RoseBud

I'm going to go buy a used car this weekend from a dealership. I'll be paying with a check, not financing. I already know that the dealership will accept a check because I verified that. So, when negotiating, how much of a discount should I ask for because I'm paying "cash" instead of financing?

My PC is in a re-start loop. It gets just to the point where you see that windows xp is loading and then automatically restarts itself. It's been doing this for days. Well, for hours over a few days. I have it turned off most of the time but turn it back on occasionally to check to see if it's still doing it. Turning off the computer didn't help. Turning off the powerstrip didn't help. Unplugging the powerstrip didn't help. contol/alt/delete didn't help. Starting with last known good configuration didn't help. It won't start in safe mode at all. I'm an idiot with no backup and I would really like to get this to start, even if only to transfer the documents. Any thoughts?

I had a job interview this morning where 4 different people interviewed me in a row. It looks like I will probably have another interview, probably next week, with 2 other people. Is it appropriate for me to send "thank you" emails to the people who interviewed me today? Should I do that now (like today or tomorrow), or should I wait until all of the interviews are done next week?

Thanks for your help!

I know you can take a rental car on a ferry within the US. I've done that a couple of times. What I want to know is do the rental agencies have a rule against taking a car from the US to Canada and back? Also, do the US or Canadian border authorities care if your car is a rental? I'm specifically asking about the Washington ferries from Anacortes, WA to Sidney, BC.

Thanks!

Have any of you tried Tattoo Camo or Tattoo Cosmetics? I have a tattoo on my wrist that I love. I cover it at work by wearing long-sleeved tops but I know I won't want to keep doing that once the weather gets hot. So, have you tried either of these brands and if so: Do they cover well? Do they damage or irritate your skin? Do they fade your tattoo? Do they stain your clothes?

Thanks for your help!!

This artist is in a very well known shop in a large California city. He is not the owner of the shop. His hourly rate is $180. The shop is well respected and almost surgically clean. Let's say I love the tattoo [fingers crossed], how much/what percent should I tip?

I've read about the parliamentary system online trying to get an answer to this question. I keep hearing on the radio about this country or that country not being able to "form a government" or having to form a "coalition government". It seems like they're saying that some people get elected to parliament but if they cannot get enough other people to agree with them then there is no government. So, does that mean these countries actually have NO government? What happens when there's no government?

Perhaps this sounds like a silly question to those of you in parliamentary government nations but it really is confusing to me. In the US we elect people to Congress and they may or may not agree with each other (usually not) but we never end up with a situation where we have NO government because the people in Congress don't get along with each other.

I'm not trying to make a political point and this is not my homework. I really want to understand this thing I keep hearing on the radio about such and such politician in such and such country not being able to "form a government". Links to explanations are greatly appreciated.

In the US we drive on the right side of the road. We we walk on sidewalks and stairs we walk on the right side. It's not a law; it's just what people here do. In places where they drive on the left side of the road, like the UK and Australia (and others), do they walk on the left side of sidewalks and stairs?

I live on a very busy street in a very busy city. I just installed a NetGear N300 wireless router. I can't get a signal in my living room, which is on the far end of the flat from where the cable modem is. It works fine in closer rooms but not at all where I need it to work. Basically, there are overhead electric bus cables, and a multitude of people and businesses all piled on top of each other and I'm sure every person has a cellphone, every flat probably has a cordless landline, and 1/2 the businesses probably have routers too. I would strongly prefer to use a wireless router since I won't be taking my laptop out into the wild. It doesn't make sense for me to pay $70/month for a free-roaming wireless thing from a cellphone provider. So, someone please tell me about a super-strong router, something that works in Manhattan, London etc.

So, I just want to buy stock in one company. I know what it is and that it is being traded. I've looked around and it seems like the big reputable firms want me to open an account and pay $35 or so per trade to them for the privilege of having them buy the stock for me. That's more than the individual share price! So, what do you guys think of buying online though online on services? Any recommendations on what service to use?

