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June 15, 2019

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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 just got really expensive human hair extensions, and i was wondering since i want to grow my hair out before i wear them ( they are clip ins) if they can ruin if i dont use them?? They ayre sealed in a bag in my closet and i dont use them at all. I mean, they cant possibly ruin if i dont use them, style them or anything at all right? thanks.

As the first answerer mentioned, make sure they're not wet. Ensuring they're dry, and sealing them in a bag has worked for my GF, but they're probably just as happy being stored hanging up like clothing if you have the space.

Well, no one had really explained the fact that hair grows back darker and thicker after you shave it...

Anyways, I had some annoying hair on my stomach that was sort of embarrassing, so I shaved it every so often when I would get desperate before swimming and would be wearing a bikini or something. And now it's grown back really noticeably, and I really really HATE it!!! PLEASE tell me what to do! I've heard that you can bleach it, but what product should I use that i can get at walmart? and could it do anything weird to my skin or anything like that? I'm going to be working at a camp all summer, so i'll be in my bathing suit A LOT, and i really don't want to worry about it. HELP! (thanks!)

Bleach burns skin. Do not use it on your skin.
Hydrogen Peroxide has a lightening effect, and shouldn't burn at the concentrations sold in drugstores for antiseptic use.
There are expensive therapies that supposedly zap the hair with laser, light, or electric pulses, and make it go away forever. If you want a permanent solution you might look them up, and look for a place you think is credible.
Aside from shaving, plucking makes hair stay away for longer, but is only really useful for small amounts of hair, and hurts for the first while, until your skin gets used to it.
Quick fix, try weak peroxide..
Light coloured fuzz on the belly isn't offensive. Thick black hair is a bit of a turnoff.
-K

i make them with hershey's shell which harden instantly but wen i leave the strawberries out the chocolate doesnt harden. i put them in the refridgerater but i dont want the strawberries 2 be cold how can i make the hershey's shell hard without makin the strawberry cold

Hershey's shell is manufactured for ice-cream. It only hardens when it gets cold (which you've discovered).
You need to use a chocolate that is solid at room temperature, melt it, dip the strawberries, and then let them cool to room temperature again.
You should use waxed paper to put them on while they cool, or the chocolate will stick to stuff. If you can get strawberries with long stems, you could try hanging them by the stem to keep them pretty, otherwise one side will end up flat. You can also do it by spearing them on toothpicks to keep their sides away from other objects while they set.
I suggest using two pans, with water inbetween, to melt the chocolate. It evens out heat-changes, and distributes the heat better. Melt the chocolate slowly, or it will get runny, and the coating will be too thin. Ideally, you want to JUST melt it, so you can dip, but have them harden almost instantly so the chocolate keeps its shape.

I'm going to a wedgie party soon and I have to learn how to do some really cool wedgies. So if anyone could give me a discription of a really awesome wedgie that would be great. (no normal stuff)

Haha, that sounds like great fun. You should buy some really really big elastic underpants, and do the jim-carey "the mask" style wedgie (atomic wedgie), where they are pulled up over your head. Maybe you could cut some eye-holes in them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedgie
"The Grape Wedgie" sounds very funny, but impractical

-K

I do not want this earth anymore, i want to go, i do not belong here, I do not like pain, so i have to do it painless.

First: I am sorry you feel so bad, so hurt, so shit, so crap, like you have nobody left who is worth staying around for. My answer is late, so hopefully you are reading it, and you have already found a little spark of a reason to wait for a few more days to think.

Second: Nobody here is allowed to give you an answer to what you are asking.

Third: If you are going to ask questions on Advicenators then please ask questions about what is wrong. We won't tell you how to kill yourself. We WILL help you to find how to stop feeling so bad you feel like you need to do so. BUT, we are not mind readers.

Please share your problems with us.

We will answer.

-K

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.

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

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

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

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

my friend is a cutter and in school she carved 'bitch'on her arm. i wasnt in her class. she just came to me after class and was about to cry and showed me her arm. i got pissed of and said 'wtf whyd you fuckin do that' on and on. im a recovering cutter i know how it is but her life makes mine seem good and mine is hell hers is worse. i just dont know what to do? im 13 shes 14 femalees my best friends got me to stop by grabbing the knife

Hey,

The best thing I can tell you is something to say to her. Might work, might not, depends on her.
-The reason people cut a lot of the time is that they want to make the pain they're feeling either justifiable (because it really physically hurts), or just visible, so that people close to them will be able to see they are in pain. The thing that you've got to understand is that when you cut, that doesn't do anything good for you. It's not "constructive", it's just another way you will end up self-destructing. In the end, you want things to be better, don't you? So you have to believe that they can be better, and that it's not you that's a problem. You have to stop making your problems worse by hurting yourself, along with all of the other things that have gone wrong for you.-

The main point is that although it might seem like there is a reason to cut, one must realise that there's no point in being self-destructive. Knowing that you have one person who won't hurt you anymore (yourself), is sometimes the thing you need most.

