Frugal Living: Jan 26, 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

misc.consumers.frugal-living - 25 new messages in 9 topics - digest

misc.consumers.frugal-living
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en

misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

==============================================================================
TOPIC: What to do when laptop keys stop working?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/d6266bc229b8004b?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 5 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:03 pm
From: Marsha

OhioGuy wrote:
> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
> becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
> entirely.
>
> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
> and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
> anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
>
> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
>
> Thanks!

One thing you should never do, as a preventative measure, is eat while
you're using the keyboard. Crumbs always mysteriously end up underneath
the keys.

Marsha/Ohio

== 2 of 5 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:14 pm
From: The Real Bev

Marsha wrote:

> OhioGuy wrote:
>> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
>> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
>> becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
>> entirely.

You need to call the helpdroid and keep asking until you find someone who can
answer. It's scary using brute force when you're not sure you're supposed to.

>> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
>> and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
>> anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
>>
>> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
>> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
>>
>> Thanks!
>
> One thing you should never do, as a preventative measure, is eat while
> you're using the keyboard. Crumbs always mysteriously end up underneath
> the keys.

Fortunately it's harmless with the Model M. The springs are mounted in a
silo-like tube that the keytop fits over, kind of like the top of a mushroom
with the stem stuck on a pencil, so the crud just falls to the platform in which
all the little silos are molded. I was careful to cover up the top of the silo
with a fingertip when I blew the final bits of crud out. I suspect that I could
even spill liquid into it with no harm done. No, I'm not going to try.

--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"The almost universal access to higher education here in the US has
ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers." -- Bob Hunt

== 3 of 5 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:57 pm
From: Jay

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote in

> I'd guess that touch typists wouldn't find them too valuable.
> I've seen a demo at the local Best Buy but I haven't been
> tempted to try it. Probably should. I looked all over for a
> flexible keyboard, but couldn't find one.

Do you have 'Staples' in your area? If so, a few months ago, they
did have flex keyboards. At that time they were on sale. $9.99
IIRC

== 4 of 5 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 6:13 pm
From: The Real Bev

Jay wrote:

> The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote in
>
>> I'd guess that touch typists wouldn't find them too valuable.
>> I've seen a demo at the local Best Buy but I haven't been
>> tempted to try it. Probably should. I looked all over for a
>> flexible keyboard, but couldn't find one.
>
> Do you have 'Staples' in your area? If so, a few months ago, they
> did have flex keyboards. At that time they were on sale. $9.99
> IIRC

These people have several. I bought my SDHC card from them and am happy.
Delivery took about a week.
<http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=flexible+keyboard&_sacat=See-All-Categories>

--
Cheers,
Bev
===================================================
"I love deadlines... especially the whooshing sound
they make as they go by." -Douglas Adams

== 5 of 5 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:19 pm
From: "Nicik Name"

"OhioGuy" <none@none.net> wrote in message
news:glj9f9$2lni$1@news.ett.com.ua...
> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really becoming
> a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working entirely.
>
> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
> and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does anyone
> sell replacement keyboards for them?
>
> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
>
> Thanks!
WD40

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Contraceptives - bad for the economy! (Sarcasm)
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/5155d02987e6eee7?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:24 pm
From: The Real Bev

Rod Speed wrote:

> lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>> ... Don't we
>> have enough children languishing in foster care already?
>
> Nope, if we did, we wouldnt see so many buying kids from 3rd world countrys.

Yes, but those are NEW children and the adopting parents can feel good because
they're giving a NEW life to this NEW little child from far away. The locals
are just partially-broken ghetto kids and probably have diseases, deformities
and lice.

>> Shouldn't we be working on how to keep the country going without a
>> young "slave" population - maybe through greater personal frugality?

Apparently they don't make very good slaves...

> Doesnt work, you end up with no one paying taxes and all the geriatrics starving.
>
>> http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2009/01/23/contraceptives-not-the-kind-of-stimulus-boehner-can-believe-in/
>
>> First paragraphs:
>
>> Barack Obama's $825 billion plan to boost the recession-bound U.S.
>> economy has some elements that, well, aren't the sort of stimulus that
>> House Minority Leader John Boehner says he can believe in.
>
>> "I'm concerned about the size of the package, and I'm concerned about
>> some of the spending that's in there," Boehner complained Friday after
>> a meeting at White House.
>
>> "How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives?
>> How does that stimulate the economy?"
>
> Someone has to make them, stupid.

