techyphilosopher2

I want to set up a home laboratory, and want to have at least one natural gas tap for a bunsen/meeker burner.

The local plumbers and gas furnace installers, plumbing supply places, home improvement places, etc., either don't know what I'm talking about, or just suggested I look on the Internet. The only thing I found on the WWW are electric control valves for gas furnaces.

Other than raiding a local high school/college chem lab, is there a sorce for these things that the general public can buy from?

My friends and relatives think that my having two microwave ovens in my kitchen, and running both while preparing various things for meals, is a bit much. Do other people do this?

I've tried sending my black-and-white digital photos to various online photo processors, and they insist on printing them through their color printing equipment - and the results are sub-standard.

Is there any online photo processor that has the equipment to do decent b&w prints from a B&W digital file?

The medial player that came with my linux computer can handle un-encrypted mocvie DVDs, like Digiview and PCTreasures just fine, but can't deal with encrypted recent releases. But I have'nt found any answers that specifically address a player that will handle encrypted movies.

Any suggestion on specific linux players, and possible download sites?

And I've seen a lot of flatbed scanners on the WWW that pop up when I search on "slide scanner", but most just seem to be hyped up flatbed scanners tweaked towards scanning photos rather than documents, like

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...

I've also seen flatbed scanners with an add-on attachment for scanning slides and negatives. But how well do they deal with the thickness of the slide mounting to get a sharp focus, and/or slides with warped film?

I'm hoping to spend $250 U.S. at the VERY most, preferably less. Yes, the economy is not good here, either....

The trees have leafed out and bloomed quite a while ago. I'm located in south central New Mexico. However, the leaves are quite yellowish, and have small dark spots on them, and are starting to thin out.

Is this a nutritional issue (needs fertilazer) in the locally very sandy soil w/ little loam? Or should I be thinking diseases? Could it be

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternaria_alternata

or something else?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pear_diseases

How would I treat any diseases? the above articles are rather obscure for help with diseases or fertilizers.

Thanks for any help!

I'd pick the early Datsun/Nissan 240/60/80 Zs, the early first generation Toyota Celica, the very early first generation Mercury Capri.

I'd give a nod to the AMC Pacer, which had styling 15 years ahead of its time IMHO

If you print them, do you do them through store's WWW site, or at an in-store kiosk, or print them at home, or a combination of the above? If you post them online and/or email them and not print them online, about what percentage of you photos don't get printed but just get sent to WWW sites or emailed?

The NiMH batteries in my Kodak are failing to hold a charge after three years of use and about 50 recharge cycles. The package claimed about 1000 recharge cycles. Is the latter just hype, or is my experience on battery recharge life more typical?

Dial-up in the United States costs from about $10/month (Netzero/Juno) but averages about $20 to $25/month for a home account. Home broadband costs about $40/month in the U. S., regardless if it's wireless, satellite, cable, DSL. etc.

What is everybody else in the world paying for similiar WWW access service?

I'm trying to research frood and drug store prices going back decades. The newspaper insert ads for such stores would be a logical place. The regional newspapers offices say they don't keep that information, since it's up to the ad buyers to do that. The stores' offices say they don't keep their old ads on archive, either. And the public libraries say they 1) throw those ads out, and 2) never microfilm them for the archives, both to save shelf space and processing time. Are there any places I should ask?

Also, do you have a favorite? And why?

All details welcome

I have a Konica Minolta, Kodak, SiPix, but wind up using the Kodak most because of the compactness.....

I brought water in a cup to a boil in a microwave, then pour granulated sugar in to it. (It's to make a solution for hummingbird feeders.) The water, lightly boiling when removed from the microwave, violently churns when I slowly pour granulated white sugar into it.

Am I right in assuming this effect is due to the water being superheated, and the sudden disruption of the sugar being added causes the bulk of the water to boil? Is it air being purged out between the small crystals of the sugar, since the vapor pressure of the water is above the partial pressure of the air? Or something else? Or a combination of effects?

I'm looking for particulars, like did you sell through a stock photo agency, or get the cards/calenders printed yourself and sell through local stores and craft fairs? How about selling on eBay and/or a seperate unique WWW page. What kind of volume can I expect? What's selling over the long haul, landscapes or dogs or ??? Has everybody gone digital, or is there still demand for film based photos?

Etc. etc. etc....

If you have any recent experience living/traveling there, that'd be great. Leave the prices in Euros/ British pounds/etc. per liter and I can do the conversions to American or Canadian money and gallons.

Also, if you know of any WWW sites that list regional European prices of gasoline and diesel as reported by consumers or consumer advocacy groups, that'll be great to know for tracking future changes.

The full version of Photoshop, at several hundred dollars, is too expensive for my budget right now, as is the "PhotoShop Elements" at around $100 retail. Kodak's free Easyshare is okay just for cropping and red-eye removal, and automated corrections, but really can't do much more sophisticated and won't let me do any significant amount of manual correction. I tried getting a used copy of Photoshop off eBay, but got burned with a pirated copy that was full of viruses - never again. I'd like a "new-in-box" software package, or a reliable download from a trustworthy source.

All told, I'd like something that can do all of the stuff to pictures that Photoshop can do to pictures, but without the price tag. And I need a Windows version, having to buy a Mac to run software would more than wipe out any savings.

For example, IMHO of course:

Best:

Theodore Roosevelt: honest, socially aware andforward thinking with the National Parks and Pure Food and Drug Act.

Truman: Honest, took responibilty, proven leadership

Eisenhower: leadership, knew how to deal with the Russians.

-------

Worst:

Warren Harding: corruption at its worst

Calvin Coolidge: said he would be "do-nothing" president, and he delivered. His poor economic planning contributed to the Great Depression.

John Kennedy: out of his league, got lucky with the Cuyban MIssile Crisis, strong evidence his election was fraudulent.

Jimmy Carter: meant well, but out of his league without good knowledge of foreign affairs.

Bill Clinton: didn't even mean well, was just seeking power and fame and interns to screw...

I'm sick of dialup, even the $10/month brands like NetZero, because of the low transfer speed.

I'd love to get broadband, but 1) DSL isn't avaialbe out here in the countryside, 2) neither is cable, and 3) satellite and wireless braodband costs about $600 to $1000 just for the hookup fees (depending on the provider), and about $60 to $80 a month for the service.

Is there anything cheaper? Is there something in the free, to $10 to $25 per month for boradband without having to buy into satellite TV too, or am I just dreaming? If I'm not dreaming, can you supply information?

There are some "pro" printers, made by Epson and others, that make very good black and white prints from digital photos. But they cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars, well beyond my budget.

The usual home printers and printer docks that I've seen in the $100 dollar range do well with color photos, but just can't make a decent black and white print - they appear "washed out" (low contrast) and have a bluish cast instead of making true black.

Is it just having a printer that has the proper optimization to do black and white, or is there some software manipulations(s) I can try?

In particular, what was used to lubricate steam cylinders before petroleum based lubricates became common? There's the proverbial "bear grease" all purpose hair treatment and axle bearing treatment, and "rendered lard oil." What's missing from the written accounts?