Don't know about it messing up the TV, but is there a way to switch the audio in the menu for the TV to mono? This may help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:34 AM on April 7, 2008

Commenting again to echo what wfrgms (what an awkward nick to type) said about opening up your TV--it can be unplugged for WEEKS and still hold enough charge to mess your shit up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:40 AM on April 7, 2008

(Commenting one more time!) Here's a Google search for "using tv speakers as center channel", with a bunch of discussions about what you want to do. From what I've seen nobody's really talking about any potential damage to the internal speakers, just really poor sound compared to buying a separate speaker.

(I swear to god this is the last time I'm commenting in this thread. =P)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:00 AM on April 7, 2008

Hm, installed Tango, and it seems to be crashing right away. Sent an e-mail off about it. We'll see.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:16 PM on March 27, 2008

Awesome, Rightload seems to work just fine. Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 3:01 PM on March 31, 2008

I have a Harman/Kardon HK-3480 receiver at home, and it's quite extensive. Here's an image of the front/back with all its inputs (that's actually the new(er) 3485, but it looks nearly the same. It's pretty powerful (2x120W). The 3485 pushes the same power, and it's on Amazon for $250. One thing I like about it is that you can hook up two sets of speakers to it and switch each set on and off. I have smaller speakers wired in my kitchen to listen to tunes while doing kitcheny things.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:36 AM on March 31, 2008

Throwing it in an enclosure will work fine, however, if it's formatted as NTFS, you'll need to install NTFS-3G, as OSX cannot natively write to NTFS partitions (it can still read though).
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 1:06 PM on March 27, 2008

iPhones are definitely affordable now -- $200 for a refurbed 4GB/$250 for the 8GB from AT&T. Last time I checked the rumortubez nextgen phones may make an appearance during WWDC this June.

Honestly, I've never gone through AT&T, so I don't know how their data service is, but I hear EDGE, depending on where you're at of course, is "just fine" (like 20KB/s just fine).

You brought up the point in your post though -- if we always... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 3:37 PM on March 18, 2008

jaimev: "Otherwise, I'd go with the Patriot Xporter XT. It's pretty cheap right now also."

From the first NewEgg review in that link:
THE RUBBER MATERIAL GETS KIND OF DUSTY WHEN YOU PUT IT IN YOUR POCKET SO IT MAKES THE DRIVE LOOK OLD BUT ITS ALL GOOD
Sigh.

Anyway, I'll suggest the SanDisk Titanium 4GB. It's a little more expensive than the Patriot (NewEgg link), but it claims to have a crush... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 11:13 AM on March 18, 2008

I don't know if you have similar problems with Carpal Tunnel that I do, but even if you don't, once you get used to one of these, you can't go wrong. I own two, one for my computer at home and for work. The wristrest is nice and padded. It's super comfy and well under your budget.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:25 PM on March 11, 2008

Guys, I think he may have been joking about busting kneecaps.

Regardless, I would never want to rent from you.

I empathized because I know what it's like to start over in a new place and have to buy everything at once, so I waived the first three days of late fees and charged him an even $150 late fee.

Yeah, that sounds real empathetic. I'd nix the fee entirely. You even stated that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:00 AM on March 11, 2008

Is there some mental game I can play that will help me over the edge- being extra focused, or not focusing on the stimulation, or something?

Yeah, stop thinking about it so much and just relax.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 11:21 AM on March 10, 2008

(Hitting that damn Post Comment button too soon!) Furthermore, I had the same problem when I was younger. Getting oral from my then-girlfriend, and it was amazing, but I just couldn't finish. I just cleared my mind of all thoughts, relaxed, and let go.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 11:22 AM on March 10, 2008

Yeah, the battery is probably borked. My girlfriend and I have both owned Razrs in the past, and after roughly a year the thing can barely hold a charge.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:36 AM on March 10, 2008

I'm all for cable management. Make that desk look all the more tidy.

Belkin In-Desk iPod dock. Don't know if you can replace an existing grommet in your desk with this, or you could ask for permission to drill a hole for it/have engineering do it.

