Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with idiot

Idiot-Proof Camera

Yakuman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:15:38 -0800

What the most idiot-proof low-end digital camera? Emphasis on idiot.

The Day The Music Died...Hopefully.

iconomy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:29:41 -0800

Every five minutes my computer makes a pretty sound. Why? Ever since last night, my computer makes a short but melodious sound every five minutes. I haven't changed any settings that I'm aware of (I don't even know how to set up an alert/timer and don't know if it's even possible), and have run 2 virus programs. I've rebooted and it's still there. It sounds like someone very quickly and lightly running their hand over the keys of a toy piano. I have a pc running XP. I have nothing running in the background and only one browser window open. Any ideas as to what it might be or where I could look to investigate?

When I was young I drew all over the neck of one of my guitars with a sharpie, thinking it would make me "metal." I am now older and wiser. How do can I remove this mistake?

ichthuz — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:41:53 -0800

When I was young I drew all over the neck of one of my guitars with a sharpie, thinking it would make me "metal." I am now older and wiser. How do can I remove this mistake?

I'm such a clutz.

Zé Pequeno — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:45:22 -0800

I spent a month labouring away on a website only to somehow delete it before emptying the trashcan. Yes, I know. Pathetic. It's been a week, however, and I'm seriously thinking of going to the expense of having it professionally retrieved. I know deleted photos can usually be retrieved - which is good because I really need them - but what are my chances of being able to get back properly formatted .html pages? Or formatted in such a way that I can at least try and restore them to their former glory.

How do i download new browser if Safari wont load?

sydney54 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:45:44 -0800

How do i download new browser if Safari wont load? I dont really do Macs For reasons unknown safari wont load on houseguest's powerbook. How do I download new browser (firefox?) if safari wont load? I have next to no experience with macs so probably missing something obvious. OR, is there something I could try to get Safari to load. When launch Safari it appears for a microsecond then dissappears.

Do you have any cool suggestions for renaming a website?

cjorgensen — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:04:45 -0800

I've launched a website less than a month ago, but all the domain names I think best fit what I am doing are taken, so I took a name I don't like. I would like your help renaming it. I posted here before asking for suggestions for a rename for the site, but since I included the current site URL, it was seen as through I was trying to promote the domain I want to get rid of, and the post appropriately deleted. But I still have the problem, still hate the name.

To add a bit of fuel to the fire, I included part of another company's trademark in my name. It would probably stand up to any kind of challenge, I just would rather avoid such, since I lack the funds to mount any kind of fight.

The site consists of me sending questions, concerns, observations, or plain old ink soaked stupidity to companies, individuals, institutions, and luminaries of various sorts, then posting my original letter, the reply (and image of), and commentary on both.

This is not a new idea, nor am I pretending it is. I'm running with the premise from the Lazlo Toth books, the "Letters from an Idiot" books, with a bit of "Thanks for the Memos" and "The Yes Men" thrown in.

I would like help renaming the site. I prefer a .com site, but will consider others. The domain has to be available (obviously). Due to self-imposed constraints it can only be one of the following TLDs: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, or .us, since these are the only ones the place I intend to use as a registrar handles. Ok, so they also do .cn and .ws, but since I am neither Chinese nor Western Samoan I think these would be kinda crappy.

Ideas would be great. Addresses posted here might be snapped up by anyone, but unless you have a better way to do this, I guess I will live with the risk. I plan to rename the site on June 30th.

data recovery on iPhone?

Countess Elena — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:58:33 -0800

Can you save data from an iPhone, in any manner, once it has entered "recovery" mode and iTunes informs you that you need to restore the phone? I know that a more technical-minded person wouldn't have let this happen, and I promise I checked out the manual on this. I know I'm a goober for using iTunes; please do not chide me! Here's what happened.

1. I take a bunch of great pictures today, and plug in the iPhone to upload them.

2. It has been a few weeks since I last did so, and iTunes offers me a software upgrade. I say yes.

3. Big mistake.

4. iTunes could not finish installing the software because "an unknown error occurred." It seems as if the connection was physically interrupted, but I don't know how.

5. iTunes then informs me that the phone was in "recovery mode" and I couldn't use iTunes without either restoring or using something called "iBoot."

6. But my pictures! And I don't have iBoot. What the hell is iBoot? My iPhone will not respond.

7. As the computer does not appear to perceive that the iPhone is connected, and a disconnection sound was made, I remove it and turn the phone on and off a few times. Although responding to button commands, the iPhone will only return to a screen showing the cord and an iTunes logo.

