easily make one. Advice?
posted by smartypanties at 5:11 PM PST - 16 comments
I was messing around with nlite and ended up making some sort of change to my computer that I just can't figure out.
All is basically well except for one thing---
Every time I boot the computer the first menu says something like
"Press 'R' for Standard System Recovery Options "
and then
Press 'F' for reformmting the drive and Q to quit
if i hit R i go to the recovery utility
HAVEN'T tried F for obvious reasons
and Q seems to read the boot ini file.
when i hit Q, my normal boot process works and All is OK.
However all subsequent reboots give me that same R, F and Q menu and I'd like to get back to just booting in to Windows.
Can anyone offer some advice as to how to tell the computer that all is well? i wouldn't want a family member to reboot the computer and select the wrong option.
I'm running Windows XP MCE.
posted by swisscheez at 3:59 PM PST - 7 comments
Questions about pay-per-download music. Google generates much noise on the subject as I'm primarily interested in the technology of the delivery.
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posted by TiredStarling at 3:52 PM PST - 6 comments
I'm looking to add a very basic ASP 'support' forum for an industrial site. Natuarally, this is on a shoestring budget, and I'd prefer not to write it myself. I'm hoping that there is a basic forum implementation that I can adapt. The hosting of the site presents all sorts of 'fun' requirements.
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posted by adamkempa at 2:33 PM PST - 2 comments
This is for a writing project: in layman's terms, what are The Big Questions? Examples: Is there a God? Does free will exist?
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posted by grumblebee at 2:28 PM PST - 53 comments
What's the name / URL of the site where you could track the worldline of a book? I remember that you could put a sticker in a book with an identifying ID, and the next person to find/buy it would go online and read the book's past history and add a new entry. Ring any bells?
posted by signal at 2:26 PM PST - 8 comments
Somewhat of a pointless question, how come Ashlee Simpson still gets media attention? She's not paticularly attractive, nor can she sing. To top it all off she was blatantly caught lipsyncing on SNL, yet she's scheduled (I believe to be on it again, or was on it a short while ago). Are differing media companies that well-connected?
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posted by geoff. at 1:20 PM PST - 46 comments
computer repair: I have an old Mac G4 Titanium laptop (first generation I think) with a broken mouse button that I would like to repair myself or have repaired cheaply.
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posted by slogger at 12:47 PM PST - 9 comments
There is a vintage game called "Cosmos Osmos" for the old Mac OS and would be loaded with several floppy disc's. I have searched all over the web (including mac garden and googleing) and have been unable to find ANYTHING regarding the game. It was surely at least 15 years ago from when I owned the game and was when Mac's owned the computer world. Help find information or even the game.
posted by supyo at 12:43 PM PST - 9 comments
I'm interested in learning more about GIS. I took a few one hour classes using ArcGIS at the university where I attend (Cornell), but the available GIS classes are mounds of work and don't fit into my schedule. Are there any good resources that i could find on the net to self-teach myself? And for that matter, any GIS programs that aren't as expensive?
posted by jare2003 at 12:13 PM PST - 10 comments
Anybody know of a link to a good "Plamegate for beginners" article that I could send to someone who really wasn't paying attention until today?
posted by tizzie at 11:51 AM PST - 16 comments
I've just purchased 4 sticks of PNY 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz RAM (2GB). Where can I find a Dell server that will accept this RAM? I don't mind used computers and I'd like to keep it under $500. Finding which RAM to put in a given machine is easy. But I'm struggling with finding all the machines that will accept my RAM.
I prefer Dell but some other server with nice case design (tool-less entry, etc) would be considered. Pentium or AMD please.
posted by phildog at 11:47 AM PST - 12 comments
I'm fed up with my Treo 650 crashing all the damn time. Please recommend for me a new RELIABLE phone/device I can sync with Mac OS X that will hold my contacts, email and let me take notes; and also work on Cingular, so I don't have to break my 2-year contract. Bluetooth is a major plus. Web browsing is nice, but not necessary. Please show your work.
posted by mboszko at 11:34 AM PST - 26 comments
SaveMeMoneyFilter: What are your best ways of cutting costs/saving money but still maintaining the lifestyle you love?
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posted by roundrock at 10:47 AM PST - 48 comments
Why is the polling question framed "Headed in the right direction" versus "On the wrong track?"
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posted by Triode at 10:43 AM PST - 8 comments
Scooting in San Francisco: Looking for good dealers, sources for used scooters (other than craigslist), info on licensing/parking issues, and general advice on scooting in hilly SF.
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posted by nyterrant at 9:27 AM PST - 12 comments
I bought a house recently and my first utilities bill was $230 (!). Most of the cost was water, and the folks at city hall wondered if it was a toilet leak, but I haven't heard or seen evidence of this. Any ideas? Anyone had to inspect a house for leaks?
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posted by hall of robots at 8:53 AM PST - 9 comments
I wish to have metal bars, rods and plates cut, bent, welded, ground, and painted for a Burning-Man-esque outdoor shedlike functional art piece slash Christmas present. I have rough schematics but no skills. In your personal direct experience in the Southern California area, who and/or what company is best at this sort of one-off work for semi-knowledgeable artistic individuals?
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posted by felix at 8:46 AM PST - 5 comments
Should navigation (and sub-navigation) on web sites be alphabetized or structured in order of importance?
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posted by AmericnJewl at 8:29 AM PST - 6 comments
I have business in Toronto next week and I'd like to avoid staying in a big shiny Hya-Marri-Omni. A location within walking distance to 33 Villiers Street (M5A 1A9) is a definite plus but not necessary. Price range: ca. 200 USD per night.
posted by vetiver at 8:16 AM PST - 10 comments
P2PFilter:
Is there a way, using Limewire for preference, to see my friends shared music folder?
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posted by dash_slot- at 7:56 AM PST - 7 comments
Why do many Asian restaurants and markets have a number in their names, for example, Pho 24 or Bankok 54?
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posted by Morrigan at 6:39 AM PST - 36 comments
I'm looking for book titles that are phrased as questions.
Ex: Are you my mother?
posted by moooshy at 5:41 AM PST - 45 comments
I have three 160 gig hard drives full of Apple Lossless music that I've ripped from my CDs. I want to keep these drives backed up, obviously. Is the most cost effective route to just buy a 500 gig (or ideally, one TB) drive for this purpose? Are there enclosures that hold multiple hard drives that would be appropriate (and cost effective) for this use? With the deals out there, it seems cheaper to buy more 160s than a 500 gig. I'm on a Mac G5.
posted by thewiseacre at 5:34 AM PST - 15 comments
When I play movie files in Firefox --qt, Windows Media, whatever--it will often play for a minute or so just fine, and then suddenly the screen goes green, thought the audio will still continue to play. I have to reboot to solve it but it always crops up again eventually. Anyone know why this is and what I can do about it?
posted by zardoz at 4:05 AM PST - 7 comments
My significant other is a radiographer and she is looking for an anatomy book which she can read just in case she gets a MRI-postition where she works. If she gets it the position she needs to take a MRI-course and is therefore looking for a anatomy book which suits MRI.
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posted by Grums at 2:38 AM PST - 5 comments
October 27
COBRA/HIPAA: Help me understand how these health insurance laws might apply in several employer-leaving or life-changing events.
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posted by weston at 11:43 PM PST - 7 comments
Is there any disadvantage in terms of long-term retention of information when studying off of a computer display, as opposed to studying from notes on paper?
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posted by Brian James at 10:53 PM PST - 18 comments
How do you organise tax receipts, bills, credit card statements, bank statements and all your other paperwork at home?
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posted by madman at 10:47 PM PST - 23 comments
I plan to purchase a few domain names, and each domain would show a different web page when visited. How can I manage that without subscribing to a separate web hosting package for each domain?
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posted by arrowhead at 10:06 PM PST - 20 comments
Hi all,
I am looking for an website that will let me enter in Latitude and Longitude coordinates from various countries and plot them on a map interactively. Failing that, I'd like a map that I can print out and plot coordinates on with rough accuracy. Thanks!
posted by pantufla at 9:56 PM PST - 4 comments
I irrationally hate the term "officemate". Is there any good alternative? We share offices at work, so I do need a word for this. I've tried "roommate", but people assume you're talking about living arrangements.
posted by smackfu at 9:45 PM PST - 29 comments
Which
Dune novel or novels by Frank Herbert or his successors refers to mentats as cultivating "the naive mind"? The only place I can find it is in the Wikipedia article on mentats (endlessly cloned around the Web).
posted by rwhe at 9:39 PM PST - 8 comments
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): So my doctor thinks I have it, and I have several months until I get to see a specialist. What do I do now?
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posted by anonymoose at 9:07 PM PST - 33 comments
I'd like to back up my substantial DVD collection. What software or hardware would you recommend?
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posted by sequential at 9:00 PM PST - 12 comments
I love the music of the "freak folk" scene - Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective, Iron & Wine, Joanna Newsom, etc. What rap music would I like?
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posted by hifimofo at 7:59 PM PST - 36 comments
My apartment has had no heat (which is included) since the beginning of the month. Basically the landlord has had no furnace for about a year and has only this past month started installing everything. I'm not sure how to proceed with compensation.
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posted by Napierzaza at 7:39 PM PST - 21 comments
The girl I love is leaving our work team, and before she goes I want to buy her an engagement ring. I think she may be the one.
The trouble is that (a) I don't know what kind of rings she likes, (b) I don't know what size ring she wears, (c) I don't think she'll say 'yes', and (d) I love her more than she loves me. Quite possibly my love for her is unrequited.
We're both professionals in our 30s, we've had a couple dates, and she knows I care about her. She doesn't know how much though. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
posted by anonymous at 4:12 PM PST - 67 comments
Should I send my book proposal manuscript to a literary agent who is advertising for submissions on Craigslist?
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posted by anonymous at 4:04 PM PST - 7 comments
Referring to the recent Linux question; does anyone know what Linux I should install on my new *old* Dell X200, 30gig hd, 933cpu, and 376 MB Ram?
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posted by strangelove at 3:50 PM PST - 12 comments
I'm looking for a third-party general scanning app for a document-feed-capable Epson Perfection 1640SU on an XP Pro machine.
VueScan is a good example of what I'm talking about.
What have you used that you like?
posted by everichon at 3:39 PM PST - 1 comments
Simple question - how is the name "Rui" pronounced? The origin is Spanish, I believe.
posted by davebush at 3:25 PM PST - 16 comments
I'm looking for a movie title. It is subtitled and set in Italy post WWII. The premise is about a young pre-pubescent boy (he narrates the movie) and the trials he faces with living in a small, over-crowded apt. He is becoming more and more of a man throughout the movie. He can't escape relatives crowding the apt to facilitate this change/behavior. The opening scene is an explanation of the bizarre way he was conceived. Something about a tomato cart, his mother falling into it, and her not wearing underwear that day? The young man's name starts with an L. His name is the title of the movie. There is a scene where his mother has asked him to pick up liver from the butcher. Before delivering it to her for dinner preparations, he slices into it with a knife and uses it to mimic a woman's vagina.
I hope this is enough information. Thanks.
posted by wondergreen at 3:06 PM PST - 6 comments
Where can Adrian buy contemporary gypsy Jazz CDs in New York City? He's looking for CDs by Biréli Lagrène, Angelo Debarre and other modern guitar players who play in the style of Django Reinhardt.
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posted by jacobian at 2:06 PM PST - 5 comments
How do I extend the life of my new laptop battery? I'm not talking about per-charge capacity, but long-term reusability - maximizing the amount of time before this battery becomes a useless brick like the last one.
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posted by Caviar at 1:00 PM PST - 18 comments
It looks like we're going to need a new PC for the family business. Here's the catch: It absolutely has to be a major brand bought off the shelf from a major chain type retailer. It cannot be something we order online or over the phone, nor something that I or anyone else builds for us.
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posted by Clay201 at 12:01 PM PST - 17 comments
In an effort to segregate the 802.11g devices from the 802.11b devices on my wireless network, I've added an additional wireless router to the mix, set to accept only connections from b clients. However it's not working as well as I had hoped - dropped connections, rebuffering of streaming media, etc.
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posted by DandyRandy at 11:50 AM PST - 7 comments
I'm looking for a digital camera that doesn't require a driver or software. Just USB.
posted by madmath at 10:59 AM PST - 20 comments
Philoso-Filter: Any books out there that act like a GEB of philosophy/sociology/economics/justice?
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posted by BeerGrin at 10:55 AM PST - 9 comments
What's the easiest way to print
"this old book" from 1901? I'd like a paperback copy for myself, and if the process is cheap enough, I'd offer a few for sale through Amazon.
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posted by stbalbach at 10:18 AM PST - 11 comments
Are there any good open source media sharing/rating tools? This would be for the sort of thing where someone uploads WackyMovie.mov and registered users rate it. Then, the best movies bubble up to the top of their category, etc. (Plugins for WordPress also accepted...)
posted by paul_smatatoes at 10:14 AM PST - 3 comments
Digital Music Format Filter: I ripped my cds using itunes (AAC encoding). Then I got a new Palm (Zire 31) and want to play my music on it. Now what?
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posted by betterton at 9:28 AM PST - 8 comments
My company is replacing all employees mice with the wireless variety. My question is whether it is worth spending the extra money to buy the rechargable mice with the docks rather than the standard battery operated ones.
The mouse we are looking at for around $30/unit (Canadian) is
here (company logo removed). I don't know what brand that is, but it features 256 unique ids so we don't get interference within the office, requires no software to run and has a nice surface for use to put our logo on.
How long can I expect the batteries (2 AAA) to last an employee working an 8 hour day? I'm not crazy about having to change 70 batteries very often. Would rechargable batteries be an option here?
A rechargable mouse runs between $70 and $80 and I'd have to buy them retail. Do these mice also offer many unique IDs to avoid interference? Do they require extra software to run? What other issues should I be aware of?
The price difference is significant so I'm leary to recommend the rechargables.
posted by gfroese at 9:12 AM PST - 33 comments
MortgageFilter: I just purchased a unit in a 4-story, new construction, condo complex. My fiancee and I plan to be there between 3-5 years, so I'm interested in a 5/1, 7/1, or 10/1, just to be safe. 30-year fixed is okay too, but the chances of us staying there beyond 5 years is very unlikely.
[MI]
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posted by seinfeld at 8:11 AM PST - 9 comments
Hi,
I'm trying to identify a piece of classical music from the movie ' The Mirror Has Two Faces'
http://imdb.com/title/tt0117057/
During the first half of the movie, Jeff Bridges and Barbara Streisand attend a musical concert. Can someone help me identify the musical piece (and its composer) that is played during the performance?
Thanks!!
posted by sk381 at 7:02 AM PST - 4 comments
My wife has an old laptop that can just barely handle running Windows XP. I've spent the last year acclimatizing her to Firefox and Open Office, so I believe she would be willing to give Linux a whirl, assuming I could find a distro that was usable, attractive, and faster than XP on her laptop. So what should I try? Specs inside.
