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Does the type of speaker wire used make a difference? Yes. Everything in the signal path affects the sound quality of an audio system. Will you hear a difference? That depends. Speaker cables, as well as interconnects, are affected by numerous factors, including: - Cable resistance. - Capacitance and inductance. - Capacitive and inductive reactance. - Connector type and quality. - Joins between parts (soldered and/or crimped). - Junctions...

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Should I worry about replacing the polysteryne capacitors on the preamp board on an Akai GX-635D reel to reel. Do these have the same failure rate as the electrolytic cans? While I have the board out does anyone have any replacement recommendations? Polystyrene caps are quite stable over the long term. They usually do not need to be replaced unless they have not been exposed to operating temperatures above 85C. While this is a relatively low temperature spec for capacitors, preamp circuits do not normally operate at such temperatures. If you do decide to replace them to improve the performance of the circuit or if you are concerned...

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How often should a stylus on a home turntable be changed? Can just the stylus be changed, or must the cartridge be changed as well? Generally speaking, the needle should be refreshed every 500 hours of use. Under dirty conditions (e.g., live music environment), you might want to do this more often. Cleaning the needle regularly does extend its life, as does proper cartridge setup. I clean mine every second side played with a product designed for this application (Clearaudio Diamond Cleaner - pricey, but a bottle lasts...

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I have a Ornofon OMB 5E stylus/cartridge on my home turntable. Is this a decent stylus or is there a better model to replace it with? The OMB-5E/OM-5E is a budget cartridge - one of Ortofon's cheapest models. There are numerous alternatives that can be purchased for a low price (i.e., under $200), from companies such as Ortofon, Grado, Goldring, and others. It is difficult to recommend any particular model without knowing what hardware you are using (e.g., turntable, tonearm, phono preamp). I would recommend going to an...

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which is the better turntable, the Technics SL-D2 or the Pioneer PL-500? I can buy either one for the same price Frankly, neither of these are particularly good turntables. Save your money and purchase a new or used turntable from a company that specializes in such products, such as Rega, Music Hall, or Pro-Ject (to name but a few). Don't forget that the cartridge is just as important as the turntable. A decent phono preamp is also important.

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Does Bose speakers give you the best sound for its money-worth? No, they don't. Bose products are extremely well marketed and are, generally, reasonable quality. However, there are certainly many similar or better products at the same price points.

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Are there any special Betamax VCRs that connect to your computer so that you can digitize the Betamax videos? Where can I find them online and offline? I have not found any such product and it is extremely unlikely that anyone will ever manufacture one, given the low cost of video digitizing hardware and the complete lack of any Beta hardware on the consumer market. Most video digitizing is done with dedicated hardware, using either a video capture card installed inside the computer or an external capture module that uses a USB or Firewire...

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I have a mitsubishi vcr hs-u500. i would like to know how to change the record speed from sp to ep. i don't have the remote for it and can't figure out how to do it manually. If there is no switch or button on the front panel of the machine (which there does not appear to be in a photo I looked at), you will have to use a remote to make the change. This issue has become more prevalent as manufacturers have eliminated as many controls as possible to reduce costs (and sometimes the retail price). You can use a replacement Mitsubishi remote or purchase a 'universal'...

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Why on my VCR head cleaner tape does it say “don’t rewind, now remove the tape”? How are we suppose to rewind it? And how bad is it for the VCR if we do rewind it or play it backwards? It should be rewound after only you reach the end of the cleaning tape, which will not be reached until you have made several cleaning passes. You should probably run another cleaning pass after the tape is rewound. Rewinding the tape can leave deposits (e.g., dirty, grease) from the tape on the player's heads, particularly if you are using a wet cleaning process.

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I want to copy my region 2 video cassette movies to DVD. I don't have a region 2 video cassette player. I do have a region free DVD recorder. Do I have to have a region 2 video cassette player? Thank You. Yes. The player you use must be compatible with the tape format. Recording is a completely separate process.

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The dvd section of my dvd/vcr combo won't go beyond the message "loading"...what next? Take a couple of clean DVD disks that work without any problems in other machines and try to run them in the player. If they don't work, you could have either of the following problems: - Dirty optical lens in the player. Clean, if possible using a product such the Milty LC2 CD/DVD Lens Cleaner (see http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/Media_Care/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm). It may not be...

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I have a new phillips dvd player and on only several movies the movie will get stuck and I have to fast foward. Then later it may stick again. It always sticks at same parts of movie. Other movies are fine.Why is this? It sounds like the DVD is either dirty or defective (i.e., faulty disk or borderline disk that is incompatible with the transport in your specific player). Always try cleaning first. DVDs and other optical disks can be cleaned with a mild cleaning solution (e.g., a few drops of mild dish detergent in a litre of distilled water or a commercial cleaner/surface treatment product, such as L'Art...

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Is there a system that I can get that will beep out swear words from moves? where do I get it for my DVD's? No such system exists and it would be very difficult to implement one, because of the complexities of language processing.

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Is there a system that I can get that will beep out swear words from moves? where do I get it for my DVD's? Share your answer...

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My lg ht202sf-0 will read cds but not dvds why? it only says no disk for some reason. it would read them a while back but not anymore. I would suspect a problem with the transport. As I always say, however, give the optical pickups a proper cleaning first. I use the Milty cleaner (see http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/Media_Care/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm) and can recommend it with no qualifications. If the heads are very dirty, it may take a couple of passes to clean them thoroughly.

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I have a Panasonic DVD player. When I insert a disc the display shows reading......it shows 00 severa times then displays an error code of H02. I have disconnected the unit and used compressed air to blow the unit out and still get the same code. Blowing air through the player will not adequately clean the optical pickups. These are often the source of such problems, particularly in dusty households or those in which people smoke. I use the Milty cleaner (see http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/Media_Care/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm) and can recommend it with no qualifications. If the heads are very dirty, it may take a couple of passes...

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Hello I have disc error on my combi TV DVD . mY son has the same problem on his one it's the same model It will not play any films. Any suggestions? It is possible that both systems have failed and need to be repaired. The manufacturer's web site should list contacts for authorized repair services in your area. Before I took that route, I would clean the optical pickups in the DVD players. These are often the source of such problems, particularly in dusty households or those in which people smoke. I use the Milty cleaner (see...

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What the difference between Dolby Digital and DTS? The primary difference is that the data rate of DTS (1400 kb/s) is higher than that of Dolby Digital (384 kb/s). With good playback equipment, a DTS soundtrack can sound distinctly better. In addition, the DTS 6.1 channel system uses six discrete channels, while the sixth channel in the Dolby Digital 6.1 system is a derived channel (i.e., it is derived from the audio information in the other...

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How can i eliminate sound distortion on my computer? I dont think my CPU can handle it; when i try to listen to death metal on my CPU it sounds like crap, but on my Zune it sounds AWESOME.... I don't wanna have to like buy every song to listen to it... The simple truth is that the Zune is designed to play music and computer audio to make sounds (e.g., bleep, bloop). This is a simplification, but it does explain things in a general sense. The solution is simple: replace the audio card with a decent-quality card (e.g., M-Audio Audiophile 2496) or USB interface (e.g., Blue Circle USB Thingee) and get some decent powered speakers. I am using...

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Can I replace a 6 ohm 15 inch subwoofer driver with a 4 ohm driver without harming the original plate amp or the new driver? Chances are you can make the substitution safely, but first check the amplifier's specifications.

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What are the best quality sounding speakers for a computer playing music and video files I don't know if they are the "best", but Genelec powered speakers are tough to beat. they don't come cheap, but you pay for what you get.

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I have hooked up 4, 60 watt speakers in paralell, 2, 100 watt speakers in paralell and two 100 watt in seperate to a home stereo and one side died. I've replaced the receiver with another one from the flea market and it's gone too. H It died because the load impedance produced by wiring so many speaker in parallel was too low for the amplifier. The speakers should be wired in a combination serial / parallel to keep the load impedance within a reasonable range. See my answer to this question for a more detailed description of the problem: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/8413086 .

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I have a set of KOSS UR30 100 ohm headphones that l use with my metal detector and would like to buy better ones so do l look for ones with a higher ohms like 150 ohms or go lower in the ohms The load impedance of any headphone you might use has no bearing on the sound quality. Any set you buy should be matched to the audio output of the detector. The specifications should include the minimum impedance of any headphone or speaker connected to its output amplifier.

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Hi, We have old, but until recently, functional and good sounding Altec Lansing ACS48 Computer Speakers (2 powered satellites, 1 subwoofer). The R satellite has begun to crackle and distort. 1 Fix satellite? 2 Get new satellite(s) for the sub? 3 toss? I have an earlier version of the same Altec 2.1 speaker system. It is not a high quality product, nor does it sound very good when compared to many other products. The 'subwoofer', like many similar systems, does not operate as a true subwoofer - it's frequency range is that of a woofer from a small bookshelf speaker. The problems you are having may come from several...

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How do I calculate the treble output to match the bass output on my 4th order LR active x over please Since you are using an active crossover, you can control the volume of each frequency band quite easily. I have found the most effective way to make these adjustments is to measure the speaker output using a spectrum analyzer and adjust the gain at the crossover to suit both the measurement results and my ear. I use TrueRTA spectrum analyzer software from True Audio, with an IBF Akustik...

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The "normal" lens for a camera with a 4-in. by 5-in. film format has a focal length (F) of approximately__________.? The focal length of a 'normal' camera lens is approximately equal to the length of the diagonal of the exposed area on the film. A 4x5 negative has a diagonal of about 6.4" or 162mm. While there are a handful of 165mm lenses, 150mm lenses are common and are generally considered the 'normal' lens for a 4x5 camera.

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I just purchased a Nikon D70 and want a telephoto lens to be used in little light and for high speed action. What do you recommend? "Little light" to me means a lens with an aperture of at least f/2.8. There are two current Nikkor zoom lenses that fit your requirements: 1. Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S G VR lens (silent-wave motor, vibration reduction). Sells for about US$2400 new. This is a relatively new lens and may be difficult to find on the used market. 2. Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D. Sells for about...

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I'm going to start filming a movie for York Entertainment soon and I have all the equipment for it (props, green screen, lighting) but I need a professional video camcorder that can be bought for $800 or less. (I'm tight with the budget at the moment) You're not going to get any sort of professional camera at that price, unless you are willing to rent it. Professional and prosumer digital cameras do not come cheaply and the less expensive consumer models lack the necessary features and are much less durable. One of the cheapest pro-grade digital cameras is the Panasonic AG-DVC20 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder, which runs in the...

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Will my old K1000 Pentax lenses work on a new digital Pentax? Yes, generally-speaking, but with restrictions. Compatibility varies with different models. See http://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensCompatibility.html for more information. Info should also be included in the owner's manual for your camera.

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What is the difference between Pentax K1000 and Pentax ME cameras? The Pentax K1000 was an economy version of the Pentax KM (no self-timer). It was a manual-focus, manual exposure camera with match-needle light meter. It had a horizontal-running rubberized cloth mechanical focal plane shutter (1s to 1/1000s). It was made from 1976 to the 1990s. The Pentax ME was a manual-focus, automatic-only, aperture-priority (A) camera, with no shutter-speed dial. It...

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I recently found a really cool old Monami Chinon Camera, its Red with auto sensor flash, auto program - DX and Auto loading. I have the box (an interesting turqoise blue) and a warranty from Chinon America, Inc. Is this a colle Few cameras made in the past 20 years or so have any intrinsic value to collectors, apart from products from a few manufacturers such as Leica. The few exceptions to this rule tends to be expensive and/or rare (e.g., certified prototypes or customized display models). Without knowing the model number of the camera, however, it is impossible to provide any specific advice. I would recommend...

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How do you put polaroid 600 film into a sx-70 camera? You don't, unless the camera or type 600 film pack has been modified. See http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Polaroid_SX-70 for information on this subject.

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Is it possible to develop pictures from the kodak disc 3500 There are no technical problems making prints from disc negatives. All you need is a film holder for the enlarger in use. Since the disc film format is (thankfully) obsolete, you will need to make a custom film holder for your own enlarger. Finding a retail outlet that will make prints from disc negatives is problematic, as there are few industrial/commercial printing machines still in use....

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What are the basic parts of a film camera? There are three or four basic parts to a film camera: 1. Light-tight film chamber with film holder. 2. Shutter (fixed or variable). 3. Diaphragm (fixed or variable). 4. Lens. A pinhole camera uses a tiny aperture and does not require a lens.

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Is the MINOLTA DYNAX 4 35mm SLR camera manual or automatic also does it have a built in light meter? The Minolta Dynax 4 was an autofocus electronic camera with four exposure modes: programmed auto-exposure (P), aperture-priority (A), shutter-priority (S), and manual (M). All cameras of this type have a light meter. It featured a number of programmed 'theme' modes, a feature frequently found on entry-level electronic cameras. It used Minolta AF lenses.

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Is the CANON AE-1 35mm SLR camera manual or automatic also does it have a built in light meter The Canon AE-1 camera had a light meter (moving needle type) and an electronically-controlled shutter. It used Canon type FD breech-lock lenses. It operated in either manual or shutter-priority (S) mode. In manual mode the light meter provided exposure information to the user; in shutter-priority mode, it controlled the aperture automatically.

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How can you tell the difference between a Nikon N65 & a Nikon N65 QD? Does it say QD on the camera? Is it the color? The Nikon F65QD / N65QD SLR 35mm camera has a different back than the F65 / N65. The 'QD' ("Quartz Date") models have a back that provides a date/time stamp on each exposure as it is made. The QD backs have an electronic clock with buttons for setup, while the standard back does not. This is the case for any of the Nikon QD models.

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I want a lightweight, analogue, wall clock that is silent/quiet (sweeping second hand, no ticking). Do you know of a good one you could recommend? The problem with most quartz-crystal, battery-powered clocks is that they use some form of mechanical escapement and, hence, 'tick' over every second. What would meet your requirements is a clock powered by the wall voltage (i.e., 120 VAC, 60 Hz in North America). Most of these clocks use a motor that is synchronized to the line frequency, which averages out quite consistently over...

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What integrated amplifier would be best to power a set of Monitor Audio RS6's? Ideally no more than £500 must be good with bass but not overly so. A Cambridge Audio Azur 650A or 740A integrated amplifier would meet your price constraint and provide good, long-term performance and operation. Cambridge Audio products provide very good performance at their price. The NAD C315BEE and C325BEE are also potential candidates.

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I tried burning a music CD using the Windows Media Player burn stetting. but when i put it in my car it didn't work (it made this awful sound); WHAT DID I DO WRONG!? You really didn't do anything wrong - you've just run into the cross-product compatibility issue. The "awful sound" may be caused by an unbalanced disk, which can produce a loud vibration in a disk drive - and should be discarded. In any case, you should recreate the CD, paying attention to the following... 1. Make sure you create an 'Audio' and not a...

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I got an lcd tv for a gift from my daughter and I do not have the reciept and she doesn't either i have only had it about a month or so and the pixel is going out. she bought it at walmart. What can I do since i have no reciept? You can always ask at the customer service department and see how cooperative they are. If you purchased the TV with a credit or debit card, there will be a printed record of the transaction on the bank statement. Ditto for a purchase by cheque. The statement won't list the exact model of TV, but it will list the store, cost, and date, which should help support your claim. The store...

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I would like to hook up my turntable to my receiver without wire. Is there a Bluetooth or wireless device available that does this? I assume I would have on the turntable an antanna with RCA plugs and a s There are wireless devices that can do this, using, I believe, RF transmission. They run in the $200 range for a pair (transmitter and receiver). There is an audible performance hit using them, however - they do not recreate a pristine copy of the original signal. If you decide to go ahead and use such a device, you must install the transmitter AFTER the phono preamp, not before. The raw...

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Can I use Goo-gone on a vinyl record? I have a record with a sticker on the play surface... what's the best way to remove it? Do NOT use any such product on an LP. Nor should you use an alcohol-based cleaner. Begin by soaking the sticker area in distilled water until it releases or can be pulled off without scratching the record. Follow this up with a cleaning product and a good rinse in distilled water. It may take several cleaning passes to remove the adhesive from the record. There are a number of commercial...

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What is the best amplifier to push sound through 6 stereo in wall speakers that are connected in parallel? Running six speakers in parallel is NOT recommended with any amplifier. Please note that the impedance of a speaker is frequency dependent and varies over a broad range. The impedance of an 8-ohm speaker may range from under 4 ohms to over 25 ohms, depending on the signal frequency. Assuming an impedance of 8 ohms, wiring six speakers in parallel would produce an impedance of 1.33 ohms....

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Is it possible to run a CD player through "vintage" receivers, such as 70's era Mirantz units? Absolutely! Just about all receivers, integrated amps, and preamps built in the past 50 years or so provide line-level inputs which are electrically very similar. Don't worry about the labels the manufacturer has put on the various inputs, as they are all electrically the same. The only exception is the phono input, which provides much higher amplification and a particular...

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What is the very basic equipment for an orchestral composer to have in order to play each instrumental strand (on a keyboard), record it, put it all together and then listen to it? You need to set up a MIDI-based (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) recording and editing system. There are four main components in any such system: 1. Computer May be either PC or Mac and should have both USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 or 800 interfaces. 2. MIDI interface These are available as stand-alone modules or incorporated in an analog digitizer. I have used analog digitizers...

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To use an amp for home audio can you use a power converter to convert 110v ac to 12v dc for power supply? do you need to ground it a certain way or does the converter provide a way to ground? also, what do you use as a single wire to the amp?thanks My general recommendation to anyone contemplating using automotive audio equipment in the home is: Don't. Most automotive audio equipment has serious limitations that do nothing good for the sound. The best auto audio equipment still has more compromises than does equipment specifically designed for in-home use. Leave the auto equipment in the auto and buy, beg, or borrow good quality...

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When recording from turntable to tape deck or computer,should bass on amp be reduced? If the tone controls are in part of the recording circuit you should bypass them or, failing that, set them to zero boost/cut. They are neither required nor desired, as they change the characteristics of the music recording. They may also increase the distortion levels in your recordings if you are using more than a couple dB of boost. The same goes for the loudness circuit, which is simply...

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I have a Computer speaker amp it is 6v AC but the transformer is broken can i use 6v DC or 4 AA Batteries? i dont really want to buy anything? No. You cannot use a DC power adapter or batteries (also DC) if the component has been designed to work with AC power. You will have to either spring for a new wall-wart or look for one on Freecycle, Full Circles, or a related web site.

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Where to connect a centre rear speaker on a yamaha rxv 650 surround amp/receiver. The RX-V650 is designed to work with two (2) rear speakers, designated 'Surround Back Left' and 'Surround Back Right'. It can be configured to use a single rear or back channel, connected to the 'Surround Back Left' output. Refer to the user manual (http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/re/RX-V650_e.pdf) for instructions on how to configure the amp to...

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I just got a Shanling MC30 tube cd player(3wpc) . I own a NAD 2400 power amp and ESS AMT 1A speakers. Can I bi-amp the NAD& Shanling for more power? The Shanling MC 30 is a poor match for the ESS AMT 1A speakers. While it has very good sound quality, it has nowhere near the power to drive these speakers. Even if you were to biamp them, using the Shanling to drive the high end and the NAD to drive the bottom end, you would not be happy with the end result. You would do much better to find a pair of high-sensitivity speakers that are...

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For some reason, I plug the USB cord into my Dell laptop from my Photosmart R847 camera, I can only upload pictures and not videos. How do I upload videos? I would refer to the user manual for the camera. If you do not have a copy, you can download it from HP support. Barring any other method, you can always copy photos and videos from the camera's memory card to your computer by removing the card from the camera and inserting it into a card reader connected to your computer. I find it far more convenient to transfer images this way,...

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Which SLR camera is the most gorgeous? They are usually ugly but I see many professionals using beautiful cameras. Suggest. Well, if you're absolutely made of money... I have always found the Leica R8/R9 35mm SLR cameras quite attractive (http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/r_system/r9/). There was an optional digital module for these cameras, which allows them to shoot digital images. The R8/R9 was a decided step up from the styling of the earlier R3 through R7 models. The R-series has just been...

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For some reason, I plug the USB cord into my Dell laptop from my Photosmart R847 camera, I can only upload pictures and not videos. How do I upload videos? I would refer to the user manual for the camera. If you do not have a copy, you can download it from HP support. Barring any other method, you can always copy photos and videos from the camera's memory card to your computer by removing the card from the camera and inserting it into a card reader connected to your computer. I find it far more convenient to transfer images this way,...

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I am looking for a good tripod to use with my camera, i want one that is high quality, durable, and tall. Ant ideas? You don't say how tall is "tall", nor how portable it needs to be. A studio tripod, for example, may not need to be very portable. Manfrotto makes very robust tripods and certainly a number of very tall ones - they make tripods and 'tower stands' up to 2.7m tall (8.8ft).

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I dropped my Canon Powershot SD1100 IS in water a month ago. It's mostly working fine now, except the screen is black in shooting mode. If I take a picture, it just takes a picture of the blackness. Pressing Display doesn't work. Help? This camera is neither waterproof nor water-resistant. There is a high probability that immersing it in water, however briefly, and then letting it dry out on its own would cause some type of damage. As it is now inoperative, you should send it to an authorized Canon repair centre to have it repaired or replaced. Contact information can be found in the camera's instruction manual or on...

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What is the simple modification necessary for a cyrus power amp to accept the psxr? The Cyrus PSX-R power supply is intended to work with a number of Cyrus components, including the following power amps: Power, X-Power, SmartPower, SmartPower Plus, and 8 Power. No modifications are needed to use the PSX-R with these amplifiers. Details on using the external power supply with any compatible products is included in the relevant user manuals. The PSX-R cannot be used with...

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Can i use my nikon speedlight SB-16 flash gun on my bronica zenza etrsi... ive mounted it, but cannot get it to flash? The Bronica ETRSi does not have a hot shoe, but does provide a standard PC flash cord socket (X sync, all speeds up to 1/500 s) and a special socket for automatic flash exposure, measured at the film plane. This is available with the SCA300 System flash unit and SCA386 Adapter. Refer to the ETRSi user manual for details (available from several sources on the internet, including...

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Why is ISO 25 film (Kodachrome 25, Kodak Royal Gold 25, Technical Pan) disappering? Most ISO 25 film was used by professional photographers. Most of these have switched to digital and sales are not high enough to warrant repeat production runs or keeping a product inventory. Many less popular films are or will be deleted and others may be limited to a single production run each year.

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How to use Minolta Maxxum QTsi with 35-80 lens 35mm Film camera A user manual for this camera can be obtained from: http://www.mediacollege.com/cgi-bin/equipment/search.cgi

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I have a 35 mm lomo fish eye camera (film camera). When i got it developed, how come only 13 out of 25 pictures came out? I want the other pictures, can i still get them from my negatives. The negatives are dark. Is it possible? Pleeeeez help me. A dark negative without any details means that the shot was badly overexposed. If you cannot see any detail in the negative when viewed with a strong light source behind the negative, you will not be able to recover much, if anything, from the shot. Watch your exposure values when you use the camera. While B&W and colour negative film can tolerate a slight overexposure, too much will...

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How can I connect a pair of Meridian Speakers that are already amplified to my Sony DG800? I have tried several options but none of them works, except through the HeadPhones output, bug the sound is very poor and looses important listeni Don't operate powered speakers from the headphone output of any amp - this is guaranteed to produce poor results because of the impedance and voltage mismatches. Any powered speaker should be connected to the line-level outputs of your AVR (or integrated amplifier or preamplifier, depending on your equipment). If the Sony does not provide multi-channel line-level outputs, you need to get...

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Who makes a better amp fender or krank In terms of quality, both are equally good overall. All amps have their strengths and weaknesses, but - more importantly - they all have a different sound. Krank and Fender generally inhabit different ends of the amplifier spectrum in terms of sound. You have to decide what type of sound you want and select the amplifier that best meets your sound, whether it is made by Krank, Fender,...

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I have 2 Peavy SP2. I need an amplifier. Wish one I can use for DJ purposes? You can use any number of pro audio amplifiers that are on the market. I am partial to Crown amplifiers, as they have been in the market for a long time and are pretty reliable. Crown makes a number of amplifier models at various price points and for differing applications. You will certainly be able to find one that suits your needs at a price you can afford (e.g., Crown XLS 202 or XTi...

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My Sony HD TV (XBR series) has an audio output (fixed or variable). I want to use the fixed setting and use this output for headphones (wired). What device needs to be between the output and the headphones to ?step down? audio level and control volume? You need to use a headphone amplifier. Connect the fixed output from your TV to the line-level input on the headphone amp. Use the volume control on the headphone amp to control the listening volume. Alternately, you can buy an old integrated amplifier or receiver (c.1970s or 80s) and use the headphone amplifier in it. Some of these were pretty good. Connect the TV to any line-level...

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Instead of cutting the Earth connection in a mains circuit to eliminate a noisy earth loop (which is dangerous and illegal for health and safety reasons), is it possible to have a double Earth with one out of phase to eliminate the noise instead? There is no such animal as an out of phase earth. The effects of ground loops can be minimized by ensuring that all of the audio equipment connected to the amplifier is grounded at the same point and that the equipment is properly wired. All of the power leads should be brought back to the same outlet and good-quality power bars should be used to provide a sufficient number of outlets....

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I have Hafler DH 300 Mono Power Amp 840 watts max.I am Trying to hook it up to see if it works,But don't know how.The back of the amp has 2 red plug knobs with + and - and a fuse on each side.Were do those plug into on reciever?reciever is rated 290wats What you probably have is a bridged version of the Hafler DH-200 amp. The DH-200 was a 2-channel power amplifier rated at 100 W/channel in normal operation and 300 W bridged. Note that bridging a 2-channel amplifier converts it into a single-channel or mono amp. The Hafler DH-series amps were available in kit form and individual owners may have modified their amps from the original (factory)...

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I have a home stereo which has both a USB port and a Mini-Plug Audio Input. Which would be the best audio quality for using an MP3 player, the USB port or the Mini-Plug Audio Input? Or, is there even an audio difference? Is there an audible difference? The MP3 music format already imposes a heavy penalty in audio quality, particularly if you are using lower bitrates (e.g., 128k or lower). There are a lot of 'ifs' in this question, since we don't know anything about the quality of the MP3 player or your home audio system. Nor do we know how accurate the MP3 decoding algorithms are in the...

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I want to buy some new laptop speakers that produce really good quality music. However, I dont want ones with alot of bass because my mum get's really annoyed as it "booms" downstairs. Any suggestions on which ones I should get? I would consider buying a pair of modestly-priced mini studio monitors, such as the Edirol MA-15D or M-Audio AV40. Both of these run for about US$200 a pair. I have two pairs of Edirol MA-15D monitors and am quite pleased with their performance and features. If money is no object, buy a pair of Genelec studio monitors.

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What is the difference between the Yamaha MSP5 and the MSP5A studio monitors? Very little. The MSP5A is very slightly smaller and lighter, with marginally better signal-to-noise performance in the amplifier stage. You would have to compare the two to determine what, if any, audible refinements were made in the 5A model.

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I have a pair of soundlab 300 watt speakers 8 ohm, i had them conected to a amp for my synthesizer, i have sold the amp and synth, and want to use the speakers thru my hifi will that be ok, speakers has jack plug and normal hifi cable, will it be ok I would be very reluctant to use pro audio monitors in a home audio system, since the two environments are not the same. Pro audio equipment often sacrifices quite a bit of refinement and accuracy for higher efficiency and ruggedness, neither of which are particularly important in home audio systems. I would sell your Soundlab monitors and buy a pair of speakers designed for the home audio...

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What does "bias" mean for high- or low-bias audio tape? This refers to the level of bias voltage required by a particular tape formulation to obtain the best recording characteristics. Different tape formulations (e.g., iron oxide, chromium dioxide) require different bias levels to suit the characteristics of different emulsions. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_bias http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/bias.html

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Just hookep up the Rega P3-24 to my preamp with the maximum volume but less than 5 per cent came out from my speakers. What should I do next? There are a couple of possible causes: 1. You are not using a phono preamp. A line-level signal is typically around 1 to 2 VRMS. The signal output from a phono cartrdige is tiny - on the order of a few millivolts or microvolts. If your preamp does not have a dedicated Phono input (i.e., built-in phono preamp), you will need to acquire a phono preamp that supports your cartridge (e.g.,...

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Is it safe (for the camera) to modify 120 format film so as to make it fit into a 616 format camera? Absolutely. 116/616 film is slightly wider than 120/620 film. 120 film can be respooled onto 116/616 spools without having to trim the film width. The frame numbers on the backing paper will not be correct, since a 116/616 frame is longer than the normal 120 frame sizes. An adapter could also be made to allow 120 film to be used in a 116/616 camera without respooling. Since 120 film is...

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What metz flash units can be used with the etrsi with ttl You will need to obtain a Bronica SCA386 adapter to use TTL flash with the ETRSi. The adapter has two plugs: one attaches to a multi-pin connector on the left side of the camera body and the other attaches to the flash. The Metz website lists a number of flash guns that can be used with both the ETRSi and the SQ-Ai (see http://www.metz.de/en/photo-electronics/sca-adapter.html): - Mecablitz...

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I have a kenko 420-800mm lens and it has no apreture blades in it, is there any way to put them in the lens? This is a fixed-aperture budget lens without a diaphragm. It is not an easy task to add a diaphragm to such a lens. You could obtain a suitably-sized working diaphragm, at least 2" in diameter, from another lens or use a shutter for a large-format camera lens (e.g., Copal #3). The lens would need to be disassembled and modified to accept the diaphragm or shutter. The lens barrel...

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What is the best method of improving bass sounds There are a number of things you can do to help reproduction of all frequencies, not just the lower end: 1. Set the tone controls to neutral or bypass and turn off the loudness filter. This will lower distortion levels, since most people turn up the bass level too high. You should not have to adjust the tone controls on a well-balanced system. None of my good amplifiers even have tone...

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Oh no! Toshiba just announced the end of their HD DVD line. Will I now have to buy Blu-Ray? Yup. HD-DVD has joined the ranks of the dead formats. One of the two formats - HD-DVD or Blu-Ray - had to go, as the marketplace could not support two competing formats for very long. HD-DVD never delivered on its promises (e.g., players and software quick to market, lower cost software, large number of titles released). The preferred system has survived, provided that Sony does not...

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Has anyone purchased a DiVinci Home Theatre System?, if so tell me how good it performs. DiVinci products are mediocre at best and should be avoided. They are often sold at ludicrously inflated prices to inexperienced buyers. While there is nothing inherently wrong with them, you can do much better for the price from other manufacturers. Many people associate the DiVinci name with scam sales. In brief: avoid.

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Why does my Yamaha Rx v480 Receiver shut off immediately after turning on? No change in hookups; just started acting up recently. Quite likely a fault in the power supply or other critical circuit. If the receiver runs for a while before shutting down and will start up again after cooling down, it is likely a thermal fault. This is a job for a repair centre.

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Can i use my PC speakers with a home tuner/amplifier? Not recommended, even when possible. Almost all computer speakers have a small amplifier built in and are driven by a line-level signal (active speakers), whereas an amplifier or receiver incorporates the amplifiers to drive the (passive) speakers directly. You could drive them using the line-level preamplifier output from the amplifier or receiver, but the quality of most PC speakers...

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Can i find out the wattage/power of my 15" speaker from a multimeter reading??? Whats the formula? No. A multimeter on its own will tell you next to nothing about the speaker to which it is connected. The only reliable way to determine power ratings, unless you have a few spare speakers to perform destructive tests on, is to get the manufacturer's name and the part number of the speaker and contact the manufacturer for the specifications. You could once guesstimate the power...

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I have just replaced my DAV-DZ amplifier with Sony STR-DG510 - will the former's speakers (rated @ 2.7 ohm) work with it The manual on your new receiver doesn't mention the minimum speaker impedance that can be used, but only states performance with an 8-ohm load. Very few receivers in this price range can handle speaker impedances as low as 4 ohms, let alone under 3 ohms. I would not advise it. You should look into acquiring a good quality set of speakers. These will outperform the speakers that were...

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Is there a way to reduce the static in my computer speakers, ie; cleaning them out, getting rid of dust, software etc.? I've had them for a few years and I'm not ready to replace them yet. I use a Milty Zerostat anti-static gun to eliminate or reduce static buildup when cleaning LPs, optical disks, and other audio components and equipment. These are not particularly cheap devices - about US$80 to $100 - but control static very effectively. More information can be found at: http://www.milty.co.uk/i94c166/Media_Care/Zerostat_3.htm These are sold by many audio retailers,...

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Has anyone heard about ultrasonic humidifiers damaging CD players? I have 3 CD players that will not work after using a ultrasonic humidifier in my house. I have not heard of problems with ultrasonic humidifiers per se, but caution should be taken when using any humidifier around electrical equipment of any kind. Additional moisture in the air in the immediate vicinity of a player (i.e., the same room) will get into the player's internal mechanisms. Apart from any problems associated with moisture and electronics, additional humidity...

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Will an ipod or mp3 player sound good over multiple wireless speakers? It will sound as good as: 1. The quality of the original recording. Best are uncompressed or lossless-compressed recordings, worst are 128 kbps or lower resolution MP3. 2. The quality of the wireless speakers. This is a situation where you get what you pay for. Many (most?) wireless speakers are sold to a price point and not to a quality point.

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I have a Denon DVD/CD Player #DVD-558. 3.5 months old. All of a sudden, the tray, with a CD in it, won't open, won't play. Controls on deck & remote don't work. Unplugging, waiting & reconnecting doesn't work. How ca Yours is a new player under warranty, so you should take it back to the retailer where it was bought for exchange or, if they won't exchange it after so much time has passed, to an authorized Denon service centre to have it repaired. You will need the invoice to prove when and where it was purchased. If you can't find the invoice, the retailer may be able to provide you with a...

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Looking for drive belt for my CD changer/player ... the drawer belt has "Enlarged" and is slipping so I need another one . it a DX-C110 Can any one help? From a web search, the DX-C110 appears to be an Onkyo product. The first place to look, therefore, for replacement parts would be an authorized Onkyo repair and service outlet. These can be found in the Yellow Pages under "Stereo Equipment - Sales & Service" and/or similar headings. You may, however, find it difficult to replace individual parts in the transport if this is an...

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I have an ?onkya cd player r1 that is 20 years old . Should i replace it Yes. Modern CD player technology - actually D/A technology - has moved in great leaps in the past few years and these players outperform players of your vintage in every way imaginable. That said, you do get what you pay for. If you want quality, don't buy a $50 DVD player. Most of the large Japanese manufacturers have stopped producing CD-only players, but the remaining mid- and...

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How do I tell what kind of cdr to burn that will play on my home stereo? Generally-speaking, you should purchase good-quality name-brand recording blanks and record at a low speed (e.g., 4x). Avoid discount media like the plague. Low price is invariably an indication of low-quality with blank CD and DVD media. Good-quality, reliable products are produced by manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Chemicals / Verbatim, Maxell, Sony, and TDK.

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Music cd's i burned on a cd-r plays fine on all my home stereos but wont play on my boyfriend home or car stereo. either did the cd-rw. why? Not all players are compatible with CD-R recordings. Even fewer players are CD-RW-compatible. That said, you should always make recordings at the slowest possible recording speed (e.g., 4x), even if the recorder supports faster speeds. Recording at a slow speed produces more accurate recordings and fewer errors that the player has to cope - or not cope - with.

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Dollar Store Earphones- Health Risk? Product warning label that states it contains chemicals, including lead, known to the state of CA. to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm. "Wash hands after handling". How about my ears? :-) It's a moot point, because dollar-store earphones are just about the worst-sounding audio transducers you can buy. They produce sounds, not reproduce music. Don't worry about the warning label - just don't buy them and your ears (and possibly your health) will appreciate it. If people stop buying stuff like this, most of the poor quality control / quality assurance problems...

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How often should i change my record player needle/cartridge? A stylus should be replaced after about 2000 to 2500 hours of normal service. It should be inspected every 500 hours or less, depending on use, for damage or unusual wear. You will need a small magnifier to inspect the tip. The cantilever arm also needs to be inspected to ensure it has not been bent or twisted. Replace a stylus with a damaged cantilever arm - do not try to straighten it. ...

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How do you make left and right speakers and subwoofers? With a lot of time and patience, as well as good technical information, good-quality components, and a good cabinet design. Designing and building your own speakers is not necessarily cheaper than buying pre-manufactured units, but it is interesting and fun. I would strongly recommend investing in a book that details the speaker cabinet design process. There are many such books on the...

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I have a piezo tweeter and need to know if a 4.7mfd capacitor will work to filter the high frequency to the piezo. If we assume that the speaker has a rated impedance of 8 ohms, a 4.7 uF capacitor placed in series with the speaker will produce a 1st-order highpass filter with a cutoff frequency (Fc) of about 4233 Hz. A 1st-order filter may not be adequate for the speaker, however. Without knowing the minimum recommended frequency and the impedance of the speaker - at the very least - no reliable answer...

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Yamaha KX-493 i need to adjust the speed of my deck as it's slightly off-balance. inside of the deck house various adjustment ports, how do I identify the transport controller to fine tune the deck drive??help Your best bet is to purchase a copy of the service manual for the Yamaha KX-493. This should include the information required to correctly calibrate your player. It will also tell you if there are any special tools you will require for this task, apart from a screwdriver and DMM. There are numerous internet sites where you can purchase service manuals for all types of electronic equipment....

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My newer 5.1 digital A / V receiver does not have a ground terminal to hook up my turntable ground wire, what can I do? If your home has been properly wired and was built in the past 20 years, you should have standard three-pin duplex power outlets (assuming you live in North America). Your turntable can be directly grounded to the outlet box using one of the screws holding the cover plate in place. If the outlet has been wired properly, the box will be connected to the ground line. Alternately, you can...

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My DVD player suddenly stopped playing burned CDs and DVDs. It only plays music CDs now, not movies. How can I fix this? This is most likely a problem within the DVD player, which would need to be checked by a repair technician. You should start, however, by giving the laser lens in the DVD player a thorough cleaning to ensure that the problem is not caused by a dirty lens. You should use a commercial wet-brush cleaning disk for this task, such as the Milty LC2...

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How do I shut off closed captioning when watching a DVD on my Samsung Progressive Scan DVD/VCR player Please note that Closed Captions (CC) and subtitles are NOT the same, although most people refer to them as such. Closed captions are controlled from the TV, not the DVD player. If there is not a 'CC' button on your TV's remote, you will have to turn off captioning from the TV's menu system. Subtitles are controlled from the DVD player. If there is not a...

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Does my Sony DNP-NS300 dvd player have close caption function? Yes. However, it is important to note that there is a difference between Closed Captions (CC) and subtitles on a DVD. There are NOT the same. Closed captions are carried in a special data channel embedded in the MPEG-2 video data recorded on a DVD. The player extracts any captioning information included on the disk and embeds it in the video signal sent to the TV. The selection and...

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Is there much difference in a high def. dvd player and a dvd player that converts reg. dvds to high def? Both would be connected to a high def. tv with an hdmi cable. By "high def. dvd player", I assume that you are referring to the HD-DVD (now obsolete) and Blu-ray HD players... Yes, there can be a substantial difference in picture quality between an HD player and an upconverted DVD player, with the DVD player on the losing side. The quality of the DVD image is highly dependant on the image processing done during the upconversion process - not...

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My Toshiba DVD player only plays in black and white on certain older TVs. Why and how do I fix it? The problem is likely in the connection to the television or in the output stage of the DVD player. If you have connected the DVD to the TV using the composite video output (one single conductor coaxial interconnect, RCA connectors) and the video displayed on the TV is in B&W, there is likely a problem in the composite video output stage in the DVD player. Composite video uses a single...

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How do you feel about your HD-DVD player becoming obsolete in the very near future? http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7253000/7253410.stm Well, one of the two competing formats had to go, either HD-DVD or Blu-ray. It's a shame that it took so long for one of them to be dropped, but blame that on the companies that promoted the two formats. What the consumers didn't need was yet another format war. As to how I feel? I am pleased that it was HD-DVD that failed. Blu-ray is a superior format, in that it provides more...

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When purchasing rechargeable AA batteries for my Nikon digital camera, am I better off purchasing regular NiMH batteries that are 2650 mAh or LSD NiMH batteries that are 2000 mAh? Always purchase the battery with the highest rated capacity, in this case 2650 mAh. They will last longer in service, with and without the flash. You should also ensure that you purchase good-quality batteries from a known manufacturer. Most no-name batteries do not perform as well as most of the name-brand products (e.g., ). There is a reason 'discount' batteries cost less,...

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How can I clean the lens of my digital camera without having to buy one of those 'lens cleaning kits'? The lens on a camera, suffice it to say, should only be cleaned with care, using the proper cleaning supplies. Very light dust on the surface of the glass and on the body of the lens can be removed using a brush and air blower. Tins of compressed air are also sold for this purpose. These are quite handy, but can be expensive. Note that most compressed air products are NOT safe for use...

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I have a Nikkon F55 Slr camera with a Tamron 28-200 lens. The problem is that often where the Apeture reading is displayed I get F--- , which means the camera is not detecting the lens what could be causing this? The Nikon F55 body controls the selection of lens aperture. It supports most Nikon D-type (with aperture ring) and G-type (no aperture ring) lenses, as well as compatible third-party lenses. Older AI and AI-compatible lenses can only be used in Manual exposure mode. The built-in light meter is disabled when using AI-compatible lenses. The aperture ring on any D-type lens must be set to...

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I just bought a canon canonet.i have no clue how to get the lens off.does anyone know how? The Canon Canonet series of cameras do not have interchangeable lenses. The lens can only be removed by dismantling the camera. ======================================== Canon did make rangefinder cameras with interchangeable lenses for many years, most of which used the Leica 39mm thread mount (L39). These began as fairly close copies of the Leica II (e.g., Kwanon) and evolved into...

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Is 35mm film interchangeable with 120 film, for instance in a Holga camera? Yes! There is a 35mm film adapter available for the Holga that allows you to use standard 35mm film cassettes in the camera. These are available from many sources and run somewhere in the neighbourhood of US$30. The Holga is 6x6 format, if I recall, so it will produce a 35mm negative about 56mm wide - a panoramic format. A number of 120 cameras offer 35mm film adapters, but their...

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Is there such a thing as a hand-cranked portable CD player? That is, one that will play while the handle is being cranked? Ummm, no. I'm not certain what the point of such a device would be. This is not to say that you could not power a battery-operated player with a rechargeable Li-ion or NiMH battery and use a hand-cranked dynamo to recharge it. Old victrolas and phonographs were hand cranked, but they were fairly simple devices. All they needed was a mechanism to hold the rotational speed (angular...

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If you purchase a home audio system (cd player and speakers), can you add a third party subwoofer to it to enhance the sound? If so, is it a matter of connecting wires or is it more complicated than that? Yes, it is possible. And yes, it is more complex "than that", if you want to make it work right. A subwoofer has to be blended into the existing system properly. This means you have to know the performance characteristics of your existing speakers and find a subwoofer that complements them. The subwoofer may be used with the speakers operating over their full frequency range or...

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Can I connect the tweeter directly to my DVD player? No. The audio outputs from any DVD player or other consumer-grade audio device are line level signals. These typically have at a peak voltage level of about 2 VRMS and the outputs can supply relatively little current. A speaker requires much more power to operate, both in terms of volts and amperes. That is the purpose of the amplifier stage: to boost line-level signals to a...

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What is the standard number of wire (awg) to use in 200W speaker You should not look for a "standard" size of wire for connecting a speaker to an amplifier. Nor should you be looking at the speaker's power rating, since it is the output of the amplifier that is important. I recommend using a speaker cable of at least 14 AWG or larger for a typical cable run of 10 to 12 feet. You want to keep the cable resistance, among other factors such as...

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Can you use a 9volt 500milliamp power supply instead of a 9volt 50 milliamp power supply without hurting home stereo gear? Yes. You can always substitute a wall-wart power supply with a higher current rating for one with a lower rating (e.g., 500 mA for 50 mA in your case). Do not substitute a power supply with a different output voltage or an AC power supply for a DC supply (or vice-versa). Some equipment may actually operate better with a power supply that can deliver more current during peak demands. I...

