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American Politics: Is there a list of blogs specifically covering the GOP National Convention? How about a list of blogs by bloggers at the convention? [more inside]
posted by gyc at 8:30 PM PST - 8 comments

Bollywood soundtracks on Amazon marketplace seem suspiciously cheap, like US$4-6:

Lagaan
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai[labeled CD single but appears to be the full soundtrack]

However, I can't google up any information indicating that these are bootlegs/counterfeit. Anyone know?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:57 PM PST - 3 comments

Best place to get custom apparel? I have heard of Cafepress and bought one from Zazzle a loooong time back. I see that Zazzle has more variety. Any other cheap, good, flexible sites?
posted by Gyan at 7:50 PM PST - 0 comments

Seeking advice/information on exchanging currency. I am planning on converting a chunk of money in yen to dollars and moving it from a bank in Japan to one in the US. Has anyone had experience doing this and could give me a heads up about what issues I need to concern myself with, aside from the exchange rate?
posted by shoos at 7:17 PM PST - 5 comments

Whenever I launch Winamp (the latest version) I get this error message: "Winamp has caused an error in MSVCRT.DLL. Winamp will now close." I've tried rebooting and reinstalling. I've scoured the net for support but found nothing clear. Does anybody have an easy to explain fix? I have a large playlist (almost 9000+ items). I don't know if that's the cause or if it can be worked around. Thanks in advance.
posted by jonmc at 5:55 PM PST - 13 comments

Is there a website compiling framegrabs of computer screens in feature films? In other words, a photo gallery including Jeff Goldblum's Mac virus from Independence Day, Matthew Broderick's terminal in Wargames, the 3D filesystem in Jurassic Park, Scotty's "transparent aluminum" GUI in Star Trek IV, and so on.

I find it hard to believe this doesn't exist on the Internet. (If it doesn't, then I'm going to start it right away.)
posted by waxpancake at 5:41 PM PST - 19 comments

How do you make a fat cat exercise? {MI} [more inside]
posted by headspace at 4:23 PM PST - 21 comments

I have a credit card from a company that I quite like, but they've slowly been raising my APR. Every year, I get a notice that it's gone up a few more points. (Despite that I've got a great credit rating.) Last week, when I got the notice about the increase to 18.9%, that was the final straw. There are a bajillion credit cards out there, and the choices are overwhelming. How do I select a new credit card?
posted by waldo at 4:11 PM PST - 16 comments

The electronic Moleskine? When it becomes impractical to use a full-sized laptop on the road but you still want to generate electronic text, what do you use? (much more inside). [more inside]
posted by Ogre Lawless at 1:58 PM PST - 20 comments

Brokenwindowsfilter - My XP Pro SP2 box no longer automatically installs hardware. Yesterday I plugged in a plain old USB mouse and the hardware wizard came up, but after doing its thing it said that it couldn't find the driver. I had to tell it to manually look in places like windows\infs\ and windows\system32\drivers to find the files. Anything I can do to get it working again without doing a re-install? (The same thing happened with a USB keyboard when I tried it.)
posted by Space Coyote at 1:50 PM PST - 5 comments

A couple months ago I saw a re-run of Frasier on a plane. I believe it was fairly recent. It prominently featured Niles Crane. The weird thing was, David Hyde Pierce was playing him differently. Way less prissy, voice was completely different (i.e., normal.) I found it jarring and unpleasant. Faithful viewers, what happened? Is it less bothersome to those of you who watched him evolve?
posted by lbergstr at 1:48 PM PST - 4 comments

Online bill pay. Is it safe? Any service providers you recommend? Would I be better off going through Yahoo or my bank or something else?
posted by keswick at 1:38 PM PST - 12 comments

There's a kiosk at my local mall selling Virtual Stations, which appear to be bootleg video game systems. They have hundreds of games inside, all appear to be Atari or Nintendo games. This can't be legal, although the people at the kiosk claim they are. The Nintendo logo is gone from the games, but its clearly Nintendo property (ie Donkey Kong). The controllers are molded n64 and Playstation controllers. it just screams BOOTLEG.

They are selling them for an outrageous price, and I hate to see people taken for a ride. How can I get them shut down? Who do I call? Local Police? The Mall? The FTC?
posted by quibx at 1:16 PM PST - 13 comments

Does anyone have any personal experience with freeipods.com? My brother wants in. I'm more than sceptical. [more inside]
posted by anathema at 1:09 PM PST - 14 comments

So. I've finally upgraded from OS9x, and I'm now using Panther... but I have no idea how to migrate my IE5 bookmarks, my Eudora e-mail and contact stuff, or my Palm contacts, calendar, memos, and the like. I know items like this have been asked, but I've not had any luck with Google.
posted by silusGROK at 1:06 PM PST - 7 comments

Stupid annoying WinXP question. I installed an older program I use for data analysis in my lab. Every time I click the start menu it shows up as a newly installed program, despite the fact that I've used it quite a bit. I want it to go away and show up as an old program, not highlighted like a new one. The only help I can find using my formidable Google-Fu is "Turn off new program notification". Well, I don't want to do that; I like to know if something new has been added to my machine. Anyone know how XP marks programs as newly installed, or highlighted, and how to turn this off on an individual entry basis rather than across the board?
posted by caution live frogs at 1:05 PM PST - 3 comments

SeepingBloodFilter: like this shaving nick, I'll cut to the point inside... [more inside]
posted by five fresh fish at 12:34 PM PST - 18 comments

What do you TiVo?
posted by plexi at 10:49 AM PST - 15 comments

I need a new mouse. My MS Intellimouse Explorer has served me well, with its 4 buttons, scroll wheel, and optical tracking, but is dying a slow (and annoying) death due to its cable connection coming loose somewhere. What's your mouse of choice? [MI] for some more specific requirements... [more inside]
posted by mkultra at 10:42 AM PST - 19 comments

What URL comes to mind when you think of the phrase 'beautiful website'?
posted by mosch at 10:34 AM PST - 13 comments

My friend needs help deciding on either a BA or BSBA degree in economics. He would like to work in international trade or something related. What are some pros/cons of each degree (and possible minors for the BA)? He would probably be working for a few years before pursuing a master's degree.
posted by Sangre Azul at 10:21 AM PST - 1 comment

I want a word processor that lets two users simultaneously edit the same document. Every word processor I've used since, like, 1982, only lets one person edit a document at a time, for fear of people saving over each others' changes. In this modern age, I'm sure that someone has figured out a way to have changes be instantly transmitted to the other user over the network. Any leads?
posted by profwhat at 10:04 AM PST - 11 comments

KnittingFilter: What can be accomplished with HALF-circular knitting needles? Apparently I didn't look closely enough at the photo on eBay, for when my circular needles arrived, I discovered each to have a (factory-installed) disk-like stopper, rather than another needle, on one end. Google turns up nothing (but I've guessed in calling them "half-circular"). Photo here.
posted by hsoltz at 9:18 AM PST - 12 comments

My Dad has a first generation iPod and a G5. What (free, preferably) software can he use to transfer songs from the iPod back to the Mac?
posted by armoured-ant at 9:11 AM PST - 6 comments

The TiVo is upstairs, the computer downstairs. Is there a product (or hack) that will let me turn on my PC remotely so I can use the home media features of the TiVo without lugging my lazy ass downstairs to turn on the PC? (More Inside) [more inside]
posted by bondcliff at 8:15 AM PST - 4 comments

Is there a way to make the title attribute for an ANCHOR tag have a line break (rather than just being one big long sentence with a ... at the end)? I tried inserting
and \n and \r etc. etc.... and everything else I can think of...
posted by pissfactory at 7:39 AM PST - 2 comments

Is there a way to bulk rename a bunch of folders in Windows XP by just removing any white space? I want to upload these to a web server and would prefer avoiding the %20 madness.
posted by fletchmuy at 7:37 AM PST - 5 comments

Along the lines of the "do you wear a suit" question below:
Do you notice when somebody else wears the same outfits often? (MI) [more inside]
posted by crazy finger at 5:59 AM PST - 30 comments

Less than three weeks before I begin teaching my class, I've been informed that my text is on back order and "would I like to order an alternative?" I've been using Web Design in a Nutshell, 2nd ed., and, as I begin my search for an alternative, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any suggestions for an introductory text on web design?
posted by sharpener at 10:09 PM PST - 5 comments

Is planning a nine-hour Amtrak trip just a bad idea? Specifically, I'm needing to get from Burlington, Vt. to NYC. What's Amtrak like these days? (Note: I'm a non-USian who's used Amtrak only once, and that five years ago.)
posted by Sonny Jim at 9:33 PM PST - 22 comments

My laptop can no longer receive the Internet! The internet comes, via DSL, into my DESKTOP pc. The Desktop's DSL modem is hooked up to a LinkSys Wireless-B router, which broadcasts the Internet signal to my laptop. The lights on the LynkSys are blinking as usual. My desktop is receiving the web just fine. My laptop IS showing the little "connected" (two-computers) icon in the system tray, and when I hover over it, it says "Wireless Network Connection... Speed 11.0 Mbps, Signal Strength: Excellent." But when I start of a browser, I can't get to any page. I CAN get to the same pages on my desktop. Help! [more inside]
posted by grumblebee at 9:14 PM PST - 12 comments

Do you wear a suit to work?
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:22 PM PST - 25 comments

I'm watching live coverage of the RNC. Someone from each state is giving a little speech, and then either casting some number of votes for President George W. Bush, or "passing". What is the point of this, and what is the difference between the two choices?
posted by reklaw at 5:23 PM PST - 9 comments

A very bright acquaintance of mine, personable, well adjusted, loving dad, relaxes by watching the same short scenes from a favorite movie (LOTR, Matrix, etc.). He'll watch the same scene every night for months. He says that when the line is delivered, he feels complete and can go to bed. Is this common? Does this behavior have a name?
posted by kk at 2:54 PM PST - 26 comments

Is there anything good out there which will let me create MP3-CDs from WinAmp playlists?
posted by feelinglistless at 2:30 PM PST - 9 comments

DigiPhoto Tips: I'm going to be building a website for my dad's one and half person materials testing shop. As I head up to Tulsa for Labor Day, I'm going to head out there to take some pictures for the site. The only problem is, the lighting there is all flourescent and, well, machine shop like. Any tips for taking the pictures (while using very pedestrian digicams) or manipulation in photoshop are much appreciated.
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:13 PM PST - 6 comments

I'd like to learn some white hat/grey hat hacker (as in cracker) skills. I'm interested in focusing on Windows systems and possibly web mail, as I think knowledge in these areas would probably be the most marketable. What's a good resource to pick up the basics? What are some good websites to follow the discovery and status of vulnerabilities?
posted by namespan at 12:15 PM PST - 6 comments

Hakka cuisine - Went to a supposed Hakka restaurant on Saturady night. Googled Hakka this morning and all references were to a nomadic branch of the Han people from Northern China, that migrated south and devised a cuisine based on offal in and around Hong Kong.

The Hakka restaurant I went to was described as Chinese by way of India, and that's pretty much the standard definaition here in Vancouver. So, anyone know the deal on what Hakka is? [more inside]
posted by Keith Talent at 10:29 AM PST - 5 comments

Does anybody have any experience with learning Mandarin (specifically Putonghua, I guess) in North America? Are there any useful programs, tips, or strategies that people have employed? Are there any good online programs or resources? Is it extremely difficult for romance language speakers to pick it up? Thanks!
posted by loquax at 8:21 AM PST - 8 comments

Blank text in Movable Type 2.661 on IE 6 - until mouseover or scroll - then text shows up. What's going on? [more inside]
posted by soyjoy at 8:12 AM PST - 8 comments

NYC massage info needed. [more] [more inside]
posted by Juicylicious at 8:09 AM PST - 4 comments

Lost package through the United States Postal Service: I sent a box to myself full of books from one end of the country to the other. One of those three boxes has gone missing, and I want it back. Do you have any ideas (other than to keep hoping it shows up...) to help me recover it? [MI] [more inside]
posted by fionab at 7:38 AM PST - 9 comments

Urban rollerblading: I've just taken up rollerblading again, after an absence of some years. It's coming back pretty well, but I have some best practices-type questions. [more inside]
posted by o2b at 6:13 AM PST - 4 comments

What are some good sites for free fonts, both classic and trendy? [more inside]
posted by Espoo2 at 12:22 AM PST - 14 comments

What are the best PC games that you can play with a game pad? [more inside]
posted by muckster at 10:58 PM PST - 10 comments

I'm trying to find an Russian Olympic warm-up jacket for my adult daughter. Nothing political, she just likes the colors. All my searches just turn up U.S. stuff. Any suggestions?
posted by rtimmel at 6:28 PM PST - 12 comments

GettingOrganizedFilter: I've just finished reading David Allen's book Getting Things Done, which is awesome, and am now ready to turn my life around! First step: where can I buy really cool desk accessories?
posted by josh at 6:14 PM PST - 12 comments

I'm trying to find an old poem or essay that I read many, many moons ago. I am not sure I even have the specifics correct. It basically dealt with having to reject a dinner party invitation because the author couldn't stand to be with bores and the people there. For some reason I think it was by Wilde, Orwell or Larkin. If anyone can help me find it, I will be much appreciative. Thanks.
posted by Seth at 3:18 PM PST - 6 comments

I've got a Canon A80. It dropped. The battery door now does not close all the way, I know the door lost a 'latch' piece from the interior. I can't imagine it's under any sort of warrentee. So. Any thoughts on how to repair?
posted by daver at 2:46 PM PST - 10 comments

Can someone's standing be vitiated by honesty? For example, telling someone they are fat and need to lose weight? [more inside]
posted by the fire you left me at 12:42 PM PST - 34 comments

I want to learn how to make simple electronics, like LED controllers that I can hook up to a serial port. Can anyone recommend a book to get started with? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by krunk at 11:40 AM PST - 14 comments

Where are tour buses, like the kind bands travel around on, supposed to dump their septic tanks? This obviously isn't the proper method, so where?
posted by cmonkey at 11:25 AM PST - 5 comments

I have the key to get into my apartment. The key to open my apartment complex's gym. The one for the pool. The remote to open the gate to the complex. The mailbox key. My Albertson's Preferred Savings card. My car key. My car remote. My office key. Two random keys that unlock things I'm not sure I even own anymore, but other than that, I use all these keys on a daily basis. My keyring currently composes half the bulk of my outfit on any given day. Please help me. [more inside]
posted by grrarrgh00 at 11:19 AM PST - 15 comments

How come those male movie stars never have any nose hair? Is there some magic celebrity nose hair removal technique? Are CGI budgets so high because most of the money is spent removing any hint that Mel Gibson or Tom Cruise has nose hair? Or, do films have a production assistant whose only job is nose hair collection each morning?
posted by neuroshred at 10:26 PM PST - 7 comments

Everytime I read about the Stanford Prison Experiment, I become skeptical. I can believe the kinds of things that are described happened, I just can't believe they happened so fast. Is there any evidence things didn't happen as described, that the happenings were exaggerated?
posted by weston at 10:19 PM PST - 28 comments

Prenuptial agreements. Got one? Know someone that does - or didn't, and wishes they did? Looking for personal experiences, good and bad (purely out of curiousity, of course). Are they crucial in these modern times...or just unbearably unromantic?
posted by gottabefunky at 9:17 PM PST - 17 comments

I have a new 160 gig HD that I partitioned into two drives. One of the partitions is exclusively for mp3s. Unfortunately, when I open the drive, XP treats it as a "My Pictures" folder. How do I change it to a "My Music" folder? Ordinarily, I'd go Properties>Customize, but when I go Properties on the root folder, I get hard drive properties. (General / Tools / Hardware / etc.)
posted by keswick at 8:36 PM PST - 3 comments

Have a new dog, about a year old... goes crazy, and barks nonstop when we have guests at our home, any suggestions on how to break this habit.
posted by mhaw at 7:44 PM PST - 7 comments

BlogWare: b2,WordPress or Nucleus? My hosting provider is set up for easy auto-installs on each of these freebies. Are any of these worth checking out? What do you recommend?
posted by geekyguy at 7:43 PM PST - 8 comments

I have been unable to locate a source for French-labeled faucet handles - ones labeled "chaud" and "froid" instead of "hot and "cold". My wife has plans to redecorate one of our bathrooms with a Parisian theme, and this little detail eludes us. More below. [more inside]
posted by sixdifferentways at 7:38 PM PST - 12 comments

Is speed reading for real? Or is it just some gimmick? Have any of you managed to use specific techniques to significantly increase the pages/minute you read without much affecting comprehension or retention?
posted by tirade at 7:37 PM PST - 6 comments

You're right, I am dangerous. Did Top Gun seem as ridiculously homoerotic when it came out in the 80s as it does now?
posted by Stan Chin at 6:22 PM PST - 29 comments

SolarFilter: I am a redhead and thus I use sunscreen and sunblock a lot. [mi] [more inside]
posted by zadcat at 5:40 PM PST - 10 comments

What is a reasonable price for a funeral wreath?
posted by Joey Michaels at 5:10 PM PST - 5 comments

What can you make out of an old washer and dryer? My kids and I are looking for something to do. You can help!
posted by grefo at 4:14 PM PST - 7 comments

I want to introduce the world of comics/graphic novels to my 12 year old daughter (I used to read Creepy, Eerie and Heavy Metal when I was her age but I haven't touched a comic book since). I just ordered "The Complete Moonshadow" simply based on the cover art and some glowing reviews I found. My daughter's taste leans heavily toward LOTR style literature. Recommendations welcome.
posted by davebush at 2:51 PM PST - 17 comments

My headlights are out! [M to the Izzo] [more inside]
posted by nicwolff at 2:23 PM PST - 11 comments

S'there any quick CSS-based way to prevent text from being selected? [more inside]
posted by Danelope at 12:42 PM PST - 22 comments

SongLyricFilter : I heard a song on a local semi-indie radio show, and would like to know who it was. I remember precious few details, however. Sparse arrangement, just a singer and a guitar at first. I remember the phrase "space and time" coming up a lot, and something like "I could write a long letter."

Sorry to be so vague. Any ideas?
posted by mragreeable at 11:36 AM PST - 8 comments

Long shot - anyone know of any public domain/ no copyright horribly twee paintings/ illustrations like this (not photos)?
posted by Pericles at 11:15 AM PST - 9 comments

Portable sheet-fed scanners: I'm going to be running around all over the place this semester, and I would like to reduce my dependence on paper. This earlier thread mentions the Visioneer portable sheet-fed scanner, which runs $200, but I'd like to go cheaper - specifically, I have found the Pentax DSMobile for $100. Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences with portable scanners? I only plan to scan grayscale, so I don't care about resolution, but I do care about speed.
posted by PrinceValium at 10:08 AM PST - 1 comment

Selecting things to see at the Toronto Film Fest. Here's a list of films playing at TIFF. International MeFites and film nuts: have you seen/heard anything about any of them/the directors? What should a TIFF-goer see or avoid? If you're going to the Fest, what are you seeing? Got extra tickets you want to sell? Looking for ones to buy? Lets use the thread to maximize the event. {more} [more inside]
posted by dobbs at 9:51 AM PST - 15 comments

Which country will cope best with Global Warming over the next 50 years? As an Australian (living abroad), I used to think that Australia would endure the effects of Global Warming better than some more populous countries. But after reading about growing salinity problems, soil degradation and deforestation back home, now I'm not so sure. Are there any sources of information that detail the predicted effects over the course of the next 50 - 100 years for different areas of the world? And even better, I'd be very interested in detailed info focused on Australia, on a state-by-state basis.
posted by Meridian at 3:15 AM PST - 11 comments

I need a free tool to convert AVI files to MPEG files [more...] [more inside]
posted by madman at 11:54 PM PST - 7 comments

If my wife and I ever have a child, and it is a boy, I would like to name him after Benjamin Franklin. However, she says he was possibly a serial killer. Is this true? What's the skinny on ol' Ben?
posted by geekhorde at 11:16 PM PST - 22 comments

What's a good text to translate to get my increasingly rusty Latin back into shape? [more inside]
posted by kenko at 10:26 PM PST - 6 comments

Why so many producers? [the more, she is inside] [more inside]
posted by ebarker at 9:18 PM PST - 6 comments

I am trying to identify three different symbols, two of which were bumper stickers and one is a popular tattoo...[mi] [more inside]
posted by oflinkey at 9:12 PM PST - 12 comments

The origins of the phrase "I'd hit it" [more inside]
posted by graventy at 8:38 PM PST - 7 comments

Really this is my last resort. I recently built myself a new computer (Asus K8N-E Deluxe) and everything's fine except I'm trying to transfer my old harddrive to my new harddrive. I had a slave in the old computer (Asus CUSL2 for those keeping score). It's 40GB and has ALL my important data. I think you can see where this is going. If it's plugged in and running, even set as slave, the computer won't boot. Obviously, more inside.
posted by geoff. at 7:37 PM PST - 13 comments

Identify what song this is from my wicked guitar playing. [mp3 inside] [more inside]
posted by Jimbob at 6:28 PM PST - 7 comments

kinda-personal-filter
Now that mrs. Richat and I have two beautiful daughters, I am thinking of partaking in a small procedure, but I have some questions that will be, well, you know, inside… [more inside]
posted by Richat at 5:18 PM PST - 22 comments

Is this site TopSiteReviews legit or just a shill? The domain was registered 10 days back and WHOIS data is protected by proxy. I found it while researching the topic in this thread. Are there other sites which are legit?
posted by Gyan at 5:08 PM PST - 2 comments

A friend sent me a comic book saved with the file extension .cbr are there any OSX programs that will let me read the damn thing?
posted by ssmith at 4:54 PM PST - 7 comments

I'm going to my first writer's conference tomorrow! Does anyone have any tips on what I should do, particularly in tke Ask-A-Pro part, where I get 5 minutes one-on-one with an agent or publisher? [more inside]
posted by badstone at 3:11 PM PST - 10 comments

An ex-girlfriend of mine was telling me that she recently went off of birth control for the first time in years because she found out it was made through some form dehydrating female horses and then processing thier piss. Sounds like an urban legend to me, but I can't find anything on google in either direction. Any clues?
posted by woil at 2:39 PM PST - 22 comments

Please help me save my books. The movers just dropped off several rooms worth of my pretties, which have been sitting in a storage facility in Kansas for nearly two years. I was, needless to say, ecstatic, until I realized that fully a quarter of the boxes show signs of wetness around the bottom. Looks like they've been sitting in an inch or so of water for Logos knows how long. At least the bottom layer of each box is thoroughly soaked, and stinky. What is my best path at this point to dry out/preserve/resuscitate/de-mildew?
posted by gleuschk at 2:27 PM PST - 10 comments

BathroomFilter: We've talked tile before. I need help matching existing vintage colors [more inside]. [more inside]
posted by adamrice at 2:08 PM PST - 11 comments

Can anyone supply links to further information regarding Atefe Rajabi, a young woman reported to have been judicially murdered in Neka, Iran? The original sources were not authoritative, and I've been hoping this might turn out to be propaganda. Iranfilter remains silent on the subject.