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posted by Plutor at 4:43 AM PST - 27 comments
I have two weeks annual leave coming up next week. So far the only plan I have is a trip to the dentist. I'm looking for some suggestions of things I can do.
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posted by cornflake at 4:29 AM PST - 15 comments
LatencyFilter: I'm making a multiplayer flash game, where players communicate with each other via a socket connection to a server. How fast can information be sent like this?
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posted by cheerleaders_to_your_funeral at 1:59 AM PST - 5 comments
I bought an old Palm m125 from ebay to use as an electric book reader, and instead of the magical world of convenience and less support of tree killing, the friggin' thing won't hotsync at all, and I'm instead in a world of futile frustration. Teach me how to be less of a retard with this gadget.
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posted by saysthis at 1:47 AM PST - 4 comments
I saw white Homeland Security cars during a walk through San Francisco tonight. They were marked, "Department of Protective Services," or something like that -- I'd never heard of the DPS. What is it, and why would they be cruising around a neighborhood?
posted by johngoren at 12:35 AM PST - 11 comments
October 26
General advice for college students trying to find their first apartment? My girlfriend and I are moving in together next year. She'll have graduated, I'll be a senior, we're in beautiful Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Oh, complicating matters, she's studying and working an hour away from the city, and I'm in Washington, DC. So theres' that.
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posted by electric_counterpoint at 11:05 PM PST - 14 comments
How do 'they' do this? Google the word "failure" and click "I'm feeling lucky.
posted by bobduckles at 9:37 PM PST - 19 comments
Can anyone help identify this song currently in heavy rotation on New Zealand radio stations (and possibly elsewhere)?
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posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:28 PM PST - 4 comments
Husband and I considering a move to Santa Barbara where he has a job offer in a high-tech company. Is this feasible from an economic standpoint?
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posted by TorontoSandy at 7:36 PM PST - 23 comments
My employer blocks access to webmail-based email like yahoo and gmail. Is it possible to get around this?
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posted by Haize at 6:53 PM PST - 25 comments
I need a decent portable, landline, telephone. I have two 900mhz phones. They're both terrible and full of static. We rarely go more than 100 feet or so from the base, don't need an answering machine or anything fancy. Needs to have caller ID. Do you love yours? Please tell me what it is.
posted by dpx.mfx at 6:33 PM PST - 20 comments
I'm having hit-or-miss connection trouble with a Russian topographic map website, which has ~ 4 MB JPEG maps online. It's been driving me nuts all summer. Here's the scoop...
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posted by zek at 6:26 PM PST - 5 comments
Is there anywhere a FAQ or tutorial to help newer people such as me with understanding short-hand terms such as "FARK", or what's the difference between "funny" and "teh funny"?
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posted by longsleeves at 5:58 PM PST - 19 comments
I just closed a fly into my freezer. If I find it and thaw it out, will it reanimate?
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:57 PM PST - 38 comments
Does anyone know the website (Flash I'm pretty sure) that allows you to take characters from the alphabet as well as punctuation and drag them onto a pasteboard and then rearrange them into figures. There's also a gallery of completed figures.
posted by jeremias at 5:09 PM PST - 8 comments
How do I download videos that are available as streams in real video? What if the stream is live? (Quick!)
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posted by metaculpa at 4:55 PM PST - 6 comments
Insurancefilter
What is the cheapest / most effective way to approach getting health / dental insurance on your own?
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posted by outsider at 4:38 PM PST - 13 comments
Where should I be looking to buy a lab coat for a costume? My girlfriend suggested looking in the yellow pages under "Uniforms" but those places seem to seem janitorial jumpsuits and such. Looking under "Medical Equipment" seems to be *actual* medical equipment, and there's no "Medical Apparrel" category. Costume shops either have nothing, or something that looks like it's made out of cardboard. So, where can I get a lab coat by Saturday?
posted by emptybowl at 3:39 PM PST - 17 comments
Anonymous web hosting: I left a cult which I was raised in about a year ago. I would like to set up a page with information as well as a forum for ex-members to locate each other and heal. I would like to do this anonymously because I have family, friends and coworkers who are still inside and I would like to keep my identity private.
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posted by anonymous at 3:21 PM PST - 10 comments
Help me organize my finances. While reading another thread I was struck by the number of people who balance their checkbooks on a frequent and regular basis (like every day), and it made me wonder what's involved. I am one of those paycheque-to-paycheque people (rather student loan-to-student loan) and although my bills are never unpaid, I'm falling behind in other things.
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posted by arcticwoman at 3:16 PM PST - 17 comments
I need to write something (in perl) to shorten the text of a link if it's a URL, but only a URL. I've played with a variety of regexps and banged my head against HTML::Parser, but I've gotten no love. Help!
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posted by Captain_Tenille at 3:01 PM PST - 25 comments
Where
the hell in Toronto can I get a wolf puppet? I thought it would be easy to find one, but no luck so far. I'd prefer that it cost $10 or less. I need it to complete my Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume. (If I had a date, I'd make him dress up as the wolf, but as I'm going stag, I'll have to settle for a hand puppet. Yes, I get the symbolism.)
posted by orange swan at 2:41 PM PST - 7 comments
File transfer question: How do I access my static IP addressed Mac at work from home? I have a Mac OSX box at work that with a router attached to my DSL modem. I can port forward if necessary. Basically what I'm looking to do is to transfer files from the office to home without having to constantly upload them to my iPod. Any suggestions?
posted by CCK at 2:41 PM PST - 23 comments
ToothFilter: I just had 4 wisdom teeth removed today and I have few questtions.
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posted by AMWKE at 2:31 PM PST - 28 comments
HairFilter: After a year or more of growing my hair out for the nth time in my life, I have decided to shave/buzz cut it off, but I want to have some fun doing it! Specifically, I would like to integrate some crazy and/or interesting hair adventure into my Halloween costume. Suggestions, please, all you lovely Mefites!
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posted by DannyUKNYC at 2:22 PM PST - 22 comments
Please help me find a flight from Vancouver to Tokyo that's cheaper than Toronto to Tokyo...
I will be in Vancouver in early January for work and was all excited becuase I could save money by flying to Japan from Vancouver. It turns out that it's $300 cheaper for me to fly back to Toronto and then turn around and board a flight for Tokyo.
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posted by dripdripdrop at 2:03 PM PST - 12 comments
Multiple Choice Surveys: I'd like to create a multiple choice test, give people the link, and get the results. Is there an online service that would allow me to design a multiple choice questionnaire, and store answers to it?
posted by sirion at 1:49 PM PST - 9 comments
I'm looking to attract new advertisers for my website but don't have the time to "pound the pavement" searching for them. Does anybody know of any websites that have businesses who are looking to advertise?
posted by bamassippi at 1:46 PM PST - 4 comments
Are all P2P file sharting networks evil and infect your computer with wiruses and spyware?
Also, does anyone know how to copy DVDs (that I have legally purchased and copy them to my video iPod?
posted by danielpcummings at 1:04 PM PST - 8 comments
I have been diagnosed with
Epididymitis [small illustrations, faintly NSFW] which is a swelling of the epididymis above the testicle. I have been given antibiotics and the pain has disappeared but the inflammation continues. I have made a follow up with my urologist but in the meantime I'm curious if anyone else has had experience with this. (I know, I know my MWV.)
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posted by captainscared at 12:55 PM PST - 12 comments
I need to setup a conference call for one of my freelance projects. Can you help recommend a conference call service that's affordable and reliable, and has record/playback features?
posted by Dukebloo at 11:04 AM PST - 6 comments
I'm trying to make a mask of a famous person's face for Halloween, and my artistic skills are sorely lacking.
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posted by elquien at 10:30 AM PST - 6 comments
Recirculating Sand Filter septic systems or other alternatives? Anybody here have one or know anything about them?
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posted by bondcliff at 10:17 AM PST - 1 comments
What's a good solution to wirelessly play MP3s on my stereo though my mix-and-match collection of technology?
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posted by jeff-o-matic at 10:07 AM PST - 21 comments
PHP comment script -- any recommendations? I want users to be able to add comments to the bottom of an existing static HTML, non-blog page. I'd also like something that won't let the comments get loaded with gambling and Viagra spam.
posted by shannymara at 9:58 AM PST - 8 comments
Flickr. Easy to upload to. Easy to publish. Easy to share. Finding it not so easy to download from. What tools if any exist so that I can do a batch download or otherwise automated capture of my photostream?
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posted by cavalier at 9:46 AM PST - 7 comments
Portions of my Dell laptop keyboard keep going in and out. Sometimes, one group of keys won't work (5, 6, -, del, and ins, among a couple others). Now, it's tab, tilde, 1, q, a, and Z. The problem only appears when restarting the laptop, never during use. Any suggestions?
posted by UKnowForKids at 9:08 AM PST - 9 comments
Hi all. Does anyone know of a good place to buy furniture kits? What I mean is unassembled, unfinished furniture, preferably shipped to your door. In particular I am looking for a "breakfast bar" or "kitchen island." Is there a store like this?
posted by bradn at 8:56 AM PST - 10 comments
Aaauuuuuugh! Help me save year's worth of archiving work and my large music collection which I love too dearly to lose!--"The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error."
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posted by sourwookie at 8:45 AM PST - 11 comments
TravelReadingFilter: My wife and I will be crossing the Atlantic next week. I need some reading material for the six hour (plus) flight, so I'm turning to the AskMeFi collective. Recommend away.
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posted by grabbingsand at 6:46 AM PST - 31 comments
My colleague hurt her foot surfing, when it didn't stop hurting after a few weeks she saw a doctor who told her to rest it for a few weeks. When it continued to swell and become more uncomfortable after a few weeks she went to the hospital and was told she had an avulsion fracture (near the ball of her left foot) but that it was now too late to do anything to treat it and that she would just have to take pain killers in future and wait till it eventually got better. It doesn't appear to be getting better. She is being reticent about seeking a further opinion. Anyway, the questions: 1) Are there any likely treatments that the hospital should be considering. 2) Bearing in mind THIS IS THE UK should she consider any legal action and what form might this take? Any other advice?
posted by biffa at 6:20 AM PST - 6 comments
My Dad got spanked by Wilma pretty hard. I rounded up some supplies and want to send them to him. Do any of the major shippers offer help/discounts for p2p hurricane aid?
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posted by neilkod at 6:04 AM PST - 3 comments
What are some rock albums/songs that introduced ground-breaking production/engineering techniques (along the lines of The Beatles' song Tomorrow Never Knows or Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon)?
posted by punkfloyd at 5:33 AM PST - 45 comments
Why do inkjet printer cartridges cost so much? What is the typical mark-up on them?
posted by TheManticore at 5:11 AM PST - 30 comments
I'm told that my weblog's atom feed is broken: according to feedvalidator.org this is because 'my feed appears to be encoded as "utf-8", but my server is reporting "US-ASCII". Is it advisable that I should persuade my server to report an 'utf-8', ecoding, and, if so, how?
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posted by misteraitch at 1:58 AM PST - 9 comments
I am looking for the origin of the lyrics to the lullaby generally known as "Hush Little Baby".
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posted by page404 at 1:37 AM PST - 11 comments
I have an exam coming up (in a matter of hours, in fact) in French. I'm in highschool and plan on continuing French well into university. Where can I find literate and well-spoken French-speakers that I can talk to? Failing that, where can I find interactive resources/web-quizzes to test my knowledge of French grammar?
posted by PuGZ at 1:13 AM PST - 9 comments
I'm a lawyer who can't understand why some lawyers insist on laying claim to having a doctorate. They don't, of course. Why this insecurity?
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posted by LGCNo6 at 1:01 AM PST - 41 comments
October 25
Apparent proxy server problem with Internet Explorer on Win XP. I get "Cannot find server or DNS Error" messages on an irregular basis when accessing sites which require use of the proxy server.
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posted by shoos at 8:52 PM PST - 9 comments
I guess this is something of a follow-up to my last question:
I haven't had a cigarette in about 7 days. Nor have I ingested nicotine from any other source.
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posted by Jon-o at 8:39 PM PST - 21 comments
I’m looking for help establishing a college fund for the children of a murder victim.
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posted by Doug at 8:35 PM PST - 4 comments
Home Studio Recording - My friend is looking into building a home studio and basing it around the ProTools LE Digi002 control surface. Should he go PC or Mac?
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posted by monsta coty scott at 8:22 PM PST - 13 comments
I want to take a camcorder that writes to an SD card on a trip where I won't have computer access. What small, light, and cheap portable-hard-drive type device will allow me to download images from the card so that I don't have to buy lots of expensive SD cards? The camcorder is a Sanyo xacti C5 and includes a docking station with USB port.
posted by pessoa at 7:32 PM PST - 5 comments
How do I set up VLC to become the default player in OS X Tiger? I've tried right clicking a file and selecting "VLC" then clicking "always use this program", but it seems to only make that association for the particular file, not for all of that type (.avi and .wmv, in this case). I know how to do this in Windows, but it seems to be trickier on a Mac. Or maybe I'm just stupid.
posted by rossination at 7:27 PM PST - 4 comments
I am interested in teaching personal financial literacy (insurance, savings, credit cards, FICO scores) through games. I heard about
this from Well's Fargo, but I was hoping for something more compelling. Does anyone know of any good financial literacy games out there? Does anyone have any good ideas for one?
posted by blahblahblah at 7:15 PM PST - 6 comments
HalloweenCostumeFilter: Where can I find a shiny silver bathrobe, big fuzzy slippers and a toy raygun for cheap in LA or San Diego? Bonus points for finding all 3 in one place.
posted by speicus at 6:48 PM PST - 9 comments
Amtrak question: I'm going to be travelling from NYC to Richmond (and back) on the Palmetto line and need to know if there are any outlets in the coach class seats.
posted by parttimesaint at 6:30 PM PST - 12 comments
Say you want to create a site based around your family tree. Members may want to log in to upload pictures, view tree structure, etc.
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posted by parma at 5:52 PM PST - 7 comments
So there's a grand jury that the special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has empaneled. 23 members, residents of Wahington D.C. Some questions.
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posted by Gyan at 5:20 PM PST - 10 comments
I need a 6V positive-tip power adapter for a USB hub. I have a bag full of old adapters of varying voltages. I know the 6V means that it should not exceed the 6 volts, but can I use a lesser-volt adapter?
posted by Edward King at 4:52 PM PST - 8 comments
Sound card shuts down when I load Outlook Express. This is a recent problem, possibly brought on by installing the newest version of SpyBot S&D (with Tea Timer)
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posted by RMALCOLM at 4:52 PM PST - 3 comments
What are your favorite recordings (pop, rock, country, folk, blues, jazz, other) with just voice and piano?
posted by Bearman at 3:04 PM PST - 63 comments
My sister-in-law loves Motown and my wife and I would like to get her an anthology of the big hits, hopefully not more than three disks (because we can't spend big bucks this Xmas). Motown reissues being a notoriously tricky subject, can anybody recommend one with good sound and good value?
posted by languagehat at 3:02 PM PST - 11 comments
Today, in my graduate linguistics class, we studied Gerard Manley Hopkins' "sprung rhythm." It seems an interesting experiment, but I'm now curious: do any metafilter literary types know if a poet (or poets) since Hopkins has used sprung rhythm in poetry?
posted by rockstar at 2:40 PM PST - 9 comments
What are those black strips that stretch across the road and into a small gray box on the side of the road (and generally chained to a pole)?