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What sized filters fit on the olympus E-410 lenses? I.e. 52mm, 55mm, 58mm... etc The Olympus E-410 is a DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Without knowing which model of lens you are using, one cannot tell you what filter size you need. Different lenses use different filter sizes. The most common sizes fall into the range from 49mm to 77mm in diameter. The filter diameter is usually marked on the retaining ring on the front of the lens or on the lens barrel near...

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On the Nikon D40 SLR, can you use the LCD screen to preview/frame a photo before you take the picture (like point and shoot digitals) or do you have to use the little viewfinder? Yes, this is normal on all DSLR cameras. The display on the D40 is, however, fixed to the body and cannot be flipped out and rotated, as is possible with some of the Nikon Coolpix cameras.

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I have Canon S2 IS camera since 2 years. To improve my photography skills, should i consider filters and lense converters (tele and wide angle) for my s2is or go for an affordable digital SLR (like nikon D40 or D40X @ ~$600)? You are far better moving to a DSLR. While wide-angle and telephoto adapters are available for your camera, they are limited in how much they can change the focal length of your lens and will adversely affect the image quality.

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Will sd cards work in any digital camera No. They will only work in digital cameras that are designed to work with SD-format memory cards. There are several different card formats on the market and there are significant physical and electrical differences between them.

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Five years ago I bought a Nikon D1H. It's in great shape and works perfectly but with only 2.7 MP it's also obsolete. Is there a service that upgrades the sensor and electronics to modern status? Or do I throw this $6000 investment in Even if there was a company that provided such a service, once you had overhauled the camera and changed the image sensor, the CPU, and the firmware, you will have paid the price of a new camera. Digital cameras can best be described as *consumable* items at the present. There are very few cameras on the market that can be upgraded, none of them are in the 35mm-equivalent format, and all are...

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How long will unused 35mm film be good? Does it make a difference if it's been in the freezer? (I have some rolls in the freezer that are probably 10+ years old) Yes, it makes quite a difference. Always store your film in the refrigerator. This will ensure the film remains in good condition past its expiry date. Freezing the film extends its storage life even further. I have used 10 year old frozen film with perfectly good results. Always wait long enough for the film to come up to room temperature naturally before you load it into the camera. Cold...

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My receiver starts to hum as soon as I hook up my turntable I have made sure it is grounded, any ideas You may have connected the ground wire from the turntable to the amplifier chassis, but have you checked the other end? The ground wire inside the turntable chassis may have come loose or, worse, never been connected properly. You need to ensure the grounds inside the turntable are properly attached to the ground wire. These may include both the tonearm and the motor casing. I have also...

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Wil an amplifier improve sound quality from my speakers.i have a harmon kardon avr 635 7x75 watts and dynaudio audience72 speakers 280 watts I can't see how much improvement in "sound quality" you would get by upgrading these components, unless you are willing to spend at least double. Small, incremental upgrades rarely produce much in the way of benefits. There are, however, a number of alternatives: - How loud are you trying to run the system? A 75W/channel (all channels powered? one channel only?) A/V receiver...

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Why do we calibrate sound level meters to 94dB? 94 dB is equivalent to a sound pressure level of approximately 1.0 Pa - a nice, round, convenient number that also works as a reasonable point of reference. SPL = 20 log( P / Pref ) Where Pref = 2.0E-5 Pa A 94 dB reference point is moderately loud, but not so loud as to produce distortion in the measurement instrumentation or so quiet as to cause the measured signal to be contaminated...

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Can the Dynaco QD-1 improve the quality of sound of my amplifier? No. It won't improve the quality of the sound and is more likely to make it worse. It will, however, *change* the character of the sound. This is a passive unit that produces a matrix soundfield from the regular stereo output of an amplifier. Its success is highly dependent on the quality of the parts, the degree of control given the user, and the source material. The new output...

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Why will my mini sterio not tune into fm it only picks up some am stations Assuming that the tuner is capable of receiving FM stations - some are AM-only - do you have an FM antenna connected? In most areas, an antenna is required to pull in any FM stations. Most tuners include a ferrite antenna for AM reception, but require an external antenna for FM. If you have a television antenna on the roof of your home, you can install a signal splitter on the feed and...

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I have a older model Pioneer Receiver (VSX-5500S). 5 rooms are wired for sound. I don't know the speakers' ohms. I had them all working , but returned from a trip to my receiver just pulsing "dit-dit-dit..." Did I overload the If all of the speakers were wired in parallel and all were operating at once, there is a very good chance that you damaged your receiver's output stage. Never connect speakers together without knowing what their rated impedances are and what the combined impedance will be. It is important to realize that the rated impedance of a speaker is an arbitrary value. The actual impedance...

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I have a Sony STR-DE898 Receiver which is supposed to automatically decode audio from DVDs. I use my PS2 as a DVD player connected with an optical cable for audio. Why does the receiver only ever show PCM 48 and not identify the signal as Dolb You may have to configure your DVD player to output the appropriate signal over its digital output. It may default to PCM, while Dolby and/or DTS may need to be explicitly enabled.

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I have a 1980s vintage Pioneer VSX9300S Receiver/Amplifier with a center channel that requires a power amplifier to drive the center speker. Where can I find one (power amplifier) at a modest price? What's your definition of a modest price? $50... $250... $1000... higher? If you are looking for a used amplifier, eBay would be a good place to look. However, shipping amplifiers can get pricey, because of their weight (also applies to new, mail-order amplifiers), especially if you ship internationally. The problem with the used market is that there aren't a lot of used mono...

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Can I use bose 201 series 4 speakers with a 50 watts per channel receiver and get good sound and volume? You will get reasonable sound, but don't expect to knock the walls down. The Bose 201 is a small speaker with limited bass response. You will need to carefully match it to a suitable subwoofer and use the bass management functions in your home theatre receiver to direct all audio signals below (about) 80 to 100 Hz to the subwoofer. The 201 will play acceptably well at modest volume...

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I have a DVD player with 5:1 speaker connectors. I have purchased a home theater system which has stereo inputs and also 5:1 inputs. How do I feed the 5:1 sound from the DVD player into the Home theater system? The best way is to feed the digital output from your DVD player (optical or coax) into the digital input of your home theatre receiver (HTR). Almost all HTRs provide a digital input for DVD players. You may have to enable or configure the digital output(s) on the player and/or the HTR input using the setup procedure for each device. Read the manuals for detailed instructions for your...

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My stereo just randomly started not reading my cds. I have a 5-Disc CD Changer - 300 Watts RS2654. Here's a picture of it - http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/en-US/Downloads.html?ProductID=RS2654 The most likely cause of your problems is a dirty laser lens. The lens in your optical disk player(s) should be cleaned using a good-quality wet-dry cleaning disk, such as the Milty LC2 (http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/Media_Care/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm). You may need to run the cleaning cycle more than once if the lens is very dirty. It is a good idea to clean the lens in your optical...

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I recently bought a used 1999 SAAB 9-5. The only problem is I only have one set of key. I wonder if I can get duplicated key from some other places rather than dealership. I tried many website, I can hardly find anything.Any ideas? Thanks alot! The price of a new key is trivial, wherever you go. If you are unwilling to go to a dealer, who can duplicate the original from the key code, your best bet is a locksmith. The key cutters (both hardware and operator) in hardware stores can make a working copy, but only if the original is in good condition. A locksmith can make a key that will fit and work, from just about any quality...

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For quality of sound, which is the best format to convert my LPs to? MP3 or CD format. Without question, the CD format is superior to MP3 - or any other compressed music format. CD is, however, not as good as the 24-bit/96 kHz or 24-bit/192 kHz high-resolution formats. All lossy compression algorithms, such as MP3, discard music information during the compression process. A 128kb MP3 discards some 90% of the information, for example. This cannot be done without adversely...

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What's better? Good speakers or good headphones? They can be equally good, but they do serve different purposes. Headphones are used for a personal music experience only. You hear what you want to listen to and share it with no one else. You hear no spatial cues, except for those present in the original recording. If the recording is a typical studio production, realistic spatial cues may be rare. Speakers, on the other hand, fill a...

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What does it mean when someone calls someone a "tool"? Roughly speaking... it means you're as dumb as a sack of hammers.

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Do you think the family of a loved one who dies should put an obit in the newspaper? Should? No. Placing an obituary notice is a personal choice of the family and/or the deceased. They are under no obligation to post such a notice and may very well desire to keep a funeral private. An individual may want to include instructions regarding their obituary notice in their will, e.g., whether or not they want one to be published, in which publications it should be printed, and...

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Which turntable is best direct drive or belt drive to play my old albums on? Either type of turntable can do a fine job of playback. It is not the type of drive system that determines the quality of the product, it is the product design and implementation by the manufacturer. Both types of turntables have strengths and weaknesses. Most of the turntables manufactured today are belt-driven. These are less complex and easier to maintain over the long term....

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Why do TV's and monitors use red, green, & blue instead of red, blue, and yellow? TV monitors and other similar devices use the three primary ADDITIVE colours: red, blue, and green. Colours are formed by adding various combinations of these three colours to produce any other colour, for example: - Red + Blue = Magenta. - Blue + Green = Cyan. - Green + Red = Yellow. Using yellow in place of one of the primary additive colours would produce a hole in the colour spectrum...

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Im am going to the PNE( Canada) and i have a Digital Camera and want to get another memory card. I have been looking on Best Buy website. Would GB give me more Pictures and video then MB? Or is MB bigger? I assume that you are referring to the capacity of the flash memory card that is installed in your camera. Here are the basics: 1 GB = 1,024 MB 1 MB = 1,024 kB

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I have a NAD A/V surround sound processor 910 from my dad. is it a preamp? do i need an amplifier? and what amplifier brand is suitable for it? tq The NAD 910 is a multichannel preamp / processor that requires a separate amplification. I would first suggest matching it to NAD power amplifier(s), because of the potential for synergy among the system components. The 910 is an older product and you may find that one or more second-hand NAD amplifiers work well with it. Talk to your local NAD dealer for suggestions. Rotel also makes...

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How do you change the format of a DVD to PCM? Or can I just burn songs onto the DVD without changing anything? All DVD players support a "music DVD" format, with audio tracks in either Dolby or PCM format. PCM format is preferred, since it is uncompressed. To create a music DVD, you will need software that supports the format. The free CD and DVD software from Nero and Roxio that is bundled with new CD/DVD recorders players does not support this format, so you will need to obtain the full...

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I was looking at the Canon EOS 400D DLSR. According to the specifications it has bulb mode. Is it infinite bulb mode or is there a time limit? If so what is it? If not about how long an exposure could I take before noise became an issue? Long exposures may be limited by the power available from the batteries in the camera. Electronic cameras, both digital and film, consume power holding the shutter open, unlike mechanical cameras that will consume no power. Digital cameras must also power the sensor, which will further shorten the available time that the shutter can remain open. If you plan on shooting a series of very long...

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My Coolpix P1 camera battery will not hold a charge beyond 10-12 pictures. I've bought a replacement and it exhibits the same problem. Is the problem most likely a bad charger, bad camera or bad batteries? It is unlikely that two battery packs would exhibit the same problem, particularly when one of them is brand new. The problem would then lie either in the camera or the charger. There is no way to guess which is more likely to be at fault. I would advise trying to borrow a compatible charger, and battery if possible, from another person or from the store where you bought the camera....

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I just purchased a 'Brand new' Panasonic DMR ES35VS thru an auction site. This is a DVD/VCR recorder combo. The VCR refuses to accept a tape - it just won't go in - resistance is stiff - the tape movement mechanism seems halfway trying to do something ... Ideally, you should return the item to the seller as defective. In many jurisdictions there are laws that require retailers to accept returns of items that are defective out of the box. If this was a private sale, however, returning the unit may not be an option. However, you should always ask the seller about their return or exchange policy. Failing a return of the defective unit to the...

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How can I get my mono tv to play a mono signal out of both my stereo speakers If the television has a one-level audio output, you can simply connect this to a spare line-level input on your stereo system. Split the monophonic audio signal with a Y-connector and connect it to both the Left and Right input channels. If your television does not provide a line-level output, you will need to gain access to the signal to the speaker. This may be available through a plug...

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I have two speakers outside my house in my back yard with wires running inside. How can I hook them up to my computer to play music through them? I hope that the speakers are weather-proof in some fashion or they may not last very long or not be very safe to use. The audio card installed in your computer should provide a line-level output. This should be connected to the input of a power amplifier or an integrated amplifier. An integrated amplifier is preferred because it gives you greater flexibility in terms of control. Using a...

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Should people have to pass a urine & drug test before they are eligible for any public assistance (food stamps, welfare, etc.)? Never. Apart from questions as to the accuracy and reliability of such tests, they are an infringement on a person's legal rights. Such tests are acceptable in only very limited circumstances. The rather cavalier attitudes towards such testing in the US is a disservice to its citizens.

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I have a disc problem in my back,I recieved outside of work. I have since injured my back even more at work. Am I able to recieve workmans comp. This is not really the forum to look for an answer to your question, because it depends on the nature of the injuries and in which legal jurisdiction you live. Workplace compensation plans are designed to provide salary replacement for workers who have suffered an on the job injury. The nature of your back problem may or may not qualify you for such coverage, regardless of whether or not...

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I have a sony vo-9850 and the only buttons that work are stop and eject, whats wrong with it? It's broken. That's not a rocket science answer, but you'll not do any better without a better description of the problem or an examination of the machine. The fault could be caused by any number of problems. Time to take it in for a repair estimate.

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How do you go about checking the power supply and the power amp chips in a reciever? You need to have a copy of the schematic for the unit, along with the service guide that shows the location of the test points, the type of test signal(s) to inject into the circuit, where the test signal(s) should be injected, and the expected signal at each measurement point (e.g., voltage, current, frequency). You will need access to the recommended test equipment, which should include, at...

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Sony dg800. what exactly does the pre-amp out do on the dg800.can any one help? A receiver consists of three main components: - Tuner. - Preamplifier. - Power amplifier. The preamp stage usually provides the input or source switching, tone adjustment, and a limited amount of signal amplification. The output of the preamplifier stage is internally connected to the input of the amplification stage, which amplifies the audio signal from the 1 to 2 VRMS range to a power...

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HOW DO I HOOK UP MY KLH R6500 TO MY LCD TV AND EVERYTHING ELSE I would suggest that you visit the KLH website at http://www.klhaudio.com/ and look under the section called "Hook-Up / Troubleshooting". You should find what you need there.

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If a 7.1 surrondsound system is installed, will all 7 speakers work with a 5.1 dolgy digital dvd, or only 5? Only five channels will be reproduced if the source material only contains five channels of audio information. The other two channels - left and right rear, normally - will be silent. The sound processor, however, may include the ability to synthesize six or seven channels of audio material from a five-channel source. The end result will depend on the algorithm used to synthesize the...

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I have a Fischer rack system. After 25 minutes, I lose the sound as well as the balance indicators but I have power. After cool down-that repeats. I have no schematic for it. Suggestions? Without a schematic there is little that you can do, unless you are quite familiar with repairing such equipment and have access to the required test & measurement equipment. You are describing what sounds like a thermal fault. You may be losing one or more of the power supply circuits that regulate the voltage and current to different sections of the system. Loss of sound on both...

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I have an old vivitar vivicam.10 digital camera. I can take pictures but when i connect it to my computer at first it recognizes it but then it´s like it´s empty. I downloaded a driver but it doesn´t work. how do i fix this problem?? HELP!! The most recent drivers for this camera are available from Vivitar support. http://www.vivitar.com/uk/support.asp Note that there are separate drivers for the Vivicam 10 and 10b. You should remove any existing drivers for your camera before you install new ones. If neither of these drivers work with your camera, the problem lies either in the camera or the computer. Installing the...

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I have a really old flash (Nikon speedlight SB-16) that i found and when i put it on my canon rebel t2 it flashed with the picture. My question is, how do i compensate (exposure) for flash, or does the camera do it for me? And co I'm not certain I would call the SB-16 "really old"... Depending on the model and exposure mode, most Nikon cameras will support a certain level of automation with an SB-16 Speedlight. However, each camera company uses their own proprietary flash system. A Nikon flash can only be used in manual mode with a camera from another manufacturer, such as Canon, unless that camera...

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What would you say was the minimal focusing distance for a digital camera, or even a film camera? This depends on the focal length of the lens fitted to the camera and the distance between the lens elements and the film plane. The further the lens elements move away from the focal plane, the higher the reproduction ratio and the closer the focusing distance. The minimum focusing distance for a given image size increases as the focal length of the lens increases. Longer lenses, however,...

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What is that moving line or distorted image on a computer or television when you see it through a videocamera or as its taped? It is a video artifact - you are seeing the television screen as it refreshes during operation. For example, the NTSC broadcast system used in North America completely refreshes the image or 'frame' about 30 times per second (29.97 fps or frames per second actual). Each frame consists of 525 lines and is broken down into two fields: one containing the even-numbered scan lines and...

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I have a Toshiba 28 YT56 series Tv and have noticed in the top left hand side corner and the bottom right hand side corner the colour keeps going purple Is this something i have set up incorrectly If the colour varies while you are watching the television, it is likely an indication of a problem with the television. The user is able to adjust the colour hue and saturation, among other parameters, but these changes affect the entire image, not just a portion of the screen. The colour should also remain stable while you are watching the television. You should watch the television over...

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HI, i have a bush crt flatscreen tv. The other day smoke started coming out of it and now it just makes a clicking noise- is it totally screwed? Smoking electronics is a sure sign of a problem. I would highly recommend unplugging the unit and leaving it unplugged for safety reasons. If you don't know what caused it to go up in smoke, it may present a fire hazard if you leave it plugged in. As far as the condition of the unit is concerned, I firmly believe that the working life of any consumer electronics product should be...

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If you were in control of the gas prices, how would you lower the average cost per gallon? Lowering gas prices at the pump is a counter-productive move over the long term. Instead of lowering gas prices, the tax rate on gasoline should be sharply increased. In the US, in particular, and in almost every other country, the price consumers pay for gasoline at the pump comes nowhere close to covering the actual cost of the fuel and the maintenance of a national transportation...

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My 2001 Dodge Durango gets terrible gas milage what would be the best way to increase the gas milage. I have heard cutting out the catalitic converter would be, but it is illegal. Then I have also heard a new exhust and cold air intake would be helpful. Removing the catalytic converter is very illegal and causes a significant increase in the vehicle's emissions. Changes to the fuel and exhaust systems in modern automobiles are generally not recommended, unless the vehicle is being modified by specialists. The engine control computer, the fuel system components and sensors, and the exhaust system components and sensors are a closely...

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I have a kodak easyshare CD33. whenever I turn on the camera it says Lens Error 14 and then changes to Lens Error 22 and shuts off. the Lens is inside, it just wont come out, what am I supposed to do? Your camera is faulty. It should be taken to an authorized repair centre for a repair estimate. Very few digital cameras have any user-serviceable parts.

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Can a fisheye lens be used on a Nikon FM2? What kind? So long as a lens is a Nikon AI or AF type, it can be mounted on an FM2 and will work with the light meter. An older lens with a Non-AI mount can be modified to make it AI-compatible (see http://www.aiconversions.com/). Note that some older Nikon-brand fisheye lenses must be used on a body with mirror lock-up (MLU), which the FM2 does not provide. Newer lenses, such as the G and AF-S...

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How can I share my iPod contents on a network via iTunes without having the content actually saved on the hard drive? This is for windows not mac. You can't, unless you write your own file-sharing software that can communicate with your iPod. The existing versions of the iTunes software implements a simple peer-to-peer file sharing scheme, which requires that both the iTunes software to be running on the target system and that the shared music files to be stored on disk in a structure recognizable by the software. The software is...

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When i turn my tv on sometimes the screen is blank but the sound is fine. i dont touch it for abut 4 days and the screen gets its picture back and is fine. i have no idea what to do There are a few potential problem areas: - There may be a problem with the video connection from a source component, such as a satellite receiver or a DVD player. Check all of the interconnects to ensure they are working properly. - There may be a problem with a source component, such as a satellite receiver. Check to ensure that the problem exists with any equipment connected to the...

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I have 2 ipods and have downloaded music from cds into itunes, is there a way to also copy these same songs onto my mp3 player? That depends on the format in which the music files were saved when you imported them into iTunes. You cannot use iTunes to download music files into a player made by another company, unless it is compatible with iTunes. Most MP3 players are not compatible with iTunes. The music files that iTunes has imported, however, are saved on your disk drive and can be downloaded into any other...

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Hi, my dvd player keeps messaging "NO DISC".I have to reload about 10 times and then it plays fine.The problem is only at the start.Please help.Dr Mahmood This is most likely one of two problems: a dirty lens or a component failure - most likely in the transport. You should start by cleaning the lens in the player. Dirt on the lens can cause read errors and it does not take very much to cause problems. Factors that contribute to a dirty lens include the amount of airborne dust in the room, residue from smoking, dander from pets, and poor DVD...

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Why do you think the Front de libération du Québec kidnapped the second victim, Pierre Laporte? It is important to remember that the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was not a coherent organization, but was more a set of ideologies that were held in common, to a greater or lesser extent, by its various members. The cell that kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross - the "Liberation" cell - was not the same as the one that kidnapped and murdered Deputy...

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Are loving relationships created on the basis that the woman wants to be comfortably supported and is willing to love a man who provides a good home and and a wealthy life style? Does it work? In my 50+ years on this planet, I have yet to meet any couple who has such a relationship. (And that includes at least one arranged marriage.) So, would one work? Good relationships are built on interpersonal trust. Commercial relations are not. Without trust you have no relationship.

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What's a good recipe for vynil record cleaning solution? Avoid any record or optical disk cleaning solution that contains alcohol, as long-term use may may damage the plastics. Plain distilled water does a pretty good job on its own. You can add a few drops of mild liquid detergent or a wetting agent, such as Kodak Photo-Flo, to a gallon of distilled water if a stronger cleaner is required. You should follow any cleaner with a water-only rinse....

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Have just bought an LCD TV and the picture is great but i am getting a buzzing/distorted sound when someone is speaking. it is wired back to an aerial booster and i have tried adjusting the sound equiliser but still no joy. any ideas! I would disconnect the antenna signal booster to ensure that it is not the source of your problem. If the problem clears up, you have your answer. If this has no effect, the most likely causes of the problem are: - Audio gain turned too high, causing distortion. - Faulty audio decoder or amplifier in television. - Faulty speaker in television.

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Why does my lg dvd player shows black and white on tv? There are several things that could cause this problem, including: - Faulty DVD player. - Faulty television input. - Colour drive set too low in television. - Wiring problems, such as: -- If you are using an s-video connection, the cable may be faulty (chrominance channel faulty). -- If you are using a component video connection, the cables for the colour signals, Pr and Pb, may be faulty...

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Do you have any vinyl LPs? How many? Although I don't buy them anymore, I still have all of the LPs I bought before shifting to CDs - about 400 of them. I still listen to my LPs, although hopping up every 20 minutes to raise the tonearm has lost its allure, particularly when my arthritis is acting up. LP sound quality remains better than that available from most CD players, even today - those budget DVD players make...

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What is your favorite band that you think I have never heard of? This might date me, but... "May Blitz". Loved the opening number on their first album - "Smoking the Day Away".

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When watching a DVD, I can't hear dialogue, its muffled but the music sounds great. I'm listening in Dolby 5.1. Help !!! The soundtracks for most films on DVD are mixed so that most, if not all of the dialogue is located in the centre channel. Music and environmental sounds are distributed through all of the channels, but are usually kept at fairly low levels in the centre channel to help with clarity. The symptoms you describe are typical of a situation where the centre-channel signal or missing or is very low...

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Are there widely available repair parts for Toshiba 32" cf3264k 9024 if the color is blinking in and out? Says it was mf'd in 1990, but when the color gets going, it still has a great picture! Would love to save it! Help! Thanks. Since we don't know what the cause of the problem is, you should direct this question to an authorized Toshiba repair centre. Availability of parts on older (and not so old) consumer electronics can be spotty, depending on how many units were manufactured, the reliability of the product, and which components were selected. Even if Toshiba no longer stocks a part, it does not mean that...

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I have a vintage Sony Beta model SLO-260 works fine except it's seems to be in a fast mode .Why is this happening? Is there a speed control on this unit that I do not know of? Thanks. Betamax VCRs provided three recording speeds: Beta I (fastest, smallest capacity), II, and III (slowest, most capacity). The Beta I recording speed was used with the earliest Betamax VCRs, but was dropped after Beta III was introduced in 1979. However, many consumer machines continued to support Beta I on playback only. The recording speed was usually selected manually, with a switch, while...

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I have a Kodak C875, What on camera editing options are there...if any? The Kodak C875 has a few editing features, but these are limited. I am not aware of any digital camera that has any serious editing ability. However, the best place to find this information is to review the documentation that came with the camera. (Some manuals might be grim reading, but they are comprehensive.) Since you have asked this question, I assume that you do not have the...

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When I drive a car I tend to get very disoriented - I start to feel like the car is standing still but the scenery is whizzing by. I can't sense that my car is moving (even though I know it is by the spedometer). Is ther anyone who can tell me what to do? 1. Stop driving. 2. Contact your MD and make an appointment to discuss this problem with him or her. If you become disoriented while driving a car, you have a responsibility to park the car until the condition can be assessed by a medical professional and a solution can be found. The disorientation may be indicative of a physical or psychological condition with you. Regardless of the...

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What is the best general purpose lens for a Nikon camera (under $500)? This depends on the angle(s) of view you want to cover with the lens and whether you are using a digital or a film camera. Your budget is only US$500, so I would seriously consider purchasing a used lens. Unfortunately, many camera buyers opt for the most expensive body they can afford and the least expensive lens. This robs the buyer of the image quality available with better lenses. I...

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I just purchased a used guitar effects pedal. I don't have the ac adapter. It is a 9V, and I think that the mA rating is 800 mA. Generally speaking would a greater mA (say 1000 mA) be harmful. ? Thanks I would assume you are referring to the capacity of a power adapter you are planning to buy. The rated capacity, in amperes (A) or milliamperes (mA), of a power supply is the maximum power that it can deliver under the conditions set by the designer. For example, a power supply rated at 2A can deliver twice the current of a 1A supply. The power supply will only deliver this power when the...

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Can a color television be degaussed without a degauss coil? Yes, but any such device would have to emulate the behaviour and have the power of an AC degaussing coil. There are two types of degaussing devices: AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current), which are commonly based on electromagnets. A magnetic field can be generated by passing an electric current through a coil - the electromagnet. The coil may have a hollow core, although a...

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Do you think mobile phones are a good or bad thing and why? They are neither good not bad, simply another communications tool. They have strengths (e.g., convenience) and weaknesses (e.g., coverage, batteries). Mobile phones may be far more convenient than signal fires, but they are useless when the batteries die.

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Is it possible for a dvd to ruin a dvd player? I rented a dvd that resulted in "disk error" in both of my dvd players, now neither player will play any dvd that I put in them. This seems very coincidental to me. I tried unplugging both to reset them. It is unlikely, but possible. - A very dirty DVD may leave some of the dirt behind while it spins. Any dirt on the laser lens may cause read errors. - A badly warped DVD may physically damage the lens or transport. - A peeling label on a DVD may come off or rip in the transport, blocking the laser lens or causing damage to the transport. - A DualDisc (DVD on one side, CD on the...

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How do i get the rating restriction off the dvd player without knowing the password? as somehow one was placed on the player without me being aware. The user's manual should include instructions on how to reset the password to the factory default setting. Note that you may need to reset the entire player to do this, so make a note of any settings you have changed and would like to retain. You should check the support section of the manufacturer's website. Many companies provide copies of the user manuals for their products on...

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Unknown disk keeps appearing on my bush 2038 dvd.worked fine before.any info.tks. This is most likely one of two problems: a dirty lens or a component failure - most likely in the transport. I would not rule out the latter, because this is a very low-cost DVD player. However, you should start by cleaning the lens in the player. Dirt on the lens can cause read errors and it does not take very much to cause problems. Factors that contribute to a dirty lens include the...

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What is the part and number I need to get the red and green ghost out of my jvc AV-48WP tv? There is no part that can remove the ghosting, unless a component inside the television has failed. Unless you have the schematic for your television, the information required to diagnose the problem, and the tools to do the job, you are not likely going to solve anything. However, to the best of my knowledge the AV48WP is a CRT rear-projection television. If so, the most likely cause of...

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I have a Samsung rear projection TV that has blue ghosting. I have recycled the power, let it sit and let it run for a while with no luck. I have also tried watching a DVD with no change. Is there anything else that I can try. Thanks for any help You haven't specified the model, so we don't know what type or model of rear projection television you own (e.g., LCD, CRT). The most likely cause of this problem, if you have a CRT rear-projection television, is that the blue gun is badly out of alignment. Rear-projection CRT televisions often go out of alignment when they are moved and can drift out of alignment over time....

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My Sony DVD player no longer reads a disc.If I insert one,it will make some noise,then says No Disc.Won't even let me use a cleaning disc!I usually turn it off with the remote putting it on stand by.Never did it til I turned it off all the way for a week If this happened only with a single disk, I would blame the disk [*]. Since it happens with all disks, either the transport or the controller have failed. Given the noise, I think the transport is the likely problem. This is a case of repair or replace. There is a slim chance that something has jammed the transport, such as label that has peeled off a disk. This can only be checked by...

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My LG DVD player fails to read a genuine DVD which another DVD player (Philips) was reading 2 days ago. It says "disc error". However, that same LG DVD player reads all other DVDs! I cannot fix this. Any ideas, please? You should start by carefully cleaning the optical disk. Use a cleaning fluid designed for optical media and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Warning: do NOT wipe a DVD or CD with a circular motion! Wipe the disk from the centre to the edge (radially). If this fails to cure the problem, you should clean the optical lenses in both players thoroughly. Dirt on the lens can cause...

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What is a reasonable watt output in speakers? Speakers do not have a "watt output". Speakers are rated in terms of the minimum, continuous, and maximum power they can handle, which is expressed in terms of watts (W). The loudness of a speaker is a function of the power input to the speaker from the amplifier and the speaker efficiency. More efficient speakers require less power to reach the same apparent loudness than those...

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Have you ever gained the solid trust of a friend or loved one, and then used their trust to your advantage? No. The word 'immoral' springs to mind.

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What kind of receiver do we need to run speakers in multiple places in the house? Does anyone make a receiver that allows you to have different volumes in different rooms? What about turning some of the speakers on and not all of them? Help.... There are several different ways this can be done, depending on how faint of wallet you are. Most mid-priced receivers provide the ability to control at least one additional 'zone'. As you move up the price range, more features are added, such as a third zone or independent volume control in different zones. Speakers in the different zones are connected to separate amplified...

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How can I tell a Speaker's Ohm Rating? I have Two 10" Sub Woofers, (Not sure if they are Car or Guitar/Bass Speakers) Can this speaker be combined with a 2-way cabinet to provide a fuller sound? (Note my existing speaker is 8 Ohm) Tom S. I would begin by trying to identify the speaker manufacturer and model number. You may be able to find the information you are looking for on the company's website or by contacting them by mail / email. If that route fails, you will need to measure the speaker's impedance. Contrary to popular belief, a speaker is not a purely resistive load and cannot be accurately measured with...

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When people tell you that your loud music will "bust the speakers" is there any truth behind that? It seems that the makers would only make it possible to turn the volume up to a safe range. (Any type of speaker. On TV's, computers, radios, etc.) As one of the other answers pointed out, the expression is "blowing" your speakers, not "busting” them. However, speakers are rarely damaged by running too much current through them. More speakers are blown by running an underpowered amplifier too loudly than by overdriving a speaker. When the amplifier volume is turned up far enough to cause the output power to exceed...

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How should I go about balancing my tonearm? I would recommend using an inexpensive stylus force gauge. I use a Shure SGF-2 force gauge, which costs about US$25. It can handle tracking forces ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 grams. It's not the most accurate gauge on the market or the easiest to use, but it works quite well with a little patience. Ortofon makes a slightly cheaper force gauge, but I have never used it and cannot comment...

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Which brands of stereos have you found to be the best, and why? Which are the worst? I don't concern myself with brands that are "the worst", because none of them make it out of the store or past my door. Unfortunately, too much of the mass-market audio equipment available today is produced and sold on the cheap: cheap designs, cheap parts, and cheaply priced. At some point in the cost-cutting process the product gets worse, not more affordable. I build my...

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What should I look for when choosing speaker stands? Any speaker stand should meet at least two important criteria... 1. It must hold the speaker in place without flexing or vibrating. Good stands are usually made from steel tubing that is circular, square, or rectangular in cross-section. They have a flat top plate on which the speaker sits and a base plate, which should be spiked into the floor. Stands can be quite expensive, so you...

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My SLR camera no longer works, and I am considering just getting a new one. Does anyone know of a good one, preferrably manual, and a by reputable maker? There are not many major companies still producing 35mm SLRs. Nikon, for example, has dropped all of their SLRs except for the professional F6 and the entry-level FM10, which is made for them by Cosina. Cosina also makes the zoom lens sold with the FM10. Cosina, which purchased the rights to use the Voigtlander name world-wide, has produced several other 35mm SLRs recently. The most...

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Ok, im trying to sell my Canon Ae-1, and my other accessories, but im not sure what price to sell them for, any ideas how I can get an estimate? The price depends on the condition of the camera equipment and the reasons the buyer has to purchase it. A Canon AE-1 is new enough that it is still in demand by photographers, but not quite new enough for most collectors, unless your camera is in pristine condition. Another factor is the condition of the market for film cameras. The changeover to digital has knocked the bottom out of the...

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My vintage delco radio says it must have an impedance load of 8-10 ohms.my 4 spkrs. are all 4 ohms.i can wire two speakers in series (8 ohms) and 2 speakers in parallel (2 ohms) to get 10 ohms but can i wire all 4 in series(16 ohms) w/o harming radio? You should not have any problems driving four speakers in series, although there are a couple of factors to consider: - A speaker is not a simple resistive load. - The rated impedance of a speaker is a nominal value. A speaker can be assumed to operate within a couple of ohms of its rated impedance, over at least half of its frequency range. An 8-ohm speaker, for example, may have an...

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What Hz rate should I use when copying audio speech from a tape cassette onto the computer? It depends how accurately you want to reproduce the voice. The maximum frequency that can be reproduced from a digital signal is one-half the sampling rate. This is also known as the Nyquist frequency. However, because an analog signal needs to be lowpass-filtered before being digitized to prevent aliasing, the sampling rate must be higher than twice the Nyquist frequency to take into...

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By how much does an ND8 (Neutral Density) filter reduce your shutterspeed? Does an ND filter cause any exposure metre errors? ND2 ..... 1 stop. ND4 ..... 2 stops. ND8 ..... 3 stops. Neutral-density filters are designed so as to prevent exposure errors, providing the light meter you are using is properly calibrated and you are using a good-quality filter.

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What cameras (and lenses and accessories), if any, do you own? I have a small camera collection, so I have a few more cameras than most people. Most of them have removable lenses, so I also have more lenses than normal. I have accessories coming out of my ears (filters, tripods, bellows, monopod, light tent, etc.) and a darkroom that I need to spend more time in. 35mm SLR: - Nikon FM, FM2n, FA, F80, F100. -- Lenses: 16/2.8 fisheye, 17/3.5, 24/2.8,...

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What are the dimensions of a house brick? My current home is built with a standard Canadian metric size - about 70mm x 80mm x 230mm. However, bricks vary widely in size. Many of the sizes available are made to national or regional standards and can be different from those in other countries or in other regions within the same country. I worked in a brickyard for a few years, around the time that metric sizes were introduced in Canada...

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How old were you when you learned how to use the computer? I started using computers around the age of 15, while I was still in high school. That probably doesn't excite anyone these days, but I don't recall many students using computers circa 1970. We had access to an IBM System/360 or System/370 and used a teletype printer connected through an acoustic coupler. Look, ma, no punchcards! The first programming language I learned was...

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How can i make my Bose HD? You don't, without replacing their DVD players with a product from another company that is HD-compatible or waiting for Bose to make such a product and buying it to replace your current unit. Such are the limitations of all-in-one proprietary systems - they are incompatible with new developments in specific areas.

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I am unable to view on my DVD players videos stored on my computer that I've burned to CD's; can view JPEG/pic CD's. I get the message, "cannot detect disc." Able to view all purchased vids, though. Using standarad Maxell CDR's to record. Thanks! DVD players use disks that are formatted in a very specific manner (video format: MPEG-2, audio format: PCM or Dolby, DTS optional). Even if you created a CD with the same structure, a DVD player would not play it, because the DVD standard does not include the use of CD media. Some DVD players will play videos that have been stored on CD media, but only if they are stored in a specific...

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I have a Sharp DV-RW260H vcr/dvd combination recorder. When I try to copy from tape to disc I keep getting message 'disc error C211' in the manual this translates as 'a scratch or contamination was found on the disc' I've tried several new discs.HELP The DVD recorder may be defective. However, before I would take it in for repair, I would clean the laser lens. A dirty lens will cause this problem and it does not take much dust, dirt, or smoke in the air to gum up the works. I would use a wet-dry optical disk cleaner, such as the Milty LC2 CD/DVD cleaner (http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/Media_Care/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm). I use one...

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2 yr old LG dvd player, plays fine for about 1 hour then powers off. Can be switched on again, works for about 10 min then powers off again. HELP!!! Please. Got my xbox connected to it, really is annoying having the surround sound cut off.....thx evry1 Chances are it has a thermal fault. Unless you have experience with electronics and access to a service manual for the player, you can't fix it yourself. You should get it repaired or replaced at an authorized service centre. This may not be economically viable, because most inexpensive DVD players have only three major components: the transport, a power supply board, and a...

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I have a Samsung HD860 HD compliant dvd player. When I switch to 1080i on the dvd player, the screen flickers red and won't stop. I have a HDTV and when I set the player to 720i, it works fine. What should I do 1. Your television or DVD player may be defective. Check the owner's manual to see what video formats the television supports. If it supports 1080i, your television may be faulty or the 1080i output of the DVD player may not be working properly. 2. There is no reason your HDTV should support 1080i video. HD programs can be broadcast in either 720p or 1080i (different broadcasters use...

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I am looking for a nikon 80 08 35 mm camara does not mater if it works or not e-mail me at jullian_deoblo@yahoo.com 1. This is not really the proper forum to search for a used camera. People don't buy and sell on Answerbag. 2. Try eBay.

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How do I connect a Canon Elura 50 Camcorder to the computer with a USB cable (without firewire)? Go Firewire. Here's why: If you want to access a Firewire device through USB, you need to purchase a USB to Firewire converter. Consumer-grade USB to Firewire converters are rare as hen's teeth. I am only aware of one such model, made by D-Link and no longer in production. The cost of any such converter would be at least the same as the cost of a Firewire interface. There is...

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Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced (but close in quality) alternative to canon's 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM? (a 2500$ lens is a little out of the question right now :P) The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is a top-of-the-line professional lens with image stabilization (IS). Any zoom lens with a large fixed aperture and a smaller zoom range (e.g., 2.86:1 for the 70-200mm) will be expensive. They are intended for use by professionals, not amateurs, and are built and priced accordingly. Your best bet for a cheaper lens with the same aperture would be the Canon...

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About 3 out of ten DVD's I rent do not have matching sound and lips when I watch them. It's like watching a dubbed movie. It's a Pioneer DV-270. What causes this, and can it be fixed? This is a very common problem with films on DVD. Some DVD players and many AV receivers incorporate features that allow the user to adjust the delay of the left, centre, right, left surround, right surround, and LFE audio channels. By adjusting the audio delay, you can better synch the words with the picture. I am not aware of any televisions that include features. The inclusion of an...

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How do you capture video from a video camera into your computer? What hook ups are required? Digital camcorders are usually equipped with a Firewire interface. All you need to communicate with one is a Firewire interface in your computer and the right software. Many new computers are equipped with external Firewire interfaces. If yours does not have one, a 2-port card can be purchased for about US$50 and installed in an empty IDE slot. Any interface card you buy will be supplied...

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Iv'e just burned a disk with nero on a tesco dvd but it won't play on my sasmsung dvd recorder any help? If neither player is defective, then you have a one of the common recording problems. These include: - Defective media. Re-record the program with a good disk. - Low-quality media. Inexpensive and no-name DVD media is terrible at worst and not very good at best. Buy good-quality optical media, such as that made by Sony, TDK, Maxell, Mitsubishi, or Verbatim. See...

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How do I make a dvd drawer all the way when it stops at a certain point the power shut off? You can carefully push the drawer closed or pull it open if it is partially open when turned off. However, it is a good idea not to turn the power off unless the drawer is closed. A drawer that is partly open can be easily damaged and will let dust and dirt into the player.

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How do I replace the left and right channel cables on my DUAL 1257 ULM Turntable? I can't seem to get into the bottom of the unit. This model has a spring-loaded sheet metal top plate. The screws that are used to clamp the turntable down for transport and that need to be loosened for playing should back completely out of the base, allowing the top of the turntable to be removed. These may have a locking compound on the end of the threads to prevent the user from doing this inadvertently. Remove the turntable platter...

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To record voice audio and burn to CD. M-Audio microtrack or IPOD voice recorder? You will need a microphone to begin with. The more you pay, the better they sound. A decent omnidirectional or cardioid dynamic microphone starts at about US$50. Don’t bother with a cheap microphone or, worse, a cheap wireless microphone, because the quality is poor. A dynamic microphone is handy, because they don’t require a power source, which is provided either by an internal...

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How do you hook-up a microphone ? Sony receiver Model # STR-AV1020 This can be done quite easily with any home audio amplifier. You have a couple of options as to how to go about it. All line-level inputs on home audio equipment are electrically the same, except for those that are labelled "Phono". These have additional amplification and specialized filtering for use with phono cartridges. The only difference in the label, so just about any...

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Motorcycling - Should you deflate the tyres a bit on an icy morning? No. Motorcycles are inherently unstable on ice and should not be driven, especially in traffic. A driver who is concentrating on trying to stay upright and unhurt pays less attention to other vehicles on the road, some of which will not be under the complete control of their drivers. You should park the motorcycle and take the bus. If you absolutely insist on riding in winter conditions,...

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Why can't the world have the same currency? The world could, if all of the governments, banks, and agencies that control the creation and distribution of money agreed to it. As it stands, there is profit to be made buying and selling currencies. National economies are manipulated to produce a profit for individuals, banks, and agencies that are in a position to affect currency values of smaller economies. This is never done to the...

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I have a Panasonic PV-L550 VHS-C Camcorder. How can I use it to record and play back in a VCR on a VHS tape? VHS-C tapes can be mounted in an adapter that allows them to be used with standard VHS video recorders. Adapters can be purchased at retailers that sell VHS-C-compatible cameras. Further information is available on Wikipedia: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS-C

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What is a Memory Stick? A "memory stick" is a proprietary name used by Sony to identify certain types of flash memory storage devices that can be used with some of their products. There are now several different "memory stick" formats, which are discussed in some detail on Wikipedia: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_Stick

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Can you record from one DVD recorder to another DVD recorder? If so how do you do the {wiring] hook up? Thank You Connect the audio/video outputs on one recorder to the audio/video inputs on the second. This will be shown in the instruction manuals for the recorders. If you don't have the manuals, check if the manufacturer's website provides downloadable copies of the manuals, usually found under "Support". The manuals are usually in PDF format. The two-channel audio signal, L and...

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My tv does not have a scart socket, is there any way around this problem? 21-pin SCART connectors provide a standardized means of connecting two audio/video devices. SCART is used mainly in Europe and most non-European audio/video products do not include SCART connectors. If the device you are trying to connect to the television has only a SCART connector, you will need to make or purchase an adapter to match the SCART signals to the audio and composite video,...

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I bought a MP3 Player from eBay. It worked fine for about 3 weeks. Now when I try to listen to music or play games, it says "Disk error!" The only thing it lets me do is listen to the radio. Please help! Without a service manual for the product, there is likely nothing you can do on your own. "Disk error" could point to any of several problems. If the product is new, it should be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. The eBay seller may be able to exchange the product, although few provide warranty service. Unfortunately, many new products sold on eBay or by discount...

