kelly d

I have a large vintage boombox that takes 8 D batteries. I use rechargeable. (1.2V ea) My plan is to install small solar cells salvaged from cheap solar garden lights to help keep them powered up between charges. Each of these cells normally charges one very weak (600MA) AAA battery inside each garden light. So I connect the cells in parallel. Then run the output thru a cheap 12V solar controller, right? Then from the controller directly to the + & - on the radio's battery compartment? Would combining the power from the solar cells to the batteries require the addition of another resistor somewhere? And finally, how many solar cells can I use? Would 4-6 create a significant charge? Thank you SO much for your time and help. I can't find a hack like this online, so all I can do is ask around for help or take an electronics class. *BLECH*

Rather than spend $60 for a solar trickle charger to keep my old VW bus battery topped off, can I just pull the panels out of 1 or 2 old solar garden lights and wire them directly to the battery terminals? I rarely drive the bus so every time I start it the battery is low. One day it's just going to be dead, which will suck, because I have to take the battery out to charge it, which isn't easy.

I know a yard light will have much less power, but I only need a tiny bit of juice to stay ahead of the drain.

It just seems silly to spend the money on another solar panel when I have these lying around.

Thanks for your time.

I am VERY good with dogs and my other half used to run a kennel. We know what we are doing when it come to training. We believe in a reward system and only scold in extreme cases, such as one that involves a safety issue and they're just not getting it. Our dogs are always AMAZINGLY well trained in every other way, but this "guests at the door" situation has us both completely stumped.

All our dogs have always been so well mannered that people comment on it everywhere we go, but EVERY time a guest walks thru the front door it is absolute mayhem. Jumping up on them, clawing, scratching, running in circles, knocking things off tables, etc,... It is intolerable!

We have tried squirting them with water, banishing them to a closed room for a time-out, even pinning them down to the floor and holding them in a wrestling lock, biting their scruff and growling (as a mother dog would do), much to the horror of our guests. Then as soon as we think they are composed we let them up and they lose it again.

We yell well known commands and they simply do not even hear us, like we are not even there.

5 minutes later they are absolute angels again, but it is a very flustering 5 minutes for our guests and and embarrassing for us. I just want to spank the holy CRAP out of them until their eyes pop out, but I don't want to make them fear me, become hand-shy, or hurt them really. But it's either that or just watch them pummel our guests while I pull my hair out by the roots.

What do we do?!

P.S. Ten years ago it was our Malamute that did this. Now it is our Boxer doing it. My American Eskimo is totally cool, but since the malamute AND the boxer do it, it must be something we're doing wrong. Right?

I'm from Michigan and I'm used to barometric pressure fluctuation. I bought a really nice barometer (used/vintage) after I moved to South Houston and it does not move. Stays between 29.5 and 31-ish every time I look at it. Is it broken?

Even when it rains, this barometer doesn't move much, but then it only rains for 10-15 minutes at a time here, then it's sunny agin. SUCH a weird city.

Is it moving when I don't look at it, do they rarely move down here due to the 15min briefness of the rain storms , or is it broken?

Thanks for your time.

I worked briefly for an aquarium maintenance company. They had set up all their clients with Eheim canister filters that were literally just 5G pickle buckets with special screw-on lids. I have no idea where they found these filters. I have never seen them online, but they were amazing. I swear they were simply green plastic 5G pickle buckets with the Eheim logo on them! Most tanks were around 100g and had these filters with 5g of filter media! They worked great and didn't require cleanings as frequently. Most importantly, at a glance, they were obviously very simple to make with just a pickle bucket, a pond pump, and filter media. (plus a few simple hoses and connections from Home Depot) So I want to make one but I don't know how many GPH I need to be pumping for a 75G tank. Magnum says 350GPH for 100G. Eheim says 164GPH for 95G. 264GPH for 160G. Marineland says 350GPH for 75G. Rena says says 350GPH for 175G! I have a 210GPH and a 500GPH. I suspect that with 5G of filter media, which is about 4 times the media of all these other filters, I won't need 350GPH, right? Do you think 210 will be enough for a well stocked 75G tank? It's going to be a discus tank and I'm afraid 500GPH will create too much current for such lazy docile still-water fish.

I just saw some fun wallpaper on a living room wall on TV. It had gnomes on it. Yes, my taste is that tongue in cheek. It is silly and I want some. But not only do all wallpaper searches steer towards computer wallpaper, but to further complicate, there is also some sort of software called gnome! I even tried wall coverings. I tried entering -computer -software -background -program -blah blah blah and still all I get is computer wallpaper. It's like some sort of ironic cosmic impossibility. Like how to throw away an old garbage can. (and yes I have tried that too and as you can imagine, it's a b*tch.) So how do you google wall paper, real wall paper that sticks to the walls in your home, that has gnomes on it?!

