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Mapping accident statistics

lrivers — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:13:06 -0800

Cartography/Google Maps: I want to represent severity of accident data on a map to show the most dangerous parts of town to walk/bicycle. I have the raw data, but I can’t seen to show the info in a compelling way.

I think a heatmap might be the way to go, but the resources I found on the web didn't really pan out.

Here's a sample from the large data set (3 years worth)
Address City State Date Severity type victim lattitude longitude
1000 Wells Branch Austin TX 1/1/2007 2 MC ROR 30.432663 -97.652927
14300 I 35 N SB Svc Rd Austin TX 1/2/2007 2 MV MC 30.433723 -97.670259
Spicewood Springs & Mesa Austin TX 1/2/2007 1 MV BI 30.383473 -97.771104
1800 Houston Austin TX 1/3/2007 2 MV BI 30.328691 -97.739302
3200 Davis Austin TX 1/4/2007 2 MV BI 30.192833 -97.836974
400 7th E Austin TX 1/4/2007 3 MV PED 30.268062 -97.73886
10200 Brownie Austin TX 1/4/2007 2 MV PED 30.367016 -97.684888
Congress & Lessin Austin TX 1/5/2007 4 MV PED 30.22589 -97.762299
Medical & 37th Austin TX 1/5/2007 2 MV PED 30.30459 -97.744539

Severity ranges from 1 to 4 where 1 is no injury to 4 is fatality, so the latter should show "stronger"

Christmas Flamethrower Cartoon?

cr_joe — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:42:25 -0800

Looking for a specific Christmas cartoon printed in the New Yorker a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago, I saw a great cartoon in the New Yorker. It was a man and a woman barricaded indoors while gumdrops, gingerbread men, and reindeer were outside and visible through a bay window. The caption reads something like "Get the flamethrower."

Google fu is failing me. I've also looked through the New Yorker cartoon bank with no luck so far. Did I imagine this? Thanks for your help!

Help me debug this bluescreen.

DarkForest — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:13:30 -0800

Windows XP Home machine goes blue screen on boot. I'd like to fix it without reinstalling. Details inside.

I'm fixing a Windows XP Home machine for some friends. This machine has been fine for a couple of years, but is now going blue screen on boot. I've tried a bunch of things with it, but haven't gotten anywhere. I'd like to be able to fix the machine with all their applications and data intact. I've already made a copy of their hard drive. The computer is a Dell Inspiron 530.

The only recent thing they can tell me they did to the machine was to install then uninstall some facebook toolbar control. This is a family machine, full of games and misc. junk. There's plenty of room on the hard drive.

The only information on the blue screen is the stop message with the numbers 0xC0000005 0x8053A363 0xF7A6D684 0xF7A6D380. No other error message or filename is given. No minidump is produced.

Trying to boot in safe mode shows a list of files being loaded, ending with mup.sys. A second or two after that, the system hangs in a blank blue screen. From what I've read on the net, this does not indicate anything with mup.sys itself, but something that loads after it. Booting Safe Mode with Logging does not produce a boot log.

I've been booting the machine with Ubuntu and UBCD4WIN live disks, and trying the recovery console on the Windows XP install disk. I've run Ubuntu's memory check, and chkdsk from the recovery console, and these seem not to be the problem. I can look at the filesystem and registry with no problem.

I have updated the BIOS, tried removing the video card and using the integrated video. I've run several virus/malware scans. I've tried reverting to older versions of the registry from restore points. I've tried disabling the video card driver and audio driver from the recovery console. None of this has made any difference. I'd like to be able to use the autoruns tool to experiment more with enabling/disabling things, but it doesn't seem to run on an external registry.

So, what am I missing? There must be corrupt or outdated driver or perhaps some malware in there. Dell's site does show several updated drivers, but I can't install them because I can't boot the target OS. How can I trace the drivers being loaded at startup or find out more about where it's blowing up? Any leads would be appreciated.

Also, if you know of a good forum to ask this sort of question in, please let me know.

Thanks for your help.

Where would you take a friend out for steak in downtown Portland?

pdxgirl42 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:02:38 -0800

Where should I take a friend out for steak in Portland? It needs to be in the downtown/Pearl/NW area. I'm looking for someplace not too expensive (under $150 for the two of us), not too stuffy or corporate feeling, and if they have a rib eye, that would be superb! Any recommendations?

How do I treat road rash?

Raichle — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:59:39 -0800

How should I treat my road rash so that it will heal quickly and not scar?

I had a bike accident last night and scraped and bruised my face fairly badly. It looks like a really bad rash with a small puncture. I cleaned it really well with anti-bacterial soap and Bactine and then doused it with Neosporin. Is there anything else that I should do? Would Arnica help or be bad since it's an abrasion?

Storage facilities in San Diego area

america4 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:27:43 -0800

Recommendations needed for storage facility (eg 5x10 or 10x10 spaces) in the San Diego area, preferably around Del Mar. Looking for inexpensive but also safe place to store miscellaneous belongings/furnishings for several months.

Windows7 on a netbook?!?

smitt — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:16:56 -0800

Should I install Windows 7 on my netbook?

I have an Eee PC 1000HE currently running Windows XP. It's a fantastic little computer and does everything and more for me, I love it.

It's got an Atom N280 proc, and apart from upgrading the RAM to 2GB, everything on it is untouched.

I have been loving using Windows 7 on my primary computer, and really want that on my netbook.

The question is, will the netbook be able to handle Windows 7? I don't use the netbook for much apart from internet browsing, doing my coursework using Office, and some video watching/mp3 playing. I'm not concerned about any "heavy" applications.
Has anyone made the switch on a netbook? Let me know what you think. Is it significantly slower?

70s TV show with female, puppet hosts?

tristeza — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:03:47 -0800

Please help me ID this American TV show/special/variety hour from the '70s featuring life-sized female puppets/marionettes - or prove to me that I am indeed halluciremembering.

I have been trying for YEARS to ID this show that I swear to god I remember, but am starting to think I may have imagined or dreamt. It's driving me nuts.

