Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with blue

Stupid Blue Screen... Grumble Grumble.

Mastercheddaar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:19:51 -0800

Problems with Kaspersky Anti-Virus and XP... Blue Screens and All! More inside. 1st I am on another computer that is right beside the one that isn't working.

I will start from the beginning. I uninstalled AVG 9.0 free so I could install Kaspersky 2010. Everything went fine there (or so I'm thinking), then during kaspersky's installation it stated that there was a "newer version" of the setup file and that it was recommended that I use that version instead. Not thinking I pressed yes. It uploaded the setup file and I got an invalid file message with the normal "Retry, Cancel, Abort, Ignore" I pressed Retry a few times and nothing happened so I pressed Ignore. After I pressed Ignore it seemed to work perfectly then it blue screened me. Now when I start the computer it runs through the BIOS perfectly then goes to the WINXP loading screen, looks like it's going to load up then goes to the blue screen.

I can start the computer in Safe Mode and I can put in the XP disk and start it in Windows Recovery mode. In windows recovery I have gone through the "ListSVC" and disabled anything that had to do with Kaspersky but I'm still blue screening when I exit and restart.

I have also tried to complete the installation of Kaspersky in Safe mode but it won't let me due to not having admin privledges.

I do not have a recovery point :( and everything worked fine before I uninstalled AVG and tried to install Kaspersky.

I'm on my 2nd cup of Strong coffee and my google fu is failing me. Help Obi One Metafilter you are my only hope!!!

Any ideas?

Why does my mascarpone taste weird?

snailparade — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:35 -0800

Why does my mascarpone taste like alcohol and mushrooms? Is it supposed to taste like that? I don't buy cheese often, and when I do, I'm usually a harvarti or brie kind of person. But tonight I was at a little Italian grocer and decided to try something new. I picked up a package labelled "Torta Mascarpone". When I opened it, it smelled strongly like alcohol. It tastes like alcohol and mushrooms. Not too enticing...

From what little I could find on google, it looks like I've accidentally bought a mascarpone that has a blue cheese mixed in, so that could explain the ick factor. But I've also read that both kinds of cheese go bad fast. Could the alcohol taste mean that it's gone past its prime?

Anyone had this kind of cheese before? Is it supposed to taste like this?

What's added to big fountains that turns the water green?

Rash — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:44:57 -0800

Why is the fountain blue? Here in Silicon Valley, two parks have Geneva-style fountains in the center of their lakes -- one in Sunnyvale, another in Cupertino. Instead of white, like in Switzerland, the water's a kind of azure turquoise. Why? A caustic acid to burn anyone foolish enough to take a dip? Chemicals to eradicate algae? Please advise. I'm reminded of the water I noticed in Disneyland's Rivers of America -- you wouldn't want to fall in there because the water's not clear, rather an opaque green, I guessed to hide the workings of various underwater machinery.

Magic color changing blueberry residue

Rhomboid — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:18:30 -0800

You buy a bag of delicious frozen blueberries and empty its contents into a plastic tub which you keep in the freezer. When the last of the berries have been consumed, a light pinkish-red residue remains in the tub. You proceed to rinse out the container, and after a few seconds under running water the color suddenly and dramatically changes to a deep dark blue. Why? The wikipedia article on anthocyanins mentions that the difference in chemical structure that occurs in response to changes in pH is the reason why anthocyanins are often used as pH indicator, as they change from red in acids to blue in bases. Does simply diluting the blueberry-goo with water really alter the pH that significantly? Or is something else at work here?

Blue and red roofs in Beijing?

molecicco — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:45:41 -0800

Look at GoogleMaps over Beijing. About a quarter of the buildings have rooftops that are red or blue. And the color is really strong in comparison to everything else. Has the image been colored, or are they just painted? Either way... Why?

What does the blue flag with a wavy line represent?

sicem07 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:22:58 -0800

What does the blue flag with a wavy white line (horizontal, I believe) represent? I've seen a sticker on several cars around town with a blue flag and a single wavy white line. The internet, or rather my search skills, has been failing me.

Ready to jump off a klif.sys....

