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Is a partially working fuel gauge on a 2000 VOLVO C70 serious?

gttommy — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:52:20 -0800

Is a partially working fuel gauge on a 2000 VOLVO C70 serious? I am interested in buying this car, but it's the weekend and I can't call up a car shop to ask about this.

The gauge apparently works from a full tank, pointing to 100% till about 60% remaining, then stops there. I was told this was an easy fix. How much would this cost to fix?

DVD/CD drive feeling unwell - suggestions?

AllieTessKipp — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:50:54 -0800

My DVD/CD and CD drives only work a little bit. I apologize in advance as this is very long and tedious. I am trying to be thorough so that maybe someone can read this and have a suggestion or ask a question to get more information that might prompt a suggestion for me.

I have Windows XP Home and I bought a Dell. I've been very happy with this machine. I am still happy with it, just puzzled by this issue. The computer is perhaps 5-6 years old.

My computer used to happily read, rip, and burn CDs and DVDs with no problem. A few months ago, I started getting errors occasionally when burning a CD. The last couple of months it has gotten worse and now when I put a CD, over half the time it will not burn. I was using Easy CD Creator that came with my machine, and then I got DeepBurner, which is free. They both work about the same amount of the time.

Now the DVD/CD drive that reads and writes will not automatically bring up the disk I put in like it used to do. I like for that drive, when I put in an audio CD, to just start ripping the tracks. I do this mainly for audio books I get from the library. I rip them to play on my little player while I walk, and then I delete them when I'm done listening. Sometimes if I buy an audio book on 10 CDs, I prefer to rip all the CDs and then burn all those tracks, after sticking them back together with Windows Movie Maker, to ONE CD instead of 10. This makes it easier when I want to listen to my book again. This works well for me. But now I am having all this trouble with the drives.

If I open Windows Media Player (I have 11), and click on "rip" it will let me choose from the two drives and then I can rip the CD. So on some level, Windows knows the CD is there. But if I double click on the CD drive listed under "My Computer" it just opens a blank empty window. If I right click and select "autoplay" it will ask me if I want to burn a CD (the answer is no, since the CD has stuff on it...).

My other drive, which is just one for reading CDs, still seems to work okay but it also is not showing up with the name of the CD in the My Computer list like it used to.

I started to have these problems about 6 weeks ago in earnest. Recently I started a new job and had to download some software, which mostly works fine except for some occasional glitch where the sound stops working on my entire computer. I don't know if these things are related. I did not have that issue come up today, where the last 3 days it happened multiple times each day. Last night I upgraded to Windows Media Player 11, and the software for work uses that program to play the sound files (I'm a medical transcriptionist).

I have done lots of looking around on Google and such and have followed many suggestions and none have offered a solution. There was some kind of upperfilters/lowerfilters thing to delete in the registry, which I did but that did not help. I have one of those disks with the little brushes on it for cleaning DVD drives and I used that but it did not seem to help. I did notice that the picture was a bit wobbly on that DVD, which did not happen before.

I am not a person who just takes the computer apart and looks inside. When it comes to the actual hardware I don't usually mess with that stuff. If I had specific directions, my husband can probably follow those and help me out. :) But he is at a loss here.

Thanks for any help or ideas you can provide.

Canning season is here - we need advice on how to keep our pickled veggies crunchy!

pghjezebel — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:31:19 -0800

Canning season is here - we need advice on how to keep our pickled veggies crunchy! Mom and I are gearing up for our yearly canning weekend. Last years batch was a huge success (taste-wise) but our veggies weren't as crunchy as we would have liked them to be.

What tips can you give us on making our veggies as crunchy as possible? (And any tried and true recipes that you love are welcome as well - the stronger the kick the better!)

We're going to be doing:
Cauliflower, celery and carrots
Garlicky dilly beans
Pickles (if we have the time)

Keyboard cover removal crashed my iBook

sugarbx19 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:01:19 -0800

Removing silicone keyboard cover crashes iBook. Solution needed. Since I fairly live over my iBook keyboard, eating, rolling cigarettes, etc. it gets filthy. After spending about two hours cleaning it recently, I decided to buy a keyboard cover. I ended up with this one:
http://www.kbcovers.com/servlet/Detail?no=78

It feels nice and does not interfere with typing in the least, in fact, seems to protect keys from the pounding I tend to give them. However, probably related to the fact that I live in a climate where humidity is high, I noticed some slight condensation building up under the cover after about a week. When I lifted the cover off, the iBook crashed: cursor froze, etc, requiring a restart. It took this happening twice, and having to repair Spotlight function damage before I realized that removing the cover caused it, and I've since found some posts on the net where others have complained about static discharge issues. BTW my iBook almost never crashes even under intensive use.
I typically run this computer 24/7 and only do restarts every 4 to 5 days. I never shut the case except on the rare occasions I take it away from home. I doubt my iBook has crashed 5 other times in its life. It's the last model iBook made, born mid-2005.

