News from dookie

Can you help me find recipe and shopping list software that doesn`t suck? I know there have been questions about this before, but the two leading contenders from last question, LivingCookbook and Now You`re Cooking, both fail in several of these categories. LC is closest, but sucks in many ridiculous ways. I need three main things: An easy method of manually entering recipes and linking ingredients to USDA nutritional info.The ability to made a shopping list from a collection of recipes.The ability to write a meal plan using those recipes.I rarely use recipes from a book or website, and if I do, I usually modify them beyond all recognition. In order to easily enter my own recipes, the program must be aware of every english and metric measurement that exists and be able to convert among them. It must intelligently parse entries such as "1 bell pepper", by offering options which map onto USDA ingredients, rather than making me type in peppers, sweet, red, raw, whole.Then when I go to generate a shopping list, it should combine ingredients across recipes and convert ingredients originally entered using different units into the same unit, and round those up to the nearest whole unit of purchase, such as a jar or bottle .Finally, it should know that if I go shopping on Sunday, and have roast beef and flounder on monday and tuesday, to add the items shopped for to my inventory and to subtract them as as the week passes. I don`t care about downloading or screen-scraping recipes, importing stuff, or the ability to store pretty pictures. I just want something that doesn`t make data entry laborious and shopping list generation cumbersome.

SNES games to play with the wife? Two-player Super Nintendo game suggestions for me and the wife? Puzzle games welcome. So far: Tetris: Ok... obviously a classic Tetris Attack: Not bad, got a little old TMNT Turtles in Time: Fun for 20 minutes Tecmo Super Bowl: I love it, a little much for her Mario Kart: Love it... the "Vs Battle" is a little more fair since I`ve logged wayyyy too many match race hours compared to her. Any more suggestions?

What is this living creature washed up on the beach in Virginia? Went for a long walk on the beach south of Virginia Beach, VA this weekend, and came upon this almost-dead living creature that I can`t seem to identify. At first I thought maybe a sea cucumber, but I can`t find any pictures online that look even remotely like it. I have spent lots of time googling sea cucumbers, jelly fish, and various other marine life without finding anything that matches. Anyone know what it is?

My husband plays saxophone. Should this affect whether we buy a house or a condo? I`m interested in anecdotes from musicians, and also from their neighbors. We`re hoping to become homeowners sometime next summer or fall. It seems like the nicest places we can afford -- in terms of square feet, new construction, great location -- are condos, where we`d have our own home inside a building we share with five or 10 other homeowners. I`ve looked at a few standard homeowner covenants for condos, and they prety much include two clauses: one that worries me and one that calms me. It`s against the rules to play loud music or do other things that might disturb your neighbors. But it`s expected that you`ll sometimes hear noises through the floors and walls. Are we likely to get in trouble with a homeowner association for 1-2 hours of practice most days of the week? My husband only plays between about 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. He`s a jazz musician, and he`s pretty good in my opinion. It`s important that wherever we live, we are able to be on good terms with our neighbors. But it`s also important that my husband be able to practice. Any thoughts? Are the troubles that come with shared living great enough that we should give up on condos and live in older/crappier/worse neighborhoods in order to buy a house? Or are we likely worrying about nothing?

I need to make my laptop`s speakers go to 11. Since replacing the motherboard most everything seems a little quiter than it used to be, and some films are almost too quiet to hear distinctly. Some songs or films are nicely loud, so I know my speakers can do it. Is there some sort of universal amp type of program, or other way to increase my volume control, maybe something in the registry, to increase the volume even though I am already at max on the Windows Media Player and Windows volume control? (Acer Aspire 1800, WinXP Media Center Edition 2004) Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.

Do drain`s really drain counterclockwise in the Southern hemisphere? I heard this years ago and took it at face value as I had never traveled to south of the equator. Is this true?

I am looking to buy a tv tuner capture card for my pc. I have a kind of old 1.8ghz P4 with 512mb of ram. first can anyone recommend a PCI card that has a remote and will do good capture on an old machine like mine? I would probably never be using the computer when its recording anything so It would have almost full use of cpu and ram. also the quality of the capture does not have to be dvd quality because I will probably just record the show, watch it once then delete it. If it records at vhs quality that`s fine with me. second do they make any agp or PCI video cards that can be used as a GPU and a video tunercapture card. If so any recommendations on one that has remote. last what software do you use or recommend, the freeware kind would be the best but if you know of or use one that beats the socks of all the rest please do tell Thanks so much for any help you can give me

Recommendations for beach vacation in Mexico in March? My husband and I would like to take a short vacation in March to a beach somewhere in Mexico. We are interested in the idea of an all-inclusive resort, but we have the following reservations: 1) I`m a vegetarian, 2) we`re not big drinkers, 3) we don`t want to be completely cut off from local culture. On the other hand, we don`t speak Spanish, we don`t want to rent a car, and we want things to be as convenient as possible. Also, my husband wants to learn to surf. Any recommendations for places to go? I won`t say price is no object, but we do want a high level of service and a feeling of luxury.