8. I hate this piece of shit slow-ass Toshiba oh my God I hate it I hate it.

9. I try Google, and am confused by all the possibilities for the problem and the recovery.

10. I try this question.

Can I retrieve my pictures? Are the data recovery applications I find on Google reputable and useful in this situation? Thank you so much for your help.

How do I find a companies Fed Tax ID online?

lattiboy — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:57:39 -0800

How to find a company's Federal Tax ID # (in a hurry!) I went to click "finish" on the ol' turbotax and realized I hadn't entered the info for a 1099-MISC from a company (ABC Networks, Disney). I (still can't believe I) somehow lost the tax receipt since filling out all the other info and now I'm screwed. Please help (if possible/legal). Also, if this isn't possible, is it advisable to file without the number?

PS I know how stupid this is.

Bamboozled

dancinglamb — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:34:39 -0800

Stupid Cooking Filter: How do you use a bamboo steamer? Bought one yesterday on a whim. I found it in an Asian grocery store and it came with absolutely no instructions. So, after Googling around, this is what I did:

Took a large pot, put a few inches of water in the bottom (so it came just below the lowest level of the steamer), used a piece of parchment paper (didn't have any large lettuce leaves) on each of the two 'racks', and put the shumai on top of the parchment - I also stabbed the parchment a couple times with a knife so any water could drain down. I then put the lid on the steamer, and then the lid on the pot. I steamed them for about 25-30 minutes .

The end result was....to put it mildly... gross. The outside of the shumai were a doughy mess - almost pasty in texture (the dumpling wrapper was flour based). I tried to eat one and ended up spitting it out. I don't know if it was that it wasn't cooked, or if the bamboo had somehow imparted a wierd taste (I rinsed the steamer only with water first before using it.

So, now I have this nifty steamer sitting on my counter. Is it going to end up holding Post Its and spare keys or does it really have potential?

Thanks!

Build a Linux PC for a Dummy

DU — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:52:28 -0800

I'm building a PC for the first time and need someone to check my work. There was a recent question on this very topic and he even has basically the same requirements that I do: Linux¹, cheapish², would like 3D³. The problem is, I already have my parts all picked out and I'm way too ignorant to be able to compare the lists. He also already had a bunch of components so it isn't a complete list.

This question is really better suited for asking a knowledgeable friend of mine. And I did ask the one person I know about it, but he's so far above me I got no intelligible reply.

My hand-holding questions are these:

Will the below components all work together?
Have I made any shockingly dumb choices (i.e. twice the speed/capacity/sexiness/brandnamitude for the same price or not much more)?
Have I forgotten anything? (I have keyboard, mouse and speakers and I got a nice big digital LCD monitor for Xmas)
Since I'm obviously so frightened by (and uninterested in) this process, would I be better off just buying a Dell?

My choices. I based these picks on this list but the Newegg reviews indicated that the MB wouldn't work well, if at all, under Linux. After spending 2 days poring over incomprehensible numbers and acronyms, I swapped it for a working MB....I think.

¹I'm not at all new to Linux, but that said I don't want to have to do a bunch of crazy configuring and/or compiling to make my hardware work. Ubuntu is my most recent fave distro.

²I was originally thinking $500-$700, but my wife did our taxes last weekend and even the frugal she declared I could go higher. She didn't quite say "money is no object" but she seemed fairly upbeat...say to the tune of up to ~$300 more. This money might be best spent extending the lifetime of the performance, since I will probably have this computer for 4-5 years.

³I don't play games, but there are many non-game programs I'm barred from running because my CPU overheats trying to do the graphics, if it runs at all. Maybe I don't need hardware acceleration so much as a modern computer (my current one is from 2003)...?

Spain or Pain?

JohnnyGunn — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:00:52 -0800

Panic is in the house. My wife has planned a trip with our 13 year old daughter from the US to Spain. They leave on Sunday afternoon from JFK. Tonight while gathering her passport, we realize that her passport expired 1 year ago. (A minor's passport is only valid for 5 years.) Assuming cost is not an issue, is there anyway for my wife and daughter to make the trip legally on Sunday? I am looking for practical advice for someone in the NY tri-state area.

PI = Public Idiot?

lohmannn — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:17:24 -0800

As a kid in junior high, my friends and I used the expression "P.I." a lot. It stood for "public idiot", and we used it to make fun of someone when they did something foolish. Did we make it up, or has anyone else ever heard of it? Where did it come from (movie, book?)