It's mind-boggling that there's an official anti-contraceptive ideology not
related to the Catholic church. Surely preventing the birth of unwanted
children is a GOOD thing, no matter whose children they are. I regard it as an
investment, not an expense.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:32 pm
From: Marsha

The Real Bev wrote:
> Rod Speed wrote:
>
>> lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>>
>>> ... Don't we
>>> have enough children languishing in foster care already?
>>
>> Nope, if we did, we wouldnt see so many buying kids from 3rd world
>> countrys.
>
> Yes, but those are NEW children and the adopting parents can feel good
> because they're giving a NEW life to this NEW little child from far
> away. The locals are just partially-broken ghetto kids and probably
> have diseases, deformities and lice.
>

And, NEW children are all the rage with celebrities.

Marsha/Ohio

==============================================================================
TOPIC: New Mountain Dew logo
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/15e95e9fd76aae55?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 6:05 pm
From: Jamie

It's now printed on the cans as Mtn Dew. They thought they had to
abbreviate it. I wrote about this on my blogspot page:
http://jannghi.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-mtn-dew-logo.html

What do you think?

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 8:23 pm
From: The Real Bev

Jamie wrote:

> It's now printed on the cans as Mtn Dew. They thought they had to
> abbreviate it. I wrote about this on my blogspot page:
> http://jannghi.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-mtn-dew-logo.html
>
> What do you think?

That you have too much time on your hands.

--
Cheers,
Bev
*************************************************
Never argue with a woman holding a torque wrench.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Computer crash
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/8bc95c99ebdef045?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 6:53 pm
From: gheston@hiwaay.net (Gary Heston)

In article <gllm56$non$3@news.datemas.de>, Marsha <mas@bex.net> wrote:
>Gary Heston wrote:
>> I routinely use the UBCD at work, where I have to do things like making
>> a system boot two different versions of Linux in addition to Windows XP.
>> I can manipulate partitions easily with it.

>You're speaking Greek.

Not Greek, Geek. What I do with workstations is set them up so that when
you're booting them up, you can select which operating system you want to
start. Some of our developers have to use different versions of Linux,
depending upon what they're working on. So, I may have it set up to
allow selecting Windows XP, RedHat 5.1, or Fedora 9. One of my systems
at home will allow Windows 98SE, Windows 2000 Pro, or Fedora 9.

In theory, this can be extended to many different operating systems, but
it can get cumbersome to maintain.

>> Also good for sanitizing an old drive before it's discarded or reused.

>Okay, I know what that is.

Good, do it before discarding hardware. DBAN works well, and is on the
UBCD.

>> If you haven't done a backup recently, now is the time to do one.

>Backups of the important stuff are now on the schedule. Thanks a lot
>for your help.

Glad to. Not just a job, but a hobby, too. :-)

Gary

--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man"
General of the Army (four stars) Ann Dunwoody

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:37 pm
From: gheston@hiwaay.net (Gary Heston)

In article <glllue$non$2@news.datemas.de>, Marsha <mas@bex.net> wrote:
[ ... ]
>I'm leaning heavily towards overheat. I noticed that one side of the
>tower was flush against the desk, blocking the vents on that side. And,
>when it finally did boot up, I had left it set for a good half hour.
[ ... ]

You're not alone, apparently:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254108-28-dell-inspiron-running

It might be time to blow dust out of your system; they tend to collect
it over time.

Look at the software that came with your system; it may have a monitoring
program you can run which will show you what the temperatures are in
your system. If not, look for MotherBoard Monitor or something similar
to track what's going on.

Gary

--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man"
General of the Army (four stars) Ann Dunwoody

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:52 pm
From: Marsha

Gary Heston wrote:
> In article <glllue$non$2@news.datemas.de>, Marsha <mas@bex.net> wrote:
> [ ... ]
>> I'm leaning heavily towards overheat. I noticed that one side of the
>> tower was flush against the desk, blocking the vents on that side. And,
>> when it finally did boot up, I had left it set for a good half hour.
> [ ... ]
>
> You're not alone, apparently:
>
> http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254108-28-dell-inspiron-running
>
> It might be time to blow dust out of your system; they tend to collect
> it over time.
>
> Look at the software that came with your system; it may have a monitoring
> program you can run which will show you what the temperatures are in
> your system. If not, look for MotherBoard Monitor or something similar
> to track what's going on.
>
>
> Gary
>

Great, another tidbit of info to file away! I vacuum what seems like
massive amounts of dog hair on a regular basis, and by now there's
probably a wad inside the tower. Next on the to-do list....

