Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with problems

Wonky windows 7 wifi

signal — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:26:56 -0800

Suddenly started getting "limited connection" using windows 7. Recently, my Dell XPS M1530 started having serious issues while connecting to wifi networks: it shows me as connected, but with no network or internet access, and no assigned IP number. Then, between 5 to 15 minutes later, the connection's fine.
This started simultaneously both at home and at my office, so I don't think it's a problem with either network's configuration or hardware. Nobody else at either location reports a similar issue.
I doubt it's a hardware issue either as I don't have the same problem when booting the same laptop into Ubuntu (which I'm using to type this).
I don't have any restore points (thought I did). I downloaded the latest wifi driver for my computer from Dell and no cigar. I let windows update update the driver and zilch.
Running the windows troubleshooting wizard didn't have any discernible effect.
I get the same problem whether booting into w7 or returning from the sleeping state, or just switching my wifi off an on.

I don't want to be such a bitch

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:34:10 -0800

I have come to realize that I have a hard time empathizing with men, and it’s making it very hard to even begin to look for a satisfying male relationship, romantic or otherwise. 22-year-old college female. At school I pretty much only ever had female friends, and in fact I can’t say I’ve ever had a real male friend (if you don’t count my ex-boyfriend.) I’ve had male acquaintances, more in the past few years (college) than before. But I have never been close to any men except my dad and my ex-boyfriend.

My dad always told me to be wary of men, because they will lie to you and exploit you for sex and then break your heart. I guess my dad was trying to protect me, but hearing that message about men from the only man I knew well convinced me that it was true. And I’m still convinced, despite knowing just how hosed up that attitude is.

I had the great fortune to meet a very nice guy three years ago, right when I began dating. (I avoided it for years out of fear of being used.) We talked all night when we met, dated for years, it was good and we talked and understood each other mostly, and then it ended for many reasons and whatever, no fuckedupness there. But since then I’ve realized that, with the exception of him, I have never understood any man I know. I think of all men as stereotypes. I think they are fundamentally different from me, with a different outlook and different interests. I think they all like video games and South Park and never want to have kids and aren’t vain and don’t feel things and live in squalor and all kinds of stupid sexist bullshit. I think they see me the same way I see them, and although I desperately want to make a connection with a man like I had with my ex, I feel like it’s not even fair to try because, with my current level of empathy, I treat men like poo poo. (My school/life situation right now makes it so that 80% of the people I interact with every day are female, which makes it even harder to figure out how to make a connection.)

After the breakup I slept with two men. One three weeks after, one three months after that. Both times went exactly the same: I slept with him as soon as I could see he liked me, then dumped him the next day or so when I realized I didn’t like HIM. And both times I was surprised that they were hurt by it, because "men don't take sex seriously."

As you can see, I have no idea how to form a satisfying relationship. It’s like I think of guys as nothing but tools to use to validate myself, and then when I do I become so disgusted. I WANT to have male friends, I like hanging out with guys even on a non-relationship level, but it’s only ever been friends of friends and it never goes beyond chatting because… well, I have no idea. I don’t know a single man I can call a friend, yet all my girlfriends have plenty. And I’ve met them and hung out with them and yet here I am. I know where I got these ideas from but not how to make them go away. It’s bizarre and gross and dehumanizing and I need it to stop.

How to fix

NorthCoastCafe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:36:24 -0800

How can I to Amazon to ship to my door? Amazon always used to ship UPS which delivered right to my door. I'm in a rural area, 7 miles from the post office. Lately, they ship via USPS which does not deliver to my door but to a roadside box half a mile from my door. With these deliveries the post office leaves a slip of paper telling me they have a package and I have to drive to the post office when I have a day off to fetch my package: 45-minutes round trip, 20-minute queue time, gas money, etc. Amazon just changed from UPS to USPS. They say they cannot inform me in advance of which method of shipping an item will be delivered unless I select and pay extra for 2-day shipping. I'm about to say goodbye to Amazon unless I can get the to resume the delivery service I used to enjoy and depend on. I'm a heavy user of Amazon because it was so convenient. But if I have to drive to town to pickup my packages I might as well shop in town in the first place. My emails to Amazon customer service get only canned, bloated corporate scripted replies in return thanking me for using Amazon. I don't think they get it.

