Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Hacks

I could almost handle the headaches, but I can I handle the stupids?

onshi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:33:31 -0800

Tips & tricks for adapting to the side effects of Topamax (topiramate) for a full-time office worker & part-time grad student? I have been dealing with chronic migraines for about ten years, and have tried a number of preventative drug therapies during that time (elavil, flunarizine, propranolol) with limited success. Recently another disruptive health issue cropped up, which spurred me to try to get the migraines under control.

I am now a few weeks into a daily dose of Topamax.

Some of the much-discussed (on AskMe and elsewhere) side effects have already become apparent, most notably:

Difficulty with attention / concentration - last week there were at least two days where I accomplished almost literally nothing at work. I continually zoned out for quarter- to half-hour periods, and had trouble thinking clearly even when I did remain on-task for more than a few minutes at a time. Although this did provide some useful insight into my partner's not-always-so-wonderful-world of living with ADHD, I probably cannot justify trading sick days at home with migraine for zombie days at work on "Dopamax" for too long.

Clumsiness / ataxia / psychomotor slowing - terminologically, I'm not sure how to differentiate between these, but at any rate, I'm much more of a klutz than usual. I had been walking carefully on a torn medial meniscus since May while awaiting an MRI and (maybe) surgery, but since the Topamax my knee has been very sore due to countless stumbles and mis-steps. One slip was bad enough that I was walking with a cane for stability for two days afterwards, and I was almost tempted to keep doing so just for the added sense of security. I'm normally a brisk walker, and on top of the cognitive side effects it feels like adding insult to injury that I should have to shuffle along in physical space as well as in my mental environment.

Communication - both in written and verbal form... even simple sentences come out mangled, and I've been producing the most egregious typos -- e.g. "licidiouse" for "delicious" -- and completely mixing up word order to the point of utter nonsense without noticing (with that in mind, I apologize if my sixth proofread doesn't catch all of the errors in this post). At school, I have had to drop one of the two courses I was taking this term because the prospect of full participation in a grad-level seminar was too much to bear right now; as it is, I had to revert to a 'behind the scenes' preparatory role for a group debate for fear of making an ass of myself in front of a tutorial tonight.

Getting to the point, my question for anyone who has taken Topamax or another drug with similar side effects is: what strategies were you able to emplyo successfully to mitigate these (or other) impacts on your life? I know that it will only be possible to 'push back' against the drug to a certain extent, and that I will ultimately have to decide if its effectiveness versus migraine (if any!) is worth the cost, but at this point I'm trying to remain optimistic and gather whatever tools I can.

Thanks.

Nursing Home Hacks

Thin Lizzy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:34:34 -0800

What are some good nursing home/hospital hacks? My grandmother recently settled into a full time nursing home after living in the same house for 50 years. When we moved her in we brought as many things as possible to make her new room feel a little more like home- pictures of our family, some little tsotchkes my grandfather gave her, the comforter and pillows from her bed, as well as some small luxury items- nice hand cream, a bag of candy, a bigger TV, etc. While the nursing home is what she needs and is staffed with friendly, competent people, it still feels like a hospital and I get the feeling that she's a little uncomfortable there (but of course she doesn't want to worry me and insists that she doesn't need anything). So what are you're favorite nursing home hacks- things that would make her life just a little bit easier or provide a degree of comfort that's hard to come by in a hospital setting?

A little more about her- she's in her 90s and uses a wheelchair most of the time. She has some trouble with her memory, but is "with it" for the most part (she has reading material, but probably wouldn't be interested in puzzles or games). She has a roommate (who she seems to like) and her room is laid out much like a typical hospital room- the beds side-by-side with a divider between them and a private bathroom.

What clever relationship "hacks" have you come up with?

wyzewoman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:48:38 -0800

What clever relationship "hacks" have you come up with? I'm looking to build up my mental catalogue of examples of non-obvious solutions to relationship difficulties. Help me think out of the box better in the future! A few times over the years, I've solved a relationship problem in a way that I was really proud of, because the solution met everybody's needs when it looked like such a solution didn't exist. I still turn back to these examples when I'm faced with a new difficulty, because I may be able to model a new solution out of the old ones.