And here's a nice and relatively inexpensive charging station. I totally freakin' need to get one of these.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:18 AM on March 10, 2008

hooray: "Your own tea and a small bear of honey."

And keep in mind that no matter how secure the top of your honey may be, do NOT store it on its side. I found this out the hard way this past week. I opened my desk drawer to get some sweet sweet nectar and discovered a puddle.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:24 AM on March 10, 2008

Note that it may be in plain sight. That said, stand in different parts of the room to get a different perspective.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:21 AM on March 10, 2008

I worked at a grocery store for many years (given, a smaller one), and it was never "company policy" to give discounts in the event that you're a little short. If you're a regular customer or really nice to me, I have been known to give you a 5% Senior Citizen discount, though.

This is something that isn't most likely encouraged by the store, but it may be some hush-hush attempt at keeping with a mom-and-pop atmosphere.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:47 AM on March 8, 2008

45moore45: "It was probably faster for her to use some institutional code or coupon to get you out instead of having to re-ring or delete something and hold up the line."

Most definitely. Even for a couple of small items, depending on the register interface, it can be a pain in the balls to essentially re-ring those items to return them. Then usually a front-end cashier is assigned to restock.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:54 AM on March 8, 2008

Yeah, it sounds stupid, but I specifically remember in the PC version that you couldn't be looking through the scope and fire your weapon simultaneously. I think it's more of a "scout" device than anything. You look through scope, get closer, empty a clip on those Combine fucks. Rinse and repeat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 10:52 AM on March 7, 2008 marked best answer

I would personally recommend getting Craftsman tools. I believe they still run a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty on their stuff. I've rounded out Philips screwdrivers and brought them back, no receipt. Just grab the identical one off the shelf (if they still sell it by the time your tool gets busted) and you're good to go.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 10:11 AM on March 5, 2008

Thorzad, is this part about Comcast even relevant as the OP doesn't even have Comcast?
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 12:11 PM on March 4, 2008

Do you have that hooked up to an HDTV? A lot of games (namely Dead Rising) use super-small text that's nearly impossible to read on SD. I had the game, and not being able to read the text in the game made it impossible to progress.

Oh, and get the Orange Box.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:22 AM on February 29, 2008

May I ask why you're dismissing Halo? Brush aside all the hype, it truly is a fantastic game.

IMHO, it really isn't. I've played 1 and 3, and deep down they're really just mediocre FPSs. To each their own, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:54 AM on February 29, 2008

While everybody's on the topic of neatness and cable organization, you may be interested in a Belkin In-Desk iPod dock.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:06 AM on February 26, 2008

Call call call. My mother works at a store adjacent to a GameStop, so the odds were in her favor. She called and flat-out told them, "Hi, I'm looking for a Wii, and I'm going to call you every single morning to see if you've gotten them." Two weeks later, she got one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 12:45 PM on February 22, 2008

Currently:

Front-right - Cell Phone
Front-left - Smokes
Back-right - Wallet
Right beltloop - Keys

I haven't had any problems with getting keys stolen, and I have a few, including a thumbdrive and one of those Paypal security keys. Otherwise they'd go in one of the front pockets.

And re: wallet in back pocket: I've been keeping my wallet in my back-right pocket for so long, I'm used to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:43 AM on February 22, 2008

I just got a Motorola Q last night ($80 on clearance!), and while I'm not recommending it as you said you don't need a smartphone, but I'll say once you get used to using a QWERTY keyboard on your phone, you won't be able to go back.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 3:30 PM on February 16, 2008

Ness, I'm already hooked on EpiphanyRadio. Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:24 AM on January 7, 2008

Yes yes YES to OnTheIssues.org. I recently discovered their website myself after years of frustration, and this website actually quotes candidates and has voting records and everything.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:43 AM on January 7, 2008

I've had a few friendly bosses, but from my experience, only the true friends would truly understand when you need to GTFO and get a better job. Of course they'll be upset that you're leaving, but they understand that there are better things out there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:40 AM on January 7, 2008

(I know I'm kinda late to answer, but I figured I'd just chime in with that seeing as you've gotten so many eloquent responses already.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 8:41 AM on January 7, 2008

To echo what's already been said, check out Peer Guardian and urge your tenants to install it on their computers.