Any suggestions for Windows event log management? I would like a way to review and search the event logs for about 65 servers, all Windows 20002003, from a central location. I`ve been allotted a budget of $1,500 for this project but open source options are fine too. This is for a school district so we might also qualify for a discount. I`ve been researching different products for a couple of weeks and so far the front runner is ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer although with so many products I`m sure I missed some. I would prefer to stay away from any products that require an agent be installed on the servers. It`s also important that it`s pretty intuitive and relatively easy to set up. I`m hoping that I can turn it over to one of my techs to install and configure. Does anyone have experience with a product they can either recommend or not recommend?

I`m having some gnar power related computer issues. a couple of days ago my computer randomly turned off without shutting down while I was in the middle of doing something. I restarted it and it didn`t even complete the booting process. I would imagine that it`s a power supply issue, but i`m not quite sure. there are some files that weren`t backed up (silly me) that I must retrieve. I`m wondering if it`s a simple issue that can be fixed with an inexpensive new part or if I have to bring the hard drive into a computer shop to retrieve the data files. thanks in advance for the help! it`s greatly appreciated.

OliveOilAndLemonJuiceFilter: Gallbladder "flushes" or other non-surgical techniques to get rid of accumulated gallstones - quackery? effective? safe? icky? First-hand accounts and opinions sought... Due to a congential red blood cell disorder, I`ve had "sludge" building up in my gallbladder since early childhood (confirmed by ultrasound), which has since become actual gallstones in adulthood (confirmed by CT scan). The disorder causes my blood cells to break down faster than normal, and the leftover cell bits get stashed in the gallbladder and turn into the sludge - so it`s not really a "rich and fatty living" kind of problem. My diet is decent and cholesterol levels are good - 180 as of a few months ago. But the gallstones persist and are probably accumulating. Luckily, I`ve been totally asymptomatic...so far. But my risk factors are rising that I`ll eventually start having attacks and need to have my gallbladder removed, sooner rather than later. I`m female (three times as likely to have a gallbladder attack as a male), I`m approaching my 30`s (prime age), I`m hoping to get pregnant early next year (which definitely ups the chances of an attack), etc. Various doctors over the years have all basically said, `well, your gallbladder has a good chance of needing to be removed some day, and there`s not much anyone can do about it. We basically have to wait until you have an attack, and then give you emergency surgery.` Gee, thanks. That`s especially discouraging since the first attacks could well hit while I`m pregnant, and therefore probably couldn`t get the surgery or even take pain meds until after delivery. So before I decide to sacrifice up another bodily organ on the altar of resigned inevitability, I want to at least try getting rid of some of the accumulated gallstones sans scalpel. At the very least, maybe it can delay the onset of attacks and subsequent surgery. So, that`s where this wacky idea about a gallbladder "flush" comes in. Folk medicine and the Internet are full of stories about using epsom salts, olive oil, and lemon juice to force your gallbladder to dump out some of the stones and sludge. (Typical examples of the genre here, here - slightly NSFW or the squeamish.) But most reputable medical sites think this is bunk, and that the stones passed are actually fatty acids. Are gallbladder flushes safe and/or effective? Any first-hand accounts here? Any other suggested naturopathic techniques for breaking down gallstones and avoiding gallbladder removal as long as possible? (Yes, as mentioned, I have talked to doctors about this subject already. But I want to hear what the HiveMind has to say about it. You are not a doctor, I absolve you of all medical liability, blah blah blah.)

What`s this song in the History Boys trailer? I was introduced to New Order last year. But now, one year later... While watching the trailer for the History Boys, I came across a song that sounds very much like New Order -- the second song (after Blue Monday) that comes out. Here`s an excerpt of the audio. What is this song? Help me satisfy my music urges!

How do distance runners set and keep pace? Can someone please explain to me how distance runners calculate the pace they intend to run while they`re actually running. Also, bonus points for information on how to keep pace accurately.

Where can I find a laptop sleeve with the opening on the short side? I want to keep the sleeve in my backpack and just remove the laptop as needed. I need the opening to be on the shorter side so this can happen. Help me. Oh, and my laptop, I believe, is 14.1 inches or so. (It`s a sony, I can never remember the exact number).

