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Two Problems with Word 2008

interrobang — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:21:06 -0800

Two questions about Word 2008, on a Mac. 1. How do I get Word to skip, say, the first eight pages when creating page numbers? I want the page numbers to start on the eighth page; all I can find is a way to make Word call page one page eight.

2. I followed basically these instructions to make an index, but every time I get to the last step, Word puts the index on the very first page, instead of at the end, where I want it. Where did I go wrong?

Thank you very much for your time.

Zodiac killer documentary -- lost to History?

snap_dragon — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:03:31 -0800

In the early 80s, HBO aired a short TV series called "Whodunit?" and one of the 20 minute segments was about the Zodiac killer. It was done in an interesting fashion with a Monty Python-esque cutout design style..It was quite creepy. I cannot find this anywhere nor mentioned anywhere online. Does anybody have any information where I might find this? Or even information? I am just short of calling HBO. It is a segment that has haunted me since I watched it as a child and I kinda want to watch it again. If it matters they also did bits on Lizzie Borden and Richard Speck.

It's been 24 years. I give up.

mecran01 — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:03:06 -0800

My geometry teacher in high school in 1984 showed us this puzzle. I was only half paying attention, but I believe the goal was to draw a line that intersected each segment only once. I was only half paying attention, but I believe the goal was to draw a line that intersected each segment only once. The line you drew could intersect itself. I have been doodling with this thing, off and on for 24 years.

Does anyone know the origin of this puzzle? I saw it in an IQ test. AFAIK, the solution, if there is one, has something to do with drawing a line that crosses the point(s) where two different segments meet, and there being some sort of indeterminacy about whether the line one drew intersected one point or another.

Anyway, I'm giving up. I need closure.

Mr. Farrer, who taught at Alta High School in Sandy, Utah: you win, and I apologize for not paying closer attention.

What kind of tofu am I describing, and how do I make it?

JMOZ — Mon, 28 May 2007 10:37:31 -0800

What kind of dofu (tofu) did I have at a restaurant (made at our table), and how do I make it at home? Despite their claim, I don't think it was actually yose dofu. I had gone with some colleagues to a Japanese restaurant (Morimoto's in Philly, to be specific), where we ordered what they called "yose dofu."

Basically, the brought out a bowl of what looked like steaming-hot soymilk, added a liquid (the waiter said it contained magnesium salts), stirred it for a few minutes, and covered it. About 5-10 minutes later, he came back, and the result was a delicious, creamy, smooth, soft to medium firmness tofu.

I looked for recipes for yose dofu, but most of the ones I found implied that you get loose curds and need to press yose dofu. Despite that, I bought nigari (MgCl₂?) at my local Japanese market, and gave it a try: I brought some soymilk to a boil, added some nigari, stirred it, and the end result was basically exactly the same thing the online recipes said; I got tiny curds like one might expect when making paneer.

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how to make a dofu like the one we got at Morimoto's. Or even what type of dofu it was. Is it some variant on yose dofu? If so, what did I do wrong? Many thanks!

Automatic iPod Settings?

interrobang — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:15:48 -0800

A fairly simple iPod/iTunes question—when I plug in the iPod, I would like the browser on iTunes to automatically be there (so I don't have to press apple + b), and I'd like it to be arranged by album, by year (so I don't have to click the "year" field every time). Is this possible? Is there a setting that I'm missing?

Signed books: why do authors cross their name out?

Ritchie — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 18:52:16 -0800

Why do some authors cross out their own printed name when they sign their books? I have many author-signed books, and I've noticed with a lot of them the author has struck a line through his or her own name printed on the title page before signing underneath.

Does anyone know why? Is this as common a practice as my experience leads me to believe?

I may not be able to read your reply, but thanks.

melissa may — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 04:29:38 -0800

My 17" Dell LCD monitor is erratically flashing on and off: possible reasons and solutions? On startup, the monitor will flash on and off in one-second increments: the entire display, including the power button. If I turn it off and on again it may resolve, it may not. The frequency of problem decreases the longer the monitor is on, but not entirely. Jiggling or otherwise physically adjusting the monitor sometimes helps, sometimes not. Virus scans are clean, and there have been no power surges. My house is not on a sacred burial ground. I'm buying a new output cable for it today to see if that resolves the problem. I have searched various hardware/Dell message boards to see if I can find similiar incidents without much success because hey, my monitor keeps flashing on and off. Any other thoughts? Finally, if I'm hosed, what do you think of this bad boy as a replacement?

BBC Three | Help me find the music from World Cup Goals Galore

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:59:12 -0800

How and where can I find a soundtrack listing for the kick-ass music used in World Cup Goals Galore, broadcast several times last week on BBC Three?

