about

I'm an 29 year old guy.
I'll always do my best to give well considered and sincere advice - give me your best shot. P.S. Don't be afraid to ask me private questions, I rarely spend a lot of time answering non-private questions.

o.o There is apparently a FORUM for me if you would like to talk about random non-advice stuff. Take off your shoes!

advice

im 16/f, im 5'1 and i weigh a little more than 120 lbs.
The thing is that since i was 12 I've taught myself how to suck in my stomach and now i do it naturally.
Anyways, because my tummy fat doesn't show, people tell me im skinny but i know i have belly fat and im gaining weight
Its because people are always saying im skinny and some even said that i could be annorexic(im not, i eat normal and don't think im that fat) that i have trouble loosing weight.
so what can i do to make myself not be innfluenced by those people and how can i make myself remmeber that i am gaining weight and im not that skinny.

Hi,
In my -very limited- knowledge of age, height, and weight ratios, you're probably about normal weight.
If you don't think you're fat, and you know you're not anorexic, then you shouldn't have any trouble not being influenced by people saying you're skinny. Models are horridly skinny most of the time, and I can't imagine you manage that look by sucking your stomach in. Second of all, why do/did you need to suck your stomach in in the first place?
Habits are difficult to break, but perhaps if it makes you look too skinny, you should try to let your stomach out whenever you remember it.
If somebody says you're too skinny, it will remind you, and you can relax your stomach, and they will probably take it back.
-K

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this might sound weird but
my ears are like super dry (inside i mean), they don't hurt or anything (not an ear infection!) but they are like just dry and bother me
i heard that you should put a bit of oil? but what's that about?

Hi,
"I heard" type advice is just not good enough. If you don't have enough wax in your ears to keep them moist then something is probably wrong. Please go see a doctor as soon as possible.
Certain problems with your ears can spread to surrounding areas, and that includes your brain. You wouldn't want your brain getting "super dry" now, would you? ^.-

-K

Of course, reading your question again, it occurs to me that you might just be talking about the outside of your ears. In that case, just use a moisturiser like sorbolene, or in a pinch, vaseline.

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how can you tell when a guy SINCERELY likes you or if he's just trying to butter you all up so that he can get what he wants if you know what i mean. we kinda have a history. im 17 hes 18, and a good friend of mine whom ive known since the beginning of the school year. we liked each other, nothing happened, so that fell apart. his ex who is one of my friends found out i liked him and said all he wanted was sex.. but then she changed it to no they had a bad break-up but that he was a good guy and wed be cute together. now he still likes me, has admitted his feelings and were kind of "talking/dating" but i dont know. i said no when he asked me to be his girlfriend over the wknd.... he knows my xbf of 1.5 yrs who i broke up with in november sexually assualted me, and he knows that his best friend played the nice guy card to try to take advantage of me as well, then ditched me and started drama when he couldnt get any, which my guy couldnt stand and wanted to kill him for.. that ordeal basically ruined their friendship. anyway.. i want to think hes not like that.. he says hes not.. and he hasnt tried anything. his other best friend who is a girl and also kind of a friend of mine said shes been hearing that he just wants to go out w/ girls to get sex but she doesnt know if thats true.. but at the beginning of the year she said she knows for a fact hes a virgin. i dont know what to think !?!?! after his friend and my x im convinced that thats all guys are after so i have ZERO trust in them but i just dont know? any signs that i can tell or anything? i just wanna be sure ... x

Hi,
Go out with him and get to know him better. If he's just trying to butter you up for sex, then let him, but don't have sex with him until you trust him enough. That could be a long time, I guess.
Guys who are just in it for sex will usually just give up if they don't think they're going to get any in a 'reasonable timeframe', and try to find someone easier to trick.
Sex is all Some guys are interested in. It's unfortunate that those guys are the ones who give us a bad reputation, and nobody notices when a guy isn't just out for sex.

-K

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A few days ago i started getting pain in my shoulder. It hurts alot when I try to pick things up, even as small as a jug of water. Today its traveled to my neck and I have a headache as well. Does anyone know what this could be?

Hi,
My first comment is a disclaimer: I am not a doctor.
Well I've heard of those sorts of things indicating stroke. Or something else, I don't really know. Whatever it is, it's progressively gotten worse, and lasted longer than a day, please get yourself checked out at an emergency department at your earliest convenience. Preferably don't drive yourself there.

-K

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i have a dell a940 printer. im making a scrapbook for my friends birthday.. and i need to print pictures off my computer for it. whenever i print out a picture on the printer, they come out really dark and you cant make out whats in the picture. is there any was i can change the brightness of the printer? because i realllly need to print these pictures.

thanks!

