Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with scratch

Help a newbie DJ!

aceyprime — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:02:41 -0800

I want to start DJing - specifically mixing and mashing songs and learning to scratch. I only want to make mixes for myself but might someday want to play for a house party if my skills improve. I need your input on equipment and how to get started! I love music but have no experience DJing so anything you have to share would be helpful. I spent a bit of time attempting to research it but feel totally overwhelmed by all the options available.

What controller & soundcard (or other equipment) should I consider? I've looked at the Vestax VCI-100, Hercules RMX and M-Audio Xponent so far but have no idea what would be best to get started. I want a controller that will be good for scratching. I'd like to spend less than $700 total.

What should I look at for software? Seems like Traktor and Virtual DJ are popular and support most controllers.

What should I do to learn the basics? Any good DJ forums that are beginner friendly?

Stay Away from the Banana Plant

billysumday — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:13:19 -0800

My cat is slowly killing my indoor banana tree by scratching the hell out of it. Now what? I live in Central Pennsylvania and in the spring of this year purchased a dwarf plantain plant/tree. It grew very well outside in the summer but now that the weather has taken a turn for the cold, I've brought the plant indoors and have placed it on a small table in front of our large south-facing window. It's continued to thrive and is still sprouting new leaves, but my cat is intent on killing it. He loves to scratch at its trunk and tear at the leaves. He doesn't dig at the soil or eat the plant, so I don't need advice regarding that. Just: how to keep the cat away from the plant? I'd prefer to find a solution that saves the tree while keeping it aesthetically pleasing - i.e., I'd rather not wrap the tree in aluminum foil. My strategy thus far has been to shoot him with water from a water bottle when he gets up in/on the plant, but now it's like he just jumps up there and looks at me for attention. If I don't shoot him, he'll cry and then scratch at the tree until I do shoot him, at which point he runs away. He's a bit challenged in the brain department.

Are there any sprays or anything I can use that would cover the plant in some sort of anti-cat repellent? I did some Googling but came up empty.

Thanks, mefi.

My dog just attacked a large rodent-like creature, should I be worried?

AZNsupermarket — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:23:01 -0800

My dog just attacked a large rodent-like creature, should I be worried? I was walking my dog (A soft-coated wheaten terrier) at night in Closter NJ, when he ran off to chase a large rodent-like creature. He bit it and attacked it, and the creature fought back, but no skin was broken that I could see, and there was no blood. Eventually the creature got away. My dog seems to be okay, and is all up to date on all his shots - he got a whole bunch about a month ago (including kennel cough and distemper). This event has left me a little shaken. Is there any possibility that my dog may be hurt without me realizing it or contracted a disease from the creature? Should I take him to see a vet?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Frame is distracting from content

Eicats — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:44:35 -0800

Is there an easy fix for a faint scratch on an pure black picture frame? I have artwork finished and framed and only just now noticed a faint scratch on the frame. The frame is the basic all-black style that is very common now. I do think the frame is wood, but it is completely smooth--no wood grain shows so that the black looks like a lacquer or enamel. The scratch is very faint; it only mars the topmost finish.

Has anyone had any luck with those touch-up pens for wood scratches? Any other suggestions? (not an option to repaint or refinish: the piece is out of my hands in a couple of days so it's either an easy fix or leave it as is) But now that I know the scratch is there, I can't look at anything else!

Out of pocket or file a claim?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:35:35 -0800

Car scratch costs $500 to fix. Should I pay out of pocket or make an insurance claim? While pulling into a parking spot, I bumped into a car. This left some slight scratches on the left passenger side door of the other car, and some scratches on my front bumper. I left a note with my contact info and an apology, and the other car's driver took her car to two different auto body shops, both of which gave an estimate around $500 to fix the scratches on her car.

This is an amount that I could pay out of pocket, but since my finances are not great right now this would still entail some belt-tightening. Is it actually still worth it to pay this out of pocket, or should I do this through insurance now? I understand that insurance rates go up after a claim is made -- not to mention the inherent hassle of making the claim -- but I'm having trouble finding information that would let me gauge exactly how big that increase might be. I've sifted through Google and my insurance documents so far, and I've got nothin' conclusive.