Help me stop stomach sleeping.

Thrillhouse — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:59:20 -0800

How do I stop sleeping on my stomach? When I go to bed at night I try my best to fall asleep on my back but it almost never works so I move on to my side and sometimes that works but more often than not I find that I wake up having been sleeping on my stomach. Whether I'm consciously doing it or not I need to stop sleeping on my stomach. It hurts my back when I wake up and I have to learn to sleep on a wedge pillow for reflux.

What can I do to train myself to sleep on my back?

How to manage my debt and life as a whole

thegreatcokeolympics — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:34:41 -0800

How do I get my life on track with high debt and a chronic medical condition? So i'm 26 years old and have been completely on my own since i was 18. I come from a working class family who lives in a small dying town with no jobs. I knew if I was going to make something of my life in any way, I had to get out of there. Being so young and inexperienced, it's not like I could get a well paying job to support myself. And it's not like my family had any money to give me.
So 5 years ago, I took out many many loans and used that money to move myself across the country to " the big (and expensive) city" to attend college and hopefully start a new life there.

I also used the student loan money to pay for everything I would need to live on (mainly rent because the dorms were more expensive than studio apts, food, and school supplies) and even then it still wasn't enough, so I also worked full time in addition to going to school full time, just to make ends meet.

On top of this, to make matters more complicated, I also have a chronic medical condition. I have had it mildly since I was 10, but never had it addressed, or even diagnosed as to what it was, since my family lacked health insurance.

It was still fairly mild even when I moved here, but through the years got much more serious and I am now in constant daily pain and have some serious breathing issues. I tried to get health insurance on my own, but no plan would cover me due to the pre-existing condition. So I had no choice but to pay out of pocket for all medical expenses. Of course I had no out of pocket money to spare, so I used credit cards to pay all my medical bills.

And I never had enough credit to pay for anything medical that would truly diagnose me, so I resorted to many expensive pain management treatments only to be left with my condition progressively getting worse.

Now flash to present day, 5 years later, and I am $60,000 in debt from school, $10,000 from credit card debt. The job market is scarce and no one is hiring on staff. I've been taking very low pay freelance gigs which don't even amount to half of my expenses.

Currently, my bare minimum expenses amount to $1150 per month.

One of them being a health plan I pay 400 a month for after puting myself on a long waiting list for a government health plan that teams with private insurers to give coverage to high risk people. With this plan I was also able to finally get the tests I needed to diagnose me, only to discover (upon confirmation of 6 different doctor opinions to be sure) that I need a surgery that will cost a minimum of $30,000 depending on where I get it done, while knowing full well my insurance plan will most likely not cover because it is not a common surgery, though results are typically favorable.

I also pay 400 a month to see a physical therapist who I have been seeing for a year and a half and is the only source of pain relief I have found to help me (Insurance only covers 25% of 12 sessions a year, which I have already maxed out) Then pay 300 a month for my credit cards and 50 for my cell phone. And every 3 months, pay 150 forbearance fee for my student loans. That is it.

I had to leave my apartment and move in with a friend who is letting me stay there rent free until I figure something out. They are also fortunate enough to make a decent living and have been loaning me money to help pay my bills, eat their food, and use their computer. If anything, they've almost become my surrogate parent and it makes me feel like shit for puting them in that position, but I simply don't know what else to do.

I would get a second job anywhere I could find, but not only have those jobs even been hard to come by, but my health simply won't allow it at this point. I am extremely distressed, depressed, and hopeless. The biggest issues of all is the health and everything else seems to stem from it to make all the other problems worse. I don't know how much more bare minimum I can get in terms of cutting my budget when I'm already miserable and in so much pain.

I have considered going on disability, but I don't know if I would count since I still have been able to work, so long as the work isn't strenuous and I don't have to be on my feet all day.

