Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with number

Need the part # for a 2009 Ford Focus Passenger-side Mirror

jlabrash — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:38:00 -0800

I'm trying to find part number(s) to repair a sideswiped passenger side mirror on a 2009 Ford Focus. Most of the mirror is intact, so I'd like to replace only the piece that clips the mirror into the holder cavity. If this isn't possible, I'll grudgingly pony up for the whole mirror assembly. Bonus question: is there a place to buy the part in Orlando, FL before Sunday? Thanks!

Integer Base Calculation in Reverse

cmcmcm — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:29:58 -0800

Math question: Converting a number to a different base is easy enough, but how do I convert it backwards if I already know the end result? In other words, if I know that the number in base 32 is "12", then what is the original number in letters and numbers? By trial and error I find that the answer is "c". How is the answer calculated? What is the name for this calculation? I am coding in Ruby so it would be wonderful if someone knows of a shortcut already in that language.

iTunes keeps reordering my songs!

bluefly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:06:15 -0800

iTunes won't order/list/play songs in an album in the order of the track number. I have specified the correct track number of the songs in the info thing, but it won't sort according to that field within an album. Is there some way to get around this? I am downloading albums (from friends' bands) to my computer, and then dragging those folders and dropping them in the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder (which was created by iTunes 9, I think). iTunes then does some magic which makes the songs appear in iTunes (and is organizing them in the iTunes Music Folder). But the songs are in the wrong order. Is there some other way to add albums to iTunes? I thought this drag and drop thing would keep everything nice and organized, but perhaps not. This is only happening with these downloaded albums, not with albums I buy through iTunes. (I searched around for answers, but they were so varied, I wasn't sure what to do. I am not an iTunes power user, but I would like to be).

I have a Windows 7 computer with iTunes 9. Thanks.

living without a Social Insurance Number

figTree — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:23:35 -0800

Do you live and work without a social insurance number in Canada? Someone i ran into told me they do not have a social insurance number and get along in life just fine being the owner of a company. It apparently takes some effort to set yourself up like like this, but there are some obvious advantages and disadvantages. Actually they only really spoke of the advantages. I am wondering if anyone here that lives this way, or knows someone who does and can shed any insight into the pros and cons of living this "lifestyle" that are not so obvious?

you don't even need $26 anymore.

rubberkey — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:38:08 -0800

How is it legal to post people's social security numbers on the internet for everyone to see? I was working on my family ancestry, and came across a website that had my recently deceased grandfather, his birth and death date, social security number, and our home listed. It is just free and available for anyone that can type in his name to look at. I thought social security numbers are supposed to be private. The whole thing feels very weird to me. Is this really legal? and normal?

Wierd secret messages on the radio.

debord — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:44:52 -0800

When I was a child there used to be cryptic messages on BBC Radio Four between the news and weather etc. that were weird and cryptic (as in they shouldn't have been on mainstream radio), but dull - stuff like "Mrs. Smith from Doncaster needs to contact her family in Hull". I have been told they were used for spies to communicate - does anyone know any more about this? I think it's something like those code words on the Tube that get announced if there's something going on. And numbers stations of course!

#,###

lou — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:21:00 -0800

I need a custom number format for Excel that only gives me a decimal when I need it. What I have: a list of numerical data from 0 to, say, 9999. I want it to display with commas (ie "1,234"). Easy enough. But some of these numbers have a .5 after, as in, "1,234.5". I want to tell Excel to display the numbers, with comma, and display the .5 only when required. I do NOT want it to use a .0 for the integers.

I can get close to what I want with the format "#,##0.#" but then the period is on every number, which is also undesirable.

There must be an easy way of doing this, but I'm tired of trying to find it. Thanks in advance!

How many sunrises in 24 hours?

muthecow — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:36:46 -0800

How many sunrises could you see in 24 hours? Lets assume for the purposes of this question you have access to a fast jet that can land wherever you want, how many do you think it is theoretically possible to see within a twenty four hour period?

Trying to get to the "root" of things. Sorry.

awenner — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:16:49 -0800

Totally naive math-filter. What is the relationship between percentage difference between two real numbers and the percentage difference between their squares? If I add 10% to x, then (x+10%)^2 will always be 21% larger than x^2. If I add 50% to x, then the squared difference will always be 225% Why? What's the relationship?

This is not a homework question. I'm actually studying for a standardized test which asks many questions along the lines of "if you increase the radius of a circle by 10% [or some such number], by what percentage will the total area increase?" Sometimes the value is given, sometimes it isn't, but the question runs more or less along the same lines.

One way of doing it is by plugging in the numbers and calculating it by hand: eg,
(1) let x=10.
(2) 10 + 10% = 11
(3) 10^2 = 100; 11^2=121
(4) 121 is 21% more than 10.
So, increasing the original number by 10% yields 21% on the other end.

