RickRodney

I just had an interesting occurrence. My answer was chosen by the asker as a "Best Answer." About 33% of my answers get "Best" so that is not so uncommon. But a few hours later, my answer was reported and deleted. Apparently, the appeal link doesn't work so, oh well. Based on how this happened, it seems obvious that someone got jealous and decided to report me. I have only had a few reports. One was because I answered a question quite seriously with the quote "Cogito ergo sum" which is Latin for "I think, therefore I am." Violation? Use of foreign language in an answer! Didn't win the appeal. There was one more that I didn't bother to appeal, because I was in a grumpy mood that night and criticized the question. But here is the question and answer that I gave (Incidentally, the question itself was also deleted, so the jealous person probably slapped the asker for choosing me over the reporter as well.)

Q: (Simplified because I can't get the original) Why does Gandalf lie to Frodo when he pulls the ring out of the fire and hands it to him? He says "It's quite cool." How can that be?

A: It was a fashion statement. He was saying "Check out this ring! It's quite cool!"

Obviously, that was just a throwaway joke. The asker chose it as best over several other perfectly correct answers (relating to the powers of the ring to withstand any normal fire). Frankly, I didn't deserve a "best" on that one, but the asker found it amusing (His response was "LOLOLOLOLOL!") so I got one. I looked at the violation email and checked out the community guidelines. Technically, this does not really address the question. So perhaps I would lose an appeal if that option were available. In this case, the motivation behind the report seems fairly clear, but it does raise the question: Does this kind of quip really violate the community standards? I mean, most of my answers are respectful, pointed and intended to help the asker. But occasionally I just see an opportunity to throw out a one-liner. Do we have a sense of humor here or must I curtail my youthful levity? (I'm 56, btw, so "youthful" is a slight exaggeration!)

Opinions and/or specifics that might clear the issue up?

OK, my daughter just bought a 2001 Sebring which she test-drove and worked fine. After she got it home (about a 40 mile drive) she noticed that when she turned hard to park the steering seemed to "stick." When I tested it, I also noticed this. As you turn, it is as if you lose power steering intermittently. She also noticed that it will intermittently start shaking and sputtering for no apparent reason, then working just fine. She has a check engine light which Autozone said had 9 different codes relating to different sensors. The steering seemed mechanical, but I wonder if it could be the computer having problems which confuses things causing these random types of problems? Any thoughts?

I'm doing an arrangement of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" for a vocal quartet and piano at church. It has been about 35 years since I had a music theory class. I want to do two verses in F then transition into D Major for a verse of another hymn then maybe finish in G. Dropping to D minor would be perfectly rational, but I am going to D Major by changing the last melodic note of the second verse from am F to an F# and building a D Major chord around that. It's abrupt, but I like the sound. From there a perfect 4th up to G for the last verse of the original hymn (not sure if I can pull off the voicing and keep my first tenor as a friend, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it). Can I musically justify this progression or do I need to go pull out my old copy of Walter Piston's "Harmony" and study the rules again?

btw, this arrangement is due tomorrow (Sunday Nov 10) at 4 PM so I am on a real time crunch here. Any help is highly appreciated.

We just bought an '86 Chrysler LeBaron from our son-in-law-to-be to use as an extra car. The wife had a minor fender-bender the other day. She was struck from the side as she was entering a turn lane which pushed the bumper about six inches to the right and in on the driver's side. I can't imagine it is the world's most difficult thing to fix, but I have never done a bumper before. I haven't got the Haynes manual yet, but I was wondering if anyone could give me a general idea of what I am going to be up against on a front bumper for a car that old. Aside from being pushed over and in, the bumper itself has only sustained a small dent in the driver's side. (It was a very low speed crash.) Anybody who might have some info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I'm informally studying law and I am currently looking at hearsay. I notice that several things which the common law considers inadmissible are admissable under the Federal Rules of Evidence and vice versa (or they are exclusions under one system and exceptions under another). I would assume that the FRE would apply in federal courts and perhaps common law in other jurisdictions, but I am not sure. Incidentally, any suggestions for good reading or websites on the law in general are appreciated. This is just a personal interest. I haven't the time, money or intention to formally study law. But I do find it fascinating. Help is greatly appreciated.

I am preparing to teach a course on the Old Testament. The first session is tomorrow night and I intend to start by pointing out that the OT was the scripture that Jesus himself knew and referred to. I am cross-referencing the incidences of the phrase "it is written" in the NT to the corresponding scriptures in the OT. Using my Bible's topical guide and other sources, the job has been made a lot easier, but I am unable to find a direct reference for the following scripture:

John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

It appears that the specific reference is to the phrase "and they shall be all taught of God." Can anyone tell me what scripture in the prophets this refers to? Thanks in advance.

I work on printers and MFPs. I have a client who cannot ping my MFP when it is set with a Static IP but can when using DHCP. The truth is, the MFP tests good and I am off the hook, but I would prefer to help the client's IT solve the issue. So here is what we have done. Let's assume the STATIC IP is 196.96.16.4 and when we enable DHCP it gets an address of 196.96.2.19. (btw, the MFP has a built in webpage).

