soccrian

2005 BMW X3, 55,000mi.. In great condition. It's my wife's car, and she cannot stand that when she starts the car, it has a rattle. After peeking around back there I quickly counted out the usual suspects (the heat shield, loose bolt, etc)... After poking around a bit I found that in the dual exhaust, the secondary pipe has a flapper valve, which is rattling (annoyingly) against the inside of the tailpipe. It seems to be in good working order other than the rattle, but wondered if anyone had any quick fixes to shut it up without simply disabling it.

I am playing through the REX level on Metal Gear Solid 4, and I am having a tough time getting through... Anyone have any insight on an easy way or good strategy?

I got a dwarf Gourami about 2 months ago and he started off great! Very active, would swim in and out of the large plants I put into the 4-gallon tank. Fun to watch. Lately, he's just been hanging out in the higher plants and not really moving much- I want to give him a tank-buddy, possibly a cory or catfish to clean up the bottom of the tank... Any suggestions of something that will stay small and be friends with Gimli the Dwarf Gourami?

I have taken down a row of 10-12 "lathed" spindles from a banister, and I hate to throw them away, because they are beautiful. I have been looking at them for a week or so trying to think of a project to do with them, but I am kind of stumped! Anyone who has done anything interesting with spindles?

I have thought about building some type of table and using them for legs, but it seems pretty lame..... Cmon Yahoo! Community, help me out!

My fiance and I have been together for a little more than two years and are getting married in July of 2008. We are both very close with our families, and I am having trouble getting her to spend time with my family. We both work long days (leave at 7am and meet at home for dinner around 7pm) and when we get home on weekdays we usually just collapse. ON the weekends, we do have some time that we like to see our families, but lately (the past few months) she has been very reluctant to go with me to my parents, preferring instead to spend time alone with her family. We have gotten into a routine of eating dinner with her parents every Sunday, and spend a few hours there, but we have no such standing order with my parents. I can tell that my mother is hurt that we don't spend more time with them.. How can I approach this delicately? I have tried to talk to her about it before, and she says that she really values her time with her parents. I understand, but my parents want to see her too!

My fiance and I are having an outdoor wedding at a country club in our home town next July. Small-ish, only 150-175 people are going to be there, the bulk of which is family and close friends.

I was looking at tuxedos for the big day and had found a few that I like. But, while browsing through one of her bridal magazines, I came across a "groom" in a very nice tan suit, and thought that would look nice; but when I mentioned the idea of my best man and I dressing in suits rather than tuxedos, she didn't seem pleased. Does anyone have experience with this? I just think if I am going to pay $150 for a tuxedo to wear for one day or $250-300 for a great suit I can keep forever..... It's a no brainer for me. Should I just give in and not bring it up again? Or should I try a different approach. It's her day I suppose.... but it makes sense to wear a suit.... It would be very nice, much cooler than a tux, and both myself and my best man could keep the suit.. Help!

My fiance and I have finally picked out the Country Club that we want to have our outdoor wedding and reception at and have figured out the costs. My fiance talked to her parents and I talked to my parents about the financing seperately, as we thought a meeting with everyone may be a bit presumptuous and awkward for the parents.

Her parents seemed to favor a "Here's some money, go have a wedding" scheme, offering us a lump of money for us to use as we wish.

My parents and I talked about dividing the costs by classification (Reception, Honeymoon, Flowers, etc...). What is a good way to figure out who pays for what? Or should we just work it out between my fiance and I?

OR should we just get our parents all together and figure out what works best for everyone?

My fiance and I are going to a wedding in late June and then driving to Ft Lauderdale to catch a cruise. We have a whole day on Sunday to drive the 3 hours, and I was thinking about taking Route 1 down the coast to just kind of cruise and soak up the Florida sun! Is there a better way, is it going to take me forever, is there anything I should do between Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale?! Locals, help me out!

I have about 238,457 different forms of grass in my front yard. Anyone know a good way to even out the forms of grass to make an even lawn? Should I keep seeding? Do I need to do a "weed and feed" product? Has anyone else dealt with this?

I have a girlfriend of about a year, and at first, she had no problem coming to my house and hanging out when my friends were over, or going on a weekend trip with myself and friends; but now I almost have to beg her to come around anytime my friends are at my house at all. it's not like I hang out with a bunch of jerks or that it's all guys and she is the only girl or anything, but it's like if she doesn't have my undivided attention she doesn't want to be there at all. Am I missing something? I can't hang out with my friends without ticking off the girlfriend. I need balance.

My best friend of 15 + years is arguably the coolest guy on earth, in shape, funny, great guy. But his teeth are very small and look awkward in his mouth. I think it is affecting his dating life, as he has only really had one or two serious girlfriends and his self-confidence is very up and down. I want to influence him to get his teeth bonded, where they create a better tooth aestetic without altering the teeth themselves. But it can de expensive. Do you think it's a jerk move to tell him I think that's what he needs? He's only 25, but after 4 years without a girlfriend, I want him to get going! How important are nice teeth?

I am in the market for an engagement ring. I have been looking for something nice, but for something I feel is impressive is SO expensive. There are natural occuring diamonds, and there are what they call "lab-created" diamonds. They are supposed to have the same sparkle, the same "fire" and the same hardness. Do you think it's wrong to save thousands of dollars we could be putting towards a wedding just to have a "natural" diamond? Thoughts?

My girlfriend and I have been together for 6 months and her birthday is in about a month. She loves having pictures of us everywhere. Do you think scheduling a professional photographer to shoot us together would be a good gift for her 26th birthday?

I have had a few styles of girlfriend in the past...

The girlfriend who you want to change...

The girlfriend who is insanely hot and you can't stand...

The girlfriend who just wants to get married...

And now I have an amazing girlfriend, perfect in literally every way. Beautiful, smart, funny, good job... but there's no edge to her. We never argue, we never disagree, we never get mad, we never make up... everything is very vanilla.... and I love vanilla, but at what point is something "TOO" perfect..

Am I over-thinking this?! Should I just shut up and be happy that everything runs so smoothly?? Are there any other guys out there who need some friction in the relationship! I don't want to fight constantly or hate my girlfriend, but on some level I want some sort of conflict to stay interested.... Thoughts?

I have a friend's wedding this weekend and I have the sentimental portion of the speech together... But I need some good best-man one-liners. Anyone heard any good ones or given a speech that has left people rolling...