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shirty@gmail.comGender:
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university studentMember Since:
April 26, 2004Answers:
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I like:- the social sciences, especially history (with interests in all types of areas) & sociology.
- computers -- doing an information systems major.
- reading; right now I'm into the classics and historical non-fiction.
- animals, especially dogs.
- helping people.
- travelling.
- being a repository of useless & trivial info.
- keeping up to date with world events & current affairs.
I hate:
- ignorance.
- fundamentalism.
I'm sure there's more.
advice
http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=380055014l9gv.jpg
does anyone know what kind off dog this is?
It's not a purebred Chihuahua, for the reason that the previous advice-giver stated. It's hard to tell at this stage what breeds the puppy might be crossed with, though I doubt Jack Russell.
I noticed your column, so I thought I'd ask you a question. I'm in my first year of college, and I can't take it anymore. It's soo hard. I'm a slow reader and a bad "absorber", and that affects my history, science, and english grades. I'm failing one class and last semester I failed one too. It's just so stressing to have a job and be expected to memorize loads of material and read tons of chapters/books. What do I do?
Hmm. I don't live in North America (assuming that's where you come from), so I can't give specific suggestions. That said, you are determined to stay in college for whatever reason, right? If you are, then finding the motivation might be a little bit easier.
Also, I'm guessing it's the same everywhere that for most people, it's not university/college itself that's difficult, but the transition from high school to college, which is why a student's first year in particular might be harder than usual (I had this problem a bit). It takes a while to get used to a completely different way of doing things, and a completely different attitude too -- some people take longer than others to get used to it. Might this be the problem you're having?
If it is, buddy up with others, and perhaps talk to your lecturers as well, if you feel there are some you can approach. There are probably other students having the first-year blues as well, and it might actually help to see other students experiencing the same troubles as you... not even the most studious people I knew at my first year of uni could do _all_ the readings*, so we all used to commiserate together. =)
* (I'm doing history and sociology as two of my majors, so I do know the pain of lots of readings ;))
However, if you think it's something worse than this, that you really _are_ struggling to keep up:
1) I'm guessing you work part-time. Is there any way to cut back on your hours, at least until you get into the swing of things, or even get a different job? I understand if you can't, but balancing both in one's first year at college can take a tool.
2) Could you change your attendance to part-time for a while, or even defer college for a year? Now that you know firsthand what college is like, giving yourself extra time or a year to prepare yourself might do wonders for you.
3) This shouldn't really have to be said, but do you want to do the course you're doing, for whatever reason? There are people who do courses for purely practical reasons and drop out soon after. Is it possible to change or defer certain classes, or even transfer to a different course?
4) Talk to somebody. Does your college have some sort of advisor in these matters, or a SRC?
5) I wouldn't have really mentioned this, but how are your study habits? Do you have the habit of skimming for important info and either noting or highlighting the important points?
Good luck with all this. In any case, remember that even if you're struggling, you're not the first one, so there's bound to be some sort of useful advice, support, or alternatives out there. =)
Alright, this is the thing. I HATE my highschool. Really, HATE it. So I've been pretty much miserable, which is why I've been skipping alot, and now I found out..because of this, I might not graduate. Now you'll probably never understand my culture, but there's nothing more important than education, My father has said it straight to my face "I don't care abotut your happiness, as long as you get into a GREAT university, and have straight A's" and last night he said "Go study! If you have any B's this year, I'll be really dissapointed, and you won't be my daughter!" And when I tried to tell him how dumb that is he said "I've only ever asked you for ONE thing in your life, and that's good grades, just that one thing..I think it's reasonable to ask you to do good in that" or something along those lines. I'm so scared :S and the thing is, since I've feared my father basically my whole life, I've never told him th truth about my grades, my mom has covered up for me, and told him I get straight A's even though I don't. And we were going to do that this year too, but now we can't..because I might not graduate. I can't stop crying, because it seems like there's no solution..I can not get anyone else involved, I can't ask my mother to help me anymore..I just can't. And I CAN NOT talk to my father, it's just not in my culture. So please..don't suggest any of those things. But..what can I do? Is there anything? Please help me :'(
Thank you!