I want to divide my MP3s into Category A, Category B, and Category C. Then I want to build a playlist that will play, say, twenty random As, followed by fifteen random Bs, followed by five random Cs. Is this possible? I am using XP. I do not want to have to put the MP3s into three different directories.

Help me customize my OS X keyboard for my strained, RSI-inflicted fingers. A touch of RSI turned me into a left handed mouser a few years back. No major hassles on the conversion. Being a leftie is cool. However, I`d like to relocate frequently used OS X hotkeys, such as "Command-copy" "Command-paste" and "Quit," to keys on the right side of my QWERTY keyboard. The key customization program Keyboard Maestro, while it has its benefits, can`t handle these three commands (and many others). And OS X`s Keyboard ` Mouse preferences would require customization for each individual app, and don`t seem to be workable with apps like Firefox, which "overrides" customization with its builtin hotkeys (in my experience). Are there any third-party programs that enable simple, works-for-all-apps customization of OS X hotkeys? (Searches on Google, Apple forums, and AskMefi have failed me.) Even more radical, perhaps: can the OS X keyboard *itself* be customized? I`d love to place the backspace key on the caps lock key, as I did once via xmodmap on Linux.

Is there anyway I can basically turn a memory stick into an SD Card? My wife and I just got a Wii, and we would love to be able to quickly and easily view our pictures on it, but our digital camera uses the memory stick, which isn`t supported by the Wii. The Wii only supports SD cards. Is there any way I could view our pictures without having to go through a 15-step process of copying them to and from our computer or without buying a new camera?

What`s the best way to destroy CDs? This question has been asked before (sort of), but I`m looking for a good, easy way to destroy CDs - on a once-in-a-while basis, not on an industrial scale, like the previous question. Basically, I want to get rid of old backup CDs but I want to be sure that the data on them cannot be accessed. At the moment, I put them in a bag and hit them with a hammer a few times, to break chunks off them. Is there an easier way?

Where can I buy a shirt without seams and tags for a boy with sensitive skin? He currently wears his shirts inside out to avoid discomfort.

HaberdasheryFilter: I`ll be in Manhattan this afternoon and would like to buy a hat. But I know nothing about Manhattan, and need help finding a place to buy one. I might like a straw hat, or a pork pie hat. Hope me!

[WinXPfilter] What`s wrong with my USB devices on my computer? I run a fairly old Athlon XP 2400+ on an Asus A7V-266-E motherboard, which uses a VIA K7 chipset, I believe. Windows XP (+ SP2 and fully updated) is my primary OS, and I have Linux installed on another partition, but I rarely use it as the machine has become more of a gaming box. The issue started when I yanked out my USB smartphone (Cingular 2125) mid-a-bunch-of-things to take a call. My USB mic stopped working, and windows stopped being able to find drivers for it (despite the only "driver" being usbaudio.sys, included with XP SP2). My other USB devices, including my USB sound card, kept working, though, so I didn`t pay it any mind until I tried to fire up Ventrilo and it wouldn`t work. After lots of rejiggering ports and trying various installation options for new drivers, I decided that reinstalling the USB controller driver might help. I uninstalled and unplugged all USB devices and rebooted. Now Windows can`t even find the driver for my USB controller. I reinstalled my chipset drivers as well as the VIA-specific USB drivers, but I haven`t seen anything. Keep in mind that before I uninstalled these from the device manager, all devices were working correctly (except the USB mic), so it`s not a hardware problem. I`ll be able to verify this after I get home and can boot up linux. Anyone else been able to successfully solve something like this? Other forums` information is sketchy-at-best, so I`m leaving it to the geniuses here to figure out.

Where can I purchase rubber bottle stoppers large enough to fit an antique milk bottle? I bought two antique milk bottles on eBay for my sweetie - he likes his milk uber-cold, and glass bottles keep liquids colder than plastic jugs. I need to find bottle stoppers to fit the mouth of the bottles. I`ve tried laboratory supply places. Seems that they don`t carry stoppers large enough. The opening is approximately 12-13 centimeters.

We`ve made a last minute decision to head to Florida over Christmas break. We`d like to stay somewhere in the panhandle region since it would be a fairly short drive for us (currently living in Alabama). Any recommendations for a particular beach/city? We`d like a place that`s laid back, family oriented, and has nice clean sandy beaches to walk on and pick up shells. None of us cares for night life or shopping, but a good running/bike trail would be a plus.

Wary vs. Leery- what is the distinction? This has bugged me for a long time. What is the difference, if any, in using "wary" and "leery?" I just know that most of the time I think people are using them incorrectly, but I can`t put my finger on exactly why. LanguageHat, can you help?

