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June 15, 2019

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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

I accidentally drop my Ipod in the washing machine today while it was running. Thankfully, it was off and on hold, but I haven't tried turning it on yet in case there is moisture in there. What are the chances of it ever being able to work again? Is it possible to just leave it off for a few days and just let it dry out? Or am I basically screwed?

First of all, don't put your iPod under a lamp, or use a hairdryer on it. You want a waterlogged, steaming, somewhat melted iPod?
It would have been a little help to know what model iPod it is.
You can get special screw-drivers from electronics stores, or ebay, that you use in conjunction with generic batteries to replace dead Li-Ion batteries in iPods, because Apple did a stupid thing, and made the battery non user-replaceable, so they could charge heaps to put in a new battery. Fortunately for you, this means that you can find a device which will allow you to open your iPod. Once it's open, sop up any visible water, using something absorbent such as a tissue. Don't put pressure on any exposed parts, and don't touch any of the metal with your fingers. Oils can corrode electronics.
Do as much as you can to dry it out, and then leave it for a few days, in a cool, dry place. Don't leave it where it will get baked by the sun, or peed on by your neighbour's cat ;O
Then try turning it on.
It's quite possible that it won't work, but if it doesn't it might only be the battery. I'd recommend taking it back to Apple, put back together, and pretending you didn't take it apart. It's more likely to work if it's a Nano, I would guess. This is because ones with Hard Drives are more likely to be corrupted by water.
Just another thought. Was the washing machine water sudsy? If so, it might actually be a good move to rinse and dry the iPod. Don't quote me, and don't do it unless you ask Apple, but the detergent might eventually be more fatal than having dropped it in water.
Good luck getting it working
-K

my boyfriend and i had unprotected sex tonight but he did not cum in me...five hours later i started my period...could i still get pregnant?

It's very improbable. Your peroid is the shedding of the lining of the uterus which is retained if you get pregnant. The eggs are contained in that, so it would be unlikely that they would fertilise, and stick anywhere during your period.
As has already been said, it is possible to become pregnant from pre-ejaculate (released by men during sex).
If you're still worried about it, you could use a pregnancy test in a week or so (whatever it says on the package). If you skip your next period, then you might have reason to be more concerned.
-K

How do you upload something from a regular DVD to youtube?

Like if it's a dvd of a stage performance is it possible to upload one scene from it to youtube?

how?

DVD has files which are way way too big to upload to YOUTUBE. It's because they're only compressed in MPEG2 format, the latest being MPEG4. To upload to YOUTUBE, find out what format they allow you to post in, then convert the DVD (You'll need a semi-capable machine, and a bit of time) into that format using http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ or some other video conversion utility.
The basic steps;
1. find out what youtube allows.
2. check if VLC can do it, from their website.
3. Either download VLC, or some other program that will go from DVD to the accepted format.
4. Find the scene on the DVD, and use the program to convert it to the accepted format.
5. Upload it.
:)
-K

Ok honestly I don't care if I sound desperate but here it goes...
I HAVEN'T HAD A REAL BOYFRIEND....EVER! And practically everyone I know does! One of my cousins is married, one of my cousins has a boyfriend, the whole school (almost) is going out with SOMEBODY! I'm 13/f
I'm so sick of being single it bothers me so much. Everytime I even get close to having a boyfriend they either transfer or fall for some other girl. I'm not ugly-BELIEVE ME! I get a lot of compliments about that stuff...
I've heard the saying when girls are so beautiful that the guys just settle for something less because they're afraid of rejection but...I don't really think that's the case all the time because I've been asked out before...
BY PEOPLE I DON'T EVEN LIKE THAT ARE YOUNGER THAN ME THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE THAT FOLLOW ME OUT OF NOWHERE IN PUBLIC!
How am I ever supposed to get a boyfriend?
I'm not mean
I'm not aggressive
Could it be the people I'm hanging out with?
I'm not loud
I'm not quiet
I'm not weird in a bad way..I just don't get what's wrong with me.
My mom is always telling me "Whoa, you're certainly not going to be one of those girls stuck home on a saturday night in highschool once you get older...but what if i am?
help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't want to be boyfriendless forever. I know I probably won't but it's killing my self esteem!

