Recent Posts

751

Living Room / Re: What's the name of your car?

« Last post by crabby3 on March 11, 2014, 11:00 AM »

I've seen some of those lists before.

I have a generic minivan, but I went the other way and last started calling it the Haunted Van, after taking it to several car shops with a problem, they do stuff, and then the problem is still there.

-TaoPhoenix (September 10, 2012, 09:20 AM)

Auto-repair is not easy especially if mechanics only have a description of the problem from a non auto-savy customer.
Similar to a novice computer user describing an issue to an IT-geek.  Both have knowledge barriers to somehow overcome.

I guess Unpredictable would have to be my full-size vans name.  The last two times it broke down with no warning signs at all.   

752

Living Room / Re: Dumb question but ...

« Last post by crabby3 on March 11, 2014, 10:16 AM »

Dumb question but I'm wondering why when I run Camera on my Laptop I get the same perspective as when I look in the mirror?  In other words, since it's video and not a mirror I would expect the display to show me as others see me, not reversed.  If I pick up my right hand and wave, it shows in the video as my "left hand" just as if it were a plain reflection.  Strikes me as strange.

-MilesAhead (March 11, 2014, 08:38 AM)

Just tried my camera.  When I lift my right hand, the image of me lifts his right hand as well, which is on the left side of the screen.

It is not a mirror image.

Maybe your camera settings include a flop-image?  Mine does not but it would sure make combing ones hair easier.  

753

Living Room / Death Notification Email Scam

« Last post by crabby3 on March 09, 2014, 08:25 AM »

I think this was my first email scam.   
Got it yesterday from a Funeral Home in my state.  I knew some people around that area but none had my email address.   

The actual Funeral Home's site led me here:
http://www.abcaction...-notification-emails

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the scammers are hiding behind funeral homes to get people to click a link which then places malware on their computers, spreading the phishing scam.

Just an FYI for those of you who may get one whereever you are.

p.s.  I presume Avast or other malware apps would block the link but I didn't test it.

754

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 07, 2014, 10:15 AM »

..  i couldn't help but laugh at plant cat and the one with the rapid foot.

-mouser (March 02, 2014, 11:33 AM)

These are the two Mouser saw:

Plant cat

Rapid foot

The other segments were more or less staged.  Humorous but no real cat behavior.   

755

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 06, 2014, 08:01 AM »

I presume I will be able to view how the images or thumbs will look before I post?
I seem to remember something about not being able to actually see the attachments until after the post?
Though, I guess, that's what the Edit Button is for.

-crabby3 (March 05, 2014, 07:28 AM)

You are correct in that you cannot view the attachments until after they have been uploaded to the forum. And they don't get uploaded until you click the "Post" button. So, yes, use the Edit button if necessary.

Another quick tip is that if you edit a post within the first minute or two, it doesn't get marked as "Edited." So you have some leeway to quickly correct mistakes.

-Deozaan (March 05, 2014, 03:23 PM)

Thank you for your time, Deozaan and the additional information.

I found out yesterday about the 'Quick-Edit'.  I clicked post instead of preview on the above reply. 

As far as the (now) invalid link to the video... perhaps I will find it elsewhere and change the URL. That way maybe you could edit your first reply as well?
I guess even some YouTubes die.   

756

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 05, 2014, 07:28 AM »

Thank you, Deozaan, for the walkthrough.    I screen-capped all of it.  Many thanks.

Maybe you have a similar in-depth walkthrough for static images as well?    I have a few I'd like to share, in other threads, not here.

-crabby3 (March 04, 2014, 09:22 AM)

You're welcome. (c:

For images, it's best to attach/upload them to the forum. That way they don't disappear if the external site they're hosted on goes away.

-Deozaan (March 04, 2014, 04:29 PM)

Yes... I would rather upload directly.  I've seen many older threads with missing images and I don't want that.

Attach it to the forum and then click the "Link Inline Image.." dropdown and select your option. I typically use only two of the options:

1. "inline fullsize attachment" -- Use this if the image is relatively small, or if it's important to view at fullsize.
2. "inline thumb attachment" -- This makes a small thumbnail image that people can click to view fullsize. Use this for large images or for many images so that the images don't take up the whole screen and require a lot of scrolling for other people. It also saves bandwidth on large (filesize) since people will only download the full file if they click on the image to view it fullsize.