It was sometime in the '70s in the US, probably between '74-'76, and I don't know if it was series, or a special, or a variety show. Could have been only a one time airing.

All I remember is that there were 2 "hosts" who were female, life-sized (or close to life-sized) marionettes or puppets. They looked Muppet or doll-like, not realistic.

They wore groovy, spangly '70s variety-show gear (bellbottoms, vests), had white-lady Afros, maybe granny sunglasses.....

I have a memory of a number where they performed "Boogie Shoes" by KC and the Sunshine Band.

After searching forEVER:

- it doesn't seem to be a Krofft or Muppet vehicle
- it's not on tvparty.com
- it didn't involve Waylon Flowers or Madame

Did my 5 year old brain imagine this?

What are and how do I obtain miniature cacti?

artifarce — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:11:00 -0800

Are miniature cacti just younger plants or do they have their own name or classification? Awhile ago I saw some tiny (~1 in. apiece) cacti for sale in a big box garden/home supply store, but am not having luck finding them online (getting a lot of hits for dollhouse miniatures, etc). I would like to buy some but know neither the right terminology to use, nor where I'd buy them. I've already browsed several online cacti stores w/o success. Thanks for your help tracking this down!

Help me un-grinch my holiday season!

JoannaC — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:51:29 -0800

Help un-grinch my holiday season! Need suggestions for ways to get myself into the holiday spirit when I come from a family who does not really participate...

The 'holiday season' seems like a lot of fun, but for various reasons, I am feeling a bit like a non-participator. We are Jewish, for one thing. My mom's family does have one big Hanukkah party, which is a blast, but we decided a few years ago to stop buying gifts. The kids get little presents from each family, and the adults each chip in $20. A name is drawn and that person chooses a charity. We have never been into huge decorating or anything like that and I do not yet have a partner and/or kids to make such efforts for myself.

My dad and I are not close. He is married to a non-Jewish person and for awhile, they did big Christmas things. But now her elderly parents cannot come to them anymore, so they spend most of the school Christmas break out of town with her family. I used to buy presents for them and the half-sibs, but the sibs are old enough to reciprocate and do not, and there are too many people. I asked Dad last year if we could just have a nice dinner and forgo the gifts, and he seemed relieved.

It's hard to do a ton of stuff with friends because most of them have large families and numerous family commitments. I literally seem to be the only one who for various fairly benign reasons, has no big holiday 'season' to look forward to. I'm a bit disappointed, actually. It seems like a fun time of year, and I am seeing the decorations and hearing the music and feeling a little bit like none of it applies to me...

So, ideas? Anything? I thought about volunteering somewhere on Christmas eve and perhaps spending what I used to spend on holiday tokens for dad's family at the toy store and then donating to the toy drive. It could be fun to go pick out toys with such a budget and then donate them.

But what else could I do to enjoy the 'holiday season' when I am not used to participating and will be pretty much flying solo on this>

Cooking a turkey in an electric roaster oven

Lylo — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:49:47 -0800

Have you ever used an electric roaster oven to cook a large turkey?

So I am looking at the directions from a Rival 22 qt roaster oven and a Hamilton Beach 22 qt roaster over. The Rival directions suggest 13-15 minutes per pound at 325 degrees (over 5 hours for a 22 pound unstuffed turkey). The Hamilton Beach directions say turkey cooks faster in an electric roaster oven than in a conventional oven, and that it should take 2 to 3 hours for the same size bird at the same temperature. Who is right? (I can't imagine the roasters are that different from each other, 325 degrees is 325 degrees, right?). Also in the Hamilton Beach instructions, it states if you want the turkey to brown, paint it with a mixture of Kitchen Bouquet and butter. I've never used Kitchen Bouquet and don't know how this will effect the taste (I'm salting the turkey per the "salt don't brine" recipe in last year's Bon Appetit magazine, which tasted GREAT when cooked in a conventional oven.

does a direct external heat source mess with your body?

bdoop21 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:20:47 -0800

Is it bad for you to sit in front of a heater, even when its not THAT cold?

I live in the pacific north west and find that I am always cold but even when I was living on the east coast I was always cold though, so I'm not sure what that has to do with it.
Maybe I just need to move to a warmer climate, but I dont think that is going to happen any time soon.

I know there are ways of making heat in your body through yoga and other exercise, but my boyfriend says that sitting in front of a heater is actually bad for you and that it will make you colder when not in front of it.
Is this true?
Is it effecting my internal temperature regulation system, making my body dependent on external sources of heat to keep warm?
I wear lots of layers and still want the extra heat that comes from my amazing little heat dish. I love it.

Does Xbox 360 have a proxy option with authentications?

omaralarifi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:17:06 -0800

Does Xbox 360 have a proxy option with authentications such as username and password with it? Or PPTP w/ authentications. Also does it have a VPN support?

Grandfather's first laptop

XcentricOrbit — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:13:05 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations on setting up a new laptop for my 92 year old grandfather. He is essentially a "first timer" to modern computers, having never used a computer with a modern operating system and internet access, so any ideas to make it simpler and safer for him are welcome.

Relevant details:

Gramps: He's 92 years old, and the last time he owned a computer was probably in the early 1990's, and it was running MS-DOS / Win 3.11. As far as I know, he's never used anything more "online" than a BBS. He is "aware" of the internet and web, though, as he watches quite a bit of TV. He recently expressed interest in a netbook or similar that he could keep next to his favorite TV watching seat. His eyes and hearing, while diminished a bit at his age, should be up to the task of using the computer we got for him. His fine motor control is a bit lacking, but the keyboard keys are large enough, and we're getting a wireless mouse just in case the touchpad is an issue.

Laptop: Since the netbooks mostly had too small of a screen for his eyes, we ended up with a 15.4" Celeron-based Acer with a steal of a price from Best Buy ($249!). It has Windows 7 installed, and for now, at least, I think we'd rather keep that than install a flavor of Linux.