In this context, it's easiest just to memorize the squares up to 20, but I'd like to know the "real" reason why this is. Bonus points if there's an elegant function that yields the difference when it's not so easily calculated in your head.

A drop in the river

Toekneesan — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:08:23 -0800

How many books (titles, not editions or book pages) are available on Amazon? I'm looking for the number of titles Amazon currently lists. I'm not interested in how many they've sold or how many total products the site has. I don't care if they're in or out of print, new or used (though a breakdown of those categories would be awesome), I'm just looking for how many titles are listed on their US site. Google produced bupkis, Amazon's Media Center, even their annual report does not seem to mention the number of titles listed. Anyone got an educated guess or better yet, a cited figure?

Girl Give me Phone Number, but Forgets Area Code.

Risiko — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:42:40 -0800

Amazing girl I meet at a show gives me her phone number, but forgets to give me the area code. Main problem: I barely know anything about her - not even her name. How can I get in touch? At a hip-hop show, drinking a little bit, meet girl on dancefloor, we enjoy ourselves immensely (ahem). Show ends, after some light chit-chat I head out (a couple of her friends seemed protective and annoyed at me...there seemed to be no opportunity to pursue our connection any further), and to my surprise, she chases me down (a couple blocks later), catches up with me. She gives me her number. I tell her I'll call her soon. Big Problem: She forgot to give me her area code. Fast forward a few days later, I try the number she gave me with the logical (local) area code, and it isn't her (instead of a girl w/ a Mexican accent, I get a housewife with a husband and kids - funny story). After some time though, I try about a dozen more area codes that are nearby (Northern California), all I get are dial tones and one business office (and a couple pagers, apparently) - none are actually her.

My main thoughts: Either she gave me the wrong 7-digit phone number (incredibly unlikely), or the area code for her phone is from some other part of the country.

Anyone know of a way to get in touch with her? There are no phone books for cell phones I'm sure.

The only information I have about her: She lives in Woodland, CA...which is a smalltown about 10 miles down the road from my college town of Davis. That's all, though.

I'm out of ideas. Anyone else with some?

I've at least learned a lesson - doublecheck to make sure I've got an area code next time...

How can I get "ownership" of a very specific phone number?

weston — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:01:32 -0800

I want to "own" a very specific phone number (non-800). How can I get it? The specific number I want is currently "not in service," which I presume bodes well for its availability. The area code and exchange are 937-866. This appears to belong to "Ameritech Ohio (AT&T)" based on some database lookups, and a wikipedia article seems to confirm that Ameritech went through a series of acquisitions and mergers to become part of the company currently known as AT&T.

Assuming this is correct, I suppose the question then becomes:how can I talk AT&T to giving out a very specific Ohio phone number to someone who doesn't live in Ohio? Or are there any 3rd parties who might resell service for them who offer this kind of selection?

Any hints appreciated!

Is there an easy way to save my cell phone number?

Pinwiz — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:55:16 -0800

Are there any new cheap options for saving my cell phone number? I know that this has been asked before, but it's been a couple of years and there might be some new options.

I just got a new job, and they're going to pay for my cell phone bill and provide me with a new phone. I have two options: port my number over and they own it after I leave, or get a work-supplied number. I've decided that I want to keep my personal number separate from the job, so I'm looking for a system where I can park/forward my current number. I'm thinking I'll just have a voice message alerting callers of the new number.

I'll be contacting my provider (T-Mobile) for options, but I wondered if anyone has experienced other possibilities.

"You know my name, look up the number"

TheSecretDecoderRing — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:12:37 -0800

Sports jersey questions: Why is the baseball pitcher with a single-digit number such a rarity? Why do hockey goalies usually wear 1, or something in the 30s? And why are 2-7 usually worn by defensemen? Apparently only Josh Towers (#7) and Shawn Chacon (#1) wore single-digit numbers as late as last season. I can see the old traditional numbering system in baseball attributing to this in some way (when single digits were assigned to position players), but why would it still be virtually in effect? The only thing I can think of is how prominent a pitcher's back is in a televised game, and for whatever reason, seeing a pitcher alone on the mound with a low number just "looks" weird.

From what I can tell, the NHL used to have a strict numbering system, with forwards starting at 9 on up. But like with baseball, I'm not sure why the pattern would continue to this day. Is it a matter of each successive generation of hockey players picking numbers of their idols from previous generations? Or do they just want to stick to tradition, perhaps even subconsciously?

And since forwards are often smaller than D-men, you'd think you'd see more and more of the latter straying away from the low numbers for their bigger jerseys. And surely there'd be a lot of forwards (or pitchers) who grew up liking a low number (esp "lucky 7") and would want to wear it as long as possible?

Any insights on these (esp if you play in a league), or general numbering trends in baseball, hockey, or other sports?