My priority right now is just settling this with the other person (incidentally, I have no reason to suspect the other person might be out to screw me whatsoever). I do plan to fix up my own car scratch eventually, since my car is fairly new. But given that this is so cosmetic and that either way I'd end up paying some amount out of pocket anyway for fixing up my car (my collision insurance policy has a $500 out of pocket deductible), this really isn't a huge priority right now.

So, in short, if you were me, would you bother going through the claim process, or would you just suck it up and pay? I'm in Maryland, and my insurance is Geico, if that helps. This is also my first incident of any kind in five years of driving, so I'm a complete virgin to this. Anonymous because I'm paranoid: the throwaway email is asdfdsaf08@gmail.com.

Cat Repellent Effectiveness

reidfleming — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:21:18 -0800

Do cat repellent sprays really work? Thinking of purchasing some expensive leather dining room chairs and I'm concerned about possible damage from scratching. I purchased a sisal scratching post a few months ago and my cat uses it constantly but I'm still nervous. He destroyed a cheap leather computer chair I purchased many years ago. The problem seems to be under control but I'm still worried. Any recommendations?

Help me save this DVD!!

arniec — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:45:45 -0800

I ruined a valuable DVD-R with scratches and need to fix it, pronto. Help!! Time issue as family wants to watch it on Christmas. I have a DVD of holiday memories. I thought I was taking good care of it, but a crash of a pile of discs left this one out of the case and with quite a bit of damage. Given that the physical media is scratched, my primary goal is to copy it to a new, unscathed DVD-R. I have thus far been unsuccessful.

First, the scratches are just on the bottom and I see no deep gouges, just superficial scratches. Nothing has damaged the top layer (it was protected with a stick-on label). So the data should all be there.

I have tried copying the disc with Sonic MyDVD for XP, and Roxio's Toast on Mac. With Toast I have even tried the slow data recovery option. After running for 14 hours of the program trying to recover the data, I quit it out.

I then went out and purchased the DVD Dr. Advanced Optical Disc Repair System. I have run the DVD through twice and I must say the abrasions on the bottom seem to have lessened, but only to be replaced by some other scoring from the center to the outside of the disc.

That DVD Dr. came with a drying cloth and some felt for "buffing" but the instructions are lackluster. I'm not sure if I should just buff the entire disc, how much to buff it, or even how to buff it. I know the general rule for optical media is to only go from the center to the outside in a straight line, but... Ughhh.

I feel looking at this disc that it SHOULD be recoverable but I'm frustrated, at the end of my rope, and the clock is ticking as I need to mail it (or a copy of it) to a family member for holiday viewing.

Please help me hive mind!

Car Scratch Payment

thrako — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:45:56 -0800

Friend scratched a car, needs to pay. A friend scratched a car while parking a week ago. She has sent the owner a check for the damage, but he claims not to have received it. We are going to meet him in person in twenty minutes to give him another check. I will make sure she cancels the first check. Is it possible he will attempt to get the insurance companies involved after we pay him? Should my friend indicate on the check that it is payment for the scratch, in case the guy does try to get the companies to pay? Apparently he is asking for $100, which seems reasonable/low for body work. What would repair typically cost, and how much would my friends insurance go up if it was resolved through official channels? Also, the incident did happen a while ago, when does a incident need to be reported to the insurance company to make a claim?

Help save my wood floor's finish!

a22lamia — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:20:01 -0800

Apparently, we've done a few things you aren't suppose to do to our fairly newly finished (last year) wood floors including using a jute rug with a rubber rug pad under it. Last week I noticed the tassels on the rug were scratching the finish so I took up the rug and pad. In addition to the finish being scratched, it looks like the pad left some sort of residue on the floor. How do I get the nice finish back on our floor (the finish is a standard 3 coat poly finish)?

