Messages

251

Living Room / Re: On photography

« on: December 20, 2008, 12:01 AM »

Incredible collection of photos for 2008!

Also, it's sad to have it reaffirmed how widespread retouching photos is to make models look good. It's kind of surprising sometimes to see the original photos and realize that some of the models really aren't that great looking.

-Deozaan (December 19, 2008, 07:32 PM)

Yes, they are. They have to have a LOT going for them to be models in the first place. They're just not perfect. Nobody is.
Deozaan, and anyone else disappointed by what a model (or anyone else) looks like, study the before and after photos from websites of different photographers and editors! Study this topic until you can predict from the after photos what's been altered.

When you master that, you'll have gained a much better understanding of the female form. I assure you, you will not be disappointed again.

252

Living Room / Re: New Body Spray For Men

« on: December 19, 2008, 11:23 PM »

Almost all of them are naturally scented, so they don't smell cheap & phony.

-app103 (December 19, 2008, 09:53 PM)

  Mine are hardly naturally scented, but ooohh they smell nice!

I just got 2 new fragrances last night at Macy's, while I was Christmas shopping.
One for evening (New Year's Eve in NYC!).
One for everyday.
I hadn't purchased a fragrance in several years.
Nor do I think I've ever had anything by GUCCI, it's fun!

I smelled (faintly) like a VOGUE magazine today and a happy girl I am...

253

Living Room / Re: In-car GPS

« on: December 16, 2008, 12:59 PM »

With a compass and having to follow a map, I can get around.

By yourself, in a moving car?  At night, in the rain?

Love my Magellan!!  

-mrainey (December 16, 2008, 10:35 AM)

OMG yes, by myself!
I don't read maps while driving.
And the night & the rain? Please!

I grew up just south of San Francisco. When my friends & I first started driving, we used to go get lost in the City just for fun...of course, we had each other, but do you really think that helped? 

Then of course, in my twenties, there was the nightlife in SF...a few years of that & a girl has to know how to take care of herself.

That said, my sense of direction is still awful. Daytime driving is much harder for me, as there are a million distractions. If I've been somewhere once, and I feel I should go right, then going left is my only hope.

Of course, I'd love to have your setup, but after 22 years of driving, I'm not going to die without it!

254

Living Room / Re: In-car GPS

« on: December 16, 2008, 01:46 AM »

The problem with your ideal romantic getaway #1 is that it requires a co-pilot who has a sense of direction. Unfortunately that rules out my wife.

-Deozaan (December 16, 2008, 01:20 AM)

No, I have no sense of direction either!
I forgot to mention there was a compass.
With a compass and having to follow a map, I can get around.
I'm sure she could, too 

And the problem with your disaster romantic getaway #2 is that it assumes a pilot who apparently doesn't know how to drive three meters without looking at a map/guide.

-Deozaan (December 16, 2008, 01:20 AM)

I guess I didn't make my point very well:
The distraction of GPS (coupled with it being our only resource for directions) turned an excellent driver into an entranced one. The screen was everything, and he just couldn't stop looking at it. It moved as we moved...like a game.

I'm certain he's not alone and that some people really have to try not to get distracted by it 

255

Living Room / Re: In-car GPS

« on: December 16, 2008, 01:04 AM »

I love GPS, when it's a good system.
You just have to consider the context; it's not too much fun on romantic getaways.

My BF has taken me on two tours in southern France:

Trip 1:BF drives, and drives very well, despite rain, wind, etc. He gets his directions from GF.
GF is co-pilot, in charge of the maps BF has so thoughtfully printed out from the web. She learns new words, keeps her sense of direction, has some responsibility, has fun, conversation flows, all is well. GF & BF accomplished something together!
GF goes back to USA bragging that her BF is the best driver in all the world, and, without GPS, he probably is.

Trip 2:BF drives again, and drives badly, wide eyes fixed on an ugly blue screen, from which he gets visual directions.
GF's pleas to BF that he keep his eyes on the road are met with promises to do so which are broken within seconds.
Conversation cannot flow, due to continual interruptions from audio instructions given by GPS.
BF & GF find their destinations, each stop being a relief to both.
GF is just frightened enough on the road to feel rattled / irritated at the end of each drive.