ITunes is slowly eating my music library. This is happening gradually, a few dozen songs at a time, but as surely as the humble Colorado River carved the mighty Grand Canyon, so too will the topsoil of my music collection disappear. I`m using the latest update of iTunes, along with the most recent update of tiger. As my music collection is too large for my internal HDD, it is being stored on an external HP drive. My music collection is about 14,000 songs (and dwindling!), totaling about 52 Gig (and shrinking!) I`m not opposed to getting a new drive, but this one is a year old and sees very little use (I only plug it in when I update my library, my iPod does 95% of the work). The drive exhibits no suspicious behaviour. Every time I plug in my drive and fire up iTunes, my song list is lightly peppered with those awful exclamation points. Most of the time it is one or two tracks off of an album, but sometimes a whole album gets sucked into the memory hole. Anyone have any ideas of any (non-failing drive) causes of this?

iPod External Speakers Filter: I know this has been covered before (I read past threads) but now that it`s the gift-giving season and my in-laws have asked for our list I have some specific questions and requirements. I want to be able to hook up a Nano and 3G iPod to a portable system of good quality speakers. But, in addition, if I can hook up our regular TV (CRT) TV`s sound to it, that would be a major bonus. Does anything fit the bill? The Bose Wave allows for all of the above except portability. What about the Altec Lansing inMotion iM7?

A friend of mine is looking for a poem he thinks is called "White Horses" by the well-known oceanographer Willard Bascom. Any help locating it would be good, but I think he needs it stat so if anyone has a copy or knows where to find it online that would be great. It has eluded my Google-Fu thus far. Thanks again.

Should I go on vacation? It`s use it or lose it time for my vacation hours at work. None of my friends/family are able or willing to join me on vacation, and I don`t know what to do. I`m not sure that I would enjoy going on a trip by myself. I`m not goo at meeting new people (I`m not an introvert but I am tremendously shy to the point of social phobia). On the other hand I don`t have any unfinished projects around the house, and staying at home isn`t that appealing. Does the great hive mind have any advice or experience? Also for those who have vacationed by themselves any suggestions on where a mid 20`s male might enjoy himself?

Work is paying for a Flash Actionscript class. What are the best ones available in or around Boston, Massachusetts USA? I am Straight Outta Newton and work in Allston, so I would like something in those areas, but I am willing to go anywhere in Metro Boston/city if the course is very good.

How do I middle-click in Firefox on a Thinkpad T43? My Thinkpad has a Touchpad that looks like this. I would really like to use that middle button above the Touchpad to middle-click in Firefox for opening links in a new tab and closing tabs, but for some reason I can`t seem to do that. I have been all through the UltraNav Touchpad software, and it seems to only want to use this button for scrolling. I know about CTRL-click and corner tapping, but I would like to figure out how to use this button instead. Any ideas?

Plugged my iPod into my MacBook, the iPod lights up and then... nothing happens. WTH? I have an 80 gb iPod and an iMac. They work together fine. However, the iMac`s currently in the shop so I plugged my iPod into my MacBook to charge and the iPod lights up and then and nothing happens. It doesn`t charge, it doesn`t appear on the desktop... nothing. What gives? I tried it with the laptop running, with it closed, in the firewire slot, in both usb slots, and with multiple usb cables... Any suggestions?

Disneyland filter: Just rode through "It`s A Small World" over the weekend. Noticed 3 things: (1) Long section with just jet black curtains floor to ceiling, never seen that during several rides and (2) the music there was the basic track, not the same holiday themed tune and (3) where are the scenes of the Middle East? No pyramids, Arabian looking buildings, minarettes and cute singing camels and dolls in ethnic garb? Possible the ride is being worked on but over a major holiday weekend? They just Christmas-fied it all why would it still be under covers? Catchy tune.

Help me find the contact information for my landlord in Sunnyvale, Ca Three months ago I moved out of a house in Sunnyvale, CA. The landlord has still not returned my deposit. I would like to take him to court but have no idea how to contact him. The problem is, all money and paperwork was done through a woman who had lived in the house for years. She no longer returns my calls or my letters. I would like to take legal action but need to know the landlords contact information first. Is there a way I can find the owner of a parcel similar to this AskMe thread?

Pseudoephedrine- Why are we taking this laying down? Lots of people, including me, are more than a little miffed about this pseudoephedrine law. How likely is it that we can get it changed? How organized do we need to be? How many letters and how much money will it take to right this silliness? What I`m asking is: What do you think it would take to change the law back or at least make it less stupid?