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I use a Harmon-Kardon CD-2 CD Recorder. Recently(within the month) I have noticed I get a very audible click when I press play (in recording mode, with pause on) to record the next track. Previous recordings have been silent from track to track. Help! It may well be picking up noise from an ailing electromechanical or electronic switch. These can wear out and/or become noisy over time. Unfortunately, there are several problems that can produce such symptoms and, unless you can identify the specific component that is failing and replace it yourself, this is a job for an authorized H-K service shop.

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What is a decent subwoofer I can buy for around $200? New? None. Used? Quite a few. Unfortunately, many of the speakers sold as 'subwoofers' are nothing of the sort, particularly the low-cost products. By definition, a subwoofer is a speaker that handles the lowest one or two octaves of the frequency range or approximately 50 Hz and lower. These are the frequencies below ('sub') those produced by the woofer, down to 15...

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What's the best way to get GPS info into my photos when using Canon Rebel XT? is there a way to connect a gps unit to the camera? You cannot embed GPS measurements directly into your photographs. The hardware does not support these options. there certainly are cameras to which a GPS unit can be attached or linked to, but these are not low-cost products. You can, however, record GPS measurements continuously on a laptop computer, at whatever time resolution you need (e.g., 1s, 10s). This does not require much in the...

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Why do iPod headphones have "L" and "R" symbols on them eventhough they can be used by both ears? All two-channel or stereo recordings have a left, L, and right, R, audio channel. These channels do not contain the same audio information. Most studio recordings are really multi-channel mono recordings, in which the producer 'places' the audio signal from each channel somewhere between hard left and hard right using the pan control on the mixing console. Each instrument or...

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Can I run different sound to 2 rooms from one reciever. If so how and what equipment would I require. How this is solved depends on what sort of features your receiver provides. First, you will need to run a pair of speaker cables to the other location. If the distance to the second location is more than about 50 to 75 feet, I would not advise simply adding a pair of remote speakers to your receiver. A long cable run can have adverse effects on the amplifier stage in your receiver. In...

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Can I listen to the radio on a Motorola T6510 walkie talkie? No. FRS (Family Radio Service) walkie-talkies operate in a different part of the frequency spectrum from both AM and FM radio. AM radio also uses a different broadcast technology.

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My digital camera has a 35mm equivalent lens of 48mm at the widest angle. If i buy an adaptor lens which attaches to my camera and has a rating of 0.38X, what does this equal to in 35mm standards at the widest angle? Wide-angle and telephoto conversion lenses alter the angle of view of a lens. The angle of view is dependent on the size of the image and the focal length of the lens. A 35mm negative is 36mm wide and 24mm high. The length of the diagonal is calculated using: d = sqrt( width^2 + height^2 ) = sqrt( 36mm^2 + 24mm^2 ) d = 43.3mm The maximum angle of view can be determined from the...

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Generally what is the largest sized print you can achieve from a a good 35mm film? The quality of an enlargement depends on the resolution of the negative and the effect the photographer is trying to achieve. These, in turn, are dependant on the film (e.g., manufacturer, type) and how the film is processed (e.g., chemistry, temperature). A detailed 8x10 enlargement can be obtained from a good 35mm negative. A very good 35mm negative can be used to make an 11x14 print,...

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Is there a way to transfer a movie off the internet onto a nikon coolpix L3 digital camera card and watch it right on the camera? You need a video file formatted in the same format as those that the camera produces, assign it a file name compatible with the camera's file system, and copy it to the camera's flash memory card. You will have to examine one of the video files produced by the camera and determine which file format(s) and version it uses. Nikon digital cameras usually use one or more of the...

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What is the best ipod? (a) The one you can afford. (b) The one that supports the features you want to use, now or in the future. There is little point in buying an iPod Nano if you want to carry around a large selection of uncomprressed or lossless-compressed audio recordings. The largest Nano only provides 8GB of storage space. In addition, the Nano only supports image formats such as JPEG and PNG (i.e., still...

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Did you ever make corn mash (white lightning, homemade whiskey) No, but I've got a book that describes the process in some detail: "The Lore of Still Building - A Primer on the Production of Alcohol for Food and Fuel", by K. Howard and N. Gibat. Recipe: 6 parts corn, 2 parts rye, and 2 parts barley. Malt only the barley. Grind all the grains and proceed with mashing and brewing in the normal fashion. Filter the wash and distill.

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Honestly who has the best fries? Burger King or McDonalds? My answer is McDonalds They're both dreadful. Few fast-food chains rarely rise above the mediocre, at best. Buy local: go to a chip wagon for real potatoes and grease with character. If you're lucky enough to pick the right spot, you can buy a pickled sausage to go with your frites.

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Any idea how to switch the video mode from HDMI back to composite if you no longer have access to a TV with HDMI, i.e. if you can't get the PS3 to display anything on your normal TV? You need a video scaler / format converter that will accept an HDMI or DVI video input and provide a composite video, s-video, and/or component video output. If the scaler has a DVI input, you will need an HDMI to DVI adapter cable. The video signals used with DVI are the same as those with HDMI. Most video scalers are designed to upconvert video signals and can be quite expensive -...

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How do i refill a lpg gas cylinder from a tank? The storage tank will be equipped with a pump and a hose, with a fitting to connect to a smaller tank (e.g., 20-lb barbeque tank, forklift tank). The type of fitting may be different in different environments. Connect the supply fitting to the tank, open the tank valve, open the tank vent (if present), turn on the pump, and open the supply valve. Small tanks are usually filled by weight....

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What's the difference between Chromoly, 4130 Chromoly, and Heat Treated Chromoly... if there is one? AISI 4130 steel is a specific low-alloy steel that contains small amounts of chromium and molybdenum. There are many chromium / molybdenum alloys used in industry, all with slightly different properties. Steel alloys can be heat-treated to modify their properties for specific needs (e.g., hardness, tensile strength, workability). Each alloy has different properties, depending on the method...

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Is frequent formating of camera memory card safe? They say it is good habbit to format instead of erasing images to prevent the card becoming corrupt. But can frequent formatting also damage or corrupt the card? This is not an issue that should affect amateur, or even professional, photographers. Flash memory can only go through a limited number of write/delete cycles before it 'wears out', so to speak. However, modern flash memory can tolerate tens of thousands of write/delete cycles to the same memory locations without problems. This issue, where it does occur, is handled by load...

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I Have a DVD Player. Sony DVP NS61 . I Will Play a Film (Divx Format). But I Can not Showing Subtitle . I Writing Subtitle File On CD. For Example: SAW II.avi SAW II.srt Please Help Me For Playing Subtitle! Your DVD player may not support features within the version of DivX that you are using to create your videos. You need to find out what version of DivX is supported by your DVD player and if it has any compatibility issues with any of those versions. When you create and save your DivX files, you must save them in a compatible format. My main DVD player, for example, supports DivX v5.1,...

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How feasible is a telescoping railway axle so that as soon as a train enters a different-gauge railway track, its axles change its width to accommodate the different-width track? It could be done from a mechanical perspective, but it would be expensive, mechanically complex from the perspective of the railway industry, and not terribly useful. Most railway systems use the same rail gauge, except for a handful of specialized applications, because most railcars operate in interchange service (i.e., operate on more than one rail system). Those that don't, for...

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Canon or Nikon? Which is the best value DSLR? Which is the more robust? Do pro's prefer Nikon? Nikon and Canon are the most popular cameras among professional photographers within their class. Neither could be called a "best value". Professionals use the system that best meets their individual needs. When you buy a single-lens reflex camera (SLR), you are not buying a camera - you are buying a camera system. This is true whether you purchase a conventional film SLR (35mm...

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The plastic battery cover of my remote control says >PS< on the back. What does it stand for? My first guess, without seeing the remote and any other markings that may be on it, would be 'polystyrene'. For recycling purposes, plastic parts are often labelled with the type of material from which the product is manufactured (e.g., HDPE, ABS, PS). However, the label you have described does not follow standardized labelling, which consist of: - The three-arrow recycling...

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I just received a new DVD. The disc plays fine on my computer, but when I try to play it on my Emerson EWD2202 DVD player, it only jumps from Title 3 Ch 1 to Title 3 Ch 2 with a blank screen without playing anything. Other DVDs play fine. What's wrong? There is a chance the problem lies in your DVD player, but it is most likely a problem with the disk itself. The DVD is probably a borderline case - not bad enough to reject, but enough out of tolerance to be played properly on your DVD player. If cleaning the lens on your DVD player does not correct the problem, take the DVD back to the retailer it was purchased from and exchange it for...

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What is the difference between an HDMI cable and normal component cables? Component video, as used in televisions (YPbPr), is an analogue video format in which the image is separated into three components: - The brightness or luminance channel, Y, transmits the brightness of the video signal along with synchronization pulses. Connecting only the Y channel will produce a B&W video image. - The Pb channel carries the difference between the blue and the luminance...

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Is it worth it to save up for a Canon 17-40L or just get a Canon 17-85? I don't need the extra reach of the 85. I shoot with a Canon XT and 20D. The 17-40mm lens holds the aperture at f/4 through the entire zoom range. The 17-85mm f/4-5.6 is one stop slower at the high end. The 17-40mm lens should also perform somewhat better, since it has a zoom range of 2.35:1 compared to 5.0:1 for the 17-85mm. Since the 17-40mm lens only costs about 25% more than the 17-85mm, it would be worthwhile to spend a little more to get the better lens.

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Diference between dvd-r,dvd+r and dvd+rw The basics... DVD-R - Developed by the DVD Forum (http://www.dvdforum.org/), the main industry association of hardware manufacturers, software developers, and content providers for DVDs. - Write-once recordable DVD format with a capacity of 4.7 GB (single layer only). - The widest acceptance of all recordable DVD video formats. - The DVD-RW is a rewritable version of the DVD-R. DVD +R...

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Where can I get my disk negatives processed? You know, from the old point and shoot cameras.... I assume you are referring to the old Kodak colour disc film format, yet another consumer film format created and marketed by Kodak and then dumped a decade later. This was certainly not the first time that Kodak did this to consumers. There are a number of places that advertise on the internet that they can develop and print this film. Running "kodak disc film printing" through...

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Other than FLAC, what's the absolute 'highest quality' possible for a standard mp3 audio file?|(I wish to ensure I have the best sounding mp3 rip for an album as possible) FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec - is not an MP3 file format. It is an open-source lossless compression alogorithm that is supported by an increasing number of audio players. (Quality... finally.) The highest bitrate available with most MP3 codecs is 320 kbps. I would recommend compressing audio files with software that incorporates the LAME MP3 codec, which is one of the most reliable...

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How do you put dvds on your iPod? I put them on my iTunes but they didn't convert on my iPod, it said something like its the wrong file or something? Most video files that were not purchased from an iTunes store or created / converted using QuickTime will not run on an iPod, which plays .mov and .mp4 format files. Most programs that extract video files from a DVD will store the video data in a VOB file (Video OBject) or in an MPEG-2 file, the video format of a standard DVD. These files need to be converted to a format that can be used by...

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What do landfills do with dead batteries? If a battery is discarded in the normal household trash stream, it goes straight into landfill and, eventually, into the soil and water table. Trash companies do not, as a rule, open and inspect the trash they pick up at the curb. Sorting the trash is the responsibility of the household. It is up to the consumer to properly dispose of batteries as hazardous waste. Many cities provide...

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My Sony DVD player works fine for most disks but didn't work at all on a burned copy that worked on two other (and cheaper) DVD players. Is this normal? Yes, this is quite normal. Different players have different tolerances, so care needs to be taken when recording disks. Use the slowest recording speed your drive supports when burning DVDs and you will find the disks you produce have fewer errors and are more reliable. Similarly, CDs recorded at 4x or 8x are more reliable than ones recorded at high speeds. The quality of recordable DVD...

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Recently bought an innovatek dvd player - for the first 2 weeks it worked perfectly fine but the screen started flickering then cut out - now I can only get on to tv and radio mode and when I do get the DVD player 2 work the buttons don't work. Help! I hope that "recently bought" means that the player is still under warranty. Any problems of this nature require servicing to correct. Return the player to the dealer, if it is under warranty, and get it replaced or repaired. If it is out of warranty, get an estimate for repairs and determine if it is worth the expense. This is a budget player with a so-so reputation, so you...

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I have an LG Model V9120W DVD/VCR PLAYER. I am just wondering whether this can be converted or whether it can play region 1 DVDs. I am in Region 4 and the manual says I can't. How much would it cost to convert and where can I do this? Your may be able to re-region your player by entering a special code from the remote. There are a number of websites that provide this type of information. The reliability of this information might be questionable, unless you can find more than one contributor who can confirm that this can be done with your model. The downside of this process is that a mistake might disable your player. ...

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My DVD player Sony DVP-NS725P has start freezing and skipping during play. It also creates some bands on the screen like it is not able to update the image. I tried cleaning it but I'm not sure I did right because the access is very poor. Can I fix t It is quite difficult to clean the laser lens from the outside of the unit. You can open the case to access the lens, but that will void the warranty, if it is still in effect. The best way to clean the lens - and the logical place to start - is to use a wet/dry cleaning disk, such as the Milty (http://www.milty.co.uk/i96c166/MediaCare/LC2_CD/DVD_Lens_Cleaner.htm). The disk has a series of...

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My two-year-old Panasonic CT-27SX12 emits a high-pitched tone when I plug it in, but it will not turn on. What could be the problem? It sounds very much like a fault in the power supply or the high-voltage supply to the display tube.

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Will I notice a large difference in picture quality between a plasma with 13-bit color processing (Samsung HP-S5053) and one with 16-bit processing (Hitachi 55HDT79)? Does the Samsung support 1080i? Some sites spec 720p; some spec 720p AND 1080i?? Thnx There is a substantial difference, technically, between 13-bit and 16-bit colour rendering. How much of this difference you will be able to see will depend on the type of program material you watch and your perceptual capabilities. If you enjoy watching films that are photographed with more than the usual care, you should choose the display with the best ability to render colours - the...

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My Hitachi TV has RCA input jacks for the speakers to be used as my center channel, but my Sony STR-DE835 center speaker output has non-RCA connectors. Is there a way to still use my TV speakers for the center speaker? RCA connectors are used with line-level unbalanced audio signals. These are used to connect the output of source components to a preamplifier or a preamplifier to an amplifier. The inputs on your television are connected to the line-level audio outputs from devices such as an external tuner (e.g., digital cable tuner, satellite tuner, VCR, or DVD). The output connectors on the AV receiver...

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Where can you buy replacement speaker foam for stereo systems besides buying them online? Foam surrounds on speakers tend to deteriorate after about 15 to 20 years in service. This is a polite way of saying the foam surrounds turn to dust, rendering the speaker useless. Some manufacturers sell foam replacement kits for their speakers. You would need to contact a local dealer or the national distributer of the speaker's manufacturer. A local electronics store that...

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I have a Nikon F3 camera with Nikkor 40mm 1.4, as well as 28mm 2.8, 55mm 2.8, and 135mm 2.8 lenses. Can I use these lenses with a new digital Nikon D80 or similar camera? Nikon SLR and DLSR bodies with electronic coupling can be used with many older lenses (e.g., AI, AI-S), but with restrictions. You need to check the owner's manual of the specific model you are interested in to find out what the precise restrictions are. You can also have older, Non-AI lenses converted to AI. This service is provided at http://www.aiconversions.com for a modest cost....

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My Samsung TV keeps turning off every 5 seconds and when it does I have to unplug it, and it still does the same thing. The power source is ok, but the Standby/Temp light flashes red about every 5 seconds. What is wrong with my TV? There's a good chance that there is a defect in the television's power supply. It is also possible that the circuit that latches the television 'on' is faulty. In any case, it's time to call service.

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How do I compile an anthology of favourite tunes from recorded radio programmes onto CD instead of (currently) taping and editing onto tape cassettes Rip the entire CD or selected tracks to the hard drive of your computer in WAV format. WAV audio files are uncompressed PCM audio files, which is the format they are stored in on Red Book audio CDs. Use the software that was supplied with the CD burner on your computer (e.g., Nero) to make an "Audio CD". Select the tracks you want to include on the CD, up to the maximum available...

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How do I use a non-autofocusing lens (micro nikkor 55/2.8) on a Nikon d50? There are two versions of this lens: a non-AF version with an AI-S mount and an AF version with an AF mount. A short description of these lenses can be found on KenRockwell.com (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55af.htm and http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55f28ais.htm). You will also have another problem with this lens: less-expensive electronic-bodied Nikon SLRs and DSLRs usually disable...

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My dvd player has stopped playing my cds and I now receive a "disc error" message. It had been playing cds for ever but just recently stopped playing cds. DVDs work fine, still. Such a problem might be caused by a problem with the transport or the circuit(s) that handle Red Book CD playback. If this is the case, the player would need to be repaired. Since this problem might also be caused by a dirty laser lens in the transport, you should start by cleaning the lens. Never use an abrasive cleaning product to clean a lens. I recommend using a wet/dry cleaning disk,...

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Can you use a second polarizing filter on your camera lens to achieve even less reflections off glass and water and even more striking cloud and sky pictures? Not really. Any small improvement you may enjoy will be more than offset by the loss of transmitted light caused by placing the two filters in series. This can cause problems with auto-focus systems and with manual focusing, if the image becomes too dark. A polarizing filter reduces the transmitted light by up to two f-stops. Two filters in series could produce a reduction of up to four...

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What rodent is described by the Canadian Encyclopedia as having "had a greater impact and exploration of Canada than any other animal or plant?" Well, if you've read the entry in the encyclopedia, you already know the answer. Anyone with a smattering of Canadian history under their belt knows the answer to this one. Answer: the beaver.

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WHAT ARE POLICIES ON RENTING OUT A CONDO AND WHAT ARE THE LIABILITYS Unfortunately, there is no one answer to your questions, because these depend on the legal jurisdiction in which you reside and the by-laws of your condominium corporation. However, there are a few basics which would apply wherever you live. The condo corporation may have restrictions on rental units that the unit owner is legally obliged to comply with. You need to start by reviewing the...

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What equipment and software would I need to make and edit videos? This answer assumes a Windows PC, although there are also equivalent products for the Mac. To start, you need a video camera. What comes next depends on whether your acquire a digital video or an analogue video camera. Most digital cameras interface with computers via Firewire (IEEE 1394). Both audio and video data can be transferred to and from the camera over Firewire, so you would...

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How much information can a DVD+R hold? Single-layer DVD -R and +R disks hold about 4.7 GB of data. Dual-layer -R and +R disks hold about 8.5 GB.

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Can you grow a rubber tree plant outside in zone 8 According to my copy of "Trees & Shrubs", the rubber tree, ficus elasticus, grows in zones 10 through 12. You could grow it outside in zone 8, but you would have to bring it indoors during colder weather.

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I would like to can some olives. Do you know where I can purchase cases of olive online or at a store in the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada area? You could try Nicastro's on Merivale (Italian) or the Mid-East Food Market on St. Laurent (Middle-Eastern, Indian). Both sell many varieties of olives by the kilo, although not by the case. Alternately, you could see if a wholesaler will sell you olives in bulk, such as Italfoods on Bongard.

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What do you do to find questions to answer? I look through the "Unanswered questions" and see if there are any that catch my fancy and that I am familiar with - or, at least, I think that I am familiar with.

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Why do they have letters on phones? The letters used to be used as part of the self-dialed seven-digit telephone number system after it was introduced - in North America at least. For example, my home phone number when I was a child (late 50s, early 60s) was listed in the phone books as "VI5-nnnn", where "VI" was short for "Victor". "VI" is "84" on the dial, so my number...

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How do I, step by step, transfer my vinyl records onto CD or as computer files ?. I use an Apple Mac but I have access to a windows PC if required (but I'll have to psych myself up before I use it). This is a fairly involved question, because of the variations in the hardware and software required for the task. 1. You will need a phono preamplifier to amplify the low-level signal from the turntable’s cartridge and apply the RIAA frequency correction. Phono preamps run from about $25 to over $25,000, so a recommendation depends on your pocketbook. Low-cost phono preamps include...

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What non-alcoholic drink tastes the most like tequila? It's a toss-up: my wife says paint thinner and I say pig sweat.

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I have already stated to a girl I am interested that I would like to spend time with her so I can get to know her.She agreed to it. However,she refused my first date invite by saying she was busy with work. Should I ignore her and let her come to me now? Have you ever been busy because of work and were unable to make time for something else? If you can say yes, even once, then why are you asking this question? If you ask someone out *once* and they say that they cannot because of a previous commitment, why didn't you try to arrange something for another night? If she said that she was unavailable more than once, on three or four...

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I have an LCD TV with a built in DVD player. Why do I have to turn up the volume when I use the DVD player, versus the TV? The two signal sources - television and DVD player - do not necessarily carry audio signals that are scaled to the same audio level. Many DVDs have a lower mean audio volume level when compared to off-air or off-cable television signals. Broadcasters compress the audio signal to avoid overloading the audio amplifier and speakers in a television. Film soundtracks on DVDs invariably include...

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Is there any anti-virus website that allows you to send new viruses to them so that a fix can be created? Companies that produce commercial anti-virus software also provide reporting services. They share this information among themselves, so that all can respond rapidly to new threats or hoaxes. For example, McAfee operates the Avert security website (http://www.avertlabs.com/), where you are able to "Submit A Sample" of a virus. If their existing anti-virus software needs to be...

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How do electronic devices know the time even after they've been turned off? Many electronic devices (e.g., VCR) don't turn off when the power switch is cycled. They are always powered up, but are put into standbye mode when you turn them 'off'. Therefore, the clock is always running until the power is actually removed from the device. If such a device is disconnected from the mains or if the power fails, it may lose the time of day information or,...

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My HDTV and HD cablebox are connected with component cables. Some of the channels make a popping or static noise. The connections are fine; what else could be causing this? It is possible you are hearing noise on the mains power. Many common household products feed noise back into the mains, which affects other devices connected to the same local power. Motors, in particular those with brushes, are very noisy. Every time one starts or stops, a very short-duration noise spike is fed back into the mains. Brush noise can also be fed back into the mains. Motors...

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What is a baby mouse called? Newborn mice are called pups. (If you have a cat, they might be called 'more catfood'.)

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How can I make my home sterio louder? The volume is a function of two parameters: the amplifier power and the speaker sensitivity. One might think that doubling the amplifier power (e.g., 20W to 40W, 100W to 200W) would double the volume, but that is not the case. Doubling the amplifier power increases the audio level by 3dB, which is audible to the human ear. Most people cannot detect a change of less than 1 to 2 dB, so an...

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I have a Macintosh computer- Dual 867 MHz power PC G4. I decided to put another hard drive in the computer since it has only at 60 GB drive. I put an ATA 100 drive 160GB drive in it and my machine reads it as 149 GB. Can it handle this size HD? Although the drive you installed has a rated capacity of 160GB, its capacity when formatted will be less. A certain amount of space on any disk is used by the file system, which is created when the disk is formatted. The structure of the file system varies with different operating systems. File systems may include parameters such as tables of which blocks are in use on the disk, which...

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My DVD player playes the video but in black and white. After a while sometimes the colour comes back. Is my DVD player broke? Most likely, but it might be a cable problem... The luminance component (Y) of a video signal contains the brightness information and the chrominance (C) the colour information. Remove the chrominance component from a colour picture and you are left with B&W. If your are using the composite video output from your DVD player, there is quite likely a problem in the chrominance circuit...

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How can i get hamachi to work on windows 98 if there is way to do so, then please tell me how.cuz i have win 98 and need to use hamachi cuz some1 got hamachi to work on mac so i need u to tell me how get it to work win 98. Hamachi is not currently supported on any of the Windows 9x operating systems (95, 98, and ME) or NT. This is unlikely to change, because few organizations produce software for obsolete operating systems. It is supported on Windows XP, 2000, and 2003, Linux 2.4 or newer, and Mac OS X, although they state that their Max is "rudimentary". The Windows versions are still betas. If...

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What is better, Blu-ray or HD-DVD? Right now there is no good answer to this question, since the first generation players and software do not take advantage of all of the features built into the standards. You'll have to wait until sometime next year (mid-2007?) for the hardware and software manufacturers to produce fully-featured products. In the long term, I think that Blu-Ray has a distinct advantage over HD-DVD,...

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Will PAL region 2 DVDs play on Australian PAL region 4 DVD players? Supplementing the previous answer... There are multi-region DVD players on the market that will play DVDs encoded for any region. Some of these also support both the NTSC and PAL video formats. (I've also been told SECAM, although I have not seen this demonstrated.) You also have the option of making a backup copy of the DVD. Some software allows you to change the zone or dezone...

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Are Cambridge amplifiers good? If you are referring to products from the UK-based company "Cambridge Audio", yes. Cambridge Audio (www.cambridgeaudio.com) produces good quality audio and video products at a reasonable price - entry-level high-end audio.

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I have recently bought a Toshiba TV and DVD player which are conected by a Scart lead. My problem is that when I play a CD I get a blue and white background advertising Toshiba and not a blank/ grey scrreen that I would like. Can anyone help? The static display and screensaver used by a DVD player is in the player's firmware and cannot be changed. Since a Red Book CD does not include any video information, there is no need to have your television turned on when you are playing a CD. Turn it off. The screen will be nice and dark and you will save a few dollars on your electricity bill by the end of the year. It may also...

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Why do most digital cameras not allow manual exposure times longer than 15-60 seconds? The overwhelming majority of camera users do not shoot long exposures, which require a tripod and, preferably, a cable or electronic shutter release to avoid vibration. Manufacturers tend to put similar features into cameras within the same price range and inexpensive / modest cameras are sold predominately to the point-and-shoot snapshot crowd. This is not a feature that most of these...

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Are old Minolta 35 mm lenses (MC Rokkor) compatible with any digital cameras? I checked the manuals for the DYNAX5D/Maxxum5D and DYNAX7D/Maxxum7D DSLR cameras. Both state: "All Konica Minolta AF lenses are compatible with this camera. MD and MC series lenses cannot be used." Konica folded up the Minolta line of cameras about a year ago and the assets were transferred to Sony. The Sony Alpha DSLR cameras can be considered the next generation of Minoltas...

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I need to figure out how to properly operate my NIkon EM...any help? There is an extremely good resource called "Photography in Malaysia", which provides a wealth of detailed information on Nikon and Nikkormat bodies and Nikkor lenses: www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/photography.htm Information on the EM begins at: www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/index.htm And a PDF copy of the EM Owner's Manual can be found at: ...

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My 3 year old RCA goes to black and white after a few hours of use. If used further, the image continues to degrade. Is it worth fixing? It has a thermal fault, possibly in one of the power supplies inside the television. At three years of age it is most certainly worth getting repaired. You will, however, need to get the television properly diagnosed at an authorized repair centre.

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Since 5 1/4" floopy disk drives are no longer made, then can they be custom-made & ordered for a specific price? Sure. Just about anything can be custom-made. All you need to do is pay for the production line to tool up. You would also have to cover any costs associated with production of drive components (e.g., motors, controllers) that are no longer in production or stock. Media, too. It shouldn't cost more than a few hundred to machine each chassis from a billet, unless you can spring $50,000...

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I have a Philips VCR player and I want to tune my camcorder to it but am not having much joy, how can I do this? You need to connect the analogue and video line outputs from the camcorder to the line input of the VCR. You do not "tune" the VCR to the camcorder, you use the line input and select it explicitly - usually labelled something like "Input" on the VCR remote. The camcorder probably has a composite video output, usually colour-coded yellow, and two audio channels (right:...

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I have a bunch of AVI files on my computer. How do I burn them onto a DVD+/-R and have it be able to play on any normal DVD player? AVI files cannot be played on a DVD player. They need to be converted into a format that can be played (e.g., MPEG-2). The file(s) can then be burned onto a DVD using authoring software that creates the proper disk structure to allow a DVD player to recognize the disk (e.g., Pinnacle Studio, Adobe Premiere Elements). The disk's physical format (e.g., DVD+R, DVD-R) must be compatible with the...

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What does an acoustic wave cannon do? It is a low-frequency (25 to 125 Hz) tube-loaded speaker, which consists of a 12-inch speaker installed in a 150-inch long tube. Similar, but smaller, tube-loaded speakers were also made by HSU Research until recently (their TN series).

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Is it legal to attend both a day school and an evening school in Canada? An odd question, since there are no no legal limitation on the type of school you can attend. Children and adolescents are, of course, required by law to attend a public school or receive an equivalent education (e.g., private school, home schooling). Taking a course or following a program of study at night school is at the choice of the student.

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What are some major air pollutants? There a numerous constutuents of air pollution in urban areas. These include: Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Emitted primarily during the combustion of fossil fuels and the processing of sulphur-containing ores. The major sources of sulphur dioxide are fossil fuel-burning power plants and vehicle emissions. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Oxides of nitrogen are collectively referred to as nitrogen oxides...

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Do Geiger counters report high levels of microwave, ham radio, or other radio frequecy interference? Geiger counters measure ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation can be either particle or electromagnetic radiation, where a particle or photon carries enough energy to ionize an atom or molecule. The ionization process requires sufficient energy to remove an electron from its atomic orbit. Microwaves and radio waves lack the energy content required to be ionizing radiation. Wikipedia's...

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If I affix a home-made label to a CD with a "glue stick" type of adhesive, will it damage the CD? It will not damage the CD, but you should avoid applying stick-on labels to optical disks. Unless the label is applied quite accurately, it will produce out of balance forces when the disk rotates. This can cause a reduction in the audio quality (increased jitter) and can cause increased wear on the transport. Stick-on labels also have a tendency to curl up at the edges, which may cause...

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Where are the Garden of Eden and The Tower of Babel located? The Garden of Eden is a mythical place, except to those members of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths who believe in a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. The unattainable is a frequent theme in religious and mythological stories. The location is referred to in the Bible as follows: "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was...

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Why is Answers101 so interested in geography? He (she? it?) isn't. Welcome to the world of a troll. It's a tactic to increase the numerical count of the number of questions asked. Some folks seem to think this gives them bragging rights, but I don't think it will make a lot of difference in the real world. Not unlike pretending to be different people, either. He's a troll without any respect for this site and the effort that some...

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What are the top ten deadliest animals in the world? As far as people are concerned, the most deadly animal on earth is another human. The 20th century was humanity's deadliest yet, with two global conflicts that killed tens of millions and hundreds of smaller conflicts. In 1999 alone, there were 40 armed conflicts underway in 36 countries ["Armed Conflicts Report 2000"]. To this carnage can be added the violent crimes that occur...

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My wife signed a disclaimer deed when I bought the house. Can she come after the house? You asked the same question earlier today. I repeat my answer... If the property was purchased after the official date of separation and there were no subsequent attempts at a reconciliation, the property should be yours alone. The disclaimer makes no real difference, if you were officially separated at the time and did not share finances. If you were still co-habitating, the home could be...

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My girlfriend recently asked for time apart, we cooled off, and now we're back together. Now she asked her best friend for "time apart", and her friend is now writing her off. What can we do to make her see how she is treating people in a b This is not "bad" treatment of others. It's not uncommon for people to want time alone or apart, especially if they are spending a lot of time with one person to the exclusion of others. Like anything else, this needs to be managed in way that makes it apparent that the relationship is not over, but that the individual just wants some distance for a while. Writing off a...

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Can you have your very own bamboo tree planted in a private garden? Yes. Many varieties of bamboo are sold commercially (e.g., http://www.bambooworld.com/). However, you should purchase a clumping variety, because bamboo can be very invasive. There are no bamboo police who will come along and tell you to rip up your garden. You can own geraniums, too.

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How can I cancel a money order that has been sent out but not cashed yet? A money order is equivalent to cash because it has already been paid for. You surrendered its face value to the company handling the transaction (e.g., bank, post office) when you purchased it. The recipient does not "cash" it, but redeems it for the face value, less any applicable service charges. To get the money back, you must return the money order to the company from whom...

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Is it harmful to put plastic containers (disposable storage and water bottles) in the freezer? Why or why not? No. The biggest risk is from the expansion of the water as it turns to ice. If the bottle is filled to the top, it may split when the water freezes and expands. There are no health risks from the plastic, providing the bottles are made from food-grade plastics.

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When I bought my house, I got my wife to sign and notarize a form saying that the house was mine as a married man's sole and separate property. Can she still come after my house? If the property was purchased after the official date of separation and there were no subsequent attempts at a reconciliation, the property should be yours alone. The notarized note makes no real difference, if you were officially separated at the time and did not share finances. If you were still co-habitating, the home could be considered a joint asset of the marriage by the courts. The...

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My ear has been stopped up by large amont of antibiotic cream that I can't reach by using a q-tip, and I can't flush my ear with water or hydrogen peroxide. Any other suggestions? I would first try to soak the ear in warm water for five or ten minutes (lie back with your head in the water in a bath) and then see if the material can be sluiced out in the shower. Do not use a strong spray to direct water directly into the ear, because it can damage the eardrum and/or cause the material to become more impacted. Failing that, I would go to a doctor or a registered nurse...

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Do a lot of people NOT believe in God? If so, why not?? Here's another way of looking at the question. Instead of "why not", ask yourself: why? Why should someone believe in a god? And as far as believing in a deity: which one or ones? For most people, belief is a personal choice. I have not seen any convincing evidence one way or the other on the subject. I am not willing to go through life on faith alone, as I have not seen...

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How do I lock the laser mechanism on a Sony DVD Player? The laser mechanism and the transports cannot be locked on just about every DVD player made - certainly not on any Sony that I have seen. Such features are not required, because the players are stationary. If you plan to move the unit, pack it in the original shipping carton or, if that has been tossed out, put in in a sufficiently large box and pad it well with foam to cushion it. Treat...

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Why are some of the brand name DVD players (like Sony and Panasonic) unable to play MP3 DVDs? Simple: they don't build MP3 decoders and the disk file handlers into the players to reduce costs or because the player is a higher-quality unit. People who spend money for high-end DVD players are not likely to play MP3s, since the audio quality takes a real hit during the compression process. Some 90% of the data is thrown away at 128kbps. Such consumers would rather have high-quality CD...

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What are the benefits of using the SRS TruSurround setting on my DVD player with my surround system? None. Turn it off. Such circuits are used to synthesize "surround sound" from two-channel sources. They do not decode Dolby or DTS surround soundtracks. To my ears, such synthesizers sound lousy. Let the home theatre (HT) receiver handle the decoding tasks, since it will do a much better job. For best quality, connect the digital output of the DVD player to a digital input of...

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I have a Sansui Integrated Amplifier, a Dual Turntable and just bought a Sansui Equalizer. How do I hook them up? A different take on the same question... The turntable should be connected to the phono input of the amplifier, if it has one. If not, you will need to purchase a phono preamplifier to amplifier the low-level phono output up to line level and apply the RIAA frequency corrections. Ensure that the phono preamp (separate or built-in) matches the type of cartridge - moving magnet (MM) or...

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I have hooked up an Onkyo HT-S770 6:1 home theater system. I can't seem to get it to play back DTS video & audio from the same output source. What's wrong? There is no such thing as "DTS video". DTS is an audio encoding format, which provides superior audio reproduction compared to Dolby. You need to connect the digital audio output from the DVD player (optical or coax) to a digital input on the home theatre (HT) receiver. You will probably have to map the digital input channel to the receiver's DVD input using the HT receiver's...

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When I first turn on my Xbox, the dvd tray will open and it plays just fine, but after it is played for some time the tray will no longer open and audio and video are gone until it cools down. What can I do to fix this problem? This is typical of a thermal fault, quite likely with the power supply as several circuits are affected simultaneously. What can you do? Take it to an authorized service centre for repairs, if it is under warranty, or get an estimate for the repair cost if it is not.

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How do pilots land a plane on a roadway in an emergency? It is the option of last choice. Landing on roadways is done only in extreme emergencies, when there is absolutely no alternative. Roads in and around urban areas are busy with cars during daylight hours and the risk of a collision between the aircraft and one or more vehicles is extremely high. If possible, a pilot would choose an empty section of roadway, with a sufficiently long...

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Did the Wright brothers really design the first airplane, or did someone else and they never received the credit? Could history be wrong? The Wright brothers are credited with the first controlled, sustained heavier than air flight (December 1903). They achieved this on the fourth flight of their powered aircraft, when they flew it some 850 feet. The three earlier flights the same day achieved flights of between 100 and 200 feet in length, but were not considered successful demonstrations of sustained flight. There are,...

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When was classical music introduced into the Western World? The term classical music "refers to the period represented by the Viennese Classics: Haydn, Mozart, the early works of Beethoven, and, to some extent, Schubert. ... Since Haydn was born in 1732, and Beethoven and Schubert died in 1827 and 1828 respectively, the period extends from about 1750 to 1820." - "The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music"

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I got my belly pierced but my mate wants hers done but wants me to do it. Should I? The advice is simple: get the piercing done professionally and follow the instructions for caring for it scrupulously. The risk of infection is greatest with amateur piercing jobs, particularly in areas such as the navel. Infections bring the risk of scarring and other injuries to the individual. Infections are not romantic.

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WHY DO PEOPLE INSIST ON TYPING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN CAPS LOCK AND USING SEVERAL QUESTION MARKS???? They forgot to read their "netiquette" guide ... or don't understand that something like computer etiquette actually exists. ... or perhaps they're the kind of people who drive down the road with their turn signal blinking madly away, blind to the world around them and deaf to the 'tink-tink' noise from the blinker. ... or perhaps they're simply full of it.

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Who really is BeverlyofHills? Answer: you. Sock puppets leave little footy-prints behind themselves. (Talk about a completely irrelevant and meaningless question.) -------------------------------------------------- Re: "I'm 34..." and all the rest of the dreck. Female? Perhaps. 34? Unlikely. Late teens going on six? Sure looks like it. Someone who desperately needs to get a life? Of course. An...

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Who coined the term society? No one coined the term "society". It derives from "socius", the Latin word for companion. Various forms of the word exist in many Romance languages. -------------------------------------------------- Re: "lacks cited evidence" Ahh, the ratings rapist shows up to retaliate. Why don't you park your ego somewhere else when you use this site. Do you really want...

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TV guarantees cover tubes, but do they include the valves as well or in the modern sets are the two joined as part of an assembly? I don't know of any commercially-produced televisions use tubes (valves) today, except for the display in CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions. CRT displays are usually covered for the same period of time as any other component in the television, because CRTs are very mature and reliable products. Some audio equipment uses tubes, including some very high-quality equipment. The warranty...

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Why do some people think that someoen is automatically crazy just because they may say stupid things? People don't think that someone who says "stupid things" is crazy - they just think they're stupid. "Crazy" people are in a whole different category and can sound quite sane, rational, and intelligent.

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Why doesn't MTV stop regular programming and only play music videos? Profit. There is more money to be made showing a range of video productions than there is in showing music videos alone. This is partly because the production of music videos has become so formulaic that they become a harder sell to the audience with each passing year. Every release from a major label 'must' be accompanied by one to three videos, whose production costs are kept as low as...

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There's a cricket in my closet... is there a pet/child friendly cricket repellant available that won't leave an odor? Or any tips to get the critter out so I can sleep? Crickets are easy to trap under a glass jar. Slide a sheet of cardstock under the jar to seal the top and relocate the critter to the wide outdoors. (Personally, I enjoy the sound of a cricket in my basement.)

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Why are the black keyboards the most offered on laptops or notebooks? Black does not show dirt as readily as light colours, such as the ubiquitous and mind-numbingly boring beige found in millions of computer systems. The surface of light-coloured keyboards in industrial or commercial service become black very quickly, unless they are protected by transparent keyboard membranes. No company wants their (premium-priced) laptop computers to look scruffy. ...

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Compare T-8 and T-12 Light bulbs? There are few differences between T8 and T12 fluorescent bulbs. T8 bulbs are smaller in diameter than T12 bulbs (1 inch vs. 1.5 inch) and are available in the same lengths. Both use the same combination of gases to produce light. The magnetic ballasts used in T12 fixtures are less efficient than the electronic ballasts used in the newer T8 fixtures. This results in a moderate reduction...

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How do you fix a CRT monitor exposed to a magnetic field? Exposing a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor to a moderately strong electric field will cause the shadow mask in the tube to become partly magnetized, which will cause distortion of the image and the colours. Certain parts in the transports of audio and video tape recorders are also prone to becoming magnetized, which can adversely affect the material recorded on the tape. There is a brief...

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Why do cylindrical objects like cans roll in a circular motion? The can is not a cylinder, but is slightly tapered. Products such as aluminum drink cans are manufactured using a process that involves drawing the metal over a form. Drink cans are fairly sophisticated products, since they are designed to maximize strength while using the minimum amount of metal. If the sides of the form were parallel, it would be difficult to release the can from the...

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Who came up with wine classifications and what are they? Wine classification systems have been developed in most wine-producing countries, with the first created in the middle of the 19th century. Classification systems were created to protect both the consumer and the industry. Adulteration of wine sold to consumers and fraud in the industry were serious problems in the mid-19th century, partly because of the decimation of the industry...

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Would Flexeril show up in an urinalysis as Hydrocodone or Oxycodone? Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) is a muscle relaxant prescribed for people experiencing muscle spasms, as well as general muscle pain. Oxycodone - a controlled drug - is prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain. Hydrocodone is also used for pain relief, but is usually found in small dosages mixed with another drug, such as ibuprofen. These drugs are unrelated to cyclobenzaprine....

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My RCA DVD/CD player will play store bought audio CDs, but it will not play any of my store bought DVDs. I've tried cleaning the DVDs several times but it doesn't help. What could be wrong? Several possibilities spring to mind: - The DVD player is defective and should be repaired or exchanged if under warranty. This is an inexpensive player and, unfortunately, may not be worth repairing if it is no longer covered by the manufacturer's warranty. (Sadly, an all-too common situation with commoditized electronics.) RCA electronics tend to fall into the low end of the range and...

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What are the differences between an HDTV versus a plasma tv? These terms refer to two different things. The term "plasma" refers to the imaging technology used in the construction of the display. The term "HDTV" refers to a specific broadcast standard defined by the Advanced Television Systems Committee or ATSC (http://www.atsc.org/). An HDTV could be made using any of several different display technologies, such as plasma,...

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What can absorb the shock of an egg dropped from 2.5m? Shock and vibration control systems are used to prevent damage to delicate equipment, among other applications. Damage is prevented by slowing the object to an acceptable speed within a limited distance (i.e., the travel of the shock absorber system). An object falling from a height of 2.5 m will reach a velocity of 7.0 m/s or about 25.2 km/h, disregarding losses due to air friction and...

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I will like to know if the technology of Digital Tuners (like ATSC in USA) is Universal. In other words if I have a TV unit with a Digital Tuner can I use it in any Country despite their local system (PAL, NTSC, Secam). The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) is an organization that has developed a set of voluntary standards for digital television, including standards for high definition television (HDTV), standard definition television (SDTV), multi-channel audio, and interactive television. NTSC, PAL, and SECAM are (mutually-incompatible) analogue television standards that are being superseded by...

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We have an older model Magnavox TV. Where is the color adjustment? We can't find it when going into the menu via the remote. Using the remote control to adjust image functions on televisions replaced the analogue controls found on older television models. Older units used analogue electro-mechanical potentiometers for adjustments. These were located behind an access panel on the front of the television or located on the rear of the enclosure, usually near the bottom, since the controls would be mounted along the...

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What is the best paper to use with an HP Officejet 4110 for printing pictures? "Best" can be very subjective, as it varies from person to person and even from image to image. However, it can be reliably stated that the cheapest paper is rarely the "best". The general recommendation is to use the best quality paper produced by a manufacturer for their own printers. If you have an HP printer, use the highest-quality paper sold by HP. You can be...

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Apart from megapixels, what are some factors in digital cameras that affect image quality? What affects the image quality of a digital camera? In spite of those who think that the image resolution is the most important factor, it is actually much less important than you may have been led to believe. The difference in image quality between a 4MP camera and a 5MP camera, all other factors being equal, is next to nothing. To see a substantial improvement, you must double the image...

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My old Nikon digital camera used to have better color quality than my new Canon. How can I tell which cameras have the best color quality? The most likely source of your problem is the camera's white balance. This is one of the most critical settings on a digital camera. Most amateur photographers simply use the automatic white balance feature built into every digital camera. Many inexpensive cameras do not even provide a way for the user to adjust the white balance. White balance is used to control the colour of the...