Shoo flea, don't bother me...

nzydarkxj — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:38:55 -0800

Fleas! But different... I'm not intending to kill any fleas, I just want to get them to stop biting me and/or make the bites stop itching! Fleas LOVE me. They find me and bite me all the time, and I'm pretty allergic to the bites... which can become huge itchy bumps lasting weeks, and scars because I eventually break the skin, if not on purpose, in my sleep.
I live in Chile. There are fleas all over the place in the city (stray animals, public transportation, etc...) but I feel treating my house (As shortened reasoning, we have no animals, I have never seen a flea in the house, and nobody else seems to think we have a problem in the house) will not help. I also dont feel they stay/live on me or my clothes. Kind of like hit and run bites... er bite and hop away.

My general doctors in the US had not quite understood and wanted to prevent by housecleansing rather than treat the bites.

A specialist/dermatologist I went to here was useless. The general concept here is that you need to clean stuff and the problem will go away, which does not seem to by my case. (Ex: SO and I share a bed and he veeery rarely gets bites) The dermatologist I was prescribed an expensive bottle of something labeled "Dry skin lotion" that didn't help.

I'm wondering
a) Is there a way to make my skin or body less attractive to the fleas? They somehow prefer me (foreigner, perhaps different body temperature) and at times I have dozens of bites in one area. I always have bites within hours of reentering the country. I'd prefer not to smell like a chemical though.

b) how do I stop bites from itching?!?!
Bites are horribly aggravating and my relief attempts are always short term, though the bite stays for about 2 weeks. I've tried benedryl, cort-aid, a type of vaporrub type gel, lotion, scratching, and even breaking the skin... which is the only slight relief I get.

Wondering Why My Cat Greets Me This Particular Way ...

WCityMike — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:25:53 -0800

Consistently, every single time I come home, my cat will come over to a particular corner of my desk -- I need not be sitting at it or indeed be anywhere near it -- and meow while faux-scratching it. He occasionally will stretch his back after the scratch, but not always. It's extremely cute, and he's such an affectionate cat that I'm even kind of touched by it. But I suppose I find myself curious as to what the gesture breaks down to. I'm assuming it's a greeting, since he repeats it without fail every time I come home after being out for more than a few minutes, but I suppose I'm curious as to what the action signifies. I doubt it's totally random, but I can't quite figure out what "animal world" thing he would be doing by that particular pattern.

how do i overcome an addicting itch?

Hat Maui — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:45:19 -0800

I have a skin irritation on the top of my foot/ankle and I can't stop scratching it. i've tried neosporin, cortisone, bandages, etc. it heals to a certain point and then gets incredibly itchy.

the irritation is now essentially a shallow (but growing) skin wound that i keep damaging because i cannot resist the urge to scratch. it's got a lot in common with an addiction, actually.

how do i resist it enough for the skin on my foot to completely heal?

Can the hive mind get the scratch out of my aviator shades?

paddingtonb — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:01:09 -0800

I have a pair of cheapo aviator sunglasses that I love. Any way I can get the scratch out of the lens? I was living with the scratch (which is about half an inch long) even though it directly crosses my line of vision. Then I was watching TV and I saw an ad for a product that would remove scratches from your car's paint job! And I got to thinking, would that work for my beloved glasses? I'm reluctant to test it, since I don't want to damage the slick mirrored tint.

If not, is there anything else that might work?

Hardwood floor messed up

tabulem — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:38:06 -0800

How do I fix my hardwood floor which I messed up? I just moved into a rental apartment with a hardwood floor. The movers made a few marks in the floor, and I wasn't sure if they were scratches or just marks, so I rubbed them with a rough kitchen scrubber, and lo and behold, all that did was remove the surface of the flooring. So now where I rubbed is dull compared to the rest of the floor. Moreover, the marks were indeed scratches and now they're even more prominent.

I don't know what kind of surface the floor is, unless that can be ascertained from the fact that it could be so easily damaged. Does anyone know what the surface is likely to be, and how I could fix it?

Thanks a lot!