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posted by JPigford at 2:40 PM PST - 16 comments
What is the kind of jazz in Woody Allen movies ? I see Allen often plays with the Preservation Hall Band and I'd like to know what kind of jazz do they play in his movies, for instance in Sleeper. Are there bands specialized in that kind of jazz ?
posted by elpapacito at 2:38 PM PST - 17 comments
Many libraries offer access to resources that charge hefty fees (e.g., Nexis, Dialog, Oxford U. Press titles).
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posted by KRS at 2:34 PM PST - 13 comments
Last week my wife put one of those toilet cleaning puck things - 2 discs, one blue and one white (a type of chlorine bleach, I think) in the toilet tank. Apparently one of us or our houseguest left the toilet open and one of our two cats - the stupid one - drank a quantity of the water, even though he had a big bowl of fresh water by his food (yes, we're now being very careful to leave it closed). My questions: 1) did he drink it because it tasted good, the way some animals will eat antifreeze, and 2) is he gonna be OK? He's acting a little odd - staring at his own shadow and attacking invisible things, growling at nothing, but then again he's kind of brain-damaged anyway (flea anemia as a feral kitten). He's 9 yrs old and otherwise in good health.
posted by luriete at 2:21 PM PST - 15 comments
Plantfilter: Unknown (and potentially non-native) bloom found in southwest washington. Image inside. What is it?
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posted by SpecialK at 1:31 PM PST - 5 comments
You are imprisoned in a science lab. Can you create a healthy diet solely from elements? In other words, what is the smallest set of molecules a healthy human requires in food? Boredom is not a factor.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 1:06 PM PST - 25 comments
What is your preferred methodology for syncing your ipod between an imac and an ibook so that you don't get duplicate songs/podcasts on your ipod?
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posted by mecran01 at 12:51 PM PST - 11 comments
Keeping feet warm at night during the winter: any recommendations for comfy, super warm socks that don't restrict blood flow while you sleep? Bonus points if they have a separation between the toe and the rest of the little piggies
posted by buddha9090 at 12:46 PM PST - 19 comments
I need some help finding online images of newspapers written in German from the 1800 or early 1900s.
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posted by rokabiri at 12:15 PM PST - 2 comments
Without using any plug-ins or extensions, how can I always force a link to open in IE, regardless of the client browser?
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posted by RKB at 12:13 PM PST - 9 comments
Purely for the sake of argument: exactly why, in terms of legality, practicality, and health, should I not kill and eat animals I find in the city?
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posted by squidlarkin at 11:51 AM PST - 25 comments
IPfilter:Does anyone know of a good FREE program to manage your ip address with? As in which ones are marked available or used. Something like Enterprise IP -address manager http://www.enterpriseip.net/ but free and for Windows.
posted by flipmiester99 at 11:38 AM PST - 10 comments
Help me to deflect criticisms of my dishwasher usage. What sorts of dishes is it safe to wash in the dishwasher, and which ones are bad?
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posted by ChrisR at 10:32 AM PST - 24 comments
I need a way to transfer a ton of old email from an old IMAP account to a new one. Dragging and dropping in both Thunderbird and Apple Mail keeps messing up. Can anyone suggest a tool that's designed for this purpose, or a more efficient method?
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posted by cillit bang at 10:30 AM PST - 3 comments
How do electricians (or anybody) wind up long extension cables? Is there an efficient method that unwinds without tangling? I currently wrap from thumb to elbow on my arm.
posted by gcumming at 9:20 AM PST - 25 comments
Did the movie NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (discussed
here) originate the device of having HATE tattooed on one hand, with LOVE tattooed on the other?
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posted by eschatfische at 8:51 AM PST - 8 comments
My company is thinking about setting up a blog for IT analysts to contribute ideas and talk about our products. Does anyone know good places to find best practices for doing this? Anyone know of good example sites?
posted by xammerboy at 6:28 AM PST - 7 comments
What are these weird marks on my shoulders? I started a new weight training program yesterday, and now there are red streaks on my shoulders!
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posted by catfood at 6:18 AM PST - 22 comments
Perfect Keylogger - I have some reason to believe that this product, made by Blazing Tools, has been installed on one of my computers.
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posted by megatherium at 4:18 AM PST - 10 comments
I'd like to better understand/appreciate orchestras and orchestral music. What resources would you recommend?
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posted by d-no at 3:08 AM PST - 11 comments
What is the origin (i.e. first instance and first proponents) of the 'Banana Skin' joke, the use of rubber chickens in Comedy and the act of throwing a custard pie in someone's face? I have been searching the web no no avail!
posted by sam and rufus at 2:27 AM PST - 9 comments
I'm looking for the best Windows flashcard program, particularly for vocabulary drilling. It needs to be Unicode compatible. I'm in Nepal at the dead end of the Internet, so I can't download a variety of programs and try them out.
posted by AArtaud at 2:09 AM PST - 2 comments
Trying to find an old childrens' book involving a princess who finds a baby dragon.
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posted by Windigo at 12:44 AM PST - 3 comments
Tonsillitis - I'd like some advice from anyone who has had tonsillitis as an adult - how was it treated, antibiotics or the knife?
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posted by Catch at 12:17 AM PST - 20 comments
October 24
I'm trying to locate a movie I saw when I was a wee lad. It involved an unborn child (I believe) coming to Earth (I believe) in a blue barrel (I'm positive) and being raised by human parents. I thought it was D.A.R.Y.L., but I was wrong. Any thoughts?
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posted by hoborg at 10:19 PM PST - 9 comments
Microsoft word help! Midterm paper due in the morning and I can't figure out the teacher's grammar check requirements!
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posted by sarahmelah at 8:57 PM PST - 14 comments
Ladies A number of years ago I saw an inventor on a daytime talk/variety show talking about this little thing she had invented to prevent ...umm... frontal wedgies. She said it would be marketed through gynecologists offices. I have looked and looked since then and found nothing, nor anyone who's heard of it. Help me find it and/or advice on preventing frontal wedgies.
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posted by duck at 7:44 PM PST - 16 comments
Can someone recommend a simple method or app for making monthly local archives of web-based blogs? In my case, the site is blogger, the save location is on a Mac.
posted by saketini99 at 7:09 PM PST - 10 comments
There’s a long tradition of telling a story, say, around a campfire, or to a group of friends in a bar, and based on the feedback you get, changing the story to suit or entertain your audience.
Today, the web gives everyone the ability to tell a story and receive feedback from a much wider audience than was previously possible. Two examples I can think of are the blogging phenomenon and Shelley Jackson’s hypertext writings.
I’m looking for traditional/historical examples and sources as well as
as well as online equivalents?
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 6:28 PM PST - 9 comments
Selfish penguin theory: I just saw March of the Penguins and observed the chick-stealing behavior. How is this at all adaptive?
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posted by nev at 5:54 PM PST - 13 comments
I need to register Outlook Express as the default MAPI client so that when I right click a file and select "Send To: Mail Recipient" Outlook Express (not Outlook) opens and automatically attaches the file. How do I do it?
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posted by slookdog at 5:20 PM PST - 6 comments
I went to a first meeting of a book club tonight, and it was an utter failure. We need, at the very least, a great book with broad appeal to discuss at our next meeting.
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posted by divka at 5:05 PM PST - 31 comments
Weird Situation: Strange spamming technique, a case of mistaken identity, or something else entirely? You tell me.
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posted by geeky at 4:40 PM PST - 9 comments
What do you call a person who makes chandeliers? A chandelierlier?
posted by ijoshua at 4:36 PM PST - 14 comments
I would like to start a Comic Book Encyclopedia (Which I am calling, for lack of a better name, "Heropedia"), using mediawiki as the engine. I've been a comics fan forever, and a contributor to wikipedia. It's a great project, and I dig it a lot. However, I think branching off into a seperate project would be good for a subject with as much ephemeral information as comic books. My question is, can I use the infromation in Wikipedia pertaining to comic books, as long as the text of my site is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License?
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posted by zerolives at 4:18 PM PST - 4 comments
EnglishIsAStupidLanguageFilter: Person 1: "Thanks for all your help." Person 2: "That's OK - it was
the least I could do."
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posted by Chunder at 1:40 PM PST - 42 comments
Is it possible to run a (Dell) Windows laptop with the lid closed? I just need it to serve network connections (IIS, RDC).
posted by mkultra at 1:10 PM PST - 12 comments
MotherboardFilter: Looking for anecdotal experience on an inexpensive replacement for my motherboard that has a PCIx for a new video card.
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posted by thanotopsis at 12:43 PM PST - 7 comments
Why do American hospitals always have religious associations in their names, and does this distinction actually mean anything anymore?
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posted by afroblanca at 12:40 PM PST - 27 comments
Do those of us who started learning our second language after high school have any hope of becoming interpreters?
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posted by dead_ at 11:58 AM PST - 10 comments
I have a silver coin. I would like to sell it. Where would I do so, and what should I be aware of?
posted by solistrato at 11:43 AM PST - 6 comments
Moving to Toronto-filter. I'm trying to decide between Midtown, Yonge and Eglinton, Yonge and St. Clair; or something more in the West end, like Queen and Dufferin, King and Dufferin, etc. If any Mefites live in the area, what are your experiences? How livable is the West end, really?
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posted by generichuman at 10:59 AM PST - 27 comments
I love the dashboard program available on macs. is there an equivalent for pc's?
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posted by dawdle at 10:33 AM PST - 8 comments
I am getting ready to fly out to be in my sister's wedding. How should I pack the bridesmaid dress so as to best prevent wrinkles and so on?
posted by jenfu at 10:15 AM PST - 9 comments
Has anyone had experience coming off of ADD/ADHD medications? How did you cope with the return of all the negative ADD/ADHD symptoms, and the nagging feeling that you were a better person on the meds?
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posted by schroedinger at 10:09 AM PST - 14 comments
I have reason to believe I may have a half-sibling from Frankfurt Germany or surrounds. How do I find out for sure?
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posted by onhazier at 9:58 AM PST - 2 comments
What can/will my newly-pregnant, incredibly-picky, wife eat? (there are complications to this question)
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posted by Kickstart70 at 9:31 AM PST - 37 comments
Any good online references for finding an auto repair shop? Reports, reviews, horror stories?
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posted by intermod at 9:25 AM PST - 9 comments
So, say you have a lot, maybe 100, MS Word and Excel documents that are part of a manual which needs to be updated on a quasi-regular basis.
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posted by Medieval Maven at 9:24 AM PST - 12 comments
Windows XP has stopped recognizing the special nature of my Start Menu's Programs directory. As a result, when I hover over the "all programs" link in my Start Menu, nothing's there.
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posted by xyzzy at 9:17 AM PST - 14 comments
PartyFilter:
My roommate has requested that for her birthday upcoming, this spring (Yes, we plan ahead), that we throw a Lost Party. As in "Purchase the first and/or second season of, and theme the party accordingly." - I need help! The rest, inside.
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posted by FritoKAL at 9:11 AM PST - 14 comments
I have decided to throw an apple tasting party (10 guests) this weekend using 10 – 12 different types of orchard apples sold at a local grocery store. What other foods should I have available for my guests?
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posted by KathyK at 7:51 AM PST - 27 comments
Needed: New York City -to- New Jersey mover, plus someone who buys and removes whatever is left in an apartment.
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posted by beagle at 7:20 AM PST - 2 comments
HalloweenCostumeFilter: I know that people have come here looking for ideas before, but I have specific criteria for a costume. Help me enjoy a Halloween party, for once
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posted by TurkishGolds at 7:12 AM PST - 21 comments
Where to find (and listen to before purchasing) popular songs redone on violins?
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posted by saucy at 7:11 AM PST - 10 comments
Dear ID Checkers: How can you tell when someone borrows a license from a brother or friend who looks similar? What do you do when you suspect the person in the ID is not the person in front of you? This is just to satisfy my curiousity of course.
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posted by lpctstr; at 7:03 AM PST - 29 comments
Roleplayer seeking a old school pen and paper Group with which to quest for adventure on a semi regular basis. I am looking for some resources to meet fellow roleplayers in my area.
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posted by JonnyRotten at 6:31 AM PST - 8 comments
Why does the formation of soap bubbles in my dishwater depend on turbulent flow in the water coming out of the tap?
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posted by paul! at 4:35 AM PST - 16 comments
Early nineties, blue lights on a traffic light below the standard green one. Am I crazy? What were they for?
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posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 1:29 AM PST - 9 comments
October 23
NYC Football Filter - Can anyone explain the reason that TV stations block all other NFL games while the Giants and Jets play? More You Know Where
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posted by provocateur at 11:22 PM PST - 8 comments
OS X desktop icons: how can I shift the grid so that my hard drive icon doesn't sit half under my right-side-pinned dock?
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posted by Popular Ethics at 8:47 PM PST - 12 comments
This may show the limits of analog to digital music conversion completeness over the years ( all you ipod kids ). I have long had a need to re-hear Craig Ferguson as his old alter ego....
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posted by stuartmm at 8:04 PM PST - 3 comments
I've been listening to an audiobook of
Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, and the descriptions of being a riverboat pilot got me to wondering: has anybody ever released a riverboat/steamship simulator video game?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:41 PM PST - 15 comments
I walk 3/4 of a mile to and from work every day, and my Bostonian Strada dress shoes are not up to snuff. Can anyone recommend a classically-styled dress shoe that is comfortable to walk in?
posted by kaufmajm at 5:46 PM PST - 29 comments
ChicagoFilter: Chicagoans, do you have any recommendations for local carpet cleaning services? We live in a one bedroom apartment where the living room and bedroom have wall-to-wall carpeting and it could use a bit of refreshing.
Thanks!
posted by cajo at 4:55 PM PST - 3 comments
Why does iTunes think that some of my single-artist CDs are compilations, and how do I tell it otherwise?
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posted by goatdog at 4:46 PM PST - 5 comments
Merkur Safety Razors (for Shaving): Pros and cons? For sensitive skin? Anything I should know?
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posted by sdis at 4:31 PM PST - 19 comments
I love using pencils. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a slim, durable case to store them in, without having their sharp points either poke through or break off completely. Can anyone help me a find a good quality pencil case? I've already gone through dozens of the cheap, zippered plastic kind, only to have my pencils puncture through them, and leave a mess of gray scribbles. I'm a student, and currently use a medium-sized leather tote bag to carry my stuff around, so something that's not too big and clunky is preferable. Thanks to everyone in advance!
posted by invisible ink at 4:07 PM PST - 16 comments
We have a small but persistent problem with flies in our house. Every other day we'll see one, maybe two. We can't figure it out! The house is kept very clean, there are no obscene smells such that would indicate a dead animal or something, there's no food left out. The flies are primarily in the kitchen. Any idea on a source or a solution?
posted by xmutex at 3:58 PM PST - 13 comments
After sitting un-started for about two weeks, my car won't start. What should I do before fleeing to the AAA?