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How do I add DVD subtitles to my home DVD videos? I want to be able to turn them on and off with my DVD remote like a normal DVD movie. You will need to purchase a DVD authoring software product that allows you to create the subtitles and incorporate them into the DVD when it is created. None of the inexpensive consumer software products (US$100 or less) that I have used or looked into provide any such features. There are many authoring packages that provide such features, but the least expensive of these is in the US$200...

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I just inherited a Yamaha DSP 1000 sound processing amp. Is it really an amp or is it a pre-amp? What have I got here, and how does it work? This question is a bit of a puzzle, because I have not been able to find a description of such a product. A search through the Yamaha global manual library (http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/) shows no such model in their records. They do list a number of products with the 'DSP' prefix (e.g., DSP-1, DSP-100, DSP-3000), but no DSP-1000. Yamaha models with the 'DSP' prefix generally...

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Is it safe to use NiMH rechargable batteries in a Motorola T6510 walkie talkie that comes with a NiCD battery? Yes, providing that the NiMH batteries are the same type and produce the same output voltage (e.g., replacing NiCD 'AA' or 'C' batteries with NiMH 'AA' or 'C' batteries, respectively). If the device uses a proprietary battery pack, you may not be able to use a different type of battery unless the manufacturer produces a physically and electrically compatible substitute battery pack or you can...

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After a sudden power loss due to bad weather, our small kitchen TV which was not even on at the time now works only on 12V but not on regular power; found a couple of fuses inside and they are ok, any suggestions? Yes: the power supply in the television was damaged by variations and/or transients in the supply voltage during the storm. If the fuses are fine, it would mean that one or more other components have failed. This is a common situation in areas where the power lines are above ground. You will need to have it repaired ay an authroized repair centre for the product or by someone who is...

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Which types of electronics hold their value best? In general, products that are rare, expensive, unique, or unusual hold their value best. Most of these are high-quality products aimed at niche markets. They hold their value, unless their technology becomes obsolete, because they do something that normal, consumer-grade products don't. Most electronics are cheaply-made commodities, that have little value except in bulk. The cheaper it is...

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I have a white westinghouse tv and the picture rolls. I can\'t find a horizontal hold knob anywhere on the tv. How can I fix it? If the picture is rolling, it is the vertical hold control that you are looking for, not the horizontal. You don't say what kind of display the television has, so I will assume that it is a CRT (cathode ray tube). Most CRTs built in the last ten years or so lack externally-accessible controls for vertical and horizontal hold, since the circuits that control these functions usually...

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What is the maximum sampling rate of Dolby Pro Logic II? Can Pro Logic II decode a 96kHz audio stream, or is it limited to 48kHz? Dolby Pro Logic II supports sampling rates of 32, 44.056, 44.1, 47.952, and 48 kHz. You cannot encode an audio signal with a sampling rate higher than 48 kHz. Audio signals that have been digitized at other sampling rates need to be downsampled and/or resampled in software or hardware before they can be encoded.

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Do any electronic devices hold their value? As with most items, it depends on the product and the market it is intended for. Most electronic devices are mass-produced cheaply and have little intrinsic value even when new. There is a possibility that they may be worth something to an antiques collector in the future after most have gone to the landfill, but in the short term they are not worth much. Some specialty products and/or...

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Can your computer's humming make you go deaf? No. The volume level is too low and the frequency content is such that it cannot damage your hearing. -------------------------------------------------- Re: "lacks cited evidence" Ahh, the ratings rapist shows up to hand out bad ratings. It is unfortunate that you choose to demonstrate your ignorance of the physical and applied sciences in this manner.

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My Sony 27" FD Trinitron TV makes a static noise every time I turn the TV off. Is this a normal sound problem or should I be concerned? Many televisions mute the audio signal when they shut down to prevent this type of spurious noise. In your case, the television may not provide this function or it may not be working properly. It is not a sign of any serious problem with the television and can be ignored.

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How does a turbocharger work? Turbochargers and superchargers are devices that are used to compress the fuel-air mixture drawn into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine. This increases the amount of combustible fuel in the cylinder, thus producing more power. A turbocharger is driven by the engine's exhaust gases, while a supercharger is driven mechanically by the engine crankshaft. This is the reason why a...

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How does animation work? Animation is no different, fundamentally, from 'normal' film or video, except in the manner that the images are created. All moving pictures, to borrow an old expression, are formed of a series of still images that differ from one another slightly. These are projected quickly and the brain interprets the sequential still images as continuous motion. Film has a frame rate of 24 frames/second,...

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What are the benefits to growing your own basil? 1. Freshness. You can cut leaves from the plants as you need them, so you will always be using the herb at its peak freshness. 2. Variety. There are many varieties of basil that you can grow, rather than being restricted to the one or two available fresh or dried at the grocery store. 3. Growing conditions. You have complete control over growing conditions, so that you know how it has...

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Are there any home remedies for gout? You may be helped by modifying your diet, if you are consuming a diet high in purines. I answered a similar question on Answerbag some time ago. I repeat parts of that answer here... While it is true that gout is more common in countries with a high standard of living, changes to your diet may have little effect on your gout. Gout attacks can be triggered by many factors, including...

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In the medieval days, what did they use for medicine? One of the most comprehensive sources of such information is the "Complete Herbal and English Physician Enlarged", written by Nicholas Culpepper in 1653. It was written in the post-medieval period, but it includes medical knowledge, such as it was, dating back to the Roman era. There is an on-line copy of the book at http://www.bibliomania.com/2/1/66/113/frameset.html . I cannot...

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Stoves and clothes dryers run on more current than other appliances. Why do they require thicker cords and plugs? Heavier gauge (thicker) wires can carry more electrical current than smaller wires. Thicker wires have less electrical resistance per foot. As more current is drawn through a wire, the more heat is generated. If the wire becomes sufficiently hot, it may melt or become hot enough to melt or burn off the insulation, which could cause a short circuit. The resistance of a wire also increases...

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Are the newer plasma screen televisions less prone to "burn-in"? No. The problem is inherent to the technology itself. Individual cells in plasma displays will burn out over time and, when enough fail within a given area of the screen, the damged area becomes visible. The cells that are cycled the greatest number of times are the first to fail. In fact, the problem may be more severe on the inexpensive models now on the market. Some of the new plasma...

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In an absolute atheistic society, how would that society develop rules when everyone believes they are the highest being in the universe? What reason would they have to listen? Your question has at least one major flaw: why should anyone in any society believe that he or she is the "highest being in the universe"? Being an atheist or a non-believer in a system of religion does not mean that an individual automatically assumes such a position. Being a believer in a system of religion does not automatically make someone assume a position of humility or equip...

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My Numark TT1625 has no sound, but has power. It is not the cartridge as I checked it on my other deck. What is wrong with it and is it easy to fix? There are not many parts in a turntable that can go wrong. If you have verified that the cartridge is working, by installing it on another turntable, there are only two possible causes of the problem. 1. Broken wiring between the cartridge and the amplifier. The wires that run from the cartridge through the tonearm are extremely fragile and can easily be damaged by mishandling. These may...

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What is yellow 5 dye made of? Does it contain pig products? FD&C Yellow #5 / E102 is a yellow azo dye known as tartrazine. It is a synthetic compound. Information on the chemical structure of azo compounds can be found in Wikepedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azo_compound).

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Is smoking cigarettes worse for your teeth than soda or something with a lot of sugar? As far as damage to the teeth is concerned - considering no other aspect of oral health - no. However, smoking has the potential to do far more damage to your general health and oral health, in particular. Please refer to my answer to an earlier question in this section for more information (http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/59433). -------------------------------------------------- ...

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What are all the effects of smoking for your teeth? The following are the most common effects of smoking on oral health: - Persistent bad breath. - Discoloured teeth. - An increase of calculus (tartar) build-up. - Periodontal (gum and bone) disease that may progress more quickly and be more severely than in non-smokers. - Jaw bone loss. - Shifting teeth. - Oral cancers. - Mouth sores. - Root caries (cavities). - Sinusitis. - Hairy...

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Is it still the case that male homosexuals are more likely to have AIDS than heterosexual males? It depends on where you live: in North America, yes, in Africa, no. And in some areas, such as Africa, you are more likely to find women with HIV / AIDS, rather than men. However, homosexual self-identification by men in certain regions is under-reported, because of social and cultural stigma against homosexuality. Current statistics on HIV / AIDS indicate: - About two-thirds of the...

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Would scanning books or magazines to be converted into an eBook or eMagazine violate any copyright laws? The answer to this question lies within the copyright restrictions placed on a book or magazine by the publisher. In most cases, the answer would be yes. Some publishers might grant you permission to make a copy for your own purposes, but, since material in digital form is easily copied and distributed, it is unlikely they would do so without a very good reason on your part. For example,...

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Where can I buy cheap poster frames? 27x40 (inch? centimetre?) is a non-standard frame size, so it is unlikely you will find a ready-to-use frame in this size. Even simple frames of this size can be expensive, because of the amount of material required (framing material and glass). Several companies sell poster hangers. These are U-shaped plastic strips that slide onto the top and bottom of a poster and are held in place by...

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I have some magazines that I'd like to scan and save to CD. Is there a program that I can use that will allow me to create a "book" type file of these images so I can view them page-by-page? Technically, any word processor can be used for this purpose. Scan each page and then import them, one by one, into the word processor as images. Place each image on a separate page. This does, however, force you to have a copy of the word processor installed on any machine you wish to read the document on. If you purchase Adobe Acrobat - not the reader they give away for free - you can...

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Is it possible to display the result on a 7 segment LED display wirelessly to another 7 segment LED display a few metres away? I assume from this question that you are building your own display circuit. This is, of course, possible, but is neither simple nor cheap when compared to the price of a few metres of wire and a couple of chips. The first question that needs to be answered is whether the receiving station will be in the line of sight of the transmitting station. If it will be a line of sight system, you...

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How does bleach bleach? Household bleach is the chemical sodium hypochlorite. In addition to being used for cleaning laundry, it is used extensively in industry as a sanitizing agent. The following information is from a Proctor & Gamble website (http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/glossary/bleaches_en.html). Further information can be found on Wikipedia under “sodium hypochlorite”...

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How do I determine how strong an amplifier (how many watts) I need to drive a given set of speakers in my car? This is a fairly common question that, unfortunately, is not easy to answer because of the quality (or lack of) information supplied by manufacturers. Since I have already answered similar questions, I will poach my answer to those, with a few changes… Any audio system - automotive, home, or professional - requires adequate power to reproduce audio with minimal distortion over the full...

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Does component video carry audio signals as well as video signals? Component video carries only an analogue video signal, no audio. In spite of what many people think, the three video lines do not carry the three primary colours (RGB: red, green, blue). A component video signal is made up of: - Green: the "Y" or luminance channel, which transmits the image brightness information. This channel also includes the image synchronization signal. A...

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Do fuel saver devices, such as the Tornado Fuel Saver, really save fuel like they claim? None that I have ever seen. Most of the claims made for these so-called fuel-savings devices are anecdotal and have not been validated by third-party investigations. However, there are several reliable ways to control your fuel consumption: - Purchase a vehicle with better-than-average fuel consumption and keep it in good mechanical condition. - Adjust your driving habits to economize on...

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Which is best for sterilizing metal, rubbing alcohol, bleach or ammonia? None of these chemicals sterilize the surface to which they are applied. Sterilization requires high temperatures, such as found in an autoclave. These chemicals, and others such as iodine, are used to sanitize surfaces. The best results are obtained by soaking the item in the chemical solution for several minutes. The most common of these sanitizing agents is household bleach or sodium...

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I have a Harmon Kardon CD 2 CD burner and I've lost the owner's manual. How do I burn a CD using an analog cassette tape as the source? As with many companies, Harman Kardon provides copies of the user manuals for their more recent products on their support website (http://www.harmankardon.com/product_support/interstitial.aspx?sJump=om&Region=USA&Country=CA&Language=ENG). The manual for their CDR-2 CD recorder can be found at http://manuals.harman.com/HK/Owner%27s%20Manual/CDR2%20om.pdf .

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When was the first battery invented? The invention of the storage battery is credited to the Italian Alessandro Volta (from whom comes the term 'volt' and its derivatives). He developed the zinc-copper storage battery or 'pile', as it is still called by some, in 1800. This invention followed on research begun in the 1780s by Luigi Galvani (from whom comes the term 'galvanic'), who experimented on the electrical stimulation of...

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What are a few good introductory books on electronics? I would advise you to contact a technical college in your area and find out what textbooks they use with their technology programs for basic electricity / electronics instruction courses. I have kept all of my texts from college days and, 25 years later, still use them regularly for reference. They are, however, out of print. You might also find something useful at or through an...

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Why is home electrical current distributed only in AC? Why not DC? AC (alternating current) power is used for power generation and distribution because it has numerous advantages over DC (direct current). Most consumer electronics run on DC, so a power supply is used to convert the AC line voltage to DC and then regulate the DC voltage and current levels as needed for the specific circuit. Both AC and DC transmission systems were used in the early years of...

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We have a 20 year old Hitachi television that makes the sound like it is turning on, but the screen never comes on. Is there anything we can do to fix it? Yes, you can: - Check the rear panel of the television to see if there is a fuse that might have blown and is in need of being replaced. - Take it to a service centre to have a repair technician look at it. Hopefully, your television is still under warranty. If "make the sound like it is turning on" means that you can hear a relay click or some other mechanical sound, the problem almost...

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We bought our TV as a floor model. When we first turn it on it works fine, but a few minutes later we hear a popping noise and the picture goes black, though the sound still plays. What could be wrong? The "popping" sound is a little worrying, because it could be arcing. Electrical arcs can be serious, because they can produce sparks and heat that can, in turn, lead to further damage or a fire. It is possible that you are hearing a noisy protection circuit that is cutting off the power or control to the display. It might also be a thermal problem that is causing the display to shut down...

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When I turn on my TV the picture comes up, but fades away. Turning it off and on only fixes the problem temporarily before the picture fades again. What's wrong? This could be a fault in the power supply for the display or the display driver electronics. The fault might be thermal - turning off the television would cause the faulty circuit to cool down enough to work again - or an electronic problem that is causing a shutdown that can only be reset by turning the television off. This is not a problem that can be corrected by the consumer. The...

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Is the peak oil "theory" still a theory? The peak oil or Hubbert peak theory, named after geophysicist Marion Hubbert, remains a theory to many, although his 50-year-old model has been partly validated. Unfortunately, proving such a model true is usually done after the fact. In a paper written in 1956, Hubbert postulated that oil production in the US would peak between 1965 and 1970 and that world production would peak sometime...

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Where can I get information on Walt Disney's life? The best place to start is at the Disney company, which offers more than one official biographies on-line (e.g., http://disney.go.com/vault/read/walt/index.html). His official biography is somewhat sanitized, but that's not surprising. There is also likely to be something at the library in the town or city where you live - perhaps not at the closest branch, but somewhere in the system....

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There's a girl that I like, but how do I know if she likes me? There is only one way to know: ask her and hope she answers truthfully. Communication is the key to any relationship. If two people don't communicate or if one or both parties is dishonest, they cannot have a relationship.

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I have a Belkin ASDL 2.4ghz 802.11g router. My broadband speed was recently upgraded from 2MB to 6MB, however, there hasn't been an increase in performance. Do I need to upgrade the router? The router provides a level of performance far beyond that available from your internet connection, so should not need replacing unless it is defective. That said, the performance of inexpensive routers and switches can vary significantly from the manufacturer's claims, depending on the design of the component. I get better performance on my home network by connecting all of the networked...

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Given that individuals have the right to own property, erect fences, and exclude outsiders from entry, would groups of people also have rights to collectively annex a large territory and exclude others? It is a common misconception that people have the legal right to own property. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, for example, does not include any such "right". Canada is certainly not unique in this regard. What do exist are laws and traditions that recognize the concept of private property and govern what an individual may or may not be allowed to do with their personal...

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How many episodes are there in a TV season? I have already answered this question elsewhere on this site, but repeat the answer here again... In the US and Canada there were typically 26 shows produced per season. One show for every week of the year: one original broadcast and one repeat in the second half of the season. Because of production costs, this has fallen to something closer to 20 to 22 shows over the past couple of decades....

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Why do tires grip better when hot? As the tire temperature increases, the rubber compounds from which the tire is made soften, increasing both friction and the rate of wear. Note that a tire can be destroyed by overheating, which will eventually occur if it is underinflated and operated at high speeds.

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I always brush my teeth but they never get white. What can I do to whiten them spontaneously? Teeth cannot be whitened "spontaneously". White teeth are an invention of the cosmetics industry. Teeth are not naturally white, but vary in shade from somewhat off-white to an (aged) ivory colour, depending on the individual, their eating habits, and their age. Brushing your teeth is not intended to make them white - it only removes surface debris from the teeth. There are some...

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When is the appropriate time to stop playing outside when a thunderstorm is approaching? When you see it approaching. If you can see a thunderstorm, you are likely only a few minutes away from it. Don't wait until it arrives, as that places you in greater risk.

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How does a lightning rod protect a building? There really is only one way: it provides a path for the lightening so that you or your house is not the path. A lightening rod provides a path to ground in the event it is struck by lightening. A lightening rod is placed on the top of a structure (e.g., the peak of the roof of a house) and is grounded to earth. Lightening usually follows the shortest and easiest path - the lightening rod...

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Why are golf courses, parks and open boats particularly dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm? Lightning has a nasty habit of striking the tallest thing around. Lightning bolts usually follow the shortest path between ground and sky. If you are standing up on a large flat surface, such as that found at a golf course, any lightning in your area is liable to be attracted to you. Running to hide under a tree places you under a lightning rod. The same holds true if you are in a boat,...

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What are the major differences between Baroque and Classical forms of music? I offer the descriptions provided by the "Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music"... Classical, classicism: In amateur parlance, "classical" music usually means everything outside the field of “popular” music. In musical terminology, the term is used in a much more restricted sense; that is, it refers to the period represented by the Viennese Classics: Haydn, Mozart, the early works of...

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I am 22 and my fiancee is 28. We have been together for almost four years. He is now telling me that he doesn't want me to miss out on my youth and maybe we shouldn't be together at all. Is this a sign that it's over? Most probably yes. It's not a direct way of saying and it's certainly not a particularly respectful way of terminating a relationship, but that is usually what such a statement means. It's a method used to offload any guilt about terminating the relationship onto the other person: it's your choice, not mine. Or maybe he's just getting cold feet about the forthcoming permanent relationship....

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My DVD/VCR player gives the message, "Playback feature may not be available on this disc." What should I do? Nothing. This message is informational only and does not indicate any kind of problem. This message is displayed when you have selected a function from the remote or the player's front panel that is not supported by the disk your are currently playing. For example, if you press the "Subtitle" button on the remote and the DVD does not include a subtitle channel, you will see a message like...

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Can an HDMI cable only be hooked up to an HDTV? HDMI is a digital interface standard that is designed to support the bandwidth required by high-quality video signals. It supports several digital formats, including the two formats used for HD television: 720p (non-interlaced) and 1080i (interlaced). It also supports 1080p, which is intended for high-resolution video from DVD players and similar devices, as well as the lower-quality 480p and...

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My mother has A+ blood and my father is has O+. Is there a way to work out my blood type without getting a test? The only way to determine your blood type is through testing. There are four basic blood groups (A, B, AB, and O) and two antigens (positive and negative Rh factor). These may combine as shown below: ===== ===== Group Genes ===== ===== A AA or AO B BB or BO AB AB O OO ======= ======== Parents Children =======...

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Our Jetta's oil smells strongly like gas. What could be wrong? I'm not certain how the oil can smell like gas, unless you remove a sample from the car and take it elsewhere to check the smell. Gasoline has a very strong odour that can come from many sources on an automobile. Sniffing under the hood likely won't tell you if there is oil in the gas. If the rings are worn or broken, you will notice an increase in both oil consumption and emissions. You...

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My ex has custody of our daughter, we were never married. Is there anyway that I can modify visitations without having to go to court? Yes, you can. Broach the subject to him in person, over the phone, or in writing. If you are able to reach an amicable arrangement by yourselves, document the new agreement and/or list of amendments to the old agreement in triplicate, sign and date them yourself and mail them to him to sign and date. These signatures should be witnessed by a thrid party, but not by your spouses or...

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What is the standard distance between the string saddles and the pickup on a Fender Precision Bass? The Fender Precision has been made in four- and five-string, fretted and fretless versions. Although the four-string split pickup (2+2) is the most common, the Precision is available in other configurations, including single pickup and five-string split (2+3) pickup versions. Since the position of the saddle can be adjusted to lengthen or shorten each string individually, the relative...

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Is it more dangerous to use heat and hand scraping to remove lead paint rather than just sanding? There is no completely safe way for the average consumer to remove lead paint. Most removal methods present some risk to the individual. One of the safest ways for an individual to manage lead paint is to cover and seal any painted surfaces with an approved encapsulation product. Another option is to use chemical strippers, which present their own health risks. Heating the paint to soften...

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Is it true that the information for the 2006 Census of Canada is reported to a U.S. company? The information is only available to employees of Statistics Canada, the agency responsible for the 2006 census. According to Stats Can... "By law, Statistics Canada must protect the confidentiality of the information you provide on its surveys and censuses. All Statistics Canada employees must take an oath of secrecy, and are subject to fines and/or imprisonment should they reveal...

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Does the 2006 Census of Canada violate the privacy act by requesting information about personal income tax and mortgages? No. Such information is routinely asked while gathering census information. There is no violation of privacy in asking for such information, only in the improper disclosure of it. Information from the 2006 census cannot be released to the public until 2098 and, then, only with the permission of the individual who filled out the form. A disclosure of this information at any time prior to...

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When was the radio invented? As a supplement to another answer... Marconi developed the spark transmission system, which was unable to transmit voice. Instead, it used Morse code. Development work on the spark system continued until 1912, after which development focused on continuous wave radio systems. The first successful continuous-wave transmissions were made by Fessenden in 1900. Although they had a very...

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I want to run 4 monitors (2 left and 2 right) and also a single-speaker subwoofer using both channels from my stereo amplifier. Is there a specific way I can wire my subwoofer so that I will not cause all of my speakers to be mono? A subwoofer may have one or two input channels to accomodate different system requirements. This answer assumes you have a powered subwoofer, although the same basic princples apply if yours is not. If your subwoofer has a single input, line level or speaker level, and you want to use it with a 2-channel source, your options are limited. You cannot use the speaker-level input, because the...

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Why is my Olympus C-160 always "blocky" when I look at a picture through the digital view finder? The C160 is a low-cost, entry-level camera with modest capabilities. The truth of the matter is: digital viewfinders are inferior to optical viewfinders and inexpensive digital cameras are generally the worst. The Olympus C160, and any other entry-level digital camera, uses a low-resolution viewfinders to keep costs down. The image appears "blocky" because the resolution is not high enough...

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What features come standard with the newest generation of digital Nikon cameras? This question cannot really be answered without knowing what model you might be interested in. The "features" found on cameras are a function of the sophistication of their design and their cost. The functions available on the professional /advanced amateur D2X ($6K) and D200 ($2K) are quite different than those available on an entry-level Coolpix L4 ($200). Reducing a comparison to those...

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How can I fix an "unreadable" CompactFlash card? The card should be reformatted, either using the format utility built into the camera or using a computer (CF card reader required). If reformatting fails to correct the problem, the card needs to be replaced. Most memory cards cannot be repaired.

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Why are my 35mm pictures turning out grainy/hazy even though they were taken in full sun, using 400ASA film, and all settings on the camera are correct? The “settings” - light meter, I presume - may appear “correct”, but without checking the camera’s exposure meter, there is no guarantee that the camera is working properly. Colour film is tolerant of one to two stops of overexposure, but is intolerant of underexposure. Colour negatives are grainy and look muddy when underexposed. If your camera allows you to manually set the film speed,...

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Can I burn music to a DVD and play it in on a regular CD player? I don't want to use MP3 format because I don't have an MP3 player. No. The two systems are physically incompatible with one another. I would suggest recording the music on two CDs, rather than trying to place on a single disk, unless you are trying to record a single composition more than 74 minutes in length.

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I bought a home 8 months ago.We only wanted to look at homes Not in associations.Paper work says there is no association ...no dues ect. Today I recieved a bill in the mail for annual association dues! Where do I start in my complaint...whos responsible f It is possible that the association was in the process of being established and, as such, did not exist at the time you bought your home, but came into being afterwards. This would be a case of bad timing, but should have been disclosed by the seller. It is more likely that there was a substantial goof by more than one party. This is something that should have been spotted by your real...

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What are the differences between Pro-logic and BBE in terms of sound quality? Dolby Pro-Logic and BBE audio enhancement are somewhat different. BBE manipulates a two-channel signal to produce a sense of space and to correct deficiencies in the reproduction system. Or so ‘tis claimed. BBE can also be used to synthesize additional channels from a two-channel source. In this way it behaves much like Dolby Pro-Logic and other matrix encoding / decoding algorithms. ...

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Are highway sections closed when filming high speed car chases for movies and TV ? For such action, yes, the roads are closed. They are closed until the film crews finish and any debris on the road surface is removed. This is because of the legal liability that may arise from an injury or fatality to someone not involved in the production or from liability for property damage.

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What do you call male ballet dancers? Male ballet dancers.

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I'm 16 and I have thin spots in my hair. Is there anything I can do to stop this? Most men experience male pattern baldness to some extent as they age. Hair loss usually starts on the top of the head (crown) or the temples. It is linked to the presence of DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which is formed from testosterone, and numerous other factors. DHT adversely affects the ability of the hair follicle to grow thick, healthy hair and eventually shuts the follicle down. The...

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Why does the muscle at the bottom of my foot (plantar aponeurosis) feel "tight" & hurt when walking barefoot, as well as getting foot cramps. I am athletic, yet this problem persists. Is it a matter of eatting more bananas? You may have a medical condition called "plantar fasciitis", which is an inflammation of the plantar fascia on the bottom of the foot. Your comment that it hurts when you walk barefoot is suggestive, since it is aggravated by poor arch support. Being "athletic" is likely aggravating the problem. It is a common problem in people with flat feet. I doubt that bananas will have any effect on...

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Will Windows XP and a 350W psu support 3 physical hard driives (All WDC)? Besides room in the pc's case, what should I consider? The number of drives that can be supported is only partly a function of the operating system and the power supply capacity. Windows XP and earlier versions of this operating system (Windows NT, Windows 2000) can support far more than three hard drives. Your power supply capacity sounds more than enough, but it does depend on the number of devices that are drawing power off the supply....

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I'm not getting anything but a solid yellow line that runs horizontally across the middle of my TV screen. What's wrong? This could be caused by any of several problems in the television's video circuits. Without further information or without physically examining the unit, no accurate diagnosis can be made. Not too sound facetious, but the television needs to be checked and repaired, if you so choose, by a repair shop.

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My Proscan TV shows a thin horizontal picture across the middle of the screen. It started shortly after intermittent power outages during storms. Is problem major or is there a possible easy solution? This should be checked by a repair shop, as it likely indicates damage to one or more components inside the television. The "intermittent power outages" would have produced surges, droops, and spikes in the line voltage. These can easily damage electronic equipment, especially if they are in use while the voltage fluctuations are occurring. Modern electronics, with their...

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When I plug in my 2002 RCA TV, there's a very loud high pitched whining noise, but the set will not turn on. Anything I can do? Yes, you can take it to a repair shop. You may be hearing hum from the power-supply transformer, although this is normally heard at lower frequencies - 60 Hz and multiples (e.g., 120 Hz, 180 Hz, etc.). If the television has a CRT (cathode ray tube) display, you may be hearing noise from the transformers or other components in the high-frequency / high-voltage circuits used to drive the...

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Does the "Close Doors" button on an elevator really do anything, or is it only a psychological placebo? It over-rides the timer that holds the doors open for a set period of time before they close automatically. The door close control is over-ridden when the door is held open by something or someone blocking them, as all elevators are required to have some type of sensor to detect this condition, or if the door open button is being pressed.

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Can an HOA forbid our swingset because we are on a lake with a view, even though it would not obstruct anyone's view? It is not uncommon for the bylaws of condominium corporations and other owner-owned community properties to restrict what structures a homeowner can erect outside of their unit. The homeowner may not own their front and back yards, in spite of having some control over and responsibility for their upkeep. Regulations, of one kind or another, that govern the appearance of the exterior of units...

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Our HOA president decided that a common area children play in is a liability, and he will enforce by calling the police and having children's bikes confiscated. Does he have the authority to do this? That seems to be stretching things a bit. Liability insurance is required for common areas, since these are potentially open to any individual, including those who are guests of residents and do not live in the community. If this is being done to avoid paying liability insurance, it is a very foolish way to circumvent a legal obligation. Failure to carry liability insurance on common land...

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Can I use the same memory card I have for my digital camera for as long as I want, or should it be replaced every one and awhile? There is no need to replace a memory card unless it becomes defective or is not usable in the conditions under which you take photographs (e.g., replacing a standard card with one that operates over a wider temperature range). It is not a bad idea to have two memory cards and alternate between them. Purchasing a single, large-capacity card increases the risk to the user. If the card fails,...

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What is the legal age at which a child can quit school? This depends on the legal jurisdiction in which you reside. Although 16 was a common school-leaving age in many jurisdictions in Canada and the US, the trend over the past couple of decades has been to increase the age to 17 or 18. In Canada, education falls under provincial jurisdiction. Most Canadian provinces and territories have a school-leaving age of 16. New Brunswick raised the age...

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My husband has been found guilty of a felony drug charge. He uses drugs around my children. He's also been charged with domestic violence and harassing phone calls. What are the chances the judge will stop visitation? Your chances depend on the case your lawyer puts forward and the judge who presides in court that day. If you do nothing, you cannot change the situation. The best person to answer this question is a lawyer, who has been fully informed of the details of the case. They might not stop visitation, but they may put controls and close limits on it (e.g., under observation by a neutral party, such...

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My ex is considering moving out of the country and taking our daughter, but I'm against it. Should I contact a lawyer? Absolutely. A lawyer will inform you of your legal rights in this situation. Your ex-spouse would likely be allowed to leave the country, unless she is leaving to deprive you of access, but changes to the visitation and custody arrangements, as described in the separation or divorce agreement / order, would certainly be needed. If you don't have such an agreement or order, you need one...

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My ex wants to establish paternity and seek visitation, but I want to move to another city. What are the consequences if I don't tell him where we're going? In a worst-case scenario, you could be arrested and charged with child kidnapping or a similar offence. If your "ex" is the father, he has both visitation rights and support obligations. In the event of difficulties with either of these obligations (e.g., support in arrears, refusal of visitation), corrective actions can be enforced by the courts. The courts take a very dim view of...

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I found a black bag containing $100,000 in cash. There's no way to identify the cash or owner. Should I keep the money or turn it in? The easy thing to do is keep the bag. But then, a lot of the things people do are the easy thing to do. When I grew up, people were encouraged to do the moral thing and turn such finds into the police. As long as the police are not a law unto themselves, as they are in some nations, this is the right thing to do. You will receive a case number and a copy of the written report describing...

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How can I grow my own apples from a tree? Well, you do need to start with an apple tree or, preferably, at least two trees. Apple trees do not self-pollinate, so a source of pollen is required for the trees to fruit. If there are apple trees in the vicinity of your home and the bees are busy, you might be able to get away with a single tree. The choice of cultivar or variety of apple tree is important, because some do not produce...

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What tool can be used, besides a chainsaw, to shave the hairy stuff off a palm tree to give it a smooth trunk? The "hairy stuff" is an accumulation of dead leaves whose leafbases have not fallen off the trunk. Removing the old growth is done solely for cosmetic reasons. It is a labour-intensive, time-consuming, and potentially hazardous procedure. While a chainsaw is often used to trim this old growth, it presents the highest risk of damage to the tree. It also presents the highest risk...

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My tree seems to have a green algae covering it. Is this normal? If not, how do I get rid of it? It is not abnormal for mosses and lichens to grow on the trunks of trees. Lichens require sunlight, while mosses prefer the shade. Trees that are growing in damp shady areas, those that are nearing the end of their natural life, or unhealthy trees are the most susceptible to these parasitic growths. The treatment depends on the needs of the plants growing on your tree. Still, if the tree is...

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What is the proper way to care for African Violets? The link in the other answer to the University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is dead, so... Since there are entire websites and books devoted to the question you have asked, it is probably best to defer to those with more authority on the subject: - African Violet Society of Canada (http://www.avsc.ca/). - African Violet Society of America...

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How would you make a hydrofoil? A hydrofoil is a ship or watercraft that 'flies' on a hydraulic lifting surface or foil. These are attached to each side of the ship's hull and, as the speed of the ship increases, develop lift in the same way as an aircraft wing. Maximum performance is achieved when the ship's hull lifts completely out of the water and the ship 'flies' on the foils. This...

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Is it true that after a guy ejaculates, everything he ejaculates after that for a few hours is sterile? NO! The highest concentration of sperm is found at the beginning of an ejaculation, which is one of the dangers of using withdrawal as a form of birth control - the greatest risk is at the start of ejaculation, which may occur before the male can fully withdraw. The concentration of sperm can be significantly reduced for a period of time, but millions of sperm are still present. This is...

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What is the origin and meaning of the phrase "spur of the moment"? From "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"... On the spur of the moment. Instantly; without stopping to take thought. It comes from applying the spurs to a horse, which prompts it into action immediately. A sharp poke in the side does the same to anyone.

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Who pays the attorney fees when divorcing? What if there is only one attorney? It is extremely unlikely that there would be a single lawyer involved, because such a situation would be considered a conflict of interest. The purpose of a lawyer is to provide legal support for their client, so they cannot take both sides in a case. In the worst case, such behaviour would lead to them being disbarred. Legal costs are usually the responsibility of each party, since, to a...

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If someone gets re-married before their divorce is finalized, is the marriage to the new person legal? No. In order to be married, one cannot already be married. Someone who does is, under law, not considered married to their second 'spouse' and may be liable for prosecution as a bigamist. A divorced person must provide legal proof that they are divorced before the marriage license is granted.

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Is there any way to divorce an abusive spouse that is in prison without them knowing about it? Not under Canadian law. The incarcerated spouse would know of the divorce proceedings when he or she is served with legal documents once their spouse files for divorce. Note that being incarcerated does not constitute a separation for the purpose of divorce. You cannot hide a divorce action from the other partner. The threat of physical danger is certainly reduced if the abusive partner is...

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If a couple has been separated for over twenty years and one of them has been in prison for most of that time, when the divorce is granted, could the spouse in prison be entitled to any assets/retirement of the other spouse? In Canada, a divorce is granted under federal law. The division of assets is part of family law, which is under provincial jurisdiction. The law will vary from province to province, but all provinces follow the same general guidelines. Under family law, most assets acquired during the marriage are considered joint assets. There are a limited number of exceptions, such as family heirlooms...

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If you sue your husband for a divorce because of adultry, can you sue the other woman for alienation of affection? Although it was once possible, it is no longer permitted. This is certainly the case in Canada, where divorces are granted under federal law, not provincial. The provinces concern themselves with family law (e.g., support, division of assets). I do not know what the situation might be in the US. A promise to "love" exists in Judeo-Christian wedding ceremonies, but is not an...

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Where does the phrase to "scream blue murder" originate? According to "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"... Blue murder. To scream or shout blue murder. Indicative of terror and alarm rather than real danger. It appears to be a play on the French expression "morbleu". According to me... "Morbleu" is an obsolete curse. "Mor" is derived from "mort", death. The expression...

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How can I stop squirrels from eating my sunflowers? You mean apart from enclosing them in an airtight acrylic shield and posting a guard dog around them day and night? It is very difficult to keep squirrels away from plants, because they are extremely agile climbers and are very good at working their way around defensive devices. They are ubiquitous in suburbia. When squirrels are focused on food, they can be very persistent. You need to...

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How high can hovercrafts fly? A hovercraft will only fly as high as its skirt. The skirt forms a loose seal with the ground, which traps air under the craft to provide the lifting force. If the craft lifts high enough to open a gap between the skirt and the ground, the air pressure under the hull will be reduced and the hovercraft will drop until the skirt touches the ground again.

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What is the origin and meaning of the phrase, "pillar to post?" From "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"... From pillar to post. Hither and thither; from one thing to another without definite purpose; harassed and badgered. The phrase was originally "from post to pillar", and comes from the old tennis-courts in allusion to the banging about of the balls.

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Could life have an equation? Yes. 1. We have the answer, which is 42, but we don't know what's on the left-hand side of the equation or where to find it. 2. When all else fails, X=5. What is this "life" thing anyways? Before you can ask for an answer in the form of an equation, you need to know what the question means. Since we do not know what constitutes "life", any attempt to...

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I now have shared legal and physical custody of my daughter. Will this reduce or eliminate my child support order if I file for a modification? It may, depending on the relative difference between your income and that of the child's other parent. If your income is higher than that of the other parent, support payments will be used to equalize the sitation or reduce the difference. The goal of payments is to provide support for the child to the best of the ability of both parents. The standard of living of the child should not...

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What is the minimum number of ingredients needed to make bread? Leavened breads use three basic ingredients: water, flour, and a leavening agent, such as yeast or a sourdough starter. There are many recipes for sourdough starters, but the simplest can be made using water, flour, and yeast. Unleavened breads are made from water and flour. Salt is often added, but can be left out.

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My 36 inch JVC TV has a green hue on the screen. How can I fix this? Assuming that you have not experienced a failure in a circuit, your television needs to have the colour adjusted properly. Green hues are a very common problem - the green has been factory-adjusted to make grass look good, but it makes people look slightly nauseated. This is one of the many reasons why the NTSC system, used in Canada, the US, and Japan, is called Never The Same Colour. ...

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I have a Toshiba TV on an attic antenna. On one channel I am getting something reminiscent of a photo negative image. It's like a pink sheen that settles mostly on people's faces, hands, etc. Any idea what to do? Unless you can rotate the antenna to place it in the correct orientation to each transmitter, it will not be pointed in the right direction for every channel. If the antenna is not oriented correctly, it will not receive as strong a signal. A weaker signal will be 'snowy'. Television signals can also reflect off other surfaces and reach the antenna from different directions. It...

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The screen on my 15 year old JVC tube TV is black and white for the first 10-15 minutes but it eventually gets color. I've aggressively dusted inside but the problem still exists. Is this easily fixable or should I buy a new set? Well, dust has nothing to do with the problem. This sounds like a thermal problem with the chrominance circuit in the television. It would be repairable, but you should probably consider replacing the television. It is a much older model and, unless it was a very good one to begin with, will have an inferior picture compared to many modern televisions. The oeprating life of a CRT television...

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Why might my VCR let me play back tapes recorded in SP mode, but won't play back tapes recorded in EP mode? If samples of both your SP and EP tapes can be played back on other VCRs without problems, this is most likely a problem in the video playback circuits. I would see if a good cleaning would be of any help, before trying anything else. Cleaning is not liable to be of any help, but you might get lucky. If the unit is under warranty, have it repaired. If not, you are likely to find the...

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I have a 2 year old VCR/TV combo, and when I try to play a VHS tape, the TV shuts off. What can I do to fix it? There is probably nothing that you can do to fix this, since it is almost certainly a defect somewhere in the unit. Without circuit diagrams and a service manual for the unit, the problem cannot be diagnosed or repaired. This is one for the repair shop.

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When I try to record past channels in the 20's on my Toshiba VCR, the screen turns blue and the tape records 'snow.' What could be wrong? This problem could stem from several causes and, given the information supplied, it is not possible to determine which one is the problem. This answer assumes that you can receive these channels properly with the cable or antenna plugged directly into the television, without being routed through the VCR. When a video signal is absent, many televisions and VCRs blank the screen or display a...

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What are imperfect flowers? This question should really be part of the previous question, "What are perfect flowers?" You can't really discuss what an imperfect flower is, without a description of a perfect one... An "imperfect" flower is one that contains one set of sexual organs: either the male stamen or the female pistil. Female or pistillate flowers have pistils, but no stamens. Male or...

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What are perfect flowers? A "perfect" flower contains both male and female sexual organs, stamens and pistils, respectively. A perfect flower can self-pollinate or be cross-pollinated with pollen from another flower. The stamen is the male reproductive organ of the flower. It consists of an anther, the pollen sac, supported by a stem called a filament. The grains of pollen that are released by the stamen...

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When can I harvest my perennial garlic? You should harvest after the leaves die down, usually during July or August. The flavour and aroma increase as the bulbs age. The following information was taken from "Planning Your Organic Herb garden", S. Strickland. It's a nice little read for those who like to grow and harvest their own herbs, like we do every summer. "Garlic (Allium sativum, Liliaceae) Grown as...

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How do you make a hovercraft? Hovercrafts ride on a cushion of air, allowing them to operate over water, ice, and land. This has a number of benefits, particularly when travelling over marginal or mixed terrain. However, they can be expensive to operate and are noisy, which has limited their appeal somewhat. A brief synopsis can be found at http://www.northernhovercraft.com/faq.html . Hovercraft use one or more fans...

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What's the best way to remove the tint of windows? Some tints are incorporated into the safety glass itself and cannot be removed. These are typical of factory-installed tinted windows. After-market tints are usually applied as a film, which can be removed, albeit with difficulty. These are usually glued onto the window surface and may be difficult to remove. Home-installed, discount tints are often applied without adhesives and can be...

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Is it unhealthy to drink a Monster Lo-Carb everyday? If so, why? It's not going to kill you, but .... Monster Lo-Carb contains both caffeine and guarana. Guarana extract contains a significant amount of caffeine. Manufacturers like to use guarana, because it can be labelled, truthfully, as a natural ingredient and is not immediately identified with caffeine among consumers. It is used only to boost caffeine levels, especially in the so-called...

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Does anyone know any authentic, non-alcoholic French beverages? Non-alcoholic traditional French drinks? Apart from the ocean of wine and smaller puddles of beer and cider? The best-known is limonade, a beverage made from carbonated water, sugar, and lemons or lemon flavouring. Many brands are made using spring or mineral water, instead of 'normal' tap water. Limonade differs from both North American lemonade and lemon-based soft drinks,...

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What is taziki sauce made out of? It is called tzatziki. It is associated with Greek cuisine, but is known in other countries in the same region. The main ingredients are yoghurt and cucumber, with varying amounts of olive oil, dill, onion, and garlic added for flavour. It is usually served as a dip, with flatbread, to accompany a meal. It may also be used to coat chicken or other meats before grilling.

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What's a novella? The word "novella" means a long short story or a short novel. Just what is deemed a novella varies with the publisher, but a 50-page short story or a 100-page novel would likely be deemed novellas.

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Do antibiotics work on viruses? Except for a handful of antibiotics tailored to fight a very few specific viruses, antibiotics work only against bacterial infections. Bacteria are much easier to kill than viruses, most of which are very simple organisms. Unfortunately, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Some doctors handed out antibiotics with a...

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Do burglars always use vans to rob houses? Would I know there is a burglar in my home because I see a van parked out front? No, they use any means of transport, including their feet. I might be suspicious if I saw a truck parked in my driveway, particularly if it was a commercial vehicle (e.g., one with the name of a company on the side), since these are often used to mask criminal activities. Which of your neighbours would suspect a delivery truck parked in your driveway, unless they knew you were not at home. ...

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If a rating of my answer appears completely unrelated to the answer in any way, can I get it removed? That depends on the people here at Answerbag. You can ask them to look into the situation via the "Feedback" form that is available from the Answerbag home page. Give them with the link to your answer or the answer id and explain the situation. If they deem the rating to have been made in a frivolous manner, they can elect to remove it. There are many who dish out bad ratings to...

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How can I take the best care of my game discs to avoid having to buy them over and over again? The same way you should care for any optical disk: - Store the disks in the case provided. - Store the cases upright on a shelf, not in direct sunlight. - Only remove the disks from their cases to play them. - Handle the disks only by their edges or centre hole. - Return the disks to their cases IMMEDIATELY after use and replace the case on shelf. - If you get fingerprints or other marks...