Which AVR-based starter/programmer/emulator board is likely to best fit my needs? I like to make little electronic gadgets that light up and look pretty. My ambitions keep expanding as I go, and the projects I`m dreaming up now are past the edge of my abilities with analog circuits. I keep thinking "this would be so easy if I could just write a little code instead of wasting all these hours tinkering with op-amps". Thus I find myself increasingly interested in microcontrollers. Atmel`s AVR line looks like the best bet: the RISC architecture is reasonably sane, there are C compilers, and the ATtiny chips are both small and cheap. Problem is, they are too popular: there are so many different development tools available that I can`t figure out how to get started. I have two Macs. They have plenty of USB ports, and if necessary I could get one of those Keyspan serial adapters, but there`s not the shadow of a parallel port anywhere nearby, and I`d really rather stick with USB than tinker around with serial. One of the Macs has a Core Duo chip, so I could run Windows on it if necessary, but I`d rather work in Mac OS if at all possible. I write code for a living, and have plenty of experience with machine language, device drivers, and low-level stuff in general, so I`m not worried about the software end of things - but the hardware leaves me completely at sea. I don`t understand the difference between an "emulator", a "programmer", and a "starter board". Nor do I understand what "in-circuit debugging" means or how it is likely to help me. I assume there must be some piece of software which uploads the compiled code to the chip through the interface board, but that`s it. Where, as a microcontroller newbie and Windows-avoider, should I start?

Which of these 3 espresso machines is most likely to make both my partner and me happy? My partner and I are in the market for a semi-automatic espresso machine for our home, but we each have different needs or expectations. We are trying to decide among these three options: Rancilio Silvia, FrancisFrancis!X5, and Gaggia Classic. Cold-press, french-press, etc. are not options we`re going to consider. I want fast, clean, fool-proof, and decent espresso that I can make at home to avoid stopping at the coffee shop on the way to work. I do not want to have to fuss over my espresso and am unwilling to spend a lot of time learning how to produce a perfect crema. I just want coffee that doesn`t taste burnt, is quick, and doesn`t leave a mess on the counter. I value convenience over coffee-perfection. I think I want the option of using PODS, even though some people think they are evil. My partner wants a nice crema and is willing to take the time to grind his own and perfect his coffee technique. He doesn`t need perfect coffee everytime, but he wants to be able to make perfect coffee when he wants it. He thinks POD coffee is probably as bad as that made with a cheap consumer espresso machine. I have read all these ask MeFi threads. My partner wants the Rancilio Silvia b/c it`s old-school. But it doesn`t have PODS. One good thing about the Silvia is that if we get the Rocky to go with it, my partner is likely to make less mess when he`s grinding the beans/filling the portafilter. This is a plus for me. My partner doesn`t want the FrancisFrancis!X5 b/c he suspects it`s style over substance and likely to break. I like it b/c it can do either pods or ground. The Illy deal looks good, too. The Gaggia Classic also can use either ground or pods. So my specific questions, to help answer my general question, are these: 1. Does anyone have first hand experience with POD coffee from the FrancisFrancis or Gaggia machines? How does it taste? Is it really less mess? 2. Is there some Rancilio model that will easily switch between loose ground and pods? 3. If we got the Rancilio Silvia and the Rocky, could a coffee neophyte (me) learn to make decent coffee quickly without a lot of fuss and mess? (To avoid the POD issue.) 4. Is the Gaggia a good compromise between my partner`s desire for an old-school machine and my desire for a POD option? Could I use any PODs with it, or only certain brands? Is there a grinder that we could pair with the Gaggia that would load the portafilter and reduce mess? Frothing milk is not important and won`t affect our decision. We`re willing to spend the $600 or so it would take to get a coffee/grinder combo or buy the espresso machine now and grinder later. Thanks for your help, MeFites.

One week into citalopram...will it get better?? Posting for a good friend that I send thread after MeFi thread to... " I started taking citalopram (generic Celexa) and I feel like crap ever since. I`m wondering if this will go away or is permanent." She has been taking it for one week today. She has been depressed (has very difficult family issues/probably care giver burnout) and I would say is prone to depression. She is also prone to lots of anxiety. She has gone off other meds due to inablility to function because of pressing work/care giving schedule. Is there light at the end of the tunnel??

Cool places to eat in or around El Paso, TX/Las Cruces, NM? Looking for fun places to eat in the area with my parents and little sister. Prefer in the $10-15/person range, no bars, vegetarian options a plus. sorta previously

An exposed pipe runs from floor to ceiling in my bathroom. What can I wrap around this extremely hot pipe so that it remains a source of heat but isn`t a threat to bare skin? I live on the first floor of a rented apartment, so I can`t make any structural changes, nor do I have control over when the heat is on or off. The pipe is terrific at putting out heat and warming the bathroom, but it`s so hot that the slightest bump into it results in a burn. What can I wrap around the pipe that will protect people from brushing against it while still allowing it to give off some heat? Bonus points if the solution isn`t terribly ugly. Thanks.