I might be the oddity, but seriously, 13 is not a bad age not to have had a gf/bf yet. I didn't have one until I was 18. Maybe it would make it seem a little less important if you figured out why you want one. What is a "boyfriend" to you? Why do you need one to have good self-esteem? If I had to rely on another person to feel good about myself, I would be really worried.
Being too "needy", or too "fast" is a no-no though. If you act as if you're too keen to have a boyfriend, or you take relationships too fast, lots of people will kind of back up and go "whoa, hey wait slow down a bit" and get freaked out by it. Same thing if you call them too often, or act as if you NEED them too much - Clingy=bad!
Hope something in there helps, even if it just lets you know you're normal.
-K

I wasn't quite sure what to put this under..

guys.. do you find big hips to be attractive? i mean not huge but something to grab onto. ive heard mostly yes but id like more opinions. thanks

Jeesh, looks like all the other guys are too shy to answer ^.- (me being the first)
Big hips depends on the size of the girl. The proportion of hip-stomach-ribs is important. It's attractive when a girl's hips look full - there is a gentle curve in just above them, and then back out for the rib-cage.
Like this;
http://images1.comstock.com/Imagewarehouse/TS/SITECS/NLWMCompingVersions/C0039/C0039693/C0039693.jpg
(Jeez it's hard to find photos of girl's hips that aren't porn >.

I have a feeling that this guy, who knows I like him, might diss me in the middle of the school cafeteria... dont ask why i know this.
What should I do when this happens? Any tips?

and pleaseee don't tell me to confront him earlier or anything, i know the public humiliation is coming.

Hi,
You could try having something to fire back at him. First, you've sort of got to think of what he could possibly say or do to try and humiliate you, and be prepared to completely blank it out. If he succeeds in humiliating you, there's nothing you can do during, or after, that will have any effect.
On the other hand, a cup of (hot coffee might be a bit much :) cold water or milk in the face might be fun to do. Of course, this should probably be done smiling.
Apart from that, don't you have any dirt on him? Get ready to fling it at the right moment. But don't rush and stumble over your own tongue. Perhaps practice quietly at home ^_^.
Luck!
-K

I wanted to know why do some boys act mean and nasty to certain girls after they break up. Like they start saying "What are you looking at?" They also start talking about that girl and they don't speak no more or even look the girls way.

Because some boys are the real deal (A-holes). They get pissed off if the girl initiates the breakup, most likely because they found out that the guy was an A-hole. They also get mean after they initiate a breakup, usually after they've used you, because they are just mean, generally nasty people.
It's the same with all nasty people really, just with a breakup thrown in. People like that are usually only 'nice' when it suits them.
-K

So this girl, joanne, insulted me on facebook. Me and him were talking to eachother, and she posted, "ew why are you talking to her?" and some more things to make me seem terrible, on his wall. I was really upset, because she said some pretty bad things about me, and i was afraid that he'd think differently about me(theyre kind of friends, and i dont know him thatttt well). but then he posted on my wall, "ummm joannes really weird" and i said, "haha whatever." and then he said "but don't worry i don't like her at all."

thanks so much.

Thanks for the extra effort, it helped a lot.
Were the things she posted on his wall true, or just nasty? It's entirely possible that Joanne also has a crush on him, and she simply posted nasty and destructive comments about you in an effort to stop him from talking to you, and make him talk to her.
Where did you get the impression they were friends? It's semi-important, because if it came from him, yet he says he doesn't like her at all, then he wouldn't be being honest about it all the time.
If you don't know him that well, "be careful" is my stock answer. Many people are good at being dishonest, and if Joanne and him are better friends than you think, cruel games could well be going on. But then again, that's very pessimistic of me.
A guy defending a girl against the insults of another girl, is in general a good sign that he likes the girl he's defending more than the girl who slung the insults. If you want to know if he likes you, you shouldn't just base it on that kind of a comment. Try talking to him more. Do you see him in person? (Like at school?) It's usually easier to tell if somebody is genuine in person than over the internet, although there are those who manage to deceive in person too.
Thumbs up for flirting - go go go!
-K

theres this guy who i kind of like, and he posted on my facebook with something that made me wonder if he likes me back.
he did this after this girl said something mean about me.

"but don't worry i don't like her at all"

what does he mean?

Well it's sort of difficult to tell with the amount of situation you gave me. It depends on what she said, and what he posted in your facebook.
In general, if he thought that the girl who'd insulted you had hurt your feelings, he might post to tell you that he didn't agree with her, to make you feel better.
I think if he was there when the girl insulted you, he should have said something about it then, rather than wait to post it privately to you.
If you'd like to be a little more elaborate in your description of the situation, please ask a second question.