DavidNYC — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:58:25 -0800

I'm getting a Blue Screen of Death on startup (Windows XP Pro) which says that the "problem" (whatever it may be) is being caused by a file called klif.sys. Googling around indicates it's a Kaspersky file, and I do indeed have their anti-virus software installed on my system. But I haven't found any solutions, and I can't get past this BSOD. Is there any hope for me? (More details inside.) A few days ago, Windows informed me that it needed to restart after installing some updates. (I don't recall what they were exactly, but I think most had to do with Office 2007. Not sure though.) I powered down my computer and went to bed. The next day, when I turned it on, my computer informed me that the file NTOSKRNL.EXE was missing or corrupt. I thought this was strange but couldn't get past this error message by trying "Last Known Good Configuration" or "Safe Mode."

So I followed some online solutions which explained how to restore that file from the original Windows CD, using the Windows Recovery Console. I then got a new message, telling me that still another file, ntfs.sys, was missing or corrupt. So I tried fixing that file, too.

At that point, Windows really jammed me up - it gave me no discernable error messages whatsoever, and just kept restarting after basically getting nowhere during the boot process. (Safe Mode and Last Known Good Config still would not work.) So I took what may have been a foolhardy step - I tried letting the Windows CD automatically "repair" my installation of Windows.

(Side note: One thing I didn't think about until later is the fact that my installation had all the latest patches and updates, meaning it was Windows XP Service Pack 3, but my CD only had as far as Service Pack 1a. Yikes?)

Well, needless to say, this repair feature didn't work. That's when I started getting the klif.sys BSOD, which I reproduce below the dashed lines in full. (At one point, Windows started telling me that yet a different file, system.sav, was corrupt, but I could not figure out how to try repairing that file. In any event, we're back to the klif.sys BSOD for no apparent reason now.)

As I mentioned above, klif.sys is apparently a file that is produced by Kaspersky. However, I can't touch that software or anything else on my system because, as I say, I can't get past this BSOD. The information contained in the BSOD itself is totally unhelpful (and I checked - my system's BIOS doesn't offer any of those memory settings that I can see).

In case any of this is helpful: It's a Dell laptop running Windows XP Pro. I had plenty of free hard drive space. Though the computer is almost six years old, the hard drive is less than two years old. Kaspersky Anti-Virus was up-to-date and as far as I know, I had no viruses or malware infecting my system. (If I did, they were clever enough to defeat Kaspersky.)

Are there any solutions which do not involve me wiping everything out and doing a fresh install of Windows? Obviously this is a scenario I'd like to avoid if possible. Thanks.

--------------------------------------------------
BSOD Below
--------------------------------------------------

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

The problem seems to be caused by the following file: klif.sys

The driver unloaded without cancelling pending operations.

If this is the first time you’ve seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x000000D4 (0xF66DD938, 0x000000FF, 0x00000001, 0x80512922)

klif.sys

Name That Tune.

jimmereeno — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:29:17 -0800

Name that tune! Can anybody help me identify the sample used in the track "No Rest for the Weary" by the Seattle hip-hop group, Blue Scholars? Amazon has a snippet here. thank you.

...Timelords?

gc — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:22:38 -0800

Mysterious blue boxes, Pioneer Courthouse, Portland? &panoidI've been to Portland a few times, and saw these two blue boxes sitting on the southwest corner of the Pioneer Courthouse block. What are they? What do they or did they do? I was once told Portland had a subway, but it flooded and was closed, but I can't find any sort of information to that effect, and I'm dubious about it.

Pictures:
In the upper right-hand corner

Google Street View

Bad blue fringing from nowhere.

Jimbob — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:48:49 -0800

What might be causing the really bad (never before seen) blue-fringing around the guy on the left's shirt in this photo my wife took? This photo was taken on our Olympus E-500 DSLR in RAW mode, 14-50mm Zuiko lens, polarizer filter, with some simple exposure adjustment as the only post-processing. Other photos of this group of people have the same problem around this guy's shirt, but we've never seen any blue-fringing (common with point-and-shoot digital cameras) with this camera before, around anyone or anything, in the last 2 years / 60,000-odd photos. No visible fingerprints on the filter or lens.

What's the verdict - chromatic aberration from the lens / polarizer? Some encroaching problem with our camera? We've captured an aura? Or just bad luck?

Sister's Not Coming Home Unless I Learn These Chords

pipti — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:38:10 -0800

Chord question: would you say that these chords are the correct ones for "Sister's Coming Home/Down at the Corner Beer Joint" from the Blue Kentucky Girl Album? Trying to play along and not sure if they're right. Bonus points if you happen to know the chords for the Willie Nelson version, which is much slower and easier to play along with! thanks.