Not so great for romantic plans. You get the picture. or rather, 

256

General Software Discussion / Re: Spoiler tag

« on: December 15, 2008, 10:30 PM »

"The construction of the macrobutton field is very simple."
Ouch...

"The AUTOTEXT fields store the AUTOTEXT entry to display.  The AUTOTEXT fields are nested in the conditional IF fields and displayed as the "True" condition."

Aaagghhhh! My brain!



Any other suggestions?

257

General Software Discussion / Re: Spoiler tag

« on: December 14, 2008, 09:22 PM »

Thanks!!

I don't know how to use macros, but I'll try, as soon as I get caught up on Christmas stuff.

258

General Software Discussion / Re: need to move mouse horizontal or vertical only

« on: December 13, 2008, 11:54 PM »

I thank you very much, Sarah, for the detailed direction.   
However, this feature is for a TouchPad on a Notebook only. It is not a standard feature in general, ...

-Curt (December 12, 2008, 04:03 AM)

This occurred to me as I was falling asleep (of course)!
Sounds like you got it going, though...

259

General Software Discussion / Spoiler tag

« on: December 13, 2008, 10:57 PM »

Hi,
I'm very much in need of something that does what the spoiler tags (used on this site) do, but I need it for use in Word or web mail.
I just want to create expandable/collapseable sections of data and images. This is incredibly useful.
Any suggestions appreciated.
 

260

General Software Discussion / Re: need to move mouse horizontal or vertical only

« on: December 12, 2008, 12:11 AM »

Curt,
I think this is in your settings.
Go to Control Panel, Mouse, Device Settings tab, Settings button, Pointer Motion, Constrained Motion.
You'll find:

The Constrained Motion feature allows you to force purely horizontal or vertical motion of the pointer on the screen.  This feature is most useful when using a drawing program.  You activate Constrained Motion by pressing and holding a specified key while moving the pointer.  When the key is pressed, the initial direction of your pointer motion determines the allowed direction of movement for as long as your finger remains on the TouchPad.

To enable the Constrained Motion feature:
1.  Select the Enable constrained motion check box to enable the options in the list box.
2.  Choose a key from the list box for activating Constrained Motion.
3.  Press and hold the selected key whenever you want to constrain pointer motion.

Hope this helps.

261

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« on: December 11, 2008, 11:25 PM »

Being interrupted & losing my work, by updates for software I didn't even know I had (such as that on my mobile phone).
AVG keeping me informed of what it's doing while preventing me from going online, with messages I don't even understand.
Conflicting definitions of file types when looked up online:
".XYZ is a known Trojan Horse."
"Contrary to popular belief, .XYZ files are not Trojan Horse files. They are needed by your system in order for it to run properly.

GRRR!

262

Living Room / Re: Email etiquette How to Decline Fowards/Junk?

« on: December 11, 2008, 11:02 PM »

I'm with Deozaan 100% on this.

I've had to ask one friend several times to (at least) use BCC & finally ended up having to be embarrass/shock her in order to get my point across, stating immediately upon receipt of her junk mails that I couldn't believe she still didn't know how to use BCC for sending junk mail. I offered to teach her and was pretty pushy about it...she stopped after a couple - OK, a few - of those conversations.

Then there's the, "I'm absolutely, never, ever responding to this garbage" method that I used with another friend.
This means that when they ask you about it, Say you just don't acknowledge mail of that kind...it goes straight to the trash, as there's just not enough time in the day to read it all. But here, you must stick to your guns. If they think you've read one FWD:, you're finished.

Or, play innocent: "Oh, come on, nobody really reads those things...do they?"

They may not listen very well, or utilize BCC, but our spamming friends do update their mailing lists from time to time, & zero response does say something, sometimes. Good luck!!

263

Living Room / Re: Linux holds kids back - that's what the teacher says! Windows fundamentalism?

« on: December 11, 2008, 08:58 PM »

I've read the comments in his blog. This Ken guy's pretty skilled when it comes to yanking people's chains.
At the risk of being completely *wrong* in the face of, well, the world, I don't buy it. I just...don't buy it.

264

Living Room / Re: Linux holds kids back - that's what the teacher says! Windows fundamentalism?

« on: December 11, 2008, 08:39 PM »

I agree.

It actually sounds made-up, like a script from a movie, where the teacher is being shown as the culprit.