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How can one calculate the alcohol content in a beer from the SG, dry weight of yeast cells, sugar contents and volume? Alcohol content can be calculated by measuring the change in the specific gravity (SG) during the fermentation process. For reference, water has an SG of 1.000 at 15.5C or 60F. If the corrected SG of the wort at the start of the fermentation process is 1.045 and 1.010 at the end of fermentation, the SG has dropped by 0.035. This is also referred to as a drop in gravity of 35. This drop is...

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Why do I generally never hear of mixing different wines together? The wine you drink may very well be 'mixed' or blended, as the process is called, without you being aware of it. If the label on a bottle names a specific variety of grape, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is likely made from that grape variety alone or a substantial percentage of the wine must be made from that variety (e.g., 90% or 95%). Most wines are made by blending...

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Is wine a hot drink or cool drink? It can be either, although few drink wine hot. Hot wine is usually found as mulled wine, a pleasant drink on a cold winter's night. Mulled wine is made by heating wine, usually red, with sugar and spices. Brandy and fruit may also be added. Mulled wine is known by various names in different parts of the world. The Scandinavian version, for example, is known as glogg (pronounced...

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Does paying child support end when a child graduates from college? Would support continue until they started graduate school that fall? The point at which child support payments end should be detailed in the separation agreement or the court order. There may also be legal guidelines in the jurisdiction in which you live. The termination date is often set at a particular age and usually depends on the status of the child at that time (i.e., in school, working, married). If your agreement or order(s) do not state when...

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What determines the volume of a magazine? By "volume", I assume you mean the number of pages in the publication. This is established by the publisher, business management team, and editors. It is very closely bound to the cost of the publication and the size of the reading market. Several factors affect the immediate cost produce a publication: the type of paper on which it is printed, the number of pages printed in...

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What's the difference between a listing agreement and a purchase agreement? The difference is enormous. A listing agreement is a contract with a real estate agent. This contract states that the agent will provide a listing for your home so that other agents and buyers know it is for sale, will actively be engaged in the process of selling your home, and will provide any other support or assistance as stipulated under the terms of the contract. The contract also...

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Will boiling chicken effect its nutritional value? Yes. The most significant effect of boiling chicken, or any kind of meat, is a reduction in its fat content. Some of the fat in the meat is dissolved into the water, which is then called broth. If you discard the broth or save it for another meal, as soup for example, the caloric content of that serving of meat is reduced. Fat, water, and other compounds are drawn out of meat when it is...

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What is a viscous coupling, and how does it function? Viscous or fluid couplings are used to transfer power. They are widely used in industry and can be found in motor vehicle automatic transmissions. A fluid coupling has two main parts: the input member (impeller) and the output member (runner). Both the impeller and runner have vanes, which are used to direct the fluid flow. There is no mechanical connection between the two shafts, since...

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How do I clear a CD-R disc so I can put different files onto it? A CD-R disk is a write-once, read many (WORM) storage medium, so any material stored on one cannot be overwritten or removed. If the disk was "closed" when it was created, the disk cannot be changed in any way. You cannot add any files or remove the entries for any files from the table of contents (TOC). There is no way to identify that a disk has been closed, except through...

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What is the correct tire pressure for a 1994 Buick LeSabre with Gran Touring and has the tire size P215x60R16? Regardless of the vehicle, the manufacturer's recommended tire pressures are normally printed on a small plate attached to the vehicle. This is usually found in one of two locations: on the driver's door or on the body on the driver's side. The plates are normally installed below the latch on the door or on the frame, in a location that is not visible when the door is closed....

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A dealer told me that the timing chain on my 2000 Toyota Corolla is leaking. What does this mean, and how important is it to repair? The 2000 Corolla is equipped with a "maintenance-free" timing chain. This claim is relative, because a timing belt needs to be replaced around the 80,000 to 100,000 km mark. A chain will last much longer - as long as the car in normal service - but may still need adjustment. The timing chain itself cannot leak. The engine is probably leaking oil around the timing chain cover or...

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How do you calculate the turning circle diameter for a multi-axle vehicle? Modelling software can be used to perform such calculations at the design stage, since a detailed model is developed for most production vehicles from large manufacturers. A detailed model will incorporate all of the vehicle's design parameters and geometries, along with the properties of the tires and road surface. The turning circle of a vehicle is also easily measured in practice....

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How do I stop the telemarketers from calling me at home, in Canada? There is no way to completely block such calls at the present time. The CRTC does place limits on the use of automated dialing and announcing devices (ADAD) and unsolicited faxes, but little else. Callers are required to maintain a DNCL or do not call list, for example. The CRTC has, however, begun the process to establish a national DNCL. Detailed information can be found at...

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Do contact lenses move along with our pupils? The pupils don't move, apart from contraction and dilation to accommodate different light conditions. The pupil is located underneath the cornea, so all movement is internal - a behaviour is not unlike the iris of a camera. The entire eyeball moves in its socket when you look at an object. A contact lens adheres to the surface of the eyeball and moves along with it.

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What is the secret formula of the Krusty Krab's Krabby Patty? The formula is never revealed during the show. The Evil Plankton has made numerous attempts to steal the formula or obtain it by fraud, none of which have been successful. Only Mr. Krabs knows for sure. We do know that a Krabby Patty consists of a bun, patty, mustard, ketchup, pickles, cheese, lettuce, onions, and a secret sauce. The pickles are one of the key ingredients and perhaps the...

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Does the price of the DVD have to do with the quality of the movie? Not usually, since the cost of a film is established based on how many copies a studio expects to sell, the cost of authoring the disk, and whether or not the film is a recent release or a reissue of an older film. Recent films may be priced somewhat higher, particularly if they have been the subject of a lavish advertising campaign. There are some shocking bad Hollywood films that are priced...

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Can I buy DVD movies wholesale? Yes, you can buy most consumer products at the wholesale level. Wholsesalers purchase DVDs from production companies and studios. Cost savings are realized by purchasing titles in bulk. If you are interested in a single copie of a recording, you would likely pay more at the wholesale level than at the retail. Producers are not interested in shipping one unit of an item, since they want to...

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What is self-pollination? We have all heard the lecture about the birds and the bees, in which the bees nuzzle up to the pollen on a plant of one sex and then share it with the pollen of a plant of the opposite sex - thus goes botanical sex. This is known as cross-pollination. But not all plants are built to the same plan ... In some plant varieties, pollination can take place between parts of the same flower or...

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What are the advantages of operator overloading in C++? C++ allows the overloading of operators and functions. A single operator or function can be used with different classes of objects, which can simplify a program's code. Overloading allows a user to control the behaviour of an operator with both user-defined and standard classes. You could, for example, create an operator that differentiated between scalar, vector, and matrix operations...

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Do curlers use special types of brooms? As a supplement to the other answer... Players did, at one time, play with corn brooms little different from the one used to sweep off the front porch. However, these evolved into specialized curling brooms more than a century ago. These were much narrower than a conventional corn broom (under 6 inches), contained more straws than a conventional broom, and could be quite stiff, depending...

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Is curling considered to be a major sporting event? Can someone buy tickets just to watch a match? No, it's generally not considered a "major sporting event". Curling is usually played among friends, with prizes for intra-club competitions limited to a line of engraving on a club trophy and bottle of wine or a nice piece of steak. My father ate and drank very well during his later years of play. The Briars, played at the provincial, national, and international level...

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What are all the rules for curling? Although the basic regulations are much the same everywhere, every curling association has its own variations on the rules of the game. Most of these are relatively minor, which allows curlers from all over the world to play against one another without many difficulties caused by these variations. The rules of the World Curling Federation are published in the "WCF Rules Handbook"...

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In what type of setting are curling matches held? Curling was originally played out of doors on whatever frozen surface was available, was good enough, and was large enough - the playing surface is about 148 feet in length and 15 feet in width. Today, the game is played indoors in curling rinks. Most of these are private clubs, although some smaller communities operate public rinks. A rink has several sheets of ice, separated by low...

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How does one win a curling match? One wins by racking up the highest number of points in a game. The scoring system was discussed in one of my previous answers and is repeated here with a few changes... A game consists of an even number of "ends", usually eight, but often ten or twelve in competitive play at an advanced level. The teams choose who throws "last rock" by a coin toss. Throwing the last...

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Does capital punishment really deter serious crimes? It certainly deters the individual who is executed, but I remain unconvinced of its effectiveness in most circumstances. Yes, I am anti-capital punishment. I haven't written this to win any brownie points, either. I believe that if the death penalty was an effective deterrent, it would no longer be needed. People have been executed for all sorts of crimes and non-crimes for as long...

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What country has the most churches per square mile? Re: "Question is simple, you provide difficulty" Looks simple to me: 1.0/0.2 = 5.0 churches/mile^2. I learned how to do this more years back than I care to mention. However, perhaps we should consider that the *question* is flawed. This question produces a bias in favour of smaller countries, such as Vatican City, regardless of the size of the population or hectares of living...

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Is there a law regarding how many hours a trucker can drive each day? In Canada, federal legislation limits the maximum driving time to 13 hours out of every 24 and the minimum off-duty time to 10 hours.

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Which model of Chevrolet has the best mpg? This would be the Aveo (manual transmission, 2007 model year), which is rated at 9.1 (urban) / 6.2 (highway) litres/100 km. This is equivalent to: - 31.0 / 45.6 miles/gallon (Imp). - 25.9 / 37.9 miles/gallon (US). [Mileage data from GM Canada.] The spirit of those cheap little Suzuki-derivative econoboxes lives on (Metro, Sprint, Firefly), but now is realized in a product from GM-DAT...

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Is it possible to convert a Canon A75 digital camera to a Webcam? What software would be needed? It is not a matter of software. Consumer-grade digital cameras are not suitable for use as webcams. This is a design issue and cannot be resolved by the consumer. Apart from the presence of a lens and image sensor, they are quite different. A webcam contains little more than a lens and an image sensor. They are designed to be controlled by a host computer, which manages most of the...

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What kinds of guitars are best for fingerpicking? From the Acoustic Fingerstyle website (http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/)... "FINGER-PICKING is a Southern-based American instrumental guitar style. Many people incorrectly use the term "Finger-Picking" to mean any right hand style in which the fingers pluck or pull strings. Most of these styles should be simply called "plucking styles". Finger-Picking is a...

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Who was the first auto manufacturer to install a radio in a production car? The first radios sold for use in cars were not installed by auto manufacturers, nor were they explivitly intended for use in cars. They were battery-powered, a common power source for radios in the early part of the 20th century, and were called travel radios - portable radios that could be used anywhere. They entered the market during the mid-1920s, by which time radio services had become...

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What is the difference between CMOS and BIOS? CMOS, Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, is the most common type of integrated circuit. CMOS refers to the design of the integrated circuit or transistor, not a particular application. Many different devices are made using CMOS technology, because it is relatively cheap to implement and has relatively low power consumption, when compared to other types of integrated circuits. BIOS is...

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My contact lenses always get really irritated when I'm in stores with fluorescent tube lighting. Is it possible to be allergic to a form of lighting? No, it is not likely that you are "allergic" to fluorescent lighting, but some people do have difficulty working under them. There are a couple of factors at work. Some people are bothered by the flickering of fluorescent tubes. Incandescent lights also flicker, but for some reason some people are bothered more by fluorescents. I sometimes experience a strong flickering...

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Are Nikon cameras better quality than Kodak cameras? This really depends on the quality of the individual product you purchase. Kodak tends to specialize in mass-market goods, although they do manufacture some good-quality amateur products. They have been producing all kinds of imaging products for over 100 years. For many years, they were an innovative company. For example, every company used their own proprietary 35mm film cannister, but...

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Is it safe to buy a refurbished Nikon camera instead of a new one? Both refurbished and used products from most major camera manufacturers should be good buys. A refurbished camera is one that has been returned to the manufacturer or their representative for some reason, checked over, repaired if required, repackaged, and resold. Some were defective, some died under warranty and were replaced, and some were returned for other reasons. For factory...

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The Mazda RX-8 has a rotary engine--what performance benefits does this kind of engine offer? Wankel engines offer better performance for the displacement and weight of the engine compared to 4-cycle engines. A Wankel is, in effect, a 2-cycle engine. They are simpler, have substantially fewer parts, and are potentially more reliable, although difficulties with rotor seals has plagued many manufacturers, including Mazda in the early years. On the down side, their emissions and fuel...

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Which Minolta digital camera takes pictures with the most pixels? I hope you're not planning to do comparison shopping for Minolta cameras, because Konica/Minolta is no longer in the photo business (http://konicaminolta.com/releases/2006/0119_03_01.html). Their DSLR assets have been sold to Sony and may appear under the Sony label, while the rest of their digital and film cameras have been discontinued. The remainder of their camera- and film-related...

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Is honesty always the best policy? Yes. There is sometimes a need for discretion, to avoid inflicting pain like those buffoons whose mouths go into motion before their brains are engaged, but honesty is always best. It is a sad truth that honesty remains a choice for many, a tactic for some, and a mystery to many others. How many divorces, for example, are rooted in one person's dishonesty towards another? Honesty is...

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At a trade show, is it more effective to give away hundreds of inexpensive promotional products, or hold a raffle to give away a few big-ticket items? The most important aspect of a trade show is to get the message out to potential customers that you exist, what services and/or products you can offer, and how to get in touch with you. Giveaways play a role in reminding customers that your business is an option they should consider. The most important thing to give away is contact information and a good-quality brochure describing your...

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What are the differences in sound/playability between solid body and hollow body electric guitars? The sound and playability of a guitar is affected more by the overall quality of the instrument and electronics than by differences between solid- and hollow-body designs. Some people believe that solid-body guitars allow the musician to move higher up the fretboard, but some hollow-body guitars also sport deep cutaways. Some musicians may prefer a wider or a narrower body, which could rule...

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How can I make a laptop display everything on a separate monitor? Most laptops provide a connection for an external monitor. Each company, however, uses a different method to switch between the monitors or to have both active at the same time. It is impossible to tell you how to do it on your computer, without knowing the manufacturer and model number. Information will be provided in the user's manual. If you don't have one, you should be able...

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What case/shell materials best protect computer notebooks from damage? If you drop most laptops on the floor in a working environment (e.g., concrete or steel), they shatter into very expensive pieces. However, it is not just the case that protects a portable computer, since a strong case is useless if the hard drive goes wonky after a fall. Systems also need to be shock-resistant and protected against dust and fluids. Note that ruggedized laptops often have...

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Unauthorized MP3 downloads are illegal in the US, but are there other countries where music downloads aren't monitored so strictly? This is provided as a supplement to Alatea's discussion on the situation in Canada, where individuals are allowed to make copies of recordings that they have purchased for personal use. The extent to which a copy can be shared with others is limited, though. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) has this to say: "Canada's music industry has been the hardest hit...

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Are there point of sale software systems designed specifically for the restaurant industry? There are, quite literally, dozens of such products on the market. Many restaurants and businesses have been using some form of PoS software for years. The real question is: do you want PoS software for one restaurant or to help run a chain of 2,000? One good source for business information is Yahoo, which provides a links to PoS software and hardware companies at: -...

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I'm looking for a Pioneer subwoofer for my car, but don't have a lot of room. Does Pioneer make any small but powerful subwoofers? The smallest subwoofer in Pioneer's car audio lineup is the TS-SW841D Premiere shallow-mount speaker. It is rated at 500W maximum / 120W nominal, which can be considered equivalent to its continuous RMS rating, which is the one that consumers should pay ettention to, and has an impedance of 4 ohms. It has a sensitivity of 85dB, which is slightly below average. Note that the power...

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Which nation has the highest income tax rates? There are enormous differences in effective income tax rates between countries, because of differences between the rates of taxation, the width of the zero tax band (basic personal exemption), the effect of tax relief provisions (other exemptions), the impact of marginal tax rates, and whether or not the country uses taxation credits that are independent of marginal tax rates. These factors...

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Can a digital camera take "double exposed" pictures like a 35mm camera? I have never seen a digital camera with this feature, although that does not mean that some company has not built one. However, a multiple-exposure feature is not required on a digital camera, since the effect can be created quite easily in software. To create a multiple-exposure picture, you need to create a layer for each image you want to add to the picture and adjust the opacity or...

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Will DVD movies be phased out now that blu-ray and HD is here? There is no hurry for DVDs to be phased out, even if one of the proposed formats is adopted in the near future. DVDs will remain cheaper for some time to come and are adequate for most non-HD applications. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are not really here, although some products are being advertised in advance of formal release. No decision has been reached within the industry as to which format will...

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Where is the Canon Corporation headquartered? Re: "Source? How do I know it is correct" Comment and rating are harrassment. Grow up. Complaints have been made to Answerbag admin concerning this rating. ------------------------------------------------------------ Canon is headquartered in Japan and consists of about a dozen business divisions, including Canon Supercomputing and Canon Software. Diversification is the norm...

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The flash dock on my older Nikon camera has rusted--how can I safely remove it? I assume that by the term "flash dock" you refer to the flash shoe. A flash shoe is the bracket mounted on the top of the camera into which the base of a flash unit is attached. If it is provided with a contact to trigger the flash, without needing to use a separate cord connected to a flash synch outlet, or provides multiple contacts for use with a dedicated computerized flash, it...

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How can I check on the status of my tax refund? For Canadian taxpayers, the Canada Revenue Agency provides services through "My Account for Individuals". You need to have a Government of Canada ePass, which you can register for on the CRA website. See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu-e.html . My Account -- See information about your: - tax refund or balance owing. - direct deposit. - RRSP, Home Buyers' Plan, and...

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Can I install nylon strings on "steel string" acoustic guitars (or vice-versa)? No. The bridges used on classical and traditional acoustic guitars are different. Manufacturers and lutiers advise against using metal strings in a classical guitar, because of the damage that can be caused to the instrument. The nylon strings used on classical guitars are usually anchored by knotting one end of the string through a hole provided in the bridge. The other end is passed...

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Is fidelity considered in a divorce settlement? This is written as a supplement to another answer dealing with this legal issue in Canada. Divorce is a federal responsibility in Canada, while family law falls under provincial jurisdiction. They are quite separate legal processes. There is a one-year waiting period after the application has been made before a divorce can be granted. During this period, the couple must live separately....

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Is satellite TV compatible with digital video recorders? Conventional satellite tuners should be compatible with any consumer digital video recorder (DVR). Tuners output standard NTSC (in North America) composite video, s-video, and/or component video signals. HD satellite tuners output 720p (non-interlaced) or 1080i (interlaced) video signals. I have not seen a consumer-grade DVR that is compatible with HD signals, although some provide inputs...

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Where can i find a free c++ compiler? OpenWatcom provides C/C++ and Fortran compilers at http://www.openwatcom.org/ . lcc-win32 is a fully-featured C compiler and is available at http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~lcc-win32/ and http://www.q-software-solutions.de/products/lcc-win32/index.shtml . (I have included lcc-win32, because it is a widely-used and modern C compiler.)

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Are there any hybrids that run off E85 in the USA? All E85-compatible vehicles are listed at the website of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (http://www.e85fuel.com/). Manufacturers building E85-compatible vehciles include Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, GM, Isuzu, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, and Nissan. This information is also encoded in the eight character of a vehicle's VIN (vehicle identification number). A list of these codes can also...

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What is a hybrid gasoelectric van? Are any available for purchase? Hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles use two motors: an internal combustion engine powered by gasoline and an electric motor powered by lead-acid batteries. The two motors are connected with a electronically-controlled gearbox that allows the two engines to work together or independently of one another. The batteries are recharged by the gasoline engine during normal operation. The vehicle may...

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Where and how can different types of alternative vehicle fuels be obtained? An understanding of how to obtain alternate fuels goes hand-in-hand with information on the various types of alternate fuels and what is needed to make a vehicle run on them. Given the complexity of a modern automobile, performing a conversion to an alternate fuel supply is more difficult than in the past. Few modern automobiles are equipped with manually-adjusted carburetors, for example....

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Why is using batteries in cars more environmentally beneficial than using gasoline? Electric vehicles have some substantial advantages over vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. They also have a couple of major drawbacks. The primary advantage of electric vehicles is that they produce substantially lower levels of harmful emissions than internal combustion engines. This is not immediately seen, since many people believ that coal-fired power plants are...

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How do you tell how hard a gem is? The hardness of different minerals is usually measured using the Mohs scale. The Mohs hardness scale was devised by the German mineralogist Frederich Mohs in 1812. He created a somewhat arbitrary (non-linear) scale based on the hardness of ten common minerals. 1 = Talc. 2 = Gypsum. 3 = Calcite (Limestone). 4 = Fluorite. 5 = Apatite. 6 = Orthoclase (Feldspar). 7 = Quartz. 8 =...

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How can I build a practical heat pump to heat my house? Heat pumps can be fairly complex, well out of the normal DIY range, unless you have experience designing and building HVAC systems. Their thermodynamic characteristics must also be considered during the design phase, something that has already been done by HVAC engineers in commercial systems. I would not recommend a DIY heat pump. People rarely design and build air conditionering systems on...

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Where is onyx found? Onyx is a black and white banded form of agate and is composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2). According to the mindat.org database (http://www.mindat.org/), it is found primarily in Canada, US, UK, Brazil, and Germany.

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How well do amphibious motorhomes sell? Since there is only one company currently producing amphibious motorhomes that I am aware of (http://www.terrawind.com/) and their product falls into the luxury and of the market, sales are limited. Any vehicle that starts at $850,000, running well over a million with all the options, has a limited number of potential buyers. Amphibious vehicles come at a premium, so a conventional motorhome...

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Is there an advantage to the Airstream's aluminum shell? The superstructure of an Airstream trailer is an aluminum monocoque structure on a steel chassis. Airstream is the only company that builds their bodies in this fashion, which can produce a structure that is very rigid and strong. The bodies of most trailers are built using steel or wooden framing, to which plywood is attached. This is clad with aluminum or vinyl siding. The roof is built...

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How much time is saved by writing "@" as opposed to "at"? Typing "@" may take no less time than that required to type "at". Both operations require more than one action on the part of the typist. A person must press and hold the <Shift> key, press the <@> key, and then release the <Shift> key to produce the "@" character - three actions. Typing "at" may require two, three, or four actions,...

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Is it true that diamonds are used to cut other diamonds? Diamond is very hard, but hard materials also tend to be brittle. You can scratch a hammer with a diamond, which demonstrates that diamond is harder than steel. However, if you hit the diamond with the hammer in the right fashion, the diamond would likely break. Diamonds are prepared using several different cutting and forming methods. They can be broken along natural planes of weakness...

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Are diamonds really the hardest rock in the world? Yes, diamond is the hardest naturally-occuring mineral known. There are a handfull of synthetic materials that are harder than natural diamond, including artificial diamond, ultrahard fullerite, aggregated diamond nanorods, and borazon. Borazon is formed from boron and nitrogen and is a registered trademark of GE, where it was invented. All of the other materials are formed from carbon.

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White smoke coming is coming out of my 1985 car when the engine is pushed to about 3000 RPM. What's wrong? White smoke is a sign of serious engine trouble. It is usually caused by the combustion of engine coolant, along with the air-fuel mixture. This may be caused by leaking seals around the cylinder head and/or base or by cracks in the engine block and/or cylinder head. Seals can be repaired, but cracked parts must be replaced with new or used parts. These repairs are costly, unless you do the...

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Which one of the Canadian provinces is the greatest producer of wheat? Saskatchewan, one of the leading grain-producing regions in the world. My paternal grandfather was one of the thousands of immigrants who settled in Saskatchewan to farm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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What prompted Datsun to change its name to Nissan? Nissans were sold under the Datsun name only in the US and Canada. The name change is discussed in some detail at http://www.zcca.org/pages/ZCarsZhistoryDatsuntoNissan.htm . Apart from considerations of presenting a unified global image, some Datsuns, like the 510, had terrible reputations for having shoddy bodies that rusted out in short order. The name change has been seen by some as...

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How is it possible to run one instrument, say a guitar, through multiple amplifiers like professionals do? It's not very difficult. In many cases, the input impedance of the amplifiers is much higher than the output impedance of the instrument, so the inputs to the amplifiers can be paralleled (e.g., using a y-adapter to split the signal to feed two amplifiers). Some amplifiers provide two input jacks for this purpose: one for the instrument and one to connect to another amplifier [*1]....

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What makes Oakley eyeglasses so expensive? For the same reason many items of apparel are overpriced: someone has run a successful ad campaign that has turned them into a fashionable accessory that some people simply must have, unless they want to be sniffed at by others. <sigh> Someone has to pay for all that expensive advertising. .

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Which tax forms can I find online? For Canadian readers: all tax forms are available on-line from the Canada Revenue Agency at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/menu-e.html .

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How much does it usually cost to refinance a mortgage loan? This varies with the lending institution. In Canada, many banks waive their fees for mortgage applications on customer request. They are more interested in getting you as a paying customer to bother about a $50 or $100 fee. Neither are evaluations needed for most residential properties, since the information is available from the builder, for a new home, or from the property tax assessments...

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Where can I find replacement parts for an Olympus digital camera? Parts for all Olympus cameras are available from authorized Olympus repair centres or from the "Olympus Emporium" on-line store at https://emporium.olympus.com/ .

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How does one convert a diesel engine to run on biodiesel? Most modern diesel automobiles can already be used with biodiesel - but only to a point. Biodiesel is chemically different from conventional diesel fuels and, among other factors, has a higher solvent action. This can lead to premature failure of components in the fuel system, for example. Low ratio blends, such as B2 and B5 (2% and 5% biodiesel, respectively) rarely cause problems, but...

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Will I blow a normal 100W speaker if I play too much bass through it? Most speakers are "blown" by underpowered amplifiers that are asked to deliver too much power. An amplifier that is too small, but is turned up too loud, will distort heavily. This distortion is usually what causes speakers to "blow". Without knowing anything about your musical tastes, the type of amplifier you are using, how powerful the amplifier is, the real power...

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I have a pair of classic, solid-wood Pioneer speakers. Would these be good to use with a modern sound system? Speaker and cabinet design technology has moved far beyond the days when companies built furniture, installed speakers and crossovers, and marketed the resulting union as hi-fi. Old speakers might have a nostalgia factor for some, but their fidelity is questionable. Japanese speakers never had a great reputation to begin with and age has not improved them any. There are many good speakers...

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Can I sue someone whose software has harmed my computer? You can try, but you won't be successful. Most software is not designed to intentionally "harm" your computer, so any damage is unintended and not their responsibility. Software companies warn you of this when you install their software. The following was culled from Microsoft's EULA (End-User License Agreement): "Microsoft and its suppliers provide the Software...

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When is the best time to take out an adjustable rate mortgage loan? Variable-rate mortgages are quite flexible and usually have lower interest rates than other types of mortgages. A variable-rate open mortgage is probably the best choice if you want to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible, have the income available to do so, and the interest rates remain low or are expected to fall over a period of several years. They can be risky when the rates are...

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Can I add a more powerful lens to any Minolta digital cameras? Minolta no longer manufactures cameras, so you are unable to buy any further new Minolta products, except what may exist in an individual store's old stock. The termination of the Minolta product line will also affect third-party manufacturers, which will stop developing new products for Minolta cameras. Minolta DSLR cameras may reappear under the Sony badge, since Konica-Minolta has...

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Is there a name for the string that is put on eyeglass frames to keep you from dropping your glasses? Neck strap or eyeglass strap.

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Who invented eyeglasses? That question has no answer, since the inventor of glasses, if one such unique individual existed, was never recorded. The first optical devices were glass containers filled with water, dating back to imperial Rome and used to help people read. The magnifying glass was developed around 1000 A.D. and eyeglasses followed during the next two or three centuries. Their invention is credited to...

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How are eyeglass lenses made? The optometrist determines what degree of correction your eyes require and the geometry of the lenses. The production of lenses is a highly-automated process. The lenses start as blanks of optical plastic or glass material. These are machined, ground, and polished on a series of numerically-controlled machines that use the prescription data to guide them. The frames you select are also sent...

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What are eyeglass lenses made of? They are made from either optical plastic or optical glass. Glass lenses are also available in shatterproof or safety glass. Optical materials are designed to have very specific and consistent optical properties, so that the manufacturer can select the optimaum material to suit the needs of the prescription. Lenses made from materials with a higher refractive index can be made thinner, for...

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I have anti-glare coating on my glasses and it's very scratched. Can I have the coating removed, or possibly re-applied? If the coating is scratched, chances are the lenses are scratched as well, particularly if they are made of plastic. Lenses can be recoated, but the old coating must first be removed, by polishing the lens with an abrasive or chemically removing the coating(s). The industry itself is not particularly oriented towards providing this type of service, but is quite efficient at delivering new...

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What's the best way to clean my eyeglasses? I clean the lenses of my glasses at least once a day with regular glass cleaner. About once a year I soak them in warm water to loosen all the dirt and grime that accumulates and then carefully clean them with cotton swabs and toothpicks, which help dig the grime out of tight corners and hard to reach spots.

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What is the best way to store my eyeglasses to prevent damage? As obvious as it sounds, the safest place to keep your glasses is on your face. People have an instinctive reaction to protect their eyes when their face is threatened. That reaction also helps protect your glasses. Since I was a child, the only time that I have ever had a pair of glasses damaged while wearing them was in an accident where I was struck in the face by debris, before I could...

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Is making my own eyeglass lenses practical? No. Very few people have access to the grinding, polishing, and precision measurement tools required to accurately grind an optical lens. Lenses were hand-ground for centuries, but it is a very labour-intensive and time-consuming process. It is very easy to grind errors into a lens. Eyeglass lenses are ground very precisely and are complicated by the need to manufacture bi- and tri-focals.

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How do you build a solar powered car? Solar-powered vehicles are relatively complex devices, because of the need to maximize available power and efficiency of operation against weight and friction, both aerodynamic and road. Almost all solar-powered vehicles are built to operate in challenge races and are not intended as general-purpose vehicles. They typically contain a solar cell array, usually integrated into the...

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Are there any TVs with decibel control instead of volume? There really isn't any such thing as a "decibel control", although a control may be labelled in decibels instead of arbitrary numbers. A decibel, dB, is the measure of the relative amplitude between two signals, on a logarithmic scale. For example, the sound pressure level, SPL, of a noise source is calculated using: SPL = 20 log10 (P/Pref) dB Where: P is the sound...

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When you push some shopping trollies beyond a boundary, the wheel locks to prevent theft. How does this work? The shopping cart would be equipped with a small battery-powered controller that sensed the location of a boundary and controlled a set of brakes. Such a system would need to be very simple and inexpensive to be cost-effective. Some systems use a buried wire, similar to the sensors buried in the pavement at intersections with traffic lights or the boundary wires used with controlled dog...

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The LCD display on my ten year old calculator is not showing any part of any number in two different columns. Is it fixable, or is this the end? Likely either the segments on the display module have failed or the circuit that drives the display segments has failed. Most calculators have very few discrete components - the processing is usually done by a single chip. The display is comprised of two parts: the display itself and a controller. These functions could be integrated into a single module, separate control and display...

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Should I make sure to get the CD when I buy software online? I don't bother to buy the CD if I can download the software, but I do make multiple copies of all of the software I purchase. Any software that you download should be copied to CD and stored somewhere safe. I make copies of the installation kits of all of my software on hard disk, using one at home and a second at work (two backups in two locations for security). You may want to use...

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How can I tell if the software I want to buy is pirated? Pirated software is usually pretty easy to detect. - The price is usually way too good to be true, typically less than half the normal retail price. - If someone in a store offers you a great deal and installs the software by copying it from another system, it is pirated. - Any piece of spam that advertises great deals on software is either advertising pirated software or partially-crippled...

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How do you dispose of used cooking oil? Used cooking oil can also be used to produce biodiesel. Perhaps you, as an individual, might not have much used oil to spare, but if you run a business that does produce waste cooking oil, you could do worse than contact someone with an interest in biodiesel who would gladly take it off your hands. Biodiesel can be easily produced at home. See also: http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/ ...

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What is it that violin players rub onto the bow? It is called bow rosin and is used to increase the friction between the the bow and the strings. Otherwise, the bow would tend to slide over the strings. More information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosin .

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Can you strum a violin like a guitar? I suppose one could, but it is not a technique that is used with violins. The bridge of a violin is curved much more than that of a guitar, which would make strumming very difficult. However, violins are often plucked to produce certain effects.

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How do electric violins work? Hollow-body electric violins usually use a vibration transducer - typically a piezo-electric accelerometer - to pick up the vibration from the instrument body. These can be mounted on the body near the bridge, under the bridge inside the body, or integrated directly into the bridge (instrumented bridge). Solid-body electric violins normally use an instrumented bridge. Several examples of...

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Is it safe to submerge a brass instrument underwater in an effort to clean it? No, because there are non-metallic parts that can be damaged by immersion in water (e.g., felt pads in the valves). ------------------------------------------------------------ Re: "refer to my answer" The instrument can be flushed, if all non-metallic internal parts are removed, but it should not be immersed. Flushing under pressure will force material out of the instrument,...

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What is the largest brass instrument? Again, this would be the double-bass or BB-flat bass tuba. (See also http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/54522)

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Can spit valves get rusty because of all the moisture? In a well-designed and constructed instrument they should not rust. However, any parts that are fabricated from plain carbon or plated steels, instead of stainless steel or brass, may rust. These are not often found on quality brass instruments, but can be found on less expensive ones. Even if the valve cover is made of brass, the hinge pins and springs may be made from inferior materials...

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Which brass instrument has the most piping? This would be the double-bass or BB-flat bass tuba. As the frequency of a note decreases, the length of the tubing and the diameter of the bell must increase. The double-bass tuba produces the lowest notes of all the brasses. The mathematics involved in this relationship are discussed in "The Physics of Brasses", A. Benade, Scientific American, July 1973. This article is also...

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What is an F-horn? An F-horn is more commonly known as a French horn. From "The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music": "An orchestral brass instrument ... consisting of a narrow conical tube about 12 ft. long and wound twice in a circle, with a large flaring bell and a funnel-shaped mouthpiece. Inside the circle there are three valves, and the additional length of tubing required for them. It is...

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If I'm simply selling items from around the house that I don't need (books, dishes, CDs), can I make more money with a garage sale or with online auctions? The amount you sell something for depends on who is looking for that item this week and how many people see the ad. I have monitored some items on eBay to see how much they cost, in general terms, and have seen a tremendous variation in prices, as well as items that simply do not sell the first time around. Garage sales have no overhead, but can require a fair bit of personal time. There are...

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I don't want to show up with a plastic bag in my hand. What are some creative ways to wrap last minute gifts? A simple and inexpensive method is to keep a few gift bags on hand. Gift bags don't need to be fancy or expensive and a fairly good selection can be found even at a dollar store. The great thing about gift bags is that you just drop the gift in and you're ready to go. Since they are not torn open by the recipient, they can be used over and over again. Save the ones you receive and...

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Are any consumer electronic items likely to cause health hazards? Not particularly, but here are a few examples of potential health risks: - Listening to music at high volume levels for prolonged periods of time will cause hearing damage. The type of music, the volume, and the type of output transducer (e.g., ear bud, headphone, speaker) all have a bearing on this process. - Avoid changing channels or the volume by hand while watching television in the...

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What's causing the decline of consumer electronics prices? In spite of what they say in Economics 101, the 'law' of supply and demand plays only a limited role in the price of consumer goods. The price of consumer electronics is affected by many factors, including: - Mass-production methods that reduce the cost per unit of producing an item. Not all product designs benefit to the same degree and some design changes are made for the...

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Can I save money on consumer electronics buy purchasing online? Although purchasing on-line can save money on some products and is a great way to buy and sell second-hand goods, there are some issues and risks. First of all, you cannot examine a product before you buy it, to check its quality or condition. This may not be a concern with some goods, but it most definitely is with others, particularly pricey second-hand goods. I have bought and sold many...

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Are consumer electronics made in China as good as those made in Japan? Absolutely. We tend to associate Chinese products with the bottom end of the market, because that is what China has been used for: a source of cheap labour to produce cheap commodities, in much the same way that Korea and, earlier, Japan were in the latter half of the 20th century. That does not mean that Chinese products are inferior, only that companies are exploiting their lower labour...

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Does it ever make sense to buy an extended warranty for consumer electronics? I answered a similar question some time ago and my opinion on the subject has not changed... Buyer protection plans and other forms of extended warranties are sold by businesses because they are profitable. On some items, the store may make more of a profit from the sale of the warranty than from the sale of the consumer product itself. Salespeople are encouraged to promote the warranties -...

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I've heard that in a liquor store, the higher the shelf, the better the liquor. Is this true? Not in any liquor store that I have ever shopped at. The highest shelf is usually at eye level, which is where they may locate items that they want to pitch at consumers. These may not be the best products, but they might be the ones that a company is trying to promote this week, through paid product placement, or ones that have a high mark-up that the store profits by promoting.

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Are any consumer electronics items still manufactured in the United States? All kinds of consumer electronics are manufactured in the US, as well as in Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, and other European countries. However, the products tend to be aimed at the upper end of the market, rather than entry-level, discount products or mid-level products. The following list of US manufacturers was culled from a recent issue of "The Absolute Sound": -...

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Is it true that consumer electronic ear buds can damage your hearing? They only present a risk if they are misused. High sound pressure levels will damage your hearing, regardless of the source. Since ear buds are designed to fit into the ear canal and seal it completely when properly fitted, they have the potential to produce very high sound pressure levels when the volume is turned up too loud. Conventional headphones present somewhat less of a risk,...

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Can I open a life insurance policy if I am over 65? Yes. It is unlikely that you could buy a whole-life policy or, if one could be purchased, it would be prohibitively expensive. However, you can buy a term life policy. Term insurance is usually a better buy than whole-life, since the benefits of a whole-life policy are modest. If you invested the money you saved each year buying term insurance in place of whole-life, you would come out...

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How can I have some of my photographs blown up into posters? As the other answer stated, you can take the material to a photo lab for poster-sized enlargements. However, not every photo lab can provide a print this size and many of those that advertise the service farm the work out to shops that have the necessary equipment. Any lab that farms out the work will add their own markup to the final cost. I would strongly suggest that you examine...

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What happens if I can't repay my payday loan? The same will happen as with any other unsecured loan: - Interest and late charges will accumulate on the outstanding balance. Given the outrageous charges that payday loan companies levy, you are quite likely to end up paying punitive charges equal to or greater than the amount you borrowed. If I did this, it would be called loan-sharking. - The lender will likely apply to the courts...

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What happens if a woman takes Viagra? None at all, except maybe to a person who is trying to persuade a woman to buy some. Then it is to their financial benefit, not the woman's sexual benefit. To quote the Pfizer website, the manufacturer of Viagra: "VIAGRA is only for patients with erectile dysfunction. VIAGRA is not for newborns, children, or women. Do not let anyone else take your VIAGRA. VIAGRA must be used...

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Will cable TV prices drop now that so many people are choosing satellite? Not likely any time soon. The cable companies have recently completed or are in the process of refurbishing their distribution networks to support digital cable services. In most cases, these improvements have been paid by sharp increases in user fees, for which users of analog cable services will receive little or no benefit. The cable companies are depending on the sale of new digital...

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What's the benefit of investing in bonds rather than stocks? Bonds are a much less volatile investment product. When you purchase a bond, you know what the rate of return will be for a specific period of time. They are a very solid and reliable investment, except in extraordinary times (e.g., the overthrow of the government who issued the bonds). The rate of return with bonds is generally lower than with other investments, because of their guarantee...

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Are some DVD players more likely to skip than others? Yes. The difference in quality between various optical drives is enormous. Inexpensive or economy drives are not as good as more expensive drives. Low-quality lasers, poor speed control, poor laser positioning control, inadequate error-correction routines, inexpensive electronics, and loose mechanical tolerances all combine to produce a drive with a higher than average error rate. A cheap...

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Why are digital camcorders superior to traditional camcorders? The answer to that depends greatly on the quality of the camcorders. High-quality analog ("traditional") camcorders can produce much better image quality than inexpensive digital camcorders. In the end, it is the quality of the individual unit that determines how good a picture it will deliver in the end. And it is the quality of the image sensor that plays the most important role....

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Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone, but should properly be credited as being the first individual to patent it. Bell filed a patent for his telephone as an "Improvement in Telegraphy" in 1876. Bell's patent application was filed a few hours before another patent for "Transmitting Vocal Sounds Telegraphically" by Elisha Gray, the founder...

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Since Americans spend enormous amounts of money retail shopping every year, why do so many businesses fail? Trying to launch a viable business takes a tremendous amount of effort on the part of the small business owner. I've seen statistics that indicate some 80% of businesses fail within the first five years of operation. There are literally dozens of reasons why a business can fail, including: - Some companies are poorly run, by people who don’t really understand how to operate a...

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If automatic guns are illegal, how do people buy them? Guns have never been very difficult to buy illegally. They are readily available on the street, with a contact usually made in a bar or some similar establishment. People who traffic in illicit drugs, for example, often have connections in the gun trade, if only to defend themselves from others who want to take over their corner of the market. The one change that I have noticed, in Canada,...

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Why are so many young men so fascinated by computer games? I've been of the opinion for many years that computers have replaced automobiles as male fantasy power objects. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, young men would drape themselves over the hood of cars, staring into the engine bay and dreaming of a hot new camshaft. Oil, horsepower, boasting to the boys, and trying to impress the girls, who found the entire business rather tedious. Girls...

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Is there an online book store that specializes in out-of-print books? Yes. However, it is not a site that sells books itself, but is an on-line listing of the books available from hundreds of used book dealers: Abebooks (http://www.abebooks.com/). You can use the search engine at Abebooks to locate the names of dealers who have the book you want in stock and available for sale. Since Abebooks lists dealers from several countries, you can restrict your search...

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How can I determine which type of blank DVD will work with my DVD recorder? The DVD recorder should have come with an instruction booklet or manual, which would tell you which DVD formats are supported by the recorder (e.g., DVD -R, -RW, +R, +RW, -ROM, and/or -RAM, as well as single- or dual-layer). Generally speaking, all DVD recorders will support -ROM, which is the basic data storage format, and any of the more recent recorders (less than five years old) will...

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Where can I find audio books in languages other than English? If you are looking for French-language books, try a Candian on-line store such as Amazon Canada (http://www.amazon.ca/) or Chapters-Indigo (http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/). Although they are predominately English, both carry a fairly large selection of French-language products. Links to French-language products are available on the home page of both sites.

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Does the quality of wine used for cooking make a difference in the final product? A resounding YES. Since the point of cooking with wine is to impart some of the flavours found in the wine to the meal, the choice of wine has a tremendous impact on the quality of the dish. If the wine is not good enough to drink and enjoy on its own, it is not good enough to cook with. A more robust-flavoured wine is often for cooking, because the flavour of light or delicate wines may...

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How much do average camcorders weigh? A semi-professional or prosumer camcorder can weigh up to about 4kg (~9lb) and consumer camcorders may weight as little as 250gm (~0.5lb). Larger and heavier camcorders - or cameras of any kind, for that matter - are easier to hold and steady than smaller ones. Using a tripod / monopod or leaning up against a support of some kind (e.g., building, post) can help steady the camera while...

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Are business cards that have information printed on both sides considered professional? Absolutely. Squeezing too much information onto one side of a card looks unprofessional and can be difficult to read, particularly for those of us who wear bifocals (or worse). This is especially true for individuals who officially work in a bi- or multi-lingual environment, where all information on the card must be presented in each language. It is unusual to see more than two languages on...

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How can I transfer Super-8 movies onto DVD? The equipment needed to do this, a telecine system, is rarely available to consumers because of the cost. However, there are many commercial businesses that provide this service (e.g., video production or video transfer services). Check the Yellow Pages. Because the frame rate of film is lower than that of video, the telecine machine must create additional frames during the film to video...

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What is the difference between an auto loan and a lease-to-own contract? A loan is where an individual borrows money from a bank or other lending agency for the purpose of purchasing an automobile or any other approved item. The money borrowed is paid back in full, with interest, over a specific period of time (e.g., 48 months). Collateral for the loan is provided by the vehicle itself. Until the loan is paid in full, the borrower does not own clear title to the...

