Fred

A few years ago on a Carnival cruise, I bought a sweatshirt that had the Carnival name above a series of four nautical flag icons. According to the nautical flag alphabet, the letters spell TVEW. I can find no reason for this abbreviation or acronym. Can anyone shed any light on why Carnival would put these letters under its Corporate logo?

A table contains business_name and town. There are 45 businesses but only 24 towns. I would like a query that lists the business_name and town for only towns that have more than one business_name.

I should know how to do this, but I'm drawing a blank...

Every day -- I mean EVERY DAY -- people ask the same stupid questions: Where can I get FREE Microsoft/Adobe/Whatever software? What is the BEST FREE web site [builder]? How do I get rid of [name] virus? You get the idea.

There is a Search Y! Answers feature. Don't people use it? Well, is there a way to set up a filter so that one doesn't have to see the same stupid questions being asked EVERY DAY???

I have a mixed network of 3 Macs & 3 PCs in a home (192.168.x.x) network. One Mac and one PC are wired via Ethernet, the other connect via wireless. All devices (including the router & printer) have pre-assigned IP addresses. All computers can connect to the Internet.

However, I am unable to 'ping' the PCs or connect to them in any way from another machine. I can connect to any of the Macs from any other machine. Logically, it follows that there is some network setting on the PCs that isn't set (or is set incorrectly). Here are the basic settings for every machine:

IP address: 192.168.1.x

Netmask: 255.255.255.0

Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (this is the router address)

DNS: 192.168.1.1 (the router connects to OpenDNS for name resolution)

What am I missing/lacking?

I have created two virtual machines (VM) on a Macbook Pro using Parallels Desktop 5.0. One is a CentOS 5.5 Linux VM running Oracle 11gR2, the other is a Windows 7 Professional VM.

I wish to be able to have my other machines (Mac & PC) on my local home network as well as the host OS (Mac OS X 10.6.3) access the Oracle database, and have the Windows VM access Oracle as well.

When I scan the network (a 192.168.x.x construct), I can see/ping all of the machines, but attempting to access Oracle (via SQLPLUS, TNSPING, etc.) fails.

I'm guessing I need to reconfigure my network router, disable a firewall, or enable/open ports on one or more machines. But I tried a number of different configurations (including running Oracle on a different, real machine) with no success. I admit to being frustrated right now...

On a whim I decided to go to Reykjavik, Iceland for New Year's. I have never been to this city before. It's a five-day, four night trip. Any suggestions on where to go, what to see and what to eat?

The Senate Finance Committee voted today by a 15-8 margin to reject a public option for the current health care bill. Why don't they care about the public health care? I thought they believed in a government takeover of the health care system. I guess they're not so dedicated after all...

I have reason to believe a person lied about his background and experience, but I can't find proof online. Do any of the web sites that offer investigative services (for pay) actually work? Can I find out if a person does not have the experience he claims? Can I also find out if someone has been accused (but not convicted) of impropriety?

In his new book, "Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage," Best-selling celebrity journalist, Christopher Andersen, has blown a huge hole in the Obama genius myth without intending to do so.

Relying on inside sources, quite possibly Michelle Obama herself, Andersen describes how Dreams came to be published -- just as I had envisioned it in my articles on the authorship of Dreams. With the deadline pressing, Michelle recommended that Barack seek advice from "his friend and Hyde Park neighbor Bill Ayers."

To flesh out his family history, Obama had taped interviews with various family members. Andersen writes, "These oral histories, along with a partial manuscript and a truckload of notes, were given to Ayers." Andersen quotes a Hyde Park neighbor, "Everyone knew they were friends and that they worked on various projects together. It was no secret. Why would it be? People liked them both."

Andersen continues, "In the end, Ayers's contribution to Barack's Dreams From My Father would be significant--so much so that the book's language, oddly specific references, literary devices, and themes would bear a jarring similarity to Ayers's own writing."

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/09/anders...

Without him, rock and roll music wouldn't exist. People want to elevate Michael Jackson to godhood, but the man who invented the electric guitar doesn't get a passing mention.

I have decided to report some "fishy" information I've read to the White House, per their request at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-... . I've found some very suspicious information on the Internet that I think the president should learn about. So I'm going to very respectfully send him the contents of this scurrilous web document:

http://usconstitution.net/const.html

And in particular, I'm going to point to this section:

http://usconstitution.net/const.html#Article2

Particularly the part that reads,

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

If you would like to do likewise, you can send your -- most respectful -- informational update to

flag@whitehouse.gov

I AM SPARTACUS.

My wife and I are attending a function where I will be wearing a tuxedo. She wonders if it's appropriate to wear a cocktail dress, or does she need to wear a long dress?

Not a question but an observation: I took my '00 W208 (CLK430) in for service today, and in the dealer showroom was a bright, shiny, black SL65 AMG Black.

Whooeee! I am in love. Of course, I'm not $308,000 in love, but wow, what a fabulous looking (and if the specs are any indication, performing) vehicle.

I slew of pictures is available here:

http://www.madwhips.com/mercedes-benz-sl65-amg-bla...

Yeeha!!!

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the president "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur." Yet Obama has just announced a treaty with Russian that "has the power of law."

There is no doubt the "bendover" Congress will approve anything Obama puts in front of them -- without reading it, obviously -- but Congress MUST approve it before it has the force of law.

Splitting hairs? You be the judge.

In a statement issued on official White House stationary, Barack Obama celebrates his birth at Kapi'olani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai`i. However, on his campaign web site and on Snopes (which just changed their story... hmmm), as well as reports in the Washington Post, United Press International, Associated Press, his place of birth is given as Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu.

http://www.kapiolanigift.org/centennial.aspx?id=17...

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/04/Sen-Barack-...

http://www.wnd.com/images/misc/mybaracktwo.jpg

Is this just another examples of the "miracles" possible by the Chosen One?

I'm looking to replace the stock AMG wheels on my '00 CLK430. The front and rear tire sizes on a factory-standard W208 are different. Do I need to buy different sizes front and read, or can I buy the same size all the way around?

Every time I come on Yahoo! Answers, I see the same questions being asked over and over. I could probably become a superstar by answering each one again and again. But I'm lazy. Perhaps I'll set up a site that I'll direct people to. Except if they don't check here, they won't check there.

I'm thinking of purchasing a "classic" Mini Cooper (1960-1999) from a seller in Canada. Will I have problems titling and registering it in Virginia? I know that the US halted imports of these cars back in the 1980s, but can I import one as a "classic," restored vehicle and drive it on the roads?