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  1. Stan

    CGI vs. Practical effects

    Maybe an old topic, sorry. Just finished watching "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". A bit dated, but really a great film. But I was shocked at how good it looked. The photography was so clear, so well lit and so believable. The biggest shock was most of the special effects were real, not...
  2. Stan

    Help with sound system.

    I figure I'm allowed one stupid question per month, so here's my December question. ------------- Have DISH Network with their receiver and a decent HDTV. Been using just the TV speakers, which are okay, but I could do a lot better. Had two DVD players, but got rid of them. I was an early...
  3. Stan

    Road Rage, tail gaters, etc...

    We're a decent sized city, but have one big street through our city. Six lanes N/S with turn lanes, and lots of stoplights. I usually avoid it, but couldn't help it because I had to go to a Costco store. This ignorant twit, probably mid '50s just had to be in front of everybody else. Zipping...
  4. Stan

    Call Centers

    Why oh why can't companies who run call centers hire people who can speak proper English? Had a minor incident with Dish Network and even though I've been a customer for over ten years, never set up an online account. So I had to get in and create an ID, password, etc. It wouldn't work so had...
  5. Stan

    Pokemon Go

    Pardon my ignorance, but what the heck is Pokemon Go? Apparently some type of video/phone/app game? I'm not in my game stage right now so a bit out of date, but I constantly hear about this. What's the deal? :unsure:
  6. Stan

    What a Disaster (film)!!

    MODERATOR'S NOTE: This thread dedicated to Disaster Films was culled from a pre-existing thread on the topic of the Die Hard films--hence the occasional references to Die Hard (which might not make complete sense!). But let the love for destruction and mayhem (and Irwin Allen) begin! :D...
  7. Stan

    Actors from old TV shows

    Recently started watching some older '80s and '90s shows since Dish Network added some new channels (or maybe they were there, just didn't notice). It's really amusing to see some of these people starting out. Been watching old Columbo episodes, the ones from the '70s and the newer ones from...
  8. Stan

    Bulimia, just a different way !!!

    "A new weight loss device offers a novel approach to cutting calories: draining them from the stomach before they are fully digested. The AspireAssist system consists of a thin tube implanted in the stomach, connecting to an outside port on the skin of the belly. About 20 minutes after...
  9. Stan

    I was a movie extra...

    Recording "Vision Quest", not a great film, quite forgettable, and definitely aging myself, think it was 1983, but I was an extra in it. No lines, but quite a bit of screen time. Most of the extras just had brief screen time in crowd scenes or they were way off in the distance, just live bodies...
  10. Stan

    Central A/C pricing?

    Anybody have a rough idea of what a new central A/C unit goes for? Mine is about 35 years old, barely puts out cool air any more. Don't think it's worth repairing, probably just needs replacement. Live in Spokane Washington, not terribly hot, but we're into a heat spell, temps in the '90s. I've...
  11. Stan

    Annoying keyboard shortcuts

    Fairly new Toshiba laptop, bought in January with Windows 10 installed. I can barely even touch a key and my font expands/shrinks. Often just using the touch-pad also screws with the font size. It's an easy fix, just Control and + or -, but I'm not doing anything to cause the problem. And not a...
  12. Stan

    Grammar police...

    Sorry about this, not very constructive, just time for a whine. Worked with a woman who could not pronounce the word "moot", as in "the point is moot, no need to discuss it more". It always came out as "mute". My own supervisor also couldn't say the word "portrait". Did a lot of programming...
  13. Stan

    Sciatica ?

    Anybody ever deal with this before? Started several weeks ago, first thought it was just my leg muscles compensating for a knee injury years ago, had two operations, last one in 2004, so that was where the doctors started looking. X-rays and MRI confirmed it, but the knee itself was fine, no...
  14. Stan

    HELP !!! Windows 10 and new Toshiba laptop...

    Three month old Toshiba laptop, Windows 10 pre-installed. Very sensitive keyboard and I breathed on it the wrong way. Everything shifted 90 degrees counterclockwise, so the display is in portrait mode, but have to turn the laptop on it's side to read anything. What did I do and how do I fix it...
  15. Stan

    Portable DVD players

    Totally pointless, but that's what the after-hours area is for :) Got this silly catalog from ShopKo in the mail today. Thumbing through it, saw portable DVD players on sale for $58.88. Back when DVDs started to emerge, the company I worked for decided to put a lot of their sales pitch stuff...
  16. Stan

    Yoko Ono hospitalized...