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How many guns are sold annually in the U.S. and around the world? The following was obtained from "The No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade", G. Burrows, 2002: "Forecast International, a commercial market-analysis company, makes the following estimates about the proliferation of small arms manufacture in their "Ordnance and Munitions Forecast", published in October 2000: - More than 43 million military-style small arms of all types...

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What types of meat might I expect to find on a charcuterie plate in a restaurant? “Charcuterie” is nothing more than the French word for “delicatessen”. Think cold cuts and anything else that could be sold in a deli. Restaurants don’t use terms like this where I live, because of the large French-speaking population. When I see “charcuterie” on a menu, I assume that I am looking at the French-language side of the page. A “charcuterie” plate might be nothing more than a...

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Are there any functional problems with satellite TV, as opposed to regular cable? Satellite television is most susceptible to interruptions caused by severe weather. We had satellite service installed about 20 months ago and have experienced a handful of short-term interruptions during this period. With one exception, where the outage lasted about 10 minutes, all of the service interruptions were only a couple of minutes in length. Although one would expect these to be...

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What is the difference between a flat-top and an arch-top guitar? A flat-top guitar is a hollow-body acoustic guitar with steel strings in which the top of the instrument is flat. If the guitar is equipped with nylon strings, it is called a classical guitar. Flat-top guitars are available in acoustic and electro-acoustic versions. An arch-top guitar is a hollow-body acoustic guitar with steel strings in which the top of the instrument is arched, as can...

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If you got three wishes, what would you wish for? (1) The abolition of all national currencies, to be replaced with a monetary system based on the single international constant: human labour, where one monetary unit is equal to one hour of unskilled labour under standard conditions. Why should the time I spent working as an unskilled labourer be worth so much more than that of people living in other nations? I would then settle back to see...

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Can I sue my internet provider for dropped connections? Read the fine print in the contract or terms of use agreement. There will be a clause that states the company is not liable for any losses resulting from service interruptions, at least with service contracts below the T1 level. The clause is likely to state that the ISP will try their best to provide you with a connection, but will not guarantee it. This is a very common practice with...

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How do I properly dispose of used software? Most used software is destroyed, unless there is a reason to keep a copy of it for licensing reasons (e.g., an upgrade that requires the user to hold a copy of the original version). The software is usually destroyed by cutting the floppy disks or CD-ROMs the software is stored on. If you have upgraded the software, you usually cannot sell the old product, since the license has transferred...

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How much do voice-over artists and actors typically get paid to record audio books? The fee that an individual receives for voice-over work is highly variable. Some factors that affect voice-over rate are: - Whether or not the person is a member of a union or is non-union. North American unions include ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). - The cost...

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What happens to all the calendars that aren't sold each year? As with unsold surplus books, they are pulped and recycled.

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Which brands of camcorders are capable of shooting movie-quality films? Canon, JVC, Panasonic, and Sony make very good professional and semi-professional (prosumer) digital video camcorders. These include: - Canon XL2 and GL2. - JVC GY-DV550U. - Panasonic AGDVC7, AGDVC30P, AGDVC60P, and AGDVX100. - Sony DSR-PDX10, HVR-A1U, DSR-PD170, HDR-FX1, and HVR-Z1U. The cheapest of these costs about US$2000.

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Where are the creators of Wallace & Gromit from? "Wallace & Gromit" were created by Nick Park, who is from England. He began work on the first "Wallace & Gromit" film, "A Grand Day Out", while attending university. He joined Aardman Animations in 1985, after he graduated from university and had worked at the National Film and Television School with Peter Lord and David Sproxton, the company founders....

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Where can I find instruction booklets for secondhand camcorders? Some manufacturers provide copies on-line of the manuals for their product lines, usually in PDF format. This is a very hit and miss operation, since some companies provide copies of all of their manuals, some provide copies only of newer products, and some provide no support at all. Manuals are usually found under headings such as "Support" or "Download". You need to...

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What kind of red wine should I drink if I don't like heavy or bitter notes? You need to choose a wine that is made from one of the lighter-bodied red wine grapes, has been fermented quickly, and has not been barrel-aged for any significant period of time. Gamay would be a good first choice. It is the principal grape in the Beaujolais region of France and has been successfully exported to the new world (e.g., Canada, US, Chile, Australia, New Zealand). It is also...

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What's the difference between traditional and folk guitars? The term "traditional guitar" is a generic term for acoustic guitars in general, instruments that produce their sound using only acoustic amplification. This contrasts with electric or electro-acoustic guitars, which use electrical pickups (e.g., wound coil with metal string, vibration transducer with nylon strings) and amplification. The term folk guitar usually refers to a...

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My 32" LCD TV is making a high-pitched hum/buzz sound that is still audible when the TV is muted and when in it's stereo or in surround sound. What is this? Can I fix it myself? This could be caused by any of several reasons; some potential candidates are listed below. The only way to investigate most of them is to open up the television, turn it on, and inspect the interior. This is extremely danerous if you are not familiar with servicing electrical devices. Don't do it if you have no experience, because a shock can be a life-altering experience (i.e.,...

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Are there any TVs that'll mute commercials for me automatically? Some have tried to do this, but there is no effective way to identify and mute commercials. They contain no consistent and reliable identifying features. Many commercials are played at a higher volume level, but this is a very inaccurate way to identify a commercial, since the average volume of program material varies. The volume is highly variable within a program: chase scenes, gunshots,...

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Is it really necessary to wash white and colored clothes separately? I have never had problems mixing coloured and white clothing, although I do wash brand new, brightly-coloured clothing separately the first couple of times through the washing machine. I never wash my clothing in hot water, which is more liable to cause colours to bleed. I also avoid bleaches and similar products. Since almost all of the clothing I own is cotton or has a substantial...

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How should I clean an LCD screen? In most cases, the screen usually needs only a light dusting. I use a hand-held Swiffer (tm) duster to dust my audio and video equipment, since this product works quite well for this job. This product is very useful for dusting where there is limited space or around more delicate components, such as a tonearm or tubes. (It is a very expensive way to do general household cleaning, so I only...

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What is fixed resolution on an LCD screen? The fixed or native resolution of a digital display device, such as LCD or plasma, refers to the number of pixels that are physically available in the display, not the resolution of the video formats it can display. A LCD display manufactured with a native resolution of 640x480 pixels, for example, needs to downsample incoming 720p and 1080i signals to fit the number of available pixels....

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Are professional-grade appliances worth the extra money? Professional tools and appliances are designed to survive conditions in a commercial restaurant, where they may be used for 16 hours a day, seven days a week. A good part of their cost is reflected in this aspect of their design. If you plan to use an appliance on a daily basis and you want to keep it for more than a few years, a professional product may be appropriate. However, buying a...

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Where can I donate my used appliances? In addition to charitable organizations - always a good first choice - you can dispose of goods through FreeCycle (http://freecycle.org/). Look for a FreeCycle in your community and give it a try. FreeCycle was founded on the principle that keeping goods out of the waste stream as long as possible benefits all of us - the re-use in the equation. FreeCycle has one unbreakable rule:...

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Are audio books still available on cassette tape? Yes, although fewer titles are available than in the past. CDs now hold the larger share of the market, although a CD holds less information than a cassette tape (74 or 80 minutes compared to 90).

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Were audio books originally created for the deaf? No, they were created for the blind. Audio books have existed for over a half-century, first appearing on 78rpm records. After the demise of the 78rpm format, long-play (LP) versions of talking books were produced, usually cut at 16rpm instead of the more common 33rpm. Approximately 40 minutes per side could be recorded on a 16rpm LP. Audio books were also released on 1/4"...

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Can I play audio books on my iPod? Any audio file that can be imported into iTunes can be downloaded to an iPod. If the audio book is on a CD, you should be able to import it into iTunes easily using whatever compression scheme you choose (e.g., uncompressed WAV, Apple lossless encoder, AAC, or MP3). If the audio book is on a cassette tape, it can be digitized using your PC and then imported into iTunes. This is described...

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How are cheap wines and expensive wines made differently? Wine is big business in some parts of the world. The cost of a wine is dependent on many factors, including: - The terroir where a vine is grown has a great impact on cost. Terroir is that combination of temperature, rainfall, soil water, sunlight, and topography (e.g., altitude, slope, aspect) that control how well a vine will grow and the quality of its grapes. Two producers, located a...

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If I purchase used appliances, do the warranties still apply? The answer to that question rests solely with the manufacturer of the product. Some product warranties are non-transferable, which means they are only offered to the original owner of the product. If the item is sold, the warranty is not longer valid. Some manufacturers provide a warranty that is based solely on time, regardless of how many persons have owned the product. The only way to...

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What is the difference between sparkling wine and champagne? As the other answer noted, the name champagne is reserved for wines produced in the AOC Champagne region of France and made using the "méthode classique". All other ‘fizzy’ wines are sparkling wines. However, there are several different production methods, all of which affect the quality of the end product. Champagnes and many sparkling wines are made using what is called the...

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What makes expensive guitars better than cheap versions? There are a number of factors that affect the cost of guitars, many of which are shared with any musical instrument. - Smaller manufacturers, who tend to make the most expensive instruments, rarely have the benefit of mass-production to lower costs. They often take more time and care in the production of an instrument, which allows for a better fit and finish. Parts are often hand-cut and...

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What kind of dog is Gromit? He is one of that very special breed of highly-intelligent, plasticine dogs who can read and comprehend books, such as "Electricity for Dogs" and the instruction manual for "Techno Trousers". He is credited with being the "real brains behind the operation", according to Aardman's website. He might not be the innovator, but he gets to fix the problems caused...

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Where should I do research on a new car before purchasing? I have found one source that provides very good information: Phil Edmonston's "Lemon-Aid" car guides (http://www.lemonaidcars.com/). He publishes new versions of his books every year, with separate editions for used and new cars. Different vehicle categories are discussed in different books, e.g., cars and minivans in one book, trucks and SUVs in another. These books detail...

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Which refrigerator design is most efficient, freezer on top, freezer on bottom or side-by-side? Efficiency varies widely among different refrigerator models and designs. Top- and bottom-freezer models are approximately equal in terms of energy consumption, while side-by-side models consume more power. If you are concerned about energy-efficiency, skip the side-by-side models. Several other factors affect energy efficiency: - Models in the 16 to 20 ft^3 range are generally the most...

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Are the Wallace & Gromit movies made with computer effects, or are they done by hand with clay? Stop-motion animation using figures modelled from plasticine is the stock in trade of Aardman Animations. Aardman was founded by David Sproxton and Peter Lord in 1976, and produced several films using plasticine animation techniques. Nick Park, the creator of Wallace & Gromit, joined Aardman in 1985. He completed the first Wallace and Gromit film, "A Grand Day Out", in 1989 and...

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What are the names of all the films where Wallace & Gromit have appeared? Re: "Cite your source and rating will change" This is simple harrassment. Grow up. Complaints with Answerbag admin have been made concerning this and other ratings from you. ------------------------------------------------------------ The names of the films, as opposed to the names of the collections, are: 1. A Grand Day Out, 25m, 1989. 2. The Wrong Trousers, 30m, 1993. 3. A...

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Will any blank DVD brand work with the average DVD player? No, because the format of the DVD blank must be one that is supported by the player. Blank optical media are available in numerous formats, including DVD -R, -RW, +R, +RW, -ROM, and -RAM. Your DVD player might support all of these formats, but it doen't have to - you have to refer to the owner's manual for details on a specific player. The most widely-used format with prerecorded...

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I got a new computer and am looking to donate my old Dell computer. Are there any charities that accept computers? This is a marvellous question, since many households lack access to computers and most old equipment is simply tossed in the landfill. There are many programs that address both of these issues. In Canada, there is a program run in partnership with the federal government called "Computers for Schools" (http://cfs-ope.ic.gc.ca/). "Computers for Schools co-founded in 1993 by...

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What is a typical interest rate on a payday loan? Interest is just one part of the cost of doing business with a payday loan company. They cannot charge more interest than is permitted by law, which amount will vary with your legal jurisdiction. In Canada, for example, the maximum interest rate allowed under law is 60%. Most payday loan companies advertise interest rates well under this limit. However, these companies levy heavy fees...

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Is it safe for do-it-yourself enthusiasts to rewire the lighting in a bathroom? Although this is not a particularly difficult task, there are a few things you should do first: - In some jurisdictions, it is illegal to make any changes to the electrical wiring in your home without using a licensed electrician and/or acquiring a building permit and having the modifications checked by a building inspector. This would fall under both municipal and provincial / state...

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How can I publish pictures from magazines on my website without violating copyright? At the very least, you will require written permission from the copyright holder of the image that you want to display. Write a letter, e-mail is acceptable for the initial contact, to the individual or company that holds the copyright and ask for permission to use the image. You should include a list of the terms of use that you would like, e.g., permission to copy the image to one page of...

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Where can I find reproduction hinges for my '40s-era kitchen cabinets? I have found that Lee Valley Tools is a great source of all kinds of cabinet hardware. A large part of their business comes from amateur and professional woodworkers. They carry all sorts of tools, supplies, and hardware specifically for these clients. If they don't carry an exact reproduction of what you are looking for, there's a good chance one of their products would do the...

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I have a co-worker who's in need of a makeover. How do I tell her that she needs to dress better without being rude? The fashion police do not exist. Why should this individual accept your standard in place of their own? If this person's dress and appearance are acceptable for their position and their supervisor has no objections, you have no business telling them how to dress. Period. They will dress to the standards that they are comfortable with and are unlikely to welcome 'advice' from...

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What do I need to transfer video onto DVD? I have already provided an answer to this question elsewhere, but another copy never hurts... Transferring video to DVDs requires special hardware and software: - If the video source is a digital camcorder, you will need an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface. - If the video source is analog, you will need an analog video input card, capable of recording composite or s-video, as required. You...

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What actually is an OHM rating? An ohm is a unit of measurement, named after George Ohm, and is used to measure resistance. Resistance is a measure of the opposition of an electrical circuit to the flow of current through the circuit. Resistance to flow exists everywhere in electrical circuits. Pure resistance is not frequency-dependent, i.e., the amount of resistance will remain the same, regardless of the frequency of...

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I overheard a co-worker on the phone saying how she didn't like the boss. Should I tell the boss and get her fired? Let me tell you one thing about supervisors: some of their staff dislike them. And the supervisors already know who does and who doesn't. That is part of the job: you have no friends when you become a supervisor, because your management role will eventually come into conflict with one or more of your 'friends'. Spreading gossip - which is what this would entail - will be...

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If I have a 180 watt car stereo, how many watts do the speakers have to be? Re: "i think the person wants to know about a stereo not a amplifire" I am afraid that your understanding of what constitutes a "stereo" is at fault. An automotive stereo may contain any of the following sources: analog tuner, digital tuner (terrestrial and/or satellite), tape deck, and CD player. The stereo also contains a preamplifier, which provides volume control,...

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Can I use regular paint to refinish my kitchen cabinets? If the cabinets are made of real wood, frequently found in older homes, they can be painted with normal paint. They need to be thoroughly cleaned to remove any grease that has accumulated from cooking. Kitchen surfaces collect a thin film of grease and dirt over time. If the cabinets have a gloss or semi-gloss finish, the old surface should be lightly sanded before repainting to help the...

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Which electronics stores offer the best return policies? There is no single answer to this question, because every store or chain has a different return policy. The best way to avoid confusion is to ask the store for a printed copy of their returns policy. Some stores provide these to avoid arguments with the consumer. It may be printed on the sales receipt, so ask for a blank or voided copy of a receipt for your reference. If a printed copy is...

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Are brand-name electronics worth the extra money? In many cases, yes, although it is certainly true that all name brands are not created equal. However, there are at least three different categories of electronics, not the two most assume: no-name or unknown name mass-market manufacturers, name-brand mass-market manufacturers, and low-volume specialty manufacturers. What is the difference between a $25 audio amplifier, another at $250, and...

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Can I change the regional coding on my DVD player? Some players allow you to change the region from the remote, but the number of times you can do this may be limited. Manufacturers do this to avoid having to manufacture a different player for each region and video format (NTSC, PAL, SECAM). The information needed to do this may not be provided in the owner's manual, but may be available from the manufacturer. This would, for example,...

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I'm browsing new digital cameras. What resolution and pixel specs do I need? This depends on how you want to use the camera and how much you are willing to spend. For video cameras... Digital video cameras offer fairly modest resolution in comparison with still cameras. In general, the higher the resolution the better. A 16:9 HD image is 1920x1080 pixels, but may be scaled down when viewed on a television monitor. The sensitivity of the image sensor to light...

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How can I archive the photos off my digital camera without taking up too much space on my computer? The greatest amount of storage is offered by external rotating disk drives. Most use USB2 or Firewire (IEEE 1394A/B) interfaces. Drives can also be installed in hot- (swap when running) or cold- (power-down to remove or insert) swap mounts, which allow you to remove the entire drive from the computer for storage. However, all rotating disk drives are somewhat liable to failure. They may...

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How does the quality of photos taken on digital cameras differ from film cameras? As others have said, it depends on the application. I have one digital camera and a half-dozen film cameras. I use the film cameras for most of my work, principally B&W. A large-format camera - using 4"x5" and larger negatives - can produce an image with detail that cannot be matched by any existing digital camera. Some professional photographers take pictures with large...

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When were digital cameras invented? The development of digital imaging technology goes back several decades. Digital cameras are based on the photoelectric effect, which was first described about a hundred years ago: light falling on a photo-sensitive sensor could be used to generate an electrical current. The development of the photodiode, transistor, and integrated circuit all contributed to the development of digital...

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What is a universal DVD player? A universal DVD player is designed to read all major optical disk formats in use today. These include: - DVD-Video. - DVD-Audio (high-resolution audio format). - SACD (high-resolution audio format) - Red Book CD (standard audio CD). A universal player may be able to read other formats, such as MP3 and VCD, but buyers who are attracted to universal players are less likely to use these...

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How does a DVD player read a disc? DVD, CD, SACD, and Blu-Ray optical media are all similar. Blank disks are made from polycarbonate plastic. A reflective metal layer, usually aluminium, is applied to a polycarbonate base and protected by another, thicker layer of polycarbonate. The digital bits are created by forming pits in the metallic layer. The 'top' or label side of an optical disk is thinner than the...

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The images off my digital camera are way too big. Can I shrink their size without sacrificing picture quality? The end quality depends on the way in which any reduction in size is handled. Copies of the originals should always be archived to ensure you have a copy of the high-resolution original before it is edited. Most printers have a print resolution much higher than the screen resolution on a computer, so pictures should be printed at the highest resolution possible. If the picture is...

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What accessories are needed with digital cameras? These are generally the same as used with film cameras, with a few notable exceptions: - Spare battery with 120VAC charger. Some digital cameras drain batteries very quickly. - Data card(s) compatible with the camera. Professional cards offer better shock resistance and a wider temperature range. They can also be more reliable in the long term. They cost about one-third more than normal...

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What is lens aperture in digital cameras? There is no difference between the aperture in a film camera or in a digital camera. The aperture is the diameter of the adjustable iris that controls the amount of light passing through the lens and onto the film plane or digital sensor. An aperture is expressed as an f-stop, which is equal to Focal_Length / Aperture_Diameter, and is written: f/number. For example, if a lens has a focal...

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What is temporary custody? Temporary custody is time-limited. An individual may be granted temporary or interim custody of a child or dependent adult pending the outcome of a separation or divorce, if the parents are temporarily incapacitated (e.g., in an accident), or for any other reason the court would consider valid. The court specifies the period over which the custody order is valid, after which custody reverts...

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Is there any way I can discourage spiders from living in my garden? Not really, as they are there for the food. You cannot discourage them from being there, short of killing them. If you knock down their webs, they will simply rebuild them. Spiders are welcomed by gardeners, because they eat many insects that would otherwise eat the garden. You would need to use pesticides to control them, which can be counter-productive. Pesticides kill both the bad and...

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Do 49cc scooters typically come with a title, or some type of proof-of-ownership paperwork? They come with a bill of sale, which is generally accepted as proof of ownership. A bill of sale may be required by law for tax purposes when the vehicle is licensed, even if it was purchased in a private transaction between two individuals. You should check with the Ministry or Department of Transport to find out the precise requirements in your jurisdiction. Vehicles with an engine...

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I'm interested in adult dating online. Are there any precautions I should take? Rule #1: Trust no one until you can meet them in person and assess their behaviour for yourself. Rule #2: Trust nothing they say about themselves until you can meet them in person and assess their behaviour for yourself.

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How can I know if people are honest in their online adult dating profiles? Until you actually meet the individual in person and have the time to assess their personality, you have no way of determining how truthful they are. None. They remain strangers until you meet them yourself. Anything you do up to that point is based on trust alone. Personally, I am less liable to trust someone who I know only from the internet, given the extent and frequency of certain...

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Why won't my GoldStar DVD/VCR play video files I burn online? Chances are you are not creating a DVD-compatible disk. If you are simply taking video data files, encoded in formats such as avi, mpg, or mov, and copying them to a DVD as data files, they cannot be played back on a DVD player. A DVD disk uses a very specific format, in much the same way that a Red Book audio CD uses a very specific data structure and data storage format. A DVD contains...

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One hydrogen fuel technology uses ammonia (NH3) to store hydrogen. Where do we get all the ammonia, and what happens to the nitrogen waste? Ammonia is relatively easy to manufacture in large quantities and is one of the most commonly-produced inorganic compounds in industry today. Its main use is in HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) as a refrigerant, in heat exchangers, and in other applications where coolants are required. If it is ever used in a commercial and cost-effective fuel cell application, the...

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Can biodiesel be used on a large scale? Theoretically, yes. The existing fossil fuel manufacturing and distribution system is fully compatible with biodiesel distribution, eliminating the need for major changes to the infrastructure, such as will be required for hydrogen. I discussed what I consider the most important limitation of biodiesel in my answer to the question concerning the fuel's drawbacks. This is repeated...

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What are the drawbacks of biodiesel? This question is really part of the previous question on the advantages of biodiesel. It would have been easier to discuss the two subjects at once. However... Biodiesel does have some drawbacks. None of these pose any serious impediment to a greatly expanded use of biodiesel, with one possible exception. Biodiesel is burned to produce power and the combustion process will always...

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What are the benefits of biodiesel? The benefits of biodiesel are many. It is ideal for individuals who want to experiment, since biodiesel can be made at home. The process to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel is quite straightforward and is described in the Biodiesel Collaborative Tutorial (http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/). I attended a brief seminar last year on biodiesel, where the speaker demonstrated how it can...

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The Nazis exterminated those with various mental handicaps. Are there now fewer mentally handicapped Germans today than there were before the Holocaust, or did numbers stay the same, or increase? This question has no answer, because both the diagnosis and treatment of mental health is radically different from what it was in the early 20th century. What is a “mental defective” and who were the people that “Nazi medicine” so brutally killed? This issue has its roots in the ‘science’ of eugenics, which peaked in popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. The principle behind eugenics was that...

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If you hold a chicken upside down, will it fall asleep? Re: "This is cruel treatment of any animal" Not when its dinner. How do you think chickens are slaughtered and bled in small-scale operations? Or do you prefer not to think of these things when you eat dead chicken? Another petty rating from Answers101 (aka Beverlyofhills). ------------------------------------------------------------------ Depends if it has a head or not. Most...

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I'm using the KLH R7000 and I'm not getting any sound from my rear or center speakers. Do I need a coaxial or digital plug to make it work? This issue is discussed at length in another of my answers and is repeated here... Your problem probably stems from the way in which the home theatre (HT) receiver is configured and, possibly, the DVD player. I assume you are using a 5.1-channel system with left and right front channels, a centre front channel, left and right surrounds, and a subwoofer or LFE channel (low-frequency...

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When I do the speaker test on my KLH receiver all of the speakers work, but when music or anything else is played only three speakers work. What do I need to do to get all of the speakers to play in surround sound? Your problem probably stems from the way in which the home theatre (HT) receiver is configured and, possibly, the DVD player. I assume you are using a 5.1-channel system with left and right front channels, a centre front channel, left and right surrounds, and a subwoofer or LFE channel (low-frequency effects). Even if you are using a 6.1- or 7.1-channel system with one or two rear speakers,...

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Would growing my own tobacco make a safer cigarette? Probably not; the same could be achieved by switching brands. Although some companies adulterate the tobacco they put in cigarettes, many do not. Additives that are legal in one jurisdiction are often banned in another. It depends on what the law allows and what the practices of the individual company are. (It's a moot point in some respects, not unlike trying to find a natural form of...

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Can a snake crawl upside down, for example on a ceiling? No. An animal needs to grip the surface they are hanging from. Small animals can do this by hooking claws around small irregularities in the surface or into crevices. A few have limbs that can provide suction or are sticky, helping to prevent their slipping or falling. Snakes have no such abilities.

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Why do manufacturers of motorcycle cruisers, and magazines about cruisers, not post the horsepower ratings for their specific cruiser models? Some do, but the issue of horsepower is all rather moot. All motorcycles in this category have more than enough horsepower to do the job they are intended to do: carry one or two people on long-distance excursions, with their luggage and, possibly, towing a light trailer. My car, for example, has a two-litre engine and is the second most powerful car that I have owned over the past 30...

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Which country in the world is generally regarded to have the most freedom? "Freedom" is a relative term: relative to the individual and their perspective on the world. Every nations is a little different and a highly subjective concept like "freedom" cannot be simply quantified. What is the difference in the amount of "freedom" experienced in Canada and Belgium, for example? Next to impossible to quantify without examing the details of...

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What are the roots of terrorism? "Terrorism" has existed throughout recorded history. It is important to recognize that there are two forms of terrorism: - Terrorist actions carried out by individuals or groups to further their own agenda. - Terrorist actions carried out by a government (Rwanda and Darfur genocides) or its agents (e.g., El Salvadoran right-wing death squads) to further the goals of the government...

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Is it illegal to read someone else's e-mail? In Canada, it is usually treated as an illegal act, under current privacy legislation. There are exemptions, such as an employer monitoring the content of e-mails and external IP addresses that employees are in communication with. This is done for both corporate security and for monitoring activities that violate the law or any rules the employer has set on computer use (e.g., downloading...

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If red velvet cake is just chocolate cake with red coloring, how come I don't have any severe reactions when I eat it, since I am very allergic to chocolate? "Red Velvet" cake is made using cocoa powder. Cocoa is the main ingredient in commercial chocolate, but the two products are not chemically the same. Commercial chocolate contains several ingredients not found in cocoa beans and processed cocoa. The different types of chocolate, as well, differ chemically. Dark chocolate, for example, has a much higher percentage of cocoa solids...

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I have psoriasis around my pubic area and it gets very itchy. When I use prescription cream in the affected area it becomes worse over a couple of days. Is this psoriasis or something else? Without a physical examination, it is difficult to tell. However, there is a chance that it might not be psoriasis. However, we need to first look at the symptoms of psoriasis itself. The following description of psoriasis was obtained from the "Merck Manual of Medical Information", which was also used as a general reference for the remainder of this answer: "Psoriasis is a...

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Why don't colleges allow a student to remove grades and credits from their transcript? It would be a falsification of your academic record. A school is under an ethical obligation to report the results from all courses, not just those the student would like to show prospective employers. To remove course records so as to show a student in a more favourable light is unethical. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, to borrow an expression.

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If a person is allergic to housecats, does this mean that he or she is also allergic to wild cats, such as lions and tigers? Not necessarily, although if someone is allergic to dander from one animal, it is quite likely they are to another. There are no tests that I know of for lion or tiger dander, because these are not substances that people come into contact with on a routine basis. People are more liable to be exposed to cat, dog, and horse hair. (Horsehair was widely used for stuffing furniture prior to the...

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Is it safe to charge and run a laptop computer for hours using a UPS made for desktop computers? A UPS - an Uninterruptible Power Supply - can be used to power just about any electrical device. Simply because a unit is marketed as a computer product does not mean it cannot be used to provide power for desktop computers, laptop computers, radios, stereos, televisions, or any other electrical device you want to have protected from power outages and the voltage irregularities that can...

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How are KVA converted to AMP? You're talking about two different things here: current and power. Electricity can be viewed like a waterfall. The height of the waterfall is equivalent to the electrical potential, measured in volts (V), and the volume of water flowing over the top is equivalent to the electrical current, measured in amperes (A). Power is how much work the waterfall does or the amount of power it...

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Is an oxidant the same as a carcinogen? No. An oxidant is a substance that contains oxygen and that can react with another substance to produce a third material. Iron, for example, reacts with oxygen in the air to form iron oxide or rust, as it is commonly known. A carcinogen, on the other hand, is a substance that is known to promote the growth of cancer in a living organism.

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Are there any documented cases of a person being sealed in a coffin whilst they were still alive? This did happen in days when death could not be easily ascertained. Individuals who had fallen into a coma or a similar, death-like state, could be accidentaly buried. The fear of this was so strong that coffins were sometimes equipped with a bell on the top that could be rung by pulling on a string that led from the bell through a hole in the top of the coffin to the interior. This would...

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How easy would it be for an untrained person to remove and replace clothes from a corpse? It is not a matter of training per se. If you are alone, you would have to manipulate an inanimate object that could easily weigh 200 lb or more. By the time the corpse has reached the point of needing to be prepared for a funeral, rigour mortis would have set in, making the body difficult to bend at the joints. Changing the clothes is more difficult under these conditions. Manipulating a...

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I found a pill with 650 on one side and the letters O. M. on the other side. What could this be? This is a combination pain reliever (analgesic), which contains acetominophen and tramadol. This drug has the letters "O-M' on one side, the numbers "650" on the other, is pale yellow in colour, and is oblong with rounded ends. Acetominophen and tramadol are available separately or combined into one tablet. Tramadol has a stronger analgesic action than acetominophen.

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What is a Whatson 407, and does it contain barbiturates? It is manufactured by Watson Pharmaceuticals. The trade name of the drug is Linisopril and the "407" mark indicates it contains 10mg of the drug. The data sheet for this drug can be found at www.watsonpharm.com . It is not a barbiturate, but an ACE inhibitor (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme). ACE inhibitors are principally used to treat high blood pressure and related medical...

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What differences are there between societies that accept and accomodate gay, lesbian and transgendered people and those that don't? I am not certain that *any* society completely accepts the presence in their midst of non-heterosexual individuals. Some, however, are less progressive than others. There are two important motivating factors: religious and civil traditions. Both civil and religious traditions are often strongly opposed to homosexual behaviour. Many religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for example,...

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How do you clean up a broken mercury thermometer? Metallic mercury is poorly absorbed through the skin. If ingested orally or forced under the skin by broken glass (e.g., a thermometer breaking in the hand), it can lead to increased mercury levels in the blood or skin reactions. Although a brief period of contact is not harmful, some caution should be exercised in collecting it. A pair of disposable vinyl or nitrile gloves should be worn....

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Will some newspaper cartoonist ever again draw other artists cartoon strips, in a satirical manner, like they did on a previous April Fools day? Caricaturing comic strips has been a staple of MAD magazine since its inception over 50 years ago. A collection of these were compiled into the book "MAD About Comic Strips" in 2003, including the article "Final Episodes of Peanuts You Never Saw". Poor old Snoopy. Caricatures continue to appear from time to time in the print media, sometimes to commemorate the passing...

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About how many drawings have to be drawn for a 30 minute cartoon? This depends on the final medium: film or television. Film is displayed at a rate of 24 frames/s. Producing a 30-minute production would, therefore, require 24x60x30 or 43200 frames. The frame rate of video productions is 30 frames/s with NTSC and 25 frames/s with PAL and SECAM. Both of these need more shots to make up a 30-minute production: 54000 for NTSC and 45000 for PAL/SECAM. ...

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My DVD player has stopped reading discs. I get an error message stating "no disc." Can this be fixed? Yes. It is liable to be caused by a dirty laser lens. Cleaning the lens with a wet / dry cleaning disk (e.g., Milty) is recommended at regular intervals. If the lens is very dirty (e.g., if there are smokers in the room), it make have to be cleaned more than once. If cleaning does not correct the problem, the transport probably needs to be replaced. This is easy for a shop to do, but...

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Can you run speakers of different ohm ratings on the same receiver? Yes, but you should ensure that the amplifier can handle the output impedance. If you are using different speakers for the front and rear channels in a home theatre (HT) system, mixing brands, power ratings, or impedance should not be a problem as long as the speakers and the amplifier are matched. Don't use a 4-ohm speaker with an amplifier channel that recommends a minimum load of 8...

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Where can I find statistics on what are the top name brands when purchasing plasma televisions? "Consumer Reports" is always a good source, provided you take its recommendations with a grain of salt. Some of their rankings and recommendations are not as reliable as I would like to see and they take the position that all mid-priced video equipment produces the same image quality and audio equipment all sounds about the same. This is not correct, but is likely to be the case for...

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I want to use a plasma screen in the front window of my shop facing direct sunlight. Will prolonged exposure to sun damage the plasma screen? Direct sunlight should not affect the screen. After all, televisions can be located anywhere in the end user's home. You should check the owner's manual to see if there are any plastic elements that could deteriorate if left in direct sunlight for a prolonged period of time. However, a plasma television may fail earlier than expected in such an environment. The brightness and...

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If you tilt a plasma TV, does it get damaged? If the television is well-designed, tilting it should not affect its performance. However, there are a couple of cautions. You can never trust the manufacturer to design something so that it can be used in a way that is not intended. Most televisions are intended to be used in an upright or close to upright position. Installing them upside down, for example, could cause a heavy, plug-in...

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My kids left our plasma TV on overnight after watching DVDs. The next morning, there was no picture but there was sound. Could the pixels have worn out that quickly? Assuming it was a fairly new television and not several years old: no. All televisions are consumer electronics. All products can fail in normal use, because the manufacturing processes cannot make them perfect. A certain percentage will always fail short of their expected life. If you are lucky, they will break down while still under warranty. The warranty period is often a reflection...

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Are conventional SLR lenses compatible with digital SLRs? Yes, but usually not the other way. The issue involves the area the lens illuminates on the film plane or sensor. Lenses for 35mm SLRs are designed to provide a circle of illumination large enough to cover the 35mm negative: an area 36mm wide x 24mm high. Since the area illuminated is usually circular, these lenses can adequately cover a circle that is at least 36mm in diameter. Most...

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What can you do to avoid getting into an abusive relationship? Unfortunately, one of the best teachers is experience. A sobering reality. Such behaviour may not be immediately apparent when you first meet someone. The signs that something is not quite right may be there, but they can be subtle. If you have limited expereience in personal relationships or are of a trusting nature, some individuals will simply exploit you to their advantage. Some with...

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My compact stereo turns itself off suddenly, and says "protection." What's wrong? Some audio amplifiers have built-in output protection circuits. These will engage if there is a short or very low output impedance, if there is a fault in one or more speakers, if there is a fault in the protection circuit, or, the most common reason of all, you have turned the volume up too high. High volume levels will produce clipping, which causes severe distortion and can damage the...

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Why do we tease people we like? Teasing a friend is a process of sharing something humorous with another person whose company you enjoy and who you wish to share the humour with. It is quite common for parents to tease their children or married couples to tease one another, because this process is part of sharing a close, warm relationship with one another person. Humour is an easy way to relieve stress and bring a smile to...

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Is it possible to choose not to love someone? Love is a conscious choice. Since one can choose to love someone, one can also choose not to. We select those individuals to whom we wish to express love and from whom we wish to have love returned. It is customary for parents and children to love one another, but this practice is not cast in stone. Many parents and children go their own separate ways, without giving heed to the other....

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What does it feel like when you meet your soul mate for the first time? "Soul mate" is more romance than reality. Meeting, for the first time, the person who is to become your partner is usually just like meeting anyone else: maybe you get on with them, maybe you don't, but the response is usually fairly neutral. My mother didn't particularly like my father the first time they met. I didn't feel one way or the other about my wife when...

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Can you paint ceramic tile? Yes, with the following caveats: you must use a paint designed for use on tile and the surface must be properly prepared. There are several products on the market used for tile refinishing. Some are paints, which are used to cover the tiles without adding any texture. You can mask and paint with different colours to produce a new pattern, if you want. Some products are used to apply a...

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Can we please have "private FAQs" in each user profile page so we can ask fellow users questions that we want them to specifically answer? This feature may not exist, but anyone is free to make their e-mail address public by providing it in their "Personal Profile". Anyone who has made their e-mail address public has, implicitly, given other Answerbag users permission to contact them. Those who have not made their e-mail address or any other contact information public have demonstrated they want to retain their privacy...

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My ex-wife claimed she had no income in our divorce settlement, but I have documentation that she does have an income. Can I use this information to make her repay? Such information represents a material change in circumstances of one of the parties. If the amount you are required to pay in spousal support was based on her income at the time the settlement was made, this information can be used in court or through mutual agreement to ask for a variation on the amount you are required to pay. Any variation will not have the force of law unless it is taken...

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My current husband has been married before and was married for 21 years. Will his ex-wife still be entitled to his pension when he passes away? For private pension plans, this issue is dependent on what was included in any separation agreement or divorce orders that stemmed from his relationship with his ex-wife. Pension issues should to be settled during the divorce process, because substantial amounts of money can be involved. If overlooked, it could present a problem in the future. Pensions are usually settled based on the...

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What is the most valuable comic book? The value of a book can be greater than the price it sells for, as determined by those who trade them as trinkets for the wealthy, particularly when one considers the extremely inflated prices paid for 20th-century comic books and other samples of sequential art. Early forms of sequential art are more valuable than mid- to late-20th century comic books, because they show the evolution of a...

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Batteries come in AAA, AA, C and D sizes. Why not B? There is a 'B' size battery, but it is not used anymore. A number of battery sizes were standardized by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) in the early 20th century. Although a number of battery sizes were defined, industry has generally used fewer and fewer different designs over the years. When was the last time you bought an 'N' battery, for example? This...

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Is it safe to invade Cuba now that the Soviet Union has been dissolved? What would be the purpose of such an invasion? It be nothing more than yet another expression of the hostility the US government has persistently taken against the Cuban people. One does not go around invading countries for the fun of it, unless one wants to create an empire of imperialists. All such empires eventually collapse, frequently leaving ruination, death, and destruction in their...

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Why does the price of gasoline sometimes rise so quickly? This is partly economics and partly manipulation of the market. (Countless studies have been done that find gas companies don't fix prices and aren't in collusion with one another. I remain a sceptic.) The price of gas reflects two things: the price to replace the supply today and the process by which the companies manipulate prices on a local level. Oil prices fluctuate...

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of AC and DC generators? There are no advantages one way or the other, because the type of generator you purchase will be determined by the equipment you connect to it. If you need AC power, you purchase an AC generator, and vice-versa. This becomes a factor when you need to power both AC and DC equipment from one source. DC is not commonly used as the main power source, except for small consumer goods that are...

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What are the advantages/disadvantages of a digital camera as compared to a regular camera? Film stills remains ahead of digital in image quality and will for some time - I don't see the gap vanishing anytime soon, although many digital cameras will produce images that are good enough for the application. Digital is certainly the wave in the snapshot crowd and has made serious inroads into wedding, portrait, and commercial photography. It really depends on what type of...

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Why do guys get sympathy pains when they hear about someone getting kicked in the testicles? While sympathizing with another's pain, since many men have experienced the dubious distinction of being whacked where they are most sensitive, there is also another factor involved. Those little rascals are mobile and men can be very aware of their movement. These sensations may not be particularly comfortable. Muscles contract to pull the scrotum and the testicles closer to the body...

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What are the odds of success for a couple who reconcile for the sake of their children? Is it worth it? The success of such reconciliations is usually fleeting and often does not produce the desired end result. It strikes me that such relationships are more about nobolity than anything else. When a couple stays together "for the sake of their children" and nothing else, the result is a sham marriage relationship. Neither partner has anything invested in the other and, once the...

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Why do people who cohabitate prior to marrying have a higher rate of divorce? To be honest, I haven't seen anything that convinces me one way or the other. There are certainly surveys that suggest it, but there are others that do not. It could simply depend on how the survey was designed and conducted, something which is very dependent on the reason it was commissioned. The type of questions asked and the order they are asked in will affect the outcome of any...

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Why do men rent their tuxedos and women purchase their wedding dresses when they get married? Not all men and women where formal attire to their weddings. I have been married twice and wore a tuxedo on neither occasion. I wore a suit to my first wedding and a jacket and tie to the second - my hot pepper tie. Thinking back over all the weddings I've attended over the years, I don't recall very many where the groom actually did wear a tuxedo. It is certainly less common...

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Is it okay that my husband and I don't wear our wedding rings? There is no law that I am aware of that forces married couples, especially the women, to wear wedding bands. There is certainly no such law in North America and Europe. The wearing of wedding bands is a tradition, nothing more. It is certainly a tradition in western society and is part of the religious wedding services. By the way, wedding services rarely included the woman giving the man...

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What is the name of the component that will let you add more speakers to a standard 4 speaker home receiver system? I am not entirely clear what you are asking. What do you mean by "a standard 4 speaker home receiver system"? Most modern receivers are designed for the home theatre (HT) market and provide 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 channels (the .1 channel is the subwoofer) and will support up to six, seven, or eight speakers, respectively. You can, of course, configure these receivers to use anything...

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Can I put different watt speakers in the same system? Yes. Different power ratings don't really matter, since it is how the speakers are installed and used that counts. However, different power ratings suggests that the speakers are different, which may not be desirable. In addition, care should always be taken when adding more speakers to an existing audio system. If you install two different speakers for the left and right channels,...

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Is there a switch that allows a single set of speakers to be powered by multiple receivers? Yes, you could set something like this up, but it is usually not recommended. There are commercial switches available that are designed for this sort of task, for sale primarily to audio retailers. One could always build a switchbox, but there are several issues that the builder needs to address: - The contact resistance of the switch must be as low as possible (e.g., 0.1 ohm). A...

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Can the color of your bowel movement give you any indications about your health? In some circumstances, yes. Fresh blood and red or bright red flecks of blood in your stool can indicate a bleeding problem in the lower digestive tract, haemorrhoids, or an anal tear. Black and tarry stolls can indicate bleeding in the upper digestive tract, stomach, or oesophagus. Internal bleeding, either visible in the stool or invisible, can cause reduced blood iron levels. It may...

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What's the difference between stripping and "exotic dancing"? Nothing more than the words in most cases. "Exotic dancing" does not necessarily involve the removal of clothing covering the male or female genitalia, but it may. Stripping usually involves the removal of clothing that cover the genitalia, but it may not, depending on the legal jurisdiction. This can produce the ridiculous situation where a dancer leaves a tiny piece of cloth on...

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Why are some quarters a lot lighter than others? Coins are made of various metals, all of which vary in density (weight per unit volume). Even if the diameter of the coin doesn't change, its thickness might. This produces a coin that appears to be the same size, but weighs less. Some coins in the US are made by sandwiching a core metal with front and back layers made of a different metal. If all the outside dimensions remain the...

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In C, what is the difference between scanf and sscanf? scanf (scan-formatted) reads characters from stdin, normally the keyboard unless redirected, while sscanf (string-scan-formatted) reads characters from a string in memory. This is quite handy when you want to read a user input string into memory and then parse it. From the Borland C++ User's Guide... scanf: Scans and formats input from the stdin stream. The scanf function: -...

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Is it safe to 'light' a fart? Not if you mind having a little hair burnt off or skin scorched if things don't go right.

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How can you kill someone without getting caught? This answer treats the phrase "kill someone" as murder and related crimes... There is no sure-fire way. Some people are caught immediately, with some it takes decades. Death can intervene. Luck helps, if you believe that one deserves luck after murdering another human. Playing a low-level role in genocidal actions and population 'cleansings' is also moderately safe....

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I changed the needle in my turntable, and now my records still don't play. I have to turn the knob up as loud as it will go. But my speakers work for my CD, radio, etc. Have I put my needle in wrong? It is difficult to install a replaceable needle in the wrong orientation - they usually fit only one way. If the needle is aiming down and seated properly, you've pretty much got it right. There may be other problems, though. The wiring at the cartridge end is very fine and easily damaged. The wiring is also subject to damage if pulled on at the end of the interconnect. The...

