I finally watched the second "Daniel Craig is James Bond" movie, and I liked it, of course. Unlike most Bond movies, the last two have seemed mostly realistic (minus the excessive wear and tear on people and things yet they keep on ticking), and therefore I have enjoyed them quite a bit. They're not perfect, but I love James Bond movies, so they're great to me.

Also, I have an answer to a question people seem to like to ask when they hear about this movie:

(Q) What is a quantum of solace?
(A) A quantum is the tiniest possible fraction of something that someone can have. Solace is essentially a synonym of satisfaction. So a quantum of solace is the smallest possible amount of solace a person can have. In the case of the Bond film, it is likely a reference to the tiniest speck of consolation Bond gets for tracking down the killers of Vesper Lynn (or, perhaps less specifically, for just doing his job and getting the bad guy).

I hope you like Michael Jackson dance tributes.

(1) Filipino prison inmates do Thriller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o

(2) Bounce flash mobs do Beat It in Stockholm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJVRywgmYM

First, MTV has a lengthy biography that's worth reading. Also, I'd like to challenge a few enduring mistruths about him, because as crazy as he was in his later years, I think he came by it honestly.

(1) Lupus is a debilitating disease that can be devastatingly painful, which explains the meds.

(2) Vitiligo causes depigmentation of his skin, which explains the self-consciousness about his appearance.

(3) He broke his nose in 1979 and the rhinoplasty to repair it wasn't entirely successful and required a second one, and then a third one... This doesn't explain all 13-or-so plastic surgeries, but it explains how it all began.

(4) Every time he made an appearance -- no matter when or where -- people would scream and faint and bang on his vehicle. (If people screamed and fainted every time they saw me, I'd be paranoid too. Just saying.)

In the long run, I prefer to remember Michael Jackson is one of the most talented entertainers of all time. Yes, he was different, but if you were the most recognizable living person on the planet, you would be a bit different too.

The Camry and I have been together for two years now, and we couldn't be happier. (Well, there's that 12-year-old-kid-and-his-bike's dent in the rear driver-side door, but that's just a blemish that will soon be healed. I hope.)

Here's hoping for another 10+ years. At 15,000 miles per year, mostly highway miles, it should be no problem. After all, I raised a 1994 Grand Am to a mileage of 170,000 before I sold it, and it's still moving between Bibb and Twiggs counties on a regular basis. So I figure a 2007 Camry can easily hit that mark and then some.

An Irish graduate student planted a fake quotation on the WikiPedia entry for a recently deceased French composer, and watched as Wiki-servants removed it twice because it was not cited. When he planted it a third time, however, it stayed for roughly one day before it was removed for good, and newspapers around the world used the fake, uncited quotation in their articles and obituaries about the life of Maurice Jarre.

The goal was to expose news outlets who were too quick to rely on WikiPedia as a source -- or, more specifically, to expose journalists who aren't properly doing their jobs.

Let this serve as yet another reminder that WikiPedia is not an acceptable source of information. Use WikiPedia to get an idea about the topic, and then either check the cited sources at the bottom of the page, or search the web for more reputable sources. Better yet, go to the library and find a real source.

Alter Bridge is working on their third album, which will probably be released in 2010. This will be sometime after Creed's Full Circle reunion tour.

Creed will be in Atlanta Friday, September 11. I'm strongly considering going once tickets go on sale.

It's okay, you can judge me.

The Camry is no longer a visibly flawless machine, but I will try to take care of that rather quickly.

This afternoon, I heard a strange noise that sounded like something hitting my car. I looked outside the door, and a child close to the age of 10 or 12 was picking up his bicycle and whimpering a little, and after making sure he was okay, I saw the dent and scratches. He had lost control after running over a stick, and he and his bike hit the driver's side rear door. There were no broken bones or blood -- he just appeared to be shaken up and, well, more embarrassed than anything (and scared that he had to involve mom or dad). I told him it would be okay, it was just an accident, and it's not a big deal.

A few minutes later, he and his dad came by and we exchanged phone numbers, and I told them I was just glad he was okay, and I would try to ask a couple of friends who work on cars if there's an easy, inexpensive way to repair the damage.

Funny, I've been an adult for several years, and I bought the car and I've made the payments for it, but just now, dealing with a kid in pain and then the parent, I felt more like an adult than ever before. Weird.

I only asked the first seven of these questions last night, but they're entertaining. How many can you answer correctly?