Ok, I'm a bit confused. Are condoms 90% effective or 98%?? And are they very easy to break?

Thankyou!!!!

Apart from what everybody else said, DON'T keep condoms in a warm environment. Such as in a wallet, pocket, or anywhere else that is heated. Keep them in a "cool, dry place". They become drastically less effective if they stay warm for too long before being used, as the latex degrades.
-K

for my whole life i've only been typing with my 2 index fingers. my friends make fun of me for it and i really want to know the real way to type. and im afraid i cant get out of my old habit of typing.. what fingers go on what keys??? any tips?

I agree with theymos, TiNA_DUH is typing with incorrect positioning. I wonder if she has done any typing since elementary school 0;)
The reason the F and J keys have bumps on them, is so blind people can find them, to touchtype, and also so non-blind people can tell they're putting their fingers back on the right keys.
I'll expand on theymos' explanation.
If you have your left and right hands in typing position, I will number them 1 to 10. Left pinky is 1, right thumb is 6, right pinky is 10. (1,2,3,4...)
1 rests on A, and reaches for Z and Q (and 1, but I won't go into the numbers, because I'm not sure about all of them) and SHIFT when you type a capital with a letter the fingers on your right hand must type. (You use two keys, and both hands to type a capital letter)
2 rests on S, and reaches for W and X.
3 on D, for E, and C.
4 F, R, V, AND reaches right for G, T and B.
5 rests on the space bar.
6 seems to be redundant in my typing, strangely enough, although it can be used to hit space also.
7 Rests on J, and hits U and M, AND reaches left for H, Y and N.
8 Rests on K, for I and , (comma)
9 on L for O and . (period)
10 on ; (semicolon) for P and / and ' and - and SHIFT to type a capital using fingers 1 to 4. Finger 10 (right pinky) also hits Delete and Return.

Any key in combination with the shift key of the other hand makes a captial. Also: questions marks (?) brackets ( ); and/or other "general" symbols or punctuation marks are mostly typed by finger 10, as it's in the right place for them.

I found it was best just to take it really slow. Programs with a keyboard on the screen can be helpful. It's also very useful to just look down at the keyboard. Most typing tutors say this is a no-no, but I found it helped me learn where the keys were by looking at them while I made sure I didn't do my usual two-finger typing. Eventually you learn where they are and don't have to look anymore. That's when it gets useful.

Good luck!
-K

I am an American student who would like to go to an Australian university. I'm just wondering if anyone could recommend some. I would like to know how they would convert my GPA and grades into their grade standards and such .I would also like to know how the resident arrangement would work out because I am currently an American citizen. I have heard that some Australians dislike Americans and I was wondering if it will be a major issue if I do go and get accepted to a university there. Thank you for your time.

Hi,
What uni you go to sort of depends on how rich you are. If you were mega-rich, you would go to the most expensive university, because they probably have the best lecturers.
From what a quick google search tells me, not only are GPA and TER-tertiary entrance ranking- different, but the way your GPA is converted will change between universities.
TER works like this: 99.95 is the highest TER you can get. It means you're the top .05% of the country in educational point-scoring. TER is basically a % based on where you are in relation to the rest of the country.
Because you're an American Citizen, it's likely you would find it easy to take out Australian citizenship, although don't quote me. They might make you take a values/"Who wrote 'The Man from Snowy River'?"-type test.
Some Australians dislike Americans a lot. I don't think it would cause a lot of trouble though. It's mostly the accent which they dislike. Also, Americans who don't adopt Australian spellings, such as recogniSe, are often seen as ignorant or stupid, and trying to impose their language differences on Australia. There is a certain level of National pride which means people get pissed off if they feel like you are trying to 'Americanise' Australia. Don't ask any really stupid questions, ask for a "Corn dog" (they're called "Dagwood dogs" here :), or do anything generally obnoxious, and you'll be just fine.
You don't come from Texas, do you? x.x
Good luck :)
-K

Is there a quick way I can take out like 5 seconds in the middle of a movie thats about 3 minutes long and just have those 5 seconds as a video by itself? Any specific programs you would recommend? Thanks.

Use the transcoding/whatever wiz. in VLC http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ You'll need to type in where the segment starts and ends, in seconds when it asks for a start/end time.
-K

IF your credit card number is stolen and used to purchase items. Is there anyway to get that money back or prove you didnt buy those goods?

