The_MoUsY_spell_checker's Advice Column

About The_MoUsY_spell_checker

I first signed up because I saw really simple computer questions with no answers, and I just had to answer them. Today, my column still has more answers to questions about computers than anything else, but feel free to ask about anything. I can follow up on questions too.

I have been the featured columnist on 16 October 2005, 01 May 2006, 18 December 2007, 12 July 2008, 02 February 2009, 08 March 2009, 24 May 2009, 29 September 2009, 12 November 2009, 05 January 2010, 06 January 2010, and 26 April 2010.

By the way, here's a Facebook group for Advicenators users: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3174690640

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Last Update: May 14, 2015
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I didn't finish my book club homework and I accidentally left the book “Number the Stars" at school and now it's Saturday,I teared up the questions I didn't do and decided to say my sister did it, but now I'm afraid my teacher will want me to tell her the answers, so please, quickly, tell me if you read the book: How does mamma divert the soldiers from opening the casket? Why do you think the psalms are important? And: How does Peter help the others relax and calm down after the soldiers left? I didn't read chapter 10, didn't know that we had to, help!

It's not very nice of you to blame your sister, is it?

With the amount of information that you can find online, you could probably have done the rest of the questions anyway. If you can't do your reading, take this opportunity to learn to look up information on the internet.

You can find a lot just by searching for the book's name on Google.

Amongst the results, you'll get the Wikipedia article, which has a basic summary of the plot including some of the points that you asked for.

You'll also find SparkNotes, which is a lot more detailed, and will cover the things that Wikipedia doesn't.

only search advicenators.com

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What does this command do when you install firefox? I was trying to install an add-on for FF when it said to do this from the command box and I got scared? Any people here who are smarter than me about these things? :)

This command installs the add-on for all users on that computer, as opposed to only the account you're using at the time.

To do that, you download the .xpi file for the extension you want, and then type this command in the command prompt:

firefox -install-global-extension

where is the location to which you downloaded the file.
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Whenever I go on this certain website I get "Java Exception" followed by different numbers. The numbers aren't always the same so I don't know if that matters. Any idea what it could be or what I should do about it?

Thanks a bunch!

The problem can either be with the website or your computer.

To check if it's your computer, verify your Java installation at the Java website. http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp

To see if it's the website, go to the website on a different computer and see if the same thing happens. (I would check it for you if you provide a link to the website. Alternatively, if you know other people who go on that website, ask them if they have the same problem.)

If it's the website, contact the administrator of the website (if there are contact details available).
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what makes aaple stuff better than everybody else? i mean the ipod and iphone and stuff you know what i mean? why is it just better?

It's technology for non-technical people. iPods and iPhones are simple to use. All the functionality in the world wouldn't matter if you can't figure out how to use it.

(Other similar products aren't necessarily harder to use, but the initial learning curve is often steeper, and that's what puts a lot of people off.

I can't comment on this point from personal experience as a so-called "digital native", but that's why I don't have an iPhone.)

Other than that, a lot of it is just hype. Also, when these products have problems, they are often difficult to fix.

The hardware specs aren't actually as good as similar products of other brands, but beyond a certain point, the difference becomes purely academic and doesn't improve the user experience significantly anyway.
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We would like to get an old school bus and convert it into something we could travel in. Sort of a hippy bus like they used to do? We called a school and they said they didn't know where we could buy an old bus.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Search for "(your state) bus operator" on Google. The bus operator's website should have contact details. Ask them.
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Not sure if this is the right category...but, I designed this logo on paper and I was wondering what the best way would be to create a digital copy. I do have Photoshop (very old version) on my computer, however I honestly don't know how to use it. I tried looking at Photoshop tutorials and it's very intimidating and I'm not sure where to start. I don't need to be an expert, just want to know how i can create my logo on the computer. Any advice is welcome.

If you already have the logo on paper, one option is to digitise that. If you have access to a scanner, use that. Otherwise, use the CamScanner app on a smartphone.

