Surely you have more than twelve individual transactions per month. Just use your check card more than you do now. Coffee? Check card. Gas? Check card. Dinner? Check card. Since you're not already using your check card twelve times a month, it might seem weird or uncomfortable, but every time you're making a smaller purchase, or a larger one you can afford with your account balance, resist using cash or a credit card and pull out the check card.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 11:58 PM on March 25, 2008

If you don't like the look, try shrinking the Aero window borders and changing the border color (right click on desktop > personalize > window color and appearance). I use graphite borders and my border padding is 2; it looks much better than the default theme. If you really don't like the new look, go to the Personalize dialog, click "Theme," and choose "Windows Classic."

In Explorer windows, I believe the default is to have the entire left... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 9:42 AM on March 14, 2008

They get away with it because it is, in fact, water. Go on, read the ingredients list. What's at the top of the list? Water.

The product's name is an entirely accurate description. It's water with added vitamins. Vitamin water.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2008

Came here to say what Good Brain just did. With her "couldn't resist" remark, she gave you the perfect line to defuse the situation if things don't go as hoped. You have nothing at all to lose by going for it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 8:40 AM on February 27, 2008

What political office is your friend seeking? What's your budget? Depending on the situation, you might want to consider an all-in-one solution, like this. It would certainly be the easiest way to take care of things, if it fits into your budget. I have no experience with this sort of thing, but the idea of a CMS built from the ground up for political websites popped into my mind since half the politicians in Minnesota seem to use the system I linked to.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 7:51 PM on February 24, 2008

This site, which I found by checking on how some local candidates were taking contributions online, offers an option to have them host and manage your donation page without using them for your entire site.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 8:02 PM on February 24, 2008

Don't follow matteo's advice. Just because you lie about your identity doesn't mean you're not making a contribution in excess of legal limits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:20 AM on February 6, 2008

This is done to help verify that the card is not stolen. It's not just gas stations; for example, I've seen this done at automated movie rental kiosks, NYC's MetroCard kiosks, and even at some retailers during face-to-face transactions.

Here's a Boston Globe article discussing this, with specific references to ZIP code verification at gas stations:

It's an effort to fight credit card fraud at gas stations and retail stores. A thief... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:02 PM on February 5, 2008

Does that mean it's wrong to take a flight or drive a car?
No. It means it's wrong to take a flight or drive a car without considering the impact of that flight or drive on the environment.

Are there any reasonable excuses?
Yes. If you need to get somewhere, but there are no reasonable alternatives, better to take the flight instead of missing your father's funeral or getting fired for missing an important... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 7:23 AM on January 28, 2008

Like dzot and griffey, I only use the Zune software to transfer music and podcasts. My desktop media player is WinAmp. It's no trouble at all to keep two libraries, especially since WinAmp and the Zune software both automatically find new tracks I've added to my music folder.

This wasn't an issue at all for me, since I've kept my desktop player and my device separate for all of my portable players (Creative Zen Xtra, Rio Karma, Zune 80). I wouldn't let this come between... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:37 PM on January 11, 2008 marked best answer

The order form on that ipod-itunes-download.com site is processed through the ClickBank system. You may want to try requesting a refund through this form: http://www.clickbank.com/csinquiry.html
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 12:54 AM on January 3, 2008

Another possibility: Just about every possible variation on itunes.com -- transposed letters, double letters, missing letters, QWERTY errors -- is registered to someone. Many possible itunes.com typos I tried led me to sites similar to the one rubberkey's mother apparently ended up at.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:51 AM on January 3, 2008

I have no idea what the current rating is. I checked the manual online and it didn't appear to have that information.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:14 PM on November 21, 2007

It's 2.4A.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:59 PM on November 21, 2007

Keyword spam. They want you to click on the pictures of semen dripping out of vaginas so they can make money. That dick van dyke and so on thing is just a subdomain, they just paid for "tipsheetfile.cn" and then put the keywords into a subdomain, like cocks-cocks-cocks.tipsheetfile.cn and such.

Also this is probably the first time a direct link to butt-fucking, lesbians, dicks, and cum-drenched vaginas, all on one page, has been posted on AskMe.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 11:36 PM on August 31, 2007

Also: Clicking "Diagnose Connection Problems" on the "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" screen runs the "Network Diagnostics for Windows XP" application, which finds no problems with HTTP and HTTPS, but can't use FTP.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:34 PM on August 28, 2007

Proxy settings are clear, as they should be and are in Firefox. Automatic updates are on and have been for months. I don't see anything in the Windows Firewall settings that would block IE. Also, turning off the firewall has no effect. There is no other firewall software running on the computer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:44 PM on August 28, 2007

Also, when I chose to reactive previously ignored updates on the automatic updates control panel, it did download and install an update.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:45 PM on August 28, 2007

There are no toolbars installed. Disabling all add-ons does nothing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:58 PM on August 28, 2007

Also: I ran Adaware and Spybot, removed everything, re-ran both, found nothing. CWShredder also came up with two hits, but removed both, and re-running came up clean.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 4:01 PM on August 28, 2007

disclaimer: Yup, I can get to the sites I'm testing with in Firefox on the same system. Even after running that command and restarting, still nothing from IE.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 4:11 PM on August 28, 2007

I can access the Mozilla FTP server from the command line and pinging Google works. IE reset didn't fix it.