My questions:
1. If I shut down prior to removing the keyboard cover, would this be a risk-free method?
2. Is there a proven and scientific way to safely discharge this static without requiring shutting the computer down? I'm concerned that static is building up even if I don't move the cover, and that something unexpected could cause a discharge, just under normal use. Plus I'm concerned about the moisture/condensation issue. Would using an anti-static wristband solve this problem for certain?
3. Is this just hopeless? Keyboard covers are inherently risky? Give up and return the thing?

Personal experience stories welcomed.

Can I haz summer funz?

sully75 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:42:36 -0800

How can I stop hating the summer, sun, the beach, and people who enjoy these things? Quick background: nerdy kid, somewhat nerdy parents. Very fair, burned easily. Hair so blond it was white when I was a kid and blue eyes. Horrible swimming lesson experiences. Not a ton of friends. Spend a lot of time indoors, sweating and reading.

Oh yeah and I have a summer birthday so tended not to have school birthday parties, and associated summer with my own, crappy birthday, no cupcakes and not that many kids (if you are a teacher reading this, realize that for kids with summer birthdays you have to give them a birthday party or they will hate you forever).

That leads me to my current problem. I still more or less hate the summer. I don't like the heat (because it's hot and I sweat). The sun drives me crazy. I like clouds and cool places and fog and mist, and I'd really rather be in Canada than Maine right now.

In particular I hate it when I'm walking outside and thinking about how much I wish the sun would go away behind some clouds and how frigin hot it is and then someone tells me "beautiful day, isn't it?" And I'm fake enjoyment of it so that I don't look like a total lunatic.

So I think part of the problem is that I've grown to hate summer so much I have no idea how to make it less objectionable to me. I don't usually wear a hat or sunglasses (stupid, I know). I don't know how to enjoy myself at the beach (I'd rather be inside). I really don't know anything about enjoying myself in hot weather.

So I'm looking for suggestions on
a) understanding why people like really sunny days with no clouds. Because they hurt my eyes and make me sweat and give me a sunburn. So I'm confused (joking aside, I really am confused)
b) suggestions on how to enjoy being out in the sun more (hat/sunglasses suggestions, I guess). I wear somewhat low powered glasses and I'm not sure, would clip ons be just horrible?
c) should I just give up on being at the beach? The water is too cold, the sand is too hot and I'm not that great at just sitting in one place. However it seems like 95% of humanity disagrees with me. Should I give it another try?

Again, this is all serious. I'm freaking out because another one is coming. Help.

Is it normal she's being picky?

sunshine arakhan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:11:00 -0800

Why has our new dog stopped eating her dry food? My partner and I (well, ok, me) adopted a new dog a few days ago... she's a 3 year old Staffy x Mini Foxy named Hope, sweetest little thing.
Her previous owner gave us all her current food that she's been eating and explained that she pours a little hot water over her dry biscuits and lets it sit for a few minutes to soften up before adding her meat, and that Hope is normally quite a little guts!

However she doesn't seem to be eating her dry food and is disinterested in it all together. I know because she's in a new environment she may just be a little nervous about eating, but she's eating up her meat with gusto, so I'm not too sure why she is turning up her nose at it. I've never had to soak dry food for any of my previous dogs so am I soaking it too much? Too little? Or am I just overanalyzing? She has regular meals times and is healthy and happy in every other way.

(FWIW her dry food is Optimum "Heathly Weight Management - with chicken, rice and vegetables". She's been eating it for most of her life, and is a little bit chubby)

This is probably a really duh-brain question, but thanks in advance!

How do I make this thing I came up with?

borkingchikapa — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:40:10 -0800

I had a great idea the other day that would require a little bit of simple programming and engineering, but I have no background in either of those. Basically, I'd like to make a USB device with a little motor that vibrates at several different specific frequencies, determined by the user (preferably through the computer). Where do I even start? First, is there something out there that does just that?

What programming language would I use? What physical device would I need to control the motor? A transistor? Resistor? Step-sister? Maybe some amps and a watt or two? I don't know anything about any of this, but I'm willing to spend some time figuring it out if the Oracle of AskMe can point me in the right direction.

p.s. this is not a sex toy, I promise

Pomodoro, no.

parmanparman — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:36:27 -0800

How did you give up certain foods for the rest of your goddamn life? Well, it's that time again. The time where my doctor says, "John, this is it..."