The story was energetically discussed in the Blue and I'm sure we agree the Green is not the place to reprise that conversation. I'm just looking for more and, I hope, better information.
posted by mojohand at 1:06 PM PST - 2 comments

So. I'm looking at getting an iPod (probably the mini ... for running and stuff), and I'm overwhelmed by the accessories: what do you think are the essential accessories for using it by itself, in the car, and in the home (eg in the kitchen)?
posted by silusGROK at 1:02 PM PST - 30 comments

In Tuesdays With Morrie, there is a passage in about ones relationship with death: Morrie answers, "Do what the Buddhist do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?' " Is there really such a practice in Buddhism? I haven't been able to find one non-Morrie reference anywhere.
posted by 4easypayments at 12:47 PM PST - 6 comments

The Jagermeister logo (deer and cross)--is this a certain style of Teutonic art? Where would I find other images like it?

posted by sharksandwich at 12:15 PM PST - 8 comments

Airfarefilter. I already know the dates for a trip next August. It's possible to drive (approx 12 hours), and we did drive this year, but it might be nice to fly instead. Clearly its not possible to book flights this far in advance, but starting the search for low fares early should have some advantage. What are some good strategies for finding low airfares and when should I start to implement them? [more inside]
posted by Karmakaze at 10:08 AM PST - 15 comments

Neighorboring slumlord property management company trashed our garden. What to do? [more inside]
posted by mimi at 9:57 AM PST - 13 comments

My mother-in-law, is looking for a good 1st person shooter, in the vein of Doom/Quake. It must be OS X native, and be able to run decently on her 500 mhz G4. Any Suggestions?
posted by ShawnString at 9:16 AM PST - 21 comments

My father wrote a document years back of memories of his (now deceased) college roommate and their Berkely debauchery. Now that (Word 6.0) file says it's password protected, though he suspects it's just corrupted. Li'l help? (More inside on what I've tried so far.) [more inside]
posted by davebug at 8:59 AM PST - 7 comments

Does anyone have any experience with self-solemnizing a wedding? My fiance and I are getting married soon and, since Colorado allows it, we'd like to solemnize our own wedding. Please share experiences and/or opinions, poetry has already been taken care of. Simple, tasteful, non-religious but meaningful is our goal.
posted by m@ at 8:29 AM PST - 2 comments

Is there a program for Mac OS X that will take the input from my DV camcorder, and display it so that it takes up the whole screen? (iMovie shows the input only in a window.)
posted by josh at 7:55 AM PST - 6 comments

PaperlessOfficeFilter
I do my best to not print out PDF documents and I realized that I could reduce my printing to almost zero if I had a PDF reader that would let me hilite and save hilites and add my own notes. Acrobat Reader doesn't seem to do this.

What readers can do this? I prefer linux or MacOSX but I do have a laptop that can boot Windows.
posted by substrate at 7:50 AM PST - 10 comments

Is there a tiny (and free) Windows program I can put in my "Open With" menu for mp3s that will simply rename the file to [Artist] - [Title] based on the file's ID3 tags?
posted by skryche at 5:31 AM PST - 5 comments

How do you find out which concerts/performances you would like to see are coming to your town? Hang around tickemaster.com like myself and my fellow morons?
posted by shoos at 4:41 AM PST - 21 comments

Does anyone know if Money For Surveys is a scam? I feel silly even asking since I always assume things like this are a scam, I just happen to be seriously broke right now and i'm grasping at straws. Additionally, is there any good sites for checking which of these sites are scams and which are legit?
posted by untuckedshirts at 10:00 PM PST - 14 comments

ScreenFilter! Coworker has used alcohol-based wipes to clean his monitor, removing the anti-dust coating. Now he has a streaky monitor that attracts dust. Is there a magic wand to make it all better? (Closely related to this recent query.)
posted by mwhybark at 9:58 PM PST - 8 comments

I have never fired a gun, and neither have most of my friends, as far as I know. (We're all Canadian).

In November, a few of us are heading down to Las Vegas to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of the gang. I'd like to make a trip to a shooting range part of the festivites, but I don't have clue where to start. [mi] [more inside]
posted by bowline at 9:39 PM PST - 19 comments

Are large chain bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble now discouraging customers from lounging around and reading? The amount of comfortable furniture seems to have decreased over the years, and one Borders location had an employee unusually concerned about me finding what I'm looking for when I was sitting on the floor reading.
posted by Nikolai at 9:37 PM PST - 16 comments

What's a good part-time job that doesn't suck? One that's flexible, pays more than minimum wage, and won't have you reaching for the cyanide pills after two weeks. [MI] [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:27 PM PST - 17 comments

The screen of my 17" CRT developed a strange, highly-reflective, streaky sheen after sitting under my stairs for six months. (Photo, close-up photo.) I've tried several cleaning agents, but nothing takes it off. The only thing that happened in the interim is that somebody spilled a cup of hot coffee in the vicinity, which splashed the screen, but we cleaned it off pretty quickly and didn't notice any damage at the time. Could coffee etch glass? Or could something else have caused this? Is there anything I can do to clean the screen?
posted by waldo at 9:07 PM PST - 5 comments

Why are the Halloween episodes of The Simpsons so often repeated in syndication? [more inside]
posted by anathema at 8:27 PM PST - 9 comments

Fat-tall-guy-filter: I can't keep my pants on. [the more, it is inside] [more inside]
posted by mecran01 at 4:13 PM PST - 16 comments

Amateur screenprinters! I am considering building my own exposure unit (for fine art screens -- i'm not trying to start a shirt business). I could use your advice on this matter and anything else related to screenprinting (i'm not completely new to this, but all input is valuable) {mi}. [more inside]
posted by fishfucker at 3:22 PM PST - 8 comments

I remember a TV-show, oh so very vaguely, that I want to say was called "Popcorn." But it's not, apparently, according to Google and IMBD... [more inside]
posted by cortex at 2:48 PM PST - 20 comments

I'm trying to find an apartment in North Jersey (Belleville, Bloomfield, Rutherford, Clifton, Montclair), but brokers and realtors have saturated the online classified ads and Google results and I'd like to avoid unnecessary fees. Any advice? I've checked Craig's List and the Village Voice and I have a few local papers, but I'd like to know of a decent way to skirt the middle man.
posted by alphanerd at 2:27 PM PST - 16 comments

Some time ago I saw two male gymnasts on a late night talk show (I think) who did a routine where they lifted eachother and twisted their bodies in amazing ways -- all at EXTREMELY slow speed. Anyone know who these guys are?
posted by treebjen at 1:44 PM PST - 10 comments

LinuxFilter: I'm going to delve into the world of Linux and dual-booting. What's a good distro for a n00b? Any tips, especially pertaining to partitioning and installation?
posted by keswick at 1:31 PM PST - 27 comments

What are some things that a french curve can be used for? How was this specific set of curves decided upon?
posted by cadastral at 1:25 PM PST - 8 comments

A couple of years ago, Natalie Cole sang a duet with her dead dad via tape splicing. Digital audio sampling has come far. But, does the sampling technology exist to create a whole new songs (e.g. new Frank Sinatra sing new songs)?
posted by Duck_Lips at 1:07 PM PST - 8 comments

We're going to the south of France in November, and have been investigating options between Paris and Provence. TGV train, Air France between Charles DeGaulle and Marseille etc. Then my wife discovers EasyJet. Orly to Marseille, Eight euros plus tax each way. How the hell does this work? Eight Euros? It costs more to take the train into town from the airport than that.

Someone want to give me the heads up on the EasyJet business model and why other forms of transport aren't obsolete. Why would anyone do anything other than this?

Merci
posted by Keith Talent at 12:46 PM PST - 17 comments

What is the very cheapest way to get high-speed internet in the Sunset district of SF? In our place in Montreal we pay 40/month Canadian, and I know there are cheaper plans. Everything I could find in SF is at least 45 USD/month and generally more, unless you have a cable connection. My sis just moved there, has a very low budget and no cable connection. Thoughts?
posted by louigi at 12:25 PM PST - 5 comments

Why does light reflect? We see objects by the light reflected off of them. Can anyone explain on a molecular/atomic/sub-atomic level what the mechanism is that makes a light wave "bounce" off of an object?
posted by jsonic at 11:55 AM PST - 9 comments

Surgery for a Deviated Septum? Is it worth it? What are your experiences? [more inside]
posted by internal at 11:50 AM PST - 10 comments

Why does bandwidth cost anything? Short of hosting companies finding a means to make some money, what is the actual cost justification on charging for overages, etc? Is it a racket or does traffic actually put an expense on an ISP forcing them, in turn, to charge customers? Always wondered. Thanks.
posted by Peter H at 11:19 AM PST - 8 comments

Do any MeFites have ideas/experience/recommendations for a way to archive VHS tapes to DVD? So far my Google-fu has turned up software that requires having to add video cards to computers, plus a DVD burner, etc. My work would prefer a product that is a stand-alone thing that you can pop in a tape, then convert it to DVD and pop out a DVD. Is there such a thing?
posted by Lynsey at 11:06 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm going to Amsterdam soon for a week with some friends, and I'm wondering what the best way to deal with money is. We're staying in a hostel that costs €178 for the whole week, which is about £120, so I was planning on taking £200 worth of euros with me, and getting more money using my Visa Electron card when I'm there. I'll be carrying the money with me the whole time. Is this the most secure/cost efficent way? Should I be taking more/less? Using travellers cheques? And will I have trouble with places not accepting the Visa Electron, as I have before?
posted by Orange Goblin at 10:18 AM PST - 7 comments

New York specific gift ideas needed; more inside (additional keyword: NYC). [more inside]
posted by hobbes at 9:48 AM PST - 6 comments

My 13-year-old brother uses MSN messenger a lot. Last night, a stranger popped up to speak to him, and after some taunting, told him he was going to delete his account. My brother got rid of him - and then found when he logged out, he couldn't log back in again.

What with my brother's tender age, there are a few holes in his story - has anyone heard of this happening before? [more inside]
posted by ascullion at 9:40 AM PST - 9 comments

If someone admits to having suicidal thoughts, what (if anything) can be done to them? [More inside.] [more inside]
posted by grumblebee at 9:36 AM PST - 17 comments

What is the song at the end of the I *heart* Huckabees trailer? [more inside]
posted by rorycberger at 9:02 AM PST - 12 comments

Bollywood films, for the curious white boy. What's the canon? Which ones best represent the for lack of a better word genre? Where should an interested outsider start?
posted by ook at 9:01 AM PST - 21 comments

How are floors held up in a typical house? Such as, for instance, a Dutch colonial? How much weight can they support?
posted by adampsyche at 8:37 AM PST - 9 comments

What are some good undergraduate fine-arts programs in US universities? [MI] [more inside]
posted by kickingtheground at 8:28 AM PST - 9 comments

In Olympic diving events, why are there a couple of streams of water converging on the surface where the divers hit the pool?
posted by COBRA! at 7:45 AM PST - 5 comments

I would like to register a .nl domain, however I am not based in The Netherlands. Can this be done?
Bonus points if my name / address information can be kept out of whois.
posted by sebas at 4:07 AM PST - 9 comments

Firefox filter...

Stupid question probably but....

Had a friend call last night for tech support help (like I'm capapble of supporting anyone...) more inside [more inside]
posted by damnitkage at 12:18 AM PST - 7 comments

Is there a web browser that has a permanent cache? [more inside]
posted by calwatch at 10:26 PM PST - 2 comments

Kids, modeling and a confused father. I'm going to try this in a concise paragraph... on preview, forget it (more inside). [more inside]
posted by cedar at 8:50 PM PST - 13 comments

Does anyone know a good ActionScript listserv or bulletin board — generally patient with total newbies, quick response time, clear and thorough answers — where I can post my questions, link to my FLAs, and find out what's ailing my movies?
posted by grrarrgh00 at 6:45 PM PST - 6 comments

A friend and I will be travelling from Bermuda to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore for a three week vacation in late October - early November. We are straight single guys, 30, and would love to find some cool places to stay and things to do while we are there. We don't mind paying anywhere from $100 - $250 a night.

If you live in one of these cities, and can recommend some places to stay and things to do off the beaten track, it would be our pleasure to take you out when we get there.
posted by jasondigitized at 6:33 PM PST - 18 comments

Taming a stray cat. We have a young stray cat that has been coming around our house a lot lately. I think it is living in our garage and I'd like to make an honest house cat out of it. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by jessamyn at 6:27 PM PST - 15 comments

I need a new bank account (in the US), and I'm thinking of just going with an online bank with no bricks-and-mortar locations. Looking around the web, it seems a lot of them require high minimum balances for checking accounts. Do you have an online bank account? Do you love it? Do you hate it? What are the perks and drawbacks? Does anyone know of an online credit union?
posted by willpie at 5:33 PM PST - 12 comments

We're trying to figure out if we can continue using my old PowerBook G3 (bronze keyboard) for another year. The deciding factor will be if a Firewire external drive can be somehow connected to it -- it doesn't have a Firewire port though. Is it possible to somehow get a Firewire --> USB connector? [MI] [more inside]
posted by fionab at 5:07 PM PST - 9 comments

The "Touchup Item" tool in my version of Acrobat has disappeared. Can you help me find it? [More inside...] [more inside]
posted by skylar at 4:22 PM PST - 3 comments

GlasgowFilter: I am going to that fine city in a couple of days for my sister's wedding. Looking for any good book/record/vintage shops in town, as well as any not to be missed modern architecture (outside of Charles Rennie Mac). Ta much.
posted by grimley at 4:00 PM PST - 7 comments

My watchband is starting to stink. This happens to all of my watches. I've tried many, many things including soaking them in bleach (I usually only wear metal-banded watches. Largely because they last longer before stinking). Nothing has managed to stop the stinking. I like this watch. What can I do?
posted by willpie at 3:20 PM PST - 11 comments

I'm looking for a one-line command (or a batch file) that uploads a specific file to a specific ftp server.
posted by Tlogmer at 2:31 PM PST - 14 comments

Can anyone help identify a Russian song of which I have only a very hazy drunken recollection? [more...] [more inside]
posted by gravelshoes at 1:59 PM PST - 7 comments

I'm going to try making some 3D wiggle pictures, like Jim Gasperini's. There's a how-to on assembling the digital images into animated .GIFs here, and a MeFi thread here, but I have a question about taking the pictures themselves. I don't have a special stereo camera. I'm going to try using two disposable cameras strapped to a ruler in parallel, with me manually snapping both shutters at the same time.

Here's the question: How far apart should the cameras (lenses) be?
posted by scarabic at 1:53 PM PST - 6 comments

I'd like to open up a defunct computer chip to photograph it under a microscope and inspect the city therein. Has anyone done this? How do I pry the tiny solid state thing open without destroying its beauty?
posted by kk at 11:39 AM PST - 5 comments

I started running about a month ago, and am loving it, but -- chafed, red, sore nipples are no fun for me. Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid rubbing my nipples raw while running?
posted by dogmatic at 11:21 AM PST - 20 comments

PouredSodaInMyLaptopFilter: Thanks to a remarkable gust of wind, I managed to deposit about 1/2 of a Coca-Cola into my the right third of my laptop keyboard. Now the keys stick. Ideas? (inside) [more inside]
posted by Sinner at 11:13 AM PST - 11 comments

Gandi, Typepad and custom dns/domain mapping, oh my. (More inside.) [more inside]
posted by lia at 11:07 AM PST - 4 comments

Question regarding hemispheres, direction and maps. [more inside]
posted by Seth at 10:40 AM PST - 15 comments

Why will Windows only let me format a hard drive to half its capacity? [MI] [more inside]
posted by kickingtheground at 9:21 AM PST - 9 comments

Once a message comes through a cable and into the back of a computer, what path does it follow to get to the application (i.e. browser, e-mail client, etc.)?
posted by archimago at 8:28 AM PST - 14 comments

I swear I saw this a while ago - a soap-saver type device. You put your worn-down soap shards in it, and compress it down to make a new bar of soap. Am I losing my mind, or has anyone else seen this device? If you have any other tips for saving those last bits of soap, I'd love to hear them too.
posted by agregoli at 7:29 AM PST - 40 comments

JAG Filter: This article in the New York Times (reg. req. and expires soon - see also this article) states the judge in one of the Abu Ghraib cases is contemplating granting immunity to several officers to compel their testimony. This testimony could be helpful to the defendant who is trying to establish that he was acting upon orders from his superiors. I thought the prosecution not the judge decided who would get immunity, that is that immunity was like a contract whereby the prosecution agreed not to use the testimony in exchange for someone waiving their Fifth amendment rights. Any JAG lawyers out there? Do the rules differ about this in military courts?
posted by caddis at 6:55 AM PST - 3 comments

What should be done (if anything) about a site that is capitalizing on my site's distinctive name and search engine ranking to popularize itself in a way that is totally unrelated to my site?

I run an RSS feed directory with a distinctive name, reasonably good content, and a decent rank in various search engines. Last night a "watch" application told me that 2 new sites now contain my site's domain name in their URLs.

I took a look at both of these sites, and they are simply embedding my domain name in their URLs so that they have a chance of matching on searches for the name. The actual pages are throwaway filler (as is the entire site).

I'm flattered and insulted.

My site's name is not a trademark (perhaps it should be), and I don't want to draw artificial attention to it by posting a link, and I certainly don't want to link to the offending sites.

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? What can be done?
posted by jeffbarr at 6:24 AM PST - 8 comments

What should be done (if anything) about a site that is capitalizing on my site's distinctive name and search engine ranking to popularize itself in a way that is totally unrelated to my site?

I run an RSS feed directory with a distinctive name, reasonably good content, and a decent rank in various search engines. Last night a "watch" application told me that 2 new sites now contain my site's domain name in their URLs.

I took a look at both of these sites, and they are simply embedding my domain name in their URLs so that they have a chance of matching on searches for the name. The actual pages are throwaway filler (as is the entire site).

I'm flattered and insulted.

My site's name is not a trademark (perhaps it should be), and I don't want to draw artificial attention to it by posting a link, and I certainly don't want to link to the offending sites.

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? What can be done?
posted by jeffbarr at 6:23 AM PST - 0 comments

Is anyone out there on the net making good, full-length (ie. half an hour) cartoons in Flash?
posted by Jimbob at 5:32 AM PST - 3 comments

VideoGameRecommendationFilter: I thought Goldeneye was a great multiplayer game. What first-person-shooter for the Gamecube would y'all recommend as being the most like it and/or the most fun in terms of multiplayer?
posted by evinrude at 12:11 AM PST - 9 comments

One of my friends aparently has some buddies over in iraq and gave me this poser: two good HS friends (one much more so than the other) are over in Iraq and I thought it would be nice to send them some stuff. Do you have any ideas what they would like? For instance, if you were in a foreign country getting shot at, what would make you happy at the end of the day (keep in mind this has to fit in a 1ft3 box...so sorry, no naked chicks). more inside [more inside]
posted by NGnerd at 9:14 PM PST - 28 comments

Lost hamster!! Our daughter's been watching a hamster for a neighbor. Somehow it got out of the cage. If we have to return an empty cage to the neighbors it's going to be ugly. This must happen a lot -- what are some tricks to recapturing the little guy?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:03 PM PST - 12 comments

New house filter. I need somewhere cool to stay {MI} [more inside]
posted by bonaldi at 7:42 PM PST - 7 comments

I'm studying abroad in Paris for the year, leaving in a little more than a week. What's the best way to set up and bank account and a mobile phone service from the states? [more inside]
posted by themadjuggler at 7:36 PM PST - 16 comments

Londonfilter: I'm going in a few weeks. I've been there before (a lot), so need interesting daytrip ideas. I don't drive, so make it accessible by public transportation, and interesting/educational/cultural/fun, 2 hours or so from London. (MI) [more inside]
posted by amberglow at 7:26 PM PST - 34 comments

Chicago vs. St. Louis: I have job offers in both cities. I have never lived in either city, and I would have to work quite a bit harder at the Chicago job. I have specific questions inside, but the bottom line question is: Is the Windy City worth it? [more inside]. [more inside]
posted by gd779 at 7:05 PM PST - 24 comments

Bhangra. With my formidable Google-fu, I have scoured the net for all that I could find. In question form: Does anybody know of some excellent Bhangra? I saw DJ Rekha open for Le Tigre, and that's what's gotten me started. (I'll try to see her mix next time I got to NYC.) So something in that vein. Also, Asian Dub Foundation's mix of "Taa Deem" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is excellent. I hear Bhangra is big in the UK, so UKMeFites, could you do me a solid? [more inside]
posted by bitpart at 7:04 PM PST - 10 comments

I am in the market for a new, fairly high-end futon mattress for my platform bed. I'm not particularly happy that the last one I bought lost its firm-yet-comfortable futon feel (and compressed) in about five years. Having searched the web and found no guidance, I was hoping the Mefi community might have some wisdom on the subject?
posted by ParisParamus at 5:17 PM PST - 12 comments

I recently watched a home movie of this girlie being all naked and stuff but i was utterly perplexed by the number "36" written in large letters across her ass. I assumed it was just some personal kinky/weirdness till i happened upon a vintage BDSM photo of a young girl with 36 'spanked' onto her ass. Can any one explain the significance of '36'?
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 5:01 PM PST - 13 comments

I have a potential job offer in St. Louis, but I know almost nothing about the place, and can't figure out whether I should even consider moving from Denver to there. So I thought I'd poll the highly refined cultural palates of MeFi readers to get some impressions of the place from people who've spent some time there.