The DNS Client service is running. These are the only checked entries on the msconfig startup tab, and they all appear legit:

hpztsb05
S3apphk
jusched
picasamediadetector
ituneshelper
aawtray
ctfmon
qttask
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 4:52 PM on August 28, 2007

Ran SFC /SCANNOW, still no luck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 5:24 PM on August 28, 2007

It's a Gateway laptop. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone around here, other than me, who's running Vista.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 5:34 PM on May 10, 2007

Apollo Sunshine. You'll never forget it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 4:43 PM on April 15, 2007

And don't forget the added cost, both for the product itself and for the international shipping.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2007

Another +1 for Inkoate. It's reasonable that you might be uncomfortable with the power differential that exists because of the gun. It's not reasonable to begin concocting bizarre Wild West shootout scenarios brought on by a lunatic gun fetishist. You're doing the right thing by meeting in a place that makes you feel safe and comfortable. There doesn't seem to be any serious risk for you, unless there's some key detail missing from your post.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:11 PM on April 5, 2007

This is exactly what you're looking for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:25 PM on February 26, 2007 marked best answer

(no SNL though)
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:26 PM on February 26, 2007

Traditionally, boob jobs are not performed on women who do not and can not consent to the procedure.

For what it's worth, the American Veterinary Medical Association opposes declawing unless you are experiencing problems with the cat using its claws destructively, and even then only after other solutions to the problem have failed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 1:55 PM on February 23, 2007

Possibly. No. Maybe, but not with the information currently shared with the CC company, and probably not without a fuckton of whining. People complain when the store itself tracks what they purchase; imagine the outrage if Visa was doing it too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:39 PM on February 13, 2007

You could always load your music into WinAmp's Media Library. The Library includes a search function, and presents all your music organized by artist and album. When you double-click an album title, it's loaded into the Playlist Editor and starts playing in track order, based on ID3 tags.

Or have you already tried this?
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 7:08 PM on November 28, 2006

Good point, sophist. Snow-covered may simply mean chilly, depending on the weather.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 4:34 AM on November 5, 2006

Some answers to questions. If it's unanswered, I either missed it or have no idea what the answer is.

First off, do you have any experience playing guitar thus far? Have you taken lessons or do you intend to? Do you already own an acoustic guitar?

No. No. No.

An important question to ask yourself is "What type of music will I be playing mainly?"

Not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:09 PM on October 15, 2006

The closest store is a locally-owned family business, and they offer lessons. The idea of getting advice from a teacher seems like a good plan. And even though I said no to lessons, uh, last night, I suspect that it would probably be better to at least try them out. Feel free to post any more advice, though...
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 7:01 AM on October 16, 2006

Sunscreen for cancer and such things, this isn't for any particular medical condition.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 11:21 AM on August 2, 2006

muddgirl: I do want to go to a small, liberal arts college (at most 5000 students).
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 11:01 PM on April 16, 2006

Let me elaborate -- I just re-read my post and I can see where my confusion came from. I want a small liberal arts college, but one that is less cookie-cutter than, say, Lawrence. It just seems like the stereotypical small liberal arts college, and while that's kind of what I want, I'm hoping for something that's not just another college that rolled off the assembly line. I don't know if I can explain this in a way that makes sense, but at least this helps a little bit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 11:03 PM on April 16, 2006

I know I can easily access my laptop files from the desktop, but I want to be able to control the playback from my laptop.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 6:55 PM on December 12, 2005

You don't know where to go in your life, do you? Find someone or something to hold on to, something to distract you and occupy you. Keep it immediate and you will not worry so much about the future; you won't have time. There will still be times when you think about your inevitiable death but you will at least have something or someone to comfort you.

I have/had your exact same problem. I have yet to resolve it; I've merely tried to find ways to distract myself. It's a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:37 PM on November 2, 2005

Oh, and free, if that's also possible. If not, I'll pay.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 3:32 PM on October 4, 2005

No "best of" compilations, please.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:56 PM on September 1, 2005

When I went on a ride-along with a police officer a few weeks back, he ran many license plates through his computer for no apparent reason (and never came up with anything). I'm going to assume that it was all legal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:54 AM on August 30, 2005

XP Professional, on an Acer TravelMate 4400 (TM4402WLMi)
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 8:47 AM on August 22, 2005

Well I found some "Save Dump" messages in the event log, which pointed me to the dump, but I don't know what if anything to do with that to stop the crashes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 8:57 AM on August 22, 2005

I tried using safe mode. Using the Minimal and Network options, Windows did not recognize the card reader. Using the DSRepair option let me access the card reader, and then the system crashed when I tried to transfer the pictures.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 9:11 AM on August 22, 2005

I don't know if the card reader needed any drivers (it came with the system), but I looked through Device Manager and the only thing that might be what I'm looking for is "SDA Standard Compliant SD Host Controller," which claims to have a driver created by Microsoft, which I assume means the driver is a basic one included with XP and there is not going to be a driver update available.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 9:16 AM on August 22, 2005

I think I found what's triggering the problem. I successfully copied all but one picture from the card. But when I try to transfer this one particular picture, the progress bar goes halfway, stalls, and after a few seconds, bluescreen. Viewing the image shows that 1/2 - 2/3 of the image is there, but the bottom portion of the image is solid grey. Is there any hope for recovering the image or is this a lost cause? And does this indicate any sort of problem with the camera or card?
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 10:20 AM on August 22, 2005

I used SystemRescueCD, booting from the CD and then using QtParted to resize the partition. All is good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:07 PM on August 11, 2005

And I'll probably end up burning a copy of that Ultimate Boot CD, just in case I ever need it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by punishinglemur at 2:07 PM on August 11, 2005