Giving up tomatoes is really, really difficult but I have to do it. Even though tomatoes are basically wonderful and in everything. What are some ways that Mefites have given up things they are told to stop consuming, and what are some "fun" ways I can work tomatoes out of my diet?

Let me just add: I hate bell peppers, so please do not recommend them as a substitute. Another bell pepper and I will literally vomit. Also, I already cannot eat eggplant. Basically, I am fucked as a human being.

I should note that tomatoes are not the only thing I am being asked to give up but I have to start with the most difficult thing or else none of the rest of the stuff will be easy. Sorry. However, I think I can handle my addiction to Mentos all on my own. Sorry, I know how lame my life is.

Why can't I consume my coffee plant?

jclovebrew — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:51:44 -0800

Why does my coffee plant say "For decoration only. Not for consumption"? A friend just gave me the sweetest, most thoughtful gift - a baby coffee plant! Just noticed this morning that the tag says "For decoration only. Not for consumption", which is a little bit of a let down because it would be so novel to some day harvest the cherries, process them, roast the beans, and brew coffee from it. (I mean, how can I not do this? I have to!)

Does it have to do with pesticides or chemicals that may be in the soil it's currently planted in? Is there something I can do to grow a food-safe version -- like perhaps harvest cherries from this tree, and start a new plant with them in organic soil?

baffeled

blizzardm17 — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:29:18 -0800

i had power go out to a portion of the house because a pump was running and pushing against water that couldnt move because ice was in the outlet pipe. i turned off the light switch and shut the pump off. i came back 4 hours later and there was no power from that switch. it was 12 degrees out. 2 days later it warmed up and all of a sudden i had power again. any ideas, i am worried

aussie aussie aussie!

randomstriker — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:11:42 -0800

Morbid Aussie birthday greeting, goes something along the lines of "War and famine, people dying, everywhere, and it's your birthday, hooray!" -- what is the correct and complete version? I remember some Aussie exchange students singing this at birthday parties back during uni days. A google search came up empty.

She'z emotionally unavailablez.

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:03:15 -0800

Is "not emotionally available" ever a temporary thing? Long story somewhat less long:

Went to a music festival. Met a woman there talking to some friends from my old town who I felt totally smitten for immediately. She's a lovely, well, frigin fantastic dancer. I'm a musician. She was very friendly and relaxed and charming. Within about 10 minutes of talking to her, I realized that she was the ex-gf of a good friend of mine, who after breaking up with his long term gf, was playing the field pretty aggressively. I believe they dated Jan-Feb of this year.

I didn't tell her I knew this because I'd known that she'd been pretty upset by the breakup and I wanted to get to know her on my own terms. She probably could have guessed that I knew him but didn't mention it. (she'd traveled for a few months out of country, was hoping he'd be there for her when she got back but he'd moved on and now is pretty serious about someone else).

Anyway, I made a big effort to hang with her over the week of the festival. We went for a long walk and went swimming and talked quite a lot. There was definitely a sense of hurt about her, and at times she was quite distant and removed. But at other times our conversations clicked, and while she didn't go out of her way to hang, we ended up spending most of our time together. Towards the end she sat with me in a corner of a crowded bar till 2 or 3 in the morning and we talked and it was really nice. We talked about a lot of things we have in common and similar ways of looking at the world and understanding people.

The following morning we hung out at a concert a bit more and were having a really nice time. Later in the afternoon she seemed to tense up and was less friendly. It was the last day of the concert and I was feeling really anxious about everything and didn't want to just let it slide because I knew that I'd be rolling it over in my head forever if I didn't talk to her. So I told her that I knew she'd dated my friend and apologized for not letting her know (she didn't seem to mind). And that I had had a great time hanging out with her and would like to see her again.

She told me that she'd thought maybe she should tell me that she's "not emotionally available" but didn't know when to bring it up. Basically a combination of getting pretty wrapped up with my friend and being very hurt by him and a lot of turmoil in her life (she's got a lot of career uncertainty). Things are going well for her right now and she doesn't want to open up to anything because she was pretty wrecked in the last couple of months and is just now feeling ok. She said over and over again "this spring sucked".

She said "I hope this isn't the last time we see each other" and I told her I didn't know what to say. I've had a really hard time in situations like this and have really hurt myself in the past. I'm really gunshy about this particular situation...I never know what to do and it feels totally uncomfortable for me. I told her as much. She lives 2 hours away and it would be a lot of effort for me to keep getting to know her.

