I use this image (source image here) as my desktop background - it's one of Ubuntu's default wallpapers. Can I do something about the artifacts? [more inside]
posted by topynate on Dec 28, 2009 - 5 answers

Efficient cross-hatching (and distortion thereof) in Illustrator CS4? [more inside]
posted by nostrich on Dec 28, 2009 - 6 answers

How do I know if I have an "upside down" mortgage? [more inside]
posted by scratch on Dec 28, 2009 - 16 answers

Assemblage (in an archaeological sense) - what's the oldest use of this term in this context? [more inside]
posted by Chairboy on Dec 28, 2009 - 3 answers

Need a cheap way to convert .SND to .MP3 files. [more inside]
posted by RavinDave on Dec 28, 2009 - 10 answers

I'm about to buy a Sony Vaio for my sister. However, I hate bloatware and want to start her off with a fresh clean install. How do I do it? [more inside]
posted by InvestorMD on Dec 27, 2009 - 15 answers

Help me find a site that sold cool t-shirts. [more inside]
posted by bkudria on Dec 27, 2009 - 13 answers

Does anybody know the title of a short science fiction story about the male population going mad and killing all the females ? [more inside]
posted by Pendragon on Dec 27, 2009 - 7 answers

Does anyone know what this acronym stands for, from a U.S. Navy training center in San Diego in 1952? I think it's BFGC or BTGC. [more inside]
posted by onemorething on Dec 27, 2009 - 7 answers

Please help me find an online collection of old woodcuts and other decorative elements available as vector drawings. I've lost my bookmark to it. Example images inside. [more inside]
posted by odinsdream on Dec 26, 2009 - 4 answers

steam has mass effect for $20. is it worth buying and playing now?
posted by leemajors on Dec 26, 2009 - 16 answers

i can't see a specialist for three weeks but i've got a marathon coming up and i need to know before that. [more inside]
posted by holdenjordahl on Dec 26, 2009 - 3 answers

Anyone else encountering difficulties using Netflix streaming on their PS3? I re-joined Netflix after a long hiatus so I could take advantage of PS3 streaming, but it's been a very bumpy ride and hasn't worked in over a week. [more inside]
posted by porn in the woods on Dec 26, 2009 - 12 answers

I'm typesetting a book with some music notation in it. There are several references to 3/4 and 4/4 time, which I had set in nifty opentype fractions; however, the editor and I are unsure of whether or not this refers to "four-four" or "four-fourths" time - and this is one of the few things that Chicago doesn't address. So, designers and readers: what do you think? 4/4, using lining numerals, or a 4/4 fraction?
posted by luriete on Dec 26, 2009 - 5 answers

I have a problem with a broken Christmas promise. My girlfriend and I agreed that since money was tight, we would not buy gifts for each other. We would purchase gifts for family. Children, parents, siblings. But we would only buy for others. Not for us. Then my girlfriend bought me an iPod Touch. While I certainly love the gift I feel that I should now buy her something, even though she insists that I do not. I'm thinking that since the agreement was broken (granted with love) I have the right to purchase her a gift. (With love) But OTOH, would that be loving, or tit for tat? Am I overthinking this? Is it a given that I get her a gift? Or should I just accept my gift and leave it alone, and in my mind maybe be missing some signal of some sort? While money is tight, it isn't so bad that I couldn't get her something. It doesn't have to be the same amount, but I'd feel like crap if I didn't get her a gift now. Help!
posted by Splunge on Dec 25, 2009 - 51 answers

A friend of mine had a broken condom last night, and needs to get hold of Plan B. She's in Washington, DC. Planned Parenthood's closed, as are all the pharmacies she's tried. [more inside]
posted by Tomorrowful on Dec 25, 2009 - 12 answers

7 friends and I are going on a road trip. At restaurants we usually have one person pay by credit card, and have everyone paying for what they ordered to the individual. Oh, and not everyone is gonna be at every event, so having one individual pay for everything on the trip is impossible. And it should redistribute debts so at most each person only needs to make 1 payment to another person. What is the best free method for calculating who pays whom? [more inside]
posted by jytsai on Dec 25, 2009 - 18 answers

Does anyone recognize the exact color of these Doc Martens? [more inside]
posted by Venadium on Dec 25, 2009 - 12 answers

Are there any quiet, leafy parks not so far away from Sydney CBD area? I'd like to be able to go there via bus/train in 30mins at most to go for a walk and chill out.
posted by neworder7 on Dec 25, 2009 - 6 answers

How do I either recover my Mac OS X password or else get around needing it? [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Dec 24, 2009 - 11 answers

For a friends birthday I want to make a wall chart showing which (non-classical) musicians and bands influenced other ones. E.g. Beatles -> Oasis, Neil Young -> Nirvana. [more inside]
posted by 92_elements on Dec 24, 2009 - 15 answers

Recommend me a headset for a friend who plays World of Warcraft. [more inside]
posted by Yasuo on Dec 24, 2009 - 10 answers

I need a French translation for "World's Best Grandpa" but do not know French. My best candidate is "Le meilleur grand-père sur le monde" which I suspect is too formal, ungrammatical, or hopelessly wrong. I'm also stumbling over the sur/dans distinction and suspect there is likely an idiom which is just better in every way. This is intended to be embroidered on a pillow so brevity and informality are prized in that order.
posted by fydfyd on Dec 23, 2009 - 7 answers