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posted by alan at 3:00 PM PST - 44 comments
What is the ideal word in the English language that means
torn between two equally wonderful/terrible things? A friend of mine suggested yesterday this word was ambivalence, but I am not satisfied with that.
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posted by Happydaz at 2:50 PM PST - 58 comments
Name that plant: I bought a tropical houseplant at a local hardware superstore and would like to know what it is.
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posted by cardboard at 2:02 PM PST - 7 comments
Taming an uneven refrigerator? You know how one can increase the performance of an oven by leaving a pizza stone in it? I'm wondering if the same can be done with a fridge.
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posted by stet at 1:23 PM PST - 19 comments
I have a badly fragmented drive that, even after repeated defrag runs with Diskeeper, remains heavily fragmented. I think as a consequence some of my directories have become inaccessible because when I try to access them i get an "I/O device error." Does this mean I have bad sectors (and if so, what do I do)? Is the data in those directories lost for good? Should I try and copy what I can and dump the drive?
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posted by JohannStrauss at 12:32 PM PST - 11 comments
Who makes comfortable, cushiony, resoleable men's dress shoes? I'm okay with Rockport for comfort, but their shoes apparently are no longer resoleable, and I wear out soles long before the uppers. Surely someone makes a comfortable shoe you can resole?
posted by Jackson at 12:08 PM PST - 5 comments
DVD Player dying?
My Panasonic DVD-RV60 player ("chipped" or region-free) has lately developed an intermittent problem playing DVDs. Often, when I insert a disc, I get either a "No Disc" or "No Play" message. Ejecting and slightly turning the disc (sometimes
many times,) will eventually result in the disc playing. CDs, on the either hand are read flawlessly. Once a disc starts playing, no problem. Is my player dying? I've tried cleaning the lens using a cleaning disc, but that hasn't helped.
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posted by Expat at 12:06 PM PST - 9 comments
If I liked
Dune and
The Left Hand of Darkness what other books would I like reading?
posted by lunkfish at 11:40 AM PST - 35 comments
I hate Quicktime. Any time I turn on my laptop, my desktop, my computer at work - it pops up down on my system tray. How do I stop it from doing that?
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posted by Ber at 11:35 AM PST - 20 comments
AmmoFilter: My wife found a box of old remington .38 ammunition while going through some boxes. They are at least 25 years old, given to her by a boyfriend when she moved out west a quarter of a century ago. She and I do not have any guns. How should we properly dispose of this ammunition?
posted by barrista at 10:45 AM PST - 9 comments
What's that ancient Greek quote that goes something like,
Give me a city/village and I can turn it into a great nation?
posted by stopgap at 10:35 AM PST - 7 comments
What is the evolutionary advantage of shyness, particularly in early girls' adolescence?
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posted by ykjay at 8:53 AM PST - 32 comments
So I'm looking for a new printer, the old one is going to a good home. I'm not sure where to start looking for a new one but I have a few criteria: Laser, two-sided printing, and I'd like color.
It's been so long since I got a printer (or any hardware) that I'm not sure where to go looking for reviews and suggestions. Anyone out there able to suggest a good printer that matches the above requirements, or have an idea where to start looking? I've had a lot of good experience with HP's, but I'm willing to look at other brands, I'm mostly interested in quality. My last printer lasted me 7-8 years, and I'd like something that could do that again.
Oh, and if its an addon to get the two-sided printing, that's OK.
posted by Ikazuchi at 7:40 AM PST - 15 comments
I own a IBM Thinkpad 600X. Would anyone know whether a D-Link 32 bit Ethernet Bus Card would be compatible with this laptop? Thanks.
posted by Mckoan1 at 4:44 AM PST - 7 comments
What would it take to start
(in terms of licensing and registering) a "competitor"
(in a very vague and loose sense of the word) to E*Trade?
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posted by Alt F4 at 4:37 AM PST - 8 comments
There a stupid bug in Win XP, which means that it forgets how you have a folder formatted to look. Apparently it can only remember 50 or so folders, so if you change 51 folders, the first folder you changed gets reset. And so on. Anyone know a way around this, as it's driving me mad..
posted by ascullion at 3:46 AM PST - 9 comments
ok heres a toughie, im 24, when i was really younger say around 10 i had this childrens book, i vaguely remember anything about it ...
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posted by airnxtz at 12:11 AM PST - 5 comments
October 22
A friend gave me a Target gift card. I don't want anything from Target. How can I get cash for the card?
posted by anonymous at 11:04 PM PST - 32 comments
DietFilter: Weight Watchers - cult or miracle solution? Has anyone used Weight Watchers? Successfully? Unsuccessfully? Online or with meetings?
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posted by anonymous at 11:04 PM PST - 32 comments
When the weather starts to get cold, I get cold sores on my lips. Have since I was little. Obviously, I don't like this much. I have some ointment/gel that gets rid of them fairly quickly (much quicker than if I let them run their course normally, I mean), but I was wondering if there is anything I can do that might prevent them in the future.
posted by synecdoche at 10:44 PM PST - 19 comments
I want to burn a CD of MP3s that maintains an order other than alphabetized. How can I do that without prepending 01, 02, 03, ... to the filenames? I only have Windows XP. Any freeware apps?
posted by mischief at 10:13 PM PST - 11 comments
IBM Thinkpad Brick: I've recently come into posession of an IBM 600E Thinkpad. As a Mac user, I don't plan for this to be my main machine. But it'd be great if I could use it to test web design work, and perhaps to tinker with Linux. The problem is, it won't turn on. What's the best way to have it looked at and perhaps repaired? I don't particularly want to go to the local CompUSA and would like a solid estimate before sinking any money into it.
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posted by aladfar at 6:37 PM PST - 10 comments
I've just been asked to deploy to New Orleans as a Red Cross volunteer (mi).
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posted by efalk at 4:59 PM PST - 9 comments
OK - I just bought an iMac to replace our dying Windows machine at home. I've successfully moved over almost everything - email (thanks to
emailchemy), bookmarks, contacts, calendar items, documents. But I'm stuck on one thing - how can I reproduce the groups of contacts from our old windows outlook express address in the OS X address book? I would rather not have to recreate them one address at a time if I can avoid it. Thanks!
posted by sfz at 4:22 PM PST - 12 comments
Anybody drink Lapsang Souchong tea? It's smoky and tasty. What brand should I buy if I want it to come in handy one-cup bags?
posted by selfnoise at 4:03 PM PST - 15 comments
I am looking for an equine dentist (a DVM) in upstate New York (near Binghamton) for some specialized dental work on my horse. The usual websearches haven't been successful in finding anyone. Any suggestions from mefi?
posted by bluesky43 at 2:22 PM PST - 4 comments
How do bic lighters maintain the same sized flame regardless of the amount of fluid left inside?
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posted by cyphill at 2:10 PM PST - 13 comments
Has anyone ever heard of an old sandwhich spread named Coogle? Circa 1970's and came in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, I believe.
posted by nocode at 2:04 PM PST - 12 comments
Best ideas for small business bookkeepingI run a home business where I usually have one part time employee, and sometimes a second. I need to do something better than I’m doing on bookkeeping. Quickbooks Pro seems a bit of overkill, in that I don’t do invoices, or many of the other things it purports to do. And I’ve never even used plain Quickbooks. I need some advice on the best, simplest bookkeeping system that would really do only a few things – (1) allow me to put in the rates, hours, etc. of my employees and translate this into my I.R.S. quarterly reports, etc., (2) Work with my business charge card account on line to categorize charges for Schedule C purposes, (3) Do the same with my business checking account. I have Mac OS X. I’d appreciate any thoughts on what program or online service I should use to get this done. Thanks
posted by rabbus at 1:48 PM PST - 5 comments
Given an integer like this: 2916352
I'm told this is a 32 bit integer, where the "upper word" represents the whole number part of a value, and the "lower word" represents the decimal part.
What is the mathematical formula to extract these words?
posted by 31d1 at 10:55 AM PST - 26 comments
my mom is looking for a new cell phone, need some suggestions and deal advice... details follow.
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posted by hummercash at 10:48 AM PST - 7 comments
CAPSLOCKFILTER: OK - I have to ask: what's up with the International Caps Lock Day post over on blue, and the >350 comments? Someone please explain!
posted by russmail at 10:37 AM PST - 26 comments
Is there a product that will not mark clothing or upholstery but will repel domestic rabbits? How effective is it? We want a new sofa, but we want it because our pet rabbit has trashed our old one.
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posted by Mayor Curley at 9:59 AM PST - 6 comments
When did the European explorers of the Americas figure out that they were not in the Orient but reather in two "new" continents? And, at this point, why did they not stop referring to the indigenous peoples of these continents as Indians?
posted by soiled cowboy at 9:15 AM PST - 11 comments
I'm having cable installed today... should I tip the cable guy? If so, how much?
posted by mandlebrotz at 8:43 AM PST - 25 comments
What are the little things I should do to deepen relationships from the good acquaintance level to true friend level?
Why did your best friends become your best friends?
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posted by Sharcho at 8:33 AM PST - 12 comments
After a somewhat destructive relationship I've been single for over three years and despite a few flirtations have not had a date, girlfriend or anything else for quite some time.
I've ben chatting to a girl online on and off for a while, and she keeps making very clear suggestions that we should 'go out' or 'do something'. Sounds great. The problem is I'm not attracted to her at all.
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posted by anonymous at 1:14 AM PST - 19 comments
October 21
Pizza. What is it that distinguishes pizza sauce from any other pasta sauce? I notice that a
good pizza sauce seems to have an extra zing, an extra bite to it, and I've never been able to pin down what ingredient it is. I've used spaghetti sauce and homemade tomato-oregano concoctions on homemade pizzas and it never tastes right.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:32 PM PST - 35 comments
Is there a way to tell a Powerbook with airport to connect only to Access Points like Windows XP?
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posted by phyrewerx at 8:53 PM PST - 3 comments
I have a pesky server at the office that will restart every 12 hours or so. Even after my best efforts, I cannot figure out why this thing keeps restarting. I have a couple ideas and need to know if they will work.
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posted by meta87 at 8:12 PM PST - 17 comments
What does it mean to detonate a suspicious package
"as a precaution?" If for some reason the bomb threat is not a hoax, wouldn't the detonation set off the real bomb that's inside? Shouldn't they do this sort of thing, y'know, far away from the Capitol building?
posted by Saucy Intruder at 6:57 PM PST - 7 comments
So I downloaded Flock and became instantly indifferent, until I noticed it's near Opera-like rendering speed via the back-button. Sluggish back button (again, compared to Opera) action is my least favorite thing about Firefox. Given that Flock is based on Firefox, can I mimic Flock's speedy rendering on already visited pages in Firefox sans digging into code?
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posted by jikel_morten at 6:57 PM PST - 13 comments
Has anything changed for Palestinians after the Israeli withrawal from Gaza?
posted by Manouk at 5:59 PM PST - 5 comments
I start new projects as a way of avoiding finishing things I have already begun. Why do I sabotage myself so? How do I stop? If I have seven projects partially started, which one should a bite the bullet on and just get done?
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posted by anonymous at 2:34 PM PST - 13 comments
My sister is going to celebrate 1 year of (drug) sobriety next month. I have my father's 1 year (alcohol) sobriety coin from many years ago. Should I give it to her on her anniversary date?
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posted by anonymous at 2:34 PM PST - 16 comments
My mother uses Print Shop Deluxe 1.13 on her Umax SuperMac running System 8.5.1. When she gets her new 20" iMac, will the Print Shop Deluxe software work? Is there an emulator needed/available?
posted by Argyle at 2:02 PM PST - 6 comments
Can anyone indentify this
toy (or toy parts)? I found it in a box of matchbox style cars that I bought at a yardsale.
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posted by 445supermag at 1:41 PM PST - 2 comments
Is there a service that can make digital prints from processed APS film?
posted by plexi at 1:23 PM PST - 4 comments
We're looking for ways to beat the high cost of natural gas this year. Anybody have any experience with the
Sun Twin space heater? Additional advertising page
here . I've heard about this electric heater from a couple of sources, but can't find any independent verification that it lives up to the claims made in the advertising. Anybody know of this thing?
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:14 PM PST - 10 comments
Suddenly, "Sign out of Microsoft Passport network" has appeared in the file menu of all my Microsoft Office 2003 applications. At least, I don't remember it from before. When did it appear, and what put it there?
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posted by blue_wardrobe at 1:00 PM PST - 1 comments
Today I left my wallet at home when I headed into the city by train. The train conductor recognized me as a monthly pass holder and let me stay on the train. So then I was in the city with no money, cards, ID or subway pass. I had a cell phone, an iPod, a book, a notebook and pen, two magazines, makeup, a bottle of tea and gum. From the train station, I walked to school, where there is free internet. Apart from borrowing/begging, how could I have gotten money to get home?
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posted by xo at 12:51 PM PST - 37 comments
BirthdayFilter. Not mine, my dad's. He's going to be 80 next year and I'd like to do something special. He's always liked comics and has told me a lot about the comics he read growing up. What I'd like to do is get a collection of prints of comics that were printed on or around his birthday, October 16th 1926. I don't know how to do this though. There are also some serials such as Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers that I'd love to be able to find from the era when he was a kid. How do I go about this?
posted by substrate at 12:17 PM PST - 9 comments
Questions about making the switch to Mac: We have 200GB of files, mostly music and photos, on the harddrive of my PC (running windows XP SP2). I want to give my SO an iMac G5. (Shh! It's a secret.) Tell me what the easiest way is to move the pictures and music from one platform to the other.
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posted by anonymous at 11:34 AM PST - 20 comments
Why do digital SLRs have no shutter lag and digital P&Ss (even expensive ones) have a bad case of it? What's the technical reason I mean (I am not an engineer)? In fact, most people who still don't like digital mention shutter lag as a major problem of digital photography. Thanks.
posted by PenguinBukkake at 11:21 AM PST - 9 comments
Can anyone recommend a good open source or freeware auction listing tool for ebay (Windows)?
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posted by Otis at 10:29 AM PST - 5 comments
Some dear friends of mine have an 11 year old son with Asperger's Syndrome, and I'm concerned because they are doing little if anything to aid in his socialization, allowing him to spend practically all of his time watching tv and/or playing video games.
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posted by gallois at 9:39 AM PST - 23 comments
A few questions about printing digital photos in NYC, and tangentially, the legality thereof.
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posted by Vidiot at 9:03 AM PST - 19 comments
Can anyone recommend a good software package for a small IT/support department that handles project scheduling AND support requests?
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posted by anonymous at 8:30 AM PST - 8 comments
I have about a hundred MusicMatch downloads and now want to switch to an iPod. Is there any way I can play these with iTunes? My initial forays leave me pessimistic.