Once you have a digitised copy, you'll probably have to clean it up. Start with this guide for how to address specific issues. http://purdy.gatech.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/bw_sketch_scan.pdf

To be able to find your more specific information, it would help to know a bit more about the features of your logo. Does it have lots of details? How many colours? Is it more lines or large areas of solid colour? These can be the starting points for you to look up specific guides to things you want to learn to do.
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Taking credit card payments with your phone? Is it true that you can actually do this with an iPhone? How do you do it? Do you need to buy anything? Can you use it in a business? Or, was someone just pulling my leg? :)

Yes, it's possible. There are credit card reader add-on units you can attach to an iPhone. For example, this one is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows.
http://www.innerfence.com/apps/credit-card-terminal

More iPhone options on this page: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/smartphones-into-creditcard-readers/

There are also apps that allow you to accept credit card payments by credit card number and PIN without needing the extra hardware. For example: https://www.flint.com/
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What do you need to do to get a passport? Anything I should know before I start? I just found out I am supposed to already have my passport for a school trip but I have never been out of the country before and the whole thing scares me to be honest.

In simple terms, there's an application form you'll have to fill in, and you need proof of citizenship.

The form and relevant instructions can be found on the government department's website.

Since you didn't say which country you're from, just click search and Google will give you the right site.

only search advicenators.com

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is there a way to see only music videos on youtube so you don't have to see people doing dumb things to hurt themselves and everything?

One thing you can do is use advanced search operators to narrow down the results that you find.
This page has a list of operators: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2685977?hl=en

In particular, you can use the minus sign to filter out keywords that you don't want. For example, if you want music but not pop, type "music -pop" (without the quotation marks).
It does depend on videos having meaningful titles though.

YouTube also has a safe search mode, but that's more for filtering out adult content. Here's a link anyway: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/510
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My husband and I (mostly me) want to get our first tablet and we had decided on the Nexus 7 but then a friend told us we should get the SG7 tablet instead. It took us a long time to decide, and now it is all up in the air again! Is it that much better? Should we wait and get it, or...? Do you have an general tablet buying advice you could share with us?

Thanks!

The most important question is, what do you plan to do with the tablet? These things have lots of functions, but you'll most likely be using some of them more often than others.

First of all, let me make sure you are comparing these two?
https://www.google.com.au/nexus/7/

http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/tablet/SM-T2100ZWAXSA-spec

The Galaxy Tab has 8, 16, or 32GB options, while the Nexus has 16 or 32. If you want the cheapest option, the Galaxy Tab 8GB might be the way to go.

The Nexus has a faster processor, and runs native Android, so it will be faster than the Galaxy Tab overall.

Update: Samsung has its own branded interface (TouchWiz) that replaces some of the original features of Android and comes with a set of proprietary apps. It'll look different from the original Android interface and have some additional features, but will require more processing power. In contrast, the Nexus doesn't have that (hence running "native" Android). You may or may not find the additional features useful.

Whether one is better than the other is fairly subjective. I find that it's mostly a matter of getting used to one or the other.

---

The Galaxy Tab takes MicroSD cards up to 32 GB memory, which would make a big difference if you plan to keep lots of files on it. (This is especially important if you plan to download videos at home and take them out with you.)

The Galaxy Tab has a better front camera, while the Nexus has a better rear camera. (Which will you do more often, taking photos, or video chatting?)
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i weigh 75kg and i want to lose 15kg.i am going to start working out at a gym 4 days a week and want to know around how long will it take me? 4months? more,less? please answer me.ill also eat less and more healthy

In general, with a healthy and sustainable weight loss plan, you shouldn't lose more than 1kg a week, so it would be reasonable to expect it to take at least 4 months to lose 15kg.

Whether you can actually lose 1kg each week depends on your exact training plan.

In general, it makes sense to vary the types of exercise you do if possible, because otherwise you become accustomed to it and hit a plateau.

Also, when it comes to eating less, make sure to still eat enough, because otherwise your metabolism slows down, making it harder to lose weight.

Keep in mind when you do more exercise, you can build muscle as well as lose fat, so you can look thinner but not lose much weight.
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21/f my Instagram account was hacked, and disconnected from my Facebook and email. Now I can't access my site at all it's so frustrating does anyone have any insight? I've done extensive research and Instagram unfortunately has no help center beyond their useless "help" page. Id like to at least delete my account!

Report the account for impersonating you.

https://www.facebook.com/help/instagram/contact/636276399721841

This should get the account closed down.
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hello, I have a lot of mobi books stored in my computer, and I want to put them to my iPad air, but it canot read mobi books, so I need to convert mobi to epub, please help!

You can use this online converter:
http://ebook.online-convert.com/convert-to-epub
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Can you use a mic with your party member(s) on the MMORPG TERA while out doing quests/fighting monsters together? Google isn't providing much clear information.

According to the discussions I can find on the game's official forum, there is no in-game chat functionality. Threads that refer to using a microphone are talking about external chat programs such as TeamSpeak, Vent, or Skype.