I've considered welfare and bankruptcy but I'm not too sure how they work or if I would have to give up making enough money to pay for everything I need just to qualify. Or if bankruptcy will just ruin my credit enough to never be able to rent again.

I want to be responsible and make the best choice that will benefit me in the long run, but I don't know what that is or where to go. I really need some advice or clarity on this, so anything anyone has to say, please I'd love to hear it. Thank you.

International calling fail

Funky Claude — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:12:55 -0800

Trying to call a number overseas... Despite having a international calling as part of my phone plan, I can't seem to get through! I need to place a call to Thailand and I'm having no luck what so ever in getting my call to go through. I'm calling from a land line and I made sure to check with my phone company, I DO have the ability to call international from my phone. I even dialed the operator to verify that I was using the correct country and city codes. So what exactly am I doing wrong?

I've tried placing the call like this:
011(international code)(city code)(local number I was provided with)

All I hear after placing the call is some loud beeping, almost like a busy signal but not quite. However, I know that the phone I'm trying to call is not busy. If it matters, my friend is able to place calls to me and I receive them just fine.

Searching for a non fiction book about a move to Ireland which turned out badly.

Tullyogallaghan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:27:50 -0800

I'm trying to track down a book which was written in the last 25 years (or so) about an American couple who inherited a house in the west of Ireland. The culture shock and concomitant problems involved with relocation, the house, the weather the people, etc. almost brings them to the point of divorce with each blaming the other for the decision to move. I've searched high and low but could only come up with a similar tome about an Australian couple. Thanks very much for any help.

How to have an open heart and mind following disappointment?

mintchip — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:11:32 -0800

How to have an open heart and mind following disappointment? There are all different experiences that can cause a person to become closed off from people. For example, being cheated on, losing a loved one, or another devastating type of loss--sometimes a series of them.

Although I've made it through a number of disappointing experiences, I have found that I've become very emotionally closed off to other people. When I was younger I was overly sensitive, so some of this was probably self protective so as to keep me from being overly vulnerable. However, I've become way too closed off to relationships. It's to the point where I don't even feel like returning a guy's calls because "he'll probably turn out to be a jerk or disappoint me in the end anyway." Obviously, this is a problem and this attitude hasn't helped me attract love into my life.

I want to be open again. What do I need to do to cast off all of this baggage and approach other people with positive energy and an open heart? Yes, I am in therapy (and work very hard at it). Beyond that, any suggestions?

How to come clean with the IRS?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:13:44 -0800

How to handle IRS problems (failure to file, lost records, possible debt, interest and penalties) following several years of mental illness, unemployment, homelessness and physical disability). I want to clear up the mess, apply for social security, and wipe the slate clean. I have no money for lawyers, accountants, or the types who advertise on the radio. What would be the best way to sort this out. I admit I am afraid and fear that too brutal an encounter would send me underground again.

Looking for a challenge, somethign easier than P ?= NP

b1tr0t — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:17:32 -0800

I'd like to find a good online resource that poses interesting computer science problems. I've been digging through some of the modern classics papers of computer science research. Some are easy enough to understand with a little effort, others are pretty difficult to penetrate. I find that most of them are fairly difficult to find practical applications for.

I'd like to find a list of computer science problems, maybe medium to difficult homework problems for CS grad students. I'm not yet looking for grand challenges or problems big enough for a thesis. I don't want to do your homework, and I don't want to do your contract work either. I also don't want interview questions.

CatFilter: Help! One of my male cats has FLUTD/FUS and I'm at my wits end try to deal with it.

pghjezebel — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:33:19 -0800

CatFilter: Help! One of my male cats has FLUTD/FUS and I'm at my wits end try to deal with it. Both of my male cats suffer from FLUTD/FUS. One has been in good health for several years now. The other has been through several episodes in regards to FLUTD.

This most recent episode has lasted more than two weeks now. He's been to our normal vet several times. Since they know his history, they keep telling me to just "wait it out". They've put him on a light pain killer and Phenoxybenzamine (to relax the bladder). He's also been there three additional times so they could re-hydrate him as his interest in food/water is minimal at the moment.