(See this post in the LOLMouser thread for an example. I only posted one image in that post, so I did it at fullsize. In the following post, I posted many images as thumbnails so that they wouldn't take up a lot of space.)

Each one will give you a tag that looks something like this

[ attachimg=# ] <-- Fullsize attachment
[ attachthumb=# ] <-- Thumbnail attachment

You can just leave it like that and it will automatically show the images in their attached order, or you can manually replace the # with an actual digit to show the images in a specific order.

-Deozaan (March 04, 2014, 04:29 PM)

I presume I will be able to view how the images or thumbs will look before I post?
I seem to remember something about not being able to actually see the attachments until after the post?
Though, I guess, that's what the Edit Button is for.  

Finally, probably the most useful tip I can give you is that if you see somebody do something and you want to know how to do it, simply click the "Quote" link to make a new post and quote them. Their post will show up in the edit box and you can see the code they used to make things show up a certain way. That's how I learn nifty tricks I see on here.

P.S. Quoting somebody doesn't actually quote stuff in spoiler boxes, so if you try to quote my external image stuff to see how I did it, that won't work. I did it that way on purpose to discourage people from linking external images.

-Deozaan (March 04, 2014, 04:29 PM)

Thank you once again, Deozaan, you've outdone yourself!   

757

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 04, 2014, 09:22 AM »

It's easy:

You take a normal YouTube link: ...

-Deozaan (March 03, 2014, 02:54 PM)

Thank you, Deozaan, for the walkthrough.     I screen-capped all of it.  Many thanks.

Maybe you have a similar in-depth walkthrough for static images as well?     I have a few I'd like to share, in other threads, not here.

--------------

Perhaps I'll change my avatar to the *Lobster Cat* .. lol

758

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 04, 2014, 08:59 AM »

Loads of fun

From the same people as Giampy's cat video:

-tomos (March 04, 2014, 04:21 AM)

The calico would be me in Computers 101 class.    Not much interest.

759

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 03, 2014, 12:18 PM »

^^ @Deozaan:  Thank you for bringing the video to DC.    Couldn't seem to do it myself.   

760

Living Room / Re: Funny Animal Videos

« Last post by crabby3 on March 02, 2014, 11:25 AM »

Cats...    ...true sound no music.


EDIT:
https://www.youtube....ture=player_embedded  Invalid ... sorry   

761

Living Room / Re: What printer?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 21, 2014, 01:13 PM »

For the folks that do occasional printing**, like myself, I would suggest looking at Walmart's HP 1010.  No bells or whistles.  Just a regular (8.5 x 11) wired printer.
**IMO what's the point of being part of the Digital Age if I print stuff out?  Seems silly to me.
I would have to say this was my least expensive computer plug-in ever.     My only other price comparison was Amazon and theirs is more.  As of today.

Back when I bought my previous printer there were no combos.  So I still have/use a separate scanner and don't need a copier or fax.
I was more or less forced to upgrade to this HP Deskjet when I switched to Vista because it gave my other printer the cold-shoulder.   

I believe I'm better off though 'cause this one's about 5" smaller, lighter, prints faster and the ink is cheaper.

762

Living Room / Re: Old Rubik's Cube book rediscovered via the Internet. I love you Internet.

« Last post by crabby3 on February 21, 2014, 09:49 AM »

This one's a lot longer (5:26) but seems to figure it out rather than being preprogrammed?   

763

Living Room / Re: Spoons

« Last post by crabby3 on February 20, 2014, 10:36 AM »

@kunkel321  That's some nifty artwork. 

From the movie The Matrix:  http://www.youtube.c...ge&v=YXKFTzlBziI

"Do not try to bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth... there is no spoon."

764

Living Room / Re: Old Rubik's Cube book rediscovered via the Internet. I love you Internet.

« Last post by crabby3 on February 20, 2014, 07:52 AM »

This you Tao.. ?  http://www.wimp.com/blindfoldedrecord/

-crabby3 (February 20, 2014, 05:53 AM)

Haha, no!

See above, I used a really sloppy slow method. There's no way I'd be able to do that!

-TaoPhoenix (February 20, 2014, 07:37 AM)

Did you click the Next and see the dog playing the piano and singing?  Better than the cube stunt.

765

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Warning: Time is the single biggest cause of stress in our western culture

« Last post by crabby3 on February 20, 2014, 07:41 AM »

Heh Necro Thread Arise!