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The stylus is broken off my Ortofon MC20 super moving coil cartridge. Can this be repaired at a reasonable cost? Ouch. The MC20 is no longer manufactured, but the last version produced - the MC20 Super II - is still available from some dealers. It appears to be selling somewhere around US$800. You might be able to have it retipped by contacting an Ortofon dealer and returning it to the factory for repair. Another option is to trade it in on a retipped MC20, if one is available. The cost of...

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Is it legal to copy an entire book verbatim without buying it? Ultimately, this depends on what rights the copyright holder grants to the reader. A copyright notice is included at the beginning of most books. For example, from a non-fiction book (randomly selected from my library) published in the US: "All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of...

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Is it illegal for my landlord to show a neighbor court documents which contain my personal information along with details of the court case involving my landlord and me? This is dependent on the legal jurisdiction in which you live. In Canada, for example, this can be considered an invasion of privacy under federal law and could place the landlord at risk of prosecution. A document on the public record (e.g., court documents available to the public) can be shown without risk, but information given in confidence to the landlord (e.g., personal information...

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What is the law regarding recording someone (audio, video, camera) without their knowledge? Privacy laws vary with the legal jurisdiction and the answer to this is completely dependent on where you reside. But in general terms, you are not permitted to record an image or voice of an individual without their permission. There are exceptions to this, of course. Exemptions may include monitoring for security purposes, recording individuals during a crime, and gathering evidence of...

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Can you take personal pictures in a retail store? This issue can fall under copyright law. If you record an image of an individual without their permission and then sell or publish it, you may be required to give the individual all copies of the image and any monies received from its sale. You may also be subject to a punitive fine. This is an issue in professional photography. A picture that is used by the media to show an event is...

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Is it legal to surreptitiously record a conversation with a visitor in my own house? This behaviour may not be permitted, unless there is a specific legal reason for it. Possible reasons include: making a record of a public or private area for security purposes, recording someone who is in the process of committing a crime, and gathering evidence from a person suspected of criminal activity. Exceptions tend to fall under the umbrella of security, law enforcement, and media...

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Why doesn't Answerbag allow responses to ratings and comments? Answerbag does allow responses to rating and comments. You are free to edit your own answer at any time. However, your new reply might be edited or the old reply restored by the administration if you violate any of the terms of use that you agreed to by joining this site. I frequently edit my answers to add new material or refine what I previously wrote and to respond to comments left by...

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Haven't some homeless people tried to work at a church? It seems churches would be more compassionate about their plight. I have a couple of things to add to the other answers, which have covered this question quite well... - There are many, many more homeless people than there are churches. And the churches that do exist only have so much money in their budget to support themselves and the social works they have made a commitment to. - When a church needs work done, they hire people with the required...

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What is the difference between Muesli and Swiss Muesli? Muesli is a blend of oatmeal and other cereals (grains), dried fruits, and nuts, eaten with or without milk at breakfast. The term muesli originated in Switzerland, but similar mixtures of cereals, fruits, and nuts were eaten in other European countries under different names. There really is no difference between "muesli" and "Swiss muesli" - it is simply a marketing...

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Why are dogs afraid of thunder? Some dogs are afraid of thunder for the same reason that some small children are: thunder is a loud, abrupt noise that arrives unexpectedly from somewhere beyond the animal's capacity to understand. This startles the animal and, because it cannot understand how the sound is formed and does not expect it when it arrives, can frighten it. A dog will vocalize this fear in precisely the same...

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Is it possible that there are colors that we cannot see and imagine because our eyes evolved in such a way that they cannot pick up those wavelengths? Visible light falls within a narrow range of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, with a wavelength of about 360nm to about 780nm [*1]. This covers the upper ultraviolet (UV) to the lower infrared (IR) spectrum, respectively. Electromagnetic energy that lies outside this range is not considered "light", because the human eye cannot perceive it. However, this energy does...

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How do some Answerbag users have so much time to ask and answer so many questions? Don't they have jobs like the rest of us? Yes, we do. Or I do, at any rate. However, about a month after I began visiting this site, I developed a condition that left me severely disabled - a compressed nerve caused by the arthritic deterioration of my lower spine. For a couple of months I was unable to walk or stand for more than a few minutes without experiencing excruciating pain. I could sit upright in a chair for an hour or...

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I have 3 12-inch subwoofers rated at 4 OHMS. Should I use a mono amplifier to power them versus a 2 or 4 channel amplifier? I am a little puzzled by this question. Are you proposing to use three subwoofers in a single audio system or build one cabinet to hold all three speakers? Do you plan to build your own cabinets yourself? More than two subwoofers in a system provides no benefits, unless the listening room is a large hall, while making bass management more of a headache. It is not so much how the subwoofer...

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How are plastic shopping bags manufactured? Industrial manufacturing processes are fascinating to watch and few people know how common, everyday items are produced. Plastic bags start out life as large, thin rolls of plastic, often produced by the bag manufacturers from plastic pellets. The plastic can be produced in different colours by adding coloured pellets to the semi-transparent raw plastic. The roll of plastic is unwound and...

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Will Answerbag decorate the site with holiday themes? As I stated previously concerning another suggestion to tart up the site with little graphic medallions for all those good little contributors: I certainly hope not. Besides, my holidays and your holidays may not be the same and probably don't have the same degree of meaning. What would you do? Review every day because it might be a holiday for someone, somewhere, who speaks English...

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Does AB plan on awarding "intangible" rewards (e.g. graphic ribbons or medals to display on our profiles) for our achievements? I hope not. Information and knowledge are far more valuable than having our egos stroked. I don't see any importance in doing this and it would not contribute anything useful to the site. It would, however, clutter up the pages unnecessarily.

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What would be the hallucinogenic effect of consuming a massive dose of around 1000 LSD tabs at once? This dose would be on the order of 100,000ug to 300,000ug of LSD, depending on the size of the tab - 300ug used to be fairly standard, but some dealers / manufacturers would water it down to 100ug. This is a ludicrous amount of the drug that has never been tested on any human or animal (equivalent dose). For those who believe that hallucinogenics should be taken in a controlled environment to...

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How can you keep an indoor garden alive and healthy if you're not at home half the time? If you are routinely away for periods of more than one week, you may find it difficult to grow many plants. The situation is worse in winter, where the dry air causes plants to dry out even faster. The best solution would be to find plants that can survive on a little benign neglect. Some plants only need watering once or twice a week. Many people grow cacti for this very reason. You...

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Why would you extract oils from plants and flowers? Many people use oils extracted from garden plants and flowers as aromatics around the home. The oils can be used for many applications, including aromatherapy, in sachets, and molded into candles. Some people use the oils and other parts of the plants in homemade traditional medicines, such as syrups, tinctures, and ointments. And if you are really ambitious and have a lot of garden to...

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If nothing has been done to a garden for several years, what can be done to save it? I would dig it all up and start over, if it has been let go for some time. I have done this in the past to provide a fresh slate, so to speak. Trying to "save" a neglected garden is just as much work and the results may not please you in the end. The nice thing about plants is they can be easily moved, except for trees, and you can replace them any time with something else if your...

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Can US citizens banned from donating blood for being in Europe for more than 6 months donate blood in other countries and get paid for it? If so, which countries? Most western nations do not pay individuals for blood donations, although it is the standard practice in the US. A volunteer system is used, in which people freely donate blood and receive it at little or no cost when needed. Volunteer blood systems depend on the individual's sense of responsibility to the community, not a profit motive. The blood system in the US runs quite differently...

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Could giving blood actually be good for you because of the new blood your body produces afterward? If so, would blood-letting be as good for you? No. Removing blood leaves an individual in a slightly weakened state. The body does produce new blood to replace that which has been lost, but the 'quality' of the new blood is not better than the old. If too much blood is withdrawn, it can lead to a fatality. This was, however, one of the reasons used to support the ancient medical practice of bleeding a patient. Any...

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If blood banks are so desperate for donations, and there is a quick and easy way to test blood samples for HIV, why can't people in "high risk" groups give blood? There are any number of reasons for screening out individuals, apart from HIV / AIDS. The Canadian Blood Services uses the following basic screening criteria: ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Minor illness Donors are required to feel well at the time of donation. A cold, flu or allergies may prevent someone from donating. 2. Drugs/Medications Some...

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Is Mosad, the Israeli Intellegence service, named after Masada, the fortress where a band of Jews famously held back the Roman legions? No, Mossad has no relationship to Masada. The name is an abbreviation for the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations or Ha'mosad le'Bitahon U'le'tafkidim Meyuhadim, which is commonly rendered as Mossad in English. A more detailed description of their role and how they came into being is provided on their website: http://www.mossad.gov.il/ (and, yes, there is...

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Are people with Fibromyalgia eligible to donate blood? Yes, because there is nothing about the condition that might present a risk to a blood recipient. Fibromyalgia is not transmitted through the blood, but rests in a basic malfunction of the individual's body in a very specific way. It is not the condition that would provide a reason to reject the blood, it is the presence of certain drugs in the bloodstream that were taken too closely to...

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Would it be possible to design a derail-proof train and track? If so, how would this be built? The short answer is: no. A derailment can be caused by many factors, some of which are not directly related to the wheel-rail interface. If we take the design of a roller-coaster that can be held in any orientation, for example, these designs are not proof against derailments. Derailments can be caused by problems in many areas: - Railcar: wheels, bearings, bearing adapters, sideframes,...

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What are the piston devices on the ends of each train car that British trains have but American trains don't? They are called buffers and they are used in many places around the world, not just in the UK. Their purpose is to act as a shock absorber when railcars are coupled or impact one another. Some coupler designs do not work well in compression - think of a length of chain: great in tension, but poor in compression. When railcars are coupled with simple link-type couplings, buffers provide end...

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Every time I push the power button on my 35" JVC television model AV-35750, the power light comes on for just a split second and then goes out. This happens whether I use the remote or not. What could be the problem? Sounds like a relay circuit is not latching on when the television is turned on. This problem might be in the power supply subassembly or it might be elsewhere, depending on the circuit design.

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I have a 5 year old Hitachi HDTV and a DVR through my cable company. For the past few months, the picture has had blue and yellow shadows. Could the problem be the cable lines or is it probably the TV? Isolating the problem is fairly simple. The first thing to do would be to disconnect the television from all other equipment. Using a VCR or a DVD player, loaded with media that you know works properly - test it on another television to make sure. Connect it in turn to each of the televisions inputs. If you have the television connected to cable via a single cable, any VCR can provide a...

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How do I explain to a child why it's important to take a bath or shower? Young children do not really understand the need to keep clean, except in a very general manner. Getting dirty while they play is either fun or not even noticed. It is far easier to make bath time a fun and cheerful experience, which the child will look forward to, rather than trying to make a two-year old child understand hygiene in any meaningful way. That can come later, after bath time...

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What sorts of things can be indicated by wearing rings on certain fingers (e.g. left ring finger means you're married.)? Professional engineers wear an iron ring symbolizing their profession on the small finger of the right hand. My father lost his first one and wore one he made from a piece of iron pipe for many years.

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How do you ride a motorbike on icy surfaces without falling off? Don't. Park the bike at home if snow is expected. Having been caught once on slippery, snow-covered roads, I can attest to the fact that you have very little control and must drive slowly and carefully. This takes your attention off the rest of the traffic, which is your main enemy on the road. Your slower speed also makes you more liable to become involved in an accident. If you...

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If you cannot avoid an imminent impact on a motorcycle, should you jump off the bike? Never. If there are no other options, lay the bike down. This will slow you down quickly and can offer some protection in a collision. It will hurt, but if your body becomes a projectile in the air, travelling in the same general direction and close to the same speed as the motorcycle, you are liable to far more serious injuries. ...

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I know that if a man gets his right ear pierced it means he's gay. But if a woman only wants one ear pierced (the cartilage), does it matter which one? There is no sexual meaning attached to which ear a man has pierced. It's an urban myth that changes with the locale. In one city I lived, some said a pierced left ear meant the guy is gay. In another where I lived, it was the right. I have worn an earring for 30 years and have listened to all kinds of such nonsense, so I can safely say that a guy wearing an earring means nothing to...

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What does it mean when a pair of shoes is hanging from power lines or telephone wires? It usually means that some poor kid's shoes have been pinched and tossed over the wires to put them out of his or her reach. Other reasons include throwing away old footwear and alcohol-fueled challenges to throw something accurately while the ground is spinning round.

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Is it a coincidence that the Dodge Ram logo resembles a vagina? This sounds like a bit of wishful thinking. The Dodge Ram logo looks very much like the face of a male (ram) mountain sheep, with a bit more curve to the horns and with the horns tucked in somewhat tighter to the head than normal (http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=94). This makes the logo narrower than it would have been if it was an accurate representation of a ram's head - about twice as...

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What word(s) are cried to hear an echo when people reach the top of mountains? Silence is the most appreciated sound humans can add to nature. If you absolutely must make a noise, a handclap or a whistle is acceptable.

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Are there any words in the English language that are spelled without using a vowel? Everyone seems to have forgotten that the vowels in the English language are 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u', and *sometimes* 'y'. That was the English grammar I was taught in school. A vowel is formed of an unstopped sound. 'Y' in 'yellow' is a stopped sound and is a consonant. A couple of answers used the words...

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How do I tell my parents that my boyfriend has a son from a previous relationship? I would expect this would depend on your age and the age of your boyfriend. If either of you are older than 18 to 20, parenthood is a real possibility. If not, parents are aware that 'accidents' happen. Their concern would be that such an 'accident' would happen to you and leave you a single mother with a child to care for a an early age. It happens all too often. It...

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Why do female dogs eat the afterbirth? Many animals clean up after giving birth, to prevent leaving signs for predators who could be tempted by the smell and make a meal of the young. In nature, animals will eat the afterbirth, the umbilical cords, and, if the newborn animal at the end of the cord fails to respond to the mother, their stillborn or sick young. Rotting tissue left around a den or nesting area will attract...

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Is it possible for frost to form in the daytime? Yes. While it may not form on surfaces exposed to the full sun, it can easily form in shaded areas when the termperature is cold enough. For example, anyone who has parked a car outside in cold weather has had to scrape frost off the inside of the windows on the shaded side of the car.

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How much energy was created when the "big bang" occurred? This cannot be measured. The monobloc or universal structure that existed prior to the bang, in theory, contained an immense amount of material with an unmeasurable energy potential. At the time of the bang - the early expansion phase of the universe - energy was released in a myriad number of ways, as the latent energy of the monobloc was released and matter was converted to energy and other...

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Can someone else finish one's prison sentence? No. At least not anywhere that we would call "civilized". A person who has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to a term in jail or prison must serve their sentence. This serves the intent of the judicial system. In addition, the government cannot legally imprison someone who has not been sentenced. There is no legal way that one person can serve another's time. This...

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My 13-year-old nephew has missed 40 to 50 days of school this year. Why hasn't a truant officer been sent to his house? Frankly, very few educational jurisdictions employ "truant officers" today and not that many did in the past. Ultimately, you cannot force an older child (e.g., 12 or older) to attend school or do any school work. Even if the child is physically present, he or she may be mentally absent or make themselves so unruly that they become a distraction to the rest of the class and have...

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How are speed limits determined? Although some might believe they are set to rake in as much money as possible from fines, such is not the case. Speed limits are determined by many factors. There is a need for all roads to be consistent with other, similar roads throughout a jurisdiction. You will not find a four-lane divided highway in one part of a province or state with a speed limit very much different from that on...

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Does the petrol in your car really get used up quicker once the needle goes past half full or does it just seem that way? It just seems that way, because the scale is somewhat non-linear. A fuel gauge in a car need only provide an approximate reading for the driver; precision is not required and is not provided. The measurement linearity is dependent on several things: the design of transducer installed in the tank, the accuracy of the transducer and gauge, and the shape of the fuel tank. All of these cause...

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My truck was repossessed and I have tried to contact the people who took the truck but they won't return my calls. What can I do? The people who repossessed the vehicle were hired by the company who owns the vehicle. Remember, you don't own the vehicle until it has been paid in full and the contract discharged. The company that repossessed your vehicle has nothing to do with you as an individual and are not obliged to answer your calls - you are not their employer. Contact the company or individual who hired them:...

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Will a repo man go to another state to retrieve a car? If the law in both states permits, yes.

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I bought a car with my girlfriend and my name is first on the loan and title. She has both keys for the car and the actual car. Can I have the car repossessed or have a key made so I can take it back? Girlfriend or ex-girlfriend? You cannot "repossess" a car that has her name on the title, assuming that the two of you actually own the vehicle and there are no loan payments outstanding. Technically, since the car is in both your names, you are co-owners and you are both entitled to use it, providing you are covered by insurance. You could "take" the car back by having...

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When an auto is repoed, are they allowed to drive it or does it have to be towed? Such a decision would be subject to any laws that might apply to the situation. If you jurisdiction states nothing on the matter, the way your vehicle is removed is up to the lender and the company they hire to perform the repossession. Individuals who drive repossessed vehicles are bonded, because of the legal liability. Remember, you don't own the vehicle until after it is paid in...

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I have not made a payment in 90 days but I now have the money to catch up. Can the bank refuse the payments since they have already sent someone to repossess but I still have the vehicle? Yes. If you have not met the terms of the contract, the lender is fully entitled to enforce any provisions in the contract that apply if the borrower defaults. You must speak to the lender concerning this matter. If you are a defaulter, you are in violation of the contract and can loose the vehicle and be held liable for any and all expenses related to the repossession. The time to...

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Before my car gets repossessed, can I still catch up on delinquent payments to the bank if I have the money? Read the contract and talk to the lender. The contract will state what your obligations are and you lender can clarify these and, possibly, come to an arrangement with you for payment. However, this may leave a black mark on your credit rating until the debt is paid in full.

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If my vehicle is repossessed, and subsequently sold for more than what is owed, am I entitled to any money back? Nope. You never owned the car in full: the finance company owned it. If it was repossessed, it means that you did not meet the terms of the contract. In such a case, the company can repossess their property and dispose of it as they wish. If the car sells for less than you owe, you are liable to pay the balance. If it sells for more, they receive the profit, less any costs associated...

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If a vehicle is repossessed and sold at auction for less than the amount owed, does the finance company still expect you to pay the balance? Yes. You signed a contract agreeing to pay a certain amount of money in a certain manner. Such a contract will state that you can use the vehicle, until it is paid in full according to the terms of the loan. Contracts also include a list of the penalties that may be imposed if you fail to meet the terms and, often, a description of possible resolutions. If a vehicle has been repossessed,...

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How can police corruption be reduced? Human nature will always provide ample opportunity for corruption wherever the possibility for personal gain exists. Police corruption in North America and Europe is a relatively minor issue. When discovered, the media seize on it and make a big splash, which can make it seem more common than it is. There are already laws and regulations that are used to control this problem. Offenders...

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How do I kick my husband out of our apartment? He wants a divorce, but his name is on the lease. Although other posters have stated that the financial obligation of the lease may be an issue, it really isn't. People who own homes and have a financial obligation for the mortgage are in exactly the same situation. Yes, his name is on the document, but the finance company or leaseholder will get their money the fastest and easiest way they can. They don't care who pays the rent,...

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How long will cream cheese keep in the refrigerator? Cream cheese is a fresh cheese, along with products such as cottage cheese and quark. Fresh cheeses have the shortest storage life of all cheeses and most of them should be kept refrigerated (curd cheese is an exception - it is best when stored at a cool room temperature, but has a shelf life of only a few days). Fresh cheeses ideally should be consumed before the "best before"...

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If my mom lives in another state and doesn't have a job, does she have to pay child support? If she has been ordered to pay support by the courts or has agreed to do so in a separation agreement, then she is legally required to pay support. If she has experienced a temporary change in circumstances, she can petition the court for a variation or reach an out-of-court agreement with the custodial parent to reduce or suspend support payments temporarily. If she resumes work at a lower...

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My ex husband, who is the non-custodial parent of our teenage children, is moving out of state. Can he still cover their health insurance even though he will be living in a different state? Of course. (I assume you live in the US where this is an important issue.) If it is his legal responsibility to provide such coverage, as spelled out in a court order or separation agreement, then it is his responsibility to ensure that the children are covered, regardless of where he lives or for whom he works. If he has moved to work for a different employer, he will need to have the...

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If there is a court order that says there is to be no smoking by my ex around our child, what can I do if she keeps smoking anyway? If there is a court order or a separation agreement and it is being violated, then you may need to have it enforced in some manner. (I am a little surprised that such an order would be granted, unless there is a medical problem with one of the children that is aggravated by second-hand smoke.) Does the order or agreement state what would happen if your ex-partner continued to smoke around...

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My brother and I want to live with our mom, but she has a bad history, though she's clean now. Is there anything we can do? This depends a great deal on your age, with whom you are presently living, your mother's living arrangements, and the status of any court orders that may affect the situation. There is also the issue of why you want to live with your mother. Is it because you are not getting your own way at the present, living with your father or a legal guardian, and think things will be wonderful if...

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What would happen if a party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons, but their leader does not win his/her riding? The leader may also choose to sit in the Gallery, observe Parliament, and lead the elected members from outside. René Lesvesque, founder and leader of the Parti Québecois, did this prior to his government winning the 1976 provincial election - and his first seat after two previous losses.

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Why do leaders of the major parties always, without fail, seem to win their ridings? There have certainly been times when major provincial leaders have not held a seat and were unable to present a voice for their party in parliament. In the first two provincial elections that the Parti Québecois ran in Québec, their leader and founder, René Lesvesque, was unable to win a seat. It was not until the upset victory by the PQ in 1976 that Lesvesque held a seat. He was unwilling...

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What is the purpose of red government license plates in Ontario? As the other poster stated, they are used by diplomatic personnel. Ontario uses the white on red license plates to identify the following groups: - CDx-series: diplomats (e.g., CDA 123). - XOR or XTx-series: embassy staff. - CCx-series: consular corps. Some of the normal blue on white licenses also have special political codes, such as SEN (Senator), MPP (Member of Provincial...

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After gold has been mined, does it grow back? No. Gold does not form like some materials, such as crystallized compounds. Gold mining is very dependent on economics, as are many mining operations. A gold mine that has been economically worked out does not mean that there is no gold left - it means that the cost of extracting the gold is more than the cost of selling it. This is true of many products, not just in mining. A company...

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What are the most shares that an individual can buy of "The Gap"? As with any publicly-traded company, as many as you can afford to buy of those that are available at any given time. Purchase enough and you can control the company. However, this invariably forces you to buy out large, vested interests, who usually do not put their shares up for sale unless they are willing to sell the company. The President and CEO of Gap Inc. are required to hold at least...

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Where can I get information about how to tune my Samsung DLP TV? Read the owner's manual first. Any controls that the manufacturer wants the user to have access to are described in the manual. You should supplement this with a calibration disk (e.g., "Digital Video Essentials" from Joe Kane Productions). Take your time going through the calibration process and you will usually get acceptable results. Many television have...

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I have a Toshiba 32-inch tube television (CZ32T31) that has developed a "bloom" of color from each side of the screen (bluish/green on one side and red/yellow/orange on the other). What is this and how can I fix it? The problem sounds very much like a magnetic problem, just as the other poster described. However, leaving the television unplugged for a period rarely fixes this problem. The television may have a "degauss" feature built in - this should be used first. Magnetic fields warp the image produced by the CRT guns. If a magnetic field remains close to the television tube for long...

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My 1994 Zenith 48" TV needs the projection colors adjusted so they line up. How do I do this? As a supplement to the other answer and repeating information from some of my answers elsewhere... All rear-projection CRT (RPCRT) televisions need to have the guns properly aligned after the television has been moved or after a couple of years. This drift is normal. There are usually consumer-accessible alignment programs built into the television - check the user manual. If you want to...

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My 19" 1998 White Westinghouse TV makes a creaking, cracking sound occasionally. What might cause this? Is it broken? If it is a mechanical noise, such as the case creaking or popping, it is likely a thermal issue. As the unit warms up, the temperature changes cause the internal components to slightly change size and/or shape (e.g., warp). As the components physically change, they will move around and these movements can produce sounds. For example, if a circuit board is held tightly in a slot, movement...

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My White Westinghouse TV shuts down after 3 or 4 hours and won't come back on. What could be wrong? This is most likely a thermal problem. Equipment with temperature-related problems usually work properly when first turned on (i.e., cold) and fail after the unit has warmed up. If the television works fine after it has been turned off for a few hours, it is certainly a temperature-related fault. The problem could be in the power supply, perhaps a defective thermal circuit breaker if one...

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May an individual buy shares of the Avon company? Avon is traded on the NYSE under the symbol AVP. It's current share price is just under US$29 (2006-03-06).

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I've never had a green thumb, but I'd like to plant some flowers this year. Which plants are the heartiest and easiest to take care of in Ontario's climate? This question is similar to one later in this section, so I repeat much of my answer here... You should begin by determining within which plant hardiness zone you reside. Plant hardiness zone charts are available from Agriculture Canada at http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/intro.html . The boundaries of the zones were adjusted in 2000, defining them more accurately and...

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What are the ingredients of the solution given out by florists with cut flowers to keep them fresher longer? These generally contain plant nutrients: fertilizers balanced for use with flowering plants. Some also add anti-bacterial and/or anti-fungal agents.

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When is the best time to begin growing seedlings indoors in Southern Ontario? You should begin by determining within which plant hardiness zone you reside. Plant hardiness zone charts are available from Agriculture Canada at http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/intro.html . The boundaries of the zones were adjusted in 2000, defining them more accurately and including local microclimates. The Canadian plant hardiness zone system is not the same as the one...

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I received an e-mail from PayPal telling me that there has been fraudulent access to my account. I am not registered with PayPal at that e-mail address that was used. Is this a scam? YES. Do NOT respond to any such message. This is known as a "phishing exploit", because the person who sends the e-mail is fishing for anyone who takes the bait. All such messages from any source (e.g., Paypal, eBay, your bank, your finance company) can be treated as fraudulent. ALL of them. If you inspect the e-mail contents, you will find that every link points to a real...

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Does smoking weed kill your taste buds? No, it does not "kill your taste buds". However, some people find that smoking anything for a period of time will tend to dull the taste of some foods. The sense of taste returns after you stop smoking for a while. This is more of an issue with tobacco smokers, who may easily consume more tobacco in one day than a marijuana smoker does in one week.

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Are there health risks associated with smoking marijuana out of metal? To the best of my knowledge, no. Any dangers would arise from inhaling particles of vapourized metals or ingesting certain metals in any way. The heat generated by the burning marijuana or hashish is not hot enough to vapourize the metal. The bowl also tends to become covered with the sticky tars produced during combustion, producing a lining of sorts. Many pipes are made from chromed...

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Is smoking marijuana more harmful to your lungs than smoking cigarettes? There is an element of truth in this statement, but one must also look at it from a larger perspective. Yes, smoking marijuana or hashish is somewhat worse that smoking a tobacco cigarette. Inhaling the smoke from any kind of burning vegetation irritates the lining of your lungs. Many of the chemical by-products of combustion are unhealthy and some are known carcinogens. You are also...

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Does vinegar remove THC from your system? No. I presume you are referring to claims made for apple cider vinegar, which seems to be a popular new age health panacea. Apart from the flavour it imparts when using for cooking and in salad dressings, apple cider vinegar really doesn't do any of the things people claims it does. On the other hand, it doesn't have any adverse health effects, which is more than can be said for...

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My Sony Trinitron XBR started displaying the entire image in blue when I turn it on. After about 5 minutes of oscillating between normal and blue, the image goes and stays normal. What could be wrong? There is a temperature-related fault in the circuit somewhere, but it sounds like the television is fine once it has warmed up sufficiently. You should get this repaired if the television is still under warranty. Otherwise, it is probably best if you live with the problem. It may not get any worse, but if it does you should have the television serviced.

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My Sony rear projection (3 picture tube, 3 lenses model KP-53v15/KP-53V16) just started to show color ghost images and curvature in the picture. The sound is fine, and the cable input is fine. What could be wrong? It sounds like the normal thing with a rear-projection CRT television: it needs to be calibrated and, particularly, to have the video guns aligned. RPCRTs have probably the best picture of any type of television on the market, but go out of alignment quite easily. Each video input should be properly calibrated whenever the television is moved; they will also druft out of alignment over time....

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My Sony Trinitron screen usually stays black for a few minutes after I turn it on, then it blinks for another few minutes. Is there anything I can do to fix it or should I just get another television? It certainly sounds like there is a fault somewhere in the television, but before you dump it and run out and buy another, you should get a rough estimate of how much it would cost to repair it at an authorized Sony service centre. If the television is ten years old or more, you should probably look at replacing it, as newer models certainly can provide better image quality. If it is five...

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What is the difference between HDTV and HD-Ready televisons? To be little more precise and to add a caution... An HDTV is a television that is designed to receive and properly display television signals in either of the two ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) broadcast formats: 720p and 1080i. The native resolution of the television should be either 1080 pixels or 720 pixels, but it might be lower in cheap sets (e.g., 480). A television...

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Where can I find the schematics of a JVC TV model AV-27920? I would contact an authorized repair centre for JVC and ask if they have them for sale or will copy one for you. First ask if you can buy them, since schematics are rarely free these days and an offer to pay for it will make you look better and will make them more liable to help - nobody's time is free. Few companies provide such information, as they did in the 'old days' by...

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Does the United States still use depleted uranium ammunition? Yes, it is very much part of the US arsenal and was used extensively in Iraq during the First (Operation Desert Storm) and Second Gulf War. Depleted uranium (DU) shells were also used in Kosovo and Bosnia. Uranium is a metal and is about 1.7 times as dense as lead. It can be made into a very hard alloy, well-suited for use in artillery shells. Because of its density, it is particularly...

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How many hydrogen bombs would it take to destroy the world? Far more than any of us could possibly imagine. In spite of doom and gloom fantasies, humans lack the ability to destroy the world. We also lack the ability to destroy all life on it. However, we do not lack the ability to do substantial damage to the flora and fauna sharing this planet with us. But life has always pulled through and has gone on to diversify beyond our wildest dreams. It...

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Can you get a false positive pregnancy test result while taking Lexapro? There are no such warnings in any of the freely available information on this drug to indicate that it could produce such a result. If you are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant and are taking this drug, please take notice of the following. No studies have been performed with Lexapro on pregnant women. However, studies have indicated it may produce a lower survival rate and a...

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When did the Irish begin to emigrate to the US? The emigration of large numbers of the Irish people to the US and elsewhere began in the first half of the 19th century. Although the potato famine is credited as being the trigger, large-scale emigration started earlier. As in Scotland at the same time, landowners had found profit in the raising of cattle and, especially, sheep. These herds required grazing land that was occupied by...

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What is the best way to build credit? I don't think that there is a "best" way, but there are several things an individual can do that help. Building a credit rating can take several years. Many financial institutions solicit credit card business from post-secondary students. This is something that is fairly new, as young people without full-time jobs were always considered a poor credit risk when I was young....

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What was the first store to accept a credit card and which card did they accept? I don't think this question has any clear answer, because of the way that credit cards evolved. Businesses commonly provided products to their customers by recording the transactions in a ledger. The customer would come in every week or every payday and pay off their balance or as much of it as they could afford. The small-town grocery store that my sister uses still offers such a...

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What are the qualifying requirements to obtain a platinum credit card? A 'platinum' card has no special requirements. They are no different from any other type of credit card. The bank will run a credit check on the applicant and, if they have a clean record and their debt to income ratio is acceptable, they will issue the card. There is nothing special about a 'platinum' card, except for the way it is marketed. They have no special...

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What is the minimum balance you must pay on a credit card? This varies from bank to bank and can also depend on the outstanding balance on the credit card. The minimum payment can be anywhere from $10 to $100 per month. The banks, however, encourage you to maintain as high an unpaid balance as possible, so they can earn more money from compound interest. Credit card companies will also 'waive' a payment in some months, for example, after...

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What are the advantages of owning a platinum credit card? Labelling a credit card 'platinum' is a marketing tool by the banks. The advantages of such a card may be largely non-existent for the cardholder, unless the card offers you something that you can actually use. Not every platinum card requires the user to pay an annual or monthly fee - mine certainly does not. The offers made by the banks when promoting platinum cards to...

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How many credit cards can one person have? As many as you feel are necessary. There are no limits on the number of credit cards one can acquire and it would seem that several companies feel a need to offer me new ones every month. If you purchase products by mail order or the internet, I would recommend that you acquire a second credit card and use it only for purchases of this nature. This will expose only one credit card to the...

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On the average, is motorcycle insurance more expensive than car insurance? It very much depends on the type of insurance you buy. Vehicle insurance is normally divided into three separate elements: personal liability and property damage, fire and theft (comprehensive), and collison. The first of these, personal liability and property damage (PLPD), protects others from things you, as a driver, do and is mandatory in most jurisdictions. PLPD is usually less...

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Why is it dangerous to ride a motorbike with leaking fork seals? Leaking fork seals are a sign of problems with the front suspension on a motocycle. The forks contain springs and a viscous damping agent, oil. The suspension's properties are altered if the springs or damping are changing in any fashion. If enough oil is lost, the front suspension will begin to 'pogo-stick'. Instead of compressing and extending in a controlled fashion...

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How was the Advanced Photo System developed? It was developed by Kodak to make a 35mm-style point and shoot cameras that was 'easier' to use by the average consumer. Other manufacturers also made APS cameras, but they were a small part of the market for most other companies. However, as with several other film systems that Kodak developed (i.e., APS, 110, disc), APS negatives are smaller in area than a 35mm full-frame...

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For an SLR camera, what size lenses do I need for what type of shot? The 'normal' focal length of a lens is usually considered to be the length of the diagonal of the image on film. A full-frame 35mm image is 24x36mm, which produces a diagonal of 43.3mm. However, the 'standard' 35mm lens is normally a 50mm or, sometimes, a 55mm. Wide angle lenses usually start at 35mm and go down from there. Common focal lengths are 35mm, 28mm, 24mm,...

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My daughter is taking graphic design in college and wants a camera that can change lenses. I also just bought her Adobe Elements. What would be a good camera for a beginner? Some of the newer DSLR cameras (digital single lens reflex) are priced reasonably. Entry-level DSLR cameras are available from several manufacturers, including: - Nikon D50. - Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. - Pentax *ist D. Minolta has withdrawn from the camera business, but second-hand ones are available. However, these digital cameras are now dead-end products and are better suited for...

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Where can I buy a teleconverter for my camera? A teleconverter on a DSLR mounts between the lens and the body and is used to produce a longer focal length. The manufacturer of the camera will be the best place to look for any such products. Most such products are sold through camera shops, including on-line retailers. However, ensure that the teleconverter you purchase is compatible with your model of camera. Such information is...

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When I take pictures with my digital camera, the tone on people's skin is very uneven. How can I correct this? This could be caused by several factors. The camera's white balance may be off or set incorrectly for the situation. Most video and digital cameras offer the ability to 'calibrate' the camera to the colour white. This is used to accomodate different lighting conditions, such as daylight, tungsten, or floursecent. The camera will either perform an automatic white balance or...

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How can I record a standard VHS tape onto an 8mm videotape? You need to connect the audio and video line outputs from your VHS VCR to the line inputs on an 8mm camera or VCR. Set the VHS machine to play and the 8mm machine to record. Note that there will be a loss of image quality every time you copy one tape to another. If the original tape was recorded at EP/SLP speed, the copy may not be very satisfactory.

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How come my new 8mm Sony Handycam will not play my 8mm tapes recorded with my old 8mm Sharp camera? 8mm cassettes are used with both analog and digital cameras. If your old camera was analog (e.g., Hi-8) and the new one is digital (e.g., Digital-8), the tapes are physically compatible, but are electronically incompatible because they are in different video formats. If both cameras are analog Hi-8, the problem may be caused by differences in tracking between the two cameras. Either the...

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What are the common types of lens mounts, and which brands of cameras do they fit? Almost every company uses a proprietary lens mounting system and some use different lens mounts on different camera systems. Lens mounts also changed over the years, with companies maintaining or eliminating compatibility between different versions of mounts. Sometimes these changes are minor and sometimes they are a complete redesign. I could not begin to list the lens mounting systems used...

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A person in my office has an ongoing infection and emits a putrid odor. She refuses to seek medical help. Workers get physically ill from the stench. What do we do? There are a number of things that you and your co-workers can do, but they require that all of the employees affected by this issue work together. If you don't, you might all sink together. The first step would be to draft a letter to your supervisor stating the problem and how you would like it to be resolved (e.g., physically relocate the employee to another, adequately ventilated,...

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If the lens is damaged can it still be replaced? I take it you are referring to the optical lens in the DVD drive. The lenses in optical drives are usually not replaceable - they are usually glued in place - except in some high-end drives. The inexpensive drives in most consumer electronics cannot be repaired and must be treated as a consumable item. The cost to repair them would exceed the cost of a new drive, unfortunately. ...

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How long does it take for a capsule to dissolve in your stomach after you have swallowed it? The issue is not how long it takes the 'container' to dissolve, but rather how long it takes before the drug can take effect. Once the medicine has been delivered to the body, there is a period of time before it begins to work. This is very dependent on the individual. With the exception of injections, I have found that all medications take about the same time to produce results. ...

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Has South Korea ever declared war on Japan? No. It might be helpful to point out that South Korea did not exist until the post-WW2 era. Prior to that the Korean peninsula was simply known as "Korea". Korea had been occupied by Japan from 1910 until the end of WW2 in 1945. Following the cessation of hostilities, Korea was divided into two regions: North Korea, which was occupied by the Soviets, and South Korea, which was...

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Is there any practical use for a keytar in this day and age? Yes, all musical instruments are "practical", just so long as someone is interested in playing them. No one has tossed out the recorder or the viola de gamba because they are less common than they were in the past. Anything that can produce music is a legitimate instrument, including wiring parts of your body for use as a MIDI drum controller. One could just as easily assign...

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Is it true that Hitler sufferered from meglomania due to his condition of cryptorchidism? Hitler has only got one ball, Goering has two, but very small, Himmler is very similar, And Goebbels has no balls at all. Apart from this musical interlude, Hitler did not suffer from cryptorchidism. Cryptorchidism is a birth defect characterized by a hidden, unusually small, or otherwise defective testicle. Impugning the capabilities of an enemy leader may be common, but it proves...

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What will it require for commercial passenger and cargo planes, the size of 747s or bigger, to have VTOL? How come it's not available for planes that large already? A primary requirement for VTOL aircraft is a propulsion system with sufficient power to life the dead weight of the airframe and cargo. The VTOL systems are also far more mechanically complex that a simple wing and flaps. In addition, in a multi-thrust-engine aircraft, a failure of one engine during takeoff or landing would cause serious stability problems, possibly leading to a crash. These...

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In order to make passenger airships safe and more practical again, what would it take to invent a gas lighter than helium, but non-explosive? A gas lighter than helium is not required. There are companies attempting to build an airship indistry at the present time. Since airships have some substantial benefits over fixed- and rotating-wing aircraft in specialized cargo service, there is some interest. However, these ventures are speculative at the current time and have had some problems financially. I believe the third...

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Is there a natural way to heal ear infections in small children? Ear infections may be dangerous if they are left untreated or if they develop beyond a certain stage. There are few effective treatments, as other have noted. One of my sons suffered from chronic ear infections when he was very young. He was prescribed several courses of antibiotics for the better part of a year, because the infections continually recurred. He also experienced a number of...

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What does it mean to "deep six" something? "Deep six" refers to the rejection of an idea, proposal, or something more tangible completely. If I "deep six" a business proposal, it means that I have rejected it and, in effect, 'buried' it deep enough that it will not be resurrected.

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How can I freshen the smell of my new front load washing machine? There are a few things you can do to help. The first stage would be to clean off any mold and mildew in the machine as well as you can. Every few months I run a short wash cycle, with the washer empty, using bleach instead of detergent. This also helps with top-load machines. After you have finished a load, leave the door open for a couple of hours to give the machine time to dry, so the...

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Why doesn't England declare war on the Republic of Ireland and make it part of the United Kingdom? The Republic of Ireland is an independent nation and the UK would have no legal or moral justification to invade them. The Irish revolution of 1917 to 1923 was fought and won (with the exception of the region now known as Northern Ireland) to secure the independence of the Irish people from British rule. Countries don't go around invading other countries just for the fun of it. Well,...

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Why are the Commonwealth of Nations no longer called the British Empire? The British Commonwealth of Nations was never called the British Empire. The Commonwealth is an organization of equal partners who share a history of being part of the Empire or having been colonized by England. Information on the Commonwealth can be found at http://www.thecommonwealth.org/ .

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Why is England no longer called the British empire? The British Empire has departed into the annals of history, although there are still a few smaller nations that could be considered their protectorates. The United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is about all that remains of the British Empire, now that Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Newfoundland, India, South Africa, and a host of other countries have established...

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Can hamsters get hiccups? I have never read of anything like this in hamsters, nor have I seen it with the 50-odd hamsters I have lived with over the years. I have heard them make a kind of 'snorting' noise - short, rapid exhalations - when they are digging around the cage, but they don't do this very often. It sounds a bit like they are blowing their nose. They can also make a noise that sounds like a...

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How do you get hamsters not to smell? Most of a hamster's "smell" is caused by the ammonia in their urine. Their urine tends to be quite concentrated and can get a little high if the cage is not cleaned frequently enough. Hamsters are very neat, if they are healthy and provided with adequate housing, and will usually urinate in only one corner of the cage. The entire cage should be changed every two weeks, at the...

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Could a nuclear explosion deactivate an erupting volcano? No, because volcanoes are not turned on and off like a switch. This may have made a storyline in a B-movie in the 50s and 60s, but in real life things are different. A volcano erupts because pressure has built up in a chamber located underground - the magma chamber. The eruption is the mechanism by with the pressure in the chamber is relieved. Plugging the vent through which the magma is...

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Has Italy ever declared war on Canada? No. Canada declared way on Italy in 1940, eliminating the need for Italy to declare war on us.

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Is it true that if you rub an almond tree leaf on your teeth, they will become whiter? I haven't heard of this, but it is likely one of the many herbal cures that were created over the centuries, before doctors had much in the way of medicines or effective treatments for most conditions. When faced with a question of this nature, I turn to that great standard of medical knowledge, written by Nicholas Culpepper in 1653, "The Complete Herbal and English Physician...

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Can Crest Whitestrips damage your teeth? I have not read any information that indicates this product, or any other similar product on the market, can damage normal teeth. However, this assessment does not apply to counterfeit products or products that have not been approved for human use. I have, however, read that some people experience discomfort or unusual sensations when using these products, because of the bleaching chemicals...

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In Pennsylvania, can employers track employees' computer use without written consent from his employees, and can he share what we've been doing with other co-workers? While this answer does not address Pennsylvania precisely, this is an important question that warrants an answer. An employer is permitted to track the computer use of their employees. This is permitted because the computers are property of the employer, not the employee, and the employer has the right to ensure their property is not being used for activities that violate the law, are not...

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What units of measurement are used in determining shoe size? Most of the measurement scales in use are arbitrary and evolved independently in different countries. The following are some common shoe measurements scales: - UK and Commonwealth countries. - Europe. - US (now becoming more common in Canada than UK sizing because of centralization of manufacturing in the US). - Japan. - Centimetre. - Inch. - Mondopoint (millimetres). Many other...

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Why are the neutrino detectors built deep in the Earth? The signals obtained from neutrinos are extremely weak. Neutrino detectors are constructed deep below the surface of the earth to block cosmic rays that would otherwise make it impossible to study them. The neutrinos pass through the earth, but other forms of radiation from the sun are blocked. For example, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) was built 6800 feet underground in an INCO...

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I've heard that paranormal activity is highest at night. Why would this be? They are able to frighten children more easily in the dark, where they cannot see what causes the bumping and noises. Scarey works at night and runs a poor second at high noon.

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In what year did the Olympic Committee decide to stagger summer and winter games? They were split following the 1992 games in Albertville, France (winter), and Barcelona, Spain (summer). The summer games continued on the same four-year cycle, but the next winter games were held two years later in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, before they returned to a four-year cycle.

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Does the US have more creationists than the UK? The US seems to have more creationists than, perhaps, any country other than the Vatican City. There is a deep fundamentalist streak of Protestantism than runs through parts of the US and which separates it distinctly from other nations. Having been in the "Bible Belt" regions of the US at various times in my life, I can certainly attest to this. It is a very different place than...