(If you feel like playing along, your comments will be hidden from view so others can't see your answers. I'll post answers in a comment of my own in a week or so.)

(1) How many balls are used in a standard game of 8-ball?

(2) A scientist is measuring how fast balls of steel travel through water at different temperatures. If each ball is the same temperature as the water it is being dropped into, which temperature would allow the steel balls to travel through the water faster, 10°Celsius or –5°Celsius?

(3) Is a firefly a type of beetle, cockroach, fly, or moth?

(4) How many NFL teams play their home games in the state of New York?

(5) If you really know your sushi, then you know that sushi is not raw fish. The word "sushi" actually refers to a particular way rice is prepared. What is the proper Japanese term for raw fish?

(6) Why don't peacocks lay eggs?

(7) What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

(8) How many months have 28 days?

(9) A desert is a landscape that receives less than 250 millimeters (about 10 inches) of precipitation per year. Where is the largest desert on Earth?

(10) What is the largest island by surface area in the continental United States?

(11) What American Revolutionary War battle was fought on Breed’s Hill?

(12) What is the official language (or what are the official languages) of the United States?

(13) What country lays claim to Greenland?

(14) Which weighs more: a pound of gold or a pound of feathers? The answer is not neither, so pick one.

(15) This paragraph looks so ordinary that you would think that nothing was wrong with it at all, and in fact, nothing is. But it is unusual. Why? If you study it and think about it you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way. You must do it without coaching. No doubt if you work at it for long, it will dawn on you. What is unusual about this paragraph?

Lola does the Smarty Pants Dance!

Probably because she's smarter than a fifth grade at age 2. For her smarts (and her dance), she won $10,000 on America's Funniest Videos in May 2008 (the show aired in October), and this video clip has slowly been making its way around the interwebs since. The illegal copies on YouTube won't last forever, so get the video straight from the source by clicking the ABC link above.

In other words, I ain't wrong. So if you gotta get good at getting "got," then here's a humorous but serious article about how to use "got" properly.

If any of your your security or Windows Update software isn't functioning properly, or if you can't reach security-related web sites, you might want to read into the Conficker/Downadup worm; it's a nasty one. If you're not showing any problems, you may want to disable Windows File Sharing (or leave it on at your own risk if certain programs need it).

You know it's bad when the NY Times writes a lengthy article about it. But the attention is warranted:

( Blah, blah, blah. )

Computer security researchers expect that within days or weeks the bot-herder who controls the programs will send out commands to force the botnet [possibly including your computer] to perform some as yet unknown illegal activity.

Several computer security firms said that although Conficker appeared to have been written from scratch, it had parallels to the work of a suspected Eastern European criminal gang that has profited by sending programs known as "scareware" to personal computers that seem to warn users of an infection and ask for credit card numbers to pay for bogus antivirus software that actually further infects their computer.

Microsoft has released a security update for it, so check Windows Update and install your updates! You should also update your antivirus software and run a full system scan.

If you're already infected and your antivirus software won't run, check Microsoft's (lengthy) support page about it.

I love the enV2 already. I had had the phone for maybe 10 hours before I had uploaded my first custom ringtones. It's actually very easy once the sound clips are ringtone-ready, but the ones that aren't require some software. Luckily, I have free software that does everything I need.

WARNING: I have the LG enV2 (LG VX9100) for Verizon Wireless. I don't know how this may apply to other phones on other networks, as I am not an expert, so don't try this at home if you don't know what you're doing.

Update 3/23/2009: I have confirmed that this process works for a variety of LG phones on the Verizon network that use MP3 ringtones and MicroSD memory cards. I have also successfully sent the tones to other phones on other networks, but with less consistent success.

Step 1: Prepare the sound clip.
First thing's first: get the (legally obtained) music ready. There are three requirements:
    File type: MP3
    File size: less than 500 KB
    Duration: less than 30 seconds

I recommend a 128 Kbps MP3, because a 30-second MP3 encoded at 128 Kbps is right at 500 KB. If you want higher quality, your clip will have to be shorter to meet the 500 KB limit. But you don't need that quality for the puny speakers on a cell phone.

( MP3 Trimming Trickery... )

Step 2: Send the sound clip to your phone.
Your phone may not work exactly like mine, so just follow along and see if your phone behaves in a similar manner.

( Step by step, day by day... )

Right in front of my face, and I just cannot hide it...? Well, it is a cell phone.