But it's just a little scratch

zachxman — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:11:47 -0800

On my Linux-based laptop and desktop, I've been having trouble reading DVDs that have even the slightest scratches. It seemed that Windows was a bit more tolerant of imperfections--is there any way to modify my [Ubuntu] settings so that it doesn't hang at the first missed bit? Now that half the country has Netflix and their DVDs are spending a lot of time in transit, every disk seems to come with at least one small abrasion. In an effort to smooth the playback (via Totem, VLC, MPlayer, whatever), I have taken to copying and/or transcoding the disk to my harddrive first (dvdrip, handbrake, vobcopy, and DVD Decrypter through wine), but each program hangs at the first unreadable sector. Is there any DVD equivalent to something like Exact Audio Copier to conduct error checking/correction to reclaim these bits? Alternately, are there any settings that I can modify to make my system tolerate a small gap in the data stream?

Mosquitos suck

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:03:27 -0800

Mysterious mosquito attacks within a small living space... We seem to get bitten once every other night, and can kill a mosquito or two once a night. Itching and scratching are getting tedious.

The thing is, we have a really small apartment where it seems impossible to have open, stagnant sources of water. We do, however, have vents in the bathroom, living room and bedroom where we have seen mosquitoes.

• Is it possible for central air vents (running cool air) to contain pockets of water (condensation) to allow mosquitoes to breed?

• How can I phrase my help request with the landlord, in such a way that the problem can be fixed? Taking apart the vents is probably not workable, I assume.

• Failing that, is there a way to kill these pests without chemically treating the apartment?

Skin Scratch Quandry

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:18:10 -0800

My female loves to be scratched until red marks appear. Is frequent scratching bad for her skin in the long term? If so, please suggest alternatives.

Cats & behavior: How can i keep cats off a new car?

itheearl — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:01:55 -0800

Cats & behavior: How can i keep five cats off a new car? Will be getting a new car delivered this week. (Mazda 3 i touring).

I'm spending the summer with my parents because:
1. it's free
2. it's free...

Anyway, the parents live outside of town on an acreage.
They have a horse, a donkey, and two (older) outside dogs.
They also have five (5) outdoor cats.

[ To the animal lovers:
All animals are vaccinated, wormed (de-wormed?), heart-wormed, well fed, spade/neutered/gelded as appropriate, and generally very well cared for.
My younger sister would throw a fit if it wasn't this way.]

The cats like to get on top of the truck, minivan, and suv...
When it's time for the cats to get off of the vehicles, they sort of slide off.
Each foot leaves four little long scratches in the clear coat, and i recently noticed when i detailed the truck that the pads of the cats' feet seem to buff the clear coat as well when they slide off the front of the hood.

My previous vehicle was a ford explorer, and every time i washed it i would notice another new scratch from the cats -- sometimes in places that just made me scratch my head and wonder about how the hell a cat could make a scratch there?!

The cats know they arent supposed to be on the vehicles, and I figure the best way to limit damage once they are already on the vehicles is to just let them be. Scaring them off would just result in more damage.

I know that the new car will be subjected to parking lot damage, and I can live with that.
But at least most door nicks only affect a limited area and can be buffed out without too much trouble... especially on a white car.
The cats damage the entire car bit by bit, and I havent had great luck polishing out the scratches on any previous vehicle.

Bottom line:
I'm willing to spend some money to keep the cats off the car, and i'm willing to spend up to 5 minutes setting up and/or removing some sort of cat protection every time i drive the car.
The car will be parked in a 30x40 foot shed with the truck, minivan, and suv.
While it is possible to close the shed so that the cats cannot enter, it is not always possible to convince the cats to leave if they do get in.
We usually wait to administer the nighttime cat feeding until after all vehicles are in the shed for the night, but even that doesnt always work.

I'm not willing to spray any chemicals directly on the car.
I would, however, be willing to spray them on a car cover.
I just worry that they (the cats) would get on the car cover and put their claws all they way through it... and my paint.
Or worse still, they might claw the sides of the cover.

The dogs and horse may spend the night in a lean-to that is built onto the side of the shed. I worry that anything that uses sound to repel cats might travel through a single layer of tin siding and startle the horse or the 13-year-old Labrador.

I'm open to suggestions, as long as they don't involve getting rid of the cats.

