Activity from rolypolyman

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Web fun for 3 to 4 year olds

Please recommend a good puzzle or activity website that's suitable for a 3 or 4 year old.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:36 AM on November 10, 2007 (17 comments)

Shelf life of scrambled eggs

How long will scrambled eggs keep?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 5:37 PM on October 27, 2007 (21 comments)

Food items that helped your weight loss

Which food do you credit most for your weight loss?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:40 AM on October 14, 2007 (56 comments)

Trying to figure out nudity in old art

What is the deal with this kind of half-undress in Baroque paintings?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:14 AM on October 4, 2007 (12 comments)

Straw poll: how are your sales doing?

Mail order entrepreneurs: How have your sales figures been over the past few months?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:07 AM on September 26, 2007 (5 comments)

Texas rude restaurants?

Are there any "rude restaurants" (i.e. intentionally rude waitstaff) in Texas? I could have sworn there was such a place in Dallas in the late 1990s but I can't find any trace of iot. If you've been to one, how was it? What other forms of "dinner theater" exist?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 5:28 PM on September 7, 2007 (20 comments)

A good email whitelist service?

Can anyone recommend an email whitelist system that works with my existing hosting service? I want to defeat the spam.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:03 AM on August 28, 2007 (6 comments)

Odd people coming to the side door

Why are all these sketchy people going to my house's side door?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 8:15 PM on August 19, 2007 (45 comments)

Stock-less stew

How can I thicken/season a vegetable stew without resorting to mystery meat ingredients?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 5:02 PM on August 7, 2007 (32 comments)

Please help me with my wood

How much pressure can I put on a piece of 6x6 lumber across a 6'6" span without deflecting past the standard l/360 figure? The span tables only have figures for 2-by-X lumber. The back of their full book has some technical values for 6x6's listed but I don't know how to use them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 12:41 PM on July 25, 2007 (9 comments)

Cheap flights -- do they exist in general?

Is it possible to get an ultra-cheap roundtrip out of the DFW area to anywhere, just for the sake of flying? I have a nearly-4 year old son who would love a plane ride, but I haven't seen any truly cheap tickets since the Southwest Airlines "Peanut Fares" days. If not, I'll just wait for a real vacation to come up one day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:11 PM on July 7, 2007 (14 comments)

Tainted fast food?

Has anyone here worked in fast food? How common is it for cooks to "mess" with food? Was it more common than you wanted to see, or did nobody bother with such shenanigans? I emphasize this question is about fast food, not traditional restaurants, and I'm wondering how much stock to put in those stories that sometimes make the rounds.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:54 PM on June 27, 2007 (63 comments)

How to write a mathematics paper

I need to write a document with a lot of algebraic formulas. What word processor / page layout program would make this quickest and easiest?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 5:47 PM on June 18, 2007 (25 comments)

Help with synchronizing two text blocks in PageMaker

I have been writing books in PageMaker 7. With some projects I like to put "factoid" type material (quotes, facts, minor tables, etc) in the margins. Unfortunately I've never found a way of binding these with the main body of text so that factoid text blocks will be forced to appear on the same page. So I've been doing it manually, and it's a big PITA. How should I be handling this? Will Quark or newer versions of PageMaker help?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 3:23 PM on May 20, 2007 (7 comments)

Can you plug two WRT54Gs into a router?

Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to plug two Linksys WRT54G WiFi devices into a Linksys BEFSR81 LAN router? Will the WRT54G's play nice or will they fight with one another, requiring configuration to be done? SSIDs will be different of course.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:22 AM on May 13, 2007 (14 comments)

Help with rental damage (pictures included)

I just caused some minor body damage to a local rental truck (see photos) caused by grazing a chain link fencepost. I know nothing about body work and would like to get a general idea of what dollar amount of damage I'm in for and whether I should get my insurance involved (or whether it will get involved).
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:19 AM on May 6, 2007 (18 comments)

Dialup options -- unplugging from the net and need my fix

What's a good dialup Internet service for Texas cities? All I need is just basic dialup Internet, as I'm visiting relatives in San Antonio who don't have WiFi or DSL. I looked at Earthlink but they rope you into a $22/mo plan after an introductory period and that sounds pretty steep.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:03 AM on April 27, 2007 (12 comments)