My google-fu has mostly failed me, and I haven't found much related on AskMefi (a couple posts about first timer users and children). Essentially, what I'm looking for is software recommendations, tips and tricks, and even hardware and accessories to help him ease into using his first modern computer. A few things that have come to mind:

Browser: What's the best browser and combination of plugins to help him avoid scams, unwanted pop-ups / redirects, and other generally malicious sites, but still leaves the browser easily usable and not confusing? NoScript in FireFox, for instance, is awesome for me, but it seems to boggle many people who aren't aware of exactly what it's doing.

E-mail: Best client or webmail to help him avoid scams and such, but also very simple to use to keep in contact with family and friends.

Security software (antivirus, anti-spyware, etc): Which ones are the best mix of safe, lightweight, and non-intrusive? Basically, what works without getting all up in his (or the laptop's) grill?

Accessibility: Any programs you have experience with that make the computer easier to use for someone of his age? Launchers, desktop mods, etc.

Any other general software recommendations are welcome (or any important areas you think I've omitted), and personal tips and tricks you've seen or used would be great. He has a "lap table" that should be big enough to the laptop with room to spare for a wireless mouse, but if you have a accessory that you think is the bee's knees, definitely link it! Heck, even simple games you think a senior might be interested in would be of interest.

And with that, I've popped my AskMefi question cherry. Thanks everyone! One of these days, I'll get around to doing an FPP too!

External USB drive, Linux machine, POST/mount woes!

xmutex — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:11:39 -0800

Please hope me: my Linux machine cannot boot when my external drive is connected: it can't get past POST tests when USB legacy is enabled, but it also can't mount the drive when USB legacy is _not_ enabled. :(

So if USB legacy is enabled and external drive is connected, the machine sits at pre-POST testing forever. It won't get past it. If USB legacy is turned off, it boots, but Linux (ubuntu 9) cannot mount the drive. So what I have to do is keep USB legacy off, and when the machine boots, unplug/replug the drive- then run mount manually.

This situation sucks cos the external drive is my backup. I don't want the machine to boot w/o it connected, and don't want to have to manually intervene.

Is this more an issue w/ the machine, or the drive? It's a Buffalo 1TB external USB drive - this dude.

Any tips? Thanks!

places to stay in Provincetown, MA?

Rocket26 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:02:46 -0800

Suggestions for places to stay in Provincetown, Massachusetts over the Christmas Holidays? Looking for guest houses or vacation rentals.

Hi there. I'm going to be in Provincetown over Christmas with my BF and his mom, so we're looking for a place to stay w/ at least 2 bedrooms. We'll probably stay 3-5 nights (we're visiting another family member up there). A cozy guest house/cabin with a kitchen so we could cook a lot and hang out a lot in would be ideal. We'll probably have access to a car, but if it was w/in walking distance to food, shops, that would also be great. So if anybody has any suggestions, let me know!

Color TV tuning wand?

patnok — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:50:23 -0800

My girlfriend was telling me this story last night. I think the TV guy was just having fun with them. She also said the "wand" made "colors" on the screen. I think it was a stick with a magnet on it. Does the Hive Mind have any recollections of this "tuning" wand? Story after the jump.

I lived in Logan, Ohio when we got our first color television. It was around the early 60’s. The television was a floor console. A tech man came with it and set it up. I remember him telling us until he used a color wand it wouldn’t show color well. I watched him go in front of the television and wave it in front of the screen for awhile and when he was finished he said it was all set to go.

warning your references ahead of time

diode — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:59:25 -0800

I've found a great potential job, given them references, and know the references will be contacted on Monday. To what extent is it typical to let your references know beforehand they will be contacted by my potential employer?

My list of references are friends and a couple of people from work including my supervisor.

I've been amongst the under-employed for a bit. My current position went from full, to half, to quarter time in the past year and three quarters. My skills and interests are seemingly diverging from their needs.

I'm not too concerned about the references I will get from my friends. My supervisor, on the other hand, I don't know how this will go. The potential job did not specifically request the supervisor's contact info but I put it down anyway thinking it would look strange if I did not do so.

As a note, I did not notify my references beforehand they were a reference.

I'm still working there, albeit quarter time, when other folks have been let go entirely, so the company sees value in my continued presence, though apparently not enough to employ me full time.

So, what I'm wondering is whether I should be contacting my references to let them know they are likely to get contacted. In particular, my supervisor is one key element.

At this point, I'm thinking something along the lines of simply letting him know this is occurring. He's clear I'm looking for work, or at least should be since other potential employers have contacted him in the past.

I had originally thought to do a little pre-programming with my supervisor to remind him of my successes and best attributes. I think it's a little late to do this now.

I'm wondering what the hive-mind knows about this subject and whether it's considered good form to contact your references to let them know in advance.

Travelling with Ritalin

Zé Pequeno — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:57:02 -0800

I currently live in Brazil but shall be returning to my country of origin, the UK, for a month or so in December. I recently managed to get a prescription for Ritalin from a psychiatrist here in Brazil and was wondering whether I'd have any complications in bringing this back into the UK.

I will most likely be travelling with two 10mg boxes containing twenty tablets each. Perhaps even less. I only use it when I have a really important project to do and, as I'm in the middle of my Masters dissertation, I'm going to need it big time.

Any tips would be appreciated. Luckily, I photocopied the prescription before handing it to the pharmacist because she kept it and I'd have had no supporting documentation. The matter is somewhat complicated by the fact that I was prescribed by a psychiatrist friend without a proper diagnosis, though I have known for a long time that I have a pretty severe case of ADD Inattentive-type for which Ritalin helps me tremendously (i.e. on Ritalin, I can behave like a normal human being).

Why do we refer to Galileo Galilei by his first name?

found missing — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:51:00 -0800

Why do we refer to Galileo Galilei by his first name? Seems unconventional.

Kids don't like eating at school...

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:50:35 -0800

Where can I find a Remains of the Day lunchbox?

I've tried Ebay, Etsy, Cafe Press, Zazzle and asked teh Google. Any other leads or suggestions would be appreciated. I did find a site where I could order a blank lunchbox and could probably make it myself, but I want it to look professional.

