Philotic Web

I hate deckle edges. They serve no purpose.

They're just there to make it look like handmade paper.

They're stupid, and they make the book look like an elementary school project.

Historically they were the result of failing to trim the edges of the sheet which was folded and cut into pages (if you look at older books you will sometimes find pages that haven't yet been cut apart). Today they are, I presume, an attempt at looking old-timey.

Grah. Hate when they do that.

Historically they were the result of failing to trim the edges of the sheet which was folded and cut into pages (if you look at older books you will sometimes find pages that haven't yet been cut apart). Today they are, I presume, an attempt at looking old-timey.

Yep, and I hate them.

Why can't I use some bread yeasts in my bread machine?

I *think* bread machine yeast is just the same as rapid rise yeast, just relabled for people who can't figure out what to use. Rapid-rise yeast is finer, thus it dissolves quicker in liquid and starts the fermentation process faster, it also produces CO2 quicker so the bread will rise more in a shorter period of time. Rapid-rise yeast is a finer form of instant yeast. Both are more perishable than active dry yeast, which requires a hydration phase to activate it.

Traditional bread baking is a time-consuming process with many, long fermentation periods. Bread machine recipes seek to shorten the length of time it takes to make a recipe and simplify the process as much as possible.

I would assume that if you had a programmable bread machine, or were to modify the recipe to include processes external to the machine, you could use any type of bread yeast in it, but you would have to compensate for longer rise-times and such.

While I'm sure of the differences between these types of yeasts, I'm actually just guessing as to the actual reasons; I've never used a bread machine.

The yeast specifically says "not for bread machines". The rise times on my machine aren't hugely different from the ones I'd do by hand, but I think the kneads are shorter/less vigorous, so that might be it. Or possibly I just need to start the yeast off with a wee bit of sugar, who knows.

A question for the tech crowd: All of a sudden when I try to run a program which has always run fine in the past a get this message:

Runtime-error '339'
component 'comdlg32.ocx' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid.


Any thoughts?

Well, I cheated and Googled and it looks like something that happens occasionally, lord knows why. Corrupted, maybe? Anyway, this site seems to join the consensus that others have. Download, replace, then run that command in command prompt. Should be good to go.

Awesome!

It took a few tries to get the command prompt right because I'm dumb, but everything seems to working as it should now. Thanks for finding that for me!

So recently, I've been unable to access one of my favorite websites (http://www.xkcd.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
I'm using Chrome and it keeps telling me:

Google Chrome is having trouble accessing the network.

This may be because your firewall or antivirus software wrongly thinks Google Chrome is an intruder on your computer and is blocking it from connecting to the Internet.
Here are some suggestions:
Add Google Chrome as a permitted program in your firewall's or antivirus software's settings. If it is already a permitted program, try deleting it from the list of permitted programs and adding it again.
Error 138 (net::ERR_NETWORK_ACCESS_DENIED): Unable to access the network.

It's also not loading on my other browsers: EI or Firefox.
I can, however, access the site from my cellphone.
Which makes me think it's something with my computer settings.

I have a long expired version of McAfee, so it can't be that, and I have Windows Defender. I went in and added Chrome to the list of approved applications to my Windows Firewall. Nothing. Ideas? I'm not noticing the problem with any other website!

That's weird. It's coming through on my google reader just fine.

The yeast specifically says "not for bread machines". The rise times on my machine aren't hugely different from the ones I'd do by hand, but I think the kneads are shorter/less vigorous, so that might be it. Or possibly I just need to start the yeast off with a wee bit of sugar, who knows.

Bread still dense.

That's weird. It's coming through on my google reader just fine.

After a few days of no access I suddenly have access again and can load that URL on any browser.
I don't get it! But I'm very glad it's back!

Long shot, but don't suppose anyone knows anything about Californian electoral law (or knows someone who does) and wouldn't mind unignoranting me?

I need some help, Kimmie would be great but any help is appreciated. We have two female cats. Monkey is 5 and Yoyo is 4. Their litter box is in the basement. Monkey just started pooping in the opposite area of the basement from where her box is, same spot every time. She did this a few times, so we moved her litter box over to where she was pooping. This worked for about a week. She is now pooping right next to the litter box. There seems to be something about this exact spot that she likes? The next ideas I have are to get a second litter box because sometimes they don't like sharing with the other cat; and sometimes they like peeing and pooping in separate boxes. And then if that doesn't work, a vet visit to see if something is physically wrong. But since she was able to stop for a week, it doesn't seem like something is physically wrong.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

The second litter box is probably your best bet. I've heard about that happened a lot, and I came across it a bunch when I was researching other poop-related annoyances regarding cats. How long have they been catmates? Like, forever, right?