Getting the most workout value from cycling

How can I get the most out of cycling, in regards to a workout? I'm a real newbie.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:24 AM on April 3, 2007 (29 comments)

automatically setting my computer clock

How can I set up my Win 2000 computer to automatically set its own time clock from any external source? I tried Googling on this but just get a bunch of cryptic instructions on making the computer into a time server. I don't want to build an NTP time server, I just want to have the correct time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 3:57 PM on March 7, 2007 (8 comments)

Self-teaching algebra

I'm looking for textbook suggestions for teaching myself algebra and trigonometry. Are there any algebra textbooks that stand out as exceptionally good?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:34 AM on February 21, 2007 (7 comments)

The 'feeling fat' syndrome

What causes the temporary "feeling fat" syndrome? Not "feeling full".
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 3:13 PM on January 25, 2007 (18 comments)

A checkout question.

What typically happens when your stuff is in a U.S. motel or hotel past checkout time?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2007 (9 comments)

How do repo guys work?

This evening some repo guys and a Rentway truck showed up briefly asking for the people that lived here a year ago. This got me to wondering. Wikipedia only talks about the contract aspect. What I don't understand is (a) why don't repo guys take it to court, and if they did why isn't a peace officer or deputy involved in seizures; (b) what keeps them from asking for -my- ID to prove I live here; (c) and what happens if the people they're looking for say they can't enter? I just want to understand more about who showed up expecting to come in my house and how my own rights relate to them. I think they were after the plasma TV that we saw when touring the house last year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:59 PM on December 23, 2006 (9 comments)

Philosophy readings

What's a good "gateway drug" as far as a book title for philosophy? Something that will suck me in?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:23 PM on December 8, 2006 (33 comments)

Collapse fiction

What are some good fiction or SF books that plunge the reader within a severe economic collapse or Malthusian catastrophe in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:27 AM on November 17, 2006 (27 comments)

LAX Airport question

What's this [Google map] webwork of streets between LAX Airport and the beach?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 3:36 PM on November 6, 2006 (13 comments)

Atkins rebound?

Is the Atkins diet worthwhile as a temporary diet for dropping about 10 lbs, or does this type of diet have a higher rate of rebound compared to the same weight loss from portion control, Weight Watchers, etc? I'm aware Atkins is intended to be a lifestyle change, but I tend to keep a constant weight just fine and simply want to take 'er down a notch.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:22 PM on October 29, 2006 (9 comments)

VA funeral charges

My father-in-law who's a Korean War vet has full VA benefits. Still is there anything I need to look out for so as not to get shafted by funeral/cremation companies?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 7:48 PM on October 22, 2006 (11 comments)

Image spam woes

The amount of image spam I'm getting has snowballed in the past few months. What can I do?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 12:13 PM on October 11, 2006 (16 comments)

Setting up a dedicated web server

A dedicated Fedora Plesk server has been set up for me at a hosting company, and as a site admin I'm not sure what to do next. Is there a good guide or tutorial anywhere that will get me up to speed on preparing a dedicated server for a website that uses PHP and mysql? Will I have to install Apache? Are those programs normally installed by default with run-of-the-mill dedicated hosting? This company's documentation is scarce and I think I'm in over my head.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:05 AM on September 22, 2006 (4 comments)

Restoring Windows 2000 snapshot

Is there a dependable program that will do a "freeze frame" of a fresh Windows 2000 install, so that I don't have to install Win, SP4, my basic driver set, DirectX, etc, etc, if/when my computer bites the big one? Ideally it would generate a bootable CD that would replace /winnt and registry.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:35 AM on September 12, 2006 (11 comments)

Need Newegg alternative

I need an alternative to Newegg.com that easily allows Paypal. I'm having trouble lately submitting orders on Newegg.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:53 AM on August 31, 2006 (7 comments)

Things to do in my local area?