Marsha/Ohio

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 9:26 pm
From: Dave Garland

Marsha wrote:

> Great, another tidbit of info to file away! I vacuum what seems like
> massive amounts of dog hair on a regular basis, and by now there's
> probably a wad inside the tower. Next on the to-do list....
>

Then you definitely need to open the tower up and blow it out with
canned air. Everywhere, but especially around the cpu fan and
heatsink (big cooling fins), and stick the nozzle in the vent slots of
the power supply (metal box where the power cord plugs in). Computers
attract dust/hair because they are sucking air in, and dust bunnies
will make them overheat.

Dave

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Have you ever ate roadkill?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/8270986512a793d6?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:02 pm
From: Omelet

In article
<365ce340-9bc1-4c93-8674-ccb59ce6fb08@g39g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
James <j0069bond@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
> damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.

That's not legal in most states tho'.
--
Peace! Om

"Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once." -- Anonymous

== 2 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:16 pm
From: Marsha

Omelet wrote:
> In article
> <365ce340-9bc1-4c93-8674-ccb59ce6fb08@g39g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
> James <j0069bond@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
>> damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.
>
> That's not legal in most states tho'.

Hey there, Om. How are you? You're the very same Om from LC?

Marsha/Ohio

== 3 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:30 pm
From: Dan Musicant (man@privacy.net)

On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:19:57 -0800 (PST), James <j0069bond@hotmail.com>
wrote:

:I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
:damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.

Not to my knowledge.

== 4 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 8:40 pm
From: "MarieD"

"Omelet" <ompomelet@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ompomelet-269F80.21021126012009@news-wc.giganews.com...
> In article
> <365ce340-9bc1-4c93-8674-ccb59ce6fb08@g39g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
> James <j0069bond@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
>> damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.
>
> That's not legal in most states tho'.

I wonder why it would be illegal?

We are almost out of deer meat. We got two this season and I love it, I
never taste any "gamey" taste to it and cook it like any other meat.
Spaghetti and deerballs is my favorite ;o)
Marie

== 5 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 9:00 pm
From: KevinS

On Jan 26, 8:40�pm, "MarieD" <a...@123.com> wrote:

> I wonder why it would be illegal?

Going back to my prosecutor days of 30 years ago,
my state at the time (Washington) had a law which
basically said that if you killed a deer while driving,
the carcass belonged to the state, and the meat was supposed to be
used to feed prisoners or others in
state custody. Converting the carcass to your own
use was punishable by fines and jail. I had first
heard that from my grandfather, who was a state
game officer. I don't know whether that is still the
law.

My memory of this is faint and I may be forgetting
some of the details. Nor can I speak for other
states.

== 6 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 9:03 pm
From: spope33@speedymail.org (Steve Pope)

KevinS <sheehyke@aol.com> wrote:

>Going back to my prosecutor days of 30 years ago,
>my state at the time (Washington) had a law which
>basically said that if you killed a deer while driving,
>the carcass belonged to the state, and the meat was supposed to be
>used to feed prisoners or others in
>state custody. Converting the carcass to your own
>use was punishable by fines and jail.

Sounds like a holdover from English law concerning poachers.
Obviously, the game belongs to the Crown, and if we made
an exception for accidental vehicle hits, the poacher types would
just drive around trying to run down deer.

== 7 of 7 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 9:11 pm
From: KevinS

On Jan 26, 9:03�pm, spop...@speedymail.org (Steve Pope) wrote:

> Sounds like a holdover from English law concerning
> poachers.

Maybe so, although intentionally driving one's car into
good sized deers would have to be one of the dumber
pastimes. I did have occasion to prosecute the oc-
casional poacher. They tended not to be among the
brighter or more ambitious people I have ever come
across.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Boost Mobile: May have to try it
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/349d16161b538880?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 7:44 pm
From: Brian Elfert

Gordon <gonzo@alltomyself.com> writes:

>Now, does that run on the old Nextel system, or the Sprint CDMA
>system? If the latter, I may convert my Sprint phone over to

Boost is still Nextel.

Boost has a new $50 unlimited plan, but the review I saw said it is awful
and the reviewer's wife went back to another phone before the 30 day
review period was up. The main complaint was dropped calls.