Is it as sprawl-choked as Denver? What is the overall political mood? Can a guy who doesn't want to live in a McHouse on a cul-de-sac find a nice older house for a reasonable price? Is the weather tolerable for a pansy like me who's accustomed to the constant sunshine and very low humidity of Colorado?
posted by yalestar at 4:38 PM PST - 10 comments

When I try to go to Google, I get an error message. (more inside) [more inside]
posted by rocketman at 3:37 PM PST - 5 comments

CSS trouble; using absolute positioning for a box doesn't seem to place it in the exact same spot in Firefox and Internet Explorer. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by kchristidis at 3:05 PM PST - 11 comments

iBookFilter - my wife's iBook running OS 9.1 fails to mount audio CDs or CD-R's. In each case, it instead asks to format the disk (which is laugable since the drive isn't capable of writing). How can she once again use the drive?
posted by plinth at 3:03 PM PST - 2 comments

What makes a bestseller? Something I've never understood is why different publications have different bestseller list. I mean, either the book sells X copies or it doesn't, right? How can it be on one bestseller list and not another? The only thing I can think of is that the NYT list is referring to sales in NY and WaPo concerns itself with it's own state, etc. But that doesn't make much sense. {more} [more inside]
posted by dobbs at 2:44 PM PST - 8 comments

NomeansnoFilter: Other than eBay, where can I get a CD copy of their 'Wrong' album?
posted by punishinglemur at 1:43 PM PST - 3 comments

Total vanity question: Alright, I don't know much about hair, but recently I've grown my hair a bit longer. To my annoyance, my hair now dings out sideways at the end, like they're trying to defy gravity, and don't go straight down. So, what can be done? I wash them everyday. Are there conditioners or other things that I should be using?
posted by Dukebloo at 1:33 PM PST - 9 comments

TravelFilter: Visiting Portland, OR, for the first time in a few days. Recommended places to go, things to do, people to see? [MI]
posted by spilon at 1:17 PM PST - 22 comments

I was just looking at mplayer, marveling at all the codecs and formats it covers. But, I am not a Linux geek, nor am I going to become one. So, is there a good universal media player for Windows? Free is nice, but not a requirement.
posted by Irontom at 12:48 PM PST - 11 comments

OpenOffice question. Is there an easy way to convert documents to PDF such that the hyperlinks still work? I'm on OS X.
posted by inksyndicate at 12:35 PM PST - 7 comments

If one has a business that is registered as an LLC (with no partners-- just the one person) and if: the business location (office) is in one state, the owner lives in another state and most of the business (or clients) are in a third state in which state is state income tax due-- where the office is, the owner's residence or where the clients are?
posted by limitedpie at 11:51 AM PST - 3 comments

Hard drive problem: I tried to move a functioning fat32 slave drive into a new machine. It showed up as RAW, so I put it back in the old machine. Now shows as RAW there too. Did I really lose all my data? .. [more inside]
posted by deathofme at 11:14 AM PST - 3 comments

Is there any free app that will allow an officefull of networked Macs and one PC to share an address book?
posted by signal at 11:07 AM PST - 10 comments

I need help choosing a health insurance plan. Medica? Blue Cross? COBRA? [more] [more inside]
posted by Juicylicious at 9:14 AM PST - 12 comments

What's the easiest way to implement a .PDF file that can be edited by multiple users (Mac and Windows)? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by sharksandwich at 8:36 AM PST - 2 comments

My neighbor has many mature blueberry and grape plants. Because he's rearranging things on his property, he's offered me some of the plants *if* I dig and move them myself. Is this possible? Is it practical? Is there some mechanized device that I can rent, borrow, or buy to make the job easier? Bonus question: I just chopped down three youngish Locusts, the largest of which had a trunk maybe six inches in diameter. What's the best way to remove the stumps so that I can plant fruit trees in their place?
posted by jdroth at 8:04 AM PST - 3 comments

I'm looking for a picture on a badge with the phrase "Only rotters hunt otters"
Do you have it?
posted by holloway at 2:59 AM PST - 8 comments

[UKCinemaFilter] Whenever I've been to the cinema recently I've found myself watching a wonderful Orange advert
with Sean Aston where he's trying to pitch a love story and they're trying
to come up with the 4th in the trilogy ("Lord of the ringtones, colon, return of the phone call"). Does anyone know
whether it is possible to download the advert and, if so, where from?
posted by ralawrence at 1:43 AM PST - 2 comments

Do current table manners in your part of the world suggest you should finish everything on your plate or leave a little? [More inside.] [more inside]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:07 PM PST - 35 comments

Having trouble setting up 2 SATA hard drives as a stripe set in WinXP Pro. (more inside) [more inside]
posted by Ynoxas at 8:43 PM PST - 5 comments

Help! My domain has fallen off the internet, my email server is refusing to accept my account details, ditto my FTP, the control panel for my site is there, but no longer logging me in. Worse still, my provider's page now refers striaght to this page. What in the hell has gone wrong? Has my host been hijacked?
posted by armoured-ant at 7:49 PM PST - 12 comments

Are there any digital still cameras that have decent video capabilities yet? MiniDV level for at least 30 seconds would be ideal but perhaps unrealistic.
posted by smackfu at 7:46 PM PST - 4 comments

MacFilter: How can I tell a graphite 400 Mhz G4 Mac "Sawtooth" (AGP) model from a "Yikes!" (PCI) model without booting the machine (no monitor)? I'm not too technically inclined, so bonus points for answers in layman's terms.
posted by ScottUltra at 7:24 PM PST - 8 comments

My son starts grade 1 French Immersion next monday, and I was wondering if anyone here has experienced it first hand or have placed their children in it.
posted by Quartermass at 4:49 PM PST - 8 comments

Life span, longevity and history... (MI)

I had an argument the other day with my friend concerning longevity and life span through history. He claims that people of history would have been lucky to live to be old and that most people died in their 30's or 40's. He added that people were practically married at 15, had kids and worked hard and died young.

I disagreed with him. Practically all historical figures seem to have lived into old age and the stories I have read and heard from historical accounts makes it seem as though there were plenty of old people around. It's not like old men and women are a modern thing.

My thinking is that the numbers that are often cited, 35 year life expectency for example, are only so low because of the high frequency of infant death. Who's right? Can you please use links to back up your arguments? [more inside]
posted by crazy finger at 4:11 PM PST - 39 comments

I'm a current GMail user, and I just got my first invite to give away. I know a couple of people who might like one, but I want to contact them before sending it, since I know if they reject it, I don't get it back. My question: How long will the invite sit in my GMail inbox, awaiting dispersement? [more inside]
posted by ArsncHeart at 3:16 PM PST - 26 comments

Can you recommend a tool that will let me track keyword performance on major search engines for a given site? I understand Web Position Gold goes this, but it's expensive and word has it that google doesn't like it.
posted by muckster at 2:54 PM PST - 3 comments

When I was little, my parents used to tell me that "in the olden days," many parents would spank their kids once a week, even though their kids hadn't been naughty. The spanking was supposedly preventative ("you'll get worse than THIS if you misbehave") or predictive ("I don't know WHAT you've done, but I'm sure you've done SOMETHING -- or you WILL do something...")

My question is: is this true? I mean, I know there are (and have been) all sorts of whack-o parents, but was there ever a general philosophy of parenting that advocated weekly spankings? My parents usually brought this up in the context of "you think YOU have it bad, well..." Were they yanking my chain? Is this an urban legend?
posted by grumblebee at 2:01 PM PST - 18 comments

MP3 Player Question: I have a Creative Jukebox Zen Xtra that doesn't seem to be recognizing that there's a battery there. [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by ferociouskitty at 12:56 PM PST - 9 comments

I came home from my two week vacation to find an enormous amount of comment spam on my MT weblog. I've now read this so I guess I know how to stop it from happening again (if I can figure out all the tech stuff), but deleting is turning out to be a nightmare. Is there some easier way to delete this than going into each post and individually deleting the spam comments?
posted by anastasiav at 12:43 PM PST - 10 comments

What's the healthiest type of cooking oil? I do a lot of faux-Indian / Thai / whatever cooking (think a big wok with lots of turmeric and pepper) and, being on a low cal diet, usually just use water or a drop of olive oil to stir things in. I would like to be able to use more oil, but don't know which, if any, could be considered healthy. Googled, but haven't found a comprehensive non-biased source yet.
posted by signal at 10:53 AM PST - 33 comments

How much should I sell my domain name for? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:40 AM PST - 18 comments

Where can I find stats for general web usage? Mostly we're interested in knowing the approximate percentages of the nation's/world's web browsing environment. We track it for our own site, but I'd like to know how we compare to the web as a whole.
posted by paulrockNJ at 10:12 AM PST - 2 comments

I'm thinking about purchasing my first laptop. All I want it to do is allow me to check email on the road, and maybe play DVDs. Is there a super-stripped down model I can get on the cheap? Should I buy something used? How much "fat" can I cut and still have a machine that will last a few years?
posted by JoanArkham at 5:45 AM PST - 14 comments

How do I make GTK apps look good in KDE? Although I use KDE exculsively, I still use some GTK apps, like Firefox. (Oh for a Qt build of Firefox!) I hate the default look of GTK. I can use the GNOME theme editor to change the GNOME theme to something acceptable. The trouble is, 1) This seems to make the fonts in all my GTK apps too big, and 2) I lose the changes as soon as I log out. (And no, I'm not about to start using GNOME.)
posted by salmacis at 12:52 AM PST - 9 comments

I'd love to buy some Andreas Gursky posters for my new apartment, but alas they don't sell them anywhere. Can anyone suggest or link me to other panorama-like posters that are funky and cool and can cover a large wall? Thanks!
posted by adrober at 10:18 PM PST - 5 comments

Prank calls: about two weeks ago, there were a couple messages on my machine, "hey crees, we will fock you up" or something like that - it was unintelligible for the most part to the point that I couldn't tell if it was Spanish, Middle Eastern, or Eastern European gibberish. It spooked me, but I got over it... [more inside]
posted by notsnot at 10:16 PM PST - 23 comments

MacBrowserHell: I just updgraded from a Lombard 333 Mhz Powerbook to a G4 667 TiBook with 1GB RAM. Camino now seems to run dog-slow. And the others have their troubles... [more inside]
posted by weston at 9:55 PM PST - 21 comments

"Da Ali G Show". Know the song titles of the tunes in between the show's segments? Yeah, me too. My searching turned up nothing.
posted by sharksandwich at 9:23 PM PST - 2 comments

MoggieFilter: My cat keeps coming home injured. (more inside) [more inside]
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:44 PM PST - 12 comments

CSS Headaches: Hours into a redesign, everything is looking great in Safari and Firefox - is almost looking right in IE Mac, but is simply not functioning properly on the Windows side. Box model hacks are failing me. [A little more inside] [more inside]
posted by aladfar at 7:34 PM PST - 15 comments

What is the best software for a radio station to use when streaming live audio via the internet? Similarly, what piece of software do most individuals use to listen to webcasts? [MI] [more inside]
posted by darainwa at 7:30 PM PST - 16 comments

Ripping LaserDiscs to another format. Any ideas? [mi] [more inside]
posted by John Shaft at 7:22 PM PST - 11 comments

Cooking for the lazy and overworked. I eat a lot of overpriced crap lately - think boxed/frozen/microwaveable, or even just takeout - and for a number of obvious reasons I'd like to stop doing that. I think most of America is in the same boat with me, but can those of you who aren't give me some tips on learning to cook for myself? [more inside]
posted by tirade at 7:21 PM PST - 34 comments

How the #^$& do you get those rubbery little orange dots off kitchen surfaces?? Presumably they started life as oil splatters, then mutated into a permanently bonded new substance that is sort of like plastic-encased goo. Degreasers haven't any effect. Same for Goo Gone, rubbing alcohol, or ammonia. Scrubbing powders do have some effect, but that's just to turn the combo into a brown tarry mess that retains the original goo's miraculous removal-resistant properties.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 7:03 PM PST - 21 comments

Dead wireless PDA walking... [more] [more inside]
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:19 PM PST - 4 comments

If you were somehow stupid enough to lose every piece of identification you had--driver's license, green card, social security card, foreign passport and birth certificate, student ID, everything--how would you go about starting to recover it? You seem to need two pieces of ID (or at least one) to get any given ID replaced.
posted by Jeanne at 3:18 PM PST - 10 comments

LivingOverseasFilter: If you work for yourself and can telecommute, what's to stop you living overseas (for the longest time legally allowable), working online, and pretending to still be at 'home' for tax (and other) purposes? [mi] [more inside]
posted by wackybrit at 1:24 PM PST - 7 comments

Why do runners and other athletes in the Olympics wear sunglasses? Orange-tinted glasses seem to be most popular, even when events are taking place at night. Is it because, in some cases, they're running under the glare of stadium floodlights?; do they somehow make them focus better?; or is it all a style thing?
posted by adrianhon at 11:38 AM PST - 8 comments

Can anybody recommend software that creates a permanent, local, complete and searchable personal web-browsing archive? [MI] [more inside]
posted by NortonDC at 11:09 AM PST - 8 comments

She looked at her dining room, and saw that it was without light, so she said, "Let there be light." This had no effect, so she went to Home Depot and bought a chandelier, because she saw that it was good. Then she came home, took out the fuse, took down the old ceiling fan, and began to assemble the chandelier. Then she ran into problems, got frustrated, dropped the third person, and asked MeFites:

How should I connect a light fixture when there are black, white, and red wires in the ceiling and the chandelier has two spliced-together brown ones and a ground wire?
posted by orange swan at 10:58 AM PST - 17 comments

It's hardly the end of the world but the favicons in my bookmarks in Firefox keep disappearing. Is there an extension which will check them and keep them updated without me having to visit them?
posted by feelinglistless at 10:34 AM PST - 6 comments

I'd like to read Kant. [more] [more inside]
posted by Tin Man at 10:32 AM PST - 14 comments

BiograPhilter. While I eagerly await the publication of volume four of Robert A. Caro's 'The Years of Lyndon Johnson', what other biographies do I have to read of American presidents/politicians? Note: I'm not American, so I don't really care much for the founding fathers, or Abe Lincoln's constitutional worries etc. Also, no partizan bitch books or hagiographies, please. The wielding of raw power is what interests me most.

Good European biographies (De Gaulle, Talleyrand, Churchill) are welcomed as well.
posted by NekulturnY at 6:20 AM PST - 22 comments

Actionscript: Is there any way to determine the index in a string of a line-break, when that string is presented in a text field?
posted by FidelDonson at 3:05 AM PST - 4 comments

My friend remembers a movie he's seen about a large man who can sing just like Patsy Cline, and who amazes people with his imitation of her...but hours of Googling has come up with nothing. Can anyone remember this? He knows he saw it on either IFC or the Sundance channel, but searching those sites hasn't worked either.
posted by icetaco at 11:55 PM PST - 6 comments

I recently heard about a cool city-wide, real-life game starting to take place in my hometown, Vancouver BC called StreetWars: Killer. It's also set to take place in New York City. In the past I've heard rumours of a "PokeManhattan" and seem to recall BoingBoing posting about a city-wide Monopoly or Chess game, though can't find them. Does anyone have links on any city-wide, real life games like these?

Oh, the NYC game comments make it seem pretty cool. [more inside]
posted by F4B2 at 11:34 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm a U.S. citizen, curious about looking for work in one of Canada's major cities. I know that our neighbors to the north are bilingual and more of a socialist democracy than the U.S., but otherwise I'm pretty ignorant. I couldn't find all the provinces on a map, for example. What books and web sites should I read to learn more about Canada's politics, geography, history and culture? With more social welfare are job benefits different? Could I expect more time off than my current two weeks a year? Any advice you can give me to help me make a final decision on relocating?
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:23 PM PST - 19 comments

Does anyone happen to know where I would be able to get a hold of a shirt like this one? I have no idea how I would even search for this sort of thing.
(Googling some of the words on the shirt along with the word 'shirt' or 't-shirt' just gives a bunch of random, very unrelated results.)
posted by DyRE at 5:29 PM PST - 4 comments

Linkedin Virus: Have any of you guys received an email in the last week from a friend's valid email address asking you to join their LinkedIn network? It seemed harmless enough so I clicked the link, wasn't interested and closed the browser. Soon enough, my whole machine slowed down to a crawl and even after repeated reboots, it's still almost locked. Sound familiar? [more inside]
posted by dhoyt at 3:49 PM PST - 17 comments

My favorite kind of bread is Sourdough (it's Californian, dude!), and I know I should be eating something more wholegrainhighfiberlowcarbwhatever. But I'm curious... if the cultures in yogurt are healthy for you, does the culture that makes sourdough sour have any nutrition benefits over plain white bread? And does Sourdough really take 2-3X as long to get stale and moldy than other bread, or that just me?

Or can anybody reccommend a best-tasing Whole Wheat Sourdough?
posted by wendell at 1:34 PM PST - 11 comments

Upholstory: a new sofa my girlfriend and I bought about three weeks ago seems to have gotten 'bleached' by small -- really, very, incredibly small -- quantities of water. Is this normal? Is there anything we can do about it? {MI} [more inside]
posted by josh at 12:57 PM PST - 3 comments

Movable Type question: What sort of MT Maintenance/additions are best - MT 2.6x? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by filmgeek at 12:07 PM PST - 10 comments

i saw this question and answer, which is similar to mine, except that we're planning to leave from nyc/ newark airport and are looking for a relaxing, sunny location for a last-summer esacpe in the caribbean or the west indies... [mi] [more inside]
posted by ronv at 11:15 AM PST - 3 comments

After doing coin laundry the past six years, I was thrilled to move into an apartment that had a pre-installed washer and dryer. Problem is, the dryer does not have a "low heat" setting, and fully 90% of my wardrobe is tumble dry low. The dryer's only settings are high heat, medium heat, and no heat. I don't want to shrink my clothing, but drying with no heat doesn't seem to get the job done. What do I do?
posted by christie at 11:12 AM PST - 17 comments

WeatherFilter: am i the only one who finds the weather.com predictions for my area to be quite often (wildly) inaccurate? i check the site when i get up to decide whether to drive or ride a bike to work, and i'm getting frustrated at how bad it really is at predicting rain. if there's a 70% chance of afternoon rain as of 8 AM, how much can this really change by noon?

does anyone have a better source for local weather, one that might be more predictable?
posted by caution live frogs at 9:41 AM PST - 20 comments

Anyone know a good way to paint benday dots a la Roy Lichtenstein?
posted by pissfactory at 7:26 AM PST - 5 comments

Is it possible to get a large (1000+ pages) book rebound without spending a bajillion dollars? One of the covers on a reference book got really badly damaged, and I'd like to repair it (or have it repaired) without spending more than $20 or so. I don't care overly much about how it looks, as long as it, you know, covers.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 7:22 AM PST - 11 comments

Yet another boring tech question: my main hard drive died on me. It's a Seagate, so I ran their diagnostic tool and it tells me I have 2 critical structure errors. What does this mean? Is there a way to fix it, or do I have to reformat, or worse, toss it out? Vielen Dank!
posted by muckster at 8:43 PM PST - 9 comments

POULTRY FILTER: I bought a pound and a half of chicken last weekend. The sell-by date on the package was August 18. I usually cook all the chicken I buy before the sell-by date, but screwed up and haven't cooked one of the pieces. It's now two days past that date. Do I freeze this piece or throw it away? How do you know if chicken has gone bad? If its any help in this diagnosis: It looks and smells fine ... thank you, ask metafilter, as always, for your time and wisdom on these pressing concerns of mine! I for one would hate to throw away perfectly good chicken.
posted by Peter H at 7:27 PM PST - 28 comments

Using XP Pro 2002. Main HDD dies, replace C:, now can't get out of BIOS without unplugging D: (storage). Actually, D: works occasionally, but during those regular operations it sometimes bluescreens and on reboot I get BIOS errors for *all* drives. Wha? [more inside]
posted by petebest at 5:59 PM PST - 7 comments

MSAccessFilter: I give up...how can I have the current selection in one control dynamically re-configure the choices available in another? [more inside, obviously] [more inside]
posted by LairBob at 5:47 PM PST - 6 comments

Switching Identities in Microsoft Outlook

I'm now at a computer that has Microsoft Outlook instead of Outlook Express. If I want 2 different email boxes/addresses/ etc. - how do I do it? It doesn't seem to have the Identity Switching feature that Outlook Express had.

I can set up another email address but mail to it ends up in my default Inbox.

Can I set up multiple identities?

Can I at least set up my mail so that each identity has a different in and out box?
posted by small_ruminant at 4:03 PM PST - 5 comments

Hotel recommendations for Vancouver B.C.? I'll be there a couple days for a wedding. My primary concerns are that it be central and unique/interesting. Any price range is fine.
posted by vacapinta at 2:39 PM PST - 17 comments

Fearless Leader Haughey has both a Now Playing and his del.icio.us links on his site. How would I do that for my own site?
posted by solistrato at 1:51 PM PST - 9 comments

Does subvocalization occur when a person is comatose? [more inside]
posted by badstone at 12:52 PM PST - 2 comments

CareerChangeFilter? I'm a publications editor at an art museum and enjoy it very much, but for a few years I've kicked around the idea of making a major career change. The two areas I'm interested in are forensic science and social work. ("What do we want?" "More!" "Where do we want it?" "Inside!") [more inside]
posted by scody at 11:46 AM PST - 8 comments

Clothing stain filter: In addition to t-shirts, I have a number of shirts with a regular collar (non-button down). After I wear them for a while, EVERY ONE of them gets this little kind of brownish stain at in the front where the collar comes to a point. It looks kind of like rust. These stains are *really* hard to remove, and resistant to most stain removers. There are no similar stains anywhere on the shirt.

But my question is - what the heck is that stain? Where does it come from? Is it just me? Or is this a problem that all people who wear shirts with collars deal with but never talk about? Is this a message from the gods that I should only wear t shirts or only dark colored collared shirts?

BTW most of my shirts are wrinkle free cotton/poly blends, and they usually have one of those clear plastic collar stay things inside the material to keep the collar straight and pointy.
posted by jasper411 at 11:34 AM PST - 21 comments

Where can I find online/downloadable video clips of Nadia Comaneci's "Perfect 10" gymnastics routines from 1976? The TV networks sometimes show tiny bits of the footage during women's gymnastics events, but I've never seen any of the routines all the way through.
posted by Asparagirl at 11:13 AM PST - 12 comments

I work in a small office and two employees are leaving. The first was a midlevel exec and the other was an executive assistant. We are throwing a going away party for both of them, and the boss has charged a couple of us with the mission of getting them each something on a budget of $500 each.

Any suggestions?
posted by szg8 at 11:10 AM PST - 14 comments

I have a couple questions about storing grains and where to find things to store them in. Step inside to hear them. [more inside]
posted by bondcliff at 10:28 AM PST - 6 comments

Nutrition/Exercise: Does anyone know of a good skeptics/scientific guide to these topics? This should preforably be a magazine, newsletter or website -- not a book -- because there's new news all the time. [More inside...] [more inside]
posted by grumblebee at 10:17 AM PST - 6 comments

Does anyone know of a good, reliable free/shareware OS X app that can do simple backup/synchronise operations. Something like Syncback on windows. Thanks.
posted by ascullion at 9:17 AM PST - 3 comments

So I'm on OS9, and I'm about to make the leap to OSX... and I need to find a 3D graphics program. I don't need to do the next Pixar film... all I really need to do is build/model simple shapes, adjust lighting, then map images (vector and raster) to them, and export as either vector or raster (preferably with alpha channel transparency) to use in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

I'm new to 3D, so please take that into consideration.
posted by silusGROK at 9:08 AM PST - 8 comments

Anyone know what's up with MT copying the Blogger bar? I first noticed the blogger bar on evhead a couple weeks ago. Then this morning, I see a MT Bar on #1's own site and it is almost exactly the same! What's up with that? (links go to screen caps of the two sites with the bar)
posted by thebwit at 8:03 AM PST - 9 comments

Why do Macs and Unix GUI's seem to display graphics better than a Windows OS? Just the default backgrounds and such that are included, not any photos or anything. They seem to have more depth or are more crisp, or something. I've talked to a few co-workers about this and they all seem to agree, but don't have any answers. Is this an optical illusion, am I just seeing things?
posted by TuxHeDoh at 8:02 AM PST - 23 comments

A Mac OS X shareware app to catalog my home-taped video collection (on actual tape, not stored digitally) is surprisingly hard to find...