In addition to Sabine's answer; (yes, call your card company, good advice)
I presume that they were using your card number without a signature, either as a shop person, or using it on the internet, which doesn't require a password.
If that's the case, the card company will be able to trace where the transaction was made, or what computer it was made from, and investigate. If it's fraud, they will probably give your money back. They should have measures in place to detect unusual buying behaviour anyway. Those freeze your card after a few purchases.

-K

me & my bf are a really good couple. we think so anyways. the thing is our status is completely different. hes from this extremely rich family that owns about 5 houses and is going to the best college in our area. my family is..not rich and im going to a regular state college. his parents are nice but i think you get where im going with this. we went to his cousins wedding this past weekend. there were about 50 really pretty girls there that were family friends and he talked to all of them and i was kind of left on the side. i basically followed him around the whole time. he wouldnt hold my hand, he wouldnt touch me, he barely looked at me, but when we were by ourselves everything was normal. they know im his gf! i always feel left out with this. any ideas?? oh and im uncomfortable talking about it with him.

Hi,
Well, first of all, why is it that you're uncomfortable talking about the problem with your boyfriend? "Really good couples" should be able to talk about serious things, like possible flaws in their relationship. I think it's possible that you're worried that he would be angry about it, or perhaps there is something that you don't want him to say, such as he doesn't want to carry the relationship on.
If that was the case, would you really want to prolong the problem where you simply follow him around, and watch him talk to other girls for as long as it took for him to bring it up? Sorry to be harsh, but the only way it will change is with you saying something to him (or writing it down if you don't want to say it).
It shouldn't matter whether you two are of a completely different social or economic class. I don't know if you've heard about Princess Mary of Denmark, but I sure as heck have, coming from the same island as her. Fairytale infrequency aside, Mary was a commoner, until the friggin' prince of Denmark decided he liked her, and asked her to marry him, etc.. As long as you can act the part, you can aspire to be as high as you want.
Ok, but here is the real problem. He's at a cousin's wedding, and he's talking to everyone (young girls), except you. Just out of curiosity, who invited You to the wedding? Him? It seems very strange to do such a thing, and then ignore you.
There are many reasons it may have happened;
1. Hand-holding is seen by many (especially higher social classes) as childish, and not to be publicly displayed.
2. The deal is similar with touching, and anything except greeting-kisses, or dancing. He -didn't- dance with anybody else, did he?
3. He may have been concerned that too many introductions would freak you out.
But on the nasty side, I think you have already been using your imagination for the "cons" side of the argument.
It IS important for him to talk to you. He should also introduce you to people. It's only polite. It's ok if you have to follow him around all night, but if so, you should be regarded as a part of him, to either be in step, occasionally leading him to the next location you are going, or being included in the conversations he has. Not that you need to be at his side the whole night. That may seem somewhat clingy. You could take time out, to go enjoy what's happening wherever you two are together (on your own).
If it were to happen again, how would your boyfriend react if you were to disappear from his side for a few minutes, and go have a chat with one of the cutest boys you can see? Surely if there are 50 pretty girls there, there must be a few boys who you can use to try to stir some form of jealousy in your boyfriend?
And who knows, if your boyfriend doesn't seem to give a damn, perhaps you would end up in better company at the end of the day ;)
I wish you much luck with your boyfriend,
-K

I want this boy to be my valentine but he's like one of those boys that are still kinda immature and think girls are kinda nasty and they don't get girls and stuff. But, the problem is, i want to ask him to be my valentine since it's coming up soon, and he's nice and cute and all that, but, he might say no and think im weird. I don't know what to do cause then i sit next to him in almost every class and it'll be awkward to him and me. So, any tips on what i should do?

P.S. I want a guys point of view in how he would act if a girl asked to be your valentine. Girls perspectives are fine too.

Thanks in advance.

Male 19y/o p.o.v.;
If you're going to ask a question like that, it matters very much what age both of you are. Please included it in future questions.
Younger than 12 (unlikely); He might not like it, and it could result in him teasing you later on. It depends on his personality, and whether he actually really does like you. If he's very immature, he might do stupid things like stand you up, or make fun of you, because he likes you. Unfortunately there's no way to tell if he's doing it because he likes you, or because he's just being nasty.
Around 14 (my guess); In this age range, it would probably be very flattering for a guy to be asked out by a girl, especially if you are 'pretty'. That doesn't mean he'll accept, but if he doesn't then you can just pretend you didn't ask him in the first place.
Over 16; If the guy is this old and still immature about girls, please avoid him.