If Boost used a decent provider I would seriously consider this and drop
my VOIP home line all together.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Source (online?) for whole wheat flour
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/45b947567a2220f7?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:02 pm
From: Tony Sivori

On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:04:24 -0800, dmusicant wrote:

Good luck. I work in food manufacturing, and the company I work for buys
flour by the rail car loads. Which is how I happen to know that flour
costs have risen dramatically in the past year.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1374352/price_of_flour_is_rising_fast/index.html

If the above link wraps:

http://tinyurl.com/acgkbj

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Nazi t-shirt sold at Walmart
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/b367e5bdf9d178bd?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:22 pm
From: The Real Bev

Sanity wrote:

> "Harold Burton" <hal.i.burton@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> ultimauw@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> http://consumerist.com/348776/walmart-nazi-tshirt-watch-week-62
>>>
>>> Just when you thought all of the Walmart tshirts bearing the exact
>>> replica of an infamous Nazi symbol were recalled,
>>
>> Why should they be?
>>
>>> or sold to a
>>> discount store and burned, a Walmart in Palmdale, California has them
>>> on sale for $3.00 a pop. 62 weeks after Walmart pledged to remove the
>>> shirts from its shelves, and 50 weeks after getting a letter from
>>> Congress demanding the shirts removal, they're still out there.
>>
>> Yeah, and?
>
> So you advocate selling an item that spews hate and intolerence?

No, but last I heard we were allowed to express unpopular opinions, which
include hate and intolerance. We're also allowed to be stupid, which is kind of
unfortunate.

Walmart is allowed to sell or not sell the t-shirts at their discretion.

You are not required to buy one and are allowed to express contempt for those
who do buy them, possibly to their faces if not in a threatening manner.

--
Cheers, Bev
=====================================================
Why can't we all just get along and do things my way?

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:24 pm
From: The Real Bev

Siskuwihane wrote:

> Money always speaks louder than morals.

You never heard "Put your money where your mouth is"? Some people buy Nazi
t-shirts, some people buy Pope soap-on-a-rope.

--
Cheers, Bev
=====================================================
Why can't we all just get along and do things my way?

==============================================================================
TOPIC: ^ Hot Tits free download videos
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/73a3828f22943fb3?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:53 pm
From: uri.loser@gmail.com

Get http://secrets2protect.blogspot.com/ these ladies dangerously hot
goods free on your computer in pc , mac and linux versions skid 5000
vidz archive pink eddie 6370 reserves.

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misc.consumers.frugal-living - 25 new messages in 12 topics - digest

misc.consumers.frugal-living
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en

misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:57 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

Don Klipstein wrote
> lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:

>> 18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I hope.
>> Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean business?

>> Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>> country's birth rate drop below a certain level -

> It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming
> profit trends that assume some population growth rate.

Nope, have a look at the Nikkei sometime.

> "Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me
> then that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E
> ratio of 20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.

It had swong that high before tho.

> Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is close to 1%.

The CIA claims 0.883

> That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate
> of USA's GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded
> corporations on USA stock exchanges, especially NYSE.

GDP doesnt include earnings.

> And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500"
> to continue to represent about 63-66% of "market value"
> of USA's public-traded corporations.

> Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
> like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
> causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.

Mindlessly silly, there is no correlation. Have a look at the
Nikkei to see what a negative population growth produces.

> Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
> stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from
> the 1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982
> low averages at least 6% past inflation, I expect sudden achievement of
> "zero population growth" to set back stock investments by a mere roughly
> 5 years compared to inflation, about 3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.

Have fun explaining what Japan has seen.

> Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely
> good to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more
> children tend to be more religiously conservative and maybe
> "trying to outpopulate their enemies"...

Doesnt explain why the west had high population growth numbers at one time.

> (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the buck"
> in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I said!)

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Ebay alternative?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/81ad82de073681df?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 2:08 am
From: "h"

<hallerb@aol.com> wrote in message news:383b9834-44af-4799-be50->
> i have just about had it with e bay.
>
> having sold in the paST SELLERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO LEAVE NEGATIVE
> FEEDBACK FOR BUYERS

Oh yeah. I had a non-paying bidder (claim he never bid, refused to pay,
threatened me) leave negative feedback for me when he was the one who
refused to complete the transaction. The frosting on my cookies was my
inability to leave him a negative while he ruined my 100% positive after 9
years on eBay. I was eventually able to get eBay to remove the feedback (the
guy was suspended for too many unpaid item strikes in his first 30 days with
eBay) but it was a royal pain. Sellers used to be able to leave negative
feedback, although this was the first time I ever wanted to do it.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:09 am
From: clams_casino

h wrote:

><hallerb@aol.com> wrote in message news:383b9834-44af-4799-be50->
>
>
>>i have just about had it with e bay.
>>
>>having sold in the paST SELLERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO LEAVE NEGATIVE
>>FEEDBACK FOR BUYERS
>>
>>
>
>Oh yeah. I had a non-paying bidder (claim he never bid, refused to pay,
>threatened me) leave negative feedback for me when he was the one who
>refused to complete the transaction. The frosting on my cookies was my
>inability to leave him a negative while he ruined my 100% positive after 9
>years on eBay. I was eventually able to get eBay to remove the feedback (the
>guy was suspended for too many unpaid item strikes in his first 30 days with
>eBay) but it was a royal pain. Sellers used to be able to leave negative
>feedback, although this was the first time I ever wanted to do it.
>
>
>
>
So which do you prefer - leaving a negative or having the negative removed?