Suggested resource for coding neural networks in Java from scratch?

zzztimbo — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:53:59 -0800

I would like to know what a good resource would be to help me code neural networks in Java from scratch. The best I could find was this resource: http://www.mathtools.net/Java/Neural_Networks/ I have Neural Networks by Haykin as well as Simulating Neural Networks with Mathematica.

You can't hide forever, Baal!

Rallon — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:57:49 -0800

So I have a scratched CD with a few corrupt files, and access to the files that I need on another PC...can I combine these somehow to create a working CD or image with which to install/use my program? The program is Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction (the expansion). Yeah, I'm a nerd. Anyway, the original game installs fine, and I own a perfectly legal copy of the expansion, but the disc is scratched to hell, so the install hangs trying to copy two files (d2exp.mpq and d2xtalk, if it matters). These won't copy to the desktop, either, so I assume they're just gone. I can hop on an ancient PC that lives in the closet and pull these files off via thumb drive, however, so I have access to good copies of the files that are corrupted.

The installer, unfortunately, insists on copying over whatever's in the directory, so just tossing those files into the install directory before the installer starts trying to copy doesn't work, it still tries to copy the files and hangs. Worse yet, copying the files into the directory makes the launcher think the expansion is already installed, so it won't let me try to install over/install the rest. Long story short, I think I need to somehow replace the files on the CD with the good versions. I can get all of the other files off of the CD by copy/paste, but taking an image of the whole CD fails because of those bad files.

Is there some way for me to successfully create an image with all working files that should work? I'd really like not to have to go out and buy a new expansion, and torrenting it is pretty much out of the question due to bandwidth issues. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Where can I buy scratch card paper?

Sevenupcan — Sun, 13 May 2007 13:34:31 -0800

Is there such thing as scratch card paper/transfer? And if so where might I be able to get it? A long time ago I saw these really cool scratch card stickers that let you make any message or image you wanted into a scratch card simply by applying the transfer/sticker onto the paper and cutting out the sticker.

I know there are companies that will print personalized scratch cards for you, but I unfortunately need too have the materially myself. So what I'm asking is it possible to by sheets of this stuff?

How can I make my creative zen shiny again?

Iananan — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:44:15 -0800

My mp3 player (creative zen V) has gained a few scratches in daily use. What would be best to polish them out? Since christmas, when i got it, my Mp3 player has been used quite a bit, only problem is that it is now covered in very fine scratches, which nobody else might notice, but it annoys me.

What would be the best way to get rid of said scratches, preferably cheaply.

What would I need to make a gas turbine from scratch?

devilsbrigade — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:06:23 -0800

What would I need to make a gas turbine from scratch? Basically, I'd like to know what tools, raw materials, etc I'd need for building a working gas turbine, roughly the size of one for a small helicopter, by hand, from scratch.

Electricity in the construction is obviously allowed, but no computer-controlled tools. Also, buying things like screws and bearings are allowed, but not any pre-shaped metal, or anything like that. Bonus points for the fewest amount of hugely expensive machines (although quality > price).

And yes, I do know it would be expensive.

Cat Scratch Fever: Help Me Help my Friend

atayah — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:53:17 -0800

CatScratchFilter: My friend just got mauled by our cat when he became frightened. Help me treat her wounds. Unfortunately, he lept onto her backside, giving her a full "paw" scratch on her hip, along with random deep scratches on her legs, and um, butt. I'm peroxiding the hell out of them, they continue to foam copiously and have puffed up a little. I also plan to put antibiotic lotion on them and maybe antibiotic bandaids. Is there anything else I should be doing, beyond seeing a doctor (she's uninsured), besides lots of consistent cleaning and treatment? Huck is an indoor cat. My friend is in lots of pain.

How to repair scratched eyeglasses?

iurodivii — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:17:44 -0800

Anything I can do to repair scratches on my eyeglasses? I've got a plethora of tiny lines scratched into my lenses as well as a few decent dings. Is there a product that anyone has experience in using to fill-in/repair scratches in eyeglasses (bonus points if it can also work on motorcycle helmet visors)?