Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with line

In what cartoon does Foghorn Leghorn say, "Kids coming up nowadays don't even know how to tie down their pumpkins"?

Joe Beese — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:49:24 -0800

In what cartoon does Foghorn Leghorn say, "Kids coming up nowadays don't even know how to tie down their pumpkins"? I've seen it attributed to "Henhouse Henery" (1949) - but this appears to be incorrect.

What is that smell in High Line Park in NYC?

Jimmie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:13:28 -0800

What is that smell in High Line Park in NYC? There is a relatively new odor in the air around High Line Park. It is sharp and pungent, smells vaguely of cilantro. Other passersby have also noticed the aroma, many of which have stopped to locate, but nobody can. Any thoughts?

How to set up a second phone number for a home office, cheap, in Canada?

ManInSuit — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:18:13 -0800

How to set up a second phone number for a home office, cheap, in Canada? I am in Canada. I work from home, and live here with my partner.

From time to time, when I give my phone number to clients, I wish I had something like a separate line. There are two issues I want to solve:

The main issue:

1) When clients call and leave a voicemail, they hear our “home” outgoing message. I’d rather they hear something more professional sounding. (But I don’t want to change our home OGM).

A secondary issue:

2) From time to time, clients call when my partner is on the phone, and I don’t get the message right away.

Getting a whole second line, with its own extra phone, seems like overkill, given the very low volume of calls I get, and given the multiplicity of options we already have for talking to people (one landline for the two of us, one cell phone each, and skype).

I wonder if there might be something not too expensive (Say – Maybe up to $5/month or so), that could do something like the following (though I’m open to variations):

- Give me a new local number I could give to clients that would be just for my business

- When clients phone that number and get voicemail, it would be a specific “business” outgoing message.

- When clients phone and I’m around, it rings, ideally on my regular phone.

- What would be awesome: When client phone and I miss the call (say, because my partner is on the other line), I get an email or other notification on my computer, so I can call the client back quickly.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

What's the optimal amount to spend on this raffle?

boghead — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:04:13 -0800

There's a monthly raffle at work for 5 parking spaces out back. There are about 30 people in my office. There's no limit to the amount of tickets you can buy. You can only win once. Otherwise, parking costs about $4 a day, or about $80 a month. Raffle proceeds go to charity. What's the optimal amount to spend on this? I should tell you also that this question is purely academic because the raffle has been discontinued. But I still want to know what you all think because work is boring as all get out.

What's the best way to figure this out? One friend said she'd use a stats program, another said Matlab. I was thinking maybe a nice line graph with asymptotes and bright colors and such?

I figure the absolute most you would want to spend on this raffle would be $80, only because it goes to charity. Also, I'm assuming no one else in the office ever bought more than 2 or 3 tickets.

How to handoff cell to land line

Thrillhouse — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:46:29 -0800

I have two new iPhones. I also have a land line in my house. My cell signal in my house is poor at best. I like my land line so I'm going to keep it. I would like my cell phone to transfer to my land line when I'm home so I can get cell calls at home. I can't seem to find a product that will hand off my cell calls to my land line. Does such a thing exist?

Inexpensive RCA-in, RCA-out, In-line DVR with no subscriptions?

Quarter Pincher — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:55:28 -0800

Inexpensive standalone (non-computer) DVR solution for in-line video game recording? Preferably RCA in, RCA out, with 10+hours record time uncompressed/highest quality. I'm looking for something that'll essentially perform like a "press record now" device akin to a VCR, that will record anything coming in through the RCA input, but with relatively uncompressed quality. I make a lot of video game YouTube videos, and most games do not have their own go-back-and-watch features.

I tried this with a VCR to "technical" success (but with hideous recording quality) and am considering digital options now. My father suggested a hard-drive-based digital video camera that has RCA ins and outs, but I wouldn't know where to begin.

Any suggestions for brands and models to start looking, or have similar experience to share?