...there are classic apps, there are apps to catalog a collection of pre-recorded tapes/DVDs etc. but I want something that will help me keep track of what programme, what time code & on what tape all of the random stuff I've recorded over the years is.
posted by i_cola at 7:13 AM PST - 2 comments

I'm going to be visiting my in-laws this weekend, in part to treat their ailing computer, which sounds to be suffering from a myriad of malware. I want to make sure I have the complete set of tools I need. More details inside. [more inside]
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:25 AM PST - 10 comments

Is there a free or open source alternative to this macromedia flash-based mp3 player?
posted by banished at 6:05 AM PST - 2 comments

Sick-Kitty-Filter. Has anyone here had success in switching a cat from their favorite dry food to a prescription canned food? Any tips would be greatly appreciated...more inside... [more inside]
posted by catfood at 4:52 AM PST - 14 comments

Have you ever had any success in trying to express, to a famous artist, your appreciation for their work, be they author/actor/musician, whatever? What did you do?
posted by scarabic at 3:03 AM PST - 54 comments

The Windows task manager tells me the CPU and memory usage by each process. Is there a utility that can tell me which of the running processes are responsible for current HDD activity?
posted by Krrrlson at 11:56 PM PST - 5 comments

I've had to give up Thunderbird and start using Outlook 2002 (in order to sync my calendar and tasks with my phone and pda) and now my workflow is being bogged down by spam. Help me inside... [more inside]
posted by FidelDonson at 11:37 PM PST - 11 comments

Cool desktop backgrounds: everyone's got 'em, but where do they come from? In other words, I want to know where you get the eye candy you keep underneath all those icons. (Not saying a word about what's inside, but you can probably guess...) [more inside]
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:31 PM PST - 40 comments

I've seen a number of cars with a sticker of a white number eight on a red background on their back window. Does anyone know what that signifies? [more inside]
posted by gyc at 8:21 PM PST - 12 comments

Are you a paying subscriber for any website online? How much are the annual fees? Is it worth it? [more inside]
posted by riffola at 8:03 PM PST - 39 comments

Laser Hair Removal - I don't know anyone who's had it done. What has been your experience? [more inside]
posted by Wolfie at 5:51 PM PST - 13 comments

A construction person outside my apartment handed me a found wallet, asking if it was mine. It wasn't, but I decided to take it upon myself to find the owner. A white pages search turns up no phone # for the owner. Is there any option other than dropping it off at his home address, which is somewhat inconvenient?
posted by O9scar at 3:02 PM PST - 11 comments

My recent experience at work has led me to wonder whether there is any sort of personal noise cancellation gun? I envision a device or appliance that you can point at someone obnoxious to negate them using noise cancellation technology.
posted by mert at 2:49 PM PST - 10 comments

Does anyone know where i can get a copy (Buy, download, anything) of the Christmas Specials from BBC's The Office. I've been eagerly awaiting my chance to see them for months now and i don't know where to find them.
posted by Slimemonster at 2:38 PM PST - 7 comments

Does anyone have suggestions for short, articulate protest slogans for the RNC? [more inside]
posted by milovoo at 1:20 PM PST - 43 comments

So I have an iBook G4, and the power cord has two components -- the cord itself, one end of which connects to the computer and the other end of which connects to the transformer, and a detachable piece that contains the two prongs that actually interface with my power outlet. The power cord has been failing to maintain a connection with the wall so I ordered a new one, under warrantly. They only sent the transformer piece, meaning I had to reattach my old pronged piece and, lo and behold: Still not working. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by blueshammer at 12:53 PM PST - 8 comments

I have a mountain of data to move from dozens of Excel spreadsheets into an Access database. The database is an existing one and sort-of documented. How do I go about doing this? I’m very comfortable with Excel, but not at all with Access---I’ve never used it before. How do I push Excel data into Access records? Are there any web resources I could use? Any books I should buy?
posted by bonehead at 12:41 PM PST - 10 comments

A few weeks I had to listen to a drunken guy drone on about hip-hop. There was one thing he said that caught my interest. He mentioned that there were tracks based on Robert Johnson samples. So what are the tracks and who does them?
posted by rdr at 11:23 AM PST - 5 comments

Fussy-Filter
I am a very visual eater and extraordinarily stubborn. After avoiding pretty much all fruit and veg my entire life I am trying to take the plunge and expand my dietary horizons (without expanding my waistband). How can I get over the mental block of eating green and orange stuff? Can anyone recommend an easy way to get on the fruit and veg wagon or recipes that conceal the deadly veg from mine eyes?
posted by longbaugh at 10:57 AM PST - 29 comments

Mosquitos. Why does it seem that the bites itch more when I interrupt the mosquito (usually fatally) mid-bite? Is it just psychological -- I know the bite is there and so it just seems to itch more? Or is something physiological going on?
posted by occhiblu at 10:49 AM PST - 18 comments

Here's a weird one: my computer has been turning back on two or three minutes after I power down for the night. It only stays off after I shut it down for a second time. What's strange is that it is undeniably off during those three minutes; no lights, no fans, nothing. The machine just rises from the dead.

This has only been happening for the past week or so. It's an XP computer running an Athlon 2500 on an MSI motherboard with the factory power supply. Any ideas?
posted by pheideaux at 10:13 AM PST - 6 comments

Can a network connection be killed from the command line in Windows XP?
posted by plexi at 9:19 AM PST - 12 comments

Help! I have run Adware and cleaned up my computer, but there is one thing stuck in my browser - one of those "we'll help you search!" things. How to get rid of something like this? I can't find it in the add/remove programs list, and Adware didn't come up with it. How to find it for removal? (Sorry, I am somewhat knowledgeable with computers, but not a whiz). This is Windows XP.
posted by agregoli at 7:17 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm looking for an internet radio station that plays classic jazz. Mingus, Monk, Fitzgerald, Coltrane, Davis, Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, Gillespie, etc. Any suggestions?
posted by BlueTrain at 6:43 AM PST - 12 comments

I'm looking for a good survey on the topic of U.S. energy independence. Could be book, newspaper or magazine piece, documentary film, website...Not so much interested in the debate over the urgency, Hubberts Peak and all that --the ideal resource assumes the rightness of the cause and provides an overview of the political, technological, and social progress and challenges surrounding getting there.
posted by luser at 5:23 AM PST - 1 comment

SP2 be or not to be? That is the question...
posted by damnitkage at 2:31 AM PST - 18 comments

I find it hard to believe that no one has asked this yet but...
How did you decide what to do with your life? What questions did you ask yourself? When you have many ideas and none are "right", what factors should weigh more heavily than others when it comes time to decide? [more inside]
posted by 4easypayments at 8:54 PM PST - 39 comments

Newtonian physics/Cricket question. [6kb GIF and full question inside] [more inside]
posted by cadastral at 7:23 PM PST - 12 comments

Pet door. One cat gets to come and go as he pleases. The other cat isn't allowed to use it. Question: How? (more inside, of course...) [more inside]
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 7:21 PM PST - 23 comments

What is the function of the orange tube/cylinder atop some lampposts? I see them every few street corners; the other lampposts usually have a little orange bubble on top. I'm guessing those are to let aircrafts know that they are above an urban area. The orange cylinders are about six or more inches high, and I'm very curious to know what they are for.
posted by riffola at 6:32 PM PST - 6 comments

Can any Boston natives recommend a good coffee shop? [MI] [more inside]
posted by josh at 3:56 PM PST - 24 comments

EpistemologyFilter What is the important literature regarding knowledge creation via formalization/structuring? [mi] [more inside]
posted by badstone at 2:30 PM PST - 8 comments

Have you heard (through a friend, a source, a rumor) how much tickets to the MoveOn Vote For Change concerts will cost? Official ticket prices are not being listed, but I'm hoping someone here might know something. [more inside]
posted by junkbox at 1:47 PM PST - 3 comments

Palm V and Hot Synching help - We can't get an old PalmV to synch without look instead of the Palm Desktop. More Inside... [more inside]
posted by trbrts at 1:23 PM PST - 8 comments

Is there any way (legally or otherwise) to actually wager on an upcoming Presidential or Congressional election [mo inside]. [more inside]
posted by goethean at 12:31 PM PST - 8 comments

Does anyone know of any good sites that show how to make digital photos look as though they were shot in the 50s/60s specifically the color balance you see on pics taken from yesteryear. [more inside]
posted by zeoslap at 12:13 PM PST - 17 comments

a supreme annoyance: apparently, the phone company (who knows which one) has updated someone else's residential phone # with an automated response that gives... my cell phone #. [mi] [more inside]
posted by ronv at 10:32 AM PST - 6 comments

After having read Jose Saramago's excellent book Blindless, I decided to read The Cave. I finally got through the book and was utterly confused.[mi] [more inside]
posted by trillion at 10:02 AM PST - 3 comments

XML: I'm writing a Flash/Actionscript program that reads in an XML data file. The info needs to be sorted alphabetically, but people will be continually adding new data to the end of the file, so it will have to be resorted often. There's no easy way to sort XML data in Actionscript (and doing so would slow down the program too much, anway), so the data-entry folks will need to sort the data externally to the Flash app. Are there any (free?) applications that can sort XML data by a node of your choice? I need a solution that can run on a Mac or a PC -- or it could be web based.
posted by grumblebee at 9:42 AM PST - 16 comments

Moving Filter: Do we have to give 30 days notice that we're going to move? [mi] [more inside]
posted by drezdn at 9:08 AM PST - 16 comments

Could somebody give me the URL or to the call letters of the famous free-form alternative radio station in the New York area -- I think it's got "FM" in the name but not sure. I've already searched the MF archives in vain. Thx.
posted by alumshubby at 9:01 AM PST - 4 comments

Has anyone here ever rebuilt their home or built a new one? Lots of advice needed. More inside. [more inside]
posted by bondcliff at 8:15 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm having a javascript/CSS/IE problem. I'm working on a website that has a line of buttons at the top for navigation, and when you mouseover the button, a menu drops down giving you sub-options. This is controlled pretty simply with javascript changing the "visibility" attribute in the stylesheet for the menu. A problem arises in IE, however, when there are form elements on the page. If the dynamic drop-down menu overlaps a form element, that form element disappears. (Specifically, this is happening with a menu) You have to reload the page to get it back. Anyone know why this might be happening, or how to fix it? Works fine in NS7, Firefox, Mozilla, etc..... [more inside]
posted by emptybowl at 8:12 AM PST - 6 comments

Metamoving. If you're of a slightly artistic bent and have boxes of books, photos, artwork, etc. many of which don't seem to have as much relevance as they did ten years ago, how do you decide what to keep and what to throw away?
posted by jeremias at 7:07 AM PST - 22 comments

Does anyone know how to create the Flash "books" that have turning page effects as shown here and here? I have seen the effect several places, leading me to hope there is a tutorial, sample file, or program that will generate this effect.
posted by banished at 6:56 AM PST - 4 comments

Inspired by this thread in the blue: There's a version of Superman III I saw on Indian television last summer when I was in Pakistan. It had English subtitles, for some reason (it still had the original English-language soundtrack), but the subtitles had only the most tendentious relationship to the actual movie. In the subtitles' universe, for example, Richard Pryor's character was named Clark Kent. Superman's alter ego? Harry Kent. And it just got more and more absurd from there. Has anyone else seen/heard of this? Does anyone know where someone in America (like me) could get a copy?
posted by skoosh at 6:52 AM PST - 1 comment

What is the best place to go on the net for high-quality music videos? [mi] [more inside]
posted by Tallguy at 6:47 AM PST - 11 comments

PlaylistFilter: I find Winamp's native playlist manager too restricted. Ideally, I want a plugin/player with a playlist module that can accomodate trees and metadata; the extreme case being where I can have an arbitrary number of fields (incl. trackname, artist, genre, "mood"...etc) and then pass it through selection filters (all Classical which are AT MOST 3 mins AND NOT baroque AND soothing...etc). Of course, this is kinda the ideal case. What's the best realistic solution? (I don't mind switching players).
posted by Gyan at 6:28 AM PST - 11 comments

Any advice for an American trying to find a job abroad? Good resources, things to avoid, tips and tricks? Anyone have success stories? (Bonus points if you were looking in HK)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 6:12 AM PST - 4 comments

CardosaFilter. I'm looking for a specific modern portugese poem which refers to the Algarve as a "rusted Scimitar" (Algarve possibly being Portugese for Scimitar). English translations of this poem do exist (I've seen them), but *any* information would be excellent. I think the poem talks about the destruction of Portugal by tourism. [more inside]
posted by seanyboy at 4:35 AM PST - 2 comments

I want to build my next PC instead of buying one off the shelf. Your assistance is requested. (mi) [more inside]
posted by chiababe at 4:12 AM PST - 35 comments

Scientists, sailors, meteorologists: I need a buoy! I'm looking for a small buoy hull for some scientific instrumentation. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Nothing at 2:32 AM PST - 7 comments

This thread got me thinking. Anyone have a favorite roadside assistance service I can buy for my daughter? She has a cellphone, but who would she call if she was stranded several hundred miles away?
posted by dglynn at 1:50 AM PST - 18 comments

Saving WMV videos to disk? [more inside]
posted by Vidiot at 8:27 PM PST - 12 comments

Help! What is the name of this war movie? (mi) [more inside]
posted by arse_hat at 8:14 PM PST - 8 comments

WirelessNetworkingFilter: I'd like some advice from you networking gurus (more inside): [more inside]
posted by sixdifferentways at 7:15 PM PST - 11 comments

DiscreteMathFilter: Colorado will vote this November on a proposal to abandon its "winner-take-all" system in presidential elections, and award its electoral votes based on the percentage of votes cast for each candidate. I tried to model this based on the 2000 election, and the concept fell apart. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by PrinceValium at 6:18 PM PST - 14 comments

OlympicsFilter: What's the deal with the mirrored goggles all the swimmers are wearing? Does the mirroring serve any purpose?
posted by stopgap at 4:31 PM PST - 5 comments

Does anybody have experience with HP Recovery? I have a tricky case. [more inside]
posted by muckster at 4:17 PM PST - 2 comments

What is the best travel book series? You know -- Frommer's, Rough Guide, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, etc. I'm finally getting of my duff and going somwhere (Costa Rica) and I want a reliable guide book to take with me. Something that I will actually find quite useful and not rip it into shreds out of pure frustration.
posted by beatnik808 at 4:11 PM PST - 28 comments

I want to buy a leather club chair. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:55 PM PST - 9 comments

Does PHP5's newfound SOAP functionality truly support complex types? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Danelope at 2:50 PM PST - 1 comment

Car buying ethics question: I'm buying a new car that's relatively rare and had set my expectations such that if I were able to get it for < $1,500 over invoice that I'd be ok with the deal. I negotiated one dealer down to $1,300 over invoice and put a $500 deposit down on the car yesterday (it's arriving late this month). [MI] [more inside]
posted by freshgroundpepper at 1:36 PM PST - 17 comments

What marketing books have you found effective? I'm specifically looking for senior-level strategy books, more specifically in high-tech, but open to general product marketing as well. I'm thinking of things like Davidow's Marketing High Technology or Moore's Crossing the Chasm Thanks!
posted by judith at 1:15 PM PST - 5 comments

What are those tiny bubbles that form on the sides of a glass of water that's left beside your bed overnight?
posted by Keith Talent at 12:38 PM PST - 19 comments

OlyFilter - Is is just me or is it downright impossible to find out when (and on what channel) a particular Olympic event is going to be on television without finding out the results? In this age of tape-delayed television, but with non-tape-delayed internet results, what is a man to do? Specifically, I want to watch all the Mens Basketball games that are on TV. Anyone have a list? I know there is a game on today (I think at three...) but I'm afraid to look for it online fearing spoiling the results.
posted by pwb503 at 12:35 PM PST - 8 comments

Baseball Physics: Baseball announcers like to talk about how a sharply hit ground ball can "pick up speed" when it bounces off the infield grass (or, more often, turf). Is this possible? [more inside]
posted by jpoulos at 11:38 AM PST - 19 comments

I while back I got some good recommendations on lenses to use for documentary style photography. Now I come to the Green looking for insight on color film. I'm shooting with a Nikon FM2 and a Canon Rebel 2000. The work is for a grad thesis film, mostly daytime with some scenes right after sundown.
posted by inviolable at 11:24 AM PST - 7 comments

What international tournaments exist that might be thought of as "mental" Olympics? (That is, they contain a range of competitions based on intellect, strategy, problem-solving, mental arithmetic, etc...)
posted by badstone at 11:03 AM PST - 7 comments

Website Buttons: I am looking for a certain type of website button. [MI] [more inside]
posted by banished at 10:47 AM PST - 6 comments

Instant messaging across different networks. Is it possible? [mi] [more inside]
posted by karmaville at 10:29 AM PST - 7 comments

I'd like to know the number of athletes from each country competing at the Olympics -- basically, the size of each country's delegation -- for a little project I'm working on. The Athens 2004 site and the news orgs' sites I've checked do not provide such information, from what I can tell.
posted by mcwetboy at 10:26 AM PST - 3 comments

What is the best P2P application for the Mac?
posted by dydecker at 10:13 AM PST - 17 comments

Looking for command line tools, scripts, whatever, to allow me to check for mail messages on OS X Panther [more inside] [more inside]
posted by jazon at 10:12 AM PST - 4 comments

I need a desk, ASAP (preferably today) (the movers broke mine). I live in Chelsea. Where should I go? (I've tried Staples, Bed Bath & Beyond and The Door Store).
posted by adrober at 10:00 AM PST - 5 comments

Cheapish (under $80) hotel/motel/B&B in Seattle? [more inside]
posted by kmel at 9:08 AM PST - 12 comments

Dealing with music in powerpoint. [mi] [more inside]
posted by drezdn at 8:58 AM PST - 1 comment

I just discovered Sabbatum, an album of Black Sabbath covers-- in latin. I've been an Apocalyptica fan for years as well. Anyone know of other albums of metal songs covered in an unusual fashion? [more inside]
posted by gwint at 8:35 AM PST - 22 comments

I'm an non-GOP person who wants to attend a Bush rally in St. Paul. Are they still doing the loyalty oaths at every event? Is it legally binding? I'm not going to run on stage and interrupt anything, I just want to hear the man speak. Am I going to get in?
posted by graventy at 8:27 AM PST - 21 comments

I have a 12-disc CD changer mounted in the trunk of my aging car, and it's starting to fail. It refuses to recognize about half of the CDs put into it, and will frequently decide that a given CD is unacceptable at a track transition. It's also a lot more skip-prone than it used to be [exposition inside]. [more inside]
posted by COBRA! at 8:16 AM PST - 2 comments

USAGovtFilter: When any incumbent president runs for reelection and campaigns quite heavily, for months, how does all of the work of the executive branch get done?[mi] [more inside]
posted by sciurus at 7:13 AM PST - 9 comments

Where's a good all purpose reference site for administering a Unix server (a Raq4 if it makes any difference). I've read the manual and thus have the basics, but having absolutely no grounding in Unix, simple tasks take a lot of blundering around Google hoping to hit the right keyword.

For example; it took me a good half hour (twenty minutes search and ten minutes working out how to use Vi (have since discovered Pico) to keep my log files for more than a week (rotate was set to 1 in logrotate.conf)
posted by Hartster at 7:06 AM PST - 4 comments

PhotoPhilter: I'm in the process of getting ready to launch a new business based on a product that I manufacture. I've just realized that I need pictures of various products for web and possibly sales brochures. I know absolutely nothing about how to take good product pictures. Do any of our photo gurus have tips, websites, examples that they'd like to share? (more inside)
posted by dejah420 at 6:57 AM PST - 16 comments

Are there any vaguely reliable statistics out there about people's sexual habits? I want to know how common my abject lonely misery is.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 5:54 AM PST - 37 comments

ISO online community bulletin board type software. I'm looking for one that will be used primarily by non tech savvy folks, and we especially want a feature that will allow us to mark comments read, leaving only new comments highlighted next time we login. [more inside]
posted by yoga at 5:50 AM PST - 6 comments

Following up this question, I want to expand my music collection beyond classical & jazz. I don't know much about music from the 1950s to the present, but I know what I like. Melody is really importand to me. I prefer happy, sad and thoughtful to angry (I don't like "screaming" rock at all). I don't like drum-beat heavy dance music. I prefer the 60's/70's sound (or stuff influenced by it) to really contemporary stuff. Here are some examples of what I like: most Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, ELO's "Mister Blue Sky", a lot of They Might Be Giants, some Billy Joel ("Piano Man", "Moving Out", "Uptown Girl"), some of The Mommas and the Pappa's, some Aimee Mann, some Carol King, The Beach Boys, and The Roches.

What else would I like?
posted by grumblebee at 5:38 AM PST - 48 comments

For those who snipe on ebay, what software/plugin/service/whatever would you recommend? I feel uncomfortable giving a third party my ebay login info, if that's how these services work.
posted by Tacodog at 2:14 AM PST - 6 comments

I want to share a limited amount of bandwith on my 802.11b to people at my bus stop, while keeping the network secure. (mi) [more inside]
posted by Keyser Soze at 12:20 AM PST - 11 comments

A USB 2.0 card reader is causing my Windows 2000 laptop to completely hang up. [mi] [more inside]
posted by alidarbac at 11:03 PM PST - 2 comments

I need help finding some good content! I am putting together a course on Sociology of Religion using Powerpoint (in the David Byrne stlye), and I am at an almost total loss on finding short video clips, sound bytes, cartoons etc. to add to the classes.