-TaoPhoenix (February 19, 2014, 06:35 PM)

I resuscitate what may warrant a different perspective.  Other things have a hole in the middle. 
Before I actually touched one I thought a lifebuoy was made out of expanded polystyrene (styrofoam).  Nope.  It's some kind of foam but hard as a rock.
Relyable knowledge should be shared. 

...If for example you are dealing with an entity that has no concept of "time", it ruins your basic life efficiency!
(Examples include ditzy artsy friends, ...

-TaoPhoenix (February 19, 2014, 06:35 PM)

.. the words ditzy artsy friends aren't ever stringed together in my world.

..and "Please Hold (for 82 minutes), your call is important to us." (But not enough to staff the line better!!)

-TaoPhoenix (February 19, 2014, 06:35 PM)

Sadly this is part of everyday life, anywhere anytime, not just the phone.  Wish there were downloadable groceries, clothing, pizza.   

------------
Back on topic .. .
Worry, these days, may have replaced time. 

766

Living Room / Re: Old Rubik's Cube book rediscovered via the Internet. I love you Internet.

« Last post by crabby3 on February 20, 2014, 05:53 AM »

This you Tao.. ?  http://www.wimp.com/blindfoldedrecord/

767

Living Room / Re: Old Rubik's Cube book rediscovered via the Internet. I love you Internet.

« Last post by crabby3 on February 19, 2014, 01:27 PM »

Isn't the quickest solution ... pealing off the color squares?  An ex-friend did that to mine.   

768

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Warning: Time is the single biggest cause of stress in our western culture

« Last post by crabby3 on February 19, 2014, 01:06 PM »

"Remember... things with a hole in the middle bring headaches"

-Paul Keith (September 16, 2009, 11:52 AM)

This may also apply to a poorly aimed life preserver along with the possibility of knocked-out teeth or a broken nose.    Still better than drowning.

769

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Perfect Effects 8 Premium Edition *FREE* (again) for a limited time

« Last post by crabby3 on February 19, 2014, 11:48 AM »

   ...Perhaps someone wanted to dial in a few details while the image was still large/complete before dropping/cropping it to the finished size?

-Stoic Joker (February 19, 2014, 06:56 AM)

IMO an image gets more difficult to *improve*, as the size gets smaller so cropping or resize is one of my last edits.

I'm not a graphic artist with 100% of my time and space dedicated to image manipulation. I'm a network administrator that occasionally needs to do something quick with an image and therefore don't have time to waste going boing, boing, boing, between applications while trying to accomplish some probably trivial task for a user that got stuck needing X for Y in preparation for a deadline of some kind.

-Stoic Joker (February 19, 2014, 06:56 AM)

I'm not a graphic artist nor a network admin, not enough interest or brain cells, respectively.  PSP-9 was my choice, not free for me, but all my boinging is done without plugins.
It appears to be free here: http://www.oldversio...s/paint-shop-pro-9-0  Note: UAYOR. This is just one example of where it is offered for free.
My edits are pretty quick; though I'm in no hurry.  The Help and Context Help sections are equally useful.  Lot easier than using the 1.5 inch thick manual.   
It opens in a Windows window, so it's not stand alone but it may as well be.  Anything one may want to change, add, remove, etc. is right there... somewhere ...
Once you've learned where things are you can customize Your Workspace and save it.  This includes custom context menus, custom hotkeys, custom toolbars...

----------

I did watch the *contrast demo*.  This is just a more/less-contrast program?
Just showing end-result images are pointless.  Unfortunately this is usually a sign of deception IMO.  The cute little baby in the basket is a good example.
It's a whole lot easier to make a modern color photo look old; than the other way around.

770

Living Room / Re: Junk mail plus telemarketing equals new ISP account?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 19, 2014, 08:30 AM »

Yes, junk email is called spam. You remember correctly.

Where I live we have a do-not-call list on the state level that works on the one at the national level. I signed up for both & I get a call from a telemarketer maybe once or twice a  year. Life is good.

As for your last call, telemarketers have the technology to call from anywhere in the world and make it look like anything they want on your caller ID. Some of these calls go through weird relays that will make the call sound faint or far away.

-Innuendo (February 18, 2014, 12:26 PM)

The name Spam is pretty easy for me.  Windows Mail (or maybe Avast) adds ***SPAM***, to the beginning of the Subject Line of any suspected email,
before sending it to the Junk E-mail folder.  