I need a simple time line program for OSX.

MadamM — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:56:50 -0800

I'm looking for a program, or way to use a program I already have, that will make simple time lines. I'm studying for a history midterm that features lots of dates, and I want a way to display all of them in relation to each other. I don't need a lot of features, but I do need free. I'm using Mac OSX. I downloaded this program, which doesn't seem to deal well with dates that are just years. I also have Excel 2008, if there's a way to make it create simple time lines easily. I do not not not want to do this by hand- my handwriting sucks and it wouldn't be worth the time it would take to make it. I just want a simple line down the page, with the dates displayed with a simple title. Surely, someone has developed a bare bones freeware solution to this problem over the years, right?

Can anyone recommend a stock library of technical line drawings online?

jacobean — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:47:52 -0800

Can anyone recommend a website that does stock technical illustrations such as line drawings of electronic circuits etc? I am familiar with iStockphoto and Shutterstock, which do have stock technical line drawings but is there any other website I can look?

I am working with Illustrator and need stock technical (preferably line-type) drawings of general engineering and electronic engineering?

What is the name of this story about waiting? "Godot" isn't in the title.

grumblebee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:24:33 -0800

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.

collection of memorable lines/paragraphs in english literature?

krautland — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:39:42 -0800

collection of memorable lines/paragraphs in english literature? I'm trying to find blogs/websites/books highlighting the most recognizable/memorable/famous passages from contemporary as well as historical fiction. google is throwing a heap of gunk at me but few quality results. any suggestions?

Need help on line from one of the Planet of the Apes movie.

foodybat — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:12:21 -0800

I need to know which Planet of the Apes movie the line, "Your parents died 2000 years ago! (laughing)".... This is from a buddy of mine, so i don't know if this is exactly the correct quote or not. Once I find out which movie it's from, i need to rip that sound clip into a mp3 file......
Any help would be most appreciated, as I need this for tonight.

Trace a call that can't be traced?

hammerthyme — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:00:58 -0800

What can I possible do about someone that is repeatedly calling my place of employment and hanging up? I'm sitting here at my place of employment, a federally run "health clinic," and within the past hour have received 6 phone calls, all of which hung up after 2 seconds. This has been happening off and on for the past month.

The call goes like this:
- Phone rings
- We pick up and say, "Thank you for calling blah blah, this is blah blah, how can I help you?"
- 2 seconds goes by with a TV audible in the background, and then the caller hangs up

We've noticed that if a female picks up the phone, the caller doesn't hang up right away.

According to the telecommunications chief, who works in a different building but is responsible for our telephone system, there is nothing that can be done. Additionally, we're on a multi-line system so caller id isn't possible. Phone junkies, are you out there? Is this a shot in the dark or can I do something?

The mind is willing but the math is weak

Ookseer — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:41:19 -0800

Long Forgotten Mathfilter: I have a point and a line segment in 2d space. How do I find the closest point on the line to the point? Say that I have a line segment going from 0,0 to 20,100. And I have a point at... say 70,30. What coordinates on the line are closest to that point?

Great appreciation to anyone who keeps it simple and shows their work since my math skills have degraded to the point where I can just about calculate a tip. (Depending on how much wine is on the bill.)

My car is running at 4000 RPM at 25 mph. What is going on?

bend2squares — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:00:19 -0800

My car is running at 4000 RPM at 25 mph. What is going on? I drive a 98 Mitsubishi Eclipse. I was having what seemed like fuel line issues before now. After driving on the highway, the car would stall out at stops and need to be restarted, but would drive fine if speed was maintained. I found that turning the overdrive off kept this from occuring.

Didn't really have the money to look into it, so I've been driving it this way, which was maybe a terrible idea in hindsight. This morning while driving the car seized or sputtered, and afterward the car was hitting 4000 rpm's when i was only going 25 mph. It would go higher if I tried to accelerate past that.