An example of what I'm talking about: a roommate declared one day that he was no longer willing to share dishes with me: I didn't wash them well enough for his liking, even after repeated reminders. Well, that sucked -- it would be extra time, expense, and bother. But, we were able to talk about it calmly, and we worked out that really it was only the glasses that I drank milk out of which weren't getting cleaned well. So I suggested that I get a set of milk-drinking-glasses, just for me, and that we continue to share the rest of the dishes. And it worked! We never fought about dishes again. The lesson I learned from that: try to whittle a problem down to its smallest core, and solve that.

It's just a silly example -- drinking glasses! -- but I've remembered this incident for years, and modified the solution in various other issues of household maintenance. I'd love to have other examples to draw upon going forward. So, MeFites, when did you come up with a relationship solution that you were particularly proud of, and what lessons did you draw from it?

Transitioning from Mac to PC: Is there an expose-like feature? Your tips for coping with the transition?

NikitaNikita — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:00:29 -0800

Transitioning from Mac to PC: Is there an expose-like feature? Your tips for coping with the transition? There are a lot of Mac-specific (i think?) functions which greatly enhanced my ability to navigate through open windows and navigate my folders and desktop... namely, Expose. Any tricks to make my life easier at work now that I am on a PC? I'm even missing my mac shortcuts for locking my computer/turning it to screen saver with a macro or mouse movement.

I found a few good ones in this thread, like Windows+D, but any other tips would be helpful. I also use Outlook a lot if you've got tips related to that.

Thanks!

Hacking The Movies

plasticbugs — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:20:32 -0800

What are your favorite, less-obvious moviegoing/movie theater hacks? I want your movie hacks that make going to the movies more enjoyable/affordable. Hacks that are especially clever, even if they're illegal are also of interest to me. I want to hear about more than the typical 'sneak food in' and 'stay in the theater all day, hopping from movie-to-movie' tricks.

However, if you have a particularly interesting 'sneak food in' trick, I'd love to hear it.

I'm also interested in using technology at the movie theater. For example, there's an iPhone app called "Run Pee" that tells you when the best time to use the restroom is and fills you in on what you missed while you were away.

Maybe you know of the best place to sit for an optimal auditory experience? Where's the best place to sit for a 3D movie? The front? The back? I want all the cool tricks you guys know.

sadly way too excited about actual-size PDF documents

Saucy Intruder — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:02:14 -0800

Work just gave me a 19-inch widescreen monitor (1440x900 resolution), which I promptly tilted into portrait mode. What are some software/settings hacks that will allow me to make the most of my setup? I'm running Windows 2000 (yeah, I know) in "Classic" view, Firefox, Outlook, Acrobat Professional v8. If I do get a second companion monitor, it will probably be an older 15-inch model that doesn't tilt.

Help me hack my Leap Frog

middleclasstool — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:09:31 -0800

Can you hack toddler toys to lower the speaker volume? I was complaining to friends over New Years Eve dinner that seemingly every toy company that manufactures battery operated toddler toys seems to want to simultaneously damage my son's hearing and destroy my sanity. Some have low/high volume switches, but half the time "low" means "Ted Nugent concert" and high means "Ted Nugent concert in the midst of a large-scale deforestation."

One of my friends mentioned he had heard that it was possible to alter the toys' circuit boards to monkey with the volume, but he didn't have a link. Google's getting me nothing so far but links to studies that confirm my fears -- that these toys do put my son at risk for hearing loss. He likes them, so I don't want to take them away, but I'd like to turn them way down.

I have a multimeter but don't know how to use it beyond making sure an outlet isn't live. Are there resources for a guy like me? Is this kind of thing even possible?

What can I do with my new DS/ what games should I get

ShawnString — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:34:50 -0800

OK, so me and MrsShawnString bought a DS finally. What cool stuff can I do with it (besides playing games) and what are the MUST HAVE games to have? Pretty much any genre game is ok We also have a wii and I had fun playing DS demos with so that as cool.

Print A3 Google Maps?

mary8nne — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:49:56 -0800

How can I quickly and easily print an A3 sized Google map? I have a pretty large monitor so I can use the Print Screen to get a good sized A4 Map that is relatively zoomed in. But I would really like to be able to print out A3 sized maps of a suitable zoom level for travelling around Cities. And ideally it would include the sightseeing destinations i've added to my 'My Maps'.