Hi,
I don't have the same printer as you, but I've printed a lot of photos on our inkjet, so I kind of know a few tricks.
If you're printing on normal paper, and using normal settings, then I'm not sure what the problem is. See if there is a control panel, or calibration tool talked about in your printer's manual.
Otherwise: selecting "photograph" print settings often makes the printer push out TONS of ink, making even photographic paper too dark. Try printing with normal settings, on photographic paper.
Get a single piece of paper, and a graphics program, and mark out segments of an A4 page in the program. Used different print-settings on each segment, running the paper through again each time (make sure you don't bend it, and don't reprint an area) that will show you which settings work best.
Hope one of those things works.

-K

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are all youtube videos blurry?

You can't expect much from such highly compressed codecs. They're blurry because they're so small so that people on dialup can view them. Some are better than others, such as these; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK4bLMd0avU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbQiVn21iaI
a lot of it has to do with how many people have re-recorded the video. The more people re-record, especially if they're re-recording from a youtube video that's already been degraded, the blurrier the picture gets.

-K

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where can i find a dvd holder that looks like a boat?


i need it sooooon.
moms birthday, ha.

links would be nice.

Re the last answer; It could be easier to buy a model boat, and add bits to make it into a DVD holder than to make a DVD holder look like a boat.
Maybe you could get a largish one, and just make some holes in the broadside for DVDs?
You could make something out of balsa wood if you were into that stuff. It carves really easily, so all you'd need to do would be carve pieces, and glue them together. That said, that could take a lot of time if you need it soon. If you're young, please don't carve things without adult supervision, knives are bad "m'kay?".

-K

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You go to one of the following Advicenator questions, and read what other people said to the other million people who asked exactly the same question, usually in a less lazy way ^_^
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=517627
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=517625
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=515006
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=514609
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=510012
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=509527
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=507560
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=507451
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=507029
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=505967
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=505430
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=505121
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=502815
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=498611
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=493025
http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=485434

PLEASE search the questions when you have a short, open question like this. There are thousands of answers to simple things like this, and usually they've already been provided with answers.

-K

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Has anyone ever worked at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory or The Children's Place? I'm trying to choose which one to apply to, I'm not sure which is better. Thaaaaaank you!

I haven't worked at either, so don't ask me about that one, but; The one which will employ you is better. Apply to both.
No, seriously. If you Want a job, apply everywhere you might want to work. Don't apply absolutely everywhere, because you have to put some effort into making your applications specific to the target Jobs, but apply at enough places that you find something.

From your question, it doesn't sound like you've invested enough effort in finding out what working at the places you target would be like. It's a mistake to be applying for jobs before you have analysed exactly what job the people there do, and thought thoroughly about what makes you good to do that kind of work.
(The person who gets a job is the one who analyses what the employer needs the best, and convinces them that they are the most capable of giving it.)

Good luck!
-K

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In Australia what is the internet with the most usage and which company? I have bigpond with 12GB and I haven't heard anyone getting any more than that.

Most ISPs have unlimited download plans. It just depends how much you're willing to pay. You can get unlimited dialup on the cheapish side, but you're never going to download heaps because of the bandwidth.
I've heard Iinet has good value, and good reliability.

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i have leopard for mac
which includes boot camp
so supposedly all i need is a copy of windows on a cd and then i can also run the second operating system...

the thing is i dont want windows vista...i only want XP
and does the operating include things like the microsoft programs? or internet explorer?

and where can i get a copy of windows xp anyways?
is it cheaper online?

websites/stores would be appreciated greatly

Bootcamp lets you use windows software as if you were just running it on a windows PC. You'll need to buy any operating systems, and the programs to run on them as if you were buying them to install on a PC. Don't quote me, but if you want a legitimate copy of XP, and some programs, you might be just as well off financially buying a really really cheap, crap Windows PC, and using the bundled software on the Mac with bootcamp. Bundled software is often heaps cheaper than buying it standalone.

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can someone explain the aperture and shutter speed to me? i guess the bigger the aperture the smaller the amount of objects that can fit in the photograph? and the shutter speed higher you can take a pic of a moving car??? but what do i use in bright light, low light, and inside a building??? for posed objects

Hi

Aperture = size of the hole which is exposed when the shutter is triggered. As the F-stop/Aperture number increases, the aperture opening gets smaller. (F3.8 is a bigger hole than F8)
Shutter speed = the speed at which the shutter flips.

The larger the aperture, the less "depth of field" you get, but you also let more light in.
Depth of field is the number of feet or metres that the focus covers
Say you focus on a vase - there is a bucket behind the vase, and a coin on the table in-front of it. If you depth of field is small [high aperture], then the bucket and coin will be blurry, and the vase sharp. If your depth of field is bigger, not only the vase, but the bucket and coin will also be sharp.
So a larger aperture = less you can capture clearly, but you can capture it faster, because you are letting more light in quickly.

As you increase your aperture speed, because you're letting more light in, you can increase your shutter speed (which will decrease the amount of time the light hits the film/digital sensor.