Yes, forever. We got monkey first when she was a few months old and then yoyo a year later. They are both females.

I need a new cell phone and I'd like to get an iPhone, but one of things I'd like to figure out first is what type of data plan I'll need to get for it. So those of you with iPhones or similar touchscreen smartphones how often do you use your phone for internet things and how much data usage does that translate to on your bill?

My unlimited data plan was grandfathered in, so I am a very lucky girl. I use a ton of data, but mostly because I am too lazy to input wifi passwords and things.

My unlimited data contract evaporates in November. Not looking forward to it. May need to switch to Sprint, assuming they haven't ditched their unlimited plan by then.

I only have a 1GB limit since I'm always roaming (yay using local AK phone companies!). I'm pretty good about connecting to wifi when it's available, so it's hard to say how much I'd use if I didn't do that. Mainly, I use data for email, Facebook, random Internet browsing, and maps rather frequently. I never reach even half of my limit. If you're planning on streaming lots of videos, you'll probably want an unlimited plan, but otherwise you can get away with a lot less.

I don't believe AT&T has unlimited data plans for smartphones anymore. In any case, I'll likely try to avoid videos and other high bandwidth activities for a few months until I can get a decent picture of how much I'll be using for "normal" browsing.

Your experience my differ, but with my phone, I only have to use the data plan if I'm away from wifi, so that helps. At home or any place that has free wifi there's no data usage.

The second litter box is probably your best bet. I've heard about that happened a lot, and I came across it a bunch when I was researching other poop-related annoyances regarding cats. How long have they been catmates? Like, forever, right?

This is also what I would suggest. I think i've been lucky though, I have three female cats and they all share one litter box with no problems (although, i'm really good with keeping it pretty clean). We had Buffy and Lulamay first and when I first brought Keeker's home (about a two year gap between them) I had to have separate boxes until Keeker's was old/big enough to hop into their box. Since then there's been no major problem.

There was a time Lulamay peed on Will in his sleep, but that was stress related.

I've had an iPhone for about a year and have never hit my 200MB limit. Usually I come in around 80-100MB, but I've been as low as 20MB and as high as 170MB.

I always connect to my wifi at home or the office, which probably helps.


My recommendation: go with a smaller plan, monitor your usage and upgrade later if you need a larger plan.

Our work has been sending out emails scolding everyone not to connect to one of the six wifi networks for our floor with our phones or laptops. ethernet only, the smart phones were all clogging the system.

I need some help, Kimmie would be great but any help is appreciated. We have two female cats. Monkey is 5 and Yoyo is 4. Their litter box is in the basement. Monkey just started pooping in the opposite area of the basement from where her box is, same spot every time. She did this a few times, so we moved her litter box over to where she was pooping. This worked for about a week. She is now pooping right next to the litter box. There seems to be something about this exact spot that she likes? The next ideas I have are to get a second litter box because sometimes they don't like sharing with the other cat; and sometimes they like peeing and pooping in separate boxes. And then if that doesn't work, a vet visit to see if something is physically wrong. But since she was able to stop for a week, it doesn't seem like something is physically wrong.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

I would definitely add the second box. The recommendation from behaviorists is that you should have number of cats +1 litter boxes..

Have you changed litter brands recently? If so, go back to the old one.

After those suggestions, it gets more complicated.

Second litter box seems to be working so far. Too well, in fact. As in, both cats seem to be using the new litter box exclusively. And it's a fairly small, cheap box (because I didn't want to spend a lot if that didn't help the problem), so it gets full very fast. Their old box is now sitting unused. Silly cats!

Your experience my differ, but with my phone, I only have to use the data plan if I'm away from wifi, so that helps. At home or any place that has free wifi there's no data usage.

My problem and one of the main reasons I'm even looking into getting a smartphone is that I don't have internet at home or work. So virtually all my browsing will be via celluar.

Ok, guys, I need help.

I need to cut down a portion of a song. I bought the song off itunes, so I don't know if that's a standard mp3 file or what. Clearly I know nothing about anything. I'd like to be able to do it for as close to free as possible, so I don't really want to buy a program or anything to accomplish it, because I can't imagine I'll ever use it again. I just need to trim off the beginning so it starts at a specific point.

It's possible I've never made a request less eloquently. Words are failing me. People more technologically nuanced than I am, please help!

Pretty sure Audacity would do the trick and last I used it, it was completely free.

You actually should be able to do it through iTunes, if you're trimming off an end. Right-click "Get Info." One of the tabs (I don't have my computer so I can't tell you what it actually says) shows the start and stop times of the song. You should be able to put in whatever time you want it to start/stop and it'll cut it off. If you don't want to mess with the original, I think you can right-click "Create MP3 Version" and make a copy to mess with.

iTunes can do it built-in. Audacity is also free and good.