Obviously I could printscreen on 4 maps and then manually stich them together - but thats a bit annoying to do. Is there another easy way to do it?

a webpage that accesses the extra google maps?

How to make life on crutches easier?

nevers — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:26:48 -0800

Tips or hacks for getting by on crutches for a few weeks (non-weight bearing, post-knee surgery)? It's been three weeks and I only have a couple weeks left, but it's getting really old and surely there are some ideas out there that I haven't thought of.

Mostly I hate not being able to carry things around home or the office. Shorts with cargo pockets help, but not for plates of food. Wearing a backpack backwards is too uncomfortable to be helpful (also no good for plates of food). I have a rolling office chair, but there are raised thresholds in my apartment's doorways so it's not a great way to go from room to room. I am told that hopping is VERY VERY BAD because of the chance I'll injure my good leg.

In addition to carrying things, I'd love to be able to do dishes, clean the bathtub, mop the floor, and the like. I am resigned to asking for help and/or waiting till I'm more mobile, but if there's a way to be more independent NOW that would be great.

I don't suppose there are any magical speedy ways to go up and down subway stairs or to open a heavy door?

I'm looking for tips from people who've been there, like these duct-tape crutch saddle bags.

Also, tell me if there are crutch tricks I don't already know. I know about sitting on a chair with the crutch's armpit end under my butt, so I can prop my leg on the horizontal crutch in front of me, and I know about making an X with the crutches in front of my chair and propping my foot up on the handles at the center of the X.

I don't need crutch-comfort tips, like adusting the padding or whatever. They feel fine.

Side question, how can I keep my eyeglasses from sliding down my nose when I'm looking down all the time? (Can't walk to the optician to get the glasses adjusted, or to the optomestrist to get contacts, or to the sporting goods store to get some kind of eyewear retainer/strap.)

How can improve my sinister lifestyle?

suki — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:25:06 -0800

Any tricks for enhancing a left-handed life? I am very left-handed, and have developed a few tweaks to make my life easier, e.g.: I have a left-handed mouse; I use a wire bound notebook from back to front and write mainly on the left page; I always sit on the left side of a crowded table to avoid knocking elbows.

I would love to know other ways (lefthacks?) to improve my ability to interact with the world as a left-hander.

Any recommendations?

Bodyhacks

bobobox — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:39:32 -0800

I am looking for experiments, useful tricks, and fun things to try out, using my biological cycles, chemistry and anatomy. I recently reset my day/night cycle to combat jet lag after a long flight using information from this thread and knowledge of my circadian rhythm and the experience was SUPER satisfying to me. Whenever I need to sneeze and don't want to at that moment, I can get rid of it by pressing my tongue into my soft pallet, interfering with some facial nerve, I suppose. I am eager to try out other bodyhacks but I can't think of any more.

I found this article on Men'sHealth.com which has some good stuff in it but not quite what I am looking for.

I am most interested in: the useful, complex, or grand, along the lines of clock reseting
I am less interested in, but am open to: gimmicky tricks of the anatomy, along the lines of the sneeze example.

I am willing to use: supplements (used melatonin to help reset my clock), diet, my environs, and of course, my senses, anatomy and anything in it.
I am not willing to use: illegal drugs, anything I have to spend a lot of money on, ideally I should already possess everything I need to do it

I am female so if you know of any that are gender specific I will only be able to do things that require two X chromosomes. But feel free to contribute XY suggestions for the sake of completeness.

If you have suggestions, please also give the scientific explanation of how it works.

Has my gmail been hacked?

whoaali — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:29:59 -0800

Has my gmail been hacked? Twice I have had the same person attempt to add me on gchat. I do not believe that I know this person, but immediately after they try to add me, a window pops up saying that I have been logged out of this account and once I click ok it returns to the gmail login screen. Each time I have been able to immediately log back in and each time I have immediately changed my password just because it seemed so odd and I did it as a precaution. Is this something I need to worry about?

