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    Snow gear and rental cars

    We just completed a nice ski vacation in Utah, traveling from NorCal in our own car. I had a ski box and winter tires on it, and everything went off without a hitch. However, the drive is a major drag. 11-12 hours of Nevada desert, crossing endless summits until you get to Salt Lake City. Done...
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    Good scotch as a gift?

    I'd like to send a gift to a colleague of mine for a favor at work. Budget - $50-$60. I'm thinking of shipping a bottle of scotch, but I know next to nothing about them (just never got into it). What would be a good brand/label to send? Thanks!
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    Mondawmin mall, Baltimore

    I'm in Baltimore for a couple of days for work, staying at an Inner Harbor hotel. Today I needed a TV, and I didn't have a car. So I looked up the closest Target, punched in Google directions using city transit - and off I go. From the Charles St. station to Mondawmin. The ride in the metro...
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    J-Pop gurus, need your help

    Went out to a sushi place with a bunch of friends, and they had J-Pop playing on a TV all night long (and I suspect, every day). After about half an hour of nya-nya-nya-lalalala-nya-nya-nya ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ when I was ready to kill someone, they had this music video with the sound very similar to...
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    AV guys - need your help: 1/4 mono to to XLR stereo how?

    I have the following setup: - a presenter on stage is talking into the mic - live feed from the mic runs into the mixer, operated by a 3rd party - I have audio equipment that takes XLR connection, needs stereo input (otherwise, whoever listens to this equipment gets sounds in one ear only)...
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    I'm gonna pop some tags!

    Only got twenty dollars in my pocket I'm I'm hunttin, looking for a come up This is fucking awesome ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes I can't recall the last time I was so entertained by a rap song and a video. Outstanding!
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    Where to get cheap wood?

    Another school year, and I'm doing another project for the local elementary school. Last year I did the shelves, and they loved them so much, they asked me if I could build some more (under the same deal with the local union). I also agreed to build them a few planter boxes for the garden the...
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    Ho runs second to Dammit

    http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_21358609/ho-runs-second-dammit-win-three-years?source=rss It's the age-old question: Which is better, youth or experience? That question was answered at the 39th annual Dammit Run held on Aug. 11 in Los Gatos. Richard Ho proved that an experienced...
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    TF2: what is this BS?

    Someone on ATOT posted a new promo-trailer for TF2: playing co-op vs bots. I haven't played TF2 (or touched any game for that matter) for over a year now, I think. I'm a very casual player. All right, let's fire up my steam. Wait for update to complete. Let's kill some bots! Wait, what is...
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    .gov zone down?

    I can't reach anything in .gov zone. And 'downforeveryoneorjustme' says the same thing! I tried dmv.ca.gov and faa.gov, and neither is resolving. Doomed!
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    YAA(irline)Rant: Air France - a flying circus

    Mother-in-law called about an hour ago (10 PM) from SFO saying she was still at the terminal, and the flight did not leave and is being rescheduled for the next day. We dropped her off this morning at 1PM 0_o She is returning home, speaks very little English, so it's hard for her to understand...
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    Bending over yourself (figuratively speaking)

    This morning I was driving to the trail and listening to KFOG - probably the only Bay Area station that plays a variety of music, as opposed to strict formatted playlists that are playing on all the other FM frequencies around here. The station is based in SF, and is very SF-events oriented...
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    Trololo man is dead :(

    Eduard Khil, known to the western internet users as Trololo man has passed away after fighting for life for several weeks. I never enjoyed his songs much growing up, but was much amused to see him resurface as a brief but bright internet sensation. Rip, man.
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    Key in the bike fork: should it be there?

    I was doing some maintenance on a new bike yesterday (got a flat - a pin went right into the tire), turned it upside down to take off the wheel, and that's when I noticed there's a plastic key that was inserted into one fork end. It was barely visible outside the fork tube, so I did not notice...
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    What was this game called?

    Puzzle adventure game, in the style of 7th guest of 11th hour: you are on an island, you have to figure out what's going on by visiting island buildings, some of which work as portals. There are 3 books in the library. By collecting pages from the book you can release a father, who created the...
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    Stand in the jet-blast, fly headfirst into the wall

    If you guessed St. Martin on the Caribbean, you would be right. Article with cut frames and description: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2127152/Astonishing-video-shows-moment-airplane-jet-wash-blows-woman-head-wall.html Video...
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    Going to Portugal for 10 days

    So far on the list is Lisbon, of course, then Porto, Sintra and a bunch of other north towns and spots we have time to hit. Should be fun! Planning to rent a car and drive up and down, rather than rely on public transport. Any tips, advice?
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    Importing goods into the US

    A few months ago I asked people on this forum, on how to ship stuff into the US and got a few helpful responses. Well, the ordeal is now over - we have received our custom-order goods from China, safe and sound. All in all, not bad for the first time - we only incurred a $150 penalty for a...
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    Buying a new bicycle: can I bargain?

    So I'm ready to spend about a grand on a new bike. I've never purchased new bikes before from bike shops - usually just second-hand on Craigslist. So, my question is: do they work like car dealerships/matresses where there's MSRP and then there's the sane price. Can I bargain with them? Thanks...
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    Left oysters in a bag of ice in the fridge - will they survive?