And to say that there's no such thing as free software...I mean, you don't have to download freeware to know that it exists!?! A bit over-the-top IMHO.

265

Living Room / Re: Linux holds kids back - that's what the teacher says! Windows fundamentalism?

« on: December 11, 2008, 07:27 PM »

Yes, this teacher's response does smack of Windows fundamentalism...but I can't help but agree with her on one point: the hype leading up to at least my installation of Linux was like a carnival...for all the reading I'd done, I was still perplexed & unprepared by the fact that there was *no* interface. As a child, I think I would've just lost interest. As an adult, I just think, "Linux, all show." The "go" is, or at least was, reserved for only the most computer-savvy.

Linux, too, seems a bit cult-like to me.
There's too much of an "in opposition of" tone when people talk about Linux that I just can't get comfortable, I guess.

Just my $.02

266

General Software Discussion / Re: Music files 101

« on: December 09, 2008, 06:06 PM »

-sorry, useless rant removed by me...-

267

General Software Discussion / Re: Music files 101

« on: December 08, 2008, 05:03 PM »

Thanks, Curt...actually the time has come (the Holidays) and I'm just going to UPS my sister our mom's Christmas music, I think she would appreciate it, having just bought a house.

The rest of the collection, well, who knows. My sister told me that she has an FTP site and said I can (up?)load any files I want, I just have to learn how to do it. That is *not* a question for this thread, though, I'll cross that bridge later when I come to it. So thanks again and please continue using this thread for whatever purpose its serving now  .

Everything seems very complicated right now in all facets of computing, so I've backed off quite a bit, hoping that, in time, things will become simple again.

Sincerely,
Sarah

268

Living Room / Re: Things your kids will never know - old school tech!

« on: November 03, 2008, 11:13 AM »

  Yeah, my dad had one of those, in his days of women, wine and song. What was the actual year those things came out, I wonder?

269

Living Room / Re: Why social networks are a threat to life as some know it

« on: November 01, 2008, 08:16 PM »

Kartal,
I don't think you're paranoid; actually, I follow what you write about privacy because as you say, you have an understanding of these technologies.
I don't, and it all seems very complicated to me, so I'd rather err om the side of caution.

But...I thought in a previous post you indicated that you liked social networking, perhaps I'm mistaken?
I think it was twitter?

Anyway, I consider your views to be conservative and well thought-out.
That's all.

270

Living Room / Re: Flash Toy of the Week: How Well Can you Differentiate Colors?

« on: September 22, 2008, 09:04 AM »

You do so many things better than we do...
washing up springs to mind 

-cranioscopical (September 17, 2008, 07:46 PM)

...that's because we can...well... see. 
That was fun. I scored a 0.

271

General Software Discussion / Re: Any Lynx(text based browser) lover-user?

« on: September 21, 2008, 10:47 PM »

I like lynx better so far because it has this coloring that helps to seperate text while reading.

-kartal (September 21, 2008, 02:09 PM)

OMG I'm sorry for my rude reply, Kartal!!!
I thought you were joking when you asked if I liked the colors.
Just...pay no attention...

272

General Software Discussion / Re: Any Lynx(text based browser) lover-user?

« on: September 20, 2008, 03:05 AM »

slashdot on LYNX: OUCH...not even color can make it OK
    

273

General Software Discussion / Re: Any Lynx(text based browser) lover-user?

« on: September 20, 2008, 02:47 AM »

http://stashbox.org/227650/lynx.zip

Download this, uncompress into a folder and run.

-kartal (September 20, 2008, 02:27 AM)

OK, I did it, but when I got to a web site, I couldn't select anything & it's not taking my arrow commands.

It was fun to try, though, just a little rustic for me  

274

General Software Discussion / Re: Any Lynx(text based browser) lover-user?

« on: September 20, 2008, 02:18 AM »

try this page, no installation required. It should work on vista. I am using it under xp64

http://www.fdisk.com...doslynx/lynxport.htm

-kartal (September 20, 2008, 01:52 AM)

Thanks Kartal, but I don't even understand the page, it's way over my head...no problem though, if you run into something idiot-friendly, keep me in mind 

275

General Software Discussion / Re: Any Lynx(text based browser) lover-user?

« on: September 20, 2008, 01:47 AM »

I would love to try this, but...I have Vista.
Unless, does NT include Vista? There are NT files on this PC...