Pass Quiz In Order To Use the Fora

theichibun — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:50:36 -0800

Can anyone point me to a vbulletin script that forces you to pass a quiz in order to use the forum? A forum that I'm a member of is really starting to have problems with people not reading the rules. The other moderators and myself are getting annoyed by this, and we know that this is just something that fora generally have to deal with. So the idea right now is to have a thread that everyone has to read and a quiz that has to be passed in order to continue.

The read the thread part isn't being too much of an issue. But all I've been able to find so far for the quiz is this one. It seems to work, but if there is something that is a single hack install that would be even better.

Hack My Baby

jasondigitized — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:16:19 -0800

Give me your baby hacks! My wife and I are expecting our first child in November. What tips and tricks can you offer us to make our lives a lot easier? For example, a friend of mine swears that putting a crying baby in front of a mirror will cause it to stop. Another uses noise cancelling headphones to temper the noise from his shrieking child. I am looking for hacks on everything from diaper changing to stroller modifications. Make our lives easier as we enter into parenthood.

Is brainfog from age or something else?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:47:31 -0800

Is it the fog from getting older, or is it something else? As I've gone through the years (late 30s), I can clearly feel myself getting less brainy... by that, I mean that I'm not putting together things as quickly as I once did. I'm also less creative, and overall, I feel less verbose and articulate. I've had some really stressful years, both workwise and otherwise. I don't *think* I'm depressed or overly anxious (in our 30s, we all have a bit of the anxiety, right?). So, is this normal? Do others have the same "brain fog?" If you do, shout it out. If you did, and you fixed it, I'd love to hear your secrets.

What are the world's most useful dead-tree catalogs?

cadastral — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:23:14 -0800

What is the iconic (or just "your favorite") dead-tree product catalog (listing of merchandise for mail-order sale) for your hobby, industry, or trade? I get a lot of inspiration and project ideas from those huge, cinder-block-sized industry-specific catalogs that most every industrial supply company puts out. I really like the feeling of having these things on the shelf for when I need... something to fix a particular problem, but am not sure at all what that something is or what form it might take.

I want more of these catalogs. Hard copies. On my bookshelf. I want to know the inside scoop on all of the thousands of vocations and hobbies about which I know nothing. I want to know what the go-to catalog is for model railroaders, scrapbookers, field geologists, rock-climbers, steamfitters, tailors, hydroponic gardeners, blacksmiths, glaziers, restauranteurs, casino-operators, robotic-arm builders... just, everything.

By way of example, I love love love the Grainger catalog (catalog order form). It's filled with amazing things. I'm not shilling for them whatsoever and I couldn't endorse their product or their service anyway, having never ordered from them (I usually use it to get my ideas, and then I try to buy local from a similar, smaller supplier close by). The B&H photo and video catalog (catalog order) is another favorite (same deal, never spent a cent with them... I'm real big on keeping my money local).

So eager to see what y'all got. I've always been so awed by the disparate fields of knowledge and expertise that are brought together by MeFi. I am very interested in your little corner of experience and interest... and I thank you so much for sharing it with me, if you'd be kind enough to do so.

How can I turn my Sony Clie into a simple word processor/ebook reader?

sallyann — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:48:51 -0800

How can I turn my Sony Clie into a simple word processor/ebook reader? I have an old Sony Clie PEG-NX60 (with swivel-out keyboard, no wifi) and I want to turn it into something useful if possible. Specifically, I would like to be able to read and edit text files on the device and use it as an ebook reader, and sync or at least transfer those files to my desktop (I run Ubuntu linux), but how? I haven't been able to get the desktop to recognize the PDA, even with jpilot sw installed. (Note that I'm willing to hack it to death if necessary as I paid nothing for it and have no interest in using the PIM utilities.)

Move quicksilver's bezel interface

ehamilt0n — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:05:35 -0800

Does anyone know how to change the screen position of the Bezel interface in Quicksilver. I have a dual-monitor setup and I'd rather move it to one screen or the other (which is available with Cube or Primer.) If its in the center of the screen and there are three panes displayed, the center one is difficult to see.

Fax machine hack to test your line quality

bumper314 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:17:01 -0800

I heard that there is a way to call a fax machine with a normal telephone, press some keys and the fax machine will speak back your line quality as a number. I can't find any information about this online, does anyone know how to do this? Is this manufacturer dependent?