Ah, the LG VX4400. Here was a phone that did everything right for its time. But it did not take or even receive pictures, and it didn't play polyphonic tones. I could live without the camera and QWERTY keyboard, but the pictures and audio needed to be upgraded to 21st century quality. So thank you for your time and service, LG VX4400. You have been a great phone. You have served more than five years very admirably. But it's your little brother's time now.

Paul's LG VX4400
November 16, 2003 - January 23, 2009
(that's roughly 1895 days)

So now, say hello to the LG enV2. It's one of the few I had eyed for a short time now; the price and I were compatible; the phone features were what I wanted; and the keyboard and camera are nice bonuses.

But there is one tiny little thing. It's not a big deal, but it is a thing. *86 already goes to voicemail, so why does the enV2 steal one of the ultra-rare single-digit speed dial spots, too? And not just any digit, but the number 1! My speed dials are sequential and start at 1, so this is a bit of a conundrum. But, well, #5 has jumped around a lot over the years, so I may just take it out of the mix and bump up the first four to 2-5 and be done with it.

But either way, I'm happy with it. I just hope I feel the same in two years. :)

I hear : CeCe Peniston

I did not know this:

Many people think that a nose gets congested (stuffy) from too much thick mucus. This is incorrect. The nose becomes congested when the tissues lining the nose become swollen due to inflamed blood vessels.

And more useful information:

Medicines are not the only way to relieve a stuffy or runny nose. Often, gentler solutions are better. Try these steps to thin the mucus, which can help you breathe easier and get your nasal secretions back to normal:

Use gentle saline nasal sprays.

Increase the humidity in the air with a vaporizer or humidifier.

Drink extra fluids. Hot tea, broth, or chicken soup may be especially helpful.

Allergies are fun.

I have a game called Snood. (There are several Snood games here, but I just have Snood for Windows. It's fun. Much better than FreeCell!) Upon first installing it, Catie and I played it a few times, and we set a list of high scores. But upon restarting the computer and playing again, no new high scores could be saved.

I threw an occasional tantrum about it for weeks, but tonight I got to the bottom of it: Windows Vista protects the preferences file, because it is stored in the Snood folder under Program Files on the hard drive. (And Windows Vista is very protective of the Program Files folder, so it won't let just any program save to it, and Snood is not on the VIP list.)

Luckily, Snood allows you to change where that file is saved in its "Game Preferences" menu, and it will write a new preferences file in the location you choose when you close the program. Vista has a "saved games" folder under each user's default folder, so that's where I told Snood to save its preferences file. Presto! I can save my settings now, and it remembers them!

(Alternatively, you can change the permissions or security settings on that file or folder, allowing Windows Vista to save changes to it. The instructions to do this are out there. Programs designed with Vista in mind have already done this for you.)

I only write this here because it should work for pretty much any program with a protected settings file, as long as the program allows you to change that file's location.

I just found this on xkcd's blog, via a post Catie made like two years ago. (It was the second-most-recent post I could see, so it's not like I've been reading for a while to get to two years ago... not that there's anything wrong with doing that. But I haven't yet.)

It's a translation of George Washington's farewell address into modern, everyday speech. Read it.

Don't be scared by its length. It's important to know what our first and greatest president established for us, and how we have spent just over 200 years screwing it up ever since.

Also, if you're a nerd like me (or a nerd unlike me), check out the xkcd link above. I've never been a fan of comics really (weird, I know), but this one is so awesome that -- instead of just starting where I came in -- I went back to the beginning and started reading the whole thing. I'm up to #135 or so now, reading 10-20 a day or so.

As Catie so carefully put it, "Read it. Love it. Thank me later."

xkcd is another thing I'm thankful for. So, thanks, Catie.

For the first time since activating this Cox High Speed Internet account over seven years ago, I had to replace the modem. I initially overlooked some simple networking rules, so I had difficulty connecting through my router at first, so I'm sharing my step-by-step guide to make it simpler for someone else.

Before you begin...

The old modem can be disconnected and removed. If a router was used, turn it off and disconnect one computer. This computer will be used to setup the new modem via ethernet cable, so its wireless connection (if it had been using one) should be disabled until the setup process is complete.

Part 1: Setting up the Modem

(1) Plug the coaxial cable (the, uh, "cable" cable) from your internet service provider into the modem.

(2) Power on the modem and wait for the initialization process to complete. Typically it is complete when the internet light is solid.