How do you solve a problem like Maria losing her ID?

apophenia — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:46:11 -0800

What form of identification can I get in Germany?

I am an idiot and I lost my American learner's permit last night. Aside from my passport, it was my only form of personal ID. Here, my ID is checked at least once a week during ticket checks on the train or when I'm boozing it up. Though I still have my passport, I'm wary of carrying it around with me everywhere.

A. Will a photocopy of my passport be a valid form of identification?
B. Can I somehow procure another form of ID here? Because I'm not German, I can't get a state-issued Personalausweis but because I'm not in America, I can't just pop into the DMV and get a new permit.

Bash my files into shape.

sinfony — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:37:06 -0800

My command line/scripting-fu is weak. Help me clean up and copy a lot of files without having to do it by hand?

I keep a full version of my music library on an HTPC, running Ubuntu. When I acquire new music, I always do so on my Windows laptop, and I also make sure to get a high-quality image of the album cover. For various reasons, I switched a while ago from naming the cover Folder.jpg to naming it front.jpg. Periodically, I push the new stuff onto the HTPC.

Now my album art on the Ubuntu machine is a mess. There are two things I would like to do. First, I want to delete any files called "Folder.jpg" that are located in folders that also have a "front.jpg." Second, I want to copy (not move) all of the "front.jpg" files to new "Folder.jpg" files. (This is because a lot of the older Folder.jpg files are wrong, borked, or lower quality). I suppose part two could solve part one by overwriting the older Folder.jpg, but I'm not confident that the case is always the same (i.e. always Folder.jpg and not folder.jpg).

Here's the directory structure of the files: /media/Drive/Audio/Artist Name/Album Name/<song files, album art images, etc.).

I have pretty rudimentary command line skills, and I can't find any way to make cp do what I want. My intuition, though, is that there must be some automated and reasonably simple way of doing this. Any assistance with sorting this out would be greatly appreciated.

Seeking clicking mechanism or design...

pallen123 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:21:02 -0800

What kind of small toys or devices click when you rotate them forwards and backwards? Seeking mechanism or design...

I’m trying to help a friend design a small toy and she needs a mechanism that will click in very small increments as she rotates a small (1 inch diameter) dial that turns 360 degrees on its axis. She needs the dial to click precisely as it turns clockwise and counterclockwise in smallish increments. I was thinking a fishing reel mechanism might work, but that just allows turning in one direction. Then I thought a ratchet wrench mechanism might work, but that also turns in just one direction (and I’m not sure how the inside of a ratchet wrench works either). Can anyone think of existing toys or devices that have a clicking mechanism that freely rotate? Novel solutions? Suggestions? Thank you!

Crayon in the Dryer, 3x Over

theichibun — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:13:54 -0800

I washed some clothes with a crayon in a pocket. Now I've got yellow crayon spread out across my clothes. But it gets better. The clothes weren't getting dry and I kept putting them through the dryer. 3 times total, never noticing that the crayon stains were there. How can I get rid of, or at least minimize, the problem so I get some of my pants for work back?

I've tried ironing with a paper towel and putting them through the washer with various combinations of OxiClean and other stain fighting products. At first running them through the washer seemed to be helping (cold/cold just in case maybe using warm water somewhere would help), but the last time I tried that I didn't see it getting any better. I also saw no good coming from the ironing method.

Due to my schedule the clothes have now been sitting in my room for about a week since the incident. Probably not a good move, I know. Do I have any hope of fixing the mess this late in the game?

After cooking a chicken stew is it safe to freeze the chicken with the bone still on?

citybuddha — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:00:33 -0800

After cooking a chicken stew is it safe to freeze the chicken with the bone still on?

wintry mix

samsarah — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:55:07 -0800

Looking for music that feels like winter.

I'm making a winter mix and need recommendations. I've read the old threads, which yielded some results, but I still need more. I'm specifically looking for songs that sound like winter. To me that sounds like sparse instruments and reverb on the vocals. I'm not so much looking for songs that are lyrically about wintertime - just songs that sound and feel like a winter day.

What I'm not looking for:
-christmas songs
-songs with the words "Winter" or "December" in the title.

Examples of what I am looking for:
-Anything by Fleet Foxes, Marissa Nadler, and Bon Iver
-Andrew Bird - The Giant of Illinois
-Phosphorescent - Wolves

Thanks!

Gmail fail! Please help!

genmonster — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:37:23 -0800

Gmail shame! My account was accessed and all my contacts were spammed. How do I keep this from happening again?

I'm not even sure the spam was really sent from my account:it doesn't show up in my sent folder. However there was an entry in 'account activity' that I'm pretty sure wasn't me accessing my account. I already changed my password (which, I admit, hadn't been changed in years). I use the latest version of firefox on my macbook (i don't even know if this is relevant, but whatever). How do I keep this from happening again??

What history / philosophy books should I read next?

crapples — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:26:05 -0800

What history / philosophy books should I ask for for Christmas?

I recently read Manhunt and I loved how engaging the writing was. It was like reading a novel at times. I also love reading philosophy of religion and philosophy of politics. I'd like to read more about the civil war (especially books that focus on one set of events, like Manhunt, as opposed to books that survey the entire war), introductions to communism or marxism, maybe something really engaging about WWII (although I've already read quite a bit about that subject).

I know that's a little broad: But my parents are asking me what I want for Christmas and I'd like to give them a list of four or five books. Any suggestions that would fit somewhere with what I've described?

Does he have jimmy legs? Spontaneously evacuating bladder?

zennoshinjou — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:21:13 -0800

Why was there a panel blocking the lower half of Biden in this episode of the daily show?

I saw this and I am very curious. I don't recall seeing this for other guests.

Where Can I Get a Directory of New York High Tech Companies?

simpleton — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:14:10 -0800

Is there a directory of New York high tech companies?

I am applying in the New York city area for a software developer job.