DIY for the Non-Hardware-Elite

middleclasstool — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 08:42:43 -0800

DIY blogs that don't require you to be a goddamn logic board-soldering wizard? I could have sworn I saw a question about this a long time ago, but I searched the archives and even asked one of the mods, who had no memory of it. So I'll ask it:

I'm looking for DIY-project blogs and websites that don't require the electrical engineering proficiency of a site/publication like MAKE: and its related blog. I'm a programmer, so code projects are cool, but I'm crap at soldering and know squat about electronics and hardware hacks.

Particularly I'm looking for sites that have fun small-to-medium-sized projects (meaning cool bookcases are great, but not backyard sheds). Again, programming project ideas would be great, but I'm really looking for stuff I can build with my hands and my now not-unrespectable collection of power tools.

I know about instructables and finkbuilt and that's pretty much it. Ideas?

How to copy mp3s to an iPod without a computer?

pants — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:41:28 -0800

iPod dreams and hacks. I'm in a band and we'd love to give out "demos" via an iPod at shows. We're envisioning a Device that may exist, may need to be hacked together, or may be fundamentally impossible to create. The concept... the Device should be a simple, handheld storage device that transfers the contents of its memory to the iPod through the standard 30-pin iPod dock connector. Thus, we could put our mp3s on people's iPods without having a traditional computer/iTunes interface. We would bring this Device to shows and hand out 21st century demos.

Haven't found anything on Google. The resources I've come across so far indicate that "With the dock connector the iPod can be...connected to a serial device and controlled via the Apple Accessory Protocol". I don't know how to interpret much of that info, but would be curious to learn how, if it would help us build this mythical Device.

Does this Device exist? Is its existence possible? Any advice on building one? Thanks and let me know if I can provide clarification.

Can I email an item to Google Notebook?

zooropa — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:59:33 -0800

Is there a way to "email an item" to Google Notebook? I am evaluating several options for a personal/public Web notebook/journal. I have used Backpack in the past, but the lack of any kind of search utility is a deal-killer for me.

I've been playing around with Google Notebook and am starting to like it a lot. One thing that Backpack does well, though, is allow you to email an item to a specific page? Is there a way to do this with Google Notebook? If not, is there a way to hack it, either through Google Gears or Greasemonkey (or some other scheme)?

Thanks!

What cool stuff can I do with a satellite TV dish?

kdar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:32:10 -0800

I have a Dish Network satellite dish + satellite receiver that I never returned after I cancelled my contract with them. What cool things can I do with it? I'm moving in a few months, up to NYC, where I certainly won't have the space for it to sit in storage (or the desire for Dish network). So what can I do with this bulky, awkward, as-far-as-I-can-tell-useless hunk of hardware? Does anyone actually buy these things?

(Yes, I paid the fee. It was a snafu and a waste of money and all that. Please refrain from pointing this out to me; I'm well aware already.)

I think my Wi-fi is being leeched, Please help!

spinko — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:09:51 -0800

I think my Wi-fi is being leeched, Please help! I have had no problems with my old wired router for broadband for my 2 laptops. No problems with speed or Ping.

I upgraded to wi-fi at home for my 2 laptops. I got recommended The Netgear DG834G, both connect to the internet fine.

Im using WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key) for protection. Got a choice of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA-802.1x

When playing online games it Good and bad at times. Im getting 300-500ms ping on World Of Warcraft. Sometimes its so bad I turn off the router and restart it. For 2-3 mins its 150ms then jumps back to 300-500ms.

Incase you asked, none of the computers connected are downloading anything.

I was so pissed the other night I disconnected the router for 16 hours. The next day I played the game, perfect pings. Day later back to being bad.

Security is turned on, I check the attached devices when ping is bad and it says UNKNOWN as an Computer Name.

Whats weird is that when sometimes I get a popup from Windows saying that my IP is conflicting.

Both Laptops are 192.168.0.2 and the other 192.168.0.3

Upgraded to latest Firmware on the router.

Could someone be hacking into my router for free access?
If so How can I stop it as its annoying.