JZig, you are correct that 15 miles is no worse for your car than 40 miles. Of course it isn't, worse, it's better. This is a common misconception -- shorter trips are worse for your car in terms of MILES driven, not number of trips.

So for example, if you had to drive 100 miles and did it in one trip, this would be better for your car (less wear and tear) than if you stopped every twenty miles.

BUT, if you drive your car ten times over the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:29 AM on April 7, 2008

cgomez has it nailed. I also have a very similar setup: an always-on box running Media Center on top of vista (used windows xp media center edition before that). It's connected via VGA to my panasonic plasma tv, and via coaxial digital audio to my onkyo reciever, which handles the digital (dolby, dds) decoding. I also have a Hauppauge tv tuner card.

Works awesome for all the functions you list above. Occasional (1/week) problems with media center crashing that I still... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:12 AM on April 3, 2008

I can't find that song by PMG, and it's not the same as the one by Fat Joe. Hmm. Guess I'll have to wait for the OST, unless someone with better skillz than me can help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 9:02 PM on March 28, 2008

I say "an mp3". For sure. I have never heard "a mp3".
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:36 AM on March 25, 2008

team fortress 2! join us!
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 9:29 AM on February 29, 2008

yes! buy team fortress 2, and join our team, which is called DTMFA!
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:08 AM on February 27, 2008

paramore
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:43 AM on February 26, 2008

avs forums, for sure. i had a similar experience to robbie01's.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:23 AM on February 26, 2008

Growing up on a horse farm, my sisters and I were forbidden to scream, "unless you broke all your arms and legs all at the same time". The reason being that it would spook the horses (my mom is a riding instructor), which could cause them to jump and knock off whatever pour soul happened to be on their back, causing real injury and possibly a lawsuit. So now it REALLY bothers me when I hear a scream because I heard it so seldom growing up, and only if somethin was really, really wrong.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:10 AM on February 25, 2008

OK, yes, humans are animals. We get it. Why does everyone insist on pointing that out, given the most unlikely of opportunities. Not helpful, not answering the question.

I sometimes wonder this as well, like how does a dog know where my eyes are? Why does he assume that the two round spots on my face are my eyes, and not like, my ears or something?
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:47 AM on February 22, 2008

hex has it. save that as a .bat file, and you're good to go. I use that exact command to backup my documents every day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:42 AM on February 22, 2008

GREAT question. This bugs me.

I keep my wallet as slim as possible, and when I'm walking around it's in my back right pocket.

I'm left-handed, so keys go in front left jacket pocket, and cell phone in front right jacket pocket.

As soon as I sit down, all three come out of my pockets and onto the table in front of me, stacked neatly to the side. I like to have my eye on them at all times.

If I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:36 AM on February 22, 2008

Ahh, great! Thank you everyone for your answers. jeanmari, I figured there was something on wikipedia about it but I couldn't find anything.

So, is it wrong? What can I tell people who say this to prove I AM RIGHT YOU ARE WRONG. Not that I would ever do that. Of course not. Never.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 10:29 AM on February 21, 2008

The top of the wikipedia article should read:

This article or section needs wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:07 PM on February 21, 2008

We had a lake growing up that would freeze over in the winter. My dad would always take a chisel and hammer down and break through the ice to determine how thick it was. First at the edge, then in the middle. I think you want at least 2-3" thickness.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:44 AM on February 20, 2008 marked best answer

Small point, but I think you are referring to "id3 tags", not "m3u tags". An m3u is a playlist, and id3 tag is a small header at the beginning of an MP3 that identifies it with things like artist, album, genre, etc.

I use winamp's "autotag" feature. It is, in a word, amazing. It will identify your song even if it is untitled, with no other information other then the structure of the file itself. Totally mind-blowing. I used it to tag over 15... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:47 AM on February 19, 2008

googling "darknet" will give you a lot. there are quite a few excellent essays out there on this topic, i would look around on Wired.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 11:24 AM on February 15, 2008

Paradoxically, I think reading a lot helps the most with this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 10:30 AM on February 13, 2008

Nah, it was just "PI MAN, PIIIIIII hahahaha", while pointing and laughing and some poor chump who tripped and fell over, or said something really dumb. Maybe it was just made up, hrm.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:03 AM on February 13, 2008

Arrested Development!
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:18 AM on February 12, 2008 marked best answer

I suspect the power supply. Just run down to best buy or whatever and get a nice one (Antec is a great brand), and see if the problem goes away. If it does, problem solved. If it doesn't, return the new power supply and continue troubleshooting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 1:44 PM on February 11, 2008

OH hai. You sound exactly like me, in my previous relationship. I was dating a girl 2 years younger (me 22 her 20), and she had big self-esteem problems, although not physical. Her father was an alcoholic and left the family. This made her crave attention (especially male), and constantly worry/paranoid that her friends/family/me were going to leave her or didn't like her anymore.

I thought I could handle it. I come from a very stable, supportive family so I thought I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 11:38 AM on February 7, 2008

Dude, just spend less time dicking around on the internet.

Nah, I have this problem to. What helps me is to keep a todo list on my desktop, a simple text file, and I make myself look at it before I start doing anything. If there's something urgent or easy to do, I do it before I allow myself to start using the computer.