A buddy suggested it may be an engine controller, and I've felt like there was a possible fuel line issue for a while, but I'm too ignorant to be sure. Any help would be very appreciated.

NYC Esat Village sidewalk paint

pithy comment — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:40:20 -0800

On a random walk through the East Village in NYC last night, we came across a line of paint on the sidewalk. It went from Tompkins park down Ave B. to 4th St, over to 1st Ave, up to 10th or 11th street and then we lost it. This was not a line painted with a bush or a machine. It was random and wiggly - kind of like someone punched a hole in a paint can and let it drip as they walked around the neighborhood. The line is peach colored. Then we found that it continues at Astor Place and Stuyvesant Street. What does this line mean?? Why was it painted? Where does it go?

A question pour VOOO.

phunniemee — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:00:52 -0800

Television show, movie, cartoon, what was it that featured a character saying, "pour vous," in this particular way? Whatever it was, it was said in a sing-song voice and was overly enunciated. As in: pour VOOOO (with a higher pitch on the pour).

I have no idea when I saw this, where I saw this, or even what kind of character said this. I am pretty sure it was said while said character was handing something to someone else.

Anyway, it's been bothering me for a while, since I've adopted it for when I cheesily gift things to people. I'd love if someone out there knows where it's from.

The ineffable scent of sunbeams and happiness

Shepherd — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:37:18 -0800

Line laundry smells awesome and rack laundry... doesn't. Why? Details, if desired: I don't scent my house, and there are always windows open, so "inside" smells to me like "outside" most of the time. I use the same detergent and (rarely) fabric softener regardless of where the laundry is going to hang. I live in a smallish city with minimal air pollution compared to major urban centres (but I think this outdoor/indoor laundry-smell thing is universal regardless, unless you live next to a hog rendering plant or similar).

How best to take discreet private notes on a not so private computer?

therubettes — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:34:50 -0800

I want software which will allow me to capture text thoughts at work, to a remote web location - quickly, discreetly and privately. I work at a computer which is visible to co-workers and is sometimes used by others at short/no notice, so I would like to make the following senario a reality.

1. At work I have a non-work related thought which I wish to capture.

2. I input a keyboard shortcut and am presented with a simple command line interface. Something similar to the google desktop quick search if you have seen it, but perhaps even a little more discreet if thats possible.

3. I type the thought and hit enter/esc and the input screen/command line disappears.

4. The text I entered is not stored locally but sent to some remote web location (I am willing to pay for this service if necessary) where it can be reviewed and edited by me at a later time.

Additional Info:

I am using Windows XP.
A physical notebook and pen is not what I want.
I have had a Palm and did not like it.
I do not want to have to open a web browser.
Have tried using Yahoo Notepad with widget but it is not what I want.
I lose USB memory sticks too often for that to be a reliable method.
A local text file fails the privacy test.
I would prefer not to have to install software but would be happy to run an exe, if it did the job and was safe.
I do not wish to use my cell-phone.
I would like to be able to capture the thought almost as soon as I have it and then return to work immediately.
This is not related to GTD and I do not wish to do any more than input shortcut, type though, hit return.

I have checked lifehacker, ask mefi and similar sites for what I want but can't find precisely what I want.

Formatting charts in Illustrator CS3

special-k — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:03:16 -0800

How do I format an entire data series for a chart in Illustrator CS3? I’m new to illustrator and am having a hell of a time formatting a graph. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to format an entire data series at the same time. Say I have a bar chart with two data series, A and B. I can’t just click on A and change the color for all the bars and the legend at the same time. I have to click each individual bar, and then the legend and change the color, which seems very tedious and needless.
I also have plenty of line charts where I have to select each segment of each line to change the color, which is way more frustrating. I’m sure there’s a simpler way, I just don’t know how. Can anyone tell me a simpler way to do this?

Bonus: Know of any blogs/video tutorials where I can learn to get better at making charts in Illustrator CS3? Book suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks!