Source: http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/general-discussion/topics/Any-word-on-ingame-Voice-Chat
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I made a question before about changing my first and last name, I looked into it and i can change my name with no parental input when I'm 16. There is this thing called a UK Deed Poll that can change your names and has loads of people already used it, It also doesn't say anything about it being thousands of pounds from what I've read. Can anyone give me a heads up or something about a Deed Poll because it looks cheap so I'm slightly confused. Thanks!

The cost of the deed poll itself is as it says on the website. That's £33 for the adult deed poll when you're 16, £13 for the legal copy and archiving, and £1 for each extra legal copy you need.

That said, like Zane has already said, there will be additional costs for getting other documents (such as your passport) reissued.

This is why I said in my answer to your previous question to do it as soon as possible, before you get a driving licence, credit card, and anything else that you would then have to change.

Note that according to the UK Deed Poll Service's website, if you were born in the UK, under the circumstances you have described, you cannot change your birth certificate.
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15/f

Next year I will be leaving high school and have the chance to start a new when I head to college. I've wanted to change my name for ages now, my surname is embarrassing and I hate my forename. I know new people I meet wont be phased but I'm worried that my girlfriend won't like me anymore. She says that I suite the name I want and that she wouldn't be bothered. And she has called me by my name I want more than my real name and I've pointed this out. But I keep thinking she wont like me or she will hold a grudge against me. I want to change my name to a more boy name because I do think I was born a boy in a chicks body and I've already spoken to her about that. But I wanted to change my name to Kai which can also be used as a girls name. I know that I will have to do paperwork but I was going to get a name change thing instead of going to my school prom since I dont want to. So I guess i just wanted to know what I should do about this. Advice about my gf and whatnot.
Thanks!

If your girlfriend calls you by your preferred name anyway, why should it matter to her whether it is your legal name? You should trust her to be honest with you about your name.

(On the other hand, you said you think you're "a boy in a chick's body". Does your girlfriend know this? This might be something that you need to discuss.)

If you are sure that you want to change your name, do it sooner rather than later.

It would be good to get your new name on the certificate when you graduate, and also not to lose as much work history that you had under your old name.

That said, do be warned that it will cost money and require paperwork. Also depending on where you live, you may not be able to do this until you turn 18. Look up the relevant laws.
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Hey have you guys heard that when you wear a rubber band and snap it on you it gets ride of a thought or idea. Aparantly its supposed to get ride of the idea and if you do it enough times it stops the idea completely. Does this actually work?

The idea is that you train yourself to snap on the rubber band whenever they catch themselves thinking unwanted thoughts.

If you manage to get into the habit, it'll work because you then focus on snapping the rubber band instead of thinking about whatever you don't want to be thinking.

If there is something bothering you, it might be helpful to let it out instead of relying on thought stopping.
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Hello!

Can anyone give me a suggestion for another place to host my family homepage? Prodigy was bought out by AT&T I guess, so they are shutting down everybody's prodigy pages and closing down the free web hosting service for good.

First geocities closed down and now prodigy? Can anyone suggest something that might stay open when things nobody thought would ever die and shutting down? Thanks for your helpful ideas!

What do you need your web host to do?

Since you haven't specified any functions that you need, I'll just recommend two basic ones.

Freewebs (http://www.freewebs.com) offers quite a lot of functionality.

Google Sites (http://sites.google.com) is easy to use.
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does lifting weights stuck grouth.I am 14 years old i started to workout when i was going to turn 14 but i think i havent grown.can u please help me?

First of all, everyone grows at different times. I wasn't growing when I was 14 either.

(I started growing again at 19, and still haven't stopped at 21.)

It is possible to injure one's growth plates during weight lifting, and if untreated, such injuries can stunt growth, but if it happens you'll know.

Other than that, weight lifting will not affect your height.

Be careful and know your limits.
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i have just passed my highschool exams from icse board in india.i like physics and maths but i am a bit weak in maths.my numbers are- phys-80,chem-85 and maths-76.i have been a science student but i am afraid that my weak maths can be a disaster.i am a bit good in remembering things so i was going for commerce but i am afraid that they will be new subjects for me.please help

Yes, commerce will most likely be a new subject for you, but it will also be new for most people, as most people do not study commerce in high school.

Regardless of what subject area you choose, your learning experience after high school will be new.

Consider the practical applications of your field of study, and most importantly, pick the one you like better.
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