My only negative in ten years of selling was also by a non paying
bidding, but in years past, eBay would do nothing about it.

== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:07 am
From: meow2222@care2.com

Laptop keyboards are replaceable. Its also an option to plug a desktop
style external keyboard in.

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:41 am
From: "Lou"

"The Real Bev" <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:T8cfl.22708$B01.20354@newsfe13.iad...
>
> Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd be
> really
> easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only seen
> pictures.
>

Those projected ones look even cooler - and I've never seen one of them
either, just pictures. Would also like to know if anyone's every used one.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 12:19 pm
From: The Real Bev

Lou wrote:

> "The Real Bev" <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd be
>> really easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only
>> seen pictures.
>
> Those projected ones look even cooler - and I've never seen one of them
> either, just pictures. Would also like to know if anyone's every used one.

I'd guess that touch typists wouldn't find them too valuable. I've seen a demo
at the local Best Buy but I haven't been tempted to try it. Probably should. I
looked all over for a flexible keyboard, but couldn't find one.

--
Cheers, Bev
====================================================================
Paranoid schizophrenics outnumber their enemies at least two to one.

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:03 pm
From: Marsha

One thing you should never do, as a preventative measure, is eat while
you're using the keyboard. Crumbs always mysteriously end up underneath
the keys.

Marsha/Ohio

==============================================================================
TOPIC: WSJ: Yes, You Can Live With Less Plastic
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/4a1f7f88656f37c1?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 5:41 am
From: Evelyn Leeper

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
> On Jan 25, 7:34 am, mugglefug...@googlemail.com wrote:
>
> Actually this brings up the obvious question...what do you really
> *NEED* a credit or debit card for?
>
> Note there is a big difference between *NEED* and *WANT*.
>
> Your thoughts?

If you travel, it is protection if your car breaks down and you need a
major repair. (Most repair shops will not take checks, at least from
people they don't know.)

It is almost impossible to rent a car without one.

Given that one can buy lots of things more frugally on-line, having a
credit card (but paying off the bill in full each month) is definitely
more frugal than not having a credit card. (Not to mention if you have
a card with a rebate.)

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
I know you can't live on hope alone but without hope
life is not worth living. -Harvey Milk

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 3:16 pm
From: Derald

Although, keeping a credit card up one's sleeve in the event of
unexpected expense may be prudent, the singular, invaluable, advantage
to debit card vs credit card is precisely the discipline imposed by not
being able to spend money that one does not actually have, forcing one
to reassess his/her "needs".
>
> Plus, there's the $750 I get back every year from the credit
>card company for using the card, which I would lose if I paid cash or used a
>debit card.
It ain't necessarily so: Many institutions (banks) offer exactly
the same sucker-bait "rewards" for signature (non-PIN) transactions on
their "major label" debit card as they do credit cards. More reason to
shop around.
For example, if I use the "Visa"-branded debit card issued by
Compass bank as a "signature" (not PIN) card, then I get the same
rebate, FF miles, whatever, as I would with a credit card. Same with the
"Visa"-branded debit card that is linked to my brokerage account. I know
that because I am enrolled in the programs.
"Major label" debit cards have no fewer "protections" than "major
label" credit cards. I know that because I have had the experience to
challenge (several) transactions via the issuing bank. In each case, the
amount in question was credited to my checking account by close of
business (well, posting time) of same day and before the issue was
resolved. Compass bank (in Florida, at least) even offers to "get your
money back" on the strength of a telephoned verbal declaration -- no
paperwork required. It is important for (honest) consumers to know that
the merchant always, always, always is assumed to be "in the wrong" and
takes the financial hit until the issue is resolved; many merchants will
simply issue an automatic refund to avoid the bs. I know _that_ because
I do credit/debit card business and I will automatically issue a refund
unless the dollar amount is more than I'm willing to cede to a thief.
Regardless of what the untrained Walmart (for example) minions may
assert, it is as easy to reverse a "major label" debit card transaction
as it is a credit card transaction and it does NOT take "three days",
"three weeks", or whatever other bullshit they may say for the money to
reappear in one's account: Excepting weekends, it takes exactly until
posting time (usually midnite) of the day the refund is issued. I always
seems strange to me that the untrained dilberts at WallyWorld and Home
Desperate don't know how to issue debit card refunds, claiming the
process to be impossible, while the at least minimally-trained dilberts
at Walgreen's, Publix or the local nurseryman have no problem at all
doing so.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:32 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

Derald wrote:

> Although, keeping a credit card up one's sleeve in the event of
> unexpected expense may be prudent, the singular, invaluable,
> advantage to debit card vs credit card is precisely the discipline
> imposed by not being able to spend money that one does not
> actually have, forcing one to reassess his/her "needs".