I signed a contract in Spanish!

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:21:39 -0800

Am I bound by the terms of a contract that I signed if that contract was written in Spanish? I'm in California and a native English speaker. It's embarrassing to admit, but I didn't read all of my car lease paperwork, and it turns out that the contract itself is written entirely in Spanish. I was in a hurry, and signed on the dotted line without more than a quick check that the payment schedule and buyout amount matched what was negotiated. Now it's time to return the car, and I'm just reading for the first time what I signed.

I believe that the car dealer acted in good faith and simply put the wrong form into the printer (all of the other paperwork is in English). I'm not trying to get out of anything, exactly. I'm more curious about what kind of negotiation power I have if they try charge me for excess wear on the car. E.g. "Those scratches are very minor. I'll do what it says under the 'Responsabilidad por terminacion convenida' and let's call it even."

As I said, this is in California. I know you're not my lawyer, and I should consult with one if it gets to that. To emphasize - I don't speak Spanish and would not be mistaken for someone who does (by name, appearance or accent). I believe it was an honest mistake.

For extra credit: My obligations are in the fine print on the back side of the form. Presumably it says somewhere on the front that the terms are continued on the back, but I don't see that text anywhere and I signed on the front without ever turning it over (obviously). Does this change anything?

Was I in serious danger?

UnclePlayground — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:01:43 -0800

TorontoFilter: What can you tell me about this place/area just east of downtown Toronto? (description follows) Three tall apartment-looking buildings on the southeast corner of Gerrard St E. and River St. in Toronto, Canada. I had the unfortunate incident of visiting Toronto in 2002 and found myself in the courtyard area of these buildings late one night, alone. I ended up skittering along buildings and bushes, to not be noticed by the locals, and headed south along River Rd. to Dundas. There, I got the attention of a cab and made my way back to downtown. What's that area like and how much danger was I in? Was I an idiot for getting myself into that situation? Or was there no problem?

(maybe this link will help, but not quite sure...)
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=10&z=18&ll=43.663192,-79.358121&spn=0.002581,0.004517&t=h&om=1

Burnt Offerings

ninazer0 — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:41:22 -0800

Whoops! I've temporarily (I hope) lost my cooking mojo - how do I remove the carbon from my saucepans? So, one night I was steaming rice via the absorbtion method (bring rice & water to the boil and then turn down with the lid on to finish off). Somehow I managed to forget that I was cooking anything and the result was a layer of carbonised rice that was nearly impossibly to pry off the pan.

I've tried everything in my cleaning cupboard and not even steel wool can shift the residue. My pans are made from good quality stainless steel. How do I shift the carbon? Draino? Acid?

I've since repeated this cooking disaster (this time with a chicken tagine) which, although not quite as bad (thanks to the smoke detector) is still going to be a complete bitch to clean.

Help!

Vegetarian diet and exercise plan?

JamesToast — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:41:43 -0800

Can anyone recommend a vegetarian diet and exercise plan? I'm a vegetarian. I have been going through a bout of depression and have put on about 30 extra pounds.

I'm looking for a good diet and exercise plan. In can be in the form of a book or a website (I would be willing to pay to join something). What I'm looking for is a specific list of meals to eat and exercises to do. I could probably come up with something on my own, but I won't. When left to my own devices, I do things like buy (literally) 20 boxes of Special K cereal and convince myself that if I eat it for every meal I can lose the extra weight. Did you know that they have Special K with little chocolate pieces in it? They do. Yes, I am an idiot and I hate myself.

I am imagining something very brainless where I wake up, check the list, see that today I am supposed to run three miles and do 30 sit-ups, then eat toast and half a grapefruit. Or whatever. For some reason I am willing to let a list on a piece of paper be the boss of me, and I am trying to use that to my advantage. I'm not looking for a fad diet or anything crazy.

Anyway, any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

Help me not faux pas

speranza — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 14:53:27 -0800

Questions about guesthouse etiquette. So I'm off to stay in a semi-fancy guesthouse for the first time alone and I'm not quite sure about a few things. I'm supposed to pay in cash on arrival, which is fine, but do I just pay the bill or add a tip (which seems to me like a weird thing to do when you've just arrived and I don't even know if you're supposed to tip in this situation. I'm an ex-waitress so I tip pretty much everywhere...)?

Also, am I likely to be expected to be out of the house all day/evening? I know this is probably depends on the place, but in guesthouses in general, is this usually the case? Of course I won't want to be hanging around in my room the whole time, but I don't want to feel like I *can't* either.