(3) Connect the computer directly to the modem with an ethernet cable.

(4) Attempt to access the internet. (Any browser should work, in theory. If you have trouble here, you may need to consult the manual or software included with the modem. Otherwise, I would leave that stuff sealed.)

(5) If things are working properly, the install.cox.net web site will load and prompt you to enter your Cox High Speed Internet account information to verify that you are a paying customer eligible to use their network. Once this is completed, your internet will be activated.

If you are not using a router and there are no other computers on the network, you're finished!

Part 2: Restoring the Home Network

(6) Turn on the router.

(7) Connect your computer (the one you just used with the modem) to the router with a wired connection. If a wireless connection is connecting by default, then disable the computer's wireless connection so that the wired connection takes over.

(8) Access your router's options interface and use the "Clone MAC Address" function to clone your computer's MAC address. It is important that the connection is a wired connection (not wireless!), since you just used that same connection with the modem. This MAC address is how Cox knows who is connecting to its service, which is why you must clone the legitimate address to your router in order for the router to receive the internet service.

(9) Once the MAC address is cloned, save the router settings, and allow the router a few seconds to accept the change.

(10) Turn off the router, disconnect all computers from the router, and connect the cable modem to the router.

(11) Then turn the router back on. Its internet light should indicate that it is receiving the internet signal via the modem.

(12) Restore all previous connections to the router, wired and wireless, and your network should be functional again.

This whole process might takes less than 10 minutes, or it could take half an hour.

Close to one-third of Georgia's registered voters have already voted. Turnout hasn't been anything near 67% in recent years, so let's just say that's the number we hit this year. That would mean half of Georgia's voters have already voted, and Tuesday won't be so bad (because on Tuesday, the remaining voters will be split among several voting precincts instead of only a few election offices)!

But some of us don't know where to go on Tuesday. Well, have no fear! Georgia's election precinct locator allows you to type in someone's first initial, last name, birthday, and home county... and find out where they vote! (Okay, maybe you can fear a little, although if I was going to stalk somebody, I wouldn't start here.)

Naturally, you're supposed to use it to find your own polling location, but it could be useful for about 90 seconds of fun if you're curious about where a couple of friends or family members vote. You could even be helpful if they're not sure where to go.

Equipment:
Linksys WRT54G v2.2 router (recently upgraded firmware to current version)
Gateway laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium
Realtek RTL8187 Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps USB 2.0 network adapter

Problem?
After a few minutes of considerable network traffic originating from my computer, I would lose my wireless internet connection. Sometimes, just a web page or two would do it.

At first, I was impatient and tried some old tricks. I tried to use Windows' "repair" feature to repair the connection, and it usually told me to fix one thing or another, but it would disconnect a few minutes later and then tell me to fix it back.

Eventually I began to wonder if it was the router. I had never had problems with any other laptops, but the router is about six years old now, and it is sitting under a desk rather than on top of it.

Then I went to my dad's house and noticed that my laptop was doing the same thing on his home network (which uses the same router brand and version). Okay, it's not the router, unless mine is just going bad, so I restored my router's settings and looked deeper into the problem.

Solution?
It remains to be seen whether my problem is really fixed, but as of this morning, I have downloaded some huge files and I haven't had a single disconnect. Things are still downloading now at a good clip, so this is a good sign. Here's what I did:

(1) Open Control Panel
(2) Open Device Manager
(3) Open Network Adapters
(4) FOR EACH item under "Network Adapters, do the following:
        (a) Right-click and select "Properties"
        (b) Select the "Power Management" tab
        (c) UNCHECK "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

I had already done this for my wireless network card weeks ago through the wireless internet settings, but it turns out (so far this morning) that it was the other network adapter that was repeatedly shutting off. Device Manager is the quickest way to get to both of them, so -- done.

Unfortunately, I can't remember whether I have changed any of the router settings off of their default values, but it's working now so I don't want to mess with it. I'll let you know if I experience problems again.