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posted by docpops at 8:28 AM PST - 8 comments
Does a company like
37Signals /
Basecamp have to charge its users for sales tax? Looking at
Basecamp, they charge different monthly rates for associated tiers of service. I would imagine they have customers from all over the States, as well as different countries. Are they required to apply sales tax to these monthly rates based on the customers geographic location. Or, because they are an e-commerce entity, and aren't really selling anything tangible, do they simply charge the flat rate and ignore sales tax?
More pointedly, I am wondering how complex tax collection / reporting is for a U.S. based e-commerce business of this sort.
posted by jasondigitized at 7:39 AM PST - 6 comments
What is the best way to develop a photographic memory?(pardon the pun)
posted by wisdom-seeker at 7:33 AM PST - 5 comments
I would love to get suggestions on how to replicate
The Question's facemask for a Halloween costume.
Rorschach suggestions are equally welcome. The cheaper, the better.
posted by COBRA! at 7:25 AM PST - 18 comments
Duct sealing to save on heating bills this winter? Has anyone done this, and did it help?
[more inside]
posted by Joleta at 6:40 AM PST - 14 comments
Looking for the band/composer that created the songs on an old cassette tape I have from the early 90's. Song titles include "
We can Rearrange the World" and "
Goddamn the Empty Sky", "
The Lament of the Corporate President's Wife" among others. The tape had only a hand-written label on it calling it "Maestro Mix", and probably was copied 1991-92.
[more inside]
posted by hincandenza at 4:16 AM PST - 8 comments
October 20
S and I (mid/early 30s, XX/XY) thinking of TRYING TO HAVE A BABY soon. What are your favorite books/resources for the "We think we're ready to start trying in 2 months" stage?
[more inside]
posted by prettyboyfloyd at 10:35 PM PST - 29 comments
Wi-Fi help? Failing that, Firefox help? Why is my wireless internet card having trouble connecting to the router?
[more inside]
posted by dial-tone at 10:24 PM PST - 5 comments
Automation filter: I need a piece of software that will scan a folder of office documents and email them.
[more inside]
posted by bigmusic at 8:25 PM PST - 11 comments
For the next 18 months I will be regularly traveling in the UK, Ireland and US (pleasure and business). What is the best strategy to optimize international compatibility and consolidate telephony, email and internet access into one (or the fewest) devices.
[more inside]
posted by rmhsinc at 6:36 PM PST - 3 comments
Does anyone know whether chronopay.com is legit? (Bonus question: how could I have checked up on them myself?)
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:02 PM PST - 4 comments
GmailFilter: I switched to Gmail over a year ago, and I think it's great. But one feature that Yahoo and Hotmail have I haven't been able to find on Gmail: when I write an email and want to send to multiple people, what's the best way to do this? With Hotmail, for example, the "To" is a hyperlink and brings up a small popup list of all your contacts--very simple and convenient. Does Gmail have a similar feature? I canna find it!
posted by zardoz at 5:56 PM PST - 6 comments
Killav-L: This virus has infected a not-so-web-savvy friend's computer (at least I'm pretty sure that's the one). It's knocked out his antivirus (Norton) as it's designed to and I just can't find much out there as far as a fix. Anyone have a good suggestion?
[more inside]
posted by moonbird at 5:35 PM PST - 4 comments
Does anyone remember a childrens book about a place where its dark all the time except for one day a year when the sun comes out? In the story the little gets locked in a closet by other kids on the one day of sun?
thanks!
posted by butterball at 5:30 PM PST - 21 comments
Covers with a Twist
I'm looking for a good list of
genre-defying cover takes of popular songs for a mix CD. What I have in mind is along the lines of:
Faith No More's cover of
Easy (Like Sunday Morning), Aztec Camera's cover of Van Halen's
Jump and Nina Gordon's covers of
Straight Outta Compton and
18 & Life [more inside]
posted by DeeJayK at 3:57 PM PST - 132 comments
I'm a consultant working for a company that has the option of hiring me soon. This would be a dream job were it not for one person...
[more inside]
posted by furtive at 3:47 PM PST - 10 comments
I have two well-trained, photogenic dogs. A photographer recently suggested to me that other professional photographers might like to use them as models. How do I go about finding people who are interested in hiring my dogs?
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 3:35 PM PST - 7 comments
When did the population of the US (or its preceding colonies) surpass that of the UK? Any links to this sort of historo-demographic information for the layman (ie, in easy to digest form)?
posted by dash_slot- at 3:04 PM PST - 7 comments
AskChicagoFilter: I want to buy a condo in Chicago. I want to be near a couple of specific things - what neighborhoods should I look at? Oh yeah, I'm not rich.
[more inside]
posted by twiggy at 2:59 PM PST - 9 comments
In Illinois, or nationwide, is there a policy or law that says that if you become uninsured, but resume health coverage within X number of days, you do not need to worry about pre-existing conditions?
[more inside]
posted by WCityMike at 1:31 PM PST - 8 comments
I've decided that I would like to learn German from my best friend, who is Austrian. We have no idea how to go about doing this. We're thinking that I need to learn basic grammar and syntax first, but I'm not terribly concerned with reading or writing German. I'd like to get some textbook and curriculum recommendations and hear from anyone who has taught their native language to a friend.
posted by lunalaguna at 1:26 PM PST - 10 comments
SeeAnMDFilter: I have the nagging dull ache in the lower right hand side of my back that tells me I'm possibly going to have another bout of Kidney Stones coming soon.
Other than drinking lots of water (which I do) and staying off the soda (which I do), is there anything I can do/eat to help prevent/postpone the inevitable agony? Or am I just doomed?
posted by anastasiav at 1:14 PM PST - 6 comments
How can I find out what bands are booked/playing on each of the specific late night shows (letterman, o'brian, etc.)?
[more inside]
posted by hubs at 10:48 AM PST - 4 comments
AskBostonFilter: I want to get a new suit, a shirt or two, and some ties. I want to spend anywhere between $500 and $1000 on this, and would much rather end up on the lower end of the spectrum. That said, I understand that this is an investment worth spending a little money on. If I were a rich man, I'd be getting measured for my bespoke, but as I'm not, where should I go?
[more inside]
posted by bobot at 10:43 AM PST - 27 comments
I am hoping to get out of Brooklyn at the end of this month and do nothing nearby in the Hudson River Valley. Does anyone have recommendation for a good place to stay that is close by the Hudson, not so far north that it is past peak, and that may have reservations.
[more inside]
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 9:12 AM PST - 7 comments
I have two light fixtures in the entryway of my house, near the dining room. There are three light switches in the immediate vicinity that will turn both fixtures on or off. I would like to split the switches somehow so that I can turn on a fixture by itself. The problem is two-fold: impress my wife with household prowess and not to shock myself.
[more inside]
posted by jmevius at 8:58 AM PST - 6 comments
CalendarProgramFilter: I need a calendar program for PC in which one can enter a bunch of calendars (say 50, for 50 people), and easily view various combinations of calendars, to see how various people's schedules interfere. (This could be done in iCal, though something that could show all of the overlaps more clearly would be better)
[more inside]
posted by anonymoose at 8:52 AM PST - 7 comments
The car rental company wants money and I don't want to pay. Does it get any simpler? Well, it gets more complicated - I've been told the country in question reimburses for pothole damage and I like the idea of them paying much more than me paying. But is it true?
[more inside]
posted by phearlez at 8:48 AM PST - 7 comments
Any other recommendations for desktop blogging/web content management software? So far I have Blogjet, Qumana, CityDesk, and Anconia.
posted by Voyageman at 8:31 AM PST - 8 comments
I have a very basic requirement that Apple Mail doesn't seem to easily fulfill. I need to immediately delete messages that are identified as junk from the server.
[more inside]
posted by mikel at 7:24 AM PST - 15 comments
Snowblower advice needed! I am looking to purchase a snowblower for the upcoming winter and know very little of the brands out there. I am looking at a Murray brand, 8hp machine for $997 (Canadian). Is that a good brand & price? I'm looking to spend up to $1200 before taxes so is there a better deal out there?
[more inside]
posted by Shfishp at 7:01 AM PST - 3 comments
What are your impressions of the various course management systems you've used? My college is having a look beyond Blackboard, especially after the
merger news.
[more inside]
posted by jwells at 5:42 AM PST - 23 comments
I want to purchase a quality stereo system. I have learned that just purchasing expensive stuff and setting it down in a room where the wife thinks it looks good does not work. How do I match a stereo system to the acoustics of a room and its furnishings? My wifes sense of style also gets in the way here. I do not care what it looks like as long as I get good sound. Are there any self compensating speaker systems out there? Can a system be retuned if the room furnishings are changed or if the room is remodeled? I am positive that my elderly ears have frequency recognition limitations. Any way of determining how much of a problem this can be? Are there ways of dealing/compensating for this?
posted by Raybun at 5:25 AM PST - 27 comments
Outlook 2002 VBA help needed. I want to right click a mail message in my Inbox, select Categories, and when I click ok to save the category, code will run to display 2 separate input boxes. The values entered in the input boxes will be added to the Billing Information and Mileage Fields.
[more inside]
posted by frogmoses at 5:15 AM PST - 0 comments
October 19
My 15-person department is getting its photo taken for a company newsletter (the company is an enormous multinational one with 120,000+ employees). We were told to wear "appropriate" clothing, and one co-worker was told specifically not to wear his white shirt that says ATHEIST across the front. He is, in fact, an atheist. Could he complain to HR?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous at 11:36 PM PST - 16 comments
My wife and I just purchased two boxes of Crest Whitestrips Classics. I want to know before we get too far into the two week process, if there's any potentially negative "side effects" to using teeth whitening strips. The box label says our teeth will be nice and white for 12 months! These strips aren't cheap either! Not to mention, I just discovered there are different strengths of the Whitestrips e.g."Premium, Professional, & Supreme!" Would a professional whitening treatment at our dentist's office be better as far as cost/safety,etc?
posted by thebarron at 10:57 PM PST - 24 comments
iPodFilter: When I try to update my iPod I get an an error message: "Can not read from or write on disk."
[more inside]
posted by Sara Anne at 10:01 PM PST - 14 comments
After months of looking I have finally found a 5 string banjo that sounded good enough I wouldn't mind learning on it but was still within my means. Now I just need help learning how to play.
[more inside]
posted by herting at 9:48 PM PST - 10 comments
I am considering purchasing an older 5-spd Honda Civic on order to save gas on my bi-weekly long commute.
[more inside]
posted by fshgrl at 8:42 PM PST - 19 comments
A new yoga center has opened up in my neighborhood called Dahn Yoga. I went in yesterday to check out the schedule and see what they had to offer. I left with a little bit of a Scientology, kind of creepy new-agey feeling. I've done yoga for years, love me some good Buddhism, etc, but if someone starts to talk to me about altering my brain and altering my chakras in more than a metaphorical way, I'm not thinking it's for me. Anyone had any experience with Dahn Yoga or "brain respiration"?
Here are the links I found:
*
Brain Respiration
*
Dahn Yoga
I'm hoping it's not creepy, because it's a nice space, and the location and schedule are convenient.
posted by abbyladybug at 7:45 PM PST - 10 comments
Does everyone who gets arrested have a mugshot taken of them, and must all mugshots be released to the public? Are there any restrictions on their use?
[more inside]
posted by thewittyname at 6:46 PM PST - 21 comments
wedding filter: Music. We have the key elements nailed, music for the ceremony and first dance, however...
[more inside]
posted by snsranch at 5:20 PM PST - 7 comments
Advice for a depressed teenager with completely unsympathetic and uncooperative parents?
[more inside]
posted by granted at 4:41 PM PST - 21 comments
It's my one year wedding anniversary and I’m struggling with what to get my wife. I know the traditional one year anniversary gift is paper, what are some creative interpretations of that?
posted by tichance at 4:33 PM PST - 21 comments
Suppose I were able to write a publishable novel. How much money would I get, as a first-time author as soon as it was picked up? How much would I make over all? Assume This an action sci-fi/cyberpunk type book (think William Gibson).
[more inside]
posted by delmoi at 4:06 PM PST - 25 comments
Too many pens, not enough pen caps. I gradually acquire disposable pens that are missing their caps. Is there something that can commonly be used as a cap for these de-crowned writing sticks? I've tried small balloons--too awkward. Corks? Does someone sell universal pen caps? Just one of life's small annoyances and I'm wondering if there is an elegant, material solution, short of tossing them.
posted by craniac at 3:49 PM PST - 14 comments
What's the best and most flexible type of savings/college fund account for a minor?
[more inside]
posted by lychee at 3:45 PM PST - 3 comments
I was curious about the 1997 Dutch film 'All Stars,' directed by Jean Van de Velde. Is there a way to tell if it's out on DVD, and anyway to get a version with English subtitles?
posted by jgballard at 3:34 PM PST - 3 comments
My boyfriend and I stayed with his friends near Aspen, Colo. What should we send them as a thank you gift? What interesting and useful thank you gifts have you received?
[more inside]
posted by Airhen at 3:04 PM PST - 11 comments
I have a problem that asks what is the smallest time interval that you can accurately measure with a shoelace that burns at a non-constant rate, matches and a pair of scissors. I think this is just one of a whole family of problems like this. Where can I find other problems like this? Help me find the solution to this problem.
[more inside]
posted by noether at 1:55 PM PST - 43 comments
I will be in San Juan Friday through Monday with a friend who is going there on business. What sorts of cool things are there to do and see while we're there? Any and all suggestions welcome.
posted by fabesfaves at 1:48 PM PST - 4 comments
I have been noticing more and more websites using Google to index their restricted content. For example,
this search (top item) brings up what is supposedly a full 30 KB paper, but visiting the
link we get a different page that goes to a login. Even the cache carries the false page. Are these websites abusing Google, or is Google permitting it and why? Why doesn't this stuff belong under the ads?
posted by zek at 12:41 PM PST - 10 comments
My mother's husband is a big folk music fan, and his birthday is coming up. I'd like to get them 2 tickets to a good folk music show that takes place somewhere in the NYC area before the end of 2005.
[more inside]
posted by Dr. Wu at 12:34 PM PST - 13 comments
Young married couple, mid-20's, good income: ready to take our finances more seriously. Who do we talk to?
[more inside]
posted by junkbox at 12:19 PM PST - 25 comments
I've experienced a lot of new spam and back-end pop-ups in the last 5 days or so in my G-mail account.