I also took him an kitty ER one night because I was getting worried about him. They found he had an infection (put him on antibiotics), and has Struvite crystals in his urine. Bladder was clear and in good shape other than being inflamed. He was also backed up, so they did an enema on him as well. Then they recommended putting him on a prescription diet for cats that suffer from FLUTD.

That in itself poses a problem because both of my boys have food allergies. It took me a long time to get them on a diet (Duck and Pea dry food) that didn't make them throw up. I've heard dry diets are bad for cats with FLUTD so I gave the wet prescription a try anyway. Neither cat was horribly interested in it. And my regular vet recommended keeping them on the Duck and Pea since it did take a long time to find a good that didnt make them sick.

At home, I've been trying to deal with by confining him to a room with multiple litter boxes/ food/water (since he is straining to urinate all over the house). We've had to move him several times already because every room we put him in, he literally uses the whole room as his litter box. He's very slowly ruining our house.

Have any other owners out there dealt with this before? Or anything similar? Any tips, suggestions? I feel like I've tried everything and I'm not sure how much longer I'm supposed to "wait it out". The vet bills have cost a small fortune so far, the house is turning into a litter box, and the stress of dealing with this is getting to me as well as the cat.

Computer image freakout

Waldo Jeffers — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:32:24 -0800

Why do many programs on my computer "twitch" up and down uncontrollably when my cursor is on them? When the cursor is over the task bar or at the top of the screen, they stop. Many of my programs (iTunes, Firefox, Explorer) do this sort of flipping, twitching thing when the cursor is on them. The whole page goes up and down quickly as if it's banging the upper and lower extremities of the window. If the cursor is on the task bar or at the top of the screen, they cease freaking out. Is there something wrong with my mouse? Not all programs do it, although the problem's getting worse.

Is Civilization worth the angst?

spinturtle — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:05:20 -0800

I've finally convinced myself that it's time to get Civilization IV, but after reading some reviews I'm worried about the lag/crashing problem (although even the reviewers that complain about the lag still seem to love the game). I've read this question and this question, but was wondering if anyone has more recent info - new patches, newer Macbook eliminates the issue? I'm using a Macbook purchased in January of this year (OSX 10.5.5), but I'm honestly not technical enough to know what other info you might want to know (if you tell me *exactly*where to look, though, I'm sure I could figure it out). So my question boils down to this - will I be ripping my hair out as the game crashes every 4 minutes, or will I enjoy myself for hours on end and only experience infrequent moments of lag?

Running short on cache?

Aanidaani — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:46:27 -0800

Hard drive issues: Frequently when I attempt to open a folder on my Windows Vista partition I will have to wait 5 seconds or so for the drive to spin up (I hear it). Is there some way I can fix my cache or otherwise set up the drive so that it doesn't need to spin up every time I access files on my root drive? I recently installed a new SATA drive to replace my failing IDE drive. I've divided it up into two partitions, one to store documents and another to hold my Windows Vista installation. Accessing files on both partitions is fine, it's just that there is a long delay (~5 seconds) whenever I try to access the Vista partition in Windows Explorer or through a save/open dialog.

I'm wondering if there is some way to increase the cache size so my hard drive doesn't need to spin up constantly or if there is a completely different issue at fault here that I don't understand. Any help would be appreciated.

Is this cat beyond help?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:07:59 -0800

Is this cat beyond help? We adopted two cats, a male and a female (both have been neutered/spayed) from the Humane Society about 15 months ago. We’d had them about 6 months when the male started spraying around the house. After a few spraying sessions, we took him to the vet for a check up. No physical problems and we were given numerous behavior modification techniques to try: Feliway, aluminum foil on the floor where he’s sprayed, carpet runners with nubby side up, new litter box, squirting him with water when we catch him, putting his food in the areas he’s sprayed, kitty diapers and isolating him, just to name a few. We've been trying all the behavior modifications, clean religiously with enzyme cleaner, but he just sprays somewhere else. The vet put him on amitriptyline and said to keep trying the behavior modification techniques. After more spraying incidents and tweaking the medication a couple of times, the vet put him on kitty Prozac. He is still spraying at least once a day. He is currently being isolated on a screened in porch, away from us and his sister. Putting him outside just isn’t an option as we live in a suburban wildland fringe area where mountain lions and coyotes roam, not to mention dangers from dogs, cars, etc. We also don’t think it’s fair to neighbors to let him roam and use their yards as litter boxes.