Lakes Michigan and Huron, commonly thought to be two separate lakes, are actually one lake. Don't believe it? Consider the facts: the surfaces of Michigan and Huron are at the same elevation, and they are connected by the Straits of Mackinac -- 5 miles wide, 30 miles long, and depths similar to either half of the lake. Hydrologically, Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinac, and Lake Huron are all parts of the same body of water -- the largest freshwater lake in the world (and second-largest of all lakes behind the Caspian Sea).
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001804.html

There are five oceans, not just four. The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica, and it's actually the fourth-largest. It wasn't officially recognized until 2000.
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/oceans.htm

Mount Everest's peak is the highest point on earth relative to sea level, but two other mountains could claim to be Earth's tallest. Mauna Kea, in Hawaii, rises only about 13,800 feet above sea level, but an additional 19,700 feet are beneath the Pacific Ocean's surface At nearly 33,500 feet from base to peak, it is much taller than any other mountain on earth. And because of the planet's rotation over time, the planet is fatter at the equator, so sea level at the equator is several miles farther from the center of the earth than is sea level at either pole. As a result, Mount Chimborazo (Ecuador, Andes Mountains) is about 9000 feet closer to sea level but about 7000 feet closer to outer space than Mount Everest. (For the same reason, the Mississippi River technically flows UPHILL to get to New Orleans.)
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/BeataUnke.shtml
http://www.post-gazette.com/travel/20001029bear1.asp

Also, the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost points in the continental United States are in Minnesota, Washington, and Maine, respectively. If the "continental" requirement is removed, then all three United States extremities are in Alaska (although, if we ignore the technicality provided by crossing the Prime Meridian, the easternmost point would still be in Maine). The southernmost extremities are in Florida or Hawaii.

For more geographical misconceptions, see here:
http://ztechzone.net/learningzone/science/science55/geography1.html

For many months, I have clinched my fist in anger at Windows Vista (not punching or anything, since I like my laptop) because its native data CD burning process does not work the same as Windows XP's, and as a result MP3 CDs burned in Windows Vista do not work in my car's MP3 CD player. All I wanted out of Vista was a sensible upgrade over XP that simply kept its most useful features -- improvements are a welcome bonus, but downgrades are unexpected.

Enter CDBurnerXP. I had hoped to avoid installing third-party software, especially since everything I've found so far seems to require some sort of payment. Well, this one burns MP3 CDs with their folder structure intact, so it's okay with me.

Complaint #1 about Windows Vista, resolved with a workaround.

An instructor where I work has Powerpoint presentations with hyperlinks, mostly to local files like AVI or WMV videos, or occasionally PDF documents. At home and in her office, the links behave as expected: Windows opens the linked file as if someone had clicked on it from an Explorer window.

On the classroom computer, however, we first get a warning message about potentially harmful information asking for confirmation to proceed. After clicking "OK", we get:

Error:
No program is registered to open this file.

She has Office 2003 at home and it works. She has Office 2007 in her office and it works. She has Office 2007 in the classroom and it does not work. The computer is much older, so there's no telling what tiny little bit of configuration is causing this problem, but it's nothing to do with file associations or missing programs, because everything needed to run the files is installed and functioning properly. They just won't open from a link in a Powerpoint presentation.

Any ideas?

(Keep in mind that this is a classroom computer, and ditching this and/or that Microsoft product might be your knee-jerk suggestion, it isn't feasible.)

Here is how to correctly reference common collegiate degrees in America. (It is painful to work for a college and see it printed incorrectly.)

(1) If writing about the degree generally, then it's just a master's, a bachelor's, or an associate's degree. Don't capitalize the first letter but remember the apostrophe; it's a possessive noun.

(2) If writing about the degree specifically, then it is a Master of Arts, a Bachelor of Civil Law, or a Associate of Science. The word "bachelor" should be capitalized but not possessive, followed by the word "of" (not capitalized) and the type of degree (capitalized).

( Examples )

I don't have an iPod and haven't used an iPod. I have barely used iTunes on my own, so my exposure to the hardware or software is very limited. However, my sister has a dilemma, and I'm putting my tech-savvy friends to the test to help her. Here goes:

I had a bunch of mp3 files on my hard drive, and I imported them into my iTunes. So I then had them in two locations. So when I needed to free up space on my hard drive, I deleted the original files, knowing that I still had them duplicated in my iTunes library. Unfortunately, I evidently should've converted them to AAC first, because now they won't play and I'm getting a message that says the files are lost.

So what I need to know is how to recover them (I've emptied my Recycle Bin). And/or, how does one restore one's computer to a previous day/time, and, would that restore the lost files? I've done it before, but I can't figure out how to now.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Also, for all you iTunes aficionados: because I don't want to wipe out anything that's currently on my iPod that's no longer on my computer, how do I change the settings from sync to manual without first plugging in my iPod and erasing stuff?? Is there no other way to change the settings BEFORE plugging my iPod into my computer? And/or is there a way to get music from my iPod BACK onto my computer?