Plenty of us arent stupid enough to need that.

>> Plus, there's the $750 I get back every year from
>> the credit card company for using the card, which
>> I would lose if I paid cash or used a debit card.

> It ain't necessarily so: Many institutions (banks) offer exactly
> the same sucker-bait "rewards" for signature (non-PIN) transactions on
> their "major label" debit card as they do credit cards. More reason to
> shop around.
> For example, if I use the "Visa"-branded debit card issued by
> Compass bank as a "signature" (not PIN) card, then I get the same
> rebate, FF miles, whatever, as I would with a credit card. Same with
> the "Visa"-branded debit card that is linked to my brokerage account.
> I know that because I am enrolled in the programs.
> "Major label" debit cards have no fewer "protections" than "major
> label" credit cards. I know that because I have had the experience to
> challenge (several) transactions via the issuing bank. In each case,
> the amount in question was credited to my checking account by close of
> business (well, posting time) of same day and before the issue was
> resolved. Compass bank (in Florida, at least) even offers to "get your
> money back" on the strength of a telephoned verbal declaration -- no
> paperwork required. It is important for (honest) consumers to know
> that the merchant always, always, always is assumed to be "in the
> wrong" and takes the financial hit until the issue is resolved; many
> merchants will simply issue an automatic refund to avoid the bs. I
> know _that_ because I do credit/debit card business and I will
> automatically issue a refund unless the dollar amount is more than
> I'm willing to cede to a thief. Regardless of what the untrained
> Walmart (for example) minions may assert, it is as easy to reverse a
> "major label" debit card transaction as it is a credit card
> transaction and it does NOT take "three days", "three weeks", or
> whatever other bullshit they may say for the money to reappear in
> one's account: Excepting weekends, it takes exactly until posting
> time (usually midnite) of the day the refund is issued. I always
> seems strange to me that the untrained dilberts at WallyWorld and
> Home Desperate don't know how to issue debit card refunds, claiming
> the process to be impossible, while the at least minimally-trained
> dilberts at Walgreen's, Publix or the local nurseryman have no
> problem at all doing so.

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:40 pm
From: "SpammersDie"

"Derald" <derald@invalid.net> wrote in message
news:UZidnfVFT8Ow2ePUnZ2dnUVZ_juWnZ2d@earthlink.com...
> Although, keeping a credit card up one's sleeve in the event of
> unexpected expense may be prudent, the singular, invaluable, advantage
> to debit card vs credit card is precisely the discipline imposed by not
> being able to spend money that one does not actually have, forcing one
> to reassess his/her "needs".

Provided you're sure the debit card won't let you "spend money you don't
have."

Banks are well on to this sort of thinking and routinely offer "courtesy
overdrafts." Overcharge your account and you won't get declined. The bank
will quietly issue you a high interest overdraft loan.

Using a debit card does not give you "discipline" at all. It's a crutch to
over the lack of discipline, and this crutch is defective by design.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Can you recommend a DVR for over the air recording?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/53f8f3e81d69dc10?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 9:58 am
From: me@privacy.net

"hallerb@aol.com" <hallerb@aol.com> wrote:

>http://www.dtvpal.com/
>
>
>Simple to setup and easy to use
>Amazing picture and sound quality

Can you use the above for off air TV ONLY?

I only have TV antenna.... nothing else

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:51 am
From: Brian Elfert

me@privacy.net writes:

>"hallerb@aol.com" <hallerb@aol.com> wrote:

>>http://www.dtvpal.com/
>>
>>
>>Simple to setup and easy to use
>>Amazing picture and sound quality

>Can you use the above for off air TV ONLY?

Yes, it can be used with an antenna. In fact, I don't think it can be
used for cable TV unless I missed something.