Using an ethernet crossover cable, I connect from my laptop to the MFP which is set with the static IP (my laptop is set to an IP one higher or 196.96.16.5 to avoid conflict). I am able to ping and access the webpage. At this point, my MFP tests good and I can go to the next call, but I decide to help the Net techs out.

We reconnect the client's net to the MFP. We cannot ping from the net.

We reset the MFP to enable DHCP. It assigns the address above and the net can ping and access the webpage. Even before the ping, I feel the fact that the server has assigned a DHCP address is sufficient to prove the net works.

Another tech suggest we try to ping the DHCP address again after UNPLUGGING the MFP to insure there is no IP conflict on the network. The logic is, if the DHCP address assigned to the MFP is already present elsewhere on the net, the computer may be pinging THAT device. I find this scenario extremely unlikely for several reasons but it's cheap and easy so we do it. NO ping.

Another tech suggests we set the DHCP address as a STATIC address (same IP address as the dynamic one, but Static). The net now CAN ping and view the webpage.

In summary, STATIC address, no joy. DHCP address pings, DHCP re-entered as Static, pings.

My thought is that the last result is because the server has already established an address for this machine and the server recognizes it, so when we make the DHCP static, it doesn't bother the server. But when we put a DIFFERENT address in as Static, the system won't recognize it.

Ultimately, the customer wants all of these computers set to access the MFP with that STATIC IP. All of the computers recognize the MFP when it is assigned an address through DHCP. But the IT guys don't want to go back and change the driver info on each computer.

Opinions, suggestions, etc.

I have a Fender CD-60 acoustic that I just restrung with Bronze Phosphor strings. They are rather "ringier" than the original set and that's nice, but I have developed a very annoying buzz -- especially in the bass strings. I have tinkered very slightly with the truss bar and it has made a slight difference but I am reluctant to go more than about a quarter turn for fear of over adjusting and possibly damaging the neck. I am assuming I need to get the action a little higher to get the strings off the fret bars. How much adjustment can I make (in terms of turns) before I need to be concerned about damage and is my theory about raising the action correct in the first place? Thanks in advance.

My sis-in-law was driving behind me today and suddenly fell behind. Turns out a loud screeching noise was coming from the engine. We popped the hood and it was coming from the AC. The AC doesn't have to work (car's old and she is on a Ramen Noodle budget). But if the thing freezes up the Serpentine Belt will break and she'll be stranded. I have never worked on an AC before, and I'll probably snag a Haynes manual before I start work, but what I want to know is, is there just a bearing I can replace? I see a clutch bearing at Autozone for $17.00. I am pretty comfortable working on cars, but any info, advice, warnings, corrections slaps-upside-the-head are appreciated.

In other words, if a grade is 6%, what is it 6% of? If someone told me something was inclined at a 45 degree angle, I would have a frame of reference - degrees of arc or an angle. But I have no idea what grade means. (I mean, practically I know we are talking about incline, I would just like to know what the math is.) Thanks!

The heat killed my car today. I parked it this morning and in the afternoon it wouldn't start. I thought the battery had drained and decided to try cleaning the battery terminals to see if I could coax it to start. As I reconnected the negative, it started sparking! I verified with my multimeter that, indeed, there was 12.8VDC coming from the frame! My guess is that some insulation melted on a wire and shorted it to the frame SOMEWHERE in the car. But isolating it is gonna be a pain. I tried pulling every fuse and relay in all four fuse boxes while my daughter watched for the multimeter to see if the voltage went away but no such luck. (I was hoping to isolate the circuit where the short was.) I left the negative terminal disconnected to avoid any further damage.

Any suggestions on how I might isolate the circuit where the problem is and avoid ohming out every wire in the flipping harness? A new car is out of the question for at least several months and I am a service rep for office machines so I live in my car. (I mean that metaphorically - the pay's not THAT bad - lol!)

Thanks in advance!

I answered the following question: "How do I prove my brain exists without using my five senses?" The answer that immediately came to mind was "Cogito ergo sum." For those who may not recognize it, it is the oft-quoted Latin phrase that means "I think, therefore I am." It was voted best answer, and someone else also gave that same answer later, albeit with an English translation. But I just got a notice that it was a violation because, apparently, it was "off topic" (obviously it was not) and it was in a language other than that of the original question. PLEASE!!! While that last is technically true, the phrase is common enough that most educated people would immediately recognize it. Even if the asker or others did not recognize it, I can't believe I would get penalized for its use.

The email said to contact customer care if I think it was a mistake. Can someone save me the trouble of searching and tell me the email address or link.

Thanks in advance. From "Best Answer" to a violation. Sic transit gloria mundi!

I use the informal rule that you always use the pronoun that you would otherwise use if the "clarifying" noun were not in the sentence. So the following sentences are both correct: "We Americans like hot dogs." "Give hot dogs to us Americans." Similarly, "Us Americans like hot dogs." and "Give hot dogs to we Americans" is incorrect. (You wouldn't say "Us like hot dogs." or "Give we hot dogs.") What I would like to know is how to explain that rule using the rules of grammar. I suppose I would also have to ask if anyone thinks that my explanation is incorrect.

My BULK folder is now replaced with a SPAM folder. Now most of the junk that used to go into BULK goes into my inbox. When I mark it SPAM it goes into my SPAM folder, which I then have to empty. This is not true in my wife's account. What's up?