Really, I just want a bit of advice on how not to make myself look stupid in someone else's home.

BTW, this is in the UK and I'll be staying for two nights.

When I said "yes," I meant "no."

russmail — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 08:43:23 -0800

You met someone online, you chatted on the phone, you went for lunch, it was fine, but you're not interested. And then on parting you're asked, "would you like to do this again?" and you say, "yes," because it's too embarrassing to say "no." How do you deal with this situation, and prevent it from happening in the first place?

How to deal with idiot professors

baking soda — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:04:35 -0800

Verbally bitchslapping a professor via email: can I get in trouble? I wont be doing it anonymously, I am not going to lose my head, but it is going to be a brutal diss of an email and I can see myself possibly getting in trouble for writing such a 'nasty' email. (It's all relative, it isn't really that nasty). I just wondered if anyone knows if this is within my rights or can the professor unilaterally drop me from the course from one email telling her to get her act together. I am at a Canadian University.

Rocover forgotten windows xp pro admin password

JohnnyGunn — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:01:13 -0800

I cannot remember my windows XP Pro password. I am an administrator. Need to install software and change to a dynamic ip address. I have a pc that has been idle (not in use) for about 8 months. I was planning on using it again. I tried every password I have used in the past 5 years. None work. I have tried basic others like "password", "administrator", etc.

The person who built this pc for me is not reachable. He has moved with no forwarding info.

Is there a way to either reset the administrator's password, my password (I am an administrator), or upgrade the permissions of an existing user to be an/the administrator? I can login to an account that is not an administrator.

Or am I SOL?

this is why i shouldn't be a manager

bilabial — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:29:20 -0800

tax idiot filter: I need to get some things postmarked today. It's 6:30pm where I am. My boss left me to deal with the accountant and our tax forms. They are here with me, but they need to go to some of our former employees. And the tax man. How can I find a contract location that will get this postmarked like I need?

Also appreciated would be some calming words to use tomorrow when he signs the forms and writes the checks and realizes that there will be a penalty. (what will that penalty be?)

Worry about things missing from wallet?

adamk — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 15:28:06 -0800

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? I realize I'm lucky to have gotten the wallet back at all. I'm not the smartest guy after a few drinks.

Left in the wallet: my major credit cards, ATM cards, old student ID, a few membership cards to various organizations.

Missing from the wallet: my driver license, my health insurance card, a prepaid calling card, a few of my business cards and $25. Probably some other cards I never use as well... holding it in my hand the wallet seems lighter than usual.

I'm not planning on contacting any credit card companies or banks since none of my financial cards were taken. I'll go to the DMV and get a new license sometime this week, and also get a new health insurance card from work.

I'm curious though... is there any risk with someone running around with my license and business cards and health insurance card and maybe something else that was in my wallet that I forgot about (I clean out my wallet about once a year and there's always something in there that I didn't remember putting in there).

There was a period of time when I kept my social security card in the wallet, and when a friend saw it he told me to keep it somewhere safe so that having my wallet stolen wouldn't instantly make me a candidate for identity theft. I'm very glad I took that advice.

Dead grasshopper

Homeskillet Freshy Fresh — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:22:21 -0800

My fingers are stuck in a chinese finger trap at the office, and my coworkers refuse to help. Googling 'chinese finger trap solution' isn't working. FIX ME

OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod

Moondoggie — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:31:55 -0800

Miracle Filter: I'm trying to make sure I've covered all of my options and while I hope that this hasn't happened to you, I secretly hope it happened to someone. My hard drive is dead. Well, not exactly the whole drive. One partition of an external firewire drive. I'm on Mac OSX and first went to TechToolPro and Disk Warrior. They tell me I used to have 72GB there. They can rebuild the directory to see 26GB. Insert cursing.

I called Drive Savers for an estimate. Using the Economy delivery service, the charge would be from $500 to $2700. $500 if they recovered 10%, $2700 if they recover it all. Insert fainting.

My latest crackpot scheme is forensic software. I have an email in to a place that sells it to see if I can download a demo to see if it works. Pricey, but not 2700 frickin' dollars. Insert hope.

My question (finally) is: have any of you gone through this hell and retrieved all or most of your data, and if so, was it by using a method I'm not thinking of. Oh, I tried going in through the UNIX on a whim and that didn't work either.

Yes, I'll backup my data from now on and so should you. Do it NOW! Well, after you've answered, at least.