Out of curiosity, what is your culture? I only ask because it sounds similar to mine (a certain Asian-immigrant culture); my parents are pretty easygoing compared to others, but they still value education greatly, and my friends often have had to bear the full brunt of academic pressure.
I don't know what to say... I've had to support friends before with issues like this, and from personal observations the truth has usually come out anyway, sometimes in a rather unpleasant manner. =( That said, the way I see it, you have two options:
1) Get the truth out. Somehow. I _know_ this isn't as simple as my words would suggest, and perhaps you don't want to hear this, but I don't see any way out of your situation in which your father wouldn't find out in the long run anyway.
2) Graduate. Somehow. Again, easier said than done, but this does depend on your feelings. Is it _this_ highschool you hate, or going to school in general? If it's the former, try to justify alternative educational paths in terms of education, e.g. summer schools, transferring schools = 'it'll pay off for my future', 'it's beneficial to my education', 'if I go to vocational college first, I'll have an advantage over others once I go to uni', etc. If it's the latter... I'm afraid the more you try to appease your father, the unhappier you'll become yourself.
Do you have a definite career path in mind? Some career paths don't require you to go to a prestigious uni straightaway, if at all. It just sounds like you're directionless and he's taken it upon himself to direct your path for you.
No matter what, you'll have to consider yourself first. You might cause your father and your mother unhappiness, or cause them to be disappointed in you. However, the situation appears to have reached such a head that any decision made will cause pain to somebody anyway. I think though that what your father wants the most for you is success and happiness, despite what he says -- he just absolutely believes that education's the best way to get it.
I'm sorry, I don't know if any of that helped -- it really is a difficult problem you're in. Are you positive there's nobody you can talk to? We can't help much. Good luck regardless -- it sounds like even changing schools, for example, might help you.
viviena (shirty@gmail.com)
okay if i wanted to photoshop my head on a cartoon how do i do that??
automatic five
It's interesting how 'photoshop' is used as a verb now... it originally referred to the graphics program Adobe Photoshop (e.g. PS CS2; http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/), which is widely considered to be the best graphics program on the market -- it's certainly one of the most powerful and expensive, though it's not worth getting just to 'photoshop' a head.
What you want first of all is a good graphics program. I've already suggested Photoshop, but less expensive programs like Paint Shop Pro are also very good (http://www.jasc.com/). You could do it in programs like Microsoft Paint, but you'll end up with unnatural-looking results.
Once you've got a good graphics program, learn how the program works -- programs like PS are very complex with a steep learning curve, so it's worth getting the hang of it. Since you want to copy your head onto a cartoon image, you want to be proficient with the various Select tools and Quick Mask in particular (PS-specific). Once you've got the hang of these, it's very easy to copy your head onto another picture, but for more details, have a look at tutes such as this, applicable to many situations: http://photoshopcontest.com/tutorials/16/cutting-up.html
On weekends, and such, I go out with my mother and grandmother. I'm very close to them, and they're really cool. We relate a lot even though we're all different generations. I guess I'm a lot closer to my family than most people my age.
I look at other seventeen year olds though, and they're always out with their friends, partying and stuff. I very rarely go out with my friends, because a lot of them annoy me and I have a lot more fun with my family.
But I'm starting to think I'm the only teenager who goes out with both my mother and grandmother, and I should be going out with people my age doing more "teenagery" things, as I don't want to look back on my youth and think of all the things I missed out on.
Firstly, is this pathetic? Should I be doing things with people my own age? If so, how do I meet some new people?
Be honest! I can take it. And thank you.