    In a hospital for flu symptoms. Makes world-wide headlines. Why? Mr. Snarky stepping in here, but seriously, who cares? I have no grudges towards the woman, but she's like an older version of the Kardashians. Do absolutely nothing and become famous for it. Yes, your husband was killed 35+...
  17. Stan

    Rabies vaccination question

    Took my black lab in for her rabies vaccination. Have to do it every three years here in Washington. She's 6 1/2 years old, had one as a puppy, another when she was three or so, no problem. She's normally very active, running, playing, etc. But she fell asleep in a chair and hasn't moved for...
  18. Stan

    Auditioning?

    Been a member since 1999, yet now am considered a new HTF member and was awarded "Auditioning" status today? The lowest of all the different levels :rolleyes: Completely meaningless but it is a bit humorous.
  19. Stan

    Tinnitus question

    I think I have it in my left ear. Sometimes very annoying, sometimes very mild and easy to adjust to and other times, completely gone. It's not like I'm hearing a sound, I can cover my ear and it's still there. Cleaned my ear, soap, hot water, hydrogen peroxide, nothing seems to help. Is it a...
  20. Stan

    Internet Garbage

    Slow but adequate internet connection. But many web sites, ​like MSN and others load tons of ads, videos, etc. behind the scenes. I'm to the point where I just drop them off my list and go elsewhere. They aren't ​pop-ups, just all the crap. Ads, videos you don't care about, etc. More and more...
  21. Stan

    Microsoft Outlook ?

    Was cleaning up my deleted mail and inbox. I apparently hit the perfect storm of keys. All email is now displayed in this ridiculous, teeny tiny microscopic font. It's like a size four on the font scale. Shutdown, rebooted, etc. Nothing works. Can't figure out how to restore it back to normal...
  22. Stan

    DISH Network - avoid them

    They're getting nasty and even with pretty good service from them, I'm considering switching. I missed my payment by one day a few years ago. They cut off service, but DVR was still accessable, so allowed me to catch up on DVR recordings until the payment cleared. Had a payment due Saturday...
  23. Stan

    Furnace filter question

    Forced air gas furnace but metal pre-filters before the air enters the electronic "zappers". They're not like regular replaceable filters I could get at the hardware store. Lots of trouble cleaning the pre-filters. I have a black lab so lots of hair sucked in. Wash/rinse, wash/rinse, vacuum...
  24. Stan

    New browser question

    Had a really nice HP laptop that croaked last year. A friend gave me a Compaq loaded with Vista. I've upgraded it as much as possible, but will only let me go to IE 9. Getting messages from websites saying they'll soon no longer support my browser. Any suggestions? And no, financially I can't...
  25. Stan

    Space bar and IE11 problem

    I've recently started having problems with my space bar and enter key not working on most web sites, including HTF and Facebook. HP DV6 laptop, 64 bit Windows 7, 8 Gb. RAM, plenty of disk space, all current updates and drivers. I think it's an IE 11 issue. Word, Excel, notepad and all local...
  26. Stan

    Crossword Puzzles Online

    Anybody have any good sources for online crossword puzzles? Used to do puzzles from several online newspapers, Monday was easy and they got more difficult through the week, Sundays were virtually impossible.Now all I can find, our local paper, USA Today and many others seem to come from the...
  27. Stan

    HP question

    I have an HP dv6, about two years old running Windows 7. My dog knocked it off my lap last spring and the hard drive croaked. Had it replaced, everything reinstalled. The guy that did it was waiting for HP to send him the discs to finish the job. I've worked with him for years, his business has...
  28. Stan

    What is this?

    My dog killed the hard drive on my laptop, HP dv6. Had a new one installed, everything works fine, but every once in a while I get screens like this when on the internet? I just refresh and the real web page loads, just curious as to what the problem might be. -------------------------...
  29. Stan

    What is Microsoft Silverlight?

    Hard drive on 1 1//2 year old HP dv6 croaked. Had a new 500 Gb. drive and the basic Windows Home Premium installed. Will get the install disks from HP next week so I can get the fingerprint scanner to work. Everything else, after hours and hours of upgrades for SP1, IE11, security upgrades and...
  30. Stan

    How do you email people with phone # only?

    My techie skills are obviously slipping. Hate texting by phone, little tiny buttons, etc.People have emailed me with only my phone number available. Like [email protected]. I don't even know the address, how are they doing this?Taking some university classes where we had to provide...
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