Also, getting pissed off at her about it might not be the best thing to do. I guess it's hard not to be mad, but it might be better for her if it seemed like you were worried about her, or that you cared about her. Being mad almost seems like a form of blame, whereas your first reaction should probably be more to do with -what is hurting you? I care for you-

I hope that made sense.
-K

i was playing with my ipod and i put a lock on the volume i thought i knew the code but i guess i dont and now i cant undo it i looked at the screen lock and typed what i thought was it and i was right so why didnt the other one work for the volume i tryed pluging into the computer but it doesnt work i changed it to 0000 in the screen lock the go back to volume lock and it wont work whats wrong with it. what do i do

If you've got all of your music on your computer still, use the reset option in iTunes to reset the ipod to factory settings.

If you haven't got all of your music backed up, and it's just on your ipod, you'll need a program that will extract the music to your hard-drive, before you reset it. There's probably already a question on here about that, so if that's the case, look it up.

If a reset doesn't work take it to Apple.

okay, about a month ago a guy i liked asked me "whats up" and i was like "nothing" and then i said "whats up" and he said "nothing" LOL. its funny looking back now but back then it was sooo awkward.

do you say "nothing" or do you launch into a full account of what you've done all week? im confuseedd. btw this applies to people you're not total strangers with BUT don't really know well enough to give a full account of everything that's happened in the day.

honestly, i think there should be an unspoken social rule that acquaintances dont say "whats up" to each other. =[

thanks in advance lovess

Hey,
What's up? :P
It's just a little bit more interested version of "hello" in Australia. Might be slightly different in the US..
Just use it as an excuse to make conversation. You don't actually need anything to talk about if nothing interesting has been happening, just make something up, or say something strange, such as "Well, I had () for breakfast".
My personal stock response is to perform a dramatic examination of the ceiling/sky, and comment, "Gee, look at all the flaking paint"/"Oh my you're right, it IS going to rain", but that's only because I detest the question being used as a greeting, and it's the best, most boring way I could think of to deter people from asking again :)

If you want the person who asks "what's up?" to invite you to do something, you can always say "I don't know, I'm bored", or something similar.

~Luck

-K

during lighting and thunderstorms i know that lighting bolts bounce off rubber, i was randomly wondering if its possible to sit on a trampoline during it, becuase wouldnt the bolts reflect off? haha anyone have any guesses, its killing me

Lightning is electricity evening itself out. I don't remember, but its either negative, or positive charge held in the clouds, and the opposite charge is held by the ground. (Like yin and yang) A very safe place during a lightning storm is inside a car, because it is separated from the ground by 4 rubber/silicon/non-conductive tyres. Lightning strikes the closest object that it can, which is still connected to the ground, by an electrical path (metal is good, trees are okay) That is why tall buildings, with metal structure, and tall metal antennae attract lightning strikes. Power lines, because they carry charge that can neutralize the lightning, are also targets, which really screws up the electricity company's equipment, which is why there are often black-outs due to lightning, apart from the falling trees over lines.

Being outside on a trampoline probably isn't a good idea, as it is a large amount of metal, sitting directly on the ground. There is enough electricity in a lightning strike that it jumps through hundreds of meters of air to strike the ground, so being very close to that much metal would be stupid. In fact, because you are closer to the sky than the metal, it might decide to go Through you to get to the metal.

So to answer your question: no, it wouldn't reflect off. Electricity doesn't reflect from rubber, it simply does not "seek" it, and you should not go near large metal structures connected to ground during a lightning storm. If you're just walking around in general, rubber soled shoes are better than synthetic, because they create a more effective non-conductive barrier between you, and the ground.

-K

how does one describe a voice? like joel madden's? (from good charlotte) i need to know this b/c im writing a story and describing the main character. theres something about his voice that sets him apart from like johnny depp's.

Hey,
Sound characteristics, accent, unusual ways of saying particular words, and words used to display that the character is talking are all ways to convey the way somebody sounds. Mostly, readers will imagine this for themselves, given prompting.

You could;
Have a pair of other characters talk about the character whose voice you want to describe, and have them suggest who it sounds like.

Use different words for "said" i.e. drawled/squeeked/whispered/wailed/urged/barked/growled/shouted/bawled. You don't want to use these words too often, or repeatedly though, because it will annoy readers if the same character always has the same speech marker used for them.