What I am looking for is along the lines of the way that The Simpsons skews religion all the time (ie funny, not trying to sell you anything), though I am open to anything thought provoking.
posted by Quartermass at 10:51 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm hearing a horrible sound from my iBook all of a sudden. It sounds like the lever that moves the HD heads snapping back and forth repeatedly. It doesn't wholly interfere with the operation of the computer or crash it or anything (yet). It does seem to be coming from the front left side of the laptop, where the HD is located. What is happening? What sort of repair am I looking at, worst-case? Anything I can do? [more inside]
posted by scarabic at 10:00 PM PST - 14 comments

I am looking for a large gallery of "best" book cover illustrations and designs. I want cross genre examples from any time period and any country. Hours of googling have turned up many images from the pulps of the 40s and 50s, most of them entertaining rather than well designed. Amazon is good but to random a process. Anyone know of anything like this?
posted by Grod at 9:53 PM PST - 5 comments

What is the lowdown on USANA? A friend of mine swears its great, but seems like a big scam to me... anyone had any experience with this sort of thing? Website is vague and pyramid-scammish.
posted by ac at 8:47 PM PST - 9 comments

I have a rather picky online photo album management question. [more inside]
posted by mrbula at 8:30 PM PST - 5 comments

My gym gives out energy bars for free! Should I eat them? [more inside]
posted by josh at 7:30 PM PST - 9 comments

Outlook 2000 (WinXP) problem: Suddenly, none of my mail profiles will fetch or send mail. (mi) [more inside]
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:14 PM PST - 6 comments

Why does the Olympics men's gymnastics "floor exercise" event not incorporate music, while the same event in women's does? The women's event seems more "dancey", but it looks like they both exhibit the same set of skills. What gives?
posted by majcher at 6:30 PM PST - 21 comments

EBay Filter: Auction Sniping - good or evil? [MI] [more inside]
posted by Kwantsar at 5:43 PM PST - 40 comments

There's a Pogo sequence in which Albert Alligator (I think) is trying to come up with an advertising jingle, and one of the several he writes ends "...They're gristle to your mill!" What's he advertising? What're the full jingles? This is has been weighing on my mind for a few days.
posted by kenko at 4:00 PM PST - 13 comments

PartyCupFilter. In teensplotation movies and TV series, these party cups often feature predominantly
whenever there's a party situation going on. Why is that? Are they a generic low budget brand, do they come free with kegs or are they the choice of a cool generation? [more inside]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:01 PM PST - 31 comments

In Apple's OS X, the icon for "Mail" depicts a postage stamp with the words "Hello from C_________." I can't read it. What does it say? It's not Cupertino or California. Or maybe Cocoa?
posted by inksyndicate at 2:56 PM PST - 4 comments

Interesting online writing projects.... ? I'm thinking about tackling another (large) writing project via the 'net. What are your favorite (preferably single-author) sites that are presenting stories / a novel / thematic essays? I'm not really looking for blogs, but (maybe) serial pieces presented in blog format. Anyone doing / done this with success? (I'm sure there are a gazillion really bad ones out there...)
posted by dobbs at 2:50 PM PST - 8 comments

I have seen numbers on the back of books that puzzle me; they look like this: 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13. What do these mean?
posted by msacheson at 2:22 PM PST - 10 comments

Help me turn around my life. I'm caught in a trap. [mi] [more inside]
posted by keswick at 2:01 PM PST - 42 comments

I want to set up a photoblog, preferably within or in conjuction with my Blogger blog. I thought that Google recently acquired a company that might be doing this in the future, any word? If this is unlikely, what are the best alternatives? What if I don't care if it works well with Blogger, is there anything that is good and free that can serve my needs?
posted by crazy finger at 1:56 PM PST - 2 comments

Regarding rodeo: How do they make bulls angry enough to want to kick and jump and run around to get a guy off his back? Specific method or general torture?
posted by bob sarabia at 1:17 PM PST - 12 comments

What is triggering these odd Google ads? The CMS question below is 3/4ths right-wing ads, the LiveJournal question is employment misconduct ads, the 55-65 yo question is all global warming. Any thoughts what words are triggering each of those?
posted by davebug at 1:01 PM PST - 2 comments

Is it possible to migrate data between any two of the most popular open source CMS systems? {The reasons for this rather odd request follow} [more inside]
posted by signal at 12:42 PM PST - 5 comments

I've got a journal in LiveJournal that I want to download to my home computer prior to deleting. The tool on the LiveJournal site will do this, but only one month at a time. Is there any tool that can handle more than a single month? I'd prefer the XML format, since I might want to do something with them at a later date.
posted by tommasz at 12:16 PM PST - 2 comments

Where are all the 55-65 year-old people? [more inside]
posted by luser at 11:49 AM PST - 22 comments

So it came to pass and I got my Treo 600. I've been using AOL 3.2.1 for Palm for a couple of weeks but now it won't let me log on to my master screen name. I'm apparently not alone on this, as discussed on this message board. AOL is not responding. Does anybody know of a fix? Thanks for your time. [more inside]
posted by azul at 10:24 AM PST - 3 comments

Queuing posts on Movable Type 2.63. I'm going away for a week; what can I do to queue posts on my blog, scheduling one to automatically be published each day? [more inside]
posted by Marquis at 9:05 AM PST - 8 comments

Javascript quandry. I'm tasked with the unenviable task of implementing another designers web design for one of my clients. In order to make the maintenance of the site easier to handle, I'm putting most of the navigational elements in a single document that will be server-side included. The fiddley bit is that the design calls for the navigational element for the particular page to be highlighted for that particular page. So if I'm on the CONTACT page, the menu element for CONTACT is highlighted. This would be easy enough to handle if the code for each page were a part of each page, but because I'm using a common file, it makes it trickier. (more inside) [more inside]
posted by crunchland at 8:37 AM PST - 8 comments

What is a "Remander Mark"? I recently purchased a book on Amazon.ca and paid a ridiculously low price for a book with a Remander Mark. Now looking at the book the only thing I can see is someone made a line with a marker through the UPC code.
posted by smcniven at 7:40 AM PST - 11 comments

My parents recently gave me $400 as a present, with the express condition that I use it to buy something (which means I can't save or invest it). Originally, they were going to get me an iPod, but I already have one. I'm thinking about a digital camera, so my question is: Does anyone have any suggestions for a good camera, or perhaps some other neat electronic gadget, in this price range?
posted by thewittyname at 7:17 AM PST - 19 comments

What are some good examples of posting documents of varying shapes, styles, length and layouts (in this case menus) online. I'm thinking pdf -- but is there a way to do that free?
posted by TurkishGolds at 7:02 AM PST - 6 comments

The other night at work, I was the only employee to be approached by a recruiter for the pyramid scheme company Primerica. Should I be flattered that he thought I had incredible customer service and sales skills, or insulted that he thought I looked like the biggest sucker?
posted by circe at 5:40 AM PST - 7 comments

"If you keep cracking your knuckles, you'll get arthritis when you're older." Is that actually true? Is there any risk for compulsive knuckle-crackers?
posted by sailoreagle at 4:35 AM PST - 15 comments

I want to add xml formatting tags to an input string in flash. [more inside]
posted by FidelDonson at 12:37 AM PST - 2 comments

Me, I'm looking at Norway...any tips?
posted by rushmc at 12:08 AM PST - 14 comments

Inspired by the Oregon thread below: how hard is it to get publishing work in Glasgow?
posted by dame at 9:22 PM PST - 5 comments

Oregon Is it nice? I fancy living in the US, and those spooky coincidence things are pointing to Oregon. [>>] [more inside]
posted by bonaldi at 8:34 PM PST - 35 comments

OlympicFilter: Why is everything in English? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 8:06 PM PST - 23 comments

US Visas: A friend of mine from the Philippines wants to get a US entry visa (B2). The paperwork isn't entirely byzantine, but she's fairly intemidated by the interview process. Can any non-American, non-visa-waivered Mefites provide some insight on the process?
posted by nathan_teske at 7:25 PM PST - 2 comments

ObfuscationFilter: I know putting a unobfuscated email address on your website is a bad idea these days, mmmkay. So I was wondering how can I put my email address on my website without being spammed to hell and back.
posted by keswick at 6:53 PM PST - 15 comments

Inspired by this thread, I find myself wondering, which pr0n movies are your favorite?
posted by Stynxno at 6:49 PM PST - 19 comments

I have recently found that bit torrents are great once you haven't got a cap on your monthly bandwidth. I have found a couple of great sites for previously bootlegged shows, but what other sites can my fellow Mefites recommend?

(I would be happy to share the sites I do have inside if they are wanted!)
posted by Richat at 6:34 PM PST - 13 comments

So the US basketball team got handed it's hide by the Puerto Ricans.

My question, and of course I understand many of the complex issues surrounding the soverignty of the territory, is...why are they allowed to have their own team? I mean, the guys on the PR team that just pummeled the dreamies are all US citizens, right?

What's the rule?
posted by milkman at 6:13 PM PST - 14 comments

I recently purchased an ethernet card for my laptop. It's not working. (MI) [more inside]
posted by chiababe at 4:05 PM PST - 8 comments

I've suddenly decided that I am on the verge of diving headfirst into the murky waters of medium format photography. Any of you have any favourite cameras? Favourite brands? Favourite filmstocks? Rest assured, I will not be shooting weddings or yearbook portraits.
posted by nylon at 3:19 PM PST - 22 comments

Can anyone recommend a good book on US demographics? Ideally, I'd like an overview of major demographic trends, with engaging vignettes demonstrating the impact on individual communities etc etc. I'm especially interested in the geography / demographics intersection - how is the population distribution changing? Who's going where?
posted by lbergstr at 2:39 PM PST - 9 comments

I'd like your desert island 5 on CD, DVD, and Books. I know that's sort of a nonsense request, but I'm deploying to a desert island (well there is a small town), and I have extra room in my seabag for a CD/DVD wallet and a few small paperbacks (summer year-round, don't have to bring my winter uniforms). Help a sailor out, genre's not important, as long as they're your best selections!
posted by tetsuo at 2:25 PM PST - 24 comments

I'm an IT guy. I have a dad who's less than brilliant with setting up routers, using routers, and "what the hell are they for anyway?" I'd love to spend hours telling him, but is there a site that shows a good generic way to set up standard home routers?
posted by wibbler at 2:02 PM PST - 5 comments

How much money do you need to make in a year before you have to start paying Federal income tax? Is there a magic number below which they just let you off the hook?
posted by scarabic at 11:40 AM PST - 8 comments

Baltimore/DCFilter -- Seems that I may have asked something like this before, but here goes anyway. I need a safe, comfortable, convenient hotel... [MI, of course.] [more inside]
posted by Dreama at 11:04 AM PST - 7 comments

I'm such a helpless human being. I need a leather planner to write down various things (meetings, important information, what VDs I have, etc.). This cost will be alleviated by my corporate sponsor. The question is now, being that I for some reason have an unnatural hate for PDAs... what do I get? So far the "Coach mini planner" looks like a good thing to get. Now I want to be able to retain semblences of my youth and wish not for the planner to reek of 50 year old man, suggestions? There seem to be so many choices both expensive (Versace, Louis Vuitton, Coach) and not so expensive but a lot more dorky ones (Franklin Convey). [more inside]
posted by geoff. at 9:26 AM PST - 7 comments

I'm looking for info on a print I recently bought at a yard sale. The print is of a surrealist ink drawing. The main subject of the drawing is the Palace Bathhouse in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It is signed as "Kahn '77". Does anyone have any idea who the artist is or has anyone seen this drawing before? It almost looks like an illustration from a book.
posted by ttrendel at 9:12 AM PST - 5 comments

What's the difference between Pop and Rock? [More Inside.] [more inside]
posted by grumblebee at 7:05 AM PST - 38 comments

AirPort problem: I just set up my new AirPort Express basestation, and, believe it or not, it doesn't work properly. more inside... [more inside]
posted by garethspor at 4:59 AM PST - 10 comments

Do you consider email—or at least some emails—to be letters? [more inside]
posted by kenko at 10:46 AM PST - 37 comments

As an extra source of income I'm thinking of becoming a mystery shopper and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of this and could recommend good companies to work for in the UK.
posted by feelinglistless at 8:08 AM PST - 7 comments

On car radios (in the UK - and possibly other countries too) there is an option for "Loud". Which, it seems, just makes the sound... well, louder. What's the point of it?
posted by wibbler at 7:18 AM PST - 19 comments

tax question for a north american.

i have someone who has done odd "stuff" for me (and others) in the usa and, for fairly obvious reasons (more inside) he doesn't want to talk to his employer's accountants about his extra income. [more inside]
posted by andrew cooke at 6:20 AM PST - 11 comments

I'll probably be in Chicago by myself for a couple days at the end of the month. I'm 21, broke, and not particularly good at talking to people I don't know. Stuff to do? [more inside]
posted by Tlogmer at 4:58 AM PST - 19 comments

Saabfilter

Any saab mechanics or semi experienced shade tree mechanics in the green audience today?

Need some advice...more inside... [more inside]
posted by damnitkage at 3:32 AM PST - 6 comments

Just got me a new Zire 31, and anticipating a long wait for delayed flights at Dulles today, I'd like your recommendations for good PalmOS games to download. [More inside.] [more inside]
posted by brownpau at 12:35 AM PST - 15 comments

My computer is driving me nuts! Something about it is extremely broken, because it's wildly unstable. [more inside]
posted by kenko at 7:07 PM PST - 21 comments

Dedicated Mac user needs to perform Wintel-only dev work, needs new laptop. Thinkpad, or iBook/Powerbook? [more inside]
posted by mwhybark at 5:06 PM PST - 16 comments

ChairFilter: I can't get work done at home, partly because my cheap chairs suck. Ergo, it is probably worth investing in a good office chair for home. But what? [more inside]
posted by namespan at 3:35 PM PST - 13 comments

Some punks nailed the passenger window on my Jeep early Thursday morning in an effort to get to the stereo... [more inside]
posted by cinematique at 3:27 PM PST - 14 comments

Does anyone have any recommendations for Windows installer systems (InstallShield, etc.)? I'm specifically interested in multiple component rollout and autoupdate functions.
posted by jeb at 3:15 PM PST - 3 comments

Yep, I've got a slight strain in my shoulder, which is bad. What's worse is that I'm moving tomorrow, so I'll need to be lifting lots of heavy things. Preamble aside: how do you treat a sore shoulder? Heat? Ice? Aspirin? What works best for you?
posted by .kobayashi. at 2:22 PM PST - 13 comments

Where did you meet the one you love?
posted by the fire you left me at 2:07 PM PST - 94 comments

What's a good wedding present for a young person? [MI] [more inside]
posted by sid at 1:41 PM PST - 28 comments

My wife and I are planning a 10-12 day trip to Italy in late Sept. and are looking for advice. We are torn between a guided tour-type trip where the majority is planned out for you or just getting tickets and hotel rooms and making the plans while we are there. Any advice or experience? [more inside]
posted by Wallzatcha at 1:19 PM PST - 21 comments

On behalf of a colleague, I need to find two separate things: a competent Windows tech support person to do a one-off job, and a very patient person or organization to give two middle-aged academics thorough sessions on how to use a computer. Both in Knoxville. A web search turns up hundreds of hits, but I need a personal recommendation or connection here to insure some level of reliability and skill. [more inside]
posted by Mo Nickels at 11:35 AM PST - 3 comments

Multi-page tiffs: I'm currently working on a project which involves scanning letters from microfilm onto a laptop. We save letters with more than one page as multi-page tiffs for logistics reasons. What I'm wondering is if there is a way to edit the individual pages after the fact (cropping, brightness, contrast etc. basic stuff)? Preferably free/inexpensive software.
posted by normal_molly at 11:29 AM PST - 2 comments

Which nationwide dial-up ISP has the best coverage / most access numbers? I’m heading on a trip across the northern half of America and back through the south, and I need internet access for my laptop. SBC has quite a few. What are some other choices?
posted by letitrain at 10:05 AM PST - 17 comments

Home wireless setup: why does my signal speed vary? [mi] [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:44 AM PST - 10 comments

Is it ok to talk to someone on the phone while using the bathroom? [more inside]
posted by ChasFile at 9:37 AM PST - 77 comments

As a follow up to this thread a while back, I'm now trying to find a copy of this CD (more inside) [more inside]
posted by quibx at 8:50 AM PST - 4 comments

Sometimes I like goofy fun music, songs with a sense of humor, music that occasionally kinda makes fun of itself. Stuff like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and The Men in Black by the Stranglers (especially Waltz in Black) and Klark Kent and TMBG. Does anyone have any suggestions for groups in a slightly similar vein? [more inside]
posted by Shane at 8:35 AM PST - 36 comments

How do I send a text message to someone if I know their cell phone number but not the carrier?
posted by smackfu at 8:06 AM PST - 24 comments

Programming languages: I'd like to take up programming as a hobby, with an eye towards evaluating it as a career choice. What language should I learn? [more inside]. [more inside]
posted by gd779 at 7:52 AM PST - 28 comments

I really love using Firefox instead of IE as my browser, but I'm having problems with Firefox at work. About half the time I try to use it at work, it won't load anything. It tells me that the page timed out. Whenever this happens, I have to browse with IE instead until Firefox starts working again, several minutes later. I have no problems with Firefox at home. I've heard this is a firewall-related issue, but I don't really understand. Is there a way to fix this?
posted by Tin Man at 7:16 AM PST - 11 comments

Is there an open-source web app that's anything like Google News -- ie. groups news stories by similarity?
posted by reklaw at 12:17 AM PST - 3 comments

Contact management software filter. Help me find the perfect program, inside. [more inside]
posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:04 PM PST - 7 comments

I am thinking about donating my kidney but I'm about 100lbs overweight and probably a doctor would say I'm closer to 150lbs overweight. Does anyone know how fit one has to be (should be...) to donate a kindey and 1) the kidney be healthy, and 2) for me to remain healthy? Other thoughts to consider for being overweight and interested in being a donor would be appreciated too.
posted by pwb503 at 10:35 PM PST - 12 comments

Years ago I swear that I saw a tv special for The Empire Strikes Back where it made it seem that the empire had taken over my tv signal. Please tell and prove to me that I'm not hallucinating this.
posted by graventy at 9:46 PM PST - 3 comments

I want to start doing some volunteer work. Can anyone give me some suggestions as to organizations or causes? My preferences are that it’s something in Toronto, that it’s political or sociological in nature, that it’s project-oriented rather than long-term, and that it involves meeting lots of people.
posted by orange swan at 8:27 PM PST - 8 comments

Credit card fraud.... [more inside]
posted by skwm at 6:30 PM PST - 10 comments

Can you think of any emotionally-involving videogames? Games where you develop an emotional bond for the characters, and have an emotional investment in the outcome of the story? Has a game ever made you cry? [more inside]
posted by waxpancake at 4:23 PM PST - 82 comments

MS Conspiracy Filter: Just installed XP SP2--which adds "pop-up blocking" to IE--and all of a sudden the pop-up blocking feature built into Firefox turns off every time I restart the app. Is anyone else seeing this? [little bit more inside] [more inside]
posted by LairBob at 4:08 PM PST - 8 comments

CDex question. I'm liking it in all regards, but still banging my head over one convenience feature. Isn't there a way to get it to encode a CD as MP3s, and drop the MP3s into a folder with the artist or album title? All I can get it to do is dump MP3 files into its generic "output" folder, and it's slowing down my mass ripping. Help a stupid CDex newbie!
posted by scarabic at 4:02 PM PST - 2 comments

Finding music like other bands.... [more inside]
posted by benjh at 3:43 PM PST - 10 comments

Windows XP: How can I migrate a user's regsitry settings (NTUSER.DAT) from one install to another? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by kjh at 3:02 PM PST - 3 comments

The latest version of ReverseConnect uses IEC Standard Binary Prefixes (kibi-, mebi-, gibi-, etc.). Are there other examples of software, websites or other media that are adopting this less ambiguous usage?
posted by signal at 2:57 PM PST - 8 comments

Lens Block on digital Minolta Dimage 7i needs to be replaced. [more inside]
posted by Feisty at 1:37 PM PST - 6 comments

I'm looking for an external hard drive that I will use to backup my personal computer. What should I buy? [more inside]. [more inside]
posted by gd779 at 1:31 PM PST - 11 comments

Is there anything I can do to make my laptop battery last longer? I've had two HP laptops, and within months the batteries in both of them stopped holding a full charge. Presently, the icon indicates a fully charged battery, but when I unplug the laptop the battery dies within 30 minutes. Is this an HP specific problem? Is there a "better" kind of battery I can buy?
posted by Harvey Birdman at 12:34 PM PST - 10 comments

Metafilter braintrust: Is there a site I can go to and enter an artist/group of artists and get recommendations based on my listening preferences? Something a little less retail oriented (ahem: Amazon). Thanks!
posted by omidius at 12:20 PM PST - 11 comments

iPod Mini question: I've checked AskMe archives and asked this on Apple's discussion board, to no avail. How can I get the Mini to talk to the PC using FireWire? [MI] [more inside]
posted by nickmark at 12:08 PM PST - 1 comment

Is it legal to sell your vote in the United States? Since I don't care all THAT much who's president, and I live in a swing state, I was thinking of auctioning my vote off, or forming a syndicate with like-minded citizens to auction our votes en bloc. I mean, either party would get bigger bang for their buck buying 100,000 votes outright for $6 million, than spending the equivalent on hit-or-miss TV advertising. [more inside]
posted by Faze at 11:38 AM PST - 26 comments

Adobe After Affects Vs. Flash. Which would be better to learn from scratch to create animation for broadcast?
posted by drezdn at 10:56 AM PST - 8 comments

Can anyone recommend a small business lawyer in the Chicago area? Downtown is preferable. Also, does anyone have any idea of what basic services of starting a business through a lawyer would cost? Ballpark figure?
posted by agregoli at 9:13 AM PST - 9 comments

Ecommerce filter: Here at work we are attempting to understand/define the default business rules for taxation calculations within an ecommerce app. Specifically we are all tied up in knots over the application of rates, reporting issues, etc. Is there an industry standard for handling this aspect of a transaction? Who defines the standards, and how can I find out more about it?
posted by lilboo at 8:31 AM PST - 2 comments

My wife received a survey from the National Republican Congressional Committee which she doesn't want to fill out. She's given the okay to fill it out, but do I REALLY want to do that? [mi] [more inside]
posted by grefo at 8:02 AM PST - 26 comments

Sensorfilter: my digital camera's media card door sensor thinks it's open, even when it's closed. Has anyone ever disabled one of these things? The door stays closed just fine, just the camera doesn't think so.
posted by britain at 5:29 AM PST - 3 comments

DecoratorEyeFilter: what can I do about my bathroom? The pro is that the house is 50-ish years old and the wall and floor tiles are actual ceramic. The con is that they're PINK. Can anyone suggest some miraculous color for the non-tile walls above waist height that will reduce the atrociousness of PINK? I have considered grey, as one of the worst villains in the Rex Stout detective stories had an underground bunker/office with grey-stained wood panel walls and pink indirect lighting around the ceiling, but for all I know this color combo was chosen to show how warped and evil mr. villain was. Also, the way it's described, mr. villain's pink was a lot more subdued than the PINK I have to face each morning. Plaster and shower curtain are just white now. Should I just grit my teeth and live with it? The preferred solution (ripping everything out and re-doing it) is not a financial option. Hoping for a stroke of genius from of the many geniuses who hang out here. Thanks!
(PS, yes I also considered black, sorry, I'm chicken.)
posted by jfuller at 5:15 AM PST - 24 comments

I recently heard a song at a friend's friend's place that I was told was a Sasha/Digweed remix of some unknown Future Sounds of London track. Any search engines where I can find out all songs by X remixed/used by Y?
posted by Gyan at 1:24 AM PST - 8 comments

I'm not usually a big hip-hop fan, but a buddy's got me listening to Immortal Technique, and I'm really enjoying it. So my question is, what music do you people have that's like this stuff?
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:20 AM PST - 11 comments

Has anyone used USCIS' new InfoPass program to receive their green card? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by the biscuit man at 10:38 PM PST - 5 comments

TENTS - tell me what you know about tents. I am looking for a good 2-person, 3 season tent that won't break the bank. [specifics inside] [more inside]
posted by Hackworth at 9:57 PM PST - 26 comments

Are there any good resources for searching United States Supreme Court Cases by which law was being challanged? Has the SC ever said a law banning interracial marriage is unconstitutional and on what grounds? (Hopefully an answers to the first question would allow me to answer the second on my own.)
posted by Apoch at 9:44 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm in the market for a TiVo recorder. Should I pay the $299 one time fee or pay the $12.95 monthly subscription fee? Common sense says that if I have it for at least two years that the lump sum is the way to go, but I'm afraid that in that amount of time, TiVos will have gone the way of the MiniDisc. Should I have asked this question two years ago?
posted by ColdChef at 7:03 PM PST - 10 comments

I'm trying to describe a t-shirt to someone - I remember seeing around when I was a kid (in the '70s), but I cannot find a picture of it anywhere on this webernet thing. It was something like an eagle swooping down on a mouse or some other small animal, which was defiantly giving the eagle the finger. It may have also had some appropirately pithy saying associated with the image. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
posted by majcher at 6:57 PM PST - 8 comments

How do I merge an .m2v video file and a .wav sound file into a single, coherent MPG2 file? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by scarabic at 6:24 PM PST - 12 comments

I am bored to tears, need a life, please help [OMI]. [more inside]
posted by tristeza at 6:14 PM PST - 57 comments

He was heavily involved in the underground cassette/home taping movement of the mid to late eighties, releasing scores of solo and collaborative experimental recordings. Now he's apparently silent. Anyone know what became of Minoy? The Google cupboard is pretty bare.
posted by davebush at 5:13 PM PST - 3 comments

Among musicians making more than a few bucks from patriotic songs (like Toby Keith and the current lineup of Lynyrd Skynyrd), who are actually veterans of the US military? [more inside]
posted by mischief at 4:18 PM PST - 12 comments

I just added Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction with the orig artwork but the vinyl seems dirty and sounds bad. Does anyone have any preferences or suggestions for a good record cleaner?
posted by BMF at 2:28 PM PST - 13 comments

It would be nice if there was some favelet, firefox extension, or web-based app that would 1) scrape an html page for all the spans and ids on the page 2) compare this list to the stylesheet and 3) point out the elements that aren't in use any longer.