    Dropped by the Fish Market during lunch and bought a bunch of oysters to go. They are in a bag of ice. Put them in the fridge in the office, and forgot to take them home with me. Will they survive until tomorrow morning? If so, I'll bring lemon and shucking knife to work, and have an oyster...
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    Why don't Americans eat beets?

    Sure, certain people do, but I noticed that using beets in American culture is funny for some reason. Case in point: The Office. Dwight is a beet farmer. The whole punchline here is that he grows beets! No one would laugh if he were a rye farmer. I, personally, have witnessed a ton of jokes...
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    Spider ID please!

    Caught this bad mother in our bedroom right above our bed. Looks like a wolf spider to me. Am I right or am I nuking this house from orbit just to be sure? :)
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    Salvation Army snubbed my dresser

    WTF moment of the day: I wanted to get rid of our old dresser. It's a nice solid dresser in good used condition. Usually I take stuff to Goodwill, but I don't have a truck, and I'm not renting a U-haul for this occasion either. Local Goodwill won't do pickups, so that leaves Salvation Army...
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    Wood workers - how to make a wedge?

    Hi guys! My kid got a solar system model as a gift. It attaches to a ceiling and rotates the planets around the Sun - the piece that holds everything in place. The problem is that the whole thing should be attached to a flat ceiling, and all ceilings in our house are vaulted. I took the...
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    People with recording and mixer skills - I need your help

    I have a digital piano - Yamaha Clavinova CLP-240. I also have a mixer - Allen Heath Zed 10-FX which I use to record myself. My piano has stereo RCA output which I connect to stereo RCA-input channel on my mixer, and then connect mixer USB output port to my laptop on which I record myself...
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    Mythbusters shoot a cannonball through someone's home

    Don't try this at home, folks! We have 30 years of experience that keeps us safe! http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19483520 DUBLIN -- A cannonball misfired by the "Mythbusters" TV crew blasted through an East Dublin home Tuesday afternoon while its occupants were asleep. It then smashed...
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    US Airways: sorry, no more seats. Fly standing.

    http://www.elliott.org/blog/forced-to-stand-for-a-seven-hour-flight/
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    Duck hunters - why is this call so expensive?

    A few days ago Cabela's sent me their catalog in the mail, and I was flipping through it out of curiosity, when I saw this: And it cost $160. I had to google its name to figure out what it is - it's a goose call. It's, essentially, a whistle. A fancy acrylic whistle. Why does it cost...
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    Good deed of the day: teaching boolean logic

    Was checking out Tech Museum with my daughter today, playing with the logic-gate driven model of a car: you connect the inputs with outputs via AND/OR/NOT with cables, and when you flip various switches on a car, it does different things. Some random guy who looked a bit like your average...
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    How do you receive goods shipped by sea?

    I want to buy a couple of large crates of equipment manufactured in China for my company. Due to the size of the crates (it's trade booths we are talking about) they can ship it as freight by sea only. So, let's say the shipment arrives to port of San Francisco. What happens then? Do I need...
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    Anyone tried to cut granite himself?

    So after a slight debacle with our contractor I posted about earlier, the granite came in today, and I have to say - they did an awesome job. But now that they had a larger piece to work with, they left two leftovers for me, each big enough for a coffee table. I'd hate for them to go to...
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    Contractor miscalculated countertop space and cut the slabs

    We are doing a kitchen and bath remodeling. So far the contractor we picked has been great: we really couldn't complain about anything, and even though there were a few mishaps during bathroom remodel, they were our own fault, and that was that. Now we are at the stage where we need to put...
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    Anyone's Google Voicemail broken?

    For the past month or so both my wife's and my Google Voicemail got completely fubared. Instead of our greetings you randomly get robotic female voice saying 'Enter the number you wish to dial, then press #'. If you then re-enter the number you dialed (mine, for example), you get the regular...
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    Official photo op? O hai everyone!

    http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/20/7862290-barack-obama-joins-open-government-partnership-for-group-photo
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    Netflix splits off DVDs - separate company Qwikster

    Dear PaulNey, I messed up. I owe you an explanation. [no kidding] It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our...
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    Shipping freight via FedEx - anyone done it?

    I may be involved in an event wherein I will be setting up some equipment for it. I personally do not own equipment, but usually rent it. It just happens that none of the local companies will have it available, but a company located in another part of the state will. Equipment will come in a...
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    Why don't American schools use grid paper?

    When I was growing up in Russia, the grid paper had me! For arts and humanities we used regular notepads, but for anything math or science related we used notepads with grid paper! OMG, it was so awesome! Most math and geometry problems are ten times easier to write down on grid and draw a...
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    No power in 1 room in the house

    Hey, ATOT, I need your wisdom. I'm not an electrician, so please help me out here! I had contractors remodeling a master bathroom. As part of the work, they replaced an old plug with GFCI plug, removed the wall light and left the wires hanging for now - they are coming back in 2 weeks to...
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    No improvements for you says the Union

    My daughter goes to an elementary school around San Jose. Being a California school, the buildings are just small wooden sheds that hold one classroom each. There are no covered areas, the doors open straight to the playground. Kids usually drop off their backpacks and lunch bags right in...
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    Welcome to the 1st grade...

    So my kid went to the first grade today. Public charter school. Last school year my wife and I volunteered like mad for the school when our kid was in K grade. We made friends with the K grade teacher, and she was extremely nice to us. She considered our kid one of her best students. End...