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

When you put a condom on, do you have to pinch the end? I didn't know you had to do that, it never said anything on the directions! =/

The condom never broke or came off though..

Please just answer the question. I have had sex multiple times. I'm also on another birth control.

I'm not sure if it's all, but most condoms have "nipples" on them, to relieve pressure when a guy orgasms. Those nipples can tend to retain air. If you don't get rid of the air by combination of careful pinching, and massaging any bubble out before unrolling the condom, it leads to a higher failure rate. Reason: Any bubbles left increase the tension on the latex (or alternative material), and can lead to the material popping.
If you have had sex, and the condom did not appear to be leaking, or broken, then it is likely your condoms have not failed, but unless you take care in application, it's just a matter of chance.

-K

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I'm using an ADSL internet connection.. I want a free software to increase my internet connection speed.Please help!!!

I need a software that would not crash my computer and is totally safe...
a software that would really work....

because i'v already downloaded some internet connection boosters which doesnt work...

Please help!!

I agree with previous poster. If the previous connection booster's you've tried didn't work, it's probably time to make sure you have an antivirus program, and get rid of them. Having viruses on your computer could be significantly slowing down your ADSL, so you could see the first step in a connection-speed booster as getting rid of anything like that.
Second of all; If there is a booster which will help, it will be available from your ISP (host/provider). Search their website to see if there is one.
Thirdly; with ADSL, there is usually not much that can be boosted. It's a fairly efficient connection, and compression and decompression isn't as efficient as it is when you're just dealing with a dialup connection. In short, your ISP probably won't provide a booster for ADSL customers, only for dialup.

-K

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I am building a model bridge out of balsa wood, but I'm afraid that I've accidentally built some basswood in there too! I'll be disqualified from the contest if There is anything but balsa wood... so how can I tell the difference between balsa and basswood?! HELPPPPP!

You can see if theres anything else useful here:http://www.garrettsbridges.com/building/woodtips/ , but I read it, and the biggest testable difference that I saw was that Basswood won't crush. If you get a small blunt object, check all of the pieces crush. If there are bits that noticably don't dent as much, they're probably basswood.

-K

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how do you freeze an IP address? for like is a someone is spamming on a forum, and you cant delete the user, how can you freeze the IP so the person cant make fake accounts and spam? i heard you need to be really computer smart to do it? thanks:)

All ways of doing this are illegal unless 1. You are the admin. of the site being spammed (in which case you would know where your particular server's settings for IP exclusion were), or 2. You are their ISP. It doesn't sound like either of those is the case.
If they're spamming, notify the administrator of the website at which they are spamming, they can freeze them out.

-K

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I would like to hear some opinions on 14, 15 and 16 year olds having sex. I personally find it heartbreaking when I read these questions from these young people asking about sex and if they are doing it right. They don't even know about the other consquences BESIDES pregnancy and HPV, STDs such as STIs and emoional consequences.

I am only 20, so it wasn't long ago I was this age, and I find this to be ridiculous! What happened to true love? Or waiting until marrige? It seems to me these girls just want to be popular with the boys and the guys want to be popular among boys. Is it just me? Am I crazy?

I personally don't like it (seeing those kinds of questions so young). Does Advicenators have any kind of blocks to stop children reading others' explicit questions and answers?
I have to disagree a little with the previous answer from the 16 year old. I think that sex education goes WAY too far at an early age, at least from my experience in *cough* primary school (about 10 or 11 years old). Sex-Ed seems just blatantly WRONG before most of the kids in that school would have ever even wondered what sex was. So even if there is education, I don't think that it really makes sense until later.
In response to your talking about true love, and marriage;
There are a few things going on here. The concept of love has changed, been distorted, popularised, or corrupted if you will. Lots of advertising, and general commercialisation of "sexy" culture will get to anyone, and those best at learning are children.
Child sexualisation is becoming more socially acceptable, because (well, I don't really know why. Because it makes rich people richer, and they're the ones with influence maybe). The best anyone can do is try to look out for their own children. That is, supposing they are not the parents who think child sexualisation is good.
Apart from that, the other thing is views on Marriage. In Australia at least, christianity seems to be losing its edge. Personal views are what affect marriage, and lately it seems people have been becoming much more secular. There are a million different ways I could go on to discuss this, but I'll just ask the rhetorical question; What makes sex after marriage different from before? Is it not wrong, or a sin, because of the technicality of marriage? (blah blah blah about religion and God, and human rituals and sinning, etc.)
I guess the bottom line is that underage sex happens because of what young people are exposed to, and what they feel. One can't do much about it except try to combat the culture shift and commerciality which continues to wind back the age of innocence.
-K

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Hello All,

My Photoshop Clone Brush is working at only 50% opacity. No matter what I have done, checked out preferences & reinstalled the program my Clone Brush only stays at 50% opacity. I can not get it to paint 100% opacity. Does anyone know how to fix this?
Thank you for your time

Artagent

Please state which version of photoshop you're using. The place settings are changed vary in a few versions. I'll check back in a day, and modify my answer if you've added what version of PS you're using.