Is anyone else experiencing the same? What can I do to get rid of it?
posted by NorthCoastCafe at 12:11 PM PST - 13 comments
My wife and I are traveling to Washington DC for a work-week vacation. We love musuems and I have many visits planned (Smithsonian, LOC, Air-Space, etc.). What are not-to-miss museums/historical monuments? And most of all - when I'm all "museumed-out" - what are the best night out and local fun stops we should not miss?
posted by mctsonic at 11:39 AM PST - 37 comments
I just bought a new PSP (Sony Playstation Portable). It has 5 dead pixels at the bottom. Through reading on the internet I discovered that having a few pixels like this is 'acceptable'. Other PSP owners, is this normal or should I trade it for another one with better display quality?
posted by sebas at 11:32 AM PST - 11 comments
I'm using Entourage (yes I know) and somehow my Database has become corrupted. My last backup is over a week old. I tried rebuilding the database, advance rebuild, and none worked (read/write error -40). Help?
posted by ig at 10:47 AM PST - 7 comments
Is there a website where you can sign up for a RSS feed, put in your cell phone number and have the new feed info come to your phone as a text message?
posted by sandra194 at 10:46 AM PST - 8 comments
What is the website that one can upload a photograph and convert that image into what looks like a famous painting (Modigliani , van Gogh etc). I recall it used some type of face recognition software algorithms.
posted by turbanhead at 10:17 AM PST - 3 comments
Is there a way to use Yahoo! Messenger with its webcam viewing component enabled
without installing the actual Messenger software?
[more inside]
posted by Jaie at 9:06 AM PST - 1 comments
Name our kittens! We have just brought home two
entirely black boy kittens from the shelter and they need names.
[more inside]
posted by nelleish at 8:59 AM PST - 100 comments
Sudafed (the real and the cheap generics both) are gone; I've been taking the stuff for 30 years, and I'm having trouble finding an alternative that works well. Can anyone share any experiences with good alternatives?
[more inside]
posted by nonliteral at 8:49 AM PST - 21 comments
Opera 103: Digging through the AskMe archives, I found two
good threads on opera. How about another?
I have several questions about opera. Especially: what are some beautiful, tuneful arias I can use to introduce myself to opera?
[more inside]
posted by jdroth at 7:39 AM PST - 15 comments
I have been noticing a problem with my work laptop which is running XP SP2. If left up and running all night, then on most mornings i find out it is running very sluggishly with 100% CPU utilization (from the graph). First I thought may be it is firefox with its large number of open tabs. But I am not so sure anymore. killing firefox does not help. Also when I look at the CPU column in task manager i cant quite figure out what is causing that 100% utilization. None of high numbers on the CPU column look suspect. Obviously I am missing something here. One thing I am not 100% sure, and there may be something to it, is that I may have seen this problem more often when I am using wifi instead of wired LAN at home. But I need to verify this.
After this happens I usually have to reboot the machine after bringing it back to work. I am able to suspend the machine and bring it to work and plug it into the work LAN. But unless I reboot it it really runs slow. Just logging out does not help.
[more inside]
posted by flyby22 at 6:50 AM PST - 18 comments
Hello all,
My doctor prescribed Paxil for me last night due to my heavy case of anxiety and seasonal depression. I took it about 2 hours ago (one pill, 20mg) after my breakfast and I am experiencing some nausea and shakiness in my hands.
From what I understand, Paxil can take up to two weeks to 'kick in' but considering my past with other chemicals, things always affected me differently than most people. For example, whenever I took any cough syrup that had Dextromethorphan chemical inside of it (cough supressant), it would make me feel like I was completely out of it for at least a week, even if I only took two recommended doses per day. I suppose it's just my body and the way it reacts to certain things.
I am just wondering if there are any Paxil users on this site who could tell me a thing or two about what it was like for them the first time they took it, or maybe anything else that I need to know.
Thank you kindly.
posted by smoothie at 6:48 AM PST - 25 comments
October 18
RototillerFilter: My back yard has some issues right now and I'm wondering if a rototiller might solve them all.
[more inside]
posted by fenriq at 11:58 PM PST - 8 comments
Three 19 year old girls from Vancouver, $2000 each, a week off school in February, and an urge to travel, and do a little more than get drunk on a beach. Where to?
posted by stray at 10:11 PM PST - 22 comments
I have a 20 month old son who has cerebral palsy. And among the myriad problems this causes him (limited control of his limbs, poor vision, increased tone), his inability to sleep is causing a lot of grief. I'm hoping someone will have had a similar situation and has found a sleep solution that I haven't tried yet.
[more inside]
posted by danwalker at 8:44 PM PST - 8 comments
why did the sonnet develop as a 14 line form? is the number "14" an arbitrary choice that "caught on" or does it have some sort of specific symbolism?
[more inside]
posted by ronv at 8:14 PM PST - 8 comments
ClassicalMusicFilter: I know very little about classical music, and I was just thinking how nice it would be to have some playing whilst I'm sitting here reading. What'd be some nice chilled evening classical music?
[more inside]
posted by forallmankind at 7:31 PM PST - 29 comments
I'm looking for a few good rss newsfeeds to put on my google frontpage. And I'm asking for your advice.
[more inside]
posted by thecjm at 7:14 PM PST - 12 comments
In the movies, you can take a guy out by hitting him on the on the neck, from behind, either with the back of a gun or - if you are James Bond-ish - with the hand of karate. Does this work? If not, why is it so common in the movies?
posted by mr.marx at 6:18 PM PST - 30 comments
Methods of Documentation: Getty My Work Onto Slide Film
Next weekend I am participating in an art show, my first in which work will be for sale, and because for one thing, I hung a piece in the silent auction, I have reason to believe I will sell at least one thing. (I have sold work before on commission, but this is still pretty exciting.)
I would like to have, in the future, in my portfolio, slides of any sold work. I do not have a tremendous budget but I'd rather spend a bit of cash than not have documentation of early sold work.
What method should I use to get my paintings and soforth onto slides? (See extended explanation).
Thanks much. I've got until the weekend to figure this out.
/tarin
[more inside]
posted by tarintowers at 3:57 PM PST - 16 comments
We want to set up an organization to promote medical exchange between American and foreign physicians. Which would be the more appropriate vehicle, a foundation or a not-for profit corporation?
[more inside]
posted by mert at 1:58 PM PST - 7 comments
Every computer in our house will not grant us access to a select few web sites... CNN.com, and Google to name a couple. The really weird part is that anything relating to Google... any logos, Google ads... nothing containing 'Google' will run on my, or anybody else's computer in our house. Can anybody shed any light onto our problem?
posted by bamassippi at 1:44 PM PST - 22 comments
I'm looking for a slang word/phrase used to describe a false bar in a prison cell. The idea is that when a prison was built/expanded by inmate labor, workers would loosen one bar before it'd set too solidly in cement to make a potential escape hatch. What would inmates call this?
[more inside]
posted by soviet sleepover at 12:55 PM PST - 6 comments
Help me reduce my anxiety about labor & delivery of my first child (due date = less than a week).... I'm having recurrent nightmares: Repeat airplane crash scenarios. Nightmares of my husband getting killed on the way home from work. Of having a stranger assault me at home, BTK style. And it doesn't help that we had to put our wonderful dog to sleep last week.
[more inside]
posted by mdiskin at 12:17 PM PST - 18 comments
Male and female couple attending a Ramadan dinner this Thursday, wife actually was the invitee (spouse was included.)
What protocols, behaviors, manners are appropriate for us? (We are not muslim.)
posted by leafwoman at 11:07 AM PST - 22 comments
I just bought a new cast iron wood stove and have only had three fires in it so far. Everytime there has been a horrible chemical smoke that burns off of the body which I assume is the blackening ont he cast iron? It has been significantly less each time but will it eventually stop? Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Help!
posted by cdcello at 10:34 AM PST - 12 comments
Ok, so this is potentially off-color, but I don't mean it to be. The premise: I am a late 20's male considering a week-long trip to someplace warm this winter, and would love to travel with someone...someone female ;-)
Is there any way to do this without sounding like a perv? (I hope to preserve my non-perv MeFi cred via "more inside".)
[more inside]
posted by cgs at 10:33 AM PST - 39 comments
I would like to make custom ties, and maybe even short-sleeve button downs (think hawaiian shirts) with my own designs on them.
How can I go about doing this? There are companies that do this (e.g.,
these guys, but they're in the UK), but I'm sure that I'll pay a big premium to do it this way. Is there a way that I can have custom fabrics printed / woven in some garment producing country (Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh,) and then turned into shirts based on some reference design? Are there other ways to do it?
[more inside]
posted by zpousman at 10:16 AM PST - 6 comments
I'm due to give birth anytime and we are still stuck with a name. We already have two other boys: Hewitt Gareth Miller and Rupert Johannes Postma. It's a boy and we like old names obviously. Got any cool ideas?We are dead locked. We like names that translate into adult names nicely.
posted by gina at 10:13 AM PST - 97 comments
A couple in a celebratory mood has 55 hours in Manhattan. Where do they go to experience the best of the best cuisine?
[more inside]
posted by plexiwatt at 10:11 AM PST - 37 comments
When I was a kid I really liked a particular illustrator who painted? drew? these pastel-colored, rather depressing, and often romantic pictures, many of which were illustrations of the Anderson sorts of fairy tales, e.g. The Snow Queen, or Hansel & Gretel.
[more inside]
posted by small_ruminant at 9:54 AM PST - 16 comments
What is the fuel efficiency of an airplane? How does this compare to other vehicles, both in terms of quantity of fuel consumed and quantity of pollution created (since some fuels, I assume, create different amounts of pollution per unit volume)? I've looked around and can't find any more than some vague generalizations (mostly from airplane manufacturers).
[more inside]
posted by abingham at 9:24 AM PST - 17 comments
Can anyone tell me of some regular quiz/trivia nights being held in Seattle (especially toward the U-District). Alcohol and trivia go together so well...
[more inside]
posted by Slimemonster at 9:21 AM PST - 11 comments
I'm interested in the neuroscience behind decision making: specifically, do people have "random number generators" in their brains for breaking decision stalemates?
[more inside]
posted by grumblebee at 8:55 AM PST - 38 comments
Any tips on finding a good doctor? I'm new to Miami, and it's high time I find a doctor, GYN, and dentist, at the very least.
[more inside]
posted by Amizu at 7:42 AM PST - 7 comments
How can I get my hands on a Vienna phonebook from circa 1938? I will be spending a weekend in Vienna next month, and I would love to see the apartment where my late grandfather lived before fleeing the Nazis. Unfortunately, nobody in the family knows the address, and there aren't any letters or other documents to provide it. Things are also complicated by the fact that I won't be visiting on a weekday, so any archives that might have this information will presumably be closed. Plus, I don't speak German. Am I out of luck, or is there any way to track this information down in the next few weeks?
posted by yankeefog at 7:22 AM PST - 39 comments
My 2 yr old daughter chews on her nails/cuticles. How can i get her to stop? she somes times chews it all the way down and complains because it hurts.
[more inside]
posted by ShawnString at 4:48 AM PST - 21 comments
Indian food experts (whether of Indian descent or not), please help me with some questions I have about some sauces I just bought.
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posted by falconred at 4:18 AM PST - 15 comments
October 17
I found a bunch of women's clothing in my boyfriend's closet and a bunch of underwear in his drawer. I'm ok with that, I think. How do I tell him?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous at 10:24 PM PST - 40 comments
Say you come into $50k out of the blue. What's the best thing you can do with it, financially speaking, when you have a couple mortgages, some minor debt, small savings, and even smaller retirement? Which to attack first?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous at 10:24 PM PST - 19 comments
Got a problem here....how can I make the users get the same profile data/settings when logging onto to new domain?
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posted by stevyb at 10:09 PM PST - 5 comments
What is a good/the best online bill paying service? I am currently using the version of Checkfree that my bank provides but it is absurdly clunky ( but free). I need to be able to set up recurring payments and I would like to be able to make last minute one time payments too, right now the fastest I can make a electronic payment is five business days. I need to manage a wide range of vendors and be able to pay vendors that that are not set up for electronic payment. Right now I still want to get paper bills but in the future may start to switch to electronic billing. Of course the lower the price the better seeing as I have a free service now.
posted by flummox at 7:13 PM PST - 13 comments
Does anyone have any recommendations of guided/escorted tour companies that run tours geared towards women? I'm looking to go on vacation, and I'll be by myself. I'd prefer to travel in a group so I have people to talk to, and I don't want to be on a bus with 19 year old college students or 55 year old couples. The tours geared for singles look a little dodgy.
[more inside]
posted by Salmonberry at 7:04 PM PST - 6 comments
I'm writing some personal wiki software that I want to make as secure as possible. Think wiki software in the footsteps of
Tinfoil Hat Linux. The software is intended to run as a CGI Perl script though Apache on the local machine, with data stored in encrypted XML files that will be decrypted for display by the
Crypt::GPG module. So the question is, where could plaintext data escape to? More inside...
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posted by phrontist at 6:34 PM PST - 27 comments
You know how in "Peanuts," Lucy and Snoopy (disguised, of course, as the Masked Marvel) had an endless wrist-wrestling match that ended only when the MM, desperate, kissed Lucy on the nose? (Uh, did I need a spoiler alert there?) I need an image from that epic match, somewhere online. Ideally of them wrestling, locked in eternal combat, before the kiss. It's just for a personal joke on a friend who loves "Peanuts" and I won't be republishing it anywhere or anything like that. Endless Google Images and other searches turn up discussion of the strip, but no images. I'm thrilled that everyone is respecting Charles Schulz's copyright, but man, would I love to find one image of it for just five minutes. A book cover, anything...
posted by GaelFC at 6:08 PM PST - 9 comments
What are some of the most overtly religious modern pop/rock/mainstream songs that sound great, and more importantly believable, in their devotion rather than jusy cringeworthy or preachy? Preachy titles also welcomed for comparison.
posted by fire&wings at 6:08 PM PST - 70 comments
I need to replace the tubes on my bicycle, how should I go about doing that?
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posted by still at 5:58 PM PST - 25 comments
what does "shading lines" mean in terms of sportsbooks and sports betting?
posted by specialk420 at 5:57 PM PST - 4 comments
I maintain a complex website that I update by hand. (Unfortunately, this is unavoidable.) I want my local directory to be an exact mirror of the site, so that when I alter and modify thirty HTML files and I can simply run a script to copy them instead of FTPing them all by hand, in addition to removing deleted files and downloading any server-side changes made by scripts or other users. What's the best means to do this on OS X?
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posted by tweebiscuit at 5:41 PM PST - 17 comments
"Your apartment was subject to a management inspection on October 4th. The housekeeping of your apartment was found to be in a very unsatisfactory condition and a fire hazard"... Can our landlord come in to see if we've tidied up unannounced?
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posted by crabintheocean at 5:39 PM PST - 26 comments
New Year's in Reykjavik. A group of friends are heading to Iceland in December/January. I've read this
previous post and found some ideas for things to do. Any suggestions on hotels (price is not a concern) from those who have been there?
posted by ericb at 5:17 PM PST - 8 comments
MatchFilter:
Those of you (and I've seen several mentions, so please don't be shy) who have used match.com in the past, how long did it take you to find someone worthwhile?
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posted by softlord at 4:31 PM PST - 20 comments
I need help organizing my thoughts and notes - Trying to use Word, but can't quite get it to work.
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posted by JPD at 3:57 PM PST - 12 comments
I’m looking for a big scary cleaver like they use in Chinatown restaurants to chop up ducks.