Sound characteristics would usually be narrated: telling the reader things such as "he spoke with a smooth, even tone, his words bubbling over each-other like honey", ok so it could be a crap, clichéd example, but you use descriptive words (or even things like honey/cream/ other food-things, or whatever the sound reminds you of, to get the message across. Toads, Buzz-saws, Dogs, Broken down cars...

You can also (If you're good at phonetics), write accents into characters; "such as if ah was pretendin' to be ah scotts-man", although you have to be fairly convincing, and fairly solid in what the accent sounds like to do this.

Good luck!
-K

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

I have Windows XP, and in my photography class at school we have iMacs. I really like the operating system a lot more than XP, and I want to know if there are any things that I can download to make it more similar, like the dock.

Thanks.

Depending on how good your computer at home is, you might be able to use http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/ to trick your computer into running OS X (which is the Mac OS with a dock). You'd want to run 10.1, 10.2, or 10.3 though. Don't try 10.4, it would be as slow as a sloth, if the earlier versions aren't anyway.
Apart from that, you could try doing google searches on utilities for Win XP. There are a lot of people out there who write programs for Windows. Careful of the lot of people who write the viruses though ^_^

Good luck
-K

How many minutes is 3.27 GB?

Please ask this question again, and spend a little bit of time explaining the situation.
If you're talking about CD Audio, it's about 363 minutes. If you're talking about DVD video with audio, it's a minimum of 36 minutes, or if you make the DVD lower quality it will stretch to however long you want. Decent quality will probably make it 60-120 minutes.
Your question depends on WHAT kind of media you are putting into minutes, and what BIT-RATE you are incoding it.

Hope that makes sense,
-K

Do you guys know any recipes or something for home made facial masks to clear pores ? You know every day objects like milk eggs or something. Something that works & wont like make you break out as much. Id appreciate it if you gave me some ideas so I can clear my skin more so i dont have to buy as much products. Thanks for the help

Hi,
One word : Water
No, I'm not being an idiot and telling you to wash your face.. 0=)
Get a large glass bowl, and a heat-proof surface that you can put on a table which you can sit at.
Pour boiling water into the bowl (depending on how tolerant your skin is to heat, dilute it with cool water).
Drape a towel, or clean tea-towel (a corner from a thick sheet will do if you're desperate) over your head, around the edges of the bowl so that the steam from the bowl is concentrated on your skin.
DO NOT let the towel get into the water, because it will wick water, and could end up burning you.
If you're too hot, cool the water down, but the idea is sort of like a facial-sauna, so your face should get reasonably hot, and may be flushed afterwards for a while.
If you have trouble breathing steam, you might want to use a straw to breath
After 10 minutes or so, with clean hands you can gently clear any blackheads that are really bothering you, and after that finish by splashing your face with cool (cold is enjoyable if you like a bit of a shock) water.
Also, if you want a dis-infectant for your skin, try finding 'Witch-hazel', and putting it in a spraybottle. It's refreshingly cool, and you can just spray it on and leave it.

If you've got really bad skin, see a dermatologist, they have some good ways of treating things these days, especially if you're female.

-K

well my one friend is having like a party and she invited me to go tommorrow night and sleep over afterwards. i asked my mom and she said yes as long as the parents are home. well today i found out no parents will be there and itll be like an open house. I really really want to go. but now the guilt is coming to me. What should i do? I mean i don't always wanna be such a goody good. please help i really wanna go?! whats your advice. thanks

Hey,
I don't know what time it is wherever you live, so Am I'm answering this on time?

What's your mother like? Is the reason she said that you could go 'as long as the parents are home' because she's worried about your safety? Is she worried about your responsiblity levels, or does she trust you well?
Depending on who's throwing them, open house parties can be dangerous. You didn't mention if you were male or female, but if you're female, you have to be cautious about things like "who knows where you are, when", and mind anything that you drink. Spiking happens, and it's got a purpose, a bad one.
If you do go, without telling your mother, make sure someone you trust very well knows where you are, and tell your mother when you should be back home the next day by.
You know how responsible you can be. If you're under 16, I don't recommend going without asking your mother on the new terms.
I think you probably think your mother wouldn't want you going if she knew what the party was. What you have to decide is whether it will be safe, and you can go without a lot of risk to yourself. If you decide that you can, then you shouldn't be worried about having lied. You can tell her the next day "Well, I went, but when I got there there were heaps of people, and I didn't know where her parents were...". This serves the purpose of enhancing your ability to look after yourself in your mother's perspective. Unless of course you think she would just freak out on you.

Sorry to be long about it :)
-K

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