Need advise on travel options for an Ireland + England vacation. My wife and I are taking a two week vacation in April 2007. First week in Ireland, second week in Engalnd. We`re not getting a package deal, so I`m putting everything together from scratch. We`ll rent a car and do the B`B thing. I have a good handle on the "where to go, what to see" part, but am still weighing transport options. Flights from Los Angeles to Dublin, and from London to Los Angeles are easy. But the part from Ireland to England has me unsure. Do we fly between and then rent a car in each country? Do we get a ferry for us and the car and then fly in and out of Dublin? Other options? Since I`ve never been on a ferry I have no idea how that might work. Will they let rental cars drive all over UK? Is the ferry a reasonable thing for confused American travelers to attempt? I know flying or ferries will both work fine, but I`m interested in hearing some opinions from folks who some experience. We don`t need to be cheap about things, but We`re trying to save for a house. So I`m also looking for ways to save some money. I`m just getting started on the planning for the trip, but it might be a good idea to book the flights well ahead. I`ve been to Ireland twice before, so I`m not a complete noob. That is - B`Bs, rental cars, local customs, etc shouldn`t be an issue.

I`m looking for a Cheb Mami song which makes use, I think, of bagpipes. It`s a very danceable song with a catchy chorus and was/is quite popular - I know I`ve heard it in NY and Cairo.

ipodsoftwarefilter: Is there any way for my ipod to automatically update my latest photos? I take a lot of pictures and I would like it if somehow my ipod would sync, say my latest 100 pictures onto my ipod. Anyone know any way of doing this, whether it`s within iTunes or with some different software?

I`m thinking of going to college again for engineering. Is this the dumbest idea ever? I`m 27, and graduated college four years ago with majors in Math and Computer Science. I`m currently teaching middle school, and enjoy many aspects of the job, but find I miss coming up with creative solutions to difficult problems. I`ve recently considered enrolling in a program either at NJIT or Rutgers to get a degree either in mechanical or civil engineering as a first step toward a more challenging career. My inclination is to apply as an undergraduate and pursue an additional bachelor`s degree rather than a graduate degree, but I don`t know how much sense this makes. My argument is this: a graduate degree is a lot more expensive, won`t get me that much more money, and will come with a "bridge program" of undergraduate courses that will only prolong the ordeal and add to its cost. But I haven`t convinced myself. At Rutgers, at least, you can get a second bachelor`s degree from most colleges (though I`m not sure about the School of Engineering) just by taking the courses for the additional major provided you meet or exceed a reasonable minimum of credits.

Seventeen days to become a licensed driver and buy a used car. Can I do it? How? My mother is in the hospital, my father is nonexistent, and college ends in seventeen days. I have to get home... somehow. We get kicked off the campus on December 15th... I have never driven a car before, having felt an increasing need to get one for the past two years I`ve been here (Bennington College, in rural Vermont). Being a New Yorker, I`ve been lazily reliant on public transportation for most of my life. Now that my mother is hospitalized I have no one who can drive me anywhere. It`s unfortunate that there`s no public way out of Bennington--someone has to drive me to Albany (an hour away) to even catch a bus, and with all my things I can`t think of any other method but the following: Essentially, I need to pack up my stuff and drive to our temporary home in Poughkeepsie, NY (where the hospital is)-- this of course requires both a license and a vehicle. I`ve got a NY state learner`s permit. I need to take out an insurance policy (most likely with Allstate or State Farm, as they seem to be the lowest for what I`m looking at). I am male, and just turned 20. I am certainly aware that this raises my premium considerably from "the norm"--I`ve been quoted around $1300/1200 minimum for six months. I also don`t have much money (but have very good credit), so cost is an issue in all of this. Can anyone let me know how this might be accomplished? (Timeframes for licenses/etc, recommendations on how to go about doing this, or any advice about used cars in the Bennington area? :) ) I have contacted driving schools and will be enlisting my driver friends` help in teaching myself as fast as possible.

I want to trigger sound effects by pressing keys on my computer. I want to assign sounds (44.1 khz wavs) to specific keys. I need polyphony so that when I cue rolling thunder, subsequent sounds do not kill the thunder. What softwares will do this?