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posted by KRS at 3:42 PM PST - 7 comments
We have a king-sized mattress that wouldn't fit up the stairs in our new "old house". We've come to terms with the fact that we'll have to donate it and follow another plan. Which not-for-profit should we offer this to?
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posted by jeanmari at 3:09 PM PST - 13 comments
Adobe Gamma makes my laptop screen really dark. Um, should it do that? Is there something I should be using instead?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 3:03 PM PST - 8 comments
A former colleague of mine has a consultancy business and wants to subcontract some work to me. I would be introduced to the client as the person who will be handling all aspects of the project and will also be the main point of contact for that client. I know how much this client will be billed on a monthly basis and my question is what percentage of that amount should I realistically expect to receive for doing all the work? Is there a standard subcontractor percentage that I can quote?
posted by gfrobe at 2:55 PM PST - 4 comments
OSXfilter: I want to fool applications on my Powerbook into thinking that I'm running a different version of the Mac OS than I really am. Can I? How?
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posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:52 PM PST - 6 comments
My birthday is coming up and what I really want is a portable media center. I want a device that plays all the major formats of video (without a lengthy conversion process -- this is key) and plays mp3s. I want for it to have an easy to use and good looking interface, small enough dimensions to fit into most pockets and at least 20 GB of storage space. My price range is $500 or less. And forget the iPod Video, as I understand it it will accept only .mov files (but please correct me if I'm wrong -- which I hope I am). Suggest away!
posted by JPowers at 1:04 PM PST - 16 comments
Has anyone ever done a study on the neurological effects of the first week or two of a love relationship? There's got to be some sort of brain chemical released during that period... but what is it? Or, in broader terms: What's responsible for that heady, crazy, giggly feeling that both guys and girls get?
posted by SpecialK at 1:03 PM PST - 12 comments
Office emergency! Help me get this monitor out of portrait mode and back into its usual landscape display!
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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:09 PM PST - 8 comments
I just picked up a pair of rats and have some general rat-based questions as well as rat&cat co-habitation questions.
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posted by Imperfect at 11:56 AM PST - 8 comments
Men's Shoes - a few questions:
1. Good Online retailers?
2. Links to websites of brands you like or recommend?
3. I like
Cydwoq brand. Know anyone else who makes
handmade shoes?
4. Anyone in Toronto know a retailer besides C-Squared that carries Cydwoqs?
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posted by dobbs at 11:53 AM PST - 11 comments
I'd like to travel the entire length of the Nile River, from headwaters to Cairo. This would involve crossing from Uganda into southern Sudan. Is this possible or just a pipe dream? How would I find out, and go about planning?
posted by gottabefunky at 11:47 AM PST - 9 comments
What has California's Great Central Valley done to deserve that moniker? Why is it so great? I know agricultural central of the world, yada, yada, whatever. but I need convincing of it being a defined place rather than a loose set of ideas.
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posted by FearAndLoathingInLJ at 11:43 AM PST - 10 comments
I'm trying to figure out how to do some vertical centering in two different scenarios. I'm looking for CSS solutions, but plain HTML fixes are welcomed as well -- for either/or.
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posted by jruckman at 11:07 AM PST - 2 comments
For no particular reason, I am looking to compile a list of what people consider to be the best history books available. I'm looking for non-fiction, but I'll take anything. I am particularly interested in the opinion of people who've studied history at a graduate level, but if you're just an armchair historian, like myself, I still want to hear what you have to say.
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posted by feloniousmonk at 10:51 AM PST - 28 comments
I'd like your recommendations for intuitive sound studio software for mixing .wav files into original music. I have very little experience mixing music, so simple is good, but not at the expense of power and versatility.
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posted by Osel at 10:31 AM PST - 15 comments
Advice needed for executing accurate vocal impersonations. Work with a tape recorder? A mirror? Anybody have a knack for this they can break down?
posted by rainbaby at 10:13 AM PST - 7 comments
I just bought a Liz Claiborne sweater at Goodwill for five bucks. I forgot to check-and sure enough the tag says "Dry Clean Only." Since I am cheap, this is not really an option. And since the garment was cheap I am not afraid to take a risk. So-any suggestions from you folks about how to launder this thing at home?
posted by konolia at 10:03 AM PST - 21 comments
Is there an excel version of writely.com? In other words, I need to find a free, collaborative, spreadsheet app hosted online. Does it (or something close to it) exist?
posted by limitedpie at 9:35 AM PST - 3 comments
I plan on running for a city council seat in a college town of 81,000 people. The election isn't until Spring, 2007. What can I do now to increase my chances of getting elected?
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posted by viewofdelft at 9:29 AM PST - 17 comments
Help me find this music from Spike Lee's
25th Hour. It's from the nightclub scene, specifically when Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) and Mary (Anna Paquin) are hitting the dance floor.
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posted by falameufilho at 9:23 AM PST - 8 comments
What should I do if there is a riot/looting near me? This may be happening much sooner than I ever thought it would.
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posted by borkencode at 9:02 AM PST - 20 comments
Self-indulgence! Here's the low-down, I drove a Porsche Boxster and found my calling in life. I'll be either out of this country or Manhattan in 1.5 years so if I get a car now I'll definitely be selling it in under two years. Help figure out the best way to pay for this...
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posted by geoff. at 7:24 AM PST - 12 comments
I'm looking for places (papers/websites) where people advertise flats to let direct to tenants, in London.
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posted by handee at 7:01 AM PST - 12 comments
The factory-installed stereo in my car has stopped playing CDs, and my commute is fairly long, so this is essentially unacceptable. I've looked into getting it repaired, but the whole stereo'll have to be sent away for weeks, and it'll end up costing a bunch. But I've yet to find an add-on in-dash stereo for $200 or less that isn't terribly ugly.
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posted by Plutor at 6:36 AM PST - 15 comments
The joys of casual sex! I have recently entered into my first casual relationship, and I want to make it as fun and fantastic as possible. I have lots of questions, and I hope you'll share some of your favourite stories so I can steal the ideas of your greatest lovers.
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posted by anonymous at 4:26 AM PST - 19 comments
October 16
Anyone know how to replicate an Orange Freeze? I grew up in St. Louis, and I became addicted to the Orange Freeze from the
Steak 'n Shake chain at young age. I live in Denver now, and the nearest Steak 'n Shake is in the middle of Kansas.
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posted by jzb at 10:03 PM PST - 12 comments
My wife LOVES these
"soft lemonade" treats, but we can't find them anywhere. The lemonade treat is like a cross between a frozen lemonade bar and a lemonade icee/frosty. It seems like they're only available at special events, maybe sports venues, county fairs, and such. Does anyone know of any other places to buy these? (I'm in Southern California if that helps).
posted by edjusted at 9:33 PM PST - 14 comments
I just got a PSP (firmware v. 1.52) and want to run SNES emulation software on it, but am TERRIFIED of bricking it.
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posted by LGCNo6 at 8:53 PM PST - 3 comments
Are there any films, suitable for "cool" teenagers (14-17 years) which carry an anti-drug message but at the same time aren't absolute crap?
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posted by bunglin jones at 8:43 PM PST - 61 comments
A friend is making a mix cd for a friend named Eileen. She'd like all the songs to somehow be themed around the names Eileen, Lola (her daughter) and Gilbert (her husband). What songs should she include?
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posted by sa3z at 6:02 PM PST - 25 comments
Is there a good resource (online or not) to find out if a given theatrical production is running, anytime in the near future, anywhere in the country (USA/Canada)?
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posted by mto at 5:39 PM PST - 7 comments
How do I successfully attach a "bamboo" screen to a chain link fence without the wind tearing it down?
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posted by mulkey at 5:35 PM PST - 10 comments
I am trying to find an account of an actual historical battle between male and female "armies".
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posted by ontic at 3:36 PM PST - 17 comments
Fact or fiction : All (or most) NYC restaurants get their fish deliveries on the same day every week.
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posted by afroblanca at 3:20 PM PST - 26 comments
Do the people who schedule TV episodes (specifically reruns) purposely pick episodes which coincide with holidays or recent events?
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posted by skallas at 2:39 PM PST - 5 comments
Windows XP: What does the "Speaker setup" option do, if you choose one of the various stereo options (desktop, laptop, monitor stand, monitor side, keyboard, headphones)? How does it change the waveform? It seems to me that things sound better if I pretend my headphones are desktop speakers...
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posted by thirteenkiller at 2:34 PM PST - 3 comments
i have a Saab convertible and Washington DC requires a hands-free when using the mobile telephone. Any recommendations on a headset that will maximally cut out the wind noise artifact so that I can ride "top down"? Many of the commercial sets that I have tried still have a lot of noise due to wind.
posted by dstrouse91 at 2:31 PM PST - 2 comments
Ideas for unique gifts for a baby coming in less than a month, and/or gifts for the first-time parents of said kid?
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posted by gramcracker at 2:06 PM PST - 13 comments
No, really, it was the dog! Dog-lovers of Metafilter, tell me: do you know any tricks to stop your dog from farting?
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posted by ambrosia at 1:12 PM PST - 24 comments
I'm working on a powerpoint presentation and none of the existing templates or those I have found on the web suits my needs. I've created my own template using the "master slide" feature. However, when I leave the "master view" the colours/fonts etc. stay the same as I set them, but the placement of the boxes (headlines and text boxes) return to the defaults. How do I create a template that holds the headlines and text where I put them?
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posted by duck at 12:04 PM PST - 6 comments
Is Cafepress the best option for easy on-demand manufacturing of various pieces of junk or is there a better place? Constraint: must be able to open an account from Canada, no US-only sites.
posted by Krrrlson at 9:55 AM PST - 7 comments
Catpissfilter:
Help! My (slightly neurotic) cat is pissing where he ought not to piss!
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posted by asavage at 9:11 AM PST - 11 comments
I'm looking for information about medieval guitar music, specifically useful scales/chord progressions, techniques, and (especially) tabs.
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posted by baphomet at 6:54 AM PST - 8 comments
Has anyone had good luck with over the range microwaves? I'm interested in knowing how good these things do at capturing and reducing odors while cooking. We live in a small apartment and there's no vent over the stove. Would something like this
over the range microwave actually reduce cooking odors?
posted by teddyb109 at 6:40 AM PST - 7 comments
iPod: does it really need Win XP SP2, or can it work with SP1? Relatred: how can I update win XP to SP2: it just isn't offering me the option, although it used to.
posted by Pericles at 1:44 AM PST - 10 comments
What is a respectful, succinct response to being hit on by someone who prefers your gender, when you "don't swing that way?"
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posted by AllesKlar at 1:20 AM PST - 35 comments
My husband has applied for a different job within his company, and he seems to be getting signs that they want to hire him. It's more money, he likes the people better, and he thinks this may eventually offer advancement either within the company or outside of it. The catch? No benefits.
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posted by Shoeburyness at 1:02 AM PST - 11 comments
During which times of the year are various fruits/vegetables/herbs/other in season?
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posted by teem at 12:37 AM PST - 10 comments
October 15
When I was 7 years old my best friend was an American (US Citizen) of the same age whose father was a Major in USAF stationed in Ohakea Airforce Base in the North Island of NZ; around 1983-84. My friends name was Ryan Davies (or Davis) and I would really like to make contact with him again. On the off chance...
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posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:54 PM PST - 16 comments
Is there a resource (web, ideally, but books, etc. are fine too) that shows multiple ways to style basic haircuts? I want it to show a picture of the cut (ex. shoulder-length bob), with lots of options as far as updo's, blow-outs, waves, partial ups, etc. I'm not talking about the 1 or 2 styles it shows in a lot of styling books that are available at the chain salons - I want lots and lots and lots. Is there anything out there?
posted by ferociouskitty at 7:21 PM PST - 1 comments
We're looking for a way to keep track of employees, clients, suppliers. Ideally, I'd be able to link to reference files (images, PDFs, spreadsheets) on the hard drive, print compact lists of entries, labels for contacts, and so on.
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posted by evil holiday magic at 5:50 PM PST - 6 comments
If the woman of my affections has been dating some other guy for a year -- a relationship she has said is "not that serious," in frequent playful e-mails to me -- what strategy is smarter? Stay in a queue until she becomes available? Ask what's up? Steal her away? Can anyone share successful or unsuccessful ploys to turn the other guy into the Baxter, when the woman involved is a pretty neat friend you'd like to avoid losing?
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posted by anonymous at 5:22 PM PST - 12 comments
A close friend lives in remote part of Arizona. She tried Cable and DSL for her home.. but could not get more than 20kb download speed.
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posted by curiousleo at 4:49 PM PST - 7 comments
Can I use my barbeque after spraying the inside with a fire extinguisher? Or are the chemicals involved too toxic? If I can use it again, how do I clean the barbeque?
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posted by dvadr at 4:38 PM PST - 9 comments
Cleaning a wooden pipe - two part question. What's the best way to make sure a wooden pipe that's been boiled doesn't get mouldy?
And, if boiling a wooden pipe is stupid, what's a better way to clean out a few years' worth of carboninzed resin from a small airway? The first question is the more pressing one.
posted by poweredbybeard at 4:15 PM PST - 10 comments
I'm trying to get .avi files (15 files at 300kb) onto a DVD in a DVD format so that I can see them on my DVD player. I have two DVD-making applications, WinDVD (which crashes when I try to create one) and Cyberlink PowerProducer, which took 2 hours to do 8%. My questions:
One: Does it really take that long to convert from avi to DVD and
Two: What is the best home package to create DVDs with interactive menus?
posted by wibbler at 11:58 AM PST - 12 comments
ok i sold a $2000 Dell laptop on ebay, everything was going smooth, i sent out the item using UPS. i received an email from the seller telling me all he got in the box was a 'jug of water'!
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posted by airnxtz at 11:33 AM PST - 47 comments
I'm interested in finding self-help books that have actually helped people. Has anyone read a self-help book that really did significantly improve their lives (or some aspect of their lives)?
posted by INTPLibrarian at 11:18 AM PST - 30 comments
I am preparing to take an
HR certification exam - the PHR (Professional in Human Resources).
Have any of you taken it? If so, please recommend the best method(s) for success.
posted by mockjovial at 11:05 AM PST - 1 comments
How can I use scripting/OS X hacks to notify me in a sweet manner when jobs on remote machines complete?
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posted by onalark at 8:50 AM PST - 17 comments
I'm looking for a Windows tool that will allow you to "Copy as Text" from Windows Explorer. Anybody know of anything?
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posted by bwilms at 8:21 AM PST - 12 comments
Webcam frustration: I have a Logitech QuickCam Pro 3000, and it's driving me up the wall.
When it's not in use, the 'active' light is always on, but when I try to use it with any application, it goes off and the camera does nothing.