I would seriously consider this if it did analog cable TV.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Saving Money on Calendars
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/9b326729403ee2be?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:24 am
From: lenona321@yahoo.com

On Dec 12 2008, 4:44 pm, lenona...@yahoo.com wrote:

> Or to keep it really simple, check only what day March 1st is. Then on
> leap years, use two calendars- one for Jan-Feb and one for March-Dec.
>
> I keep a list of which years are identical in that respect so I
> can pick out the right calendar faster from my collection. In theory,
> one only needs 14 calendars so as to cover all possible combinations.
> But since I want to hang more than one calendar in the house, I'd just
> as soon do it differently. Besides, the earliest you're going to see
> the same March pattern repeated is five years, anyway - and usually,
> it's longer.
>
> And, of course, don't use the more attractivecalendarsfor scribbling
> appointments on! (I use scrap-papercalendarsfor that - and reuse the
> nicer ones.)

I wanted to add that one very good reason not to collect leap-year
calendars - unless they're free AND designed to your liking, whether
with exotic flowers or motorcycles - is that, when you do the math,
you'll find that you only get to reuse a leap-year calendar in its
entirety once every 28 years!

Right now I have only one calendar hung in the house - from 1987. I
like to have two decorative calendars hanging, but the only other one
I have that "works" is my Gustav Klimt 1992 calendar, which I can't
start using until March. So that's annoying.

Lenona.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: www-CNSHOES007-com wholesale D&G shoes richmond 4us dior DSQUARED and
chanel prada gucci shoes
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/a76720a67312821e?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 10:57 am
From: sdsd <1020qq@gmail.com>

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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Anything wrong with canned tomatoes?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/7fb7868def5d6f0e?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 11:26 am
From: The Real Bev

Macuser wrote:

> Canned tomatoes are no good in salad, but they're wonderful for cooking. I
> use them in every style for about half the things I cook. My favorite brand
> is Cento, which has the thickest consistency.

Don't you have any friends who are interested in this stuff?

--
Cheers,
Bev
-------------------------------------------------------------
"We've got some stupid people out there. This morning, I woke
up in a bathtub filled with ice and I had an extra kidney."

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 11:57 am
From: Evelyn Leeper

Macuser wrote:
> Canned tomatoes are no good in salad, but they're wonderful for cooking.
> I use them in every style for about half the things I cook. My favorite
> brand is Cento, which has the thickest consistency.

Avoid Luigi Vitelli products. (My note doesn't say why, but I think it
was that they were too watery.)

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
I know you can't live on hope alone but without hope
life is not worth living. -Harvey Milk

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 11:47 am
From: me@privacy.net

http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2009/01/15/14921

what you think?

I'm looking for new cell carrier in
63401 area

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:06 pm
From: Gordon

me@privacy.net wrote in news:oq4sn4ttk8ta30n4i0hng0g5vklac3rl8e@4ax.com:

> http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2009/01/15/14921

Intresting.
Now, does that run on the old Nextel system, or the Sprint CDMA
system? If the latter, I may convert my Sprint phone over to
Boost and save a few bucks a month.
Note that these plans are good for talkaholics. If you don't
use the phone too much, there are better pay by the minute
plans that can save you even more.

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 2:04 pm
From: dmusicant@pacbell.net

I was reading reviews of bread machines at Amazon.com and someone said
they bought 25 lb. bags of organic whole wheat flour for ~ $0.50/lb.
net. The post was in 2006. I don't recall the name of the company, but
going to their website I see that the cheapest organic whole wheat flour
there now is ~$0.80/lb for 25 lb. and that's before shipping.

I live in Berkeley CA and am looking for an economical source of whole
wheat flour. I've been getting mine at the Berkeley Bowl, but the
cheapest they have is $1.39/lb. What are some good sources?

Dan

PS I've been getting bread flour at Costco in 50 lb. bags, but I don't
believe they sell whole wheat, at least economically.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 3:05 pm
From: Melba's Jammin'

In article <a5csn4lbnigrjs243s0gmu637d311fa20f@4ax.com>,
dmusicant@pacbell.net wrote:

> I was reading reviews of bread machines at Amazon.com and someone said
> they bought 25 lb. bags of organic whole wheat flour for ~ $0.50/lb.
> net. The post was in 2006. I don't recall the name of the company, but
> going to their website I see that the cheapest organic whole wheat flour
> there now is ~$0.80/lb for 25 lb. and that's before shipping.
>
> I live in Berkeley CA and am looking for an economical source of whole
> wheat flour. I've been getting mine at the Berkeley Bowl, but the
> cheapest they have is $1.39/lb. What are some good sources?
>
> Dan
>
> PS I've been getting bread flour at Costco in 50 lb. bags, but I don't
> believe they sell whole wheat, at least economically.

Is there a food co-op where you could check? Mine gives a discount for
a case purchase (maybe a 'case' of whole wheat flour is a 50# bag or
something like that -- just an example). Prices have gone *way* up in
the last 6-9 months or so.

