Chris L

I purchased some furniture from Thailand (while vacationing 2 months ago) and had it exported back here to the US (via sea). Because I didn't research this ahead of time, I really got taken to the cleaners by the importer (that was apparently chosen by the exporter). Fortunately, I avoided a laundry list of additional ridiculous fees by clearing the items with customs myself (of which I had to pay a big fat 0 dollars). But if I were to do this again, is it absolutely necessary to have somebody else coordinate any part of the importing side of things? Can I handle this myself? The process doesn't appear to be rocket science and it sure could save me a ton of money in the future.

Oh, and the items (teak furniture in this case) are for personal use, valued under $2500.

My wife and I moved into our home a little less than a year ago. It currently has a decent sized, standard basement (half of which is finished). Above this basement sits a standard, 2-story colonial. Adjacent to the standard home is extra living space (just one story) that 'appears' to sit on the same foundation as the rest of the house. Below that space is a 4' crawl space (nearly 600 sq ft) of WASTED SPACE! I would love to dig this down to the same level of the rest of the basement and significantly increase the amount of livable space.

The problem - the floor of this crawl space has about 6" of crushed stone cover over soil. I did some investigating and dug down near one of the foundation walls HOPING to see the brick wall continue on down to a footing at the same level of the rest of the home. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I dug down about 1.5' and hit the footing, which then extends into the space by about 1' (imagine the brick coming down to a solid concrete footing with a 1' shelf). Beyond that, we're looking at about 2' to 3' more excavation to bring that crawlspace floor to the level of the rest of the basement.

I can only assume that footing doesn't come anywhere near the depth of the footing that supports the rest of the home. That said, is it possible to extend that footing to the depth necessary to dig out that crawl space and open it up to the rest of the home? I understand it's labor intensive to remove the ground - but I can manage that. I'm more concerned about the ability to extend a portion of the foundation that is clearly crucial to the structural integrity of this part of our home (and how it would/could be done).

When looking at a number of Janka hardness charts, the Brazilians seem to be at the top (Walnut, Cherry, Teak and Ebony). However, despite how close they are to one another in this respect, Brazilian Ebony seems to skyrocket in price. Why is this? I can't seem to find much literature online (other than the fact that it's not as common as the others). Is that the only reason?

My wife and I are looking to purchase a home, but after the Radon inspection we're feeling a little hesitant. Measurements were (avg) 34.0 pCi/l. The EPA recommends remediation for anything over 4. Naturally, even after remediation (assuming a system could bring those levels down to <1 pCi/l) I already feel hesitant about this situation. This just adds to the list one more system I need to maintain and ensure it's running properly. And what if we want to sell this home down the road? Would people be turned off by the fact that a system had to be installed due to unsafe levels of Radon in the basement?

I have little to no experience with Radon gas and its long term effects at these levels - let alone what other buyers might feel looking at a home with this system installed. Can I get your opinion please? Thanks!

Dear MS Access/VBA professionals. I have a simple Query in my database that displays data from a handful of numeric fields and a file path from a text field. With this, I can easily create a simple report that allows me to page through the results. Okay, fine.

Now, rather than display that file-path on each page, I would like to programatically load the contents of a two column, tab-delimited text file referenced by that filepath, and display that data in a graph. This way, as I page through my Query results, the report auto-loads and displays the contents of the referenced text file along side my numeric data.

Basically, this database does not house the data that's contained within these referenced text files. What it maintains, for referential integrity, is the path to that file. I suspect I will be getting into some VBA for this - but was hoping somebody could point me in the right direction. Thanks!

I've read time and time again how simple it can be to connect a PC to your cell phone via bluetooth or direct USB connection, allowing the User to gain access to the web from their PC without being tethered to any network, either hardwired or via wireless router. That said, is it possible for one to remotely access (effectively take control over that computer) if it is connected to the web via this means?

I have an application where there's a computer at an overseas company that can NOT be connected to a local network. However, I desperately need to gain direct access to this PC's windows desktop for troubleshooting and custom software deployment purposes. Thanks!

Some time ago, while driving under normal conditions in my 2001 Toyota Tundra 4x4, the transmission was downshifting out of OD when there was a horrendous slam that shook the entire truck (hard!). The truck continued to drive fine, no engine lights - but I pulled over immediately expecting to see transmission fluid all over the road. Nope, nothing. However, the truck has never shifted into overdrive again (killing my gas mileage). You can clearly hear (and see on the tach) that solenoid seems to be working fine (it's going through the motions of shifting into and out of overdrive) but the gearing isn't there at all. All other gears work fine and the truck drives great - but this is killing my gas mileage.

Is this sounding like a simple repair to anybody? I'm not too eager about dumping all kinds of cash into a repair when I can find a low mileage, used tranny online for roughly $450 shipped to my door. Removal and installation isn't an issue.

Thanks for your input!

I recently laid down some tile in my entry way (base floor of my town home). I chose a reasonably light colored (tan'sh) tile with a similar shade grout. The grout is actually slightly lighter in shade. The final product looked fantastic when it was finished. But, in hindsight I gave little thought to the fact that this was a high-traffic area, and light colored grout loses its luster quickly. Now I have these subtle shades from tracked dirt that will never be permanently removed (and kept out).