No, it's not. You sound like me. I love my family and love to spend as much time with them as much as possible, especially as I'm by far the youngest one, and I know that they won't be around forever. Plus, I suck at dancing, so my interest in dance clubs is nil. ;)
It would be one thing if you wanted to go out or even had an interest in 'teenagery' things and were denied it. However, if you don't have any interest in it at all, why bother? You might get interested later on; it's not like there's an age limit on partying once you hit 18. Anyway, most 'teenagery' things aren't necessarily limited to being a teenager. You might not have found anything or anybody worth getting involved with yet. I'm 19 and have only just started hanging out and participating in uni societies and the like, but that was because I just felt more outgoing than a few years ago.
If you want to meet new people, I suppose you could just talk to friends of friends. =) However, you could also follow up your interests, or take up a sport. Also, on working full-time, travelling, or going to university, you'll probably meet so many new people it'll be overwhelming.
Okay so I'm pretty thin; 5'4 and 110 lbs. I really don't like fat, at all on girls. I think girls should be thin and wear a pants size no bigger than a 3 or 5. Five is pushing it.
All my friends are thin and have nice figures as well, like me but I have a few that don't. I mean, they aren't huge but they wear like a 5 in Abercrombie pants. And those of you that shop there know that their sizes run bigger. When I see them in like a bikini (we're always at my house laying out and stuff) I want to throw up.
I don't know why I feel this way and I feel extremely bad sometimes because in my head, I want them to loose weight.
Now, I assure you that I have never said anything along those lines to them and I NEVEERR would, ever. I know I have some sort of problem with weight so I know better than so say something to them.
Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get over this?
(Sorry, a bit long-winded.)
Your line of thinking doesn't sound intentional, and it sounds like you're aware that you have a preoccupation with weight -- I would just put this down to the way you feel. 'Duh', you might say at first, but what I'm getting at here is how you feel isn't necessarily 'unusual', but neither is it 'natural' (I use these terms loosely here).
A lot of girls in Western society have been brought up on the idea, unintentionally or not, that being thin is attractive, and being fat is ugly -- the trend has become 'naturalised' in society. Obviously the trend is changing now (i.e. 'big is beautiful'), and it's a bit of a generalisation, but I don't think it can be denied, all the same. What I'm suggesting here is that being thin = attractive seems natural to you, and Western culture was for a long time pushing this idea also -- thin models are still the most popular, and if you look at Abercrombie's website, http://www.abercrombie.com/ the figures there are all slender, active individuals with sculptured bodies. If you see anybody who seems overweight to you, it makes you go 'eek!', because it goes against what feels 'natural'.
However, the thing is thin = attractive wasn't always the case. Half a century ago, it was sexy to have a voluptuous hourglass figure. In some cultures, it's still the plump women who are the attractive ones.
Okay, so before I get too pretentious and overanalytical ;), to get over this... come to peace with it, and be open-minded. That's all really, yet it might be hard to do. If there's a voice in your head telling you 'they're too FAT!', question it - 'hang on... if there's nothing wrong with their health, what's wrong with being 'fat'?' What is 'fat'? How does your understanding of 'fat' compare to others? Why don't you like it? If you can answer those questions, you might be able to find peace within yourself, at least.
(Also, this is a more academic exercise, but there are the most fascinating accounts of how standards of beauty differed throughout the ages -- best way to develop new outlooks in my opinion, and will probably change what you think is 'natural'. Did you know that women in Tang China were most beautiful when plump? English Renaissance women would deliberately blacken their teeth to show they could afford teeth-rotting sugar? Sounds bizarre, but it used to be 'natural'. Women in some South Pacific cultures were plump to be pretty as it showed that they were wealthy, etc. I love accounts like that -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness is a bit heavy going, but eye-opening reading.)
Good luck, hey? =)
Ok, so I need to decide where I want to study abroad ASAP. Here's my choices:
Australia
New Zealand
Italy
All 3 awesome places...
Anyone been to any of these places?
Any opinions or suggestions?
OMG I cant wait! :)
I'm an Aussie university student, so feel free to ask questions. :) If you do choose to study in Australia, do be selective of where you choose to study though... if you're fond of city life, for example, Sydney or Melbourne is obviously the better choice than Perth.