-K

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i have this perfume that i absolutly love but it doesn't have a name on it and i bought it two years ago! It comes in an old victorian dress shaped glass, tall with a long flowing skirt but not wide just straight down, and its pink. I can't define the smell, its like musky or flowery with that old victorian feel to it. Sounds odd i know but i got it at the Christmas tree shop and i think it was like a knockoff for some really expensive brand with a designer name. If anyone could like give me links that show a picture or anthing that would be soo great:)

Hi,
You have the bottle, and you have some contents left. Don't use it all, so you can let store-people smell it if they need.
Take it to a large perfume counter in a department store, or a dedicated perfume shop, and ask them if they have it. If it's a knockoff of a famous one, then they should be able to offer you the real version, which will most likely smell almost identical. If it IS a cheap knockoff, then you would be lucky for it to still smell strong after two years, which means that it may be the real thing.
Usually, perfume bottles are very careful to brand themselves, are you sure there aren't any marks that give its identity away on the bottom of the bottle?
Sorry, no links. You're the one who should be looking for it on the internet. We don't know what it looks like, you do.

-K

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Ok im 15/m and i have a bestfreind whos 15/f, well i am a very quiet guy and calm but she is the complete opposite and shes always dressing sluty, i dont like her.

Although sometimes she cool most of the times i hate her.

I only see her as a regular freind not as anything else, I dont know what to do,

weve been freinds for 3 years and ive not liked her for 2 years

anyone have any ideas on what to do, and dont tell bull**** like give her a chance cause i cant be freinds with someone i dont like

Hi,
not an answer to your question, so please don't rate:
Freind is an incorrect spelling of Friend.
bestfreind is not a single word. = best friend
Thought you might like to know

or maybe not, but I would like you to know :)

-K

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is there any way to become, less depressed?

Seeing as your question wasn't so specific, I'll give a few steps as pointers;
1. understand what is depressing you. Why do you feel so bad?
2. analyse what part of any problems have to do with you, and think about what things you can change.
3. think about who you can get to help you, if you need someone else.
4. change what you can slowly, to get rid of the situation which is depressing you.

People don't just "get depressed". Something causes it, and most of the time, it's just feeling too energy-less and sad which stops them from solving that problem. The thing that's the most important to think about is that problems don't usually resolve themselves. It's your life, and you need to make sure you control it as much as you can.

Hope this helps,

-K

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when i wear jeans i have this fat that like hangs over the top of my jeans (some people call it cupcake fat) is there like a certain excersise that will get rid of that over tiem? im willing to try anything, it rly limits what i can wear

Hi,
The best thing to do if you're worried about personal image is try to dedicate a small amount of time each day (I'll explain how to do this in a tic.), and spend say half an hour building up your fitness.
Fitness, and healthy diet are the two things which get rid of fat and keep it off best.
To keep things short, I'll try to summarise;
To get fit you have to build yourself up slowly. Don't do too much at the start, or you'll screw your body, and feel so bad you'll swear never to exercise again ^.- Build yourself up slowly, and eventually you'll come to this sudden realisation that you never ever could have done the amount of exercise you're doing at the time, 4 months ago.
Specifically, in increasing difficulty order: walking, slow jogging, scissor jumps, star-jumps, squat-jumps, sit-ups, running, stomach braces, crunches, push-ups, sprinting. (start off mixing them all together, say 2 or 3 of each thing at a time, and give yourself a lot of breaks. Then wind the breaks back, and graduate to faster running, and harder exercises. Keep it interesting, and don't overdo it)
Healthy diet - look up the some countries healthy eating guidelines (I hear that Canada's are very good), try to follow them. Fast food doesn't have to be junk-food, but often is. What you put in your mouth is what you have to work off. If you work off less, you gain fat, if you work off more, then your fat is used up. in(eating) -minus- out(effort) = result.
Time:
This is the trickiest thing to organise. Lots of people say they don't have time for regular exercise. I have to say (and this is not an attack directed at you) that it's just crap. When I run out of time, I realise it's because I have done other things with it. I personally am a big time waster. It's a balance between getting what you want done, and relaxing and wasting some time you deserve. Try to think if there are things in your day which can be done faster, re-arranged, or cut out. Exercise is almost a kind of relaxation when you do it properly.