However I like her tons. For the record: we have a seemingly similar sense of humor (kind of a rarity as mine is pretty odd), she's smart and kind and interesting, and she's a fabulous dancer (watching her dance was just totally beautiful). We sort of seem to see eye to eye on a lot of things and she said how much she'd liked hanging out with me, people watching and shooting the shit. So to an extent I take her at her word that this is a bad time for her. I could see that in her face through the week and when we talked to. It turns out (related by my friend via IM from the country he moved to recently) that she'd dated yet another one of my friends, who'd apparently treated her badly to some degree too. It really does sound like it's been an awful year for her.

Oh yeah, I'm 10 years older than she is. Her: early to mid 20s, me early to mid 30s. She's young. But smart and independent and pretty mature I think.

Myself, I know that no matter how fucked up things were, if someone I liked came into my life, I'd clear the decks and hope for the best. So I'm not sure how to interpret her emotional unavailability. Need I think: this woman will never, ever come around and I need to put the possibility of a relationship between us totally out of my head? Or could I think: don't expect anything out of it, but nothing is written in stone, and if you enjoy her company it might be worth hanging out with her and getting to know her? I'm kind of a clutz at the kind of dancing we do (I'm more a musician), so I'm sort of interested in perfecting my steps and then coming down to dance with her sometime and spend some more time. But I really have no idea how to approach this.

I'm also interested in general what the appropriate response to "I'm not emotionally available" is. I never know what to say. I have a hard time switching gears and saying "sure, lets be friends". But I also feel like a jerk for saying "well, ok, see you".

What the hell?

jumbotron08 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:31:27 -0800

Why don't any drugs work for me? I'm on like my 800th muscle relaxant/sleeping pill and they (all of the pills I've tried etc) still no no noticeable effect on me.

I even took 3 cyclobenzaprine 10 mg tablets or flexedril tablets. That's 3 times the recommended fucking dosage and I don't even feel sleepy. What the hell?

Seriously. It seems like this problem is related to every pill I take too (for anything), more than half of them just don't work at all. Is it possible to have a resistance to a ton of drugs? Is this some kind of medical condition? What is going on?!

Gmail chat problem

ootsocsid — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:39:47 -0800

What is wrong with my Gmail chat? For the last couple of days, I have been unable to use Gmail chat. If someone sends me a message I receive it, but if I reply, all they see is that "ootsocsid is typing..." and my message does not show up in their chat box. My messages do end up in the saved chat log for both of us though.

I've had the same problem chatting with multiple people. The problem occurs in both Firefox 3.0 and IE 7.0 (and reinstalling Firefox 3.0 did not help). Turning off my Firewall and virus software also did not help. Neither did installing Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1. Strangest of all, if I log into another Gmail account on the same computer and in the same browser, the problem goes away and Gmail chat works fine for that other account.

Tabs in Filemaker not working

cg1 — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:34:19 -0800

When I try to create a tab using Filemaker Pro 8.0v2 on my Mac (OS version 10.4.11), it displays correctly in "edit" mode. But when I enter data-entry mode, FM "sees through" the tab - and displays all fields (from all the tabs) stacked on top of one another. Clicking the other tabs, I see the same thing - all fields stacked. The *first* time I created the tabs, I dragged all the fields into the proper place and went into data-entry mode. It worked properly. I then went back into edit mode and moved the tab window slightly, changed the color of the two tabs to make the display more aesthetic. *Then* it stopped working - and no matter what I do, won't display properly (all fields across tabs are stacked).

After hours of trying to re-create the tabular box and varying little things (not changing color, etc), I never got it to work again. I called my colleague, who I share the database with online, and asked her to try to set it up - thinking it was a problem with my local version of FM. She created the tab and it worked! I then changed one of the fields within the tab and it reverted back to the problem display (stacked fields).

She tried re-creating the tab from scratch... Same problem. Thinking that it only takes the first time created on a machine, we got all fields formatted exactly as we want them, and pulled a third colleague in - thinking we could have her create it for the first time and it work, then just drop all the pre-formatted stuff into the new tab. It didn't work.

I'm at wit's end. Any suggestions?

Oh brother where art though final scene...

allthewhile — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:02:55 -0800

What was the filming location of the final scene of "Oh Brother Where art Though?" I have this illogical urge to know. The shot seems so southern picturesque. (Link to Video included) Help! Final Scene

Maybe its the train tracks and the lingering pause...I don't know. But I must know! Is it even a real location?

halp! i need my gCal!

4ster — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:41:19 -0800

I am using a Macbook running Tiger. Suddenly, I cannot access any Google websites using Firefox or Safari. Umm... The only thing I can figure is that I upgraded a security patch today that included an update to Safari. Otherwise, I'm out of ideas.