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Why do the bones in our arms and hands resemble the bones in a whale's flipper? Evolution has shaped many aspects of our physiology and that of other animals in similar ways. The whale is an example of a land animal that has returned to the water. The four legs that supported the whales' predecessor on land have atrophied and evolved into flippers. Some species retain a vestigal pelvis, which is no longer required. In some species the hind legs have shrunk to the...

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How do I obtain re-printing rights for books that are no longer in print? Because a book is no longer in print, it does not mean that someone does not own the publishing rights to it. A publisher will not print further copies of a book that sells poorly. Normally a book is printed with a limited number of copies in the first run, to see how it is accepted by the population. If the run sells out within a short period of time, the publisher will usually then publish...

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If God wanted us to touch our toes, why didn't he put them on our knees? I would assume to make it more of a challenge to get over or around the stomach, which looms larger and larger as we age. Besides, toes on the knees do nothing for your balance, except when you fall to your knees because of a lack of toes on your feet.

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How are points scored in curling? Scoring is quite simple. An 'end' is over when each player (lead, second, third, skip) on both teams have thrown all of their stones (two each per player). A game is played for an even number of ends, usually eight, ten, or twelve. The goal of the game is to get your stone closest to the centre of the painted circles, called the 'house'. The team whose stone has come the...

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What purpose do the brooms serve in curling? They are used to control the motion of the rock - the granite stone that is 'thrown' down the ice surface. A game of curling is not played on smooth ice, as used for skating, but a pebbled surface. The ice surface is first cleaned and smoothed, then a fine spray of water droplets is sprayed over the ice. The droplets freeze to the ice surface, producing a slightly rough or...

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Will drinking of more water destroy nephrons and lead to kidney problems? No. Drinking a couple of litres of water a day (about eight cups) is highly recommended, except for a very few medical conditions. Many kidney problems are alleviated by drinking a sufficient volume of fluid to flush the kidneys properly (e.g., medullary sponge kidney, kidney stones). Water is recommended, since it contains no fats or sugars and will not promote weight gain.

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Why are there so few hockey players of color? This question has popped up in several places over the years... Hockey teams are composed of players from many different regions, in particular northern nations. The players in the NHL (National Hockey League) come from Canada (about 40%), the US (about 40%), and Europe (most of the remainder). European players come from northern nations, including Sweden, Finland, Russia, and several...

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What are some reasons an adult wouldn't have a checking account? Re: "The bank requires more information that just that!" No bank has ever asked me for more information than a copy of pieces of identification (one of which must be a valid photo id, like my driver's license, to prove who I am), my SIN number (for taxation purposes), and some cash to deposit any time that I have opened an account in my name. Perhaps your bank asks for more,...

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Why are grain silos tall instead of wide? There are many reasons why grain is stored in vertical storage facilities, but some of them stem back more than a century. In the end, it is cheaper to store the product in an upright storage facility. Several tall silos take up less land than one short and wide silo, requiring smaller foundations and lowering land costs. The facilities can also take advantage of gravity when vehicles are...

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What does it mean when a drug is called "tricyclic"? Tricyclic, as in tricyclic antidepressants, refers to the chemical structure of the drug. The definition from Merck Source (http://www.mercksource.com/) follows: "Tricyclic: any of a group of antidepressant drugs that contain three fused rings in their chemical structure"

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Who invented rock and roll? This is one of the most argued questions in recent pop music history. Ask 50 people and you will get 51 answers. We know with some certainty who coined the term "Rock'n'Roll": disk jockey Alan Freed. Freed was significant in that he brought music written by black performers to white audiences, as the music industry was just as racially divided as the rest of American...

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At what age is a dependent child who decides to stay in college to get his masters removed from your health plan? I will repeat the answer I provided for a similar question, above, as it is essentially the same situation... I strongly recommend that you contact your insurance company for clarification on this matter. Insurance policies from different companies are not the same, so you need to find out what your specific policy covers. This is particularly important in the US, where universal medicare...

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Will a dependent child still be covered under a health plan if he is a full-time graduate student? I strongly recommend that you contact your insurance company for clarification on this matter. Insurance policies from different companies are not the same, so you need to find out what your specific policy covers. This is particularly important in the US, where universal medicare programs do not exist and all medical expenses are the responibility of the person who is sick or injured. ...

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My ex is living with her boyfriend. Can the boyfriend claim our children on his taxes even though he has no legal connection to them? In Canada: no. Only one of the children's parents is allowed to claim the deduction for dependent children. This means that only you or your ex-wife could make this claim. If more than one person tries to claim the children, it is likely to be discovered through a routine audit this year or at a later time. The taxpayer is not always contacted when an audit of their return is...

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Can I claim my aunt and uncle who live with me as dependents? They are permanently and totally disabled. In Canada: yes. You may claim certain relatives - a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece - as dependents when you file your income tax. These may be your relatives or your spouse's / common-law partner's relatives.

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Can an employer force you to work at another store location if you put on your application that you are not willing to travel? Such a situation is rarely considered "travel". In terms of the employer and unless otherwise stated, travel refers to trips outside of the immediate area of your place of employment for varying periods of time (e.g., two days, three months). You may be required to travel to another city, another province / state, or another country. Travel generally refers to a temporary change...

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Can France defend themselves in a war? Yes, so don't tick them off. France has been a nuclear power for decades, back when the "big five" nuclear powers comprised the US, USSR, China, UK, and France. They began to develop their nuclear capabilities shortly after WW2. Their nuclear power generation program included breeder reactors that would provide plutonium for weapons. Their navy has several nuclear...

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Do TV commercials contain subliminal messages? It is illegal for television and film advertisements in Canada and the US to contain subliminal messages. The ban on such advertising goes back over 30 years. The term "subliminal advertising" was coined to describe advertisements on television and in movie theatres that include extremely short duration text messages or images that are embedded into the advertisement to provoke a...

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What does it say of their relationship when a woman often strolls into her boss' office without knocking and sits on his desk to talk to him? Unless they were very good friends, I would consider it inappropriate behaviour for the workplace. Knocking is considered a polite way of saying "May I please have your attention for a moment?" You can also draw attention to your presence with an "Excuse me" or any similar phrase. This kind of behaviour acts as a 'lubricant' between busy people who may not...

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What is the extension for the programming language BASIC? Microsoft has used the BAS file extension for BASIC and QuickBASIC source code under DOS. Other compiler developers on other platforms have used the BAS extension (e.g., Digital BASIC on PDP-11 and VAX platforms). Visual Basic (VB) uses too many file extensions to list individually, including the most common: - Form: FRM. - Form binary file: FRX. - Module: BAS. - Project: VBP. - Project...

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How can you safely clean old record albums that have mold and mildew embedded in the grooves? You should use a commercial record-cleaning fluid, preferably non-alcoholic, soft cleaning brushes, and water. Apply cleaner to the record, brush it into the grooves with a soft brush, rinse the record under clean water, and vacuum dry (cleaning machines) or wipe dry with a soft cloth (by hand). You may have to repeat this process on very dirty records. There are some formulas on the...

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Can I record audio only on a recordable DVD in .wav format? The answer to that is... yes, sort of. A DVD cannot be made in quite the same fashion as a Red Book audio CD. It will contain both audio and video layers. The audio layer can use any of several different formats, including PCM (also used on audio CDs) and Dolby Digital. Every DVD player on the market is compatible with PCM and Dolby Digital and most support DTS. A WAV-format file will be...

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Is there a difference between wine fermented in steel tanks and wine fermented in plastic? In most cases, no. Most commercial wines are fermented in stainless-steel tanks, because plastic containers have several limitations. Some wines are fermented in more traditional ways, including in wood barrels. Food-grade stainless-steel tanks are preferred because they are robust and can easily be sterilized. This is usually required for commercial production. Stainless-steel tanks...

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Is it against the law to travel with an Air Soft Gun in my vehicle? Air soft guns are often made as replias of existing firearms. In Canada, it is illegal for individuals to own replica firearms, unless they were purchased before 1998-12-01 or are replicas of antique guns. The following information was obtained from the Canada Firearms Centre website (http://www.cfc-ccaf.gc.ca/default_e.asp) and describes how air guns are regulated. ...

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If a police officer tells me to apologize to someone, and I refuse to apologize to that person for calling them a "mother%@$#", can I be arrested? Apart from shouting about American constitutional rights... There are no laws that specifically state that you must obey every instruction from the police, although you may legally be bound to under certain circumstances. However, you are certainly advised to cooperate in most situations, since the police have legal resources you do not. With the scenario you have described, an officer...

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Can a police officer run a check on your plates without having probable cause? If they feel there is anything suspicious about the mannerism of a driver or believe there is something wrong with the vehicle, they can run a check on the car. They don't need to pull you over to do it, as they can call in the license number to their dispatcher or do it directly from their own car. This is one of the ways they identify stolen cars and catch wanted criminals. No police...

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The battery in my MP3 player isn't removable. It is supposed to be rechargeable, but when I try to recharge it, it says that it has a full charge, but 4 hours later the battery is flat. What can I do? If the player has a NiCd (nickel-cadmuim) battery, it probably needs to be replaced. NiCd and, to a lesser extent, NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride) batteries suffer from a 'memory' problem. If they are routinely recharged when they are only partly discharged, they will eventually develop a 'memory' and be unable to hold a full charge. This is the most common cause of failure...

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Why does the sound quality change when I press the headphones harder into the jack? You may be deforming the metal contacts inside the socket on the player. This will cause them to fail prematurely, requiring expensive repairs unless you are handy fixing little fiddly things. You might also be deforming the circuit board inside the player. Also bad. There may be dirt on the jack and/or on the contacts in the socket or they may be making poor contact, likely aggravated by...

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What is wrong with my MP3 player when the volume changes every time I touch the wire? By "touch the wire" I presume you mean the chord connecting the headphones to the player. This problem could be caused by an intermittent fault anywhere in the headphone, e.g., where the wire(s) enters the earpiece(s), in the wire, and at the jack. Wiggling the wire may make the fault come and go. It is also possible that the jack in the MP3 player is dirty or bent and no longer...

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I have a 512MB MP3 player that holds 170 files, but on the screen when you get to 99 it starts over again. How do I get it to play the others? If you assume that each MP3 file requires 3MB of storage, 512MB of storage will just hold 170 files. However, MP3 file sizes vary depending on the length of the recording, the content of the recording, and the amount of compression used. (A pop music song is usually three to four minutes in length and will compress to about 3MB using a 128kbit/s data rate.) I'm not certain where the...

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My computer can play songs from my MP3 player, but when I put this CD in my music system it plays some songs but skips others. What could be wrong? A problem with the MP3 encoding / decoding algorithms and/or the player's capabilities. An audio CD contains a table of contents, that is read by a CD player and appears as individual small files if you view the disk directory from a computer. The audio data is stored in a reserved section of the CD in a specific data format: 44.1 kHz, 16-bit PCM digital, as defined by the Sony /...

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Is is true that power adapters that use clean power technology produce a better picture on your television? That all depends on what you and the manufacturer means by the term "clean power technology". There are several types of systems that are used to remove hash from the power line and to limit the amount of hash injected back into your home's electrical system from A/V products (mainly digital noise). Some provide some form of current or voltage limitation that prevents noise...

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Recently, whenever I play a DVD, the picture keeps going dark. Could this be from keeping the 16:9 setting on too long, or could there be another reason? This likely has nothing to do with the picture format, unless there is an electronic problem with the circuitry used to display a 16:9 signal, in either the DVD player or the television. If the problem disappears when you switch out of 16:9 mode, the problem may lie in this area. The first thing to do would be to connect your DVD player to another television (in the same manner that it is...

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My old Pioneer DVD player started choking on same chapters of certain DVDs. Cleaning the lens didn't help, and the DVDs play fine on other machines. What could be wrong? It certainly sounds like a problem with the Pioneer DVD player, particularly since you have noted that the problem appears to be unique to your player. If cleaning the lens two or three times with a wet / dry cleaning kit did not help, the problem is probably in the transport or the electronics of the player. My first guess would be the transport, which may need to be replaced.

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I have a Panasonic Digital Camcorder. What are some good maintenance practises to make it last a long time? The same maintenance practices that can be applied to any camera can help you get the most out of your camcorder. - Use a quality lens cleaning cloth to keep the lens clean. You can purchase packages of lens cleaning paper, but the cloths work better and can be washed when they get dirty. These are available at any camera store that caters to photographers (i.e., not big-box stores or a...

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When I change channels on my satellite receiver, there is a significant pause with a black screen. Is this an inherent feature or is there anything that can eliminate that lag time? This is normal. It takes the receiver some time to properly decode the compressed video signal received from the satellite or digital cable system. You need to wait until the receiver receives at least one key frame in the signal. This delay is unavoidable and an inherent part of the video compression scheme used during transmission. Video compression algorithms achieve part of their...

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Besides tanning goggles, is there anything you can place on your eyelids to protect your eyes from damage? A distant relative to tanning goggles are Inuit snow goggles, which cover the eyes, leaving a very thin slit through which to look. They are used in the Arctic, where a person may experience snow blindness when exposed continuously to bright light from the sun in both the sky and reflecting off snow- and ice-covered terrain. An example can be seen at the bottom of this page from the...

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Is it possible for eyes to get frostbitten? Yes. As with any exposed part of the body, the eyeballs can become frostbitten or frozen in cold weather or if directly exposed to very cold liquid or vapourized chemicals (e.g., an industrial accident). It is very unusual for the eyes to become frostbitten, because they are recessed in warm sockets and can be covered by the eyelids. In the outdoors, your nose, ears, and cheeks would become...

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How does the H5N1 bird flu spread from human-to-human? To date, there have been no cases of the H5N1 avian influenza that were spread from one human to another. All persons who have contracted this disease have either been infected through direct contact with birds, alive or dead, who were carrying the H5N1 virus or through contact with materials (e.g., tools, work surfaces) that were contaminated with the virus. The primary concern is that it...

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Why aren't there more disabled characters in movies? That is one of those questions that does not really have a good answer. It is as much related to an 'out of sight, out of mind' mindset as much as anything else. To begin with, there are very few disabled actors. This is not a bias on the part of the entertainment industry, but a side-effect of the business. Actors must play many roles throughout their careers, requiring a range...

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How does an actor "stay in character" even though the movie may be filmed over several months? Performers are liable to go deeper into character the longer they are required to play the role. People tend to adopt some of the characteristics of the people around them and of their general environment - in this case a character portrayal - as time goes by. At the same time, some of their personal characteristics may 'leak' into their character role, unless care is taken. This...

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Where did I leave my car keys last night? In your car, ... Answer 1: which is now sitting in a container, on the back of a truck, heading for a port where it will be loaded onto a ship for sale in foreign lands. Your car is lucky: it has a chance to travel and see the world. Answer 2: which is now a collection of assorted parts to be sold by shady mechanics to unsuspecting consumers as new car parts.

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Where can I find information on how many calories common foods like spaghetti have? You may have to look no further than the label on the food you buy at the store. Many countries require packaged foods to include labels that describe the nutritional content of the product. Canada, for example, has adopted a fairly comprehensive nutritional labelling system, which is finding its way onto packaged foods. These include most products that are sold in packages filled by a...

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Is it better to have your money or your health? Health: 10, money: 3. When you wake every morning of your life in pain and spend every hour of the day in pain, with the knowledge that it will only worsen as the years go by, all the money in the world will not make you feel any better. It's better to be healthy and have enough cash to get by, than to be rich and have poor health. That would be my choice, if I had been given a choice...

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Will you pay me $1 to eat a bug? No, but I might charge you $20 to eat one I cook. Arthropods - the phylum arthropoda - account for some 80% of animal species that have been identified and named. There are three main living groups within the arthropod family: uniramia (e.g., insects, millipedes), chelicerata (e.g., spiders, horseshoe crabs), and crustacea (e.g., pillbugs, lobsters). Beetles form the largest part of the...

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Would more people like cats if cats could smile? Not me, unless someone is able to breed a hypo-allergenic cat that does its own shopping, uses the bathroom, picks up after itself, and does not sprawl on the floor at the top of a flight of stairs. As far as smiling dogs is concerned, my parents had some friends with a beagle that would smile. People seemed to find it charming. The dog also suffered from epileptic seizures. People were...

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Do some of the parents, who let their children play in interactive fountains, just let their children stay wet after playing? Yup. Kids don't rust and they dry off quickly on hot summer days.

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What are some inexpensive ways to soundproof a room? As can be seen by the many answers, there are many things that can be done to soundproof a room or make much quieter than it is already. If you have the luxury of building the room from scratch, rather than converting an existing room, there are some construction methods that will help. A wall is normally constructed using a 2x4 attached to the floor which supports 2x4 studs, spaced at...

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How can I make sure that my cosmetics haven't been tested on animals? Ultimately you cannot, because you have to place your faith in the manufacturer providing you with truthful information concerning their test methods. Some companies label their products "Not tested on animals" for marketing purposes, since some consumers prefer to purchase such products. Some companies will make the information available through other means (e.g., in response to a...

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How does liquid nitrogen cause materials to become brittle and shatter? Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold and has a boiling point of -196C. Anything immersed in liquid nitrogen freezes very quickly, including items that we are unfamiliar with handling in a frozen state. It is not the liquid nitrogen that makes the materials brittle, it is the extreme cold. (A similar effect can be obtained using dry ice and acetone.) Some materials are naturally brittle in...

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When child actors appear to be smoking in movies, are they in fact actually smoking? Usually, yes. To begin with, most "child actors" are older than they appear on film and may not be minors (less than 18 years of age). While a 10-year old person is obviously quite young, it is easy to find an actor who is 18 or older to play the role of someone who is 15 or 16. In addition, with the judicious application of a little makeup, it is much easier to make an older...

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I have a VCR/TV combo. When I try to play a recorded tape, the picture is fine, but there is no sound. What could be wrong? The first thing I would do is check to see if you have earphones plugged into the audio jack. Plugging something into the audio jack usually disconnects the speakers. The second thing that I would do would be to clean the heads on the VCR using a commercial cleaning kit. Most of these use a cassette with a cleaning tape that you dampen with a cleaning solution. Clean the VCR, let it dry...

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My DVD/VHS combo says it only goes up to channel 125. How can I tape a show from my Dish Network that is on channel 243? You do not use the tuner in the television or recorder to tune into satellite or digital cable channels, a separate tuner / receiver is used instead. The external tuner / receiver may output separate audio and video signals (two-channel audio and component video, s-video, and/or composite video) or a combined audio / video signal that is usually compatible with channel 3 or 4 on a television...

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Can an actor refuse to swear or use bad language when acting in a movie? Actors read a portion or the complete script before they are hired for a film and they are usually provided with a synopsis which would establish the nature of the character they are expected to play. They have the choice to take a screen test for a film which includes "bad language". If they don't like the contents of the script, they don't have to apply for the job. ...

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When child actors are playing roles in horror movies, what does the movie studio do so the young actors don't freak out? Most effects are created through special effects, which may be added later, or through juducious editing to build drama and tension. Child actors don't "freak out" because they are (usually) trained performers, are familiar with the script and the requirements of the film, can separate fiction from reality, and know that it is just a job. Some of the effects may be on the...

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In scenes where actors are swimming in a lake or sea, do they wear wetsuits under their clothing to keep them from freezing? Yes, they may wear wetsuits or alternately shoot for short periods of time in the water. If a tank is used for a scene, the water may be warm enough that wetsuits are not required, but spending several hours getting in and out of water leaves one tired and chilled. There are usually heaters and warm blankets available. If an outdoor scene is used, it is difficult or impossible to control the...

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What is the history of film editing? What was the first film to be edited? Editing is an integral part of film-making and goes back to the beginning of the industry. Every film with separate titles has been edited. Every film that used more than one camera angle has been edited. Every silent film that cut away to text has been edited. Editing in-camera can be used on lower-budget productions to keep costs down. If the production team is able to shoot several...

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Before we got married my husband promised to quit smoking. It's been a year and he has no desire to quit. Could this be considered fraud and grounds for an annulment? It is certainly not grounds for an annulment, unless you and your spouse agreed not to cohabitate as a married couple until he stopped smoking. The word fraud refers to someone who deceives a person or entity for their own illegal gain or advantage. Breaking a promise to quit smoking does not constitute fraud and can even be justified by the addictive nature of nicotine. Entering into a...

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How can I get an eviction off of my record if the landlord said he would take it off but then he didn't? As far as I am aware, only the corporation or individual who placed the record on file with the credit rating agency is permitted to remove or alter the record. This is to prevent individuals from altering their own records to their advantage. If your landlord placed an eviction record on your file for non-payment of rent, for example, only the landlord can alter it, unless you can prove to...

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How can I become a country music singer? This answer is not specific to country music, but is common to anyone seeking a career in the music industry. The ground rules are pretty much the same in most forms of popular music. The most important thing you need to do is practice. Practice whenever you have an opportunity, by yourself, with others, and with friends and family present. Ask them to assess your singing critically and...

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What are some competitors in the same price range as the Nikon D70 digital SLR? The following cameras retail for approximately the same price as the Nikon D70s: - Canon Digital Rebel XT. - Olympus E-1. - Olympus E-500. - Pentax *ist DL. - Pentax *ist DS2. Konica Minolta has ceased all camera production under its own name, but claims to be working with Sony to develop cameras under the Sony badge. As with Contax, another camera company bites the dust. The...

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How did Parker acquire the moniker "Bird"? Is there any connection to the '60s band the "Byrds?" There is no connection with "The Byrds". Charlie Parker died in 1955, almost a decade before "The Byrds" began recording. Charlie Parker was nicknamed 'Yardbird' early in his career and this was shortened to 'Bird'. Purportedly the original nickname came from an incident in which a car in which he was a passenger hit and killed a chicken and Parker...

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What is fusion music? Fusion is a term applied to any blend of musical styles from two or more 'established' genres of music. For example, you may have 'jazz-rock' or 'jazz-blues' as styles of fusion music. Generally speaking, most fusion music eventually finds itself dropped into one of the convenient categories once the novelty has worn off. For example, a 'jazz-rock'...

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I am buying a used car. What do I need to know about being charged taxes or paying taxes on the car in this situation? If you purchase a used car from a new or used car dealership, they will usually collect any applicable sales taxes from you when they sell the car. You can check this on the bill of sale. They may also look after plating the car, for a small fee or for free. If you buy the car from a seller that does not charge you the applicable sales tax(es), you will be required to pay the tax(es) when...

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What are the best web sites for finding used cars in my area being sold by private parties? If your "area" includes Canada, you can try the Auto Trader website at http://www.autotrader.ca/ . Auto Trader accepts ads from private seller and dealers for used cars, trucks, minivan,s SUVs, and boats and also publishes them in newspaper form. The papers can be bought at most newstands and retailers, such as Canadian Tire.

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Which web sites give unbiased information on used car buying? I have found Phil Edmonston's "Lemon-Aid" car guides to be very helpful. Lemon-Aid publishes four new books annually: new cars / minivans, used cars / minivans, new SUVs / trucks, and used SUVs / trucks. They can usually be found at libraries or you can purchase them at a bookstore or from the Lemon-Aid website (http://www.lemonaidcars.com/). As with any vehicle evaluation,...

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Do humans make good pets? No. Slavery can never be sustained over the long term.

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Is it true that it is a lot cheaper to buy cars in the United States than in Canada? It may appear that way in some regards, but the savings are usually much less than anticipated, if you realize any. The price of cars fluctuates between the US and Canada, depending on the exchange rate, and between other nations if you are considering buying a car made outside of the NAFTA zone. The US has been known to impose punitive duties on imported products (usually in violation of...

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How can I ask my neighbours to keep the noise down in the evenings without starting an argument? If all else fails, you may find some comfort in municipal noise bylaws. Most communities have restrictions that come into effect at night (e.g., after 23:00) that limit loud noises. Noise bylaws may include a maximum permissible noise level quantified, usually, in terms of sound pressure level in dBA, slow-averaged (e.g., not to exceed 70 dBA). Many communities do not establish a numerical...

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I've been having dreams of my boyfriend cheating on me, and found he was in fact cheating. Were my dreams premonitions? No. You were most likely concerned about one or more aspects of your relationship with this person and were worried at a conscious or subconscious level. You were influenced by this stress while dreaming and you extrapolated the situation out to a point that you feared in some fashion. You may have been dreaming through several different variations of your fear(s), but this is the one that...

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What is the hottest chili sauce? There are a number of products that vie for this title. The hottest are commercial products used in the food industry. These are pure or nearly pure capsaicin (the hot in hot peppers) extracts and are very dangerous if used carelessly. Heat is measured in Scoville units, with a bell (sweet) pepper coming in at 0 (zero) and pure capsaicin at 16,000,000. There is a list on Wikipedia of the...

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If a small car and a large SUV both have 5-star crash test ratings, are they equally safe? This is one of those questions that does not have a tidy yes or no answer. The "five star rating" has to do with the ability of a vehicle to pass a very specific impact test. The US federal government has two main impact test standards: frontal impact and side impact. The insurance institute uses an offset frontal impact test and a backup test. The problem with test standards...

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How many octaves can the average person sing? How many for professional singers? From the "Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music": "The human voices are usually classified in six types: three female voices: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto; and three male voices: tenor, baritone, bass. The normal ranges of these voices are approximately an octave (more safely, a seventh) below and above [*1] the notes b', g', e' and a, f, d ... Trained...

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What is a Hrung, and why would one choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven? It was obviously a gambit by Mr. Ford the Elder (as loosely translated from the Praxibetel) to clean up a few loose ends on Betelgeuse Seven. He took after his son in that regard - always leaving loose ends lying about. He moved to Betelgeuse Five, which was far enough away from Betelgeuse Seven to escape the odours emanating from under the collapsed hrung and where he went on to father and...

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Is it unethical to take cheap flights? It may not be unethical for a person to travel on a cut-rate carrier, but it is not in the long-term interest of the airline industry and passengers. There are a number of companies that rent aircraft and offer deeply discounted, cut-rate flights to a variety of popular destinations. I have heard the term "bottom-feeders" applied to such companies. They cut into the profit...

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How is toilet paper regulated? I think that it regulates itself just fine, more so than unregulated people. Just imagine, if you can, how recycled toilet paper feels about life.

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Who has won the most gold medals for Canada? Canada has historically performed well in athletics, because the Olympics have always had a large number of athletic events and Canada has always been well represented in this area. Winter sports such as hockey are usually also well-represented. Strangely, the website of the Canadian Olympic Committee has a very limited amount of historical data regarding previous winter games, so I was...

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What was the scandal surrounding the selection of Salt Lake City for 2002 Winter Games? Bribery. A substantial amount of money has been spent over the years on little extras for members of the IOC selection committee. Rather than limiting such benefits to nice meals and good accomodation, it has been the practice in recent years for the 'gifts' to become more and more lavish and to have less and less to do with the matter at hand: the selection of an Olympic site....

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Why does my voice sound so different when it's played back from a recording? This perception is very common and a person can be rather surprised by how their voice sounds when recorded. Most people find their recorded voice higher in pitch and somewhat thin, when compared to their spoken voice. The vibrations produced by our larynx are transmitted to our ears through both the air and our head. We 'hear' our voices through the air and through our body. A...

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What are the benefits of a "big city" college? The "big city". The quality of the courses offered by universities and colleges is not dependent on their location, although living in an urban area may provide additional benefits related to your field of study. Students in a theatre program, for example, in a large city can benefit from the number and variety of theatres that a student can observe or work at as co-op students,...

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What's it like to attend a college that has a huge population of students? It can be a shock to your system if you are not used to being just another student among the thousands of others. It can also be an isolating experience for the individual and he or she may lose their bearings in the new environment. I went from a secondary school class size of 20 (60 total in the final year) to a university with a population of about 18,000 students. The first year of the...

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Why should I go to college? A post-secondary education may be of a substantial benefit to you over the course of your life, by helping you avoid seeing your options narrow as you age. Unfortunately, post-secondary education is increasingly being devalued by the workplace. An employer that required a high-school education for a position in the 1960s may have required a technology diploma in the 1980s and now demands a...

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If an employer doesn't take out your federal taxes, would that mean I owe money to the IRS? Although I do not live in the US and have no dealings with your IRS, both of our income tax systems are the same in this regard: yes. Birth, taxes, and death come to all. Deduction of taxes at source is a convenience for the government, who receives revenue throughout the taxation year, and the employee, who avoids a large lump-sum payment at the end of the taxation year. However,...

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I haven't filed income tax for 10 years. What should I know about, and how do I go about filing this year? In Canada, you are required to submit income tax returns for the current year, plus any years that you have neglected to file. You will need to have all income records (T4 and T5 forms) for every year or at least be able to prove your level of income during the years you did not file. The same goes for any deductions you want to make. Since your employer may have deducted federal and...

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I am 20 years old and a full time student. Last year I did not live at home and my mother/stepfather did not support me. Can they still claim me as a dependent? Re: "he was asking about the US" 1. No location specified in question. 2. Information of use to individuals anywhere. You have been downrated this answer for petty reasons, Beverlyof hills (aka Answers101). Typical. ------------------------------------------------------------ In Canada, they cannot claim you as a dependent because you are over 18, but any of your unused...

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If I run a business out of my home (an LLC), what tax deductions apply to the use of my residence for business purposes? In Canada, you may claim any space required for the business, as a percantage of the floor space of the home, and any expenses incurred by the business, as the same percentage of utility costs. If you use 10% of the floor space of your home for business purposes - this space does not need to be dedicated to the business and can be used for other activities outside of business hours - you can...

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If I make a purchase at a Goodwill or Salvation Army store, is that considered a tax deduction since the proceeds go to charity? In Canada, no. Any such purchases are considered a regular sales transaction. People who donate to these charities may request a tax receipt for a charitable donation, based on the value of the items donated. If these donations are then sold for profit, any revenues are considered income for the organization and not gifts to charity.

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If I had no income from home business but had expenses, can I use this loss to reduce my taxable income from my regular job? In Canada, not directly. You may deduct expenses from a home business provided there is a reasonable expectation of of profit over time. If, for example, you received an income from an employer for part of the year and from a home business for the remainder, you may deduct any legitimate business expenses incurred by your home business during the period it replaced any other sources of...

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I live with my boyfriend and we have a child together. He is employed and I'm a stay at home mom. Can he claim me on his taxes? In Canada, he may claim you as a common-law partner and make a personal deduction for you as an equivalent to married dependent. A couple is considered to be living common-law if they have co-habitated for more than 12 continuous months. Any natural or adopted children are also considered dependents. However, any income you may have earned during the taxation year will also be a factor.

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Is it true that you can get money back for any textbooks you bought while going to school? In Canada: not directly. A full-time student can claim $400 for each month that he or she is enrolled in a qualified program of study, in addition to the deduction for tuition fees. This deduction is intended to offset any costs incurred while studying, including books and other materials. An allowance of $120 per month is available to part-time students, providing the course runs for at...

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I had a baby in December. How do I claim him on my taxes for that tax year? He or she was born between January and December, during the 2005 taxation year. In Canada, a deduction for a dependent child can be made for any child who is under the age of 18 during the taxation year. The tax credit is not pro-rated to the day or month of birth. Different provinces may have their own definition of a dependent child for calculating provincial tax credits.

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Can models and actors deduct the cost of plastic surgery as a business expense? In Canada, this type of surgery is not a legitimate expense under provincial health care plans, unless it is performed for the physical or psychological needs of the patient. The patient is required to pay the full cost of the procedure if it is not covered. A self-employed person or an employee of a business cannot claim such costs as business expenses. Business expenses are generally...

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At the atomic level, is there any difference between organic and inorganic matter? [Edited for clarity (and out of a certain sense of frustration)] Yes, you can differentiate between inorganic and organic matter, but not below the molecular level. Inorganic matter may be composed of any pure element or compounds formed from different elements. Organic life, on the other hand, is based on a small number of elements, primarily hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur,...

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Can a HOA require you to give them a key to your condo? Yes. If access to your unit is required for maintenance or safety reasons, an association or condominium corporation may require the owner of the unit to provide them with a key. If the unit owner has changed the locks, the unit could no longer be accessed using a master key, if one existed. Depending on the design of the buildings, an individual's unit may contain a water shut-off...

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What do fungi eat? My favourite fungi, if one can make claim to a favourite, are the various strains of yeast used in wine- and beer-making. Yeast is classified as a fungus because it contains no chlorophyll and cannot manufacture its own food supply from carbon dioxide and water, as do green plants. Only a few strains of yeast can induce alcoholic fermentation. These yeasts consume sugars and excrete carbon...

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How can a person drink themselves to death? What physically happens? This is known as "alcohol poisoning". Alcohol depresses central nervous system (CNS) functions. Involuntary functions, such as breathing, will become more and more depressed as the amount of alcohol consumed increases. Too much alcohol may: - Cause suffocation by vomit once the gag reflex fails. - Slow breathing to the point of death. - Slow the heart rate to the point of...

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Is there any loophole in the US that would allow someone in the US to drink without being 21? Or smoke without being 18? I recall being in Ohio when I was 18 and I discovering that the only legal alcoholic beverage that could be sold to me was a low-alcohol beer - 3.2% alcohol, if memory serves. It was a bit of a surprise, because the drinking age was 18 where I lived (Québec). I also drank under the age of 21 in New York, but whether it was because it was legal or that no one asked me for identification, I...

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Is it legal to allow minors to drink alcohol at home under adult supervision? In Canada, a minor is permitted to consume alcohol in their home, generally under the supervision of their parents or guardian. Each province is different, so the rules vary a bit. If a parent wants to teach their children how to drink socially and responsibly, before they hit legal age at 18 or 19 and go binge drinking with their friends every weekend, it is their choice and, probably,...

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Is there a home remedy for a tongue scalded by a hot drink? Rinsing your mouth with cool or cold water will provide pain relief and will keep the area fairly clean. If you don't fancy drinking a lot of water, you can hold a mouthful and spit. Cool or cold water is good for any minor burn or scald.

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Why is alcohol legal? Why would it not be? There is no overwhelming reason why alcohol should be legal, nor is there any reason why it should be made illegal. Yes, some people are made sick by it or killed because of it, but far more people are killed driving cars. They're not illegal. Far from it: many consider owning a car a 'right'. On the other hand, marijuana is illegal and it causes far...

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What are the best tests to rule out toxicity caused by a prescription drug? There is no one test that can be used to measure the toxic effects of drugs. Each drug is chemically different and your body will react to each one differently. Any test must be adapted to the drug or family of drugs in question. A toxic level of ASA produces different physiological effects than a toxic level of acetominophen. As a footnote: just about every drug has a level of...

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How is stereo output possible with an Amplitude Modulated (AM) radio? The Motorola CQUAM (Compatible Quadrature AM) system is used for AM stereo broadcasts today, although other systems have been developed in the past. AM stereo first appeared in the 1920s, but never enjoyed widespread use. Neither does CQUAM, though. Two signals are broadcast, one containing the sum of the two channels (L+R) and the other containing the difference (L-R). The two stereo...

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How can I improve FM radio reception in my house? If you are using cable television, you may find that local radio stations also provide a feed over the cable or the cable company rebroadcasts them from their own antenna. I have not been impressed with the audio (or video) quality of analog cable services, but the two that I have used both carried radio along with the television channels.

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I collect old radios and just purchased an RCA Victor that I have the model # for and I would like to find out its year of manufacture. Is there a resource for this information? One company that I have used is "Antique Electronic Supply". They specialize in selling parts and publications for equipment, with a strong emphasis on tube radios and amplifiers. They might have a suitable publication among the books they sell. Their web address is http://www.tubesandmore.com/ . It is also possible that a university library in your area may have some older books...

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Where can I find a book or buying guide for radio sets? Are you looking for material on modern radio sets or information on older or antique equipment? Are you interested in radio receivers or ham radios? One company that I have used is "Antique Electronic Supply". They specialize in selling parts and publications for older equipment, with a strong emphasis on radios and amplifiers. If you are interested in restoring and using older...

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How can I remove spilt tea from VHS tapes? The process is much the same as that for removing mold and mildew from video tapes, but probably with a better chance of success. If the tea contained milk and/or sugar, it is important to remove as much of these contaminants as possible. If the tea spilled onto a table on which a tape was lying and penetrated the interior of the cassette, it will have to be dismantled to clean properly. ...

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What would happen if a whale swallowed a nuclear bomb? The people who lost it would have a whale of a time getting it back.

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Does everyone have an uncle who tried to steal their nose? No, but I had a couple who would pull coins out of my ears. I don't ever recall being able to keep the coins, though. There must have been something special about them that they would fit in my ears without me noticing.

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Why would my two RCA televisions keep blowing fuses? There are a number of possible reasons for the fuses or breakers in electrical devices to 'blow' or trip. If both televisions are the same or essentially the same model, there may be a weakness in their design. It is also common for different models of televisions from the same manufacturrer to share the same chassis and power supply. To the best of my knowledge, all RCA...

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One of my circuit breakers is buzzing or humming. I can feel it when I touch it, and I can hear it too. What is happening? What should I do? There are a couple of possible causes for this. The buzzing could be either a mechanical vibration or the contacts arcing. This is, unfortunately, one of those problems that someone has to check in person. The breaker may be on the verge of tripping if the circuit load is always high. Breakers are usually set to trip at about 120% of their rated load or at approximately 18A for a 15A...

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Why can home DVD players read scratched discs that a laptop DVD player can't? First guess: different transports. The design of the transport affects its ability to read data reliably, its resistance to vibration, and its error handling ability. No two disk defects are the same, so there is no consistency in how two different transports operate. Some transports may do a poor job of reading a disk, but their shortcomings are partially disguised by a good...

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I was married in Nevada while a resident of different state. I moved to a new state 8 months ago and have been separated for 4 months. In what state do I file for a divorce? You normally file for divorce in the jurisdiction in which you presently reside, unless you are a transient and maintain a place of residence elsewhere.

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I purchased a property in California when I was single and my husband moved in when we got married. I'm thinking of getting a divorce after almost 2 years of marriage. What will my husband be entitled to? In many jurisdictions, the matrimonial home (the primary residence of the married couple) is considered a joint asset and is not treated as the sole property of either spouse, regardless of who purchased it or when it was purchased. The matrimonial home is one of the very few items that is treated in this fashion. The value of the matrimonial home is its market value at the time of...

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Can an architectural review board decide on a request from a homeowner without the HOA board's approval? From whom does the architectural board receive its authority? They have the authority to make such decisions if: - The board of the HOA or condominium corporation has given the review board the authority to make such a decision on their own. This is a case of the HOA board voluntarily relinquishing authority. - The architectural board is reporting to the municipality and has the legal right...

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My neighbor has a clock radio that goes off at 6 o'clock in the morning and it wakes me up because I can hear it through our common wall. Can the HOA take any action? If the noise from the alarm clock is not in violation of any by-laws in the association and is within the limits of any noise by-laws within your community, there is nothing they can legally do. You would be best advised to approach your neighbour over the situation and see if he or she is willing to move their clock radio away from the wall or reduce the volume.

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Can the HOA force me to paint my house if it really doesn't show signs that it needs it? Yes. Your house does not need to show "signs that it needs it", in your opinion, to be subject to a request to paint the exterior. It is not your decision to make, unless you choose to paint it more frequently than required. Homeowner associations and condomium boards are free to establish any regulations covering items such as the appearance of the structures, permitted...

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Can I be fired for smoking at work, if there's no written policy? Written by whom? How long had you been on the job? Did the offence occur during your probation period? If there are existing municipal, regional, provincial / state, or federal government regulations that ban smoking in certain workplaces or while performing certain duties, yes, you can be fired or disciplined for violating a regulation that could result in their being fined or closed. If...

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What is an ale? A beer that is made with top-fermenting yeast, as opposed to a lager which is made with bottom-fermenting yeast. Top-fermenting yeasts work on the surface of the beer at higher temperatures (15-25C). They are more robust than bottom-fermenting yeasts, which require a lower fermentation temperature (down to 1C) and have less tolerance to alcohol. Top-fermenting yeasts produce beer that is...

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What is a progressive scan? Supplement: Progressive scan is a fairly recent expression used in place of the term: non-interlaced.

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What is a HDMI? High Definition Multimedia Interface. A digital-only communications format intended for use between digital video devices, e.g., transmitting a digital video signal from a DVD player to a digital display.

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What is a resolution? The resolution of an analog CRT is based on the number of horizontal scan lines (vertical resolution) and the number of individual lines that can be resolved in a video image consisting of a series of narrowly-spaced vertical lines (horizontal resolution). An NTSC display contains 525 horizontal scan lines, producing a vertical resolution of, theoretically, 525 lines. However, the typical...

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What is a fill factor? The fill factor is the ratio of the area of the light-sensitive element of a pixel to the entire area of the pixel. The light-sensitive area does not cover the entire pixel face.

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What is a contrast ratio? Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest white and darkest black that can be shown on a video display. It is calculated by dividing the light output measured on a full white display by the corresponding black level. A higher contrast ratio indicates the display can reproduce more fine detail in the greyscale and in colour resolution.

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What is interlaced? Interlacing is a method used to display video images. An NTSC display contains 525 horizontal scan lines (vertical resolution) and uses a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Horizontal resolution is dependent on the CRT's ability to quickly display changes in the analog video signal. Horizontal resolution is expressed in terms of the number of narrow, vertical lines that can be visually resolved....

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What is a LCoS? LCOS = Liquid Crystal on Silicon. An LCOS module, typically one pixel, has a liquid crystal on a silicon substrate with a driver circuit. The reflectivity of the crystal can be varied, permitting it to reflect more or less light from a bulbsource. LCOS displays are usually reserved for very large displays (e.g., in a sports stadium) and use very bright xenon bulbs. They are very expensive,...

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What is a DVD? DVD originally stood for Digital Video Disc. However, the name changed to Digital Versatile Disc after a brief period of time, because the disks were not restricted to video content. The DVD Forum has not officially adopted this term. DVD-V = DVD Video Contains video data, almost always encoded using the MPEG-2 standard. The default audio format is uncompressed PCM, but other formats,...

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What is a pre-amp? A preamplifier is installed between the signal source and the power amplifier. Active preamplifiers amplify low-level electrical signals to a level to match the amplifier's input sensitivity. They are used to adjust the signal level from zero to the maximum level determined by the circuit design. Passive preamplifiers are only capable of attenuating the input signal between zero and the...

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What is a satellite? A satellite speaker is a type of speaker used in multi-channel audio reproduction systems. Satellites are usually small speakers, with a limited frequency response. They typically cover the frequency range between the mid-bass and the upper frequency limit of the system. They are incapable of reproducing the frequency range covered by woofers. To supplement the satellite speakers, low...

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What is a center channel? A centre channel can be used in audio reproduction systems with more than two channels. Centre channels can be used in three or four channel systems, as well as the modern 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 channels systems. The centre channel in movies carries much, if not all, of the film's dialog. The centre channel may be recorded as a discrete channel or it may contain audio information derived...

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What is a pitch? The term pitch is not used in acoustics. However, it is commonly used to refer to the frequency of a sound. This comes from music, where pitch is the frequency of the note being played. It also refers to the reference standard used for tuning musical instruments. Standard tuning (pitch) in North America and Europe is a' - the A above middle C or 440 Hz. It varies depending on which...

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What is THD? THD is total harmonic distortion. It represents the amount of harmonic distortion generated by an amplifier. Testing is normally performed with the amplifier operating at its maximum rated output, at a single frequency (often 1 kHz) and into a load resistor (usually 8 ohms). Harmonic distortion occurs when the amplifier creates frequency content that is not present in the input signal....

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What is a A-Weighting? Supplement: Weighting curves are an approximation of the ear's response to different sounds. There are several different weighting factors that have evolved from the original Fletcher-Munson curves describing the ear's sensitivity to sound pressure levels at different frequencies. A-weighting was originally intended for measurements below 55 dB, B-weighting for between 55 and 85...

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What is a frequency? Frequency is the rate of oscillation of a wave (e.g., acoustical, electrical). Frequency is expressed in terms of Hertz, Hz. The term cps, cycles per second, was sometimes used in the past, but is not in current use. The frequency of a wave is calculated by measuring the period, in seconds, of a complete signal cycle. This value is then inverted to produce the frequency, F = 1/T. For...