=) Good luck, hope I didn't over-answer!

-K

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Hi there,

Forgive the rather impersonal nature of an email for first contact, but I couldn't find a telephone number on your site so unfortunately couldn't get in touch the "usual" way; so I thought the best way to make initial contact was to drop you a quick email.

I am getting in touch because I have a couple of ideas as to how you guys can increase the revenue the site generates. Obviously a rather blind email is no place to start going into details, but if you can drop me a phone number/MSN (or similar) contact, I will be more than happy to explain fully.

If you could help me by pointing me in the right direction as to exactly whom I should speak to about this, it will be greatly appreciated and I will happily discuss things in detail with them.

Thanks for your help.

Kind regards,
Simon Bingham
Business Development Executive
Nixxie Ltd
Email: simon.bingham@nixxie.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7484 8625
Visit us at: www.nixxie.com

Hi there Simon :)
I'd like to start off by saying I DO NOT represent the Advicenators management, or its users. Do not rate my answer, it is not an answer to your question, as you didn't ask one. The following is my personal opinion:

You're really stupid if you can't find the contact details for the site owner.
If Dangernerd did want more site revenue, he would be foolish to employ someone as DUMB as you to help him do that.

From my point of view, you should take a hike. For me as a user, I'm not interested in making more money than we currently do. Maybe Dangernerd thinks differently, but last thing I knew, the site wasn't in financial distress. As such, my hope is the site won't commercialise - ever. It's not about money, or advertising. It's about helping people.

P.S. You're welcome to my "Help" any time you've got a real question.

Good day.

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This is a physics question i really need help on. Can anyone figure out for me if MITTENS or GLOVES are better to keep your hands warm in cold weather?

thank youuuuuu!

Given mittens of the same thickness of the gloves, Mittens will have less surface area (as all the fingers are together), and so, lose less heat. All of your fingers will also keep each-other warmer, than when insulated from each-other.
Mostly, mittens have longer bodies where they meet your arm, so fit over or under what you are wearing, and provide better warmth than gloves will.

If you need finger mobility, obviously, mittens would be a pain in the arse. You could get fingerless gloves with a fold-over mitten.

-K

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I lose EVERYTHING. I have lost my retainer twice, forget books everyday, lost a 6k gold necklace at the beach, my cell phone, my keys, homework, everything. I am sick of looking through my bag, and getting that feeling of dread because I know that what I'm looking for is not there. I lost my iPod video somewhere today, and I nearly threw up. I have good days all the time until I look and... it's not there. I wish all the time, pray, list, and hope that I won't lose things. I just got that iPod, and I made an oath to myself that I would never lose it. I feel hot, sick and terrible about myself. I feel as if as soon as everything is going right for me, I lose it. Literally. I am smart, pretty and not a klutz, but I lose everything; gifts, personal purchases, etc. I lost a tennis bracelet that my aunt gave me, and barfed and cried for hours and hours and wouldn't speak to anyone. I just don't know what to do anymore since I know that everyone tries to give me everything I want, and as soon as I have it, I lose it. I feel awful, and just don't know what to do. Any help PLEASE!? I feel like I'm trapped in this little bubble of nothingness.

Hi,
Apart from trying to be more mindful of the things you have with you (you're probably getting annoyed with me already, for stating the obvious, no?), there is one thing I can suggest;
Have a place for everything. The one way not to lose things is to be super-organised. When everything has a specific place (such as a particular pocket in your bag, a drawer or shelf in your room, or a folder with all of that subject's work in it) then it's much more difficult to lose things. Because you know what you have, and you know where it should be, you find out much sooner that it's missing, or you find it easy to check that you have everything before you leave. Finding out something is missing sooner is very helpful, lost things generally survive a little while before being noticed, or fiddled with by other people.
Another thing you should do is engrave or be very meticulous about putting your name on things. I lost my diary with all my exams and exam-tips and study information a couple of weeks before exams in the middle of this year, and somebody phoned me and told me where I could pick it up, because I bothered to fill in the personal information section in the front. With digital things like your iPod, you can leave a text file with information like that on it. Sometimes people can be very honest with things like that.
Losing bracelets and necklaces happens when you take them off. Solution - don't take them off. If you're at a pool, the beach, or playing sport do not put them anywhere except in your bag.