I haven't found anything like this, and I'm wondering if anyone else has.
posted by jragon at 2:04 PM PST - 7 comments

I've committed myself to raising a not-so-small chunk of change for charity, so I'm looking for some good fundraising ideas.... (more inside) [more inside]
posted by dicaxpuella at 1:29 PM PST - 11 comments

OOPFilter - How do you decide when to use a Collection of Objects with Properties vs. one Object containing a Collection for each Property? [mi] [more inside]
posted by badstone at 1:23 PM PST - 24 comments

htaccess, SSI, and PHP parsing. Can one file get both php and ssi parsing? if yes, how, if not, help! [*]
posted by gramcracker at 12:17 PM PST - 10 comments

I'm making a cd of awful "romantic" songs. Please suggest titles in the vein of Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" and Patrick Swayze's "She's Like The Wind."
posted by Mayor Curley at 11:28 AM PST - 72 comments

It's time to retire! So what are the ins and outs of buying new tires for my car? To me, one tire pretty much looks like another, and aside from "high performance" and "retreads," I don't really know what makes one tire better than another.
posted by crunchland at 11:18 AM PST - 19 comments

To continue the 'bag' threads...

I realize that there have been threads before about briefcases, but my needs are slightly different and I want to see if I get different responses. I'm looking for a small leather soft-sided briefcase, but I can't find one I like. [more inside]
posted by SpecialK at 11:15 AM PST - 7 comments

I need a new camera bag. I don't want a huge blocky "traditional" one, just one big enough for my SLR, a lens or two, and perhaps things like wallet, keys, cellphone, etc. (I don't want to have to carry my purse and my camera bag at the same time). Ideally a backpack or shoulder bag or something of that easy-to-carry nature, it should be fairly inconspicuous (i.e. doesn't scream "LOOK! I'M A CAMERA BAG!!!") and reasonably attractive. It should be well-built and padded enough to protect my precious camera. Suggestions?
posted by biscotti at 10:24 AM PST - 13 comments

My backpack is falling apart and I don't think I want another one, but I do need some kind of handy bag to carry around my sunglasses, phone, books, checkbook, snacks and so on. I don't think I can take myself seriously with a me-too bike messenger bag, though I'm not sure what my options are. Anyone have a cool bag they use for hiking around town?
posted by dhoyt at 10:13 AM PST - 21 comments

Compare and contrast Camino and Firefox for OSX. What are the key differences? How are they similar? Which would do you prefer?
posted by mhaw at 9:05 AM PST - 10 comments

Do you work from home? How'd you get that gig? I'm an experienced Unix SysAdmin and most of what I do could easily be done remotely. I'm looking to move back west next year and would like to live farther out from a city center then I'd like to commute each day, so I'd like to find a job that would allow me to work home most of the time. Do people get hired into jobs like that or is it something that has to grow out of an existing job?
posted by dirtylittlemonkey at 8:33 AM PST - 7 comments

A friend of mine is planning a trip to B.C. in September. She and her husband will be doing the "circle tour" in British Columbia which has them travelling north from Vancouver to Powell River, taking the ferry to Comox and then heading south on Vancouver Island to Victoria (with a detour over to Ucluelet for whale watching). Her agenda in Vancouver (spending time with party hardy Grandma-in-law and her much younger boyfriend) and in Sechelt (kayaking) is pretty well arranged. However, she'd be most appreciative of any suggestions for what to see and do and eat between Sechelt and Victoria. They do not have time to do detours to the Gulf Islands due to time and relative-visiting contraints.
posted by orange swan at 8:27 AM PST - 4 comments

Can the Internet introduce typos into a text-only email? >> [more inside]
posted by luser at 7:30 AM PST - 13 comments

Can anyone recommend a good webmeeting software for webcam-conferencing? There's tons of them out there, but I'd like a freeware one that's capable of handling more than two users at the same time, point-to-point (not via some server, due to lagging issues). iVisit is great, but will only accept two users in freeware version. As an extra challenge, it needs to be compatible with Linux and XP. Go geeks, go!
posted by NekulturnY at 6:44 AM PST - 2 comments

Can you all suggest a good movie that involves cars or car racing? Please think "good plotting and suspenseful" rather than "artistic and profound". I'm trying to select a present for my brother, who is a mechanic and trucker, and he thinks Smokey and the Bandit is the best movie ever made.
posted by orange swan at 6:25 AM PST - 65 comments

Which somewhat mature, moderately used RSS readers are under the most active development? [more inside]
posted by effugas at 4:59 AM PST - 6 comments

Mac Suggestions Filter

I was given a powerpc 6500. Seems to work fine. Doesn't have much in the way of software on it and I understand I can't upgrade to osx on this machine. What should I do with it? I'd like to keep around for something...suggestions? [more inside]
posted by damnitkage at 3:58 AM PST - 11 comments

Will future politicians have to explain their Web past [MI]? [more inside]
posted by Masi at 3:08 AM PST - 6 comments

I remember seeing a site a few years ago about a way to actually plan and grow a house using real, live trees planted strategically in the ground. There was a way the limbs were interwoven or something and it was pretty involved. This, obviously, was supposed to be a long-term project. I don't remember many details, except that I thought it was interesting at the time. Recently I've searched, but can't find anything about it. Maybe I'm not using the right search terms or maybe I just dreamed it. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?
posted by wsg at 12:10 AM PST - 7 comments

Isn't there a site or application which can monitor the times at which your chat/ messenger contacts are online? I've done some serious Googling and MeFi searching on this but have turned up nothing, so maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing.
posted by skylar at 10:22 PM PST - 4 comments

Where can I find a copy of Lou Reed's video for "No Money Down?" It's the one where halfway through the video, Lou turns out to be a robot and starts tearing himself apart. Freaked me out as a kid, and I'd love to see it again, in whatever format might be available. [more inside]
posted by nixxon at 8:59 PM PST - 8 comments

Here's what I think will be a softball question: My iTunes auto-opens several times each day. I've looked in the HELP section, scanned for some sort of OPTIONS feature, but I'm drawing blanks. Why does it auto-open, and how can I stop it? Thanks (no more inside).
posted by davidmsc at 8:41 PM PST - 13 comments

I just installed floating engineered floors downstairs. There is apparently a fairly substantial but narrow depression in the middle of the room, which I missed when checking the floor. How can I fix this now that the floor is laid? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by RustyBrooks at 6:25 PM PST - 9 comments

Recommendations for movers in NYC? [more inside]
posted by Vidiot at 6:25 PM PST - 11 comments

I am planning on going to a concert at the American Airlines center in Dallas, TX and the concert is listed as in the round. What does "in the round" mean?
posted by busboy789 at 6:24 PM PST - 8 comments

I need a really basic web application that functions similar to a blog system but isn't. All I want is to create a single page with a question to which I will invite people to respond. I've considered using a wiki, but I don't want anyone to be able to edit anyone elses response. I'd also like to be able to sort responses based on a few required fields (but this isn't essential). I can just create a second Wordpress install with only 1 post, but that seems like overkill. [more inside]
posted by Grod at 6:17 PM PST - 5 comments

I'm starting practice for the awful, awful GRE and I wondering if anyone knew of any FREE full-length GRE exams online or on CD-ROM. I understand that it's all on computer now, so the books i have out from the library probably aren't as good of practice as they could be.
posted by Slimemonster at 5:58 PM PST - 13 comments

Weapon Notepad of choice. I'm looking for a new notepad replacement for Windows, something with a good looking and customizable GUI and can open fairly large files; syntax highlighting is optional. I've been using the freeware version of EditPad for the last few years as my daily scratch pad. What would you recommend? And on a tanget, what text pads do people on other platforms swear by?
posted by phyrewerx at 5:25 PM PST - 36 comments

Catalog spam. I ordered a bed frame online, and was pleased with the result. Since then, however, I've been getting a catalog of some sort or another (Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Linens & Things, etc) almost every day - sometimes more than one. It's driving me crazy. Is there anything I can do short of changing address?
posted by aladfar at 5:11 PM PST - 4 comments

What's the best way to catalog my physical music collection using Mac OS X? [more inside]
posted by boost ventilator at 4:32 PM PST - 12 comments

I am 30 years old and have been living in beautiful Bermuda for 4 years. I work as a computer analyst, have a good amount of money saved, and I am entirely single. Problem is, I am now ready to settle down, but a small island like this doesn't lend itself very well to meeting compatible single women who aren't tourists. If I was in love, I would stay in Bermuda as long as immigration laws would let me. I have been thinking about moving somewhere in which I can sustain my outstanding lifestyle ( think laid back, friendly people, beautiful landscape, great money ), while at the sametime increasing the likelihood of meeting / getting to know that special someone ( think hot, smart, down-to-earth, worldly ). I consider the world my oyster. I like small towns and big cities alike. Where should I consider living?
posted by jasondigitized at 4:10 PM PST - 24 comments

I've got US $1200 to spend on a new notebook. I'm not a gamer; just a college student who surfs the web, watches movies, listens to music, and does some programming. Care to point me in the right direction?
posted by Scottk at 4:00 PM PST - 7 comments

This probably won't generate as many responses as this AskMeFi thread, but it inspired me to ask: What Broadway/Off-Broadway musicals, or scenes from musicals, make you break down and bawl? Even if they're performed by amateur groups (high schools, community theatre, summer camp)? Especially if they're performed by amateur groups? [more inside]
posted by Asparagirl at 3:34 PM PST - 17 comments

['PooterFilter] So I've put Win 2k Server on my laptop, and now the sound card clicks/skips. I'm not getting anywhere with this problem. Any ideas? [mi] [more inside]
posted by dodgygeezer at 2:12 PM PST - 6 comments

Microsoft Script Debugger - Has anyone actually gotten this thing to work properly? I've got some JavaScript (that I didn't write) that is completely bisbehaving in IE (although it produces no errors...it works fine in FireFox, so my usual line of attack doesn't work). I've used the View | Script Debugger | Break at Next Statement and then refreshed the page. It opens the debugger app but doesn't open any source files and it most certainly doesn't break. Has anyone seen this behavior and overcome it?
posted by mmascolino at 2:02 PM PST - 4 comments

The States List Puzzle: It's only just over half way through the list [of 48? 50? states] on the website, and the google answers (post one / post two) haven't completed the puzzle.
Worse, the list hasn't been updated in a year - so what gives? Is it a hoax? What of the money donated to charity? I know this has been posted to Mefi before, but it doesn't show on search....
posted by dash_slot- at 12:58 PM PST - 6 comments

Does anyone here have more than two Bachelor's degrees? If so, why did you get your second, and did you simply need to complete your major coursework or did you have to do the complete 60 hours/second two years?
posted by tetsuo at 12:51 PM PST - 17 comments

My crappy Epson inkjet printer crapped out. What's the best way to unclog it? [MI] [more inside]
posted by swift at 12:43 PM PST - 8 comments

What would the optimal video card be for a P3 700Mhz system running ArcView/GIS and AutoCAD?
Also, would you choose a different video card for those apps than you would for gaming, and why? [more inside]
posted by gnz2001 at 11:05 AM PST - 8 comments

I have a friend who's developing an application that solves a board game via visual recognition of the current state of the board. The image is captured via a webcam, and he's currently in the midst of discovering that the quality of the image (or specifically, the color and white balance) acquired by CMOS-based webcams is just subpar. Can anyone recommend a decent, inexpensive (less than $75, perhaps?) CCD-based webcam?
posted by delfuego at 10:53 AM PST - 9 comments

Hot Wheels!
When I was a kid, I forever played with the Hot Wheels plastic tracks that click together. The tracks also had loop de loop and corner accessories. It was fun, because not only could you run your cars on it, but it was also like Legos. Building your track down the stairs and racing your cars down it. Just hours and hours of fun. Fast forward, many years later, I now have young children, and I would like to get them the same thing. I've looked in quite a few toy stores and on eBay, and mostly what I find is one piece items that require no assembly, or just small lots on eBay. If you've played with them you know what I mean, the tracks had a tongue that slipped into the groove of the next track. Does anyone know where I can find this? Do they still make them? [more inside]
posted by patrickje at 8:57 AM PST - 13 comments

i have a meeting in tucson, az, until friday 6pm, 22 oct. i need to be in pasadena, ca, by 9am next sunday (24th), so have the saturday free. i like travelling by bus/coach during the day (staring out of the window calms me ;o), but geyhound schedules seem to be overnight for tucson-pasadena. is there somewhere i could get to from tucson on friday evening, stay in a hotel there, and travel on to pasadena next day? i could fly, but would prefer to see something on the way, don't drive and know nothing about america... any other solutions? thanks.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:09 AM PST - 21 comments

Buying a condominium vs. buying a co-operative apartment. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Cyrie at 6:41 AM PST - 8 comments

Email disclaimers - is there any point in having an email disclaimer? Is it legally binding? Is it merely a waste of bandwidth and brainpower? [more inside]
posted by BigCalm at 6:29 AM PST - 19 comments

What do I do with my old cassette tapes? [MI] [more inside]
posted by emptybowl at 6:01 AM PST - 21 comments

I went to buy a Mtn. Dew before work last night. The first bottle I picked up had a blue cap, I thought it was a new game. Turns out that it is actually a Sierra Mist with a Mtn Dew lable on the bottle from the factory. What should I do with it, I just had to buy it.
posted by chiababe at 4:29 AM PST - 17 comments

I just watched Schindler's List and it made me cry like a frickin' baby. What other movie's make even the stounchest heart break into uncontrollable sobbing?
posted by jmd82 at 10:39 PM PST - 160 comments

I want a free piece of software that can recognize songs (mostly from mix cds) from iTunes and query CDDB for them. Google has failed me. I seem to recall seeing something on MeFi about it, but searching brings up nothing. Help!
posted by amandaudoff at 9:02 PM PST - 3 comments

I've always been attracted to Buddhism - and as I'm now 3 days without cigarettes, a philosophy that tells me that the problem is in the craving, not in the thing craved makes a lot of sense. I've just read this and found it a great help - now how do I make the step from an intellectual understanding of the ideas to starting to practice? I live in London, if it helps.
posted by calico at 8:50 PM PST - 29 comments

What's the best book to buy for learning Flash? [more inside]
posted by grrarrgh00 at 8:44 PM PST - 6 comments

“People are persuaded more by the depth of your conviction than by the height of your logic--more by your own enthusiasm than by any proof you offer.”

Really?
posted by BlueTrain at 7:07 PM PST - 20 comments

Help! Somebody in the office was working on a Word Perfect document and accidentally saved over the contents with a blank document. Google only provides info on corrupted or deleted files (without much info on Word Perect). It seems like this would be recoverable metadata, but I know nothing about Word Perfect. [more inside]
posted by ajr at 5:43 PM PST - 10 comments

MacSwitchFilter - I'm a long time PC user that just got a Mac. I really really miss my home and end keys! I used to use them constantly! Is there anyway to configure my Mac so that the press of the home key triggers an apple-left arrow event and the press of the end key triggers an apple-right arrow event so I can have my old buddies back? [more inside]
posted by badstone at 4:50 PM PST - 49 comments

Minor consent law (age?) for STD treatment in Oregon? [more inside]
posted by tristeza at 4:26 PM PST - 9 comments

Oil painting reproductions...

Although it's probably not the greatest piece of art by some of your standards, I have recently become interested in obtaining a print or reproduction of a Frederic Church landscape entitled "Aurora Borealis."

The interest came to me after my girlfriend bought me an interesting book on the Aurora and the Church painting was on the cover. I went online to see if there were any prints or oil reproductions and I found this one on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3527534910&category=20136

My question is as follows: I have never purchased things like this. First off, is the quality of such a reproduction any good? Considering there are no other options, I'm in a bind with that one. Another question, is the price fair? [more inside]
posted by crazy finger at 3:59 PM PST - 10 comments

Where could a young, devilishly handsome architect find free 3d models of office and residential buildings to download, preferably in 3ds or DXF format? [more inside]
posted by signal at 3:53 PM PST - 6 comments

I need new headphones. I use my mp3 player when I run, work out and at the office. Currently I use Sony headphones at work and Koss earbuds when I workout. The earbuds do not give me loud enough sound and they pop out. The Sonys don't give good quality sound either and they hurt my left ear.

I've been told that headphone/buds that go into your ear, instead of laying on top are better for good quality and loudness. Does anyone have any suggestions for really good headphones/buds that will stay on while running and exercising, as well as be comfortable enough to be worn all day? I'm willing to spend up to $75.
posted by Juicylicious at 3:52 PM PST - 14 comments

cellphonefilter: I recently purchased a Sony Ericsson T637, and was unhappy to find that it does not have a standard 2.5 mm headset adapter, but rather some proprietary thing. According to SE's site, my only choices are a few cheap earbud/dangly microphone sets or an expensive Bluetooth one. [contemplating my options inside] [more inside]
posted by rorycberger at 3:27 PM PST - 5 comments

IndependentContractorFilter: So I've landed a gig doing some contract programming, except we don't actually have a signed contract yet. Before I sink any more time (existing time being this afternoon) into it, and before I deliver anything, I want one, obviously. Does anyone know of any example programming contracts online I can crib from? All the obvious search words are so over-represented on the Web that my Google results are uselessly noisy.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:06 PM PST - 5 comments

Any free or cheap Spanish language lessons in New York? [reasons for miserliness inside] [more inside]
posted by madman at 2:33 PM PST - 6 comments

Anybody ever have a mirror resilvered? How much did you pay for what size? Is it something I can do myself? Is silver even used anymore?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:32 PM PST - 8 comments

MichiganFilter: Okay. My best friend in the whole world, his lovely wife, and my god daughter are moving next week to Ann Arbor... they'll be living on-campus while he pursues his doctorate (artificial intelligence/machine learning voodoo). I can't keep them here, so I thought that sending them off with a veritable treasure trove of Ann Arbor secrets would be a nice gift. So: what to do? where to go? where to eat? how to survive the winter? and anything else a young married couple with a toddler should know.

Thanks!
posted by silusGROK at 1:15 PM PST - 20 comments

I'm looking for a MIDI phrase sampler [detailed question inside] [more inside]
posted by cmonkey at 12:50 PM PST - 12 comments

What is the best alternative to GarageBand for the Windows side of the universe? [more inside]
posted by benjh at 10:58 AM PST - 10 comments

Electronics filter: Need to build something that'll light up different LEDs via radio frequency. Must be compact and battery powered. My electronics-fu is pretty good, but I'm not sure it's this good... [mi] [more inside]
posted by SpecialK at 10:36 AM PST - 17 comments

Postgraduate qualifications in International Relations by distance learning: does anyone know of any good schools or courses, I'm thinking probably MSc rather than PhD. Also any experiences with distrance learning gratefully appreciated
posted by dmt at 10:12 AM PST - 5 comments

The Koko the gorilla post in the blue reminded me of a video I saw on the internet about a year ago. I've since lost the link. Basically, it's a chimpazee that wears a waistcoat and shorts, and does all sorts of human activities. The one I remember best was it kickstarting a kid's motorbike, and proceeding to ride around on it. It was amazing, i'd be so grateful if anyone could help me track it down again. [more inside]
posted by derbs at 9:54 AM PST - 4 comments

Laptop Music filter- Can you help me pick out a computer to make music on [mi]? [more inside]
posted by drezdn at 9:25 AM PST - 10 comments

CatFilter: My otherwise-healthy kitty has sporadic bouts of yakking his lunch. No hairballs involved. It only happens maybe one week out of the month, but it happens regularly. *Inmoreside.* [more inside]
posted by Shane at 9:16 AM PST - 23 comments

I'm thinking about buying a Mini Cooper. I test-drove one on a dry sunny day and loved it. But, I live in the Northeast, so I need to know: how do they handle in rain/snow/slush/ice?
posted by initapplette at 9:07 AM PST - 5 comments

What good blogging software exists that allows me to create multiple custom entry fields? MT and Textpattern seem to suggest that future versions may have this feature, but is there anything that currently does this easily?
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:58 AM PST - 11 comments

When was the Wall Street panic that Wallstreet Panic Snopes is named after? 1893 seems too early.
posted by kenko at 8:27 AM PST - 1 comment

What was your LSAT score?
posted by the fire you left me at 7:23 AM PST - 33 comments

SpeedingTicketFilter: I have a New Jersey License and I got a ticket in Maryland... [more inside]
posted by MsVader at 7:10 AM PST - 20 comments

So is there anywhere I can get my hands on the XP service pack release today? Without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to join the Microsoft club? I have a feeling it will be a mess, and I want to know what my friends and co-workers will be getting themselves into. Thanks for the help!
posted by loquax at 6:36 AM PST - 15 comments

I've got rather a lot of desktop wallpapers. Is there any nice (freeware) program I can use to automatically change these? I'm using Windows XP.
posted by stoneegg21 at 12:40 AM PST - 9 comments

Terrorism Question: I've heard repeatedly in the news and read in several news articles that terrorists are plotting against the United States in hopes of influencing the Presidential election. What does this mean, and how to they expect to influence it? [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by banished at 11:55 PM PST - 40 comments

Retired parents selling the homestead and buying an RVfilter... (mi) [more inside]
posted by TomSophieIvy at 11:38 PM PST - 2 comments

Suggested hotels in Vienna, Austria? Must be in the Ring, possibly hip/funky, not more than 125 euros/night. Prefer character over blandness, but definitely not looking for a hostel sort of experience.
posted by warhol at 11:25 PM PST - 3 comments

I design museum exhibits. Is there an off-the-shelf product that'll broadcast at least 4 channels to 20 or so headphones over a range of not more than a few hundred feet (or some variable distance)? Importantly, the headphones would allow the user to choose which channel to listen to. I'm looking for something far easier than setting up my own FM broadcast station...