It's an old GE window unit, probably from the 70s or 80s, but it blows ice cold and runs like a champ. The problem is, when the inside temp gets to about 10* below the outside temp, it stops. I mean it keeps blowing, but it's like the compressor disengages as if by a thermostat. It only has low-med-hi settings. I always have it on hi. If it is 79* out it will cool the room down to 69*. If it is 102* out it will only cool the room down to 92*. Then the fan just blows. Was this some sort of primitive energy efficiency tactic? Can I get in there and pull some wires or something to override it so the compressor keeps running? I can afford a new unit, but I'd hate to replace this one as it is a perfectly matching component of my restored vintage VW camper. Any thoughts on how I can twist it's arm, so to speak, and keep that compressor engaged would be greatly appreciated.

I don't need a $250 phone that can count my calories and do my taxes. All I do is text, call, and swap pictures.

So all I really want is a good camera I guess. At least 3mp and a flash would be nice.

How do I find that without having to wade through 3000 phones that each have 1611 different tools, features and apps? By the time I've read all that they will be obsolete and we will have phones implanted in our teeth.

Oh, and I'm signing up with Virgin Mobile. They only offer like 5 phones and the good ones are sold out. Is it even possible to get a non-Virgin Mobile phone up & running with Virgin Mobile?

This is all entirely too complicated for me.

First off, it's a 1979 type 2 Bay Window Campmobile Deluxe. The engine was rebuilt and is being installed now at a VW dealership. They said the EGR was missing, but they think it should run fine without it. From what I have read, what they do is reduce emissions, improve MPG, but the sap the horse power. Now I want to be as green as the next guy, if not more so, but these old buses are so lacking in horsepower that the manual suggests going up hills backwards if it can't make it in a forward gear. It is at that point my need for green begins to taper a bit.

But I can't figure out if it is an integral part of the intake preheating. I don't think I will need it in the warmer months. It may just need to be adjusted a little leaner to compensate. (or richer?) But will I have trouble without it in freezing temps?

First off, if you hadn't already heard, the first infra red cameras that Sony put out had the unexpected side effect of having mild x-ray vision. You could actually see through people's clothes in pictures sometimes.They had to recall them. Smirk if you want. Just look it up.

That said- My sister just sent me a picture of herself, taken by her boyfriend. She was wearing sunglasses, but in the picture the lenses appeared absolutely crystal clear. Zero tint.

Knowing about the early Sony phenomenon, I asked about his camera. She said it was new and not Sony, but that some egghead had somehow rigged it with an aftermarket infra red.

She refuses to believe in the possibility of it having any sort of x-ray capability. Her lame reasoning was that perhaps her lenses were the same color as his filter. That makes no sense. Wouldn't that just make them appear even darker?

I wouldn't normally consider it, but it's a 76 Cadillac with 58, 712 miles and it's practically cherry. The interior is like brand new. It still has the original paint (no rust) and I would like to keep it that way. I have wheeled it out and it has a nice shine, but it's not that knock-out blinding shine like when it was new. I don't want to keep buffing it for fear of hitting primer. It also has several small stone chips and a few small scratches and what-not. I know a body shop that can scan the paint and make matching touch up. So could I just touch up the chips and scratches, let it cure, give it an all over light wet sanding to smooth the touch-ups and prep it for lacquer, then spray it with lacquer (from spray cans), let it cure and buff it out? I just really want to keep that original paint and I don't have much money. I am really very talented with this sort of detail work but I just don't have a compressor or spray gun. And I do not want to use a clear coat. I am in South Texas and the sun down here eats clear coat for breakfast.

It only has 58,000 miles on it, but all the interior courtesy lights are burned out. I think I can get to most of them, but the ones in the upper rear by the windows have covers with no visible screws or anything and I don't want to just start prying at 34yr old plastic. Do you know how to pop those covers off to get to the bulbs?

Also, all the dash lights are extremely dim even at the brightest setting. Is that just how they were back then or can old bulbs actually weaken with time? Even the light in the trunk is pathetic. Either I am spoiled by stronger modern bulbs or people had better eyes in the 70's.

I just bought it with 58,000 miles on it. I have had other old Cadillacs and the lighters in the 3 passenger ashtrays almost never work, so it's a common problem. But now with my ipod, gps, phone, etc,.. I would really like to get these fixed but I have no idea where to start. Has anybody had any experience fixing these? I doubt it's a fuse because there is nothing else that doesn't work and it seems improbable that there would be one fuse dedicated to just those 3 lighters. Thank you for your time.

I was just strolling down a beach at a gay resort in Saugatuck, MI. Apparently I stumbled into a "lesbian zone". I nearly got my butt kicked. About a dozen women all shouted threats at me and told me to get back to my own area. I had no idea there were areas! I was just strolling down the damn beach! It was more threatening than any gay bashing I ever experienced from straight people, and I went to high school in the ghetto in the 80's!