The vet thinks he has a severe anxiety disorder. He has always been high-strung but now just seems almost frantic at times, pacing around, compulsively rubbing his face on us and anything else he can find, unable to completely relax and calm down. He seems like a very unhappy kitty even though there haven’t been any changes to his environment since we brought him home. We’ve talked with a few people involved in animal rescue and all have said basically the same…rescue groups and no-kill shelters are filled beyond capacity, and likely won’t take him since his behavior problems make him unadoptable. My friend’s mom was involved in cat rescue for many years and had a really honest talk with us about options, including euthanasia. She feels the cat’s quality of life is pretty poor, given his obvious anguish and anxiety, the fact that if he stays with us he will be confined, mostly by himself, to the screened porch and reiterated that he is unadoptable with these severe behavior problems.

We want to do what is best for him and give him the best life possible. We’ve read all the MeFi posts about cat behavior and honestly have tried everything. We would appreciate hearing other’s experience with a similar issue. We would not appreciate judgment and criticism from cat fanatics insisting we just have to learn to live with this because we made a commitment and that we aren’t trying hard enough to help him. We know we made a commitment to this cat and feel that we are doing way more than most others would do.

Private correspondence can be sent to jotter6458@mypacks.net

One of my teeth is pink. What is this??

mintchip — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:03:50 -0800

One of my teeth is pink. What is this?? I just had a dental cleaning and the hygienist said that I have a "pink tooth." She said that this tooth has what seems to be a "huge" cavity on the x-ray. Unfortunately I don't have an appointment with the actual dentist until next week and the hygienist wouldn't say any more except that it was "very strange" that my tooth has a pink color and that she was unsure as to what the cause was.

I looked in the mirror and this tooth (it's in the back of my mouth) *does* have a pinkish hue to it.

I'm a little worried; basically because I don't have dental insurance and dental work is SO expensive. Also, I brush and floss EVERY day and haven't had a cavity in years so I'm wondering what in the world could cause a "pink tooth" (whatever that is) and how much of a cause for concern this is. I do not want to have a root canal!

P.S. everyone, DO NOT put off your dental cleanings/exams. I used to go like clockwork every six months and never had any dental problems at all. Just recently I tried to start going a little longer between cleanings...maybe 8 or 9 months. Now suddenly I've got dental problems to worry about. I was trying to save money. This sucks!

Realllllly Bad Situation

symbollocks — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:35:55 -0800

My friend needs suggestions and advice for a bad situation he's in. His dad has a compressed vertebrate and is dealing with a lot of pain. In trying to deal with his pain he has become addicted to (prescription) narcotics. He can only walk with the aid of a cane. He works at a news station.

His mother has a sciatic nerve problem and a compressed vertebrate. She too is in a lot of pain and takes a lot of narcotics to deal with it, though she is not addicted, she is still out of it for much of the day. She works as a nurse at a local community center. She too can barely walk, except with the aid of a walker.

My friend is 21, he is living at home and helping his parents as much as he can. He is unemployed, after being fired from a food service job and being forced to sell off his car after it broke down for good. He has a suspended license, and has 6 tickets for driving with a suspended license. The next time he gets pulled over for that the consequences are greater than a mere ticket, possible arrest or more.

He would like to get a job so he can help more, but it's hard to get one when the phone is often disconnected. That and he does not have reliable transportation, as his parents have only two cars, one of which is about to be broken down for good.

His parents have a lot of pets, which they are (for the most part) unable to take care of themselves, due to their health problems. He has to take care of these pets.

They are currently heating their house with 3 space heaters, and had previously been using the oven, which is now shot.