Help me find some two-year-old cool.

rachelpapers — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:05:53 -0800

Please help me find a specific New York Times tshirt. It's the one Eric wears in Las Vegas in Season 3 episode 9 of Entourage. It is blue and uses the classic NYT typeface and logo, set at an angle on the shirt. I can't find any pictures of it on the web, but I'm hoping you fashionistas out there can give me a hand. Thanks a lot!

Here is a clip for reference.

Thank you very much!

Blue Shoe (inserts)... don't know the name.

djpyk — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:31:29 -0800

I used to own blue shoe inserts for over pronation... except they weren't labeled. Any clue to what they might be called or where to buy them? Any alternate suggestions from fellow flat footers rollin' inwards? The doctor gave them to me originally, but mentioned they were available from specialty stores (probably around 6 years ago). My google-fu found them ~ 3 years ago, but the -fu is coming up short now, and I of course did not bookmark the site that had them... who does that! I also threw out the old ones since they were sweaty, stinky and gross (but oh so comfortable...).

Quick description
Blue (not navy blue) cloth top
Red foamy type bottom, tilted in the correct direction for overpronators.

They weren't custom, and were priced around $50-$60/pair from what I remember. And they weren't Dr. Scholl's ____, although I have never tried Dr. Scholl's.

I do own a pair of custom inserts molded to my foot, but they're a "slick" top vs. a cloth top, so my feet slide around. The aforementioned inserts were a bit more cushy, and wore out much more quickly, as to be expected.

To go with the blue hair?

FuManchu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:01:43 -0800

Why is blue eyeshadow so common? Blue eyeshadow seems to be, by far, the most common non-skintone eyeshadow. Why blue? All searching provides are judgement calls on whether it is still fashionable to wear it.

Is there some apocryphal origin, at least? Most standard makeup seems to be in shades that are already natural -- even clown-red lipstick. But natural blue eyelids I haven't seen.

Please help me scratch this itch.

I want that.

clearly — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:51:57 -0800

It was blue, it was cool, and it was a journal. I want one, but can't find it again. I believe I may have stumbled upon it, or followed a link from here. What I am looking for is a journal. I remember it had a bright blue cover and came with stickers to put on the cover.

Blue Man, not the group.

Slap*Happy — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:25:47 -0800

I'm looking for an old science fiction novel about an evil, blue giant titled "The Blue Man" - the Google and Amazon search is poisoned by both The Blue Man Group, and a young-adult science fiction novel "The Blue Man" which isn't it at all. There is a science fiction novel I read long, long ago called, I think, "The Blue Man" - the Google and Amazon search is poisoned by both The Blue Man Group, and a young-adult science fiction novel "The Blue Man".

It was about a mysterious giant, the titular Blue Man, who laid waste to various human colonies on alien planets, a scene sticking out the most was of the giant being filmed rampaging though a domed-over city, then noticing the camera man and reaching for him, the broadcast going blank thereafter...

It was (I think) a cheesy 60's environmental/war political message dressed up as science fiction, but the scenes where the giant was doing his thing were really thrilling to this closeted giant-monster fan.

I think I would like to read it again, but it's been hell trying to track down a copy. I may have the title wrong.

Float like a....

Joe Rocket — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:26:23 -0800

Can someone identify this Butterfly? Looks slightly like an Adonis Blue (Polyommatus ballagarus), but don't think it is. Apologies for the terrible image... It's from the North of Ireland.

Burn it Blue

msali — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:34:08 -0800

I would like to find a video of Lila Downs appearing at the Academy Awards, please. I was completely underwhelmed by the songs and musical performances at this year's Oscars. Three songs from "Enchanted"? Seriously? I started thinking about good Oscar's performances, and I remembered that five years ago, Caetano Veloso and Lila Downs performed "Burn it Blue" together, and I got shivers down my spine. The recorded version does not do it justice. I would love to be able to watch that specific performance, with Lila and Caetano, but I have been unable to find it through traditional means. Can anyone here help me, perhaps point me in the right direction?

I got the blues, baby

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:30:35 -0800

1. Is blue antifreeze special? 2. If the coolant reservoir is half-full, can I keep driving until I can get what I need? My 2001 Saab 9-3 info panel is telling me to check the coolant level. I opened the hood and the clear coolant reservoir is half-full, and is blue-colored.

In reading on the web, there appears to be numerous warnings about not putting in any color of coolant but what is in the reservoir. For example, mixing orange Dexcool with anything but orange Dexcool will cause cats and dogs to rain from the sky, that sort of thing.