Where can I find obscure and interesting attractions in my corner of Texas? We often can't think of anyplace to go.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:11 AM on August 20, 2006 (7 comments)

Going Dutch with foreigners

I'm an American hosting a couple of guests from Greek Cyprus for whom I am doing professional (scientific) training. We may go out to dinner on one of those nights. Will "going Dutch" be nothing unusual to them? Or being from a Mediterranean culture where friends become extended family, might they expect one of us (me or them) to pick up the entire tab? Granted I am the host and can do what I want, but I'm still interested in what they'll expect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:17 PM on July 31, 2006 (11 comments)

The dirt on LightScribe

LightScribe DVD and CD labelling -- do you find it's worth it? Is this another "overpriced consumables" trap? Is it better pricewise than labels?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 5:05 PM on July 23, 2006 (11 comments)

How long is a check really good for?

Is an arbitrary "not valid after..." date printed on a check enforceable? I thought checks were good for a year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2006 (19 comments)

Votebusters

Doonesbury, November 1984. Does anyone remember the "Votebusters" running gag? I have only a foggy memory of it, perhaps being a mashup of Ghostbusters and the Presidential election. What was the joke exactly?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 8:34 PM on July 5, 2006 (4 comments)

Managing processes

I reinstalled Win2K for business use at home. What utilities can I install that will help me manage & oversee system processes that get put on this computer over the next year or so? What's that program that allows me to run a Win2K "microwindow" to containerize suspicious freeware/spyware.. VMS or something like that... is that worth having or does it seriously slow down the system?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 11:25 AM on June 28, 2006 (4 comments)

Dishwasher versus roach

Does a regular consumer dishwasher chew up food particles? Reason is that a live roach that was in there when the cycle was started is now missing, and I think I saw an insect bit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:28 PM on June 20, 2006 (21 comments)

Joy Luck Club band mystery

Has anyone ever heard of a 1997 alternative rock band called Joy Luck or Joy Luck Club? (NOT Joy Division)
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 6:47 PM on June 12, 2006 (10 comments)

Vietnam war stories

Where can I read some Vietnam tour of duty stories?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:52 PM on June 3, 2006 (20 comments)

Decompiling a data file

I am trying to reverse-engineer a data file comprised of various integers, strings, floats, and so on. Is there a good Windows tool that will help me group the records and start picking the fields apart? I'd rather not try this in a plain vanilla hex editor.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 10:25 AM on May 27, 2006 (5 comments)

An old savings bond

I found a $100 Series EE savings bond of mine that matured in 1999. Did it continue appreciating after 1999 or is it limited to $100 forever? None of the resources I've checked tell me the answer. Where can I redeem it locally (U.S.) if I don't have a local bank branch?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:38 AM on May 19, 2006 (13 comments)

How can I empathize

How can I be more empathetic?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 12:40 PM on May 9, 2006 (26 comments)

Sending E-mail to a group

What's a good Windows-based program for sending daily blind carbon copy E-mails to a small group of people (like 10 or 20)?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 3:37 PM on April 23, 2006 (11 comments)

Here's a topic... I mean it's a pretty puzzling one.

Is it just me, or has the verbal crutch "I mean" (used as a conjunction rather than a correction) really flooded into American English recently? Last night I was listening to a radio show and nearly all the callers were doing it. My wife does it. My friends do it. I have to stop myself from doing it. Is this at all new? When did it start? I really don't remember hearing this (or doing this) 10-20 years ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 9:04 PM on April 15, 2006 (40 comments)

Need clove cigarettes

Where can I buy Djarum Super clove cigarettes online in the U.S.?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 7:35 PM on March 21, 2006 (2 comments)

Trying to find relationships in numbers

How can I have my computer analyze a small dataset to find patterns?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 2:06 PM on March 14, 2006 (27 comments)

Telephone announcements

Is there a telephone number provider like kall8.com than can let me record WAVs on my computer, upload them, and store them as telephone announcements?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 1:10 PM on March 7, 2006 (3 comments)

TV antenna towers

Where do you get those little 30-foot TV towers, that look kind of like this? They're all over the place out here in rural Texas, but I don't have any idea where people get them. They can't be ham radio towers, as I've bought those before and they run close to $1000. I just want something to get my weather station wind sensors up over the tops of the pine trees.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rolypolyman at 1:25 PM on February 10, 2006 (5 comments)