There are things that get close, but I haven't seen a single solution that covers all the bases.
posted by warhol at 11:23 PM PST - 9 comments

Is it actually impossible to read text in a dream? [more inside]
posted by Krrrlson at 10:21 PM PST - 31 comments

Amazon question. I once read the Amazon Hacks book but I don't remember if it covers this one, or how to do it. I'd like to be able to link to specific items in my wishlist. I've found one trick but it relies on the item number. Since this number changes each time the wishlist is updated, any link made this way won't last long. SMI
posted by Grod at 9:33 PM PST - 3 comments

I'm looking for a book...[mi] [more inside]
posted by drezdn at 9:29 PM PST - 3 comments

Whats the soundtrack to your pity party? Every good masochist would rather hear depressing songs in their dark hours than be cheered up. What do you listen to when youre not quite here but you feel like you are?
posted by c at 9:28 PM PST - 60 comments

I'm having trouble with the concept that placenames aren't absolute. [more inside]
posted by Jeff Howard at 9:18 PM PST - 17 comments

Is there a shortcut or a teeny tiny lil app for Windows XP, that will let me put my PC monitor on standby with just one click. I don't want to turn the power off, just put it on standby.
posted by riffola at 6:49 PM PST - 17 comments

I've been thinking about orphans and I'd like more information—mostly first-hand anecdotal. But anything is fine. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 5:39 PM PST - 9 comments

I've heard stories about people I don't really know who land these great "event marketing" jobs. How does one go about getting a job where you get to travel from city to city promoting such-and-such a product? (i.e. driving the Red-Bull truck).
posted by TurkishGolds at 3:46 PM PST - 14 comments

I consider myself a reasonably good computer person, so the fact that I'm having this problem angers me. I'm working on a laptop for a friend -- a Toshiba Satellite 1805-S253 -- that runs Windows ME. When she gave it to me, it had a trivial problem with the Content Advisor, which I fixed; it also ran fine on a network. Now, 28 critical updates later, it runs fine off the network (which is the way she uses it), but the minute you plug a network cable into its built-in ethernet port and then try to run anything which uses the Windows Shell (e.g., Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, any open/save dialog box), it freezes solid, and you have to manually quit the Explorer process in order to recover it. I've tried everything -- deleted all the clients in the Network control panel, plugged it into three different Ethernet switches, updated every single driver and/or BIOS that I could, prayed to the Holy Gods Of Built-In Hardware -- to no avail. Any ideas?
posted by delfuego at 2:51 PM PST - 13 comments

Can I give an older motherboard a second chance? The long story is inside. [more inside]
posted by dual_action at 2:24 PM PST - 3 comments

Is there a way to make a Mac OS X (Panther) install CD from a pair of eMac Software Install and Restore DVDs or install the operating system over a network on a computer that lacks a DVD drive? [more inside]
posted by boost ventilator at 1:32 PM PST - 4 comments

I want to make cool interactive/artsy web pages for free. How? [more inside]
posted by andrew cooke at 12:31 PM PST - 16 comments

What can I read or watch to understand the political right or neo-liberalism? [MI] [more inside]
posted by BugsPotter at 11:56 AM PST - 7 comments

I have insomnia. Help! [MI] [more inside]
posted by aacheson at 11:08 AM PST - 36 comments

I'm on a fresh install of Firefox 0.9.3 and I'm frequently getting a line of black diamonds with white question marks inside of them when I load a page. Sometimes it just flashes and goes away and the page loads; other times, the page isn't loading at all. I've checked my settings and Googled it but can't figure out what this is. Been using Firefox for some time now and never seen this prior to this install. Any ideas?
posted by rushmc at 9:49 AM PST - 3 comments

What's a relatively easy way to script browser actions (events?) in Windows XP? (mi) [more inside]
posted by bingo at 7:15 AM PST - 12 comments

Can I please get a definitive ruling on White Castle "slider" vs. White Castle "slyder"? Google tells me it's "slider" but I don't think that's right.
posted by blueshammer at 6:48 AM PST - 11 comments

If we can have wireless voice communication and wireless data transfer, why can't we have wireless electric current?
posted by PrinceValium at 6:42 AM PST - 16 comments

DirectActionMicroCharityFilter: So I stumbled on this link and this link at craigslist. Then just above it is this link.

And then I think about the massive pile of books I need to go through and that I probably need to thin the herd - but I also think about the fact that most of the children's books I have are sentimental family gifts I'd be loath to part with for that reason alone, but certainly not any material value. (They're well-loved books, of course.)

And then I think about keeping this sort of thing in mind when I'm trawling thrift stores and garage sales.

And then I think "Hey, that'd make a great website! A place to exchange books! Locally even! Or a data-mining app that would automatically attempt to find matches!"

Punchline inside. [more inside]
posted by loquacious at 6:07 AM PST - 7 comments

I'm hoping to spend a few days in Glasgow in September but I'm hitting a wall in finding a hotel because of the cost hike due to the single supplement which in some cases is more than the actual cost of the room. Any singletons out there been to the city and stayed in a reasonably priced hotel?
posted by feelinglistless at 4:48 AM PST - 2 comments

I have a PC with WinXP Pro. She has an iBook with Mac OS X. Together they fight crime share a router. e:\ is where I shove all my porn music. How can I make this available to her to copy what she wants to her machine or her ipod?
posted by pieoverdone at 10:15 PM PST - 5 comments

My processor gets really hot [MI]. [more inside]
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 7:56 PM PST - 9 comments

Klutzyboyfriendfilter! My boyfriend dropped his 867Mhz G4 Powerbook and now it's busted. We're looking into repair options. [more] [more inside]
posted by jessamyn at 4:12 PM PST - 5 comments

On a whim, I'm driving from Milwaukee to San Francisco to Seattle and back to Milwaukee again. I'll be going through WI, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, and MN and am looking for some tips on sights I shouldn't miss. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by bakiwop at 3:29 PM PST - 21 comments

MeFi Font Patrol: I have taken on the task of updating this website, and I need the name of the font that was used in these menu images. (More inside.) [more inside]
posted by tweebiscuit at 3:18 PM PST - 15 comments

I have a dozen iMacs that I just upgraded to Panther. I want to set up the superuser account and then a limited rights login that can run only specific programs etc. I find all the configuration stuff nice and easy, but a fairly long process. In OS9 I couple copy the multiuser settings to CD and drag and drog the settings in the system folder. I can do a similar thing in OSX, can't I? If so, how?
posted by spartacusroosevelt at 12:46 PM PST - 1 comment

[Digiphotography] Is there a difference between a digital photo taken in an lossless file format such as uncompressed TIFF vs. RAW Format?
posted by Fupped Duck at 5:34 AM PST - 6 comments

Help me figure out this auction marketing thing.

I'm thinking about selling some items from a defunct tv show. Since the current market for the show appears slow on eBay, and its fanbase seems to be pretty scattered. Fanfic, episodes guides, FAQs, etc. but not much in the way of communities. So I'm not confident an auction would be noticed by interested collectors without spreading word of mouth. Is that how this works? And if so, are there generally-accepted ground rules for (tasteful, non-spammy ways of) putting the word out?
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 12:17 AM PST - 17 comments

I have recently developed an interest in Celtic (Irish/Celtic) and Welsh Mythology as well as in books like _The King of Elfland's Daughter_ by Dunsany and _The Once and Future King_ by TH White. Any reocmmendations for nonfiction that covers the mythology or fiction that uses it?
posted by Apoch at 10:05 PM PST - 14 comments

When reading David Foster Wallace, do you stop for every footnote, or read the piece all the way through and go back and read the footnotes later? Or are you too anti-hip cool to read David Foster Wallace¹? [more inside]
posted by alana at 8:20 PM PST - 56 comments

I'm compiling a disc of useful windows diagnostic and troubleshooting utilities for when I have to make house calls for friends and relatives. what are some maybe lesser known tools that you guys have found particularly useful? freeware would be nice, but not necessary.
posted by mcsweetie at 8:07 PM PST - 28 comments

I'd like to live in Europe. My wife is a 2nd generation Latvian and I recall reading about an "ancestral permanent residence" policy that affects the EU, of which Latvia is now a member. I know there have been several questions about living abroad, but I can't find this information. Can anybody help? [MI] [more inside]
posted by maniactown at 7:59 PM PST - 11 comments

My mother has gotten herself involved in this ACN thing, whose 'opportunity' page just stinks of pyramid scheme. (Her current significant other has history with another so-called 'internet business'.) I suppose I don't have a huge problem with this alone, but the pyramid effect has set in, and I'm now receiving calls applying not-so-subtle pressure to join in, help out, save on my bills, make money, the works. On top of this, she's also asking for contact info for friends, an obvious attempt at generating leads. So, two questions - first, I'm certain this ACN thing is a scam, and would like to show my mother this, but am having trouble finding concrete proof online... testimonials, news pieces, et cetera. Can someone assist me with this? And second, how do I tell my mother, in a respectful way, to lay off the frigging marketing already?
posted by danwalker at 6:45 PM PST - 10 comments

I build a lot of "community" sites - that is, not web communities, but websites that support specific communities. So I'm hunting around for a good set of decent and free PHP/MySQL scripts to do the sorts of things these communities often demand. Now up? A public events calendar and classified ads. AskMeFi has helped before, so hat in hand, I come back to the well hoping for more. [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by pzarquon at 5:38 PM PST - 3 comments

2 cycling accesories questions inside. One about a portable pump (Blackburn Airstik) and the tiny valves on my tires and one about Cycleops or other indoor trainers. [more inside]
posted by dobbs at 5:21 PM PST - 17 comments

EructationFilter! One has often heard tell of people who can burp the entire alphabet. But has anyone got firsthand experience? Because try as we may, my SO and I can't get past "C". [more inside]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 5:09 PM PST - 18 comments

XP: I'd like a shortcut or hotkey that will instantly do what Control Panel > Display Properties > Settings > Select Monitor 2 > Extend my Windows Desktop (etc) does. [come inside, y'all, if you like] [more inside]
posted by humuhumu at 3:43 PM PST - 7 comments

rent-a-geek: Is there a site/service out there where I can hire someone to do some micro-jobs for me related to running a server? Something like Google Answers but instead of paying someone $10 to find out the history of hemophilia in New Zealand, I would pay someone $10 to fix my WebDav installation, or get mysql working, or some task that would take a Smart Person about 10 minutes of poking around. It's not that I can't figure this stuff out eventually but I am short on time. Such a site would have to have some sort of reputation management, I suppose.

(Geesh, I sound like I'm writing a business plan)
posted by mecran01 at 3:36 PM PST - 8 comments

I've heard it mentioned, as recently as this thread that when you learn a foreign language as an adult , you never lose your accent. Kissinger is always brought up as an example. Is this true or is this an urban myth? Also, what if you were brought up bilingual and speak two (or more) languages flawlessly. If you learned a third language, what determines which accent you will have?
posted by vacapinta at 3:18 PM PST - 23 comments

Is there a way to Google a Google? That is to say, is there a way to find where in a particular set of search results a particular result lies? [more inside]
posted by o2b at 3:16 PM PST - 6 comments

I hate my mouse. At my new job, the whole desk setup makes it very uncomfortable (tingling along pinky and wrist). I'm debating on trying out a trackball (maybe this one or this one). Is it hard to switch to a trackball from using a mouse all your computing life? Is it worth the effort?
posted by adampsyche at 2:44 PM PST - 23 comments

I need to use Excel's FIND function to locate open-parentheses, but since parentheses are part of the syntax of the function itself, it's choking. How can I escape the character to make this work?
posted by scarabic at 1:55 PM PST - 8 comments

Any advice for how to shop for a decent couch/sofa?
I know how much space I have for it (~7 feet), and that I want to be able to lie my 6 feet of body down on it to watch tv in comfort. What else does one look for?
posted by cardboard at 1:48 PM PST - 12 comments

Does anyone here have experience with a polyamorous and/or "open" relationship? [mi] [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 1:35 PM PST - 40 comments

Much excellent advice can be found in the Green concerning CD to MP3 ripping and storage. My challenge: 60 gigs of MP3s and not sure how to organize them. Bootlegs from the salad days of Napster, high bitrate rips of my jazz collection, some cartoon songs from the 70s, etc. On what basis do people sort their many tunes?
posted by tranquileye at 12:45 PM PST - 15 comments

Advice for the socially awkward, part three million and two. I've been asked to have lunch next week by a guy I recently met one time through work. I have accepted. I'd like to let him know I'm already in a committed relationship without coming off as cutting. He seems nice, with friend potential. Have I already blundered? Is it a date? Help!
posted by ungratefulninja at 11:40 AM PST - 36 comments

ThisCan'tBeThisHardFilter: Is there any way to just "listen" to the mic input on a PC? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by LairBob at 11:33 AM PST - 12 comments

Anyone have any tips on how to find a good accountant (especially for moonlighting consultants)? More >> [more inside]
posted by mathowie at 11:31 AM PST - 4 comments

I swore I wasn't gonna collect any more computer languages. Then I read up on HLA and installed it along with FASM, MASM32 and the really nice RadASM IDE -- and got pretty jazzed. Anyone have any experience and thoughts to share?
posted by RavinDave at 11:13 AM PST - 6 comments

I’m designing a logo for a friend’s small business that will be used initially just for business cards and perhaps a CD label. I know just enough about graphic design to be dangerous. I’m looking for general advice on image resolution, appropriate font suggestions, file format, etc. [more on the inside] [more inside]
posted by Otis at 11:06 AM PST - 19 comments

ShadyBossFilter: The situation is this: items were purchased at a cost of $6800 from one company to sell to another company. Our customer either bounced or stopped payment on the check, but our boss is trying to leave our sales rep holding the bag (i.e. he is deducting the cost of goods from his paycheck). The sales rep stood to take in a percentage of the profit as commission, but I would have assumed that the company takes on the risk in situations like this, not the employee. We're in New Jersey. What's the deal? (p.s. Today is my last day.) [more inside]
posted by alphanerd at 11:04 AM PST - 9 comments

OK, so my fiance just started med school 2000+ miles away from where I live. To stay in touch and keep our phone bills reasonable, we both got iChat AV cameras for our powerbooks. However, the neccesary ports (16384 to 16403) are not open on her school network. We contacted her IT department and a week later, the guy told her that he couldn't open those ports for security/bandwidth issues, leaving us high and dry. So, what would folks suggest we do in this situation? Is it really a security issue or just bandwidth? Are there any workarounds?
posted by garethspor at 11:02 AM PST - 8 comments

In your house, what food does, or does not, need to be refrigerated? [more inside]
posted by soyjoy at 10:52 AM PST - 41 comments

Artwork for a wedding gift? It's probably a little risky, but I think I know their tastes such that it will go over well. [More, as usual, inside.] [more inside]
posted by aladfar at 10:15 AM PST - 8 comments

Can anyone share any info on Edge Precizion Tile flooring? I'm considering it for a DIY kitchen, but have been reading some horror stories online from untrusted sources. (yes, I trust the opinions of my mefi pals!!)
posted by archimago at 9:35 AM PST - 5 comments

Amateur economists, VCs, MBA students: what's a fair price for a google share? Based on what assumptions? [more inside]
posted by rkent at 9:18 AM PST - 14 comments

Regional linguistics filter: Who says "open" the lights rather than "turn on" the lights and where are you (or they) from? In a related vein, who says "make" a party rather than "throw" or "have" a party and where are you (or they) from?
posted by caddis at 5:13 AM PST - 30 comments

Help required regarding MIDI. Through USB. In Linux. Feel up to it? More inside. [more inside]
posted by Jimbob at 5:01 AM PST - 3 comments

Web hosting woes: My host has had massive email issues for the last few days. Would it make sense to move DNS to somebody like Zonedit so that I can redirect email to other domains temporarily when situations like this arise? Any other suggestions?
posted by SteveInMaine at 3:31 AM PST - 5 comments

My dad died of colon cancer at a rather young age. I have always been nervous about it myself, and i am 20.

I have never had blood in my feces, or anything unusual to that effect. What steps should I take right now to check for anything unusual?
posted by Keyser Soze at 2:18 AM PST - 14 comments

Question re: DOS/Windows equivalents to Unix commands (more inside). [more inside]
posted by plep at 1:10 AM PST - 11 comments

I have a div within a div. I want them both to be exactly the same width (but not height), so that the inner div's border will overwrite the outer div's border. Is this possible?
posted by Tlogmer at 12:42 AM PST - 5 comments

Okay. I have two books from my past that I would very much like to track down... but I can't recall the titles. [more inside]
posted by silusGROK at 10:23 PM PST - 11 comments

UKFilter: Where can I find a list of Olympic qualifiers for the UK track team (womens)? I found plenty of information online -- but no comprehensive list.
posted by RavinDave at 10:17 PM PST - 2 comments

Is it legal for an artist to paint/draw a product (ex: iPod) as part of an artwork and sell it? Are there laws/precedents regarding this? Thanks.
posted by azul at 9:47 PM PST - 11 comments

BluesFilter: Looking for some instrumental, ideally guitar only, delta blues. slide/electric/both/neither recommendations ok.
posted by juv3nal at 8:52 PM PST - 16 comments

I want to use my regular camcorder for videoconferencing, and for magnifying small print on my computer screen. Do any of the videographers out there know of a camcorder arm that clamps on to a desk and swivels around?
posted by josh at 6:48 PM PST - 7 comments

Will I ever be able to do scheduled backups again? I'm on XP Home, and Task Scheduler seems hosed. I get the message "Unable to establish existence of the account specified" whenever I try to schedule something. MS tells me this is a known problem, resulting from the account having been renamed, and that if I restore the original name, all will be well. I have no idea what the original name could have been. Suggestions?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:46 PM PST - 2 comments

I'm looking for irresistible dance songs, songs that get you out of your seat and shaking it. Can you remember the best song you've ever danced to? (bonus points for obscure or genre-bending tracks)
posted by milovoo at 6:46 PM PST - 41 comments

I need help from network-savvy mefites: I've just moved in to a house with four friends and we're trying to set up a network. Collectively, we have two router/switches with one feeding into another and computers plugged into both. All the computers are receiving an internet signal, but those plugged into the second router/switch can't communicate with those only behind the first and vice versa, making file sharing and iTunes streaming impossible. Is there a way to fix this? I'll try to stick around and give more specific information if needed.
posted by Phatty Lumpkin at 5:50 PM PST - 17 comments

I've bought this home theater system, a tv with s-video, and I've got the video card in my pc with s-vid and this s-vid+audio cable. Question inside. [more inside]
posted by Scottk at 5:16 PM PST - 9 comments

I've inherited some Polk Audio speakers - old ones from the 80s, and I need to get an amp to drive them. I don't know much about stereos. I think they are Monitor 7 series speakers, based on the model number inscribed on them. I'm taking them to Burning Man, so the amp should be cheap, but capable of making the music loud. I don't want to spend lots on a high-end amp. Just something that will work. What does "Recommended Amplifier Power 20-150 w/channel" mean?
posted by scarabic at 3:49 PM PST - 12 comments

A question for people who've been reading Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men... [more inside]
posted by feelinglistless at 3:22 PM PST - 16 comments

I'm trying to find a serial radio play that CBC Radio ran about 12-15 years ago. The show was about a regular joe who gets to be prime minister of Canada. His cabinet consist of just a couple people including an Indian Chief who is in some way associated with a turtle who is minister of defense. [MI] [more inside]
posted by Mitheral at 3:02 PM PST - 7 comments

A couple of friends of mine were recently discussing some old French cartoons and would love any help tracking them down you might be able to provide. Even names, general info, etc. would be appreciated. [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by shotsy at 2:20 PM PST - 7 comments

Windows XP Home. I would like to control access to certain folders so that other users can't access them. Is there either:

A. A way as administrator to hide the folders, and then somehow prevent other users from accessing the "Show hidden files and folders" option in explorer:

B. A FREE utility to control access to folders. I have searched and searched, but I can't find any completely free ones.

Thank you! [more inside]
posted by eas98 at 2:09 PM PST - 10 comments

I've heard that American Apparel's wholesale prices are way lower than the $15 they want at retail for a plain t-shirt. How low do they go? Also, someone the net must resell them (printed or unprinted) for less than $15. Who?
posted by smackfu at 1:22 PM PST - 7 comments

I didn't know about lofi until graventy mentioned it in Metatalk. Are there any other tricks, sub-sites, whatever you want to call them to Metafilter?
posted by tetsuo at 1:21 PM PST - 6 comments

PoliticalFilter? [more inside]
posted by jca at 12:52 PM PST - 14 comments

"...find someone else to beg..." This is a lyric from a song that last.fm played for me just as I was leaving yesterday. I couldn't get it to show me the title (server and browser troubles) nor did Google or lyrics.* have anything for that phrase. It sounded somewhat like Semisonic, but I'm not sure. Any ideas what this song might be? Don't make me beg.
posted by codger at 12:14 PM PST - 5 comments

Can anyone suggest a site that has good information regarding retirement homes? I would like some impartial information on one company in particular.
posted by alball at 11:06 AM PST - 0 comments

MacCruftFilter: a guy i know told me yesterday that he discovered he had the ability to wander around the network using an old macintosh SE (linked through a newer one, as it's too old to connect directly). the funny thing was that in browsing appletalk he realized he could look at and open files - not just specifically shared files, but any files - on any networked mac on campus (he didn't say if he meant OS X too, or only OS 9 or older). he figures the new macs don't recognize the old one as even existing, and the old one is too old to recognize the security setup on the new ones - so they ignore each other and he's free to open someone else's files. he didn't try creating or deleting anything, though. so here's the question: can any mac people tell me if is he right about why this works, and, if not, is this just a fluke? am i potentially opening a can of mac-security worms by even asking this?
posted by caution live frogs at 10:41 AM PST - 10 comments

I have something on my MS Word window I can't get rid of, and I think it's spyware. Pic of offending thing inside. [more inside]
posted by johnnydark at 10:32 AM PST - 9 comments

Any good online tutorials or books to teach web design basics? I need to know things about tables, layout and inserting/formating text. I'd prefer advice that deals with composer or some other free, mac friendly application. Thanks!
posted by elwoodwiles at 10:07 AM PST - 9 comments

Is there a way to view the entries in Safari's autocomplete database? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by the biscuit man at 9:55 AM PST - 6 comments

When you die, what song do you want played at your funeral? [more inside]
posted by Quartermass at 8:37 AM PST - 78 comments

In another thread, somebody posted the following bit of advice to a 35 year old woman considering a very long car trip:

"if someone stops to help, stay in your car and from behind the closed window smile, tell them you've just called the highway patrol and that they'll be by in a minute... then thank them and wave them on"

I find this a pretty shocking piece of advice, and said so: "what kind of paranoid freak lives by this advice ... That's a pretty unpleasant mental space to be living in"

And JanetLand responded: "Frankly, that's what life is like for a woman. I try not to live there, but any letters sent there will definitely reach me."

