Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tool

How do I force myself to write more freely again?

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:05:59 -0800

I've started writing too slow, thinking too much, not imprisoning the editor, etc. I'm looking for an online or osx tool that encourages writing. It might be as simple as a field that asks you to enter x words within y time. I am having trouble shifting my mindset.

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type "i" for Internet and "f" for Firefox to open that browser?

oxit — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:12:54 -0800

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type i for Internet and f for Firefox to open that browser? Prior to Windows 7 I was using the classic Windows start menu to access most of my software by pressing only three keys on the keyboard:

1. the Windows key, then
2. a key for the folder, e.g. (I)nternet, or (O)ffice, then
3. a key for the application, e.g. (F)irefox or (I)nternet Explorer.

Typing a part of the name in Windows 7's start menu is a lot slower, more cumbersome and error-prone.

Is there a solution to have this in Windows 7? There are many start menu replacements out there, but none I've seen does this. Can you help?

Please recommend: Good leatherman-type multitool for a left-hander?

Alaska Jack — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:55:41 -0800

Can someone recommend a good leatherman-type multitool for a left-hander? Can someone recommend a good leatherman-type multitool for a left-hander?

Background: I like the Leatherman Wave, and similar tools. Note that a big draw of the Wave is that, unlike the original Leatherman, the Wave allows you to open the knife blade with one hand. And you can -- if that one hand is the right hand. Lefties can just go pound sand.

(Slight digression: It looks to me like it would be ridiculously easy for Leatherman to fix this. All they'd need to do is make the scallops in the handle symmetrical [currently, they aren't], and allow users to simply remove the blades, rearrange the order, then put them back. I sent this suggestion to Leatherman right after the Wave came out, to no avail.)

Any suggestions from multi-tool users?

- AJ

Opinions on Dremel Multi-Max?

GuyZero — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:21:29 -0800

Opinions on the Dremel Multi-Max? Seems like it would do what I need (awkward sanding) but it also seems gimmicky. Also, there are similar tools form other companies - are they any different?

Looking for Decisonmaking Style Selection tool

Susan PG — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:01:25 -0800

I am looking for a leadership tool I used to use back in the late nineties, but can't find anymore. It was a flowchart intended to help a person determine which decisionmaking style to use in a particular set of circumstances. Essentially it takes the D1-D5 framework (where D1 is highly directive and D5 is highly collaborative), and sets up a flowchart process that helps the person determine which to use. So for example it would ask “Will other people be affected by the decision” (yes argues for collaboration) and “Will other people's acceptance of the decision be required for implementation” (yes argues for collaboration). I am specifically looking for a flowchart; I already have a description of the decisionmaking styles and the contexts for which each is appropriate. Thanks for any help you can provide :-)

How can I build an online tool that checks the size of an image?

ocherdraco — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:11:46 -0800

How can I make an online tool to show someone whether an image they've uploaded is high enough resolution for print? I work in book publishing. One of the things I do is to help my authors organize the images they've gathered to include in the book. The complicating factor is often that authors (who are often not the savviest computer users) just go on Google to find images, and often end up with images that are much too small to print, because they are displayed at 72dpi on screen, and the author doesn't understand that the size an image is on a screen is not necessarily the same as in print.*

It would be incredibly useful if I could have an online tool to point them to that would be able to tell them "The image you have uploaded [or "the image at that url"] will print at 2.5" x 3.5", which is approximately 1/4 page" or something like that.

It would need to be able to:

detect the dimensions of the image in pixels
display the dimensions, in inches, that the image will be when displayed at 300dpi
be able to tell the author a general size for that image (too small to print, 1/4 page, 1/2 page, full page, etc.) based on parameters I would include

How can I build this?

*I have actually had an author hold up a ruler to a computer monitor to say, "See, it's big enough!"

Giant golf syringe?

Marky — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:52:47 -0800

Watching the golf today, they showed a greenskeeper taking water out of a hole. He used what looked like a giant syringe. What is this tool called, and where can I get one?

What is this tool? Seedling waterer? Bonsai?

bitter-girl.com — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:27:11 -0800

Looking for a gardening tool & have no idea what it is: seedling waterer? bonsai tool? It's a metal rosette like you'd see attached to a watering can, maybe 3" across, with a pencil-sized metal pipe leading to a squeezy rubber bulb on the end. The rubber bulb allows you to directly slurp up water through the rosette into the tool itself, and conversely, when you squeeze it, it comes out in a lovely light misty sprinkle, which leads me to believe it's for watering hyperdelicate seedlings. What is this thing, and more importantly, where can I buy one? Bonsai watering cans don't seem to have the rubber bulb thingy on the end. Thanks!