There are a lot of job search websites but I notice that some companies, including some major companies, don't post their jobs on the major job websites.

Ideally, I would like to have a list of all the high tech companies in the New York city so I can sift through them and find their direct websites and apply directly.

Another reason for this is that there are a lot of job recruiters out there who post to the job websites and I really just want to work directly with a company and not through recruiters.

Anybody going through this situation, perhaps even in another city?

Google search gives some results but I haven't seen a comprehensive database out there.

chinese language educational software for native chinese speaking kids

alcahofa — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:48:34 -0800

my kids (ages 3 and 6) are beginning to learn chinese. i am looking for useful materials and strategies to get them fluent. i don't speak chinese. one thing that helped a lot in learning spanish (their second language) was spanish language education software that targets native spanish speakers ages 3 to 5. does anyone have any recommendations both for the chinese educational software of this type and how to buy it when you don't speak chinese. there is absolutely nothing more daunting than a chinese language web site.

What is the best mandoline to buy with price, size, and safety in mind?

macowell — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:52:46 -0800

What is the best mandoline to buy with price, size, and safety in mind? It will be a present for my father who likes to cook, but has not used a lot of mandolines in the past?

I'm not sure what jobs I should be applying for.

Lakmir — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:52:43 -0800

What are some decent-paying jobs for someone who has B.A. degrees in English and in Psychology, and a lot of unofficial and very specialized technical knowledge but no "official" (i.e. paid) experience with such?

Three and a half years ago, I graduated from a well-respected school with a bachelor's degree in English and another in Psychology. Of those, I've spent roughly two and a quarter working for a nonprofit in residential direct care - putting my psych degree to work for me, so to speak. There are a lot of problems with this: I'm facing major burnout, I work extremely long shifts, I'm slowly growing to hate the people I'm working with (the residents, not my coworkers), the pay is garbage and there's little or no opportunity for promotion. I'm not liking the field at all, and badly desire a career change.

In the meantime, I've also been doing a lot of hobby work on video games. Script writing and editing, localization programming (assembly languages), that sort of thing. I've gained a lot of really deep knowledge about old dead computers, some rudimentary management skills, and some really wonderful English narrative editing skills. There's also a smattering of MySQL knowledge that goes with the territory, a little bit of procedural C++, some technical writing (documentation and readmes), image editing, that sort of thing. I've been including this on my resume but it's not really "work" experience because I'm not getting any money for it, at least not in the eyes of most HR divisions.

Now I know the job market is impossible, but I have two degrees, a magna cum laude GPA, and am doing brain-breaking, psyche-draining work with an increasingly difficult population. I feel like I should be making more than $24K/year, you know? I need a change of job, but I don't know what sort of jobs I should be applying for.

So, my core question is: What sort of jobs I should be applying for? Administrative assistant? Researcher/analyst? Should I go for IT or web design, and if so, how much of a portfolio will I need to put together? I'm feeling increasingly lost and badly need to be pointed in the right direction!

As a corollary, how should I treat my technical stuff? It's vast and expansive, not to mention that it's the product of more than a decade's worth of blood, sweat, and tears, so I don't want to just make light of it with a few minor adjustments to a "Skills" list in a resume. But on the other hand, I applied at a temp agency not to long ago; they took one look at the stuff I've done as a hobby, pegged me for middle or upper management, and told me that I was overqualified for anything they had.

Here's some extra information in anticipation of responses from reading other questions. My chief loves in life are literature (both reading and writing), games of all kinds, music (both performing and listening), and problem solving. Further, I hate my job, but not only because I'm not making any money at it; the guys have all these little quirks that make everyone else mad, which they often knowingly abuse. So it's not necessarily about the money, but it wouldn't hurt to actually be able to start putting a little away...

Further, physical location is not an issue. I don't have much (if anything) put away but I can probably scrape together some change, and I have friends willing to lend me a bit of scratch to help finance a move.

I know this is a very open-ended question, but I'm frustrated and desperate. Please help!

Super Germs invading my mouth

jadegenie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:50:29 -0800

Super germs... in my mouth??

I can never seem to rinse with Listerine for the recommended amount of time of either 30 or 60 seconds. I get to about 10-15 seconds and think... ow ow ow... must stop the burning... spit and rinse. I was thinking about that hand sanitizer issue where it only kills 99.9% of the germs and that last bit that's leftover will divide and eventually we end up with super germs. Is that what's also going on in my mouth?

I don't want to switch to another brand that doesn't cause so much tingling because I very much enjoy the sensation of clean in my mouth after the whole rinsing ritual.

Playlist on iTunes and iPhone have different songs.

You Should See the Other Guy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:27:01 -0800

I have a smart Playlist on my iTunes which functions properly and has all the right tracks in it. I have it checked as a Playlist to export to my iPhone. The iPhone has a playlist with exactly the same name ... but completely different songs. I've double checked that I don't have two playlists with the same name in iTunes. Not just one track is different--none of the tracks overlap. Why is this happening?

So far, I've tried:

- resetting to factory settings
- rebooting the phone
- deleting the playlist, synching, recreating the playlist, and resynching

Nothing works. It's driving me nuts. WTF?!

Lonliness and depression

loser8008 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:05:33 -0800

Lonely and depressed...need advice

So i haven't been on here in writing about stuff in a while, which i guess is a good thing. I have been making progress on focusing on myself and stoped seeking a relationship, as if it were the only key to happiness. I have been doing better, i have established a pretty good amount of friends who i can trust and talk to and have grown a whole lot of confidence in just about everything i do. This happens to my toughest semester in college as an engineer, and i am effortlessly passsing (almost aceing) all my classes.

As much as things are better though i still feel like many times there is just me putting on a mask of a smiley face at times. I just feel like so much is missing. I have yet to establish a good exercise routine as i am very much out of shape and it is something i wish to work on...but things just haven't felt right lately, no matter what lately i have just been depressed waiting for what more is going to happen. It gets to the point where i just don't want to think, one thing i have found to ease the thought process is alcohol, as i am now 21. I don't drink alot or all the time, but lately i have just found that it makes it so much easier to forget everything by just having a beer or 2 at night.