How to get a certain non-800 phone number to FAX & voicemail?

ggruschow — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:16:11 -0800

How to get a specific non-800 phone number to FAX & voicemail? I'd like to get a certain 312 phone number that's unused, and get it routed to a system that can accept both FAX and voicemail for me that get routed to my email. It'd be an added bonus if the voicemail system offered a "press 1 in case of emergency" type thing that could forward the call to my cell phone. Double added bonus if it can accept SMS / MMS messages from cell phones.

Man, I'd pay good money if I could get all that. Does anyone know how to do it, if it's possible, or even where to start? I assume I can do this by spending weeks setting up an asterisk system and paying the local phone company an obscene amount, but it seems like it should be simpler/cheaper than that.

Thanks, I love you in advance.

Artist Forming a Business

bdoop21 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:37:57 -0800

What is the difference between a Master of Business License and a LLC in Washington State? Which one would be more appropriate for a freelance artist/product designer/jeweler to have? I need to have a Tax ID number for my business, is that the same as a UBI number? Thanks!

Need suggestions in finding call forwarding/virtual phone number service

DerekTheGeek — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:55:42 -0800

I am looking for a call forwarding service. I would like to have a single phone number that would not change. I would then like to forward any calls to this number to multiple phones simultaneously. No call screening needed, just have whichever phone picks up the call first take the call. I would also like the service I choose to handle voicemail so that I could deactivate voicemail on the “destination” phones and just have one voice-mail box. Perhaps explaining my situation might help …

I have a PDA phone that I like quite a bit (let’s call it phone A), however there is one problem. The cellular provider that Phone A is sold through does not have the best coverage in some of the areas that I travel to. There is another cellular provider that has better and more complete cellular coverage in my area; however it is impossible to use Phone A on this network. I would like to carry a second phone (let’s call it Phone B) that works on the network with more coverage for those times when I am going to be in areas where Phone A does not have coverage. By having a single number that rings through to both phones I can be pretty sure I won’t miss a call. I would only need to turn phone B on when Phone A is out of coverage (about 20% of the time).
There are many services out there. That’s why I was hoping to get some feedback from the “hive” and perhaps some suggestions. Here is some data about my usage that might help.

1. I receive anywhere between 500 to 700 minutes a month in calls.
2. I do not have the need to make or receive calls outside the United States.
3. I would like my phone number to also be able to receive faxes in addition to forwarding voice calls.
4. I need to have all “destination” phones ring at the same time. Not in sequence as the caller might hang up by the time it rings on the second “destination” phone.

Well I know that’s a lot of info to post, but I wanted to explain the context in which I would be using this solution. Here are some services I have looked at in case others are interested in the same thing.

1. RingCentral.com
2. MakeJustOneCall.com
3. My1Voice.com
4. GotVMail.com
5. InnoPort.com

I have also found that several of the VOIP providers (Vonage, ViaTalk, PhonePower, etc ...) offer these services as a package when someone installs a VOIP phone in their home; however, I am not sure if I could still use these services if I didn’t have a VOIP phone installed at my residence. I only use my cell phone and have no need for a VOIP phone at home. Thanks everyone!

Searching for activation number for debit card.

ofthestrait — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:46:15 -0800

I have a debit card from my credit union. I tore the activation sticker off of it before calling the number. Any way I can find the number somehow?

a shitty question

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:46:03 -0800

Poop question about normalcy and bowel movements [possibly disgusting] First, I realize this is sensitive issue, but any feedback would be appreciated (although that might be difficult since responses can't be anonymous).

First, some background. I lived the first 27 years of my life assuming that pooping would take 20-30 minutes and afterwards my butt would be dirty. We're talking really dirty. It would take maybe 1-3 minutes of wiping to clean things up. This might not sound terrible, but the point was that I could _always_ wipe more. There was no point at which the toilet paper would be completely clean. I hated this situation, but I assumed everyone lived like this and I was too embarrassed to mention it to anyone. However, I was more open with my second girlfriend .The subject was broached when I asked her eating habits after noticing (what I thought were) incredibly short bathroom trips. This led to me watching my diet more carefully and finally realizing that I was lactose intolerant. I also discovered the wonders of psyllium husk. Since then pooping has gone from something I dreaded to something I look forward to and actually enjoy. I feel "empty" when I'm done. And I usually wipe completely cleanly (I mean I wipe once to make sure, but most of the time it's completely clean). I'm also usually in the bathroom for less than five minutes, as opposed to a half hour. Occasionally things won't work this well, but that's an abberation.

Now there seem to be two possibilities. One is that this story is unique and most people are not walking around with mudbutt, assuming they don't shower immediately after a dirty poop. I hope this is the case. The other is that many people are living how I used to live. I realize there are obviously personal variations, but I wonder what you experience personally or what you believe is normal or common.