I need a bowl for the remains of eaten food. My late grandfather used the term "Camposanto," meaning "graveyard" (Italian?), for the bowl into which you'd throw the shells or bones of animals you've just eaten (mussels, ribs etc). I want to get his daughter, my mom, a bowl that would live up to the name; something with crosses, or graves, or "in loving memory," or even better something with skeletons (especially of fish) on it, something ghostly (ghastly) or something equally pithy on it. Big enough for about 30+ mussel shells on it, and preferably something not too earnest. Perhaps something like this or this (but preferably bigger). [more inside]
posted by omnigut on Dec 23, 2009 - 10 answers

Where can I find pashmina scarves in Montreal? Not the super-expensive ones, but the many-coloured, mass produced ones. I saw loads in Chinatown in Vancouver, and I am wondering where I can find similar ones here?
posted by niccolo on Dec 23, 2009 - 4 answers

[HomemadeCandyFilter] We made Chocolate-Almond Buttercrunch Toffee according to this recipe. The toffee part is great; the chocolate part appears to be a train wreck. [more inside]
posted by DarlingBri on Dec 23, 2009 - 13 answers

Do I need a new video card to hook my PC up to my new HDTV? [more inside]
posted by muckster on Dec 23, 2009 - 11 answers

Excel Idiot Filter: Is there some simpler way to calculate the averages of the same cell along multiple worksheets? [more inside]
posted by itsonreserve on Dec 23, 2009 - 7 answers

Ruined cookies, ruined Christmas! Baking fail. [more inside]
posted by Juicy Avenger on Dec 22, 2009 - 18 answers

How do I take an image file and mount it as a CD drive on my Mac (Snow Leopard) without using Toast. Bonus points for doing it from the command line. [more inside]
posted by nokry56 on Dec 22, 2009 - 9 answers

Help me troubleshoot this savory tart recipe. [more inside]
posted by liketitanic on Dec 22, 2009 - 14 answers

Findthatsongfilter: Lyrics containing "die together"...we think! [more inside]
posted by multivalent on Dec 22, 2009 - 15 answers

I've got a ~1 year old baby that seems to really like music, especially hip hop and electronic type beats, and I'm wondering if there exists any cool and relatively "babyproof" music gear? [more inside]
posted by ejoey on Dec 22, 2009 - 12 answers

Where is a good quiet Caribbean beach resort, with good food and service but a minimum of loud people/activities/partying? [more inside]
posted by mark7570 on Dec 22, 2009 - 10 answers

Please ID this Kung Fu movie with missiles and menstruation. [more inside]
posted by Lutoslawski on Dec 22, 2009 - 3 answers

I am looking for the brand and style of the boot or shoe that made these prints. [more inside]
posted by 517 on Dec 22, 2009 - 6 answers

Affect/Effect [more inside]
posted by tizzie on Dec 22, 2009 - 9 answers

I used to have an ATT mobile number and someone could send me an SMS via email by sending a message to XXXXXXXXXX@txt.att.net. I now have a Google Voice number. Can someone still send me an SMS via email? [more inside]
posted by jaimev on Dec 21, 2009 - 4 answers

He thought it was an ear infection. Doc says shingles. Really? [more inside]
posted by BlahLaLa on Dec 21, 2009 - 14 answers

Is there a real-world precedent for the enormous temples full of elaborate premodern machinery that we see so often in adventure movies and video games? [more inside]
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis on Dec 21, 2009 - 14 answers

Qualitative research: question on precisely what level of detail to include in Methodology? [more inside]
posted by Mutant on Dec 21, 2009 - 6 answers

What are some funny, cheeky messages I can send with these "personal massagers" I am sending to some female friends. [more inside]
posted by Diag on Dec 21, 2009 - 18 answers

Will TSA confiscate my two containers of Body Shop body butter? They are Christmas presents for friends back home and I don't want to have to repurchase them once I get to my destination. They are each 6.9 ounces. [more inside]
posted by timpanogos on Dec 20, 2009 - 33 answers

Help me find the name of this Asian film about a love story in three different time periods. [more inside]
posted by jaywalker on Dec 20, 2009 - 2 answers

Public emotional blackmail filter: She's trying to publicly shame me into donating. My inner child wants to let this lady have it. My outer adult says she's not worth it. How do I get her to stop while still appearing to be an adult? Here's where you come in. [more inside]
posted by Leezie on Dec 20, 2009 - 27 answers

Apparently I qualify to buy an annuity as part of a class action settlement. Is it worth it? [more inside]
posted by acridrabbit on Dec 20, 2009 - 7 answers

Sometime last week I heard a remake of "Last Christmas" by Wham! and, unlike most versions of the song, I didn't hate it. It was played on 99.1 CBC Radio in Toronto. Please help me find out who is behind this remake! [more inside]
posted by anekona on Dec 20, 2009 - 8 answers

What song does the intro to this song my friend wrote sound like? [more inside]
posted by rebent on Dec 20, 2009 - 14 answers

Music theory meets Christmas filter: I have been a good musician in my day, but my training was long on how to do it and woefully short on theory. I'm curious about the Christmas music that sounds like it's in a minor key (i.e., "Watchman Tell Us of the Night," "We Three Kings," "O Come, O Come Emanuel"). I have read that these pieces are written in Aeolian mode, but that source was quite brief and unhelpful. Can someone walk me through these songs? This question is interesting but doesn't go far enough in my direction.
posted by bryon on Dec 20, 2009 - 24 answers

Looking for gift ideas for a pollyanna. The theme of the gift is "sweet and sour." Any ideas, mundane or weird are welcome.
posted by furiousxgeorge on Dec 20, 2009 - 12 answers