I heard that in England and some parts of Europe, you can get a degree for your major without taking "required classes". Is that true?
Like if one wanted to be an architect, one would only have to take classes to be an architect.
Depending on the university and type of degree, there are some degrees with required classes in Britain, e.g. some unis insist on a certain number of maths classes done if doing a B Science degree, a degree in B Med Sci might require some Biology and Chemistry, etc. However, most degrees in countries of the Commonwealth (including Britain and Australia, which I'm most familiar with) don't require unrelated 'liberal arts' studies -- the concept is still fairly unknown, and which is what I think you're referring to.
For more detail, ask somebody with knowledge on overseas study (undergrad studies in North America generally differ somewhat from the rest of the world), and look at relevant institutions such as http://www.ucas.com/ .
Ok theres this old game called Caesar 3 which I am playing through out of nostalgia. Now there was a cheat code for it where, when you punched it in, you would get attacked. The more you punched it in, the more armies attacked you (kinda like the opposite effect of most cheats).
Anyway, I cant remember it, and it seems to have disapeared off the net. I have tried googleing, yahooing, and even praying for it...
If by some chance one of you played the game and knows it please do tell (and btw I do know all the common codes eg. for money, instant victory, all the usual boring stuff)
Thanks.
The 'spawn army' code as listed on this page sounds like what you're looking for.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/code/63635.html
(I have played this game, but so long ago, and I don't recall using this code.)
I have many (file - .avi) movies downloaded onto my computer. Is there a certain recordable disc I can buy so I can copy my movies on that disc and then play it in a DVD player on a TV? If so, where can I buy them, and are the expensive?
Thank-you.
You'll want to get a DVD-R or DVD+R disc (those are discs which can only be recorded to once). However, it's not as simple as that.
Are your AVI files encoded in DivX? If they are, then many of the newest DVD players on the market can play DivX AVI files, meaning you can burn those files direct onto a DVD and watch them. In any case, if you don't know if they are or not, it would be easier just to play it safe:
You'll have to convert the AVI files into proper DVD-movie format in order to get it to play in the DVD player, using specialised programs. http://www.afterdawn.com/ has some good guides, and for a simple program, NeroVision works well.
Expensive? They're more expensive than CD-Rs, but not excessively so, and if you buy it in bulk, it often works out very cheaply.
Edit: Oh, and you can get them at just about any good computer store, even some supermarkets. There are many different brands, and although this isn't always the case, generally the more expensive the disc, the better quality it is.
How do I leave a comment on Frapper. I'm not talking about on someone's page, i'm talking about actually leaving a comment on the main page. I see a lot of people do it I just don't know how. Thanks in advance.
If you mean leaving a shoutout message on a community's main page (such as http://www.frappr.com/advicenators), just fill in the boxes in the section Add Yourself -- to leave a message, don't forget to fill in the 'Shoutout a message' box as well. To post in the forums, click Post New Topic in the Recent Posts section.
I was just on a website, www.rotten.com, and i pretty much clicked on every picture on it. I'm not a murderer or anything, im a 15 year old girl. Basically i'm trying to say that i dont know what to do becuase I feel so dizzy and sick, and I think those pictures are going to be stuck in my head for the rest of my life? I dont know what made me look at them all, but i did and theres no turning back. How do i stop feeling so..i cant even find the word for it, and stop thinking about them, and function normally? Thanks, i'd really like to sleep, hah.
Hey, your curiosity's just natural -- I was the same as well. =) It'll soon fade from your memories though... everyday activities tend to have that effect, and also, it'll help if you keep yourself too busy to think of much else.
Okay, so that advice was very mundane, but really, don't feel guilty for looking at them, just accept that you did it, and after an appropriate amount of time berating yourself, move on. There's worse things happening in the world, so you don't need to feel bad for what you did.