So, here's my question - is this really where most women spend their mental lives? [more inside]
posted by Irontom at 8:26 AM PST - 112 comments

I need help deterring cats from my yard. Would like some feedback on products/ideas. see inside for (lots) more. [more inside]
posted by evening at 8:05 AM PST - 7 comments

I want to complain to a company about rotten customer support. How do I do it and is it worth doing? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by frenetic at 7:59 AM PST - 12 comments

Yesterday's low morale post made me dig out my copy of Pablo Honey, and I found something surprising [Super Bouns Word Jumble!!! Hint: "Where is there more?" D I S N E I ] [more inside]
posted by Capn at 7:49 AM PST - 5 comments

I've been offered a full-time position at a company where I've been a contract worker for nine months now. Now what? (more, of course, inside) [more inside]
posted by jmevius at 7:41 AM PST - 6 comments

I would like to know the ending to The Village so I don't have to actually see the film, which is supposed to be awful.
posted by gwint at 7:40 AM PST - 38 comments

How do I get rid of the musty smell in an old guitar that's spent a lot of time in a damp basement? (It's a pre-Beatle Hofner bass with f-holes.)
posted by Faze at 6:19 AM PST - 5 comments

Blackberry users: Why does mine display the plaintext part of a multipart-MIME email (good), but my colleague's displays only the raw HTML code (bad) for the exact same email?
posted by luser at 6:08 AM PST - 2 comments

Problem with a friend whom I also have a business relationship with. [oo my first more inside] [more inside]
posted by thebwit at 5:55 AM PST - 20 comments

Slightly bent CD: I have a CD that's (somehow) become slightly bent; you wouldn't notice when you picked it up, but one side is bent downward just enough that it scrapes in my CD-ROM drive. I've had it under a stack of books for the last couple days, thinking that might straighten it, but it doesn't seem to have worked thus far. Is there anything else I can try?
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:13 AM PST - 6 comments

Teaching English in Vietnam: Have you or has someone you know ever worked in Vietnam? I'm teaching EFL in Chiang Mai, Thailand now, and considering a move to Hanoi, where I hear the pay is better. I've visited Hanoi before and loved it. I'm seeking your experiences and informed advice.
posted by squirrel at 10:08 PM PST - 2 comments

I finally took the plunge into Linux (Fedore Core) and almost everything went perfectly, except for my screen. Using a sony laptop with a ATI Raidon 345m graphics card, which I have found is not directly supported by Sony or ATI. However, any linux techies know how to fix it? I can view stuff, but FC likes to reduce my screen size and if I mess around to make it bigger, then the enlarged screen image burns onto my screen which I'm guessing is not a good thing in the long run. Anyone help or solved this problem in the past? (Also assume while I know a lot about Windows, but know nothing about the functionality of Linux).
posted by jmd82 at 9:25 PM PST - 10 comments

OMG. Modest Mouse is damn good. Where can I get more! MORE! [more inside]
posted by five fresh fish at 8:58 PM PST - 40 comments

I want to drive solo from New York City to Seattle, taking a northern route. I am female, 35 years old. My family thinks I am absolutely insane to do this alone. The thought of having to make small talk for 2800 miles makes me want to weep. Is this trip really that dangerous? I have driven to Florida solo many times, and I have made a cross country trip (LA-NYC in 1991) before, so I have some idea what I am in for. I will have AAA, a cel phone, and probably a CB radio to stay in touch. Also, anyone offering any advice, tips, routes-- it would all be appreciated. Thank you!
posted by astruc at 8:00 PM PST - 43 comments

Any recommendations for non-English rap/hip-hop songs? I've found a couple I like ("Represent" by Orishas (Spanish), "Hasta la Vista" by MC Solaar (French)), and I'm trying to put together a full mix CD. Bonus points for songs available on iTunes.
posted by rorycberger at 6:01 PM PST - 31 comments

What's the best way to attract a readership to your blog? Must you be a self-styled journalist, pundit, or the like? Is it worth it to take out textads? Does it help to post on other people's blogs? Do you have to talk about bloggers, blogging, and the blogosphere all the time on your blog for people to read it? How do you get that first reader?
posted by swift at 3:39 PM PST - 20 comments

I never understood how the "SUV as a business write-off" thing works. Can any tax-savvy folks explain to me how this saves you taxes or gets you a virtually free car? More >> [more inside]
posted by mathowie at 3:32 PM PST - 11 comments

I'm a lazy bum who makes enough money to buy his way out of his problems. My problem: My girlfriend says our house is too messy, and she's sick of cleaning it. My solution: we'll hire a maid to come twice a month or so to do most of the routine chores.

My question: How do I go about finding a trustworthy, high quality housekeeper?
posted by davebug at 12:24 PM PST - 22 comments

How many words are in a 30 minute teevee show? I am writing the text to a half hour "How to use our library's historical database" show. I am doing it for public access with the local historical society. I have about 24-26 minutes to work with and I'm wondering what word length I should aim for? It will be a pretty low tech affair -- screen shots and pointers -- but if anyone can give me some advice as far as length [or anything else honestly] I'd sure appreciate it.
posted by jessamyn at 12:05 PM PST - 9 comments

After living in New York for 5 years, I'm finally moved to ask this question: Why, when I buy a can or bottle of soda, do I invariably get a straw with it? [bubbles inside] [more inside]
posted by o2b at 11:13 AM PST - 29 comments

Are there any historical examples of the political "domino effect" actually happening? Has one country ever changed its form of government, only to have several neighbors follow suit without invasion or coercion? I'm interested in any continent, any time period. [more inside]
posted by junkbox at 11:03 AM PST - 13 comments

This art photographer got a Hollywood effects house to build him a creature -- essentially a highly detailed, articulated puppet. He photographs the puppet in vaguely unsettling posed scenes alongside human models. What is this photographer's name? [more inside]
posted by jjg at 9:12 AM PST - 7 comments

Personal digital information transfer between jobs: [more inside]
posted by pomegranate at 8:09 AM PST - 3 comments

I have an abiding passion for audiobooks (concomitant with my hour or so of daily commuting), and it occurs to me that this would be an ideal way to get over my general Shakespearean illiteracy. Can anyone recommend some good Shakespeare recordings? The more compelling the recommendation, the better.
posted by blueshammer at 6:16 AM PST - 10 comments

ComputerRepairFilter: I need some help tracking down the source of a computer problem. [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by smcniven at 5:24 AM PST - 18 comments

Our pet rabbit is crazy about graham crackers. She acts like a little dog and runs around in circles begging for them. Is it harmful to her to let her have a few nibbles when we're eating them?
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:35 AM PST - 22 comments

Anyone want to go to a secret invite-only Har Mar Superstar gig in London tonight? [more inside]
posted by wackybrit at 3:55 AM PST - 13 comments

What's the deal with The Village and the boom mics? People are quick to call it a projectionist problem, but reports of seeing them seem way more common than they are for any other movie.
posted by reklaw at 10:07 PM PST - 39 comments

Searching for a spoken word MP3. Details are sketchy. I believe it's called "Marlon Brando and James Dean Came by On Their Motorcycles" but have also heard it called "Marlon Brando and Steve McQueen Came by On Their Motorcycles". I am *positive* that it was on a cassette (pre-cd days) called "Hollyword" and was by poet Eva Brandstein. I have searched google (though I suck at that) and allmusic and can't find squat that it even exists. Anyone know where I can find this MP3 or buy Hollyword on CD or if it was even released on disc? {more} [more inside]
posted by dobbs at 9:55 PM PST - 9 comments

What launcher do you use? Quicksilver for Mac OS X seems to cause some kind of conflict so I'm axing it.
posted by tetsuo at 8:43 PM PST - 17 comments

I want abs. I'm 5'8", 134lbs. I've never worked out and don't have time for a gym. Basically I'm looking for a good routine that I can do in, say, 15min a morning that will strengthen my abs and, if possible, give some visible definition. Right now I have a small belly. I've heard mixed things about crunches. Anyone have a good routine that meets my needs? I'd like to see results in a month or two.
posted by Grod at 7:31 PM PST - 19 comments

The United States Tennis Association's website kinda confuses me. Anyone who plays a lot of tennis wanna help me out with something? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by Slimemonster at 5:49 PM PST - 3 comments

I've been wanting to make some software lately, but i don't have any ideas. Got one for me? [mi] [more inside]
posted by escher at 5:14 PM PST - 36 comments

MetaLAHotelWifiFilter: can anyone recommend a decent hotel around the $80-100 per night mark in LA - with good wireless provision? Preferably in or nearish the Burbank area...? If that price is laughable (not really sure for LA), then just decent recommendations at whatever price.
posted by humuhumu at 4:54 PM PST - 7 comments

EtiquetteFilter. Specifically, I'm interested in wedding invitation etiquette. Even more specifically, I'm interested in the proper etiquette for addressing wedding invitations. No, not the proper wording, because I've found that ... I really just want to know: Do we have to address all of these things by hand?
posted by grabbingsand at 4:36 PM PST - 18 comments

"Home again, home again, jiggity ____." [more inside]
posted by evinrude at 4:01 PM PST - 35 comments

I have to set up a relatively simple photo sales site for a friend (as the only halfway tech person she knows). It doesn't need much - a basic basket/lightbox, accounts for customers and some relatively automated way for her to upload. Is there anything fairly off-the-shelf that will do this, or do I need to hack about with things like the opensource ecommerce project? Anyone know of good packages?
posted by bonaldi at 3:57 PM PST - 5 comments

What is the best Digital Multitrack Recorder for a budget to mid size home studio?
posted by protocool at 3:49 PM PST - 5 comments

Hopefully a simple question, but I can't think of a googly-good way to ask. Is there a way in Photoshop to open multiple images as layers in a single PSD? For instance, can I select 10 .jpg images and somehow magically make them into a stack of layers in one .psd file I'm working on? Right now, I'm doing this by hand (open file, select all, copy, paste into .psd, wish for a better way).
posted by kokogiak at 2:28 PM PST - 17 comments

I'm going to be taking a proofreading test on Thursday, for a job. Does anyone have any advice about this? I've never had a proofreading job before, but my own writing is usually very typo-free, and I notice spelling and grammatical errors in books all the time. [more inside]
posted by interrobang at 1:18 PM PST - 25 comments

I'm looking into making my home gym better equipped. I've had one of those all-in-one machines that do the pulley benchpress, the butterfly and leg curls. I also have a bar with weights that I do those arm curls on. I went to a gym the other day, and see how limited I am with just doing benchpresses on a pully system. It looks as if free weights are the way to go, meaning I'll need a bench and such. I'm clueless on what to get and searching usenet comes up with flame wars on how differeint exercise machines will cause cancer/spontaneous abortions. [more inside]
posted by geoff. at 1:14 PM PST - 9 comments

What is the difference between disposable or 1-day contact lenses, weekly-wear contact lenses, and monthly-wear contact lenses? Are they really manufactured differently? [more inside]
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 10:45 AM PST - 10 comments

Is this the only site on the web with information about the 28 hour day? I'm thinking about giving it a go, since I've managed to get a summer job that will let me work pretty much whenever I please. And was that site ever posted to MeFi? I'm sure it was, but I can't find it...
posted by Orange Goblin at 10:39 AM PST - 14 comments

Why do US mobile phone companies get away with charging for incoming calls and SMS/MMS? What can customers do about it?
posted by brownpau at 10:02 AM PST - 14 comments

Alternative telephone providers in the NYC area?: I need to find an economically viable solution to run 3 telephone land-lines and 1 fax line for a small business in Brooklyn. Our current provider is Verizon: we use >500 minutes a month, and pay about $350 (MI). [more inside]
posted by naxosaxur at 9:45 AM PST - 11 comments

With Microsoft poised to start using the new Sender Policy Framework with Hotmail in October and AOL "not far" behind, how many of you are planning on implementing SPF records over the next few months?
posted by alana at 8:39 AM PST - 15 comments

gadgetfiliter:

There seems to be a rash of "usb/mp3 voice recorder" flash thingies out there right now, like this. Many of them appear to be the same unit or same chipset, rebranded. Is there a good site that reviews stuff like this--generic gadgets available only online? And more specifically, how do I find the best one of these that will mount without drivers on my Ibook? I'd like to get something cheap to take voice notes in the car and be able to listen to mp3s.

I've been googling but not many reviews have come in. Many thanks.
posted by mecran01 at 7:16 AM PST - 7 comments

Cat urine and wood floors? Our cat didn't like our new house and left a mark that burned a spot in our wood floor. Any ideas on how to take the stain up?
posted by Macboy at 5:14 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm looking after a neighbour's goldfish while she's recuperating after an accident. They're outside, in a half-barrel. The problem is that algi builds up in the water fairly quickly. Are there any tips to help keep the water cleaner, and improve the fishies' quality of life, in between changing it every week or so?
posted by Blue Stone at 3:28 AM PST - 12 comments

CSS issues with IE. I'm working on a draft for my new photoblog and IE seems to be rendering part of it about 2 pixels off, but I cannot figure out quite why. Here's the page in question. It shows up fine in Mozilla, but in IE the logo and unordered list menu on the right are pushed to the right about 2 pixels, running over the border. I thought I just needed to use the "box model hack," but when I tried that it didn't work. Any tips? [more inside]
posted by dnash at 9:40 PM PST - 5 comments

Has anyone ever had NERO spit out blank CDRs? [More inside] [more inside]
posted by dhoyt at 7:29 PM PST - 7 comments

I am designing a keyboard which needs to feature korean characters (hangul) on the keys. I installed a hangul font call batang but I still get english characters. How do I get hangul characters to appear on screen? more inside. [more inside]
posted by alball at 6:25 PM PST - 4 comments

A friend and I are both longtime Tibetan Buddhists. We've encountered a new lama who's been touring to give teachings in North America: his name is Younge Khachab Rinpoche. He has detached himself from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is more or less freelancing, which has positive and negative implications. The question is: how kosher is he? If we take up with him, is it going to be a fruitful experience or a dead end? Does anyone have any experience or any friends in this subculture whose opinion they can ask, or avenues of inquiry to suggest?
posted by zadcat at 6:22 PM PST - 14 comments

You know that fan-edit of the Phantom Menace without Jar-Jar? Well, I was thinking... [more inside]
posted by Tlogmer at 5:01 PM PST - 14 comments

Ugh! I am so pissed off! I am moving from Atlanta to New York on Friday and the movers were supposed to come tomorrow. Today at 5 pm they called and said, "We're sorry, we're actually not going to be able to move you after all. Sorry!" And I screamed and yelled and they said there was nothing they could do, they were out of trucks. I scrambled and by some miracle found another company that will move me Wednesday for $500 more. I'd love to sue this original company--East Coast Moving Systems--for the difference but don't want to pay for the attorney. What are my other recourses? They must be punished!
posted by adrober at 4:28 PM PST - 20 comments

Has anyone had any good experiences with an online auto salvage yard? My odometer and gas meter have stopped working and dodge doesn't service the part anymore. [more inside]
posted by jmgorman at 3:28 PM PST - 5 comments

How do I wipe every trace of Office from my OS X based Mac? [mi] [more inside]
posted by aladfar at 2:19 PM PST - 7 comments

This is a completely silly question, but: where the heck do I buy corn in Edinburgh? [mi] [more inside]
posted by sailoreagle at 12:49 PM PST - 15 comments

My wife and I live in New York City, but she's from the Deep South (Alabama). She's often miffed that when she goes to a grocery store in the city, she can't find food and treats that she grew up with (i.e. Goo Goo Clusters). I know you can order a lot of stuff online, but I was wondering -- since there are Korean grocery stores and Indian grocery stores (and even British grocery stores) in NYC -- is there a Southern U.S. grocery store? If not, is there a central website for ordering Southern food products (rather than multiple websites of various product manufacturers)?
posted by grumblebee at 12:28 PM PST - 15 comments

Fantasy Football help! There are so many fantasy sports sites on the web that it's impossible to tell who knows their stuff and who doesn't. Oh, and they all want $19.95 to tell me that Peyton Manning is good. Any recommendations for some solid, free sources of fantasy football information?
posted by herc at 11:59 AM PST - 9 comments

I'd like advice about how to begin learning how to play the game of go--I'm specifically thinking of recommended introductory texts for the absolute beginner, but anything else useful you have to say is welcome.
posted by Prospero at 11:46 AM PST - 15 comments

I have a meeting upcoming with some of my legislators, on various levels, and I want to be able to make a good 5-minute proposal for Instant Run-off voting. Not that I expect to outright win them over, but hopefully hit a few points up front to make them sit up and pay attention, and maybe plant a few "hmmm" thoughts.

As a more specific sub-question on the same topic, I'd like to make the argument that, since 2004 is too soon for any change, and we cannot tell the future, it would be a non-partisan change. I think it's agreed that Gore would have won in 2000 under Instant Run-off voting. Am I correct in my belief that under IRO, Bush would have won re-election in 1992? [more inside]
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 9:50 AM PST - 3 comments

I have noticed that off-brand Ziploc bags aren't closing very easily. While the real McCoy is sealing just fine. Anyone else experiencing this too? Is this a regional problem? (I'm near Seattle.)
posted by grefo at 9:45 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm going to be moving back to Washington, DC in late August to go back to college. I want to begin taking martial arts classes -- but what should I take? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by armage at 9:35 AM PST - 17 comments

So I gave up my car two years ago to become a committed pedestrian — which I've learned is no easy feat in this town (where the buses all but shut down after 6pm) — and now I'm getting a car to use around town where walking or biking won't cut it. Anyway... I need help: I've found a little 1985 Volvo 240GL with 450K km, and I have no idea how to figure out if it's a death trap... much less what kind of reputation the car has.

Suggestions?
posted by silusGROK at 9:29 AM PST - 15 comments

What's the best way to save money on an iPod purchase? Rebates, interesting freebie programs, etc. ... I'm interested in it all.

On that note: Any students want to save $100 on their Mac laptop purchase? The current deal through Apple Educational is that a combo laptop/iPod purchase nets you a $200 rebate. If someone wants an iBook/Powerbook and not an iPod, we could buddy up and split the rebate. (This applies especially to local Madisonians, since shipping concerns are nullified.)
posted by blueshammer at 9:17 AM PST - 14 comments

Trying to create and stay on a family budget. Has anyone had any success following a plan from a book or website? Should I hire a financial consultant? (More . . .) [more inside]
posted by jeremias at 9:17 AM PST - 18 comments

Adventures in suburbia! I have a deck. Apparently, decks need maintenance, and mine sure needs to be power washed. Is this something that I can do (I'm about as un-handy as it gets)? If I do undertake this task, is there anything that I should know/look out for so that I don't leave a path of destruction?
posted by adampsyche at 8:50 AM PST - 17 comments

Can anyone recommend a digital voice recorder that can also be hooked up to a phone to record calls/interviews?
posted by gottabefunky at 8:32 AM PST - 14 comments

A couple of years ago, I remember a news report about yogurt that made you feel full. Did it work, and can you still buy it?
posted by wibbler at 8:05 AM PST - 6 comments

Is it still possible to buy Photoshop 7.0 legitimately? I want to support Adobe, but hearing about lots of "software activation" nightmares has made me loathe to buy version CS. Froogle and Amazon.com just give me what look like illegal "OEM" versions of PS7.
posted by Aaorn at 7:31 AM PST - 10 comments

Looking to get in shape… absolutely no idea where to start. [mi] [more inside]
posted by mhaw at 6:50 AM PST - 17 comments

I've just bought and installed a new hard drive. At the moment, it's bolted to the drive bay by only two screws, along one edge. The drive bay that it's in is too big, and I don't have anything that could be used as a shoring bracket (the machine itself is a crappy OEM, and the case is built so that I've no way of approaching the drive from another direction to install one, anyway). Is there any real danger that my drive might damage itself by resonating?
posted by Jongo at 6:09 AM PST - 4 comments

Firefox / Javascript question... how do I get the mouse X/Y position across frames (relative to the browser window, of course) [more inside]
posted by holloway at 1:32 AM PST - 4 comments

How long does it take to fall in love?
posted by taumeson at 7:55 PM PST - 42 comments

two for one:
I just set up my new projector and while it is AWESOME, i'm having an issue with running my incomputer tv input through and losing allot of quality. 1) is there a good piece of software for interpolating tv input to make it higher quality
2) i'd like to organize a movie club to take advantage of the new beast and meet people in my area (berkeley for the bay area mefites). I'm thinking a craigslist ad but i wasn't sure how you would start such a thing when you don't know anyone (similar to starting a bookclub or something) [more inside]
posted by NGnerd at 7:38 PM PST - 8 comments

Someone I know is moving to a tiny rural town in Southern Oregon, which has a population of about 700 people and no broadband. The nearest broadband is in Roseburg, located 17 miles away.

The property they will be on has a hill, which might make it possible to use some kind of tranceiver on an antenna and establish a connection with someone over in Roseburg -- either Qwest, the local phone service, or the Douglas FastNet, which is interested in bringing broadband to rural Oregon. Alternately, there are satellite services, such as Starband or DirecWay which does this kind of thing too.

Do any of you have any thoughts on the best (or most cost-effective) solution available for broadband in such a situation? Also, we are interested in knowing how to go about creating a wireless network / coop / small ISP that would service the local region. Any ideas on how to get the bandwidth, what kind of equipment we'd want to use, how to wire the town, and how to reduce latency?
posted by insomnia_lj at 7:05 PM PST - 2 comments

HomeRecordingFilter. Of course, I'm recording an album at home. I'm already using a Rode NT1A mic, but I want to get the effect of a vocal coming through and old radio. I understand that I can fiddle with the EQ controls in CoolEdit (I mean, Adobe Audition...) and emulate the desired effect, but does anyone have any more tips to get the vintage wireless sound? While I'm at it - does anyone have any home recording tips in general?
posted by armoured-ant at 5:57 PM PST - 9 comments

RealPlayer for Mac Classic (9.2.), Can't get it to work: it never works for video, and not often, if ever for audio. I've fully deleted it from my hard drive and reinstalled it, but always get the error window: "Requested File Not Found. The link you requested may be outdated or inaccurate"

Not that I crave RealPlayer, but there's a good deal of stuff not available in Quicktime. Ideas?
posted by ParisParamus at 4:07 PM PST - 6 comments

I was up on my roof earlier today and saw that it's covered with lichen, and there's moss growing underneath and lifting up the asphalt shingles. I there any kind of moss-or-fungicide I can spray or paint onto this stuff to get rid of it? (A trip to Loews turned up nothing.)
posted by Faze at 3:43 PM PST - 6 comments

Need help diagnosing bamboo ailment and preventing further damage. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by christie at 3:31 PM PST - 4 comments

A question for anime/manga experts.

This is something I saw as a child, and have on occasion wondered about ever since. My regular Saturday/morning cartoons were pre-empted one day by a Japanese cartoon-- I remember it being as long as a feature movie, but that could easily be a trick of memory-- and I was absolutely enthralled with it; but I tuned in part way through, never got the name, and never discovered what it might have been. The year would have been around 1967 (earliest) to 1970 (latest). (MI) [more inside]
posted by jokeefe at 1:05 PM PST - 3 comments

My poop stinks more than it used to. What does this mean?
posted by swift at 11:14 AM PST - 23 comments

Can two dominant male dogs peacefully coexisist in the same house? [More Inside] [more inside]
posted by ferociouskitty at 11:02 AM PST - 9 comments

I have a strong, irrational aversion to the sound of people eating. Especially people that eat really loud and smack their lips and lick their fingers. Gum chewers make me want to explode. This neurosis prevents me from doing a lot of things like eating out with friends, etc. Anyone else out there have this particular problem, and have you found any way to deal with it?
posted by yalestar at 9:53 AM PST - 27 comments

I don't understand something about health insurance benefits. [more inside]
posted by emelenjr at 8:58 AM PST - 13 comments