A few years back I added my name, address and/or phone number to: http://thedma.org/ and https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

Unfortunately there is a at least one loophole (my experience).  My nemesis was the PBA.
If you have taken phone calls from anyone you have delt with in the past you are subjected to continue receiving them.
This of course was back when I actually answered the phone; before I got my electronic-secretary.

As far as sounding faint or far away?  Don't remember it sounding that way.
Her voice sounded distant to begin with but got louder as she tried to convince me to punch certain buttons.
This difference in volume is common, either face to face or over the phone.  We all do it, to make a point or emphasize something.

Many times I have had to call somebody about an issue that couldn't be handled thru email.
About half of these calls were started by me asking the *associate* to speakup.  The volume didn't change but the voice got a lot louder.
I believe it's because the person moved the mic closer to his or her pie-hole.  

771

Living Room / Re: Junk mail plus telemarketing equals new ISP account?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 17, 2014, 08:51 AM »

Oh, my mistake.  

I automatically went to the premise you were talking about email junk mail. Never mind. Nothing to see here.

-Innuendo (February 17, 2014, 07:31 AM)

No problem Innuendo.  Personally I am still trying to learn and remember all the computer-jargon.  Junk email is called spam right?
I have it written down, someplace, just can't remember where.  

. . .   _ . _ .   . _   _ _   . _ _ .   . _   . _ .   _   . . _ _ _  = scam part 2

Got one last call yesterday (Sunday) and I believe it was a live person.  Could not hear all she said... even at max volume.
She probably moved the mic away from her mouth, for a cigarette break and didn't move it back.  

772

Living Room / Re: Junk mail plus telemarketing equals new ISP account?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 16, 2014, 03:30 PM »

Just visited my phones web site and it could not locate any *service changes requested*.  This was definitely a scam but probably not by them.
This is what I suspected all along.  That the phone calls and maybe the junk mail were both phony. 

-crabby3 (February 16, 2014, 12:51 PM)

Then that should narrow down your list of suspects considerably. If you are like me, very few entities possess both my email address and my home phone number.

-Innuendo (February 16, 2014, 02:05 PM)

Some clarification... the junk mail was USPS delivery.
How could someone match my address with my phone number?  Would have to be an ex-friend I guess?  Got lots of those.   

773

Living Room / Re: Junk mail plus telemarketing equals new ISP account?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 16, 2014, 12:51 PM »

Chances are if you had answered any of those calls you would have gotten a hard sell from a sales rep trying to sell you on their service.

With scummy marketing tactics like that I'd be looking for a new phone company.

-Innuendo (February 16, 2014, 11:09 AM)

Just visited my phones web site and it could not locate any *service changes requested*.  This was definitely a scam but probably not by them.
This is what I suspected all along.  That the phone calls and maybe the junk mail were both phony. 

774

Living Room / Junk mail plus telemarketing equals new ISP account?

« Last post by crabby3 on February 16, 2014, 07:59 AM »

This tactic is new to me.  First I get junk mail, from my phone company, saying they want to be my new ISP.  Next few days they call,
wanting me to 'confirm' an appointment I (or someone else) have made, to come and set me up.

All of their calls (4) were automated and recorded by my answering machine.  No buttons were pushed to confirm, change, etc. this non appointment.

Fake day & time came and went.  Nada.  I suppose this gimmick might work in some households?  Beware! 

775

General Software Discussion / Re: Hidden Files

« Last post by crabby3 on February 14, 2014, 09:34 AM »

Have you tried an offline scan of the machine?

-Stoic Joker (February 13, 2014, 10:45 AM)

All of the above mentioned full scans were offline.
I presume you are suggesting that Kaspersky may find viruses or malware that Avast, SAS, MBAM cannot? 

+1! If Kapersky's offline scanner can't find or fix it, it's either not there - or it's not repairable and you'll need an OS restore to get around it.

-40hz (February 13, 2014, 12:56 PM)

I am somewhat reluctant to invest in another AV program.  I may just download the Avast rescue disk to flash and run that.**
If I choose this Avast option... how should it be done?  Just leave it plugged into a USB port and restart?

**Foolishly I bought an Avast rescue disk, a while back and it even has my name on it.  Whoop-de-do.  Now it appears that CD is basically useless
because the virus definitions are outdated.  But now it seems I can create an up-to-date rescue CD or flash from within the Avast GUI.
Do people still hang CD's from their rear-view mirrors?