In relation to asking;
It's usually better to ask in person about valentines. Cards can help. Cards can also give potentially nasty people written ammunition to use against you in the future, so make sure you don't give a card to somebody you don't quite trust.
Friends are also useful. If you got a friend to ask him if he would be your valentine, not only would he not be able to reject you so meanly, but if worst comes to worst, you can deny having anything to do with it (make sure your friend agrees to let you say that you never asked them to ask him to be your valentine). That way, you can pretend to get pissed with your friend, and nobody's the wiser, or feeling uncomfortable in class.
Hope that helps a bit.
-K

ok so i met this guy at a debate tournement and he lives an hour away and he gave me his number and i want to call him but i dont know wut to talk about. i dont know wut to do please help me.

Well why do you want to call him? Is he -interesting-? One of the oldest, most sneaky tricks in the book for not having to say anything in a conversation, while making the other person think the conversation is great, is to ask them about themselves.
What do you want to know about him?
"So, what school did you say you go to?..."
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"What's your favourite topic to debate?"
Interesting conversations

how can i get rid of a sore throat with out medican or perioxide or salt water. i tried all them and i still havent go rid of it :/

Lemon and Honey mixed together. Add honey to the lemon until you can sip it from a spoon, then have a few spoonfulls. Get someone to look at your throat, because there might be something wrong enough to need a doctor's appointment. I don't know if you meant peroxide, ("perioxide") but if you did, peroxide is poisonous if swallowed, so do your best to only gargle with it, and rinse well.
Have you got any lollies with menthol in them?
Also, sometimes paracetamol or asprin will calm it down (sorry if that's a little obvious)
-K

i went to ripway and made an account and everything. now i am realizing that some of my music that is on my itunes isn't in the folder that says itunes library. i was thinking that it might not be updated...if that's the problem, how could i update it?..if you don't think that's the problem and have any other suggestions, help me out!

Hi,
I don't know if you're using the Mac version of iTunes, or Win. I have a Mac, so I will have to presume there are similar options available to windows users;
Under preferences;advanced there should be an option to add a copy of files to your itunes folder when you add them to your library. To avoid the problem in the future, enable that. (That means that once you add music, you should delete it from elsewhere, otherwise you'll end up with two copies of it taking up space)
Second, to fix the problem with the files not in the folder already, there should be an option somewhere (Mac version is under "Advanced" menu) that says "Consolidate Library". That will copy any files outside of the iTunes Library folder into it.
Good luck,
-K

34/f
I have a silly problem. It's my mother and her insipid e-mails. She forwards me all of this junk. I don't really care about the cute, cuddly pictures of kitties and bunnies. It's the political stuff that annoys me. We do not have the same political views and she is WELL aware of this. She sends me e-mails (the ones that say if you agree that communists are inviting Castro to take over the Supreme Court, forward this to 500 people immediately and if you don't, you
don't love Jesus and you need to move to France with the whole A.C.L.U.) touting political, social, and religious views I vehemently disagree with and which provoke argumentative feelings in me. I'd really love to reply to them and tell her
why it's just [baloney]. I have tried using it as a start to a serious, but civil discussion. She gets offended. I have repeatedly asked her to stop sending me this stuff. Her reply is that I can just delete them and that I should just do the "Christian" thing and ignore them. Well, it's about a weekly occurrence that I get something from her that sets me on fire, even though I have
told her point-blank that it offends me.

It's to the point where I feel like replying to each with a baudy snippet from a gay sex columnist or an article from The Onion or even a page from NARAL (abortion rights) just so she can see what it's like to be irritated by this stuff. I feel like she doesn't care or doesn't respect who I am when she does this. Another thing I've thought of is just simply blocking her e-mails. Maybe I should just chill out because she's the only mother I'll ever have and I do love her. It's just hard because I've never felt like I belonged in my family (I like to joke that I'm a white sheep in a flock of black ones) and these e-mails seem to emphasize the point.

Any advice? Thanks.

Hi,
Find an email program that will allow you to "Bounce" her emails. It's not a reply, it acts as if the email was undeliverable, and the person who sent the email is informed that the email couldn't be delivered.
Personally, I quite like the idea of sending gay sex columnist's articles in return. It really depends on how much you want to stay friendly with your mother. It sounds to me like most of what she does probably annoys you.
-K

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