Illustrator Pencil Tool Help

ChloeMills — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:53:47 -0800

Is there a way to change the options for the PENCIL TOOL in ILLUSTRATOR so that it just draws a new line once you pick it up and put it down again - (no matter how close you are to the previously drawn line)? Sorry - this is confusing to word - but if you have the same problem I am sure you will no what I am talking about.

For example - say I want to draw hash marks with the pencil tool.
As soon as I draw one line and try to draw the next one - it either a) replaces the first line or b) connects to the first line.

I want it to just keep the first line and draw a new one. It's more natural.

The only work around I have is to draw a line far away and then come back and draw the in betweens - but that is not as natural.

It drives me nuts. Thee has to be a way to fix it.

I am in CS3 on a Mac and CS4 on a PC.

Let me know.
Thanks :)

loops on a stick

Jason and Laszlo — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:59:52 -0800

What is this tool used for?

Take a look at this tool

cosmicbandito — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:52:32 -0800

Help me identify this weird tool I found while metal detecting. Here's a picture:
http://picasaweb.google.com/matthew.hoy/UnidentifiedTool#
I found it near the foundation of an old cabin on a river.
It's about 4 inches long and 1/4" thick.

Port Snoop / Spy Tool

inquisitive — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:04:22 -0800

How can I Spy the messages being exchanged by 2 programs on 2 known port nos. in my computer ? I am running 2 instances of a particular program: 1 in server mode and 1 in client mode. I have configured the server instance to run on a particular port and the client instance to run on a different port. In the client instance, I also tell the client where (which port) to look for the server instance.

Upon certain user action, the client instance initiates some communication with the server instance. Then the server instance also sends back a message and both the instances keep communicating until all messages are exchanged.

All the messages are exchanged in text format (I know this from a particular source).

I want to spy the messages being sent from the client to the server and the server to the client.

For this, I am looking for an easy-to-use tool which I can first install on the server port, so that I can see the message being first sent by the client. Then I will put this tool on the client port to see what reply the server gives. In this way, I will keep on alternating the spy tool between the server port and the client port.

Which tool can serve my need and which is also easy-to-use and powerful ?

The reason is I want to develop some plug-ins for this software, so I should know the message protocol. The developers of the product are not willing to share this information.

Recommend me a really good toolbox.

sergeant sandwich — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:14:06 -0800

Recommend me a really good toolbox. You know, the kind you put tools in. I want to replace my crappy toolkit with a well thought-out, high quality toolbox that will last. Everything I've looked at so far sucks - plastic junk. Help? What toolbox do you love?

Awhile ago I was looking at mefi's own's website and came across the toolbox design - and loved it. The notion of "first-order retrievability" was finally articulating for me what I found annoying about digging around in the bottom of my toolbox.

So something commercially available that approximates adam's design - maybe with some sort of mechanism for upright storage of tools - would be really cool. Or some other design that has had some thought put into the usability. Please don't limit yourselves to any particular sort of thing if you have something cool up your sleeve!

Also, it should be good sized, but not too large - this kind of thing is too much. Any hope out there?

Look sharp!

serazin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:16:13 -0800

I'd like to sharpen my knives and pruner, but how? Sharpening: why is it so expensive? Is this a super complex skill to learn? What are the basics I need to know about how to sharpen, and what are the essential tools I need to make things sharp? (A recent trip to the fancy Japanese tool store revealed about 25 different sharpening implements ranging in price from 20 to 100 bucks each!) Should I leave sharpening to the experts - or is this something I would be an expert on had I been a boyscout? Give me your sharpening wisdom here!

What is it?

Pants! — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:01:14 -0800

I found this thing buried in the yard, while gardening. It looks like some sort of tool. What is it? Picture One, Two, Three.

What the hell is this?

allfortheBoss — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:50:46 -0800

What in the hell is this? I found this tool in my tool box, I actually have no idea what it is, I asked my dad and everyone I know...everyone offers suggestions but none of them make sense, it wont even punch threw a piece of plastic.

Drill me. Not like that.

number9dream — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:45:31 -0800

Help me choose a cordless drill. This will be for home use only. Mainly drilling holes to hang things on walls, drive in screws, etc. No heavy construction. I would like something durable. I'd like to spend under $150, but I could go higher if it were worth it. From my preliminary research on Amazon, this looks like it should be possible. Some specific questions:

1) Is an impact driver useful? What does it do that a regular drill doesn't?

2) How does having a higher voltage affect the performance? I assume it's more powerful, but uses up battery power more quickly. Is this correct?

3) What other important factors am I neglecting?

4) Are there any brands or specific models that you would recommend?