An increase in shutter speed lets you catch fast-moving objects, like moving cars, while limiting the time they're being captured, which means less blur, because less time = less motion.

If you're taking photos of things inside, and they're still, you don't need a really fast shutter speed. The only advantage of shutter speed is to catch things without moving the camera.
If you have a tripod, and none of the things you are photographing move, set the shutter speed as slow as possible, and the aperture as small as possible (High F-number). It will give you a sharper, less grainy photo.
If you want an effect where things in the foreground and background fade into blurriness, set the aperture larger (smaller F-number), and the shutter speed higher (to compensate for the large aperture).

-K

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Ok, dont think im crazy, or weird, but i have a problem. What do you think the point in life is???
I asked one of my friends, and they said to serve god. and i go to church and believe in god, but im not very religious (ok, well i am, just im 14, and to afraid to tell my parents i dont believe what they and the church (roman catholics) believe.)
I think i have an issue (like...mental, not LITTERALLY, but like depression ,or someting....my friends, even my bf said im bipolar, b/c i am happy, then all of a sudden depressed for no reason)

ANYWAYS, what do you think the point in life is?
thank you, and sorry this is a long Q. im just trying to explain myself!

(Summary as last paragraph of answer, incase you didn't want a long answer)
There are two ways to look at this. I've never really committed to which I think is right.
You can look at it in the light of happiness, which is to do with you. Or you can look at it in the light of the purpose of everything. That involves other people, and the world, and the environment and the universe, etc. Because the second way of looking at things is so vast, I've only really ever gotten down to what I think is right to do with respect to other people, and the environment that concerns me (I do my best not to pollute, and hope that me doing my bit is enough to keep everything else going - this is probably not enough, with so many other people polluting without thinking about it, but I haven't bothered myself about that).
So my way of looking at it is mostly the first way. The meaning of life is to do what makes you feel like you've done well. I like to make other people happy as much as I can, without putting myself out too much. As that makes me happy, I feel generally good about my life.
You should figure out what it is in life that would make you happy, within reason, and set it as your goal. There are things you've got to do along the way. Everyone ends up working, it's the only way things get done. But in the end, you enjoy yourself.
Some people call this hedonistic. You've got to be careful about the definition of enjoyment, because you can't do everything you want. There are costs to things. Costs to you, and costs to other people. There's also the enjoyment of knowing you please God.
The second way of looking at things I mentioned at the start is probably more a religiously orientated way. Because it takes into account everything, and God's desired outcomes for people. I suppose if you believe in God, then a lot of what you do, and your purpose should have to do with helping other people, and doing what you think God would want you to.
In short, I try to make what I do as good as I can in general for other people, and for future generations, and do something that I like to do along the way. Also, you can't let feeling like a tiny part of the world get to you. If everyone did, then every tiny little part of the whole world's population would feel like nothing, which makes no sense at all. You are small-scale, but important.

I hope somewhere in there were enough answers to you, but if there's anything else, just send me a private qn.
-K

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A little more than a year ago I had the chance to do the IB Diploma program but I thought it would be too challenging for me so I only chose a few IB classes. I now MAJORLY regret this descison, so much so that I became depressed and get caught up in the "could" "would" "should" haves. I can't seem to be happy with my decsion. I feel like my self-esteem and self-worth have gone down as well. How do I overcome this and what should I do to get rid of these feeling of regret? How can I be happy again?

If you wanted to do an IB, and you're a capable person, talk to one of the course co-ordinators, they might be able to give you a catch-up course, or at the very least, let you start from where you originally would have, and give you credit for the IB courses you've already done. You shouldn't be letting it depress you. If you're smart enough to do it, your self esteem about that should be higher than a lot of people's. If there's one thing I've learned, regretting decisions is a waste of time. The best way not to regret decisions? Fix stuff. Make sure you do it right the next time, and take advantage of any opportunities you're given to catch up.
So once again; You can regret your decisions, but it won't do any good. It's the way life goes. To be happy again, you should find out what your opportunities are right Now, because they're all that matter. For someone smart enough to do the IB I'm sure there are a lot of opportunities left.

Good luck

-K

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16/f
when i first started growing hair on my underarms, my mom told me to pluck them. so i did. but then i found that i would get a lot of in-grown hairs and i would get dark bumps also. i started shaving instead, but then i went back to plucking. i hate my underarms coz theyre dark and i still get in-growns and those nasty dark bumps which make them look gross. how can i get lighter underarms and get rid of the in-growns and dark bumps?