-K

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i know limewire is illegal and everything. ive heard about people getting fined for LOTS of money for using it. if i right click all my songs and click stop sharing or whatever it says, can i still get fined? is there anything i can read online about this?
thanks!

Limewire is not illegal. If it was, it would have been easy for music and movie companies to take it down, like they did with napster, and then made them start charging for music, ect. Limewire is simply a program which lets you download files from other people, and lets them do the same from you, completely innocent. The act of downloading, or uploading copyright things (the music, or video, etc) IS illegal. By not sharing, you are cutting the equation in two. The music you already have from it is illegal, you could be fined. Look it up using google.

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Hi there,

So you answered the question about dyeing hair frequently, but what about filling in roots?

I dyed my hair black awhile ago, and since then, I've been filling in my roots with Herbal Essences root stuff like every 2 weeks. So, I AM doing it very frequently (every 2 weeks), but it's not my WHOLE hair, it's only the roots (I don't even touch the rest of the hair). So, does that mean I'm safe from my hair falling out?

I'm not a hairdresser, so I don't know exactly how bad you can make your hair by dying it that often. If you're only doing the new hair, and using a product specifically designed for regrowth you shouldn't have problems.
With respect to hair falling out, unless you develop an allergy to the hair dyes (reasonably common apparently) then your hair shouldn't fall out or anything.
If you dye it one week, and get an itchy head, and then the time after that it's even more itchy, then I suggest you patch-test, to make sure you haven't developed an allergy, because it gets worse each time...

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Ok i'm fourteens years old and i wanted to get a job but i dont know anywher that would let a fourteen year old work anyone know anywhere in Edgerton or Janesville Wisconsin

Most commonly, places like KFC, McDonald's, or cafés hire young workers. The only reason some employers don't take young employees, is because they don't act as maturely, and they have to work around the employee's hours of availability because of school. On the other hand, they get to pay you less, so a lot of them like that.
You need to figure out all of your academic marks that would be useful (so say if you're in grade 10, maybe include from grade 8 or something). Also, any awards, or special things you've done that will make employers think you are better than any of the other 14 year olds applying for the same job.
Write yourself a simple resume (guides on the internet all over the place), and look up the jobs sections in a newspaper. If you're lucky, there will be several positions which say "junior somethingorother required", those are the people you apply to. You should probably also write cover letters for your applications.
Often, if a resume doesn't come with a cover letter, it just gets chucked out by managers (they might be a little less worried when you're younger), but if you write a good, short cover letter, that gives them the impression that you will be a good worker, then you're almost sure to get an interview or trial with them.

The one thing to remember that got me my first job; you have to be the best person at telling the hiring manager what they want to hear about you - which is that you will work well, because of reasons a, b, and c.

Good luck
-K

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Alrighty where to start? Well I've known my best female friend for about a year. I always try to do the sweet things such as getting her candy, carrying her books, even going shopping with her. Even at school people always make rumors about us going out, but there are times where I feel like she has interest in me and times where I don't feel anything. She doesn't know that I like her. My question is should I confess to her or if not what should I do?

M/16

Hi,
Well, the first thing I've got to answer with is a question;
What would happen if you didn't tell her?
The answer to that one is pretty much always "the same thing as always", which sounds like it has been "nothing" so far.
It depends if you're willing to risk rejection from her, and possibly the consequence that you wouldn't be good friends with her anymore. It's tricky to stay good friends with someone you really like, but who doesn't want anything to happen.

There are two ways you can approach the problem;
Sneaky or blatant.

Sneaky;
Gradually increase the amount of time you try to spend with her. Drop subtle hints about what you like about her. Compliment her on her hair if she changes it. Basically, from what it sounds like, you already spend a lot of time with her. The only difference between that, and being her boyfriend is a degree of intimacy, and a little more time. Once you put in the 'more time' part, it is quite possible she will notice your extra effort, and either shrug you off kindly by telling you she's not interested, or add the intimacy.

Blatant;
Ask her out for dinner, or some occasion which is difficult to mistake as a casual "friendly" event. Or even more blatantly, decide what you're going to say (make it shortish), and just tell her you like her.

Personally, I tend to the sneaky side of things, as it usually limits public fallout, and allows a lot more diplomacy in the case that she doesn't really like you.

p.s. You don't necessarily need to be buying her lots of things. Buying too much stuff for people does a few things- makes the receiver feel pressured or guilty for not giving something in return (whether or not the something is a relationship, or gifts back), and can also be a bad way to waste a lot of money on people who ultimately don't care for you (i.e. this is how you attract people who don't like you for yourself, but like you for your gifts)

p.p.s. I've found a saying to be fairly true, I don't regret the things that I have done half as much as the things I did not do, when I had the chance to.