Ok well i get 200 bucks from my parents, they give me money but never that much! well anyways i was thinking about buying an ipod cause i really want one, but then again i want clothes and other stuff like that. one of my friends say take the shopping spree cause by the time i get the ipod in march ipods are gonna be old and there will be something new everyone wants. my other friend says get the ipod cause you can just use allownce and stuff to get clothes. im so confused, i dont know what to do with the money!!!!
o ya if it helps any if i spent the money on clothes it would mostly be at hollister and stores like that.
>by the time i get the ipod in march ipods are gonna be old and there will be something new everyone wants.<
WHY do you want an iPod? Do you want it because you want a portable music player? If so, get it, and who cares what the others think -- I have one, and it's fantastic, as I love the number of songs an iPod can store, how I can listen to podcasts, and use it as an external hard drive. However, if you only want to get one because it's cool, trendy, and it's all the rage right now (which, to be honest, seems like your train of thought at the moment), then you're better off not buying one.
I'm sorry if I come across as harsh, but I think it's a valid question to ask of yourself. You say you really want an iPod, but why?
I got bought the new Yellowcard CD. I'm trying to put it on iTunes on my computer, but nothing happens when I put the dis into my computer. I try to open itunes and somehow find the cd, but it says the disc is not formatted. I also have tried to play it using the computer CD player, but it keeps telling me to put a disc in the drive when I already have.
What's going on and how do I get the songs on the cd into iTunes?
Xomegaroni has some sensible advice -- if you've done all that, if you can rule out the computer being temperamental, and the disc being damaged or scratched in some way, then...
Does it say on the cover whether this CD is playable on computers? An odd question, I know, but some CDs, especially new-release ones, have copy protection measures built in, meaning that some CDs, especially the newer ones courteous enough to display the warning 'will not play on PCs or MACs', will look like blank discs to the computer. Even so, a lot of CDs without warnings are also copy-protected.
It seems to me that your CD might be one of the copy-protected ones. If you also _think_ this is the case, you can try various solutions to rip music proposed by forum members @ ilounge.com . In some areas, it might also be in your rights to refund/exchange your disc on the basis that your CD appears to be defective.
There are some interesting articles and sites regarding copy-protected CDs:
http://ukcdr.org/issues/cd/ (Corrupt audio discs, aka "Copy-Protected CDs")
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3020 (NewScientist.com: Copy protection on CDs is 'worthless')
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec01/articles/cuttingedge1201.asp (scroll down to Copy Rights, Copy Wrongs)
Can anybody tell me to what extent Portuguese is spoken in Macau? Could I get by without knowing Cantonese, i.e. if I went to the shops, or a bank etc, could I speak Portuguese? (For my univeristy course I have to spend time in a country where they speak the language I am studying, i.e. Portuguese, and I would love to go to the Far East, as a lot of friends, and my boyfriend, will spend their year abroad in China or Japan).
Thanks!
I had a Chinese friend who often stayed in Macau, and I remember him saying that while you could see a lot of Portuguese influence, a lot of day-to-day business was done in Cantonese. Not saying that spoken Portuguese would be non-existant, but I don't know if it would be substantial enough to convince your uni to let you go there.
There are some interesting articles out on the net regarding Macau's colonial legacy, such as http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3113027.stm (can't find the others). From what I've gathered from my friend and other sources, there's not a lot of Portuguese speakers in Macau, but the ones who are there are determined to preserve their heritage.
Hope that helped in some way...
I think i'm gonna sell my iPod and buy an iPod video. However, I've been thinking about whether I should wait for apple to come out with the next iPod or not. Should I buy the new iPod now, or wait and see if a newer one comes out?
You should think of why you would want the newer one -- and when you say 'wait and see', do you mean wait for a more up-to-date one, or wait for a 6th generation iPod? I doubt that a 6th-gen one will be available soon.
What's your needs? Do you need more and more GBs? Is this only for music, or do you think you'll be a heavy user of videos? Are you an audiophile, or do you just like having a portable music player? If you want a newer iPod just for the pleasure of being up-to-date and trendy, by all means, wait, but otherwise, the iPod video might be sufficient for your means, depending on what they are.