Fix my MDE, for free, oh please

bhance — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:50:11 -0800

Free, non-sucky Microsoft Access repair tool? I have a large-ish (800m) possibly corrupted Microsoft Access .MDE file.

I'd like to run a free repair tool on it, but this is one of those tasks where Google fails me miserably-- because there are 10,000 dodgy software vendors out there that all want to sell me solutions from $10-1000 to perform this task. A pox on those guys for muddying my @#$ Google searches!

This is not an option, I need free.

So: Anybody out there know of a free, non-sucky Microsoft Access file repair utility?

Need name for English-pronunciation website for Japanese learners

Dragonness — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:49:34 -0800

Help! Need name for English-pronunciation website for Japanese learners. The tool is based on speech recognition. The intention is to eventually make it work on mobile devices and also extend it to Korean and Chinese users.

This is for a startup that is based out of Boston and currently attempting to get funding. (I know.)

Tracking tool for open source projects

wodow — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:09:41 -0800

Does there exist a web-based tool that tracks open source projects and informs subscribers (by email, RSS etc.) about major developments, e.g. when they release version 1.0? All projects are not equal! Some have a single mailing list, some have dedicated announcement lists, some have strange conventions.

I would like to be able to track a number of projects via simple view, e.g. web-based RSS reader style, like Google Reader. Or a service could provide RSS feeds directly.

Rotting fences make bad neighbors

mecran01 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:49:49 -0800

I am shoring up a sagging fence that I will help replace in a year. The original posts are not in cement and are rotting at the base. I'm trying to figure out how to attach some support posts. 1) I am trying to put in those metal posts (not chainlink) that are used to build wire fences, and use them to support the sagging fence.

a. How do I get those green metal posts in the ground? Do I pound them in? Dig a hole adjacent to the rotting post? There are a lot of roots in the soil from an adjoining pine tree.

b. Is there a good webpage or a youtube that shows how to use those channel lock fence tool/pliers? I have got it partially figured out, but could use some tips.

c. Should I need to use guy wires to hold the fence up, how do I cheaply tension the baling wire, and what should I use as an anchor? Rebar stakes?

Thanks. I obviously didn't grow up on a farm...

I'm attaching the floppiest part of the fence to our adjoining shed with stranded 20 gauge baling wire. I know from perusing earlier threads that there are some serious load tying geeks out there and I hope to hear from you.

if i had waited ten more exits the gas would have been 10 cents cheaper!

kidsleepy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:31:58 -0800

How can I find the cheapest gas along a route? I know how to find the cheapest gas in my area code or city, but I'm going on a 6-hour round trip this weekend and would like to figure out where to stop along the way for the best gas prices. Are there any websites out there that will let you plug in a starting city and destination city? Or perhaps a google maps plug-in? Ideally the results would be limited to gas stations within a few miles of a highway exit (or whatever route you choose).

Could my Great-Grandfather Have Used this Saw?

hworth — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:00:42 -0800

Is there a way to determine the date range that this saw might have been made? I got this saw at a thrift store in South Eastern Kansas. I was wondering if anyone has any idea about the earliest and latest it might have been made. Just a general sense, like what decade a saw like this might have first been produced, and at what point a saw like this might no longer be manufactured.

Here are three pictures.
Side One
Side Two
Handle

Alternatively, does anyone know a better site I could use to date a piece of equipment like this? Thanks!

How much is my 18-19th Century Barber & Genn dovetail saw worth?

Glendale — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:45:21 -0800

How much is my Barber & Genn dovetail saw worth? I recently purchased a 14" dovetail saw at a local antique tool store. It's a perfectly straight Barber & Genn "Cast Steel" saw with no rust or pitting, no missing teeth, and no cracks in the handle. The only defect is where a previous owner stamp/burned his name into the handle. Aside from that, the thing is in great shape.

I did a bit of research and found out that Barber & Genn produced tools in Sheffield England between 1781-1817. I bought the thing for 55 bucks. I know I got a deal, but I'm wondering, how much is this thing worth?

If need be, I can post some pictures tomorrow.

Timely, comprehensive, accurate blog-searching website?

WCityMike — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:21:43 -0800

What's the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date blog-searching site? I've looked around and not really been very impressed with what I've found. I would've once upon a time thought Technorati, but now that site seems layered with so much crud that it really doesn't appear useful anymore. They've "lost the mission," so to speak.

Although I've usually been impressed with Google's offerings, Google Blog Search really doesn't seem to be anywhere near as frequently updated as a blog search tool should be.

What site do you use to do a broad sweep through coverage of a topic on the blogosphere?

(Extra karma for a site that has bookmarkable search URLs so that I could construct a Firefox keyword for same.)