How do I make Guatemalan style black beans? Just plain old black beans. I don`t know how different Guatemalan style beans are than say, Cuban, or Mexican, but I want to make black beans in the style that I had while I was at a homestay in Guatemala. I`ve got the dried beans, but when searching on the internet, all I can find are fancy recipes for various chilis, beans soups, salads, or whatever. So here`s what I want to make: Black beans, that you eat as a side dish, kinda soupy. Simple stuff, I may try fancy variations later.

How can I find copies of the policy and documents, current as of the late 1990s, applicable to support and maintenance provided by Veritas? Specifically, I am trying to find out whether the policy included language about the consequences of the discontinuation (and subsequent renewal) of maintenance.

How can I prevent static build up on (lined) wool pants? All my nice pants are wool, and I have a professional conference to attend next month. In cold weather, my pants inevitably end up stuck all around my legs. I walk very quickly, but slowing down doesn`t seem to help much. To make the situation even worse, my winter coat is also wool, and it may well be cold enough that I`ll need that, too.

my roommate, a 26-year old canadian male, seeks an MFA program that is: good focussed on painting short (2 years max, 1 year is better) in a cool city at a good school taught in english. he would consider any city, but has a special love for new york, amsterdam, london, or berlin. thanks!

My flat recently had new windows installed that have hinges on the side and at the bottom, allowing them to open inwards either way. I can`t figure out how to get them to open sideways. Anyone have any suggestions? According to the instructions, turning the handle 90 degrees allows the window to "tilt" (open at the top, which works) - and turning it another 90 degrees makes it "turn" (open at the side), which I need to do to clean them. The problem is the bottom hinge doesn`t seem to be disengaging, so the window won`t open at all with the handle in the turn position. The instructions they gave us are very confusing and generalised for all models, and mention having the key in various positions that make no sense, but I`ve tried every combination and nothing works. There aren`t any visible locks or other controls I could fiddle with. Is there something I`m doing wrong, or does it sound like the windows are faulty? They`re standard issue uPVC double glazing. (The windows were paid for by the building management company, so it`s pretty much impossible for me to complain to anyone who might know something)

Why is our landlord `banking` our rent increase? For the second year in a row, we have received a letter from our apartment management company that says rent is being increased by x%, but they are banking the increase, so we should continue to pay the original amount. I`m certainly not complaining about paying less rent (or the same, as it were), but what is the property management company gaining by doing this?

What are some must-have accessories for my new car? I just got a 2005 Mazda3, and the previous owner left me with a few extras: The first is an extra-large dimming rear-view mirror, which allows me to see not only everything clearly out of my back window, but also my blindspots if I shift slightly. The other is a bottle of RainEx, which makes rain glide right off the windshield (I barely need to use my wipers at all). For their price, both of these have greatly improved the quality of driving for me. What else is out there that can make my driving experiences better without breaking my bank? (Already have a navigation system!)

Any recommendations for a good online stock brokerage? I`m thinking cheap... what does the hive think about E*TRADE?

Is there an affordable plunger-style soft-boiled egg topper? I see the scissor-style, which never gives me good results, and I see for $40+ a plunger-style egg top cutter. There must be a cheaper spring or weight actuated cutter for a more reasonable price... To keep the cost down, I ought to be able to walk into a store in the US and buy it.

Is there a way to switch the display on my Mac G4 to an external projector? I have an A/V port adapter that plugs into a serial port on a video projector that I often use. Unfortunately once everything is plugged in, the video won`t be displayed out the projector. On PCs I understand there`s a display output option (where you can swap between "computer screen" and "external device") under the control panels, but I don`t think I`ve found an appropriate equivalent on my comp. What`s frustrating is that a colleague`s Mac works (though his was bought in Taiwan, mine in the US)

Do I have the common courtesy obligation (ie, this is NOT a legal question) to find a replacement roommate on a month to month lease? What if my current roommates are being picky in terms of who they are willing to live with? At what point am I free of courteous obligations to find someone? I found appox 4 people who were interested. One of the people was really quiet and shy which is a clash of personality when compared with my current roommates. Another liked to smoke pot, which bothers my roommates and a third was generally disliked in my estimation for no reality-based reason (they were getting weird vibes from this individual). The fourth was perfect, but we offered and he decided to go with another place. So I would like to keep these roommates as friends because they are cool. What is a fair way to determine who is financially responsible to pay for my room starting Jan 1 without getting lawyers involved? I should state that the three people that we turned down were very much interested in the place. And while I probably would not have wanted to go out of my way to live with any one of them, I do believe that they were all capable people.