Soon, I will be getting a new computer. The one I have now we've had for four or five years and it's getting slow. I have an iPod and I don't know how to save my songs so I can put them on my new computer. I don't have a CD burner so that won't work. Is there any way I can send them to a friend's computer and they can send it to my new computer? I really don't want to have to buy all my songs again that would be way too expensive. Thank you in advance.
First of all, to those who insist otherwise, iTunes is NOT a CD burner! It's burn-capable, but first and foremost you need the correct _hardware_ (i.e. a CD/DVD drive capable of burning to CD-Rs and CD-RWs) to burn discs.
That aside, Asc's method is good as it makes your iPod like any other disc drive on the computer, yet you can remove and plug in this particular drive. You could just copy back and forth as you choose. However, if your songs are already stored on the iPod, you can use third-party programs to copy songs from the iPod back onto the computer (iTunes can't do it apparently because Apple wants to discourage piracy). I use AnaPod Explorer for such copying, but I think there are freeware alternatives out there as well.
EDIT: Almost forgot... when iTunes on the new comp asks you if you want to associate your iPod with it, say NO, otherwise its Auto-Sync will format all the files on the iPod. Transfer music back onto the computer first.
okay.. so right now i use mozilla firefox so would i be able to delete internet explorer off my computer ? or would that be bad.. because even though i use mozilla.. there are some popups from internet explorer and causeing spyware and nasty popups.. please help thanks
There is the program IEradicator (http://www.litepc.com/ieradicator.html), though like the other columnists, I wouldn't recommend removing IE -- the browser's integrated tightly into Win98 and later OSes.
Presumably you've already run anti-spyware programs. If that's the case, next you should change the settings in IE, by going to Options > Security tab, then choosing High Security setting for the Internet icon. If you're certain you won't be using IE, it would also be best to disable ActiveX -- it's a scripting language unique to IE which could possibly allow malicious scripts and programs on your computer to run.
I dont believe in God, or Satan, or heaven and hell. I think its just a story told to us to try and make us act like better people. Please comment.
Are you an atheist then? Just curious.
Well really, that's what all religions are based on, including Christianity; belief in something that cannot always be proved, and it's something you can only challenge personally. However, I always think it's good to question some aspects of religion, and I'm the same as you in that I refuse to believe in that one brand of Christianity that you seem to be describing (a.k.a. the fire-and-brimstone, those-who-aren't-saved-shall-burn-in-the-fires-of-everlasting-hell variety), and I'm comforted by the fact that not all Christian faiths think the same. Certainly though, there are a few faiths (a.k.a. the-unsaved-deserve-to-burn-in-everlasting-hell type) which seem more like a form of human crowd control to me; only humanity could dream up such malevolence.
As I range between agnosticism (which basically means keeping all your options open ;)) and a deism (who believes in God(s) via reason only), that means for me there could be a God (or Goddess, or Gods), but never could there be such a being who would condemn those unfortunate to suffer 'eternal damnation'. Of course, there are always other faiths to explore as well.
I've been trying to convince my parents to get me a cell phone forever. I've tried the "everybody has one" method and the "reasons I need one" method but they wont crack. How do I convince them to let me get one? I have my reasons(good ones too) for needing one.
Thanks 4 the help
Have they offered reasons as to why they won't allow you a mobile/cell phone? Phones are cheap nowadays and a worthwhile investment.
It could be they're afraid that the phone bills could run far too high, even with a job; where I live, there are always these horror stories of teenagers in debt because of thousand-dollar phone bills. :) A lot of parents have that worry, so to counteract that, get a prepaid phone (where you buy credit _when_ you need it, instead of being on a plan), or get a plan which allows a spending limit to be set. Certain plans also allow you to talk to another person on the same plan for free at a certain time, so mobile phones can actually be pretty cheap. Just do a lot of investigating and plan it all out...
Good luck.