Thanks for any and all help anyone could offer!

The internet is a beautiful thing. I've known how to figure out where a call is coming from based on the number's area code and exchange (or prefix) for quite some time, but until now I've never posted a link to a web site that makes that information easy to find. I'm doing it now mainly because it's useful information, and it's interesting to look at for... two minutes, maybe.

FoneFinder.net also lets you look up international numbers...

On a related note, it's time to get a new phone. I've had an LG 4400 since November 2003, and I I've never had a problem with it, so I'm thinking my next phone will be something similar -- LG flip phone with a sturdy hinge similar to the 4400, but with some of the upgrades one would expect after using the same phone for almost four years. I'm thinking something like an LG 5300 or LG 8700. I don't have a problem with a similar phone manufactured by a different company, but as long as what I have works, why switch?

Bonus: if any current phones can be charged using the LG 4400's chargers, that's what I need!

The laptop was new in December 2005, and because I inherited it from my dad, it's a Toshiba laptop fitted with a 1.6 GHz Celeron running Windows XP Home -- yeesh. But it's been a good laptop, just good enough that I never bothered to wipe it with a fresh installation of XP Pro. But now may be the time. Before I go through with that, though, I'm wondering if anyone knows of any tricks to revive XP Home after it suddenly chokes under its own weight, passes out, and barely functions when it comes back to...

Everything was working great Monday morning. I attempted to burn a CD, and the first attempt kicked back an error. I re-inserted the CD (because it hadn't been touched) and tried again, but during this time it decided to slow its processing speed to a crawl, so by my estimation it would have taken an hour just to write the data to the image before burning, and I had to leave for work in about 10, so I had to stop the process.

It didn't like that very much, but I didn't realize it was choking until after I did it.

When I booted up after work, several hours later, it took about 7 minutes to get to the desktop (it had taken about 90 seconds for the last 15 months). My first thought was virus/worm/trojan, but after a few cleanup operations, nothing was found or fixed.

Now it's Tuesday morning, and the touchpad stopped loading for a moment, but I fixed that using my selective startup options... but now wireless connectivity has stopped.

So... I haven't had time to really look yet since I actually go to work during the week, but if anyone has seen something like this before and has any suggestions that might keep the laptop functional long enough for me to extract a few gigabites of data (hopefully in fewer than a couple of hours, rather than several days at current processing speeds). I'll be using KNOPPIX tonight

I hope the hard drive isn't failing, but that seems to be a possibility. I like to think that the combination of Celeron and XP Home means the hard drive is fine, though, and I just need to get my data to another machine as quickly as possible so I can format what's left.

KNOPPIX is next...

This is a nifty little tool that I almost put to use this morning to repair a missing taskbar, but instead I discovered a co-worker's computer was setup to use two monitors without a second monitor (which explained the description of a disappearing mouse cursor), so I just disabled the extended desktop.

Taskbar Plus! is still a nifty tool, though.

http://www.cummingfirst.com
http://www.penisland.net
http://www.therapistfinder.com
http://www.molestationnursery.com
http://www.expertsexchange.com
http://www.whorepresents.com

Okay, I laughed. (As far as I know, you shouldn't get in trouble for viewing these web sites at work.)

Thanks for the email, Anna. :)

In Brownrig, Montana, the temperature once dropped from 56°F to -44°F in 24 hours -- that's a drop of 100°F!

In Spearfish, South Dakota, the temperature once rose from -4°F to 44°F in two minutes. Two minutes!

Over the course of a full year, temperatures in Eastern Siberia range from about -75°F to 100°F. Wow.

The average temperature on the planet's surface is about 57°F. Without the greenhouse effect, it would be -6°F and the oceans would freeze over. Is that what you want?

Also, there's a theory that the Moon is a result of Earth colliding with another planet a couple of billion years ago, and the Pacific Ocean basin is the hole left by the departing rock.

The worst thing about trying to find the THX sound on the internet is finding thousands of teen girls who type "thx" instead of "thanks"... That is all.

Most of these links are to Elections Divisions or Boards of Elections, but some are just to the offices who run those divisions (but only when a state's elections web site only displays generic voter information and not election results).

If you want to stay ahead of the news networks, come back tomorrow night and check these links again. I will update some of them to link directly to the states' election results pages.