How do I calculate the slope of two points in three dimensions?

whatisish — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:27:22 -0800

How do I calculate the slope of two points in three dimensions? For example, what is the slope of the line that passes through points A(-5,-5,7) and B(3,0,5)? Please show your work. This is not a homework question. I gave arbitrary points and asked that folks "show your work" so that

a) people would have an example of what I was asking
b) I could then follow along and actually learn how to solve it myself.

The answer to the arbitrary problem isn't what I seek, it's knowing how to solve for that answer.

Thunderbird Filters and Wrap

zenpop — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:13:10 -0800

Two quick Thunderbird questions: 1. Outgoing mail filters (work-arounds). 2. Incoming mail line breaks. Why would an elaborate and fairly solid email application be developed that doesn't include the ability to set up a filter for OUTGOING email? I desperately need this function due to the huge amount of email that moves through my office. Do any hardcore TB users have a work-around or is their an add-on that I've missed? Yes, I'm aware that email sent as a RESPONSE will go into the same folder as the INCOMING filter routed it, but I need to have all originally generated email go into various folders, etc.

Also, I have several regular correspondents that send email that does not WRAP. Reading their missives is impossible as the line lenghth will stretch two feet across the email template. Any suggestions to remedy this?

I need help with a tagline for my new ecommerce store

adriana — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:49:36 -0800

Can you help me find a great tagline for my new ecommerce store? I am opening a new ecommerce store that will sell backyard related items: patio furniture and lighting, storage sheds, hot tubs, gardening tools, etc.

The name of the business is Better Backyards, and I need help in coming up with a great tag line. Any help very much appreciated.

We need some phone and internets for a small Glasgow business!

By The Grace of God — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:06:49 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good business line and phone service provider for Glasgow? There are over 400 firms using BT's network, and plenty of other firms as well. I'd like to know which is the best to deal with for a small business line and broadband provision service.

We will just need some very basic internet use and modest phone call making, UK calls exclusively, landlines and mobiles.

We are a registered charity so discounts are good, as is inexpensivity in general!

line-spacing in Korean MS Word

washburn — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:37:36 -0800

Line spacing in international (Korean) versions of Microsoft Word? I teach freshman comp at an American university, and my sections often include international students. I've noticed that some of these students, particularly those who tell me that they're using versions of Microsoft word they've brought with them from Korea, turn in papers with very wide (2.5?) spaces between lines, rather than with the usual double-spacing one would see in papers printed with US versions of Word.

Is there some reason why versions of Microsoft Word from Korea uses such wide line-spacing when printing text in Western characters, and is there any particular difficulty in getting such copies of Word to use the same spacing as American versions of Word? What instructions should I give my students to insure that their lines are spaced in the same way they're spaced by US copies of Word? A few students have said this is a Word issue, and told me that this spacing is somehow difficult to adjust.

At first I thought this was just an odd thing, but I've noticed it now in the papers of several students.

I'm looking for a program that could serve as a perpetual, scrolling RSS feed that would cull news from various servers to be run on legacy OSes.

Lockeownzj00 — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:23:32 -0800

AsceticRSSFilter: I'm looking for a program I found by chance awhile ago that could serve as a perpetual, scrolling RSS feed that would cull news from various servers to be run on legacy OSes. I'm trying to turn my spare PC into something useful. I remember finding a program on the net awhile ago that serves what I'm looking for.

It was a command-line based client that would stream a sort of rss feed from this one website with miscellaneous news: local, weather, politics, etc. The program was meant to be installed and left on perpetually, and the feed would scroll as well. It could be run on old 386s and 486s, Palm Pilots, and pretty much any legacy OS without a graphical environment.

It was probably a one-word url/website/name, IIRC. Also, I found it through the comments of another website (which I can't remember) which I was looking at that gave tutorials on turning old laptop monitors into digital paintings/wall-pieces (ie 77 million paintings).

Thanks again.