Ralfcoder

I spent an hour or two fighting with strands of outdoor christmas lights yesterday, trying to find strands that worked, wiggling bulbs to coax the dark ones back to life, etc. I'm about ready to pitch the box full and replace them. I see the LED light strings on the store shelves, but they still have the lights that can be removed, like the traditional strings. I know LEDs are more efficient and use less power, but the design is otherwise very similar to the old ones. Are there LED light strings out there that are designed for outdoor use and that will last a long time without half a string going dark at random? If you've had good luck with them, and you've got a brand name, pass it along!

I've used the front page for years. I like it - it worked. I knew where to find stuff. Now, though, I've seen 2-3 different formats over the last few months. I have to go searching for the features I used to find easily. It took me 3-4 minutes just to find YA here so I could rant about this.

I know the digital world caters to the Generation Y or Generation Z kids who trained their attention span down to 3/10 of a second by watching Empty-V. But is it too much to ask to just pick something that works, AND LEAVE IT THAT WAY???

My son moved to LA to go to college, and we're helping him get his tax forms completed. We don't live anywhere near California. He has a job in CA, and so he has to do a state tax return. But is there a city income tax also?

We bought a laptop for our son to use at college. I would like to protect it a bit more so we have a decent chance to recover it if it's stolen. Has anyone used Lojack or Gadgettrak before? Was your laptop stolen? Did you get it back? How long did it take? Any think you can tell me about these would be appreciated!

These things are as annoying as the Clippy character that Microsoft included with Windoze. The red underlining is plenty, thank you. I don't need a nanny looking over my shoulder telling me I have a lot of punctuation or a lot of caps on in my questions or answers. Most likely, I PUT THEM THERE ON PURPOSE.

I need to put a suite of tools on a laptop for my son. I can buy MS Office, or I can download a copy of OpenOffice. But I have a list of questions about OO that I'd like answered.

How compatible are the two? Can MS Office open OO documents all the time, and vice versa?

How easy is it to learn OO? Is it similar in function and appearance?

Is there good support for OpenOffice? Is there a board or web page with a FAQ for people to use when they have questions?

Are there commonly used functions in MS Office that are not implemented in OO yet?

Any help is appreciated!

All of the questions I see were asked at least 21 hours ago, they say. Did YA cough up a hairball and die?

I have livetrapped and hauled 4-5 woodchucks that had burrowed under my shed, and I want to prevent more from moving in. Does anyone have ideas that they've used successfully? I can't shoot them - there are too many houses nearby to get off a clean shot.

I used to get notified when my answer was chosen as a "best answer", but it quit working. I found a question from a week ago saying that it worked for some, not others. Does anyone know anything new on the issue?

Here's that question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvyW8...

I have several sets of drill bits that I've picked up over the years. Most have at least a few bits that are dull. Does anyone have a sharpener that they use and really like?

I see this issue as a civil rights issue. I think that the gay rights movement is in the same place that the civil rights issue was about 40 years ago.

The people that oppose gay marriage say they're defending the institution of marriage. Please tell me how your marriage is damaged if two guys next door or across town are married, and enjoy all the rights that a heterosexual couple do?

And please tell me your opinion on a mixed-race marriage, too. If you're OK with a mixed-race marriage but not gay marriage, what's the difference between them that you are for one, but against the other.

I have frozen water pipes in my house. They supply an upstairs bathroom, and are in an interior wall, about a foot in from the outside wall. I don't have access to them except above the suspended ceiling in the basement. I need ideas on how to get enough warm air into that space between the studs to thaw them.

I bored a hole up from the basement into this space, hoping to use a hair dryer to blow warm air into the space, but that doesn't work. I put a small lightbulb into the hole, hoping to heat it, but it didn't work - it just scorched the inside of the drywall. I tried using a PVC pipe to help move the hot air from the dryer well up into the space, but the hair dryer starts to shut down - the pipe is too small, and it restricts airflow, overheating the dryer.

At this point I'm starting to wonder if I have to cut a hole into the wall to allow airflow. If I do that, I'll fill that cavity with foam beads to insulate it. But I want something to thaw the pipe now! Any ideas?

To all believers, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Indian, Norse, Greek, pagan, or any others:

Peace on earth, good will from man to men. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, however you celebrate it. We may have our differences, but we are all one family. I hope we can discuss our differences as brothers, rather than foes.

Ralfcoder

I see the same 5-6 questions rotate through at yahoo.com - how do I entertain my baby, how do I solve a sudoku puzzle, should I refinance... Guys, you've got a decent thing going on here, take advantage of it. Retire those questions and put a few dozen new ones into the rotation.

I have a chance to go see them in a couple of months. I've never seen them, but heard good things. Is the show worthwhile, or is it just a bunch of white horses doing tricks? How long does the show last? How many horses performed? Did you think it worth the time and money? Any input or comments about them would be appreciated.

Do you have any experience with this camp, or the people that manage it? Do they have good management? Have you been here, or worked here? Anything you can tell me would help.

How long have you flown, are you still flying, how did you train, do you recommend it, do you fly a lot, do you own your own plane or rent, was it worth the money, etc.