Have you spoken to Comcast's Abuse department? I'm not suggesting it purely to make a case that you weren't the one that P2P's in the house; they'll laugh at you, as it's under your name and you are responsible for managing and being the traffic cop of your own connection. But if you call them they may offer suggestions on how to prevent them from using P2P... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 11:15 AM on December 28, 2007

No links for me, but I'll chime in anyway saying that from my experience, a lot of grocery stores won't accept online coupons.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:02 PM on December 6, 2007

Depending on how old the MacBook Pro is, I would 2nd your suggestion of eBaying it. Just eBay the MacBook Pro, and buy the MacBook from Apple. Shouldn't be very much hassle at all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:27 AM on November 28, 2007

For now, get the XBOX360 HD-DVD addon. This article points out that they just dropped the price to $179, and I think they have some promotion where you can pick five free movies from a list of twenty.

In terms of the format war, I also believe it's not going to end anytime soon (if ever). The release of dual-format isn't helping matters really; I think for a long time to come there will be consumers who will have a collection of movies of both formats.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 9:01 AM on July 27, 2007

niles, I imagine if you label it something, it'll just dump it in your Inbox automagically. I can't fathom a mail client putting labelled mail in your Junk folder.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 5:51 AM on May 14, 2007

COD, are wildcards for the e-mail (*@mailserver.com) an option?
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:29 AM on May 14, 2007

Good point blenderfish; as an Internet TSR, I've already run into many problems that Vista produces, such as randomly disabling your network connection.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 5:55 AM on May 14, 2007

No opinions on the sales industry, but re: working two jobs, I've done it once, and it wasn't so bad. Sure, the hours can seem crazy, but I made sure the second job I did was as mindless as possible (front-end at a small grocery store, and I didn't work weekends). It paid dick, but it kinda felt like a small break.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:59 PM on April 28, 2007

Yeah, and to elaborate on notsnot's post, when it comes to denoting wire polarity, I always take a Sharpie and mark the ends of the negative wire. I do this when it comes to home theater and car audio.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:27 AM on April 10, 2007

Keeping your computer on overnight is most likely not the culprit--I leave my computer on about 24/7 (including last night), and when I got home from my graveshift job, my computer reflected the adjusted time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:19 AM on March 11, 2007

Move on. I was in a similar situation a couple of years back, where we scheduled to meet up. She never showed up. I have since chalked it up to her being scared out of her fucking wits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:19 AM on January 22, 2007

loiseau, I'd recommend the same thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:30 AM on January 9, 2007

Personally, I could go either way with milk (on the other hand, I love most cheeses). The only kind of milk that I really like is whole milk, so I don't drink it often. So to compensate for the lack of Vitamin D I get, I just take a daily multivitamin.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 4:53 PM on December 3, 2006

I definitely need to pickup a USB cable for my V3C. My girlfriend has a V3M, and she has the god-awful orange background on her outside LCD. And I'd definitely like to be able to do USB transfers. Thanks for the links, VulcanMike.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 12:33 PM on November 5, 2006

I agree with kenchie on this one; during college, I would bring my thumbdrive loaded with Portable Firefox so I could use that instead of IE in the lab.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:10 AM on October 8, 2006

I knew the eye was the beholder of all knowledge! Johnny, you just saved the day!
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 1:05 PM on October 7, 2006

Hm, I just checked the brake fluid, and that's fine, so I think I'm going to bring it in tomorrow. What do you think the avg. cost for brake-line replacement is (ball-park figure)?
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 7:19 AM on September 26, 2006

Personally, I wouldn't take toxic's advice to use Astroglide or any glycerine-based lube; the stuff commonly causes UTIs and nasty things for the woman. I use Sliquid H₂O. The stuff isn't as stringy as Astroglide, and cleanup is a lot easier.

Oh, and with sex for the unexperienced, you can usually expect one of two things (at least for the guy): no climax, or a very quick one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by booticon at 6:12 AM on September 17, 2006