The Saab book also says to take to use "official Saab antifreeze" which I assume I would need to pay the dealer a premium for putting it in.

• If I go to the local auto supplies store, will I find that the blue antifreeze/coolant they sell will work in my car?

• It doesn't seem there's a leak, as far as I can tell — can I keep driving until I get what I need?

Eat it or no?

T.D. Strange — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:00:19 -0800

I left my blue cheese in the fridge for a month- will eating it kill me? It's moldy already, right? When I got home from extended christmas break, I found a half hunk of blue cheese that I left in the fridge since Dec 15th or so. It was unwrapped, in a Glad-lock container.

I realize eating it probably isnt a great idea, but OTOH...it's supposed to be moldy anyway right? What's more mold? (It's moldier than usual, there's mold spots on the outside that aren't there usually.)

Eat it? Trash it? Let it grow into sentience and teach it tricks?

BAD_POOL_HEADER BSOD

edbyford — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:52:44 -0800

"BAD_POOL_HEADER" BSOD on Windows Vista I have just bought a new computer with Windows Vista Home Premium on it, and recently (after a day or so of having it) I keep getting a BSOD, usually within a few minutes of logging on.

The BSOD reads: "BAD_POOL_HEADER" and the stop codes it gives are: 0x00000019 (0x00000020, 0x9B4D8808, 0x9B4D8888, 0x18100018)

Can anyone help with this? I have all Windows updates and drivers installed.

Yves Klein's sponge reliefs - how to?

ClarissaWAM — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:49:27 -0800

I want to make a sponge relief à la Yves Klein, but I don't know how. So I have a friend who loves Yves Klein, and I want to make a "sort of" sponge relief for her. Yves Klein sites (understandably) don't seem to have "tutorials".

All I've got so far is "buy sponges, cut them to shape, glue to canvas and paint blue" which is a bit dire. (NB the canvas I intend to use is only 30x30cm - it needs to go on a plane.) I'm open to anything and everything (even ideas vaguely inspired by Klein - as long as the intention is clear).

Semi-bonus question: I am not too concerned about the colour itself, I'll make my own - however if anyone has a "OMG I saw this paint that totally reminded me of his blue," I'm all ears.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

What is the origin/history of Red and Blue as juxtaposed colors?

pokermonk — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:35:27 -0800

What is the origin/history of Red and Blue as juxtaposed colors to denote entities in conflict? From battles to politics, from video games and normal ones to sports (Olympic boxing, at least) and allusion to itself, red and blue are the standard for colors of conflict.

Of all the fucked up colors in this world, why'd it have to be these two?

They're not even complements.

Blue shirt with blue jeans?

pokermonk — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:20:25 -0800

When is it (if ever) fashionable to wear a blue shirt with blue pants - particularly blue jeans? It seems always wrong to me or at least a labyrinthian puzzle far beyond my clothing wisdom, but I feel like I have seen it pulled off with dash and cunning.

Does skin tone matter? If extra non-blue layers can make it work, what colors create a requirement for the minimal number of those layers? I want to know everything there is to know about blue-on-blue.

I realize the collective pool on Metafilter is a bit on the deep-side of nerdy, but I'd like to hear from any geeked-out, closet fashionistas...

If it is possible, give me RGB values or a kuler swatch.

After installing 10.5, can no longer boot into WinXP via Boot Camp!

Ekim Neems — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:51:41 -0800

After doing a clean install of MacOS X Leopard, while leaving my previous Boot Camp partition in tact, I'm getting a blue-screen when attempting to boot directly into XP via Boot Camp... ... I can, however, run the Boot Camp partition in a Parallels VM just fine. The blue screen of death is mentioning a driver "ati2dvag.dll" or something similar. It appears that I need to update the drivers from the Leopard install DVD. The problem is, I can't get into Windows to do that.

I'm able to get into Safe Mode, but I cannot run the Boot Camp installation because the Windows Installer service is not running. I've tried to start it manually but to no avail. From within Safe Mode, I've also attempted to perform installs on the individual drivers from within the Leopard DVD, but they will not load either.

And since Parallels has its own configuration with separate drivers, I cannot update the drivers from within Parallels - it appears that will only mess up my Parallels VM. Any suggestions how I can get in to update those drivers somehow, or am I doomed to reformat and reinstall XP?