So I started looking into these grout stains and this process of grout coloring. I figure if I can darken the overall shade of the grout and provide a consistent (darker) contrast to the tile, it would look nice too. But honestly, I don't want to touch it if it's simply going to make matters worse. I worry the stain would loosen when wet, track through the house the moment the floor got soaked from tracked-in snow, things like that.

Does anybody have experience with this stuff? Does it work well? Any particular brands you would recommend? Thanks!

I want to lay ceramic tile in the entry way of my townhome. It's about 80 sq ft. The house originally came with a generic white vinyl flooring that I swear is officially a part of the concrete slab it lays on. Because it is so firmly attached (no bubbles, no visible defects of any kind) would it be possible to lay the ceramic tiles over the vinyl? I honestly think it's going to take more time to rip up that flooring (and the glue that keeps it down) than it will laying the tile. Thoughts? Thanks!

The Outer DIV could be sized to any dimension. The inner DIV needs to automatically expand BUT it's borders must stay (for example) 5px in from the top, bottom, left and right. Think of the inner DIV as a framed picture and the exposed outer div as the frame. But the frame thickness must stay the same regardless of how large (or small) the proportions are. I do not want to fix-width and height of the inner DIV and absolutely position it with respect to the outer DIV; it must automatically re-size based on the outer. Any suggestions? This is all being done in CSS.

I have come across this little Keithley device that takes as in put a J type thermoucouple, interfaces with a Serial (RS-232 port) and also contains a small number of digital inputs and digital outputs. It (was) manufactured by Keithley, the model number is clearly labeled as "M1311", but I cannot find any documentation on this thing to help tell me exactly what it does or how it works. Are there any tech-heads out there who know what this thing is? Thanks!

I just recently picked up a batch of Armstrong red oak hardwood flooring for a fantastic deal - enough to cover the space in my entry way at the basement level of my townhouse. Unfortunately, I've heard it shouldn't be done due to moisture issues. Is this so? I considered (to keep the moisture locked out) leaving the existing vinyl floor (it's literally a part of the concrete floor it's so well attached) and laying right over it. I'm aware there's an adhesive I need, regardless. Can anybody offer up some suggestions? Thanks!

I am inserting a page into an already existing web application that uses a ridiculous amount of impossible-to-follow css. I want to import my own css file and have my elements adopt the styles put forth in my file and my file only - and simply ignore anything else that might be set in the other imported files. Furthermore, if my file (for example) doesn't globally assign a style to all div tags, yet other files do - I want what these other files are attempting to impose to be disregarded. (yes, I MUST continue to import the other css files to support styling on the rest of this page that I'm inserting a segment into). Is this possible?

I am inserting a page into an already existing web application that uses a ridiculous amount of impossible-to-follow css. I want to import my own css file and have my elements adopt the styles put forth in my file and my file only - and simply ignore anything else that might be set in the other imported files. Furthermore, if my file (for example) doesn't globally assign a style to all div tags, yet other files do - I want what these other files are attempting to impose to be disregarded. (yes, I MUST continue to import the other css files to support styling on the rest of this page that I'm inserting a segment into). Is this possible?

I have a 94 Toyota MR2 Turbo that I've performed some pretty significant modifications to. It's all new and meticulously done. I've upgraded the fuel pump, replaced the stock ECU with a full AEM standalone, and am running a FJO wideband O2 controller to get some accurate AFR readings. At idle my car wants to run in the 11 AFR range. If I make adjustments to my fuel maps (again, just at idle), nothing changes. If I continue to make adjustments, then eventually I will get to a point where I feel like I just walked off the edge of the cliff. AFR will be 10 to 11 then suddenly spike to 20+ and stall the car. This SHOULD be a gradual response to my adjustments. I've checked the injectors, injector o-rings, fuel pressure regulator and fuel pump. Have not checked fuel pressure. Can some of you experienced guru's out there provide some hints/suggestions for the next troubleshooting steps?

It's an electronica/techno song. It's also the same song that's played at the beginning of the DVD when its on the play/features/setup screen.

Suppose (in a MAIN function) I have the following declarations:

char stringNoOne[100];

char stringNoTwo[100];

and I want to modify their contents in a separate function, yet print their values (new values, that is) in MAIN.

// -- function to call for modifying string vals

ModifyVals(stringNoOne,stringNoTwo);

iprintf("New String No One Val: %s\r\n", stringNoOne);

iprintf("New String No Two Val: %s\r\n", stringNoTwo);

What's hazy is my proper use of pointers. Does the following violate any pointer no-no's in my called function?

void ModifyVals(char *firstStr, char *secondStr){

char changedNoOne[50] = "new no one string";

char changedNoTwo[50] = "new no two string";

snprintf(firstStr,100,"%s",changedNoOne);

snprintf(secondStr,100,"%s",changedNoTwo);

}

Basically, I'm expecting my print functions in MAIN to read out:

New String No One Val: new no one string

New String No Two Val: new no two string

So far, this 'works', but I'm questioning whether it's the proper way to handle the scenario.

Thanks much!

For over a year now I've had this small (smaller than pea-sized) lump in my check tissue right along side my jaw bone (about halfway between my chin and back side of jaw bone). It's a little tender to the touch and I seem to be able to move it around a bit. But now, there's two - the 2nd is only slightly smaller than the first. Both are tender. I know there are lymph nodes near the neck just below the jaw line, but this isn't the typical place for those. Any ideas? Thanks! Oh, and this is on just one (right) side.