Things haven't been bad, but then i did meet a girl i liked. and i am pretty sure i went about everything in the right way, but i still got turned down as things in her past that she is dealing with and is not ready for a relationship. I have no problem with it, never really expected to get that girl. But as someone has stated before it seems like i am a person "who feels to much". Things go from a great hope where things feel great and i feel optimistic, is there anything that i could of said different or that i could do different to change the future outcome. I went through one time where a girl told me she needs time before she would want to talk about things before, so i stepped back, within a few weeks she ends up with some other guy. I guess i don't have what it takes to change a girls perspective. I don't know how to explain but it just really hurts. it seems like i always end up in somewhat of the same situation. i again just find myself doing what ever i can to not think, to not think so i don't feel.

I don't really know where i am actually going with all this, i just kind of went on a rant. I would just like any input, opinions, to help get things better, advice.

Bigger without Blurrier

rahnefan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:52:27 -0800

How can I get a DVD movie to fill (at least one axis of) my screen without compromising the picture quality?

Two years ago we were given a Samsung HDTV, something like 32 inches wide. In the settings, we generally have "Size" set to Just Scan. For normal TV or the HD channels, this works fine. For movies however, there's a problem.

Mrs. RahneFan and I are two different kinds of grumps. I won't watch anything visually intense if the picture quality is sabotaged by intentional distortion of the picture. A circle must be a true circle and the human body must have correct proportions. Details meant to impress me are things I don't want to miss. And nothing should be cropped. Conversely, detail, proportion, and seeing something as it was intended to be seen do not matter much to her, but she hates the so-called black bars probably more than your grandmother does.

Movies on cable channels only display undistorted if we change the resolution to 4:3 instead of Just Scan. So we flip back and forth for that, not a problem usually. But...

DVDs, when the TV is set to Just Scan, display in lovely, crisp detail, but do not fill our screen; the black borders she despises appear above, below, and on both sides. I see the movie, not the black, but like her, I would rather it filled our screen on at least one axis or the other. We have GOBS of space on all four sides, so why can't it be bigger?

The player is a Pioneer, don't even remember how old it is.

The only other options that appear available are 16:9 (unacceptable stretching), Zoom 1, and Zoom 2. Zoom 1 and Zoom 2 are both blurry and crop the movie on all four sides. For example, parts of DVD menus don't even appear onscreen at those settings.

Is there some way to maintain the clarity and detail of a DVD and have it large enough to fill our screen on at least one axis, without stretching or cropping the picture? Some way to make it automatically enlarge whatever is playing, regardless of aspect ratio, until it touches either the vertical or horizontal edge of the screen?

I am aware that movies can be shot in a wide variety of aspect ratios, and that DVDs can be edited with hard matting etc. Will it require knowing exactly what every movie's aspect ratio is and whether or not it has been matted and how, and relearning all this crap every time, and making some odd specific combination of settings to get it right? Shouldn't the technology be smart enough to do this on its own by now?

It's Hip to Make Bad Puns

shaun uh — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:27:34 -0800

I'm turning 25 in a few weeks and the party theme I've decided on is "Hip to be Square". 'Cause 25 is 5^2, get it? GET IT? Yeah, I know, I'm a dork. Looking for suggestions of how to incorporate that theme into a party.

I'm looking for ways to expand on the "square" theme. All definitions of square welcomed - mathematical, geometrical, cultural. And I'm open to any ideas - songs, foods, activities, costume suggestions for guests.

Let's hear it, HiveMind.

How to clean the sediment from my PC

wombycat — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:12:31 -0800

I have a water cooled PC that is slow building up sediment in the bottom of the reserve and inside of the tubing. I used a retail additive with de-mineralised water so this is coming as a bit of a surprise to me. I have since replaced the fluid with more de-mineralised water and car radiator concentrate, this has stopped the build-up of sediment though the existing sediment still remains. Is there a way to clean out this sediment in the form of a flush or something similar?

Too twee for me.

invitapriore — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:56:42 -0800

Draw a line from the 1981 release of This Heat's album Deceit to today. What do you get?

A little while ago I realized that all of my favorite bands are at least twenty years old. I'd like to fix this, but I haven't heard anything rock-related recently that's grabbed me. Most of the new bands I've heard seem to fall in a few orbits that I'm not too interested in: Man Man, Girl Talk, The Antlers, Beirut, Devendra Banhart; all different styles that I can't muster much enthusiasm for.

My problem is that it all feels very safe to me. I don't want polite music. I don't even want impolite music. I want something seething, like the This Heat album I mentioned above, or The Fall, or something wild like The Red Krayola. I've had a little luck with Angels of Light, Michael Gira being someone I can rely on for transgression and Swans being one of the aforementioned 20 year old favorites. Still, it's not quite what I want. Come to think of it, things outside of rock are very welcome, too. Help me, AskMefi.

(Note: I'm probably not interested in anything metal or hardcore or etc., but if you can make a really good case for it I'll give it a whirl.)

Administering non-celebrity Facebook pages

total warfare frown — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:09 -0800

Does anyone run a Facebook page with a large number of fans?

A friend of mine and I set up a page (Not Being Murdered By Clowns) as a goof and were surprised when the number of fans climbed into the tens of thousands. Around the 50,000 fan mark, I received a message from Facebook saying that I needed to prove my affiliation with the subject of the page in question. A tricky proposition, since we made the subject up.

They suggested changing the name of the page to the official web domain. I registered notbeingmurderedbyclowns.com and asked them to change the name of the FB page. That didn't work. They suggested adding a badge or "fan box widget" to the "actor's official website." Obviously this isn't possible. None of their suggestions - get someone affiliated with the alleged celebrity we're a fan of to link to the page, basically - are doable. I don't have anything on the web page I registered yet, and frankly don't have the time to put something together right now.