I am about to have a nervous breakdown. Please, can you help me with my mysterious, probably power-related, computer nightmares? Ok. Where do I begin? Please be patient, this is quite a saga. Over the past few months, I started having a problem with my machine. Occasionally, I would power up but nothing would happen. That is, it would power up, but fail to post, and nothing would appear on the screen. My harddrives also started acting blinky, and "SMART" started complaining about them. I replaced the power supply (it was a new, robust one, but I figured wth) with a nice Antec 550W. No change. Also swapped out with new RAM. Again, no change. Seeing as this machine was about 5 years old, I figured it might be time for a replacement. I bought a new mobo (ASUS A8N-VM CSM), processor (AMD Athlon 64 3800+), video card (PCI-E ATI X1950PRO) and case, and set it all up. The only components I brought over from the old rig are: - 2 matching sticks of RAM, 1GB each - 2 harddrives, neither of which I`m running the system off - DVD/CD drive - PCI sound card When I first set it up, I left out 1 of the old hard drives, eager just to see if it would run. It did. I added the other drive, and at first, I failed to get a video signal. Rebooted a few times to no avail. Tried the on-board video, still no love. Then I plugged in an old monitor using a VGA adapter (the current monitor is DVI), and lo and behold, I got picture. I think this was just coincidence though, as when I plugged things back into the original set-up, it worked. Hoorah! It worked! It worked beautifully for about 24 hours, even, during which time I installed windows XP on a new SATA harddrive. I was playing some HL2, enjoying the new video card, when, during a loading sequence, it froze. Couldn`t ctrl-alt-delete, nothing. Dead. So I hit "reset". Since then, I have not been able to get a video signal off the PCIe card. I couldn`t get one off the integrated video either, but now that`s subsided, and I can pretty consistently use the integrated video. (That`s what I`m using now.) Some potentially relevant facts: - The motherboard calls for EATX power, meaning a 24 pin connector. I have an ATX PS, with a 20 pin connector. Everything I read online, and in the mobo manual itself, seems to indicate that this shouldn`t be a problem, especially considering my powerful PS, but thought I should throw it out there. - I`m in an old Brooklyn, NY building, with old electrical. The computer is plugged into a surge protector which is connected to a LONG industrial-type extension cord which plugs into the one grounded outlet in the apartment. I was failing to get video from even the IGP until I reshuffled things and plugged into another outlet. So, here`s my question: Considering that these issues seem to have followed me between two machines, could this be a problem with my (from-the-wall) power? How can I test this? Will a UPS fix it? Sub-question -- is my video card fried? Please, please help me. I feel like smashing things and crying.

Where is the most scenic part of the Rockies within 2 hours drive of Denver? Or should I consider flying to Calgary for Banff? I want to surprise my wife on her birthday in mid-January with a long weekend in a majestic part of the country. We will depart Chicago and since we only have Friday a.m. to Monday, I need to minimize travel. We have been to the Breckenridge area before, but I am looking for something a little more scenic. Estes Park? We are not skiers but love to hike ` snowshoe. Preferably not overly touristy (Vail,Aspen). I have heard many great things about Banff (more striking, alp-like), but I am not sure if it would be worth the extra time. Thanks for any suggestions.

Inexpensive, cool place to stay at Saint Petes Beach, Florida? I will be going to Saint Petes Beach in Florida for a wedding at New Years. The wedding will be at Don CeSar Hotel which is $300+ a night, more than I want to spend for accommodation. Do you know any cool, inexpensive, private, quiet, roomy, clean, friendly, nice place to stay near the Don CeSar? Hotels, Inns, B`B, cottages, houses, condos ... what to share a super-duper places you`ve stayed? I`m actually not that fussy about where I stay, but I`m a bit adverse to staying at big anonymous hotels, nor do I have to be on the beach. Walking distance to the big pink Don CeSar is probably one of the most important things for me as I don`t want to rent a car and want to be able to stagger back to my digs after the wedding. ;)

Why two waffle houses on each side of the Interstate? Granted, this is not a deeply important question - but I`ve tried Google, Wikipedia, even the Waffle House customer line. In several southern states, in a number of cities in each - I and others have come across Waffle House locations on each side of an Interstate exit. This seemed wasteful to me - certainly it hurt the overall profits. But a successful chain like this would not pursue such a strategy without reason, right? Does anyone know why this is as it is? Peace, everyone, and take care.

Wind on small paws: help me find a sphynx kitten! I currently live in New Orleans and am looking for a sphynx kitten but cannot find a breeder in the area. Coloring isn`t as important as `quality` and breeders living conditions and a lil` lady would be preferred over a male. Travel is possible, but prefer something that can be done in a day by auto. Yup, this is to be a gift but `by xmas` isnt imperative. ANY info on how to persue this is greatly appreciated (googling cat breeders just seems... odd)