They will most likely be getting evicted sometime in the next few months due to financial problems. Their financial problems are primarily due to their health problems. They have health insurance, but it does not cover very much.

There is often no food in the house for days at a time. I subsidized them recently with a box of dumpstered bagels, after they had gone for 3 days without food.

What solutions exist for a guy in a horrible situation like this? or for his parents? Anything, even just to stabilize the situation.

He has given me permission to post this question and I can provide feedback if there are further questions.

Oh, and please, no pity comments. He's got a truckload of that stuff already.

Please help me sort out my anxiety-related relationship problems and help me to have an open heart.

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:06:39 -0800

Please help me sort out my anxiety-related relationship problems and help me to have an open heart. I am really struggling a lot with seemingly intractable problems with some of the relationships in my life. When it comes to dating, I have a deep mistrust of men that is hard to overcome. I don't know where it really comes from--maybe from bad experiences or from my anxiety, which is almost crippling--but I am so distrustful and "closed off" that it's hard to let someone in. I'll meet someone who seems nice but in the back of my mind "maybe he only wants one thing" and I don’t allow myself to trust him. This, I think, make me say things that come across the wrong way or act rejecting without meaning to.

As I mentioned, I seem to have a knack for either saying things the wrong way or being misunderstood. I wasn’t allowed to be around other kids much when I was little, and my family a very poor role model for communication. So although I have improved a lot, my relationships sometimes turn sour without my having a clear understanding of why.

I also seem to misunderstand others quite a lot, and perhaps my reading of people and situations is a little “off.”

All of this has lead to a high-intensity anxiety situation! Since so many relationships did not work out in the past, I always expect and predict that the next one won’t work out too. It seems to be like a self fulfilling prophecy because sometimes I see drama/conflict/rejection when it isn’t really there. A lot of this I think is due to my anxiety, but unfortunately even with long-term psychotherapy my progress is very slow. Sometimes I literally *cannot* relax and I have physical symptoms like aches, pains, and irritability.

I have tried pharmaceuticals. Only one antidepressant (Celexa) was of any value, and my response to it was extremely positive. I was calm, relaxed and easygoing…the complete opposite of the nervous wreck that I am without it. However, I had numerous and side effects (weight gain, sexual problems, extreme tiredness, lack of motivation, etc.) and just decided that I would have to work on fixing my insides rather than hoping for a medication to fix all of my problems. (I do take benzos when I have an anxiety attack, but I can’t take them all of the time.)

Anyway, this is a long question, but I guess I’m wondering is how can I learn to open up to others and let go of my fear of rejection and my high-strung, anxious nature? I spend a lot of time analyzing “what went wrong” in various situations but I’m not sure it’s really getting me anywhere. As I said, I’m in therapy (and very pleased with it) but these are really complex problems and I’m discouraged by my slow progress. I will mention that I have some trauma in my past (not sexual trauma, but general trauma) that probably contributed to all of these problems.

Diagnosing intermittent connectivity problems

ottereroticist — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:03:11 -0800

I'm experiencing intermittent periods (several hours every couple of days) where web pages are extremely slow to load and/or hang while partially loaded. How do I figure out what's causing the problem and fix it, ideally without wasting a lot of time on the phone with my ISP? Specs:
Mac OS X 10.4.11
Firefox 3.0.1 (Safari 3.1.2 and iTunes 8.0 are also affected)
Netgear mr814v2 wireless router with 64 bit WEP encryption
Motorola SB5120 cable modem
Comcast internet service

Thanks for any clues, Internet superfriends!