There are several other "Not Being" pages out there (Not Being On Fire and Not Being Eaten By Sharks are the biggest), but I can't find any contact emails for them, and their info appears even more bogus than ours. My replies to the FB emails have been fruitless as well.

It isn't like we're emotionally invested in this, but we're almost at 80,000 fans and had thought about printing some t-shirts and making a little money off the venture. Now, however, both of our publishing rights have been blocked. Any thoughts?

e-cart ala carte?

tilde — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:07:33 -0800

Can anyone recommend a scalable shopping cart solution?

I'm setting up a website for a friend using the latest Drupal install. It took me about two weeks of on and off reading to wrap my head around it as a CMS and get it going, but it works.

I'm in the plan and recommend stages of the shopping cart part. While I prefer to code once and implement once, I also realize this is the real world.

So what I need to figure out is what to use for a shopping cart - either a self-installed solution, such as Drupal's ecommerce or Ubercart (e-commerce is not quite released, Uber might be more than I need?) or a "someone else does the lifting" for-fee site, such as yahoo or amazon.

We're still working out the details, but for now, we'd need, likely:

1. The ability to support multiple vendors. That is, they can see the items that they are selling through the site, be notified when a cart completes that requires them to ship one or more items (without seeing credit card info) and potentially be able to mark something as "accepted to ship" and "shipped".

2. The ability to support a customer service end and inquiry workflow (Marcia calls and says she never got a widget, CS rep can look at the order and then contact the vendor for that item, and generate a re-ship if needed).

3. Return Authorization System - either per vendor or for the overall shopping site.

4. Ability to purchase w/o making an account, maybe.

5. Ability to sell mixed carts of "in house" and drop shipped items.

6. (WISHFUL) Ability to plug into sites like Lulu to have one cart for all purchases; customer buys through us, we pass through order to Lulu for that portion of the order.

I'm wavering between Uber-cartting or other solution, as "cheaper" in the short run, but wondering if Yahoo or Amazon or others have a hosted-like solution for this sort of thing. Everything I've read so far seems to indicate that hosted solutions would have to bottleneck through "us", with a lot of manual work on our end, sending out emails to the vendors who are 'dropshipping' with us.

We'll be starting out with one or two vendors, but eventually expanding (hopefully!) into a couple hundred - at which point we might want to integrate into a grown-up ERP (I can dream) like Jesta or other accounting/inventory/etc solution ... though at that volume we could hire in a consultant to move all the info over ...

Now We Aren't Quite Six

easy_being_green — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:03:47 -0800

I'm going to a birthday party for a five-year-old tomorrow, one of my students. His mom said not to bring a present, but I was hoping to put something fun in the card. I love A.A. Milne's poem Now We are Six and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a similar poem about turning five.

Brand me

b33j — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:49 -0800

What is that I'm doing? Tag my business.

I’ve been working freelance for a couple of years while I finished my degree doing a variety of tasks for academics (4 or 5) who work in the field of Education. Some of the things I’ve done have been to create logos for various groups, diagrams and illustrations for lesson plans and books, some photography,animations, presentations, formatting of material for publishing, transcription, managing an international journal and formatting it, creating databases and entering all the data, as well as analysing it (lightly – I’m no expert in statistics) and producing all graphs and reports.

Now that I’ve finished my degree, I want to increase my clientele. I think I can make a go of this because I turned over around $30K at about 14 hours a week. I have a domain which is my own name and the word design. I hope to launch my website (with a blog -thanks metafilter for earlier advice) in January. I’m working on a design for my business card. My current clients will probably forward my details onto their mailing groups if I ask them – I just need one last thing. What do I do and what’s a good tag line? I would have thought “academic support” except that that phrase tends to mean helping students to survive university. I tested the tagline “the whole package” on one of my current clients, and she was aghast, but couldn’t exactly say why.

So, to summarise my business card, for example...

b33jdesign
~~Academic Support~~ (?)
~~The whole package~~ (?)
w: www.b33jdesign.com
e: jr@b33jdesign.com
p: xxx xxxx xxx

Related

Nothing good, is the answer

Countess Elena — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:04 -0800

What does it mean to say that someone "had tests run and that the two arteries to her head are in bad shape with one being closed and the other partly closed"?

This is in regards to my great-great-aunt, who is 95, and has declined surgery. (There is no trauma to her head that I am aware of, although she had a bad fall recently.) That's a third-hand account at least of what the doctor said.

She's a good, strong lady and it's going to be tough on my folks when she goes. I'd like to know (without needling them at a difficult time) if I need to expect that right away. A Google search is not much good with that text string, though.

Tell me your memorable, exciting learning experiences!

Cygnet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:10:31 -0800

What are the most fun, memorable, interesting, exciting, and long-lasting learning experiences you have had?

I'm talking about academic-type learning here, not "life learning", though I realize that sometimes the two are intertwined. I'm interested in things you did that made a subject, era in history, scientific principle, work of literature, or whatever come alive. The opposite of dry, textbook learning and cramming for tests. Engaging, open-ended, low-pressure, and, most of all, deeply memorable - the kind of learning that really gives you a lasting fondness for the subject.

Examples of the kind of thing I mean:
1. When I was 13 I toured the Castle of Edinburgh, and they had a fantastic audio tour that made me fall in love with the dark and mysterious history of the castle - and the whole region.
2. In high school, I took a European History class that put on a Greek Olympics (complete with Greek drama and hand-made masks, home-made Greek food, sporting events, traditional offerings to the Gods), a Welsh Eisteddfod (poetry, daffodils, Welsh music), and a Sienese Palio (with teams, bribing of the judges, sonnets for each mascot, traditional food, Italian art and architecture), and a Victorian Tea (with Oscar Wilde skits, appropriate outfits and food, Gilbert and Sullivan, and appropriate social and political discussions for the era). Totally memorable.
3. As a kid, I had the magnificent Classical Kids tapes, which introduced music history and the greatest works in story-form, with amazingly good quality acting and musicianship.
4. Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" videos, and Lawrence Blair's "Ring of Fire" videos - informative, beautiful, and memorable.