A kitchen timer works too, just set it for 30 mins or whatever and make yourself get up after it dings and do something productive.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:18 PM on February 6, 2008

I work for a company similar to the one you are describing. I also went through several rounds of interviews. It's really not as bad as you expect, at least for me it wasn't. They ask you questions about what you did in college, any notable projects you worked on. They will inquire about anything that stands out on your resume. You will be asked to describe any previous work experiences, especially it if is in the industry.

They also like to ask you what you like to work... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 10:47 AM on February 5, 2008

dude...cash. cash is the de facto payment method for private auto sales. i would refuse to accept anything else. i have bought and sold several cars privately and it's pretty much all i used. either that, or you BOTH go to the bank.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:07 AM on February 5, 2008

If you are worried about the "last played" metadata, I think that is seperate from the file properties and would be unaffected by moving the files. Try it and see, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 1:37 PM on February 2, 2008 marked best answer

Maybe the file is corrupted
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 1:28 PM on January 30, 2008

the doom (1 and 2) soundtrack is similar i think, and also awesome
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2008

uhh, if people can't fly, they will drive. across the country. and that produces more emissions then 1 flight.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:10 AM on January 28, 2008

knave -- you just proved my point. ALMOST as much. which means the longer the flight, the greater the fuel savings over driving. now i agree that flying from say...pittsburgh to columbus is a waste of fuel and causes more CO2 then driving (3 hour drive). but flying represents a co2 savings vs driving for long distances. and this does not include the increased traffic, and therefore emmissions, that would result if everyone who currently flys, starting driving.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 9:51 AM on January 28, 2008

i was also going to suggest cruft
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:19 AM on January 24, 2008

A swift kick to the mouth is very effective. Steel-toed boots will enhance the effect. Do not turn your back to the dog. Yelling is encouraged, as many have suggested.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:41 AM on January 9, 2008

Civilization II

Half-Life, the original! This is a must-play

Commander Keen (4 is a good one)

SimCity

Either Wolf3d or Doom

Oregon Trail

Hugo's House of Horrors

Legend of Zelda (NES)

Portal

Team Fortress 2

Half-Life 2

Any or all of the old apogee/id-software shareware games
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:10 PM on January 8, 2008

Ahh, yeah. Deus Ex for sure.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:02 PM on January 8, 2008

Bank of America did the same exact thing to me. I asked them to close an account, and they didn't, and it accumulated fees. Pisses me off to this day. I switched to Etrade.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:34 AM on January 2, 2008

loose battery connection? try tightening the bolts that hold the battery cables onto the posts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 8:57 PM on December 30, 2007

I grew up on a small farm, and we had a few cows and a bunch of sheep. Sheet, in particular, are really really dumb. They are terribly stupid by any measure of intelligence. Cows, I would say, are a bit smarter but not by much.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 7:37 AM on November 2, 2007

Yeah, goats are smart. Sometimes they get this look, like they know more than you even. It's odd. But horses, man. Horses are smarter then most people I've met. They're awesome.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 9:13 AM on November 2, 2007

Gah, online banking in general pisses me off. Why does everything take so damn long? What about an electronic transfer take THREE EFFING DAYS?? Anyway, I have bank of america and I don't see that behavior.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:51 PM on November 1, 2007

I think it would just rest up against the side of the earth and not do anything. Boring, I know.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:49 PM on November 1, 2007

09
F9
11
02
9D
74
E3
5B
D8 ...
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2007

It's because gmail won't let you delete their "drafts" folder (the real one). And for some reason it seems that Pine wants the drafts folder to only exist if there is a message in it. That is, Pine is trying to delete the folder since you have no drafts.

Sounds like you should do what you already tried, just use ([Imap]/Drafts), which Pine can happily delete when there is no message.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:44 AM on October 31, 2007

Try VGA if your TV has an input. I hear that's the best quality from an X-BOX.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:36 AM on October 31, 2007

This nearly caused a brawl at a poker night I host, until I laid down some house rules. Everyone has their own opinion and seems to think it's the only way. My house rules dictate that if two players get to the showdown and there is a bet and a call, both flip.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:46 AM on October 30, 2007

Yeah, make sure you give it a few good whacks with a hammer or other large heavy object. You gotta jar it enough so it un-siezes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 6:42 AM on October 30, 2007

I think blue has the correct reason. I also only have 4gb.

Heh -- nice office quote in the title.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 10:18 AM on October 26, 2007

oh you guys, it's a joke from the tv show The Office. OP is quoting the main character Michael Scott, who often says things in a very mixed-up way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 9:04 PM on October 28, 2007 marked best answer

Using the car audio amplifier has two problems:

1. Car amps accept 12V DC. House provides 120V AC

2. Car amps output 2 or 4 Ohms. Speakers are 8 Ohms.


You can get converters for the voltage problem, but they aren't cheap and struggle to provide sustained high power, which you will require. You chould try rounding up a bunch of your friend's car batteries and wire them in series, and see how long that lasts.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:01 PM on October 25, 2007

Crap, should be "wire them in parallel." Wiring a bunch of car batteries in series would be BAD.
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 12:02 PM on October 25, 2007

Chuckles -- thanks for pointing that out. I had completely forgotten about using a computer power supply. I don't know how I overlooked it, as I have actually used a psu to power up and test a new head unit before!
posted to Ask Metafilter by lohmannn at 10:59 AM on October 26, 2007