I know Kung Fu

rebirtha — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:43:52 -0800

'Kung Fu.' A power trio (quartet, maybe) whose most salient trait was the singing. Anyone else ever see them? I've had even less luck with this one than with the 'Denis Johnson poem', and I hope someone remembers these guys. I saw them once in the Reed College SU, probably on Nitrogen Day, probably in 1997.

The singing, you ask? It was actually more of a power-yodeling. Which is why I would hear them again if I could. With all my heart.

Looking for two books for kids

interrobang — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:37:30 -0800

I am trying to remember the titles and authors of two possibly linked young adult novels. The first one—of which I think the second is a sequel—is about a kid and a dog who go into a bakery. There is a kindly old lady behind the counter who turns out to be wearing a false chin. She takes off the chin and reveals herself to be an evil wizard with whom the kid had (possibly in another novel?) previously tangled. The wizard has stars on his cloak. As the old lady, he has his hair in a bun.

The book ends with something involving pie.

I think the second novel I'm looking for is by the same author, but I may be confused because both books involve fog (?).

In the second novel, a kid in a small town is... tending to chickens? Then a show comes to town—on a foggy night—and the kid sneaks into the theater and discovers that the performer is some sort of charlatan. I think there is something about a coffin or coffin nails in there.

The second novel is quite spooky, and the first is a little spooky. The first novel is probably for a slightly younger audience than the second, and had more illustrations, but it was not a picture book.

Does anyone recognize either or both of these two books?

Which game is this?

interrobang — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 21:02:31 -0800

In junior high, I played a game a lot like "Asteroids" many times at a comic book store. The game was obviously already kind of old--it was in the store as a sort of novelty--and this was in the late eighties. The asteroids were sort of three-dimensional green (?) polygons, and the ship had a shield. Like "Asteroids", the ship--which I think was a triangle, rather than the "A"-shaped ship in "Asteroids"--scrolled up to the top of the screen after going down to the bottom of the screen, like "Maelstrom" or "Asteroids". What was this game, and is it online and playable through a Mac?

Name That Mold

rebirtha — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 16:12:09 -0800

MoldFilter: Unbeknownst to me, my freezer has been leaking down the back of the fridge for some time and the resulting effluent has collected under my vegetable crisper. As I was putting away the groceries this afternoon I noticed some droplets on the back wall of the fridge and removed the crisper drawer on a scene of madness. The recesses below the crisper were filled with water and had become a breeding ground for a sort of mold I've never seen. The question is whether anyone knows enough about mold to speculate what I've been culturing. It was a deep maroon or cranberry color, floated in discrete round gobs that looked like pancakes, and when I sopped it up with some towels it adhered readily and had the appearance of, if you'll forgive me, blood clots. I don't know why I'd like to know what it was, but I would.

Prank or not?

interrobang — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 19:40:01 -0800

This happened to my girlfriend in 1987, and for years she's been telling the story as though it was a genuine mistake. The first time she told me the story, I immediately thought it was a prank. She was working in the Carleton College call center at the time, working at a switchboard.

One night, she received a call from an "overseas operator". The operator told her to please wait for an incoming call for a student at the college.

There was a "whooshing" sound--which she describes as being like the sound of lines being connected over great distances--and a man speaking Chinese came on the line. She couldn't communicate with the person to find out who they wanted to talk to, and the overseas operator came back on the line.

The overseas operator told her to please hold, and again she heard the whooshing sound. Then a man speaking German came on the line, and again, she couldn't figure out who they wanted to talk to.

The operator came on again, and told her that if she hung up, it would cost the school 35 dollars. Another whooshing sound, and another indecipherable foreign language. At this point, she was in tears.

The operator came on again several more times, and continued connecting her to people speaking a variety of languages. The "cost to the school"--namely to her--kept going up. At the end, the operator came on the line and apologized.

This sounds to me like a hoax involving something like five people and a vacuum cleaner. Is anyone familiar with this specific kind of prank, or alternately, does anyone know that such things as "overseas operators" have ever existed? I am especially interested in knowing whether this kind of thing used to happen often to call centers, or if anyone has encountered this prank before.

Apologies for the length of this question.

Does anyone recognize this code that had something to do with annual ads placed in a college newspaper?

jammer — Tue, 18 May 2004 11:01:10 -0800

Prompted by the unsolved codes thread in the blue, I'm trying to remember the name of one that I didn't see there. I think I read about it on MeFi at some point. ISTR that it took (takes?) the form of annual ads in a college newspaper (out west somewhere?) on a given day. For some reason May Day is stuck in my head, but googling for it doesn't reveal anything. This went on for several years, and may still be occuring, but no one has ever figured out what it's all about. Does this ring any bells for anyone? My google fu is failing, and I'm going bonkers!