What other things, places, and experiences would you suggest? I'm interested in pretty much anything, but bonus points for things that are possible for me, a not-so-wealthy female graduate student (in the sciences) in Boston, to do without heroic measures. Even more bonus points if friends could participate in said learning.

Oh what a tangled web we weave

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:58:09 -0800

I need some advice about how to move my life forward. Relationship, job, and home. A simple question: should I stay here or should I go back home, but with the usual tortured backstory that I will try to keep as relevant as possible!

Backstory: I am a male, mid 20s, in the UK. I moved 200miles for a job that I loved. It came with own accommodation. I met a great girl (X) there, and started going out with her. Lost job (and therefore place to live) when company collapsed. X was very supportive. Moved in with her for a couple of weeks, she helps me look for jobs. Relationship is strained for a little while due to being in each other's company 24/7. (X is about to start full-time job, after finishing masters degree, so has previously had a lot of free time to be with me)

I want to stay in area, and not go back to my hometown, partly because I would need to do exactly what I am doing here; find jobs, place to live etc, and also because I now have a reason to stay= girlfriend. Decide to stay in area, and stick it out. Decide to find a place to live locally. Ask X whether me living locally is going to work out for both of us. She agrees that it will. Find a small, cheap apartment, fairly close to X. We're happy. Both looking forward to *ahem* christen... new apartment.

I move in. X excuses herself for a few days. Week later, X decides she wants to be friends only. I am heartbroken. Several weeks go by where X causes more grief by "not knowing where she stands", and giving me [false] hope. In the meantime, she's still being supportive, helping me move in other stuff, lending me furniture, still looking for jobs etc. We still do things together when we can; shows, sports and movies. And still talk a lot. Has been platonic only.

I still have feelings for this girl. She is awesome, intelligent, gorgeous. But it means that any glimmer of mutual feelings she shows I jump on (in my mind) as her wanting to get back with me. This is not good. I know that going from 'boyfriend' to 'just friends' is a bad idea. But she is honestly a good friend too.

However, I do want to get back with her. But if I can't, then she is a really good friend I don't want to lose. But even though she's quite happy being friends, I'm not at that stage yet. If there is no hope of getting back together, then I need to get over her.

~~~Meanwhile~~~

Looking for jobs still. The job market is rubbish, as it is back in my hometown. Doing all I can. Get part time job at low pay, whilst still searching for other jobs.

Here's a catch: In a few weeks, I have the final selection process (week-long) to gain entry to Sandhurst, the British Army Officer military academy (please, no comments on whether this is a good thing or not). If I pass, then entry will be in May 2010. If so, then I will have a career sorted for a few years at least.

But until May, or god forbid, if I don't pass, then I still need a better paid job.

The crux: I am barely scraping by here. I can just afford rent now, but I haven't been paid by this job yet. My gas, electricity, water is all metered so I can just about keep on top of those.

My parents, back home, have said that I can live with them for as long as I need. Ultimately I would still be in the same situation, looking for jobs, possibly looking for place to live (parents have small house).

However, I kinda feel settled here. I'm making friends; there's possibly better jobs on the horizon; I like my new apartment; and if I pass this selection course, I would only need to be here for a few months. And I feel like I should man up, and stick it out. I don't want to give up!

So, sorry for the length. With all the above information, can you help me out?

Should I stay here? And try to get over X, carry on looking for jobs (and working part time), and hope that I pass the course.
Or should I move back home? Never see X again probably, still look for jobs (losing part time job), hope that I pass the course.

Throwaway email: hereorhome@googlemail.com

_{(Ideal happy ending: X gets back with me. I get a (temporary) job that pays well. I stay living where I am. Bonus points to get me all three! )}

What's a good gift for an Amish family?

saffry — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:26:19 -0800

Should I give a gift to the family who we bought a CSA farmshare from this year? I was at their house every week from May to Oct picking up produce, and even a few chickens. Complication is that they're an Amish family (maybe Swartzentuber?), and I have no idea what would be an appropriate gift. It's the parents, and about 5 kids under the age of 10. The best idea I have at the moment is a jar of maple syrup from my trees, since that's about the only thing their farm doesn't have.

keyframing problems in premiere

Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:21:42 -0800

Adobe Premiere Filter: how do I adjust keyframe interpolation to get a title to move the way I want it to? (I can't believe the fairly simple option I'm looking for wouldn't be available...) Exhaustive details inside.

The title in question starts with a couple of words scrolling slowly left (each letter is actually its own title, so they can move independently of each other). Here's what I want to happen to each letter, starting with the leftmost and moving down the line in rapid succession:

A. The letter is moving left at a steady velocity. It has ZERO VERTICAL VELOCITY this whole time, only horizontal velocity.
B. The letter 'drops' by about thirty pixels, accelerating vertically from zero until it hits a certain point. At this point its vertical velocity instantly returns to zero and STAYS THERE. Throughout this step, the horizontal velocity from step A remains constant.
C. The letter keeps moving to the left, maintaining the same horizontal velocity it has had since the beginning. No changes in vertical position.

Here's the problem: each letter gives a little 'hop' before starting step B, and a little 'dip' after ending it. Instead of just falling and then stopping, it rises a few pixels above the "A" baseline, falls thirty pixels or so, then dips a few pixels below the "C" baseline before returning to it.

No matter how I try to mess with the interpolations (linear, bezier, continuous bezier, auto bezier, etc.), the letter ends up doing variations on the same damn thing (unless I try "hold," and then it teleports). I guess this is meant to smooth out the movements of titles and objects, but in this case it doesn't make my titles look smooth, it makes them look terrible.

So, how can I stop this vertical overcompensation? I'm still pretty new to Premiere, so it's quite possible that there's an interpolation technique I'm missing, or a screwed-up setting I haven't noticed somewhere. If not, and there's no way to stop it, then thanks very much... I'm off to find the people who made this program and burn their houses down :)

(Sorry if all that explanation seemed a little too emphatic, it's just that this is driving me batshit with rage. I should have taken screen caps or something.)