Depends how much money you want to spend. The previous answerer's comment was reasonably good. If you have a little money, there are a few things you can do. There are beauty parlors which specialise in "unsightly hair" removal. They use pulsed light, or electrolysis. Apart from that, you can also buy small personal electrolysis devices (tweesers or flat things) which do a similar thing. You use them as if you were going to pluck the hair, but they send electrical pulses down the hair which make it just let go, and then they follicle closes, so another one doesn't grow in the same place. Those methods seem like they would require you to maintain your underarms less frequently than shaving and creams.
I can't vouch for the effectiveness of the personal devices. Never used them.
Good luck

-K

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does anyone know if it is possible to have a song on power point slides? i cannot have it going while on itunes or on a CD player.
and if you do how do you set it up? i have it on a CD and itunes already if that helps

thanks

Yes, very possible. It depends what you want the music to do though. I did a presentation once with an entry screen, where the music looped until the user left that screen, but then stopped. It's also possible to make it so the music just plays no matter where you are in the show, or plays for a certain range within the powerpoint. I suggest you read the microsoft help pages about your particular need. Use the insert menu, and there is an option for "movies and sounds -> sound from file" that will prompt you to chose the sound file, which you have on the CD.. If it's on the CD as an audio CD track, I'm not sure how it works. Powerpoint might offer to convert it to Mp3 for you, or maybe it will just imbed the massive music file. If it makes your presentation huge, then maybe you should convert the sound to an Mp3 in itunes, and then import the Mp3.
Using that "insert" option will insert a sound which will only display on one slide, and may need to be clicked by a user to activate it. If you want it to play automatically, you'll have to double click or right click on it or something, to change the settings.
Any other specific questions or problems, sent me a private Qn.
Luck!
-K

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I asked this question before but no one really helped so i am gonna ask it again =P

there is this kid i REALLYYYYYYYY like!!!!! and we are REALLY good friends.

he likes someone else =\
which is my 1st problem

and also whenever we talk on aim our conversations are so boring and awkward and its like uhhh now what do we talk about in awkward silence
on aim i cant rele joke with him cause he takes things seriously
but in person he is CRAZZZYYY!! and he ALWAYS comes up to me to talk to me and say hi but then it happnes again we are just standing there in awkward silence like, not knowing what to say to eachotherr

soo yeahh idk if someone can help, but ifff you could that would be greatt (=

Hey,
The #1 easiest thing to talk about is yourself. Accordingly, to make it easy for him to talk, and interesting for you, you should ask questions about him. There's no way you can run out of questions to ask him about himself, because the only person who knows everything about him is (himself).
If nothing else, it will give him the impression that you're into him.
Things like what his dreams are, who his first crush was on, why he's doing the subjects he is at school, what colour hair he likes, movies, music is always a good topic.

It all seems like small-talk, really, but I've come to a the conclusion that if it weren't for small-talk, people would know very little at all about one another.

-K

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17/f

I have an extremely high resting heart rate. The average heart rate is around 100 beats per minute mine is always between 180 and 192. I'm 5'5 and 132 lbs with a body fat percentage of 23. I'm not over weight so that can't be the problem. My blood pressure is 64/92, I believe that's low. My uncle is a nurse and he said I'm on the verge of a heart attack. I'm going to the doctor soon, but does anyone know what could be wrong with me? I'm really concerned.

Hi,
Could be stimulants... If you drink a lot of coffee, coke (or any brand of cola or soft-drink containing caffeine), tea, or energy drinks - stop for a few days, and see where your heart rate goes.
Energy bars, and chocolate also contain a lot of caffeine.
Besides that, I commend you for booking yourself in to see a doctor, like so many of the people in "agony" who ask questions on here seem incapable of doing before being told ^_^

-K

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every few weeks or so i keep getting days where i'll be horribly nauseous and gassy and have awful stomach/intestinal discomfort all day long, sometimes i'll throw up and sometimes not. when i pass gas or burp on days like this it tastes/smells absolutely horrible. i have no idea why this happens every few weeks...i thought maybe a food allergy or something i ate, but honestly i eat the same sorts of foods all the time, and not even very much of them.

has anyone else had this happen? or know why this is happening?

it's starting to freak me out, and it's getting old and it's very inconvenient and frustrating, seeing as how i have to leave work or school early or cancel social plans on these days so that i can go home and writhe around in pain.

any advice?

thanks..

Just adding a little to the previous answer; IBS is "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", and yes, it could be that. I'd be cautious of trying to self-diagnose though, because there are a lot of different problems that can cause severe gas. A number of them are probably fairly serious. Please get yourself booked in with a doctor, or doctors (however many different ones it takes to get one who knows what's up) as soon as possible.

-K

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Err, yeah, simple question.
I was just wondering what EP stands for.
Like on iTunes I bought some music and it said
(album name here) EP
What does that mean?

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure it's "Extended Play".
Here, a wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_play

"Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more music than a single, but are too short to qualify as albums. Usually, an EP has around 10–25 minutes of music, a single has up to 10 minutes and an album has 25–80 minutes."

You really should just type "EP" into Google, you know. That wiki was the first result.

-K

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