To clarify: When I say a poop is "complete", I mean I feel "empty" and done afterwards and I rarely have to wipe more than once or twice.
When I say a poop is "incomplete", I mean I could keep wiping forever and the toilet paper would still be dirty (from the anus, not the cheeks). Wiping at this point is mainly to get poop off your ass while acknowledging that nothing can really be done about the poop that keeps coming out. I suppose showering would be one solution to this.

I've noticed a few things that have led me to believe a large amount of people are walking around with mudbutt.

1) The prevalence of bathroom reading materials. In movies and on TV people are always reading in the bathroom. I can't imagine having the time to read anything these days, although before my poop habits changed I could probably have read a novel in a sitting. Assuming length of time sitting corresponds with dirty/"incomplete" poops (does it?), this seems to suggest that people who find reading in the bathroom normal are more likely to have dirty butts.

2) Sheryl Crow recently said that one or two squares of toilet paper should be sufficient. This led to a wave of ridicule (ie, Jay Leno: "Remind me not to shake her hand!"). But ridiculing her seems to suggest that people use way more than one or two squares, which should not be the case if their poops are "complete".

3) I've spoken to women (obviously I don't think all women are the same) who have talked about being mortified about farting in public bathrooms. Men's bathrooms seem to smell much more and women seem to not take as long when pooping. These are gross generalizations, but I wonder if length of time in the bathroom and smell correspond with "incomplete" shits and on average, men have mudbutt more often than women.

4) I recently mentioned an "invisible shit" I had to a friend since it was such a rare occurance. By "invisible shit" I meant that I had taken a poop, but it has disappeared into the bowl and when I looked down, I could see nothing in the toilet. He thought I was talking about not having to wipe, where an "invisible shit" meant that nothing was on the toilet paper after pooping. Since he found this to be an extremely rare occurance, that suggests that he often has "incomplete" poops.

I'd be interested if complete/incomplete was actually something other people experienced or just something I made up, and what other people's normal habits are.

How do I port my number to Cricket from Vonage.

2oh1 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:29:58 -0800

Cricket says it isn't possible to port my phone number from Vonage but there has to be a way, right? What's the cheapest way to accomplish this? I'm assuming I'd need to port it somewhere else first. Or not?

Don't call me, I'll call you. No, seriously, I'll call you. Don't call me.

aristan — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:10:05 -0800

I'm currently out of work and looking for a new job. I share a cell plan with my family, but thanks to the combination of my having little money coming in and my sister & her boyfriend deciding that text messages are super fun, my phone's been cut off. So now I have dozens of resumes floating around with a bad phone number! How do I let prospective employers know my new number? It's easy to update Monster.Com, Career Builder, etc, but I've sent out lots of resumes direct. What's the best way to update everyone with a new phone number? I want to appear professional and not overly pushy or like a dead beat who can't pay his bills!

Order my contents?

mcarthey — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:05:22 -0800

How can I create a table of contents for a professional portfolio that contains a collection of material gathered from various sources? I have to submit a professional portfolio for my education certification. It will contain newly created annotations and artifacts/examples of my work. Some of the documents were written years ago, and some of the artifacts are examples of handouts and student work. I will be creating tabbed sections, but the table of contents is a required item. I'm not completely satisfied because of the various fonts used throughout the collection of work, but I don't have complete control over that.
I had thought of scanning in the entire collection (all on 8 1/2x11) and somehow numbering and reprinting everything. I have also considered using stickers or something similar that may be made for this purpose (although I don't know what that would be, if they exist). I am afraid it would look tacky.
Is there an accepted method for accomplishing this?
Thanks all!

Help me keep my phone number a year from now

furtive — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:48:07 -0800

Canadian Phone Question: I'll be leaving my city and province for a year, and I'd like to make sure that I have the same phone number when I return as when I left. What are my (cheapest) options? The obvious choice would be to have my number (it's a cell number) transfered to a land line at a relative's house, but that's about $50 + 12 x $25 = $350. What other options do I have?

For the record I'm in Montreal and will be out of the province for 6 months to 1 year.

Why do commercials for Disney World have a toll number?

aerotive — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:22:04 -0800

Why do commercials for Disney World have a toll number? It's always struck me as odd and stupid that so giant and profitable a company wouldn't spring for an 800 number. Is it just a cost-cutting measure? Have they always done it this way?

What to these take-off parts fit?

ShawnStruck — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:47:13 -0800

Can you help me figure out what model of Ford Pick-up truck these parts can fit? (links to large pictures of parts and serial numbers inside) Set of front shocks, serial number close-up)and a wide view

coil spring, wide view and best quality

Here's a front spindle and a close up of the serial number

Some rear shocks, wide view, and a close up of the serial number here.

So, anyone have any idea how I'd find out where these go to?