I'm in Virginia, if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

Blake for the dense

Jezztek — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 19:59:34 -0800

I'm a person who is apparently too dense to understand poetry, but I'm looking for a collection of William Blake's work. I know that there exists a million and one collections of his poetry and prose, but what I'm really looking for is a collection of his work that also includes a brief explanation of what it was I just read after each poem.

For example, upon reading The Tyger for the first time I was attracted to the flow and the imagery but had absolutely no clue what it was actually about. It might as well been a collection of semi-random words in a pleasing pattern to my eyes. So I popped over to Wikipedia and read their brief summary and of course it all clicked (in hind sight seemed so obvious) and soon found myself enthralled by the poem.

So yeah, are there any collections that cut out the middle man and have his poems side by side with a discussion on what he was trying to say (preferably just a short little summary to push me in the right direction, no need for a full on set of cliff notes)?

I need this magic turtle!

catatethebird — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:33:08 -0800

Help me find this toy turtle for my boyfriend! Last week we were at Potawatomi casino and we saw this adorable plush turtle wearing a top hat and a cane, like a magician. We really wanted it (he collects stuffed toys) but it wasn't for sale, and when we came back, it had been won by someone. So I'd love to be able to find it online and get it for him as a surprise, but I'm having no luck...so, I know this is a long shot, but can anyone help me find a stuffed toy turtle dressed as a magician with a hat and cane?

External Hard drive USB device not recognized

complience — Sat, 26 May 2007 17:27:03 -0800

External Hard drive USB device not recognized, how do I fix? I bought an Akasa external 3.5 IDE harddrive case (crappy make I know) When I turn it on and plug it into my computer windows sends me the following message.

"USB Device not Recognized.

One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."

I recieve the same error having tried mutiple different Harddrives in the case.

However, I receive no such error when I plug the device into my down stairs computer it works fine, Both computers have a similar setup, windows XP, AMD 64, Asus motherboards.

The only way I can get my main computer to be able to read the device is to load the HD externally on my computer downstairs- reformat the drive, after doing this my computer upstairs will be able to read the usb device normaly...but.. only once. You can move files back and to the Harddrive and it all works normaly, but once you disconnect the device and then reconnect it, the error returns.

If you google this problem you get alot of returns and I have tried all the "fixes" listed and none of them work.

1.) This is certainly not a power issue, I have a very nice 600W Antec PSU and only 1 other usb device attached to the machine.

2.) I do not get any problems with any other usb devices

3.) I have tried installing software/drivers that came with the device, but it didnt help and being USB / windows XP it shouldn't need any additional drivers anyway

4.) Ive tried to contact Akasa, they're no help at all, can't remember them even replying.

server not found on first request

specialk420 — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 15:30:12 -0800

"server not found" problems in Firefox 2 and IE 7 ... I have recently developed a consistent problem with server not found errors in FF and IE, request will load on a second refresh of the request this topic has been explored in depth elsewhere i am hoping the friendly folks as ask me might be able to help solve this one? i suspect the browser issues are symptom of system issues. side note: using netmon i have consistent network connections so thats not the issue...

Oxycodone after expiration date?

lazaruslong — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 13:06:10 -0800

Is it safe to take a pill after it's expiration date? My girlfriend is feeling like crap and I want to know if it's okay for her to take this painkiller she has. It is Oxycodone W/APAP 5/325. The expiration date was 12/3/2005, 2 years ago. Do pills really "go bad"?

Need a graphic metaphor to illustrate progress

punkfloyd — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:20:27 -0800

I am helping a volunteer group collect donations. I need something other than a thermometer or a mountain climber to graphically illustrate our progress. HELP!

Why is the finger pointing but not opening!

gergtreble — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:04:53 -0800

[Fixmumscomputerfilter] I recently upgraded my mum to firefox 2.0. And now she cant open links from outlook express. Theres So I installed Firefox 2.0 on my mums computer. All is good! she likes the spell check. However yesterday she came to me with this problem. She cannot open any links from mail within outlook express. The cursor turns to the pointing finger but nothing happens when you click on it. I made sure Firefox was set as the default browser but its made no difference.

Now I would tell her to use thunderbird. But she uses outlook express to sync with her hotmail account. Can thunderbird do this?

She is running XP home. And as far as I can tell no viruses or malware is present.

So. How do I fix this and remain the good son? Any Ideas?

Thanks MeFites...

I like her but am not interested in anything serious. Ideas for letting her know in a respectful way?

Zebtron — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:06:31 -0800

A very sweet person who I am friends with began coming on to me very strongly. I like her but am not interested in anything serious. Ideas for letting her know in a respectful way?