Can any lesbian please explain to me why so many of you choose to take on the very worst traits of straight men, drunken brawling in bars over stupid jealousy issues etc,.. feel the need to make enemies of their gay brothers?

And how is it that so many lesbians are in attack mode, just waiting to jump into the front lines of political correctness yet they do not bat an eyelash at sending a gay man to the back of the bus or making us drink from a different fountain just because we have a penis? Then they turn around and act like the heterosexual male animals that we BOTH abhor.

My best friend is a lesbian. We have lived together for 19 years and we want to go camping. I looked up gay camp grounds in our area. There are gay campgrounds where all are welcome, and lesbian campgrounds where no men are allowed. I don't get it. What did I do to you? And the biggest ironies are that so many of you act like horrible jealous men, burping and farting and fighting, with your mullets and your cigars and you all try SO hard to be politically correct, yet you send us gentle men to the back of the bus without a thought. You would act like beastly men and protect an illegal immigrant but deep down you would have all men shipped off to an island in the south pacific.

As a whole, in my experience, lesbians come off as judgmental and mean and act exactly the same as the people with penises that they shun. They fight tooth and nail for equal rights and in the same breath try to segregate and set up spaces where men are not allowed. I am not a prancing faerie nor am I a big tough guy. I am just a regular nice person, but I am not allowed at your reindeer games.

There are a lot of good kind men out there and this is blatant hypocrisy.

I just want to pull a small pop-up camper. The tongue weight is only about 150lbs. Less than if I sat in the back. Can this be done? Please don't answer unless you really know what you are talking about. Everybody wants to hate on Beetles for some reason and if you say my towing capacity is 4 pounds or your momma, you are wasting your time. It's neither original nor funny. I found a great deal on a camper and I need a serious answer, thank you.

It's a freshwater 55G with enough filtration for a 120G. Just 6 angelfish. It is a very heavily planted tank with tons of light. I've been removing it by hand, doing water changes and I even added C02 to boost the plant growth to help choke it out but it won't die. Before resorting to antibiotics like erythromycin, does anybody know if I can choke it out by covering the tank with blankets to block all light for about 4-5 days? I thought I read that someplace but I can't remember. Thank you for your time.

My ex-employer refused to give us breaks of any kind. No lunches/ no ten minutes, nothing. We were not even allowed to go get food unless it was from the gas station or the grease pit BBQ place that are attached to our store. We often worked 12 hour shifts as well. And as a vegetarian, I have to say that BBQ joint got old fast. We had to eat standing up and stop to take care of customers and load/unload merchandise while trying to eat. Needless to say, I choked down about a truckload of cold baked potatoes while I worked there.

Naturally, I was afraid to report them for fear of losing my job. But now that I don't work there anymore I don't have access to that poster every employer must display that has the numbers to call for such unfair treatment.

I did look online. I found OSHA, but that is more for safety issues. I also found the Texas Labor Board but all I found was info on unemployment benefits.

Could somebody please look at that poster at work and give me the number to call to report such labor abuse? These people are super shady and have been getting away with a lot of crap for many years at the expense of hard working people who are just trying to get by on minimum wage.

I'm not a big whistle blower generally, but this guy needs to burn. He's like something out of a Stephen King novel. He walks all over his employees because he knows he can, as jobs are scarce. He rarely even looks us in the eye and acts as though we are some sort of sub-standard underground dwelling creatures not worth giving us the time of day. He even helps himself to our lunches if we don't guard them fiercely! He is rich and yet he eats our food without asking. Please help me burn this ignorant turd. Thank you for your time.

I was about to pull the top off the carburetor and check the float when I noticed the fuel pump pumps continuously even if the engine is off. As long as the key is on, it's just pumping away. For some reason this made me wonder if it was really a carburetor issue or a pump issue. What do you think?

F.Y.I.- It's a 1600 engine. They were originally fuel injected, but since those early injectors sucked, it was converted to a Solex 34 pict 3 with an electric pump. It starts right up and runs beautifully, but that pump just keeps pumping until it overflows. I bought a fuel pump regulator today because a mechanic told me those pumps run too strong and I could dial it down with the regulator. Would that do the trick? I thought I'd ask why it runs even when the engine is off before I did anything else. Are they supposed to run continuously? Thank you very much for your time!

I just bought a 73 Sport Bug with a 1600 engine and the 34 pict 3. Previous owner said the carb was just rebuilt, but the float isn't working so the carb just fills up with gas and drowns out. After viewing blow-up images, I can't figure out how to adjust the float. It looks like it either just floats or it doesn't. Could it just be stuck? What would you do?

I'm not changing the original color, so the paint on the inside parts won't have to be done. It's not rusty or denty so we are just talking about sanding, priming and paint. It doesn't need to be "show", but I want some quality. No crackled bird tracks or bumpley orange peel texture. I can remove all the trim myself and replace it afterward. I want a nice straight glossy finish. Does anybody out there have a ballpark figure?