I've done all the logical stuff I can think of - checked the Logitech site, Googled for this error, uninstalled and reinstalled software and hardware, changed USB ports and toyed with finding a major religion to cling to, but so far nothing makes any difference... so please help me, MetaFilter friends, or Mr WebCam will become surprisingly intimate with Mr Hammer... thanks!
posted by timpollard at 6:35 AM PST - 2 comments
A project of mine has inovlved me creating a number of Sudoku puzzles. What is my position with regards to copyright? I have created, from scratch, a program that builds Sudoku grids. I don't actually build the grids myself, my program does. Do I still hold copyright on the generated grids?
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posted by gaby at 4:17 AM PST - 22 comments
I might be rejected from a clinical trial because of low CD3/4 levels. Help me understand what this means.
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posted by goofyfoot at 1:40 AM PST - 8 comments
October 14
How can I (legally) recreate the commentary of the last few moments of the Red Sox winning the 2004 World Series?
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posted by ArsncHeart at 9:48 PM PST - 11 comments
I am asking this on behalf of a friend. Does anybody know of any good costume rental places in Toronto? She is looking for plus size ladies' costumes for Halloween.
posted by synecdoche at 8:30 PM PST - 5 comments
I want to record my own music. I have no idea where to start.
What would be a fairly inexpensive and good beginner's setup hardware and software-wise?
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posted by petah at 7:47 PM PST - 23 comments
I want to find something to do during Winter break (1 month) in the suburbs. I'd like a job where I get to talk to random strangers and perhaps something related to sales. I was thinking those people in the mall/airport that try to get you to sign up for credit cards. What is a good option and where can I find one of these? Wage/salary is irrelevant.
posted by lpctstr; at 7:45 PM PST - 6 comments
I would like to buy a cost-effective bathroom scale that is pretty darn accurate for a 200 lb. guy -- margin of error plus or minus one pound. How do I buy one that is accurate? Any brand name suggestions? Do I have to buy one of those things with manually adjusted weights that run along a bar to get this level of accuracy? Please do not instruct me not to weigh myself more than once a week, etc. -- I am looking for a set of scales that will give me a reliable snapshot.
posted by Mr. Justice at 6:26 PM PST - 18 comments
Can I replace my lousy laptop battery with a better one?
I just bought an Acer Aspire 3000 series laptop and didn't realize how terrible the battery-life was until I got it home. The battery only lasts about an hour. Is there an aftermarket battery I can swap my battery for that lasts longer?
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posted by JuliaKM at 5:43 PM PST - 5 comments
I have some older college textbooks from the early to mid 1990s; is there conceivable market for these, or should I just throw 'em in the recycle bin?
(They're mainly communication studies/theory, if that matters.
posted by keswick at 4:52 PM PST - 13 comments
I have an iPod shuffle. Next week my wife will have one. We share a single computer that has one user account and hence one iTunes application. Will we both be able to use BOTH our ipod's with one itunes application or will I have to create a new user account?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:47 PM PST - 10 comments
When using a Dial Up Internet Service, naturally, I am tying up my telephone. I am seeking a software package (preferably a freeware download) that will notify me of any incoming telephone calls while I am online. I can remember watching a TV ad for such a program, but have not been able to locate this program/service.
PS> My Dial Up serivce is no more than a back up for my regular high speed internet. However, as long as I am subscribing to this dial up service, I might as well also use it during the day as a news service, ect.
posted by Mckoan1 at 4:27 PM PST - 9 comments
Our rent checks seem to have gotten lost in the mail recently, and we can't figure out if it's worth spending the $25 to stop the payments or not. What do you think and why?
Thanks!
posted by friedapplepie at 4:16 PM PST - 10 comments
Is any place still accepting Xbox 360 pre-orders, with a reasonable guarantee of launch delivery? The only place I could find was Gamestop.com's outrageously expensive Omega Bundle. Not gonna pay $2,000+ for a console, thankyouverymuch. At least not all at once ;)
posted by robbie01 at 3:29 PM PST - 0 comments
I'm looking for input on a business idea. With the boom in mp3 players, I thought it would be a good idea to open a store that specialized in that item, along with accessories, podcasting equipment, etc.
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posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 3:06 PM PST - 11 comments
I have been interested in "indie film" for some time now. But don't let that be misleading--I have been interested in it and still know nothing about it. More inside.
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posted by Lockeownzj00 at 3:05 PM PST - 15 comments
So, I think I'll get me one of them new iPods that plays video. Maybe.
What would definitely push me over the edge would be if there was a way to get TV shows off my Tivo and onto the iPod. What's the easiest/cheapest/simplest way to accomplish this? I have a Powerbook G4 and my wife has a Windows XP laptop, if that helps. And while we're on the subject...
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posted by ericbop at 2:50 PM PST - 18 comments
I need help figuring out how to hook up an AC electric motor. I want to animate a Halloween project.
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posted by Daddio at 2:48 PM PST - 9 comments
I've been getting back into mp3 blogs and have found ones for rock, jazz, electronica, even exotica. But try as I might, I can't find any for country!
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posted by Dallasfilm at 12:52 PM PST - 4 comments
Is there an easy "daily check off" palm app? I'm looking for something to remind me to do the things I need to do every day, but sometimes those things need to be done more than once a day, and I don't want to enter multiple items for those.
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posted by Caviar at 12:47 PM PST - 6 comments
My wife was doing some yard work and found these freaky, ant-like insects..
What are they?
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posted by cowmix at 12:32 PM PST - 13 comments
What is the hardest language for a native English speaker to master, and why? (I know this is subjective... but I'm curious)
posted by dead_ at 12:32 PM PST - 48 comments
I'm working on a data graphic with a linear scale horizontally but a logarithmic scale vertically. The y-axis (count scale) values range from 0 to 200, with the mode average in the lower third of that range. I'd like the graph to take up only a third of the size vertically that it currently does.
I can recognize a logarithmic plot when I see one, and I know what I want generally, but I don't have enough of a handle on the Math to actually calculate and plot such a scale myself... at least accurately.
I'd appreciate any help in understanding the Math. It's one thing to see a formula, and another to know how to use it. I'm also not 100% sure that this is the best way to handle such a graph, so alternate strategies or confirmation are welcome.
posted by Jeff Howard at 12:02 PM PST - 14 comments
How do I keep my laser printer from playing hide-and-go seek with a Dell TrueMobile router and XP?
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posted by justkevin at 11:04 AM PST - 5 comments
Sentences like "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" contain all the letters in the alphabet. Are there similar sentences that are designed to contain all of the commonly accepted phonemes in the English language?
posted by ubersturm at 10:39 AM PST - 14 comments
eBayFilter: Is there a way to send a custom, automated response to the winner of my auction?
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posted by deadfather at 9:57 AM PST - 5 comments
I've noticed quite a few sellers, on Ebay and elsewhere, specifying that they don't want payment from a credit card through PayPal. Wha? Huh?
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posted by terpsichoria at 9:22 AM PST - 8 comments
I want to use a monolithic script to delegate all document requests on my website.
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posted by cortex at 8:51 AM PST - 17 comments
A (former) friend is getting married. I'm not invited to the wedding. Yet I still feel the need to send a gift.
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posted by anonymous at 8:49 AM PST - 22 comments
What's the potential downside of claiming you have a job offer, when you don't, in order to renegotiate your current salary and position?
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posted by anonymous at 8:49 AM PST - 23 comments
Can anyone recommend a programmable USB keyboard for use with a Mac/PC? I want one that works like the old Gateway AnyKey keyboards that let you define the macros on the keyboard itself NOT via software. This should allow it to work smoothly with Mac/PC/Linux and play nicely with my KVM.
Personal experience is preferred, since I already know how to poke around on google.
posted by phildog at 8:15 AM PST - 8 comments
Does recordable media "go bad" after a while? and if it does, are there any media that is less susceptible?
I am going to buy some DVD+Rs for mastering my movies to, how do I ensure that they still will work in 10 years time?
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posted by jwhittlestone at 7:46 AM PST - 20 comments
In
this metatalk thread I was trying to find a link to a media cataloging web app. What I am trying to do is take a text file of about 1,000 books, delimited by comma, and import it into one of these online social folksonomified library catalogs.
Do you know of a free, friendly library web app that allows for importing of text files (I don't have the ISBN numbers, so that rules out LibraryThing)
I also don't mind installing a php app, as long as it uses flat text files (it's for a friend who doesn't want to play with mysql)
posted by mecran01 at 7:21 AM PST - 3 comments
Fall foliage! I'm going to be in NYC next week, and I'm hoping to escape the city for a couple of days to see the leaves. Any recommendations for good places to hike in the forest, eat a good dinner, and stay overnight, 2 hours or less from New York?
posted by fuzz at 2:23 AM PST - 15 comments
What percentage of the money raised by the average non-profit organization is usually going to cause, and how much is spent on salaries & expenses? What will be a cut-off point where you will still feel comfortable giving? What are the main taxation issues with setting up a NPO?
posted by growabrain at 2:07 AM PST - 14 comments
October 13
Many lotteries (
see Powerball) increase the size of their potential jackpot over time. Assuming a $1 ticket cost, is it cost-justified to buy one ticket for every drawing when the value of the payout is greater than the odds against winning?
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posted by stopgap at 10:52 PM PST - 28 comments
How do I auto- forward a copy of all emails received and sent to gmail? I use Windows XP with Outlook Express and I have discovered it doesn't seem to have this function available. I would be willing to switch apps if one could automatically forward a copy of everything I send out to my gmail account and also copy and forward all incoming mail to my gmail. I want to still primarily use a pop3 email client, but send a copy to gmail for archiving purposes. Any ideas on the best way to get this done?
posted by Independent Scholarship at 9:53 PM PST - 8 comments
Help me find this out-of-print book, The Ponderous Pseudonumer [ISBN 82-994200-4-0], by Dr. Allan Krill, or help me find an equivalent book.
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posted by sdis at 9:25 PM PST - 12 comments
I'm a high school dropout who's been working professionally for several years. How can I go to college?
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posted by arimathea at 8:55 PM PST - 19 comments
What is
this tune, and who is it by?
(I thought it was the Olympic Fanfare, but I checked and was wrong, and now I'm kinda stumped. Sorry to always be unable to identify tunes...)
posted by bugbread at 8:39 PM PST - 8 comments
I am completely clueless about web hosting. Let's say I wanted to start a web business. And let's say that web business relied on a variety of different web technologies. At this point, I am technologically agnostic. For the sake of this question, let's pretend those technologies could be a combination of anything, i.e. .Net, Cold Fusion, PHP, Ruby On Rails, Lotus/Domino, Perl, Python, Real Media, Flash, Oracle, SAP, MySQL, etc. etc.
Are there managed hosting companies that will essentially rent you a beefy server in a cozy and secure data center with a clean install of Linux/Windows/etc, which will in turn let you install whatever technology you want as long as you have the requisite software licenses.
I could just host this out of my house, but I would prefer not to purchase my own enterprise server(s), T-1, diesel generator, fireproof room, and requisite Red Bull I will need to stay awake just in case it all falls down.
What are my options?
posted by jasondigitized at 7:17 PM PST - 18 comments
LongShotQuestion. This is one of those small problems that drive me nuts. I've started using Linux. I've settled on
SciTE as my all purpose text editor. The
documentation makes it look really easy to add a command to invoke aspell. googling shows that it is assumed to be really easy but I can't find a simple example for *nix based systems, only for Windows. Does anyone here use SciTE with aspell? Or does anyone here have the ability to understand the documentation and tell me what I should add to my SciTE.properties file?
posted by Grod at 7:15 PM PST - 2 comments
I got a parking ticket on a rental car in Reykjavik, Iceland recently (meter expired.) I'm back in the US now. The ticket is all in Icelandic (but there is a
web address) and I don't see any obvious location for a credit card # or really anything to make heads or tails of it. How do I pay it?
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posted by neustile at 6:52 PM PST - 15 comments
I'm founding a small magazine, with some friends. What software should we use to lay out the magazine? I think we want something like Quark. It needs to be freeware, 'cause we're starting out really small, with minimal income (we'll just cover printing).
posted by Count Ziggurat at 6:28 PM PST - 23 comments
What could cause a medium-to-high pitched whining sound in walls? What's the most likely suspect, and who should I call to diagnose/fix it?
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posted by christie at 5:32 PM PST - 10 comments
Our small company has been spun off and now we're in startup mode; luckily we have four software products (we make network-control apps) almost ready. Suddenly I've got more hats: from being a lowly install programmer, now I'm also to write docs, do phone support, organize product packaging and fulfillment, and set up our website for online sales including choice of download of software or mailed CD. All by the end of the month, spending as little as possible. The first three are manageable, but although I’m a programmer I don’t know web stuff, and need advice please.
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posted by anadem at 3:12 PM PST - 4 comments
What do I wear or how do I modify my current business wardrobe when I'm in the middle of losing weight and my clothes are too big, but I've still got a long way to go?
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posted by anonymous at 2:11 PM PST - 10 comments
If someone were interested in building a greywater wetland on their property, what sort of plants would be required?
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posted by purephase at 12:57 PM PST - 5 comments
Currently I have at my work the option to choose between funds, TIAA-CREF and Fidelity investments. Since it is a non-profit organization they put in 6.5% of my salary plus anything else I want to contribute (it's a 403b). I have tried to do some research to see which company is better in the long run but can't find any information on TIAA-CREF besides that it used to be exclusively for teachers and federal employees. Does anyone know which investor I should get? I am looking for the greatest gain in the long run.
posted by nserrano at 12:51 PM PST - 7 comments
Are there any decent web based applications for creating flow-charts / organizational charts?
posted by gwint at 12:32 PM PST - 4 comments
What is the shortest time from IPO to bankruptcy? Any company filings will do.
posted by brent at 11:56 AM PST - 8 comments
CatchACatFilter: We have discovered 4 very cute kittens and a mother living in the bushes behind our office. We need some tips on capturing them before the winter hits.
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posted by dripdripdrop at 11:26 AM PST - 15 comments
Okay, I know it's been asked MANY times here but I have a specific question about shooting a picture in low-light settings.
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posted by Hands of Manos at 11:14 AM PST - 15 comments
Is there a listserv program that can be used to send messages in Chinese or Korean? I am a PTA member who has been tasked with looking into this. Many of the students at our school have parents whose primary language is either Chinese or Korean. We would like to be able to send out listserv emails to these parents. Is there a listserv program that would let us do that? (We currently use Mailman. Although Mailman does support a couple dozen languages, Chinese and Korean are not on the list.)
posted by merejane at 11:13 AM PST - 3 comments
GeoCaching in NYC: I'm going to be visiting NYC for the weekend, and would love to do some
GeoCaching while I'm there. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of caches on the website. Does anyone have specific caches that they've found that are worth recommending? Any areas to concentrate on? Areas to avoid? General NYC caching tips? This will be my first attempt at urban caching, I'm usually out in the woods.
posted by TurkishGolds at 10:59 AM PST - 3 comments
My boss wants to put a Plasma TV up in our lobby that will be running CNN, MSNBC, etc...
He also wants to be able to scroll internal company info accross the screen (Welcome Clients, Happy Birthday, Sales Numbers etc.)
Anyone ever done this or know how it can get done?
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