I want my old iTunes Back.

nomad73 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:08:43 -0800

I stupidly updated and installed iTunes 8 on my Win XP Home laptop. Now some icons have turned "generic." This annoys me and I would like to go back to an earlier version of iTunes The only icons that have turned generic are ones for MS Office (files and the icons for the actual app) and Adobe. The icons still function normally - the correct program launches, opens the document fine, etc. But I'm still quite annoyed by this. At first I thought it was a Windows update that did it and I did a system restore, which fixed the problem. Then I tried starting iTunes and got some error - can't remember what. So I downloaded an re-installed iTunes 8 again. And the icons went away again. I'd like to go back to an earlier version of iTunes without losing my playlists, listen-counts and so on. I found an old installer for iTunes 7.5 or so, but it won't let me install it. I assume I must uninstall iTunes 8 and then install 7.5 but again - am worried about losing playlists. Any advice? This will be the last time I update that program - v. 7.0 was a nightmare and v. 8 has problems too. Ugh! Thanks.

great guy, bad sex, what should i do?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:46:57 -0800

great guy, bad sex, what should i do? Here's my dilemma. I have been with my boyfriend for about a year and 1/2. And we have just moved in together. He is an amazingly sweet, caring person, and makes me feel loved and important. We have the same interests, and can laugh together. So what's the problem:

The problem is that i have never been particularly sexually attracted to him. This is complicated by the fact that he suffers from premature ejaculation, and i don't just mean a little bit. I mean less than a minute, each time. And we've tried to work on it. We've talked about it. I've been very patient and sensitive about it. It has not gotten better. He said that with his ex, who he was together with for 5 years, that it got 'a bit' better, like maybe 2 or 3 min.

Sex is important to me. Sex with him isn't awful, but its not satisfying, either. And, I think it is making me less attracted to him in general. Although, as i said, i was never super attracted to him. He kind of grew on me because he is such a nice person. I feel like a jerk, and i'm thinking of ending it with him. Not JUST because of the premature ejaculation issue, but because of the general lack of sexual chemistry.

Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? Advice, please?

Why does Skype not want to take calls?

arniec — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:15:11 -0800

Important Skype Issue! I primarily use Skype for voicemails, however I am getting lots of complaints that Skype's line is busy. Every time I open Skype the preferences are set to only allow calls from people in my contact list. I keep setting them to allow calls from anyone and they keep going back to only accepting calls from people in my contacts list. Sometimes these settings reset while Skype is still open. I have not yet been able to determine a pattern. I know that every time I open Skype it's set to only take calls from people on my contact list, and I think that when I make calls it resets as well.

I have contacted Skype's technical support 10 days ago and they have not responded at all... I've Googled to no avail. This is extremely frustrating as I am a recent convert to Mac and I took Skype with me, but I never had these problems on my PC.

I do have Ecamm's Call Recorder for Skype installed, but I can't find any reason why it would be changing my settings.

Help! Please!

Neighbor problem

quintno — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:55:30 -0800

How would you answer a neighbor who doesn't like the color of your backyard shed and leaves you a note saying "please repaint it." The shed is in beautiful pastels to match my hydrangeas and I spent a lot of time deliberating on the perfect paint colors. Her house is white-on-white. I have never met her (and this is after four years), but in her complaint to me noted that she has to look out of her kitchen window 150 times a day--even though her property is two houses away.
I would welcome any advice, short of repainting the shed.

Out of Sync

Funky Claude — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:00:29 -0800

After burning a movie file to a DVD I've noticed that the audio is horrendously out of sync. How can this be fixed? I burnt an AVI file to a DVD using DVD flick and upon my watching it, I've noticed that the audio is so out of sync that the film becomes unwatchable. The audio was a little out of sync when I watched the actual AVI file on my computer but nowhere near the level it is after burning.

So how can I burn a DVD with normal sound?

Help me use my DJ equipment to play music again

elr — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:23:19 -0800

I bought a Behringer BCD 3000 mixer a few months ago. It came with the Limited Edition version of the program Traktor (Traktor LE 3.0). Initially, the Behringer wasn't working with my computer because it doesn't have Vista drivers. I changed the driver compatibility so that it thought I was using Windows XP and it worked fine... until I upgraded to Traktor LE 3.3.1. Now I can't get the mixer to affect Traktor in any way. What do I do? When I checked the preferences it appeared like the BCD is being recognized, but I an't get it to adjust the volume or tempo, play tracks, or do anything.

(please forgive me if I'm using the wrong terminology for anything...and for using Vista)