I hope you know your US postal abbreviations; you should by now. (They're arrange alphabetically by states' names, not abbreviations.)

AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | FL | GA
HI | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | ME | MD
MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ
NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC
SD | TN | TX | UT | VT | VA | WA | WV | WI | WY
DC | AS | GM | MP | PR | VI

DC, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands each have delegates in Congress who may vote in committees but not in at-large House votes. Puerto Rico has a non-voting Resident Commissioner who serves as the territory's delegate but who does not vote in committees. The Northern Marianas Islands ("MP" above) has a Resident Representative who, oddly, is elected in odd-numbered years (and currently has no voting rights in Congress). In other words, there are 441 delegates but only 435 Representatives in the House. (The Senate is reserved for the 50 states; DC doesn't even have a Senator, unless you count the Vice President, who isn't officially from DC.)

College students with Microsoft Word (or with Word Perfect and a USB thumb/flash drive), never again be stuck with a Word Perfect (.WPS) file that can't be opened in Word! If you have Word on your computer, download and install the Works 6.0 Converter for Works and Word Users from Microsoft.com.

If you have Word Perfect, then download that file and save it to your USB thumb/flash drive if you have one, and you can install the converter onto any omputer with Word if you ever run into that problem again (assuming someone with administrator privileges is logged in at the time).

(Working at a college that's using XP computers for a couple more months, I see this a few times a month, so I thought I'd pass on the good word just in case people who aren't me might benefit from it.)

I'm looking for a USB female to female coupler to work with my USB extension cable. The cable itself has the default USB tip (type A male, I think) on both ends, so I need the female plug (the receiving end like the ones on your computer) on both ends of the adapter/coupler, one for the device and one for the extension cable.

Where can find one for under $5 without ordering it online? (It isn't worth the shipping charge)

What is the easiest and most cost-effective way to transfer video from VHS to DVD if I don't have the equipment to do it myself?

What's the best way to access messenger networks (AIM, MSN, Yahoo) from a flash drive on computers that don't allow you to install the usual software?

Solution so far: Easy Message! Here's a 229KB zip file of version 2.3.663 (it expands to about 560KB) that can be extracted anywhere, including a USB drive.

Once extracted, run em2.exe. (If it's on your computer, you might want to add a shortcut to em2.exe on your Start Menu. The first time Easy Message runs, it will prompt you to setup a local password (security feature!), and then it will prompt you for your messenger account information. The first time it connects, a web ad will popup, but it is easily disabled from the "Options" dialog on the "Tools" menu: just uncheck the "Start Web Panel when application starts" option, and it's gone. (Take note of the other options while you're there.)

Its memory footprint is small, and it's feature-rich for such a small program. And for those unaware of AIM's "Appear Offline" feature, Easy Message lets you use it.

Our next "Wag Of The Finger" goes to the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Recent research confirms that our galaxy is orbiting a super-massive, star-sucking black hole that's devouring our cosmic neighborhood from the inside out. And I am going on the record as being against this swirling vortex of cosmic nothingness. Shame on you! Wag, wag, wag! Our intelligent designer didn't spend six days working his infinite behind off so you could suck in every piece of matter that crosses your event horizon. Let me tell you something, black hole, you may have swallowed a hundred million suns, but now you're dealing with America. We're not going to get sucked into a super-dense dark mass with a gravitational pull so strong that not even light can escape. We're going to die of Avian Flu. Black hole, you're on notice.

Okay font gurus, here's one for you.

On every computer I have used and taken the time to notice, the stars above are displayed fine, except my laptop. In fact, all of HTML's special characters display perfectly well except those two stars. Why? What am I missing?

I'm running Windows XP Pro with Office 2003 and gobs of other applications installed. This is really a minor annoyance, but it is still an annoyance, and I'd love to know how to fix it.

Edit: Could not having Wingding fonts installed be it? Edit: Nope, they're there. I bet I know what it is: my system is set to ClearType instead of TrueType, because ClearType renders much better than TrueType on an LCD screen. Edit: Thank goodness that wasn't it, because I like ClearType! It turns out that I didn't have international support turned on in my Office 2003 settings, so I didn't have a proper Unicode font installed. Fixed: So I just changed my install options to add international support, and voila, the proper Unicode fonts are installed ... and I see stars!

Thanks to armelle and all who responded to her post at thequestionclub, and to everyone who responded here!