My friend on Facebook posted this message:

Bu

akşam annanem Kerime Şahin'i kaybettik. Tüm ailemizin başı sağolsun.

I think maybe someone passed away. Can anyone translate this to English for me so I can respond appropriately? My friend speaks English she just happened to post this in Turkish and I don't want to be pressing her for translation if there was a loss in her family or something.

Thanks!

I'm 38 years old. I've lived in CA since 1996. I spent many summers here as a teenager because my grandmother lived here then. When I asked native Californians about CA history they rarely know anything. It's odd because I had to learn the history of my home state every other year in school. Anyway... I think it's time for me to know the history of my new home state. A book by Kevin Starr gets mixed reviews on Amazon.com. Does anyone here have a favorite book (not a textbook) on CA history? Thanks!

Ok guys, this is a serious question. I don't want to hear your political rants. I can't afford to pay someone to clean my house every other week anymore. So, I'm going to have to do it myself. The reason I hired someone in the first place is the my husband and I both work full time and neither of us was cleaning the house. So, it was a mess. We needed a housekeeper just to keep from blaming and getting angry at each other. I hate cleaning. Really hate it. I do not want to put "muscle power" into scrubbing anything. I would like to use natural cleaning products but I think I will have to work twice as hard to get my house clean and if that is the case then I probably won't do it at all and we'll end up with a dirty house again. I don't have children and I'm not having any. So, "safer for kids" or "chemicals can screw up your reproductive system" are not important to me. I don't have allergies and neither does my husband. So "bad for people with allergies" isn't a good argument for me either. I'm going to need natural cleaning supplies that clean without "muscle power" and/or a super-compelling reason for a child-free, no allergy person to scrub her house like a scullery maid.

For anyone out there following the conditioner only method of hair washing- What type of conditioner do you use? What is your hair texture? (Mine is fine and straight.) How often do you use regular shampoo? (like once a week, once a month etc.)

I want to replace a magnetic clasp on a bracelet with the style of clasp that you often see on metal watches. It is not a belt clasp like you see on a leather or cloth watch strap. It is a hinge-style clasp. Like this:

http://www.worldofwatches.com/img/clip_image006.jp...

Please don't answer "children" because I'm not having any.

Has anyone found a hand sanitizer that doesn't dry our your skin if you use it several times a day?

I'm in my late 30's. My friend is even older. We've been friends for about 5 years. She's always been a gossip and it always bothered me a little but I believed that she wouldn't gossip about anything which might actually hurt someone.

Back in November I told her something that was deeply embarrassing to me. It might not embarrass some people but it did me. I told her I was very embarrassed about my behavior and thought it reflected poorly on me and that I didn't want anyone to know about it. About 3 days later I ran into a mutual acquaintance who asked me all about that story. He said my friend told him about it.

A week ago my friend told me a horrifying story an acquaintance told her. This is a story of a terrible crime which was committed on this acquaintance. Really terrible, think the worst you could live through and subtract 15%. This is unquestionably not the kind of story anyone would want going around about them. My friend thought nothing of telling me and even said that she was considering writing the story and posting it online (names changed).

I can't trust my friend anymore. I can't talk to her about anything important to me because I know a dozen people will hear about it. I've lost all respect for her because of her gossiping especially the crime story.

Here's the moral question: Do I have an obligation, as her friend, to talk to her about this and give her the opportunity to mend her ways and possibly heal our friendship? I really don't ever want to look at her again but I think it might be morally wrong not to give her a chance to try to change.

Sorry for the length. Thanks for reading all this.

I almost never wear dresses or skirts. I really only wear them on special occasions. However, I really like the way dresses and skirts look, especially with boots. I think it's a feminine look and can be really stylish. I think I'm in a rut with pants and jeans and I'm thinking of only wearing dresses or skirts for a while. What do you think?