-K

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Hi Im almost 15 and I havent had aboyfriend yet it may be becuz I am fat but I was wondering if I willl ever have one I feel so lonely and confused That all my friends have had one and I havent!!

plzzzz tell me why im so unwanted!

I didn't have one (girlfriend) until I was 19. Sometimes things just don't happen fast. If you feel lonely, you should try to just make some more friends, that's how you end up knowing people and meeting really special ones who you want to go out with/want to go out with you.
Also, you say "I am fat" in your question. I'm not saying that you are, or are not, because I don't know, however you making that statement gives me the impression that you personally think this is a detriment that would make guys not want to go out with you. There are two ways around that; find a guy who doesn't care about extra weight, and don't be shy because of it, because that's how you end up not getting to know people; or, try to lose it.

Not having a boyfriend or a girlfriend isn't particularly about being wanted or not, it's about finding someone who matches you. Sometimes that's trickier than it sounds, especially if you're as strange as I am ^_^.

Good luck
-K

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19/F
For the past four or five months, I've been sick. Throwing up, diarreha[sp?], passing out, dizziness, lack of appetite, dramatic weight loss [5-10 lbs in ONE week], signs of fever, and bad chest pains. I've been to the doctor alreay about this but they can never seem to find out whats wrong. I go for about a week or two feeling fine but then it starts again. Also, I found a lump on my 'area' that is sore and seems to keep getting bigger along with several tiny ones around it. I haven't been able to go to the doctor for that yet but I do have an appoitment to get it checked out sometime this month.
I'm getting tired of being sick all the time. I barely have energy anymore. Its like all of it has been sucked away from me. If anyone could give me an idea on what they think it could be, please tell me. I'd appreciate it very much.

Please go to a hospital as soon as possible. I don't know where you mean by "area", but lumps are bad, especially when sore, and can be VERY serious (Cancerous). It doesn't matter how young you are, it can happen. Please get it checked, preferably by more than one person if the first doctor doesn't pay attention to it.

-K

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I have 2 questions here, but they relate both to the same problem so I'll ask in one.

I have really oily hair for some reason. Like I wash it one day, then it's okay for the next day but the day after it looks like it hasn't been washed in weeks. So I basically have to wash my hair everyday otherwise it gets REALLY oily. I've been told that's bad for your hair too. That's not my question.

My question is, how can I stop it from going oily so quickly? I've tried heaps of stuff. Different shampoos and conditioners, washing it twice, scrubbing extra hard, not scubbing at all etc nothing works!

My second question is: Straight after I wash my hair, the damp bits become oily straight away. And everytime I wash my hair it's different damp bits, and different oily bits. Like above I've tried everything. I think it's something to do with the way my hair dries. It's only the damp bits which are oily. I can't dry or straighten my hair without those damp bits becoming huge oily parts and it's starting to become REAL annoying and a HUGE problem. What do I do?

Hi,
You could try using a blow-dryer to completely dry your hair after you wash it.
Secondly, shampoo is a bit strange when it comes to oil. If you have a lot of oil in your hair, it won't lather. What you need to do is:
Wet your hair thoroughly
Use about half as much shampoo as you would to wash it, or perhaps even less... and massage that through. It shouldn't lather, and if it does, I doubt whatever it is in your hair is oil.
rinse a little water over your hair, and massage it to make sure the shampoo you've used is distributed well. Once you're sure you've gotten it through your hair well, rinse it all out.
THEN use the same amount of shampoo as you normally would. It should lather the second time. Once you've lathered it, wash it out.
You might want to make sure you're using a conditioner for normal, or oily hair, if you're inclined to use it. I usually don't, because a lot of the conditioners around are crap. But then again, I usually use a small amount of oil to condition it, so I suppose you don't exactly need to follow that bit of advice :)
Washing your hair once every two days shouldn't be that bad, especially if you use a gentle shampoo (Ones not containing sodium laureth sulphate/sulfate, or sodium lauryl sulphate/sulfate are best, especially if they specifically say that they don't have it, because usually they will use good quality ingredients). Most commercial shampoos you find will contain one of the two. It's a natural palm derivative, so it can't be THAT bad, right? Well, yeah, but it's also used in industrial toilet, and floor-cleaners.. so hmm... I avoid them when I can.
If the first shampoo lathers, consider that perhaps you just have insanely beautiful, and naturally lustrous hair.

-K

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