Any farm towns nearby (all things are relative)? Try to find a feed
mill and see what they've got to offer.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller/100041
-- a woman my age shouldn't
have this much fun!

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:19 pm
From: James

I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:35 pm
From: "Cheryl"

"James" <j0069bond@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:365ce340-9bc1-4c93-8674-ccb59ce6fb08@g39g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>I have. After the buck ran into my new compact car and did over $1700
> damage, you bet your deer he ended up in my freezer.

Never. What flavor motor oil was predominant?

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:53 pm
From: Marsha

Dave wrote:
> I hope it's still under warranty.

Nope. One year in-home service. I never get an extended warranty on
anything.

>>> What operating system is it running?
>> Windows Vista Home Premium
>
> Good!

I like it so far, but Windows 2000 is my favorite.

> OK, there are a couple of possibilities. Normally, I'd say it's not a big
> deal. But as it's a Dell we are talking about, it could get a little hairy.
> Like I said before, I hope it's still under warranty. Since you never got
> past POST, you can rule out your hard drive and everything ON the hard
> drive, as a possible suspect. That doesn't leave much. Bad RAM possibly,
> but you've already checked that. I don't know how thoroughly the RAM was
> tested, but I think it's safe to rule that out, for the moment. Only
> components left are:
> 1) Video card (integrated into motherboard on the Dell 530)
> 2) Power supply (likely a proprietary, non-standard beast, considering
> it's a dell system)
> 3) CPU (odds of that failing are about 1 in a million, unless the CPU fan
> failed...but the system would warn you and/or shut itself down, hopefully,
> if that happened)
> So in terms of possible suspects, I'd say 95% power supply, 4% motherboard,
> and 1% CPU.

I'm leaning heavily towards overheat. I noticed that one side of the
tower was flush against the desk, blocking the vents on that side. And,
when it finally did boot up, I had left it set for a good half hour.

> But keep your eye on this system. If it fails intermittently, watch for a
> pattern. What you are looking at is how far into the boot process does it
> get before it fails. If the failure point is almost always before windows
> starts (or while windows is starting), that points to a bad power supply.
> If the failure point is even earlier, like before you get the POST screens
> (showing hard drive information, RAM testing, etc), then that could be a bad
> power supply, a bad motherboard, or a bad CPU.

Yeah, now I'm eyeing the damn thing suspiciously every time it gets
turned on.

> operating system, or your software, were in use. You DO, however, need to
> back up all your important data files to something outside this system,
> ASAP. You've got an unknown hardware problem that COULD (possibly) cause
> your hard drive to fail and/or files on the hard drive to get
> corrupted/deleted. Depending on how important your files are on that hard
> drive, you might want to do daily backups to DVDR/W media, or an external
> hard drive, or an enormous thumb drive, or all of them. Daily, until you
> are certain that the problem is fixed. Even after the problem is fixed,
> keep doing periodic backups. -Dave
>

It wouldn't be a disaster if I lost everything on the hard drive, but it
would be inconvenient to reconstruct what's on it. But, regular backups
are now on the schedule. Thanks a lot for the help.

Marsha/Ohio

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 26 2009 4:57 pm
From: Marsha

Gary Heston wrote:
> I routinely use the UBCD at work, where I have to do things like making
> a system boot two different versions of Linux in addition to Windows XP.
> I can manipulate partitions easily with it.

You're speaking Greek.

> Also good for sanitizing an old drive before it's discarded or reused.

Okay, I know what that is.

> If you haven't done a backup recently, now is the time to do one.
> Gary

Backups of the important stuff are now on the schedule. Thanks a lot
for your help.

Marsha/Ohio

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misc.consumers.frugal-living - 10 new messages in 5 topics - digest

misc.consumers.frugal-living
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en

misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

* What to do when laptop keys stop working? - 4 messages, 4 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/d6266bc229b8004b?hl=en
* Computer crash - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/8bc95c99ebdef045?hl=en
* Contraceptives - bad for the economy! (Sarcasm) - 3 messages, 3 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/5155d02987e6eee7?hl=en
* you don't need any cables or special equipment - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/69d71e234adaf8b9?hl=en
* Is your dentist smart enough? - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/10402e312812610e?hl=en

== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 8:51 pm
From: gheston@hiwaay.net (Gary Heston)

In article <glj9f9$2lni$1@news.ett.com.ua>, OhioGuy <none@none.net> wrote:
> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
>harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
>becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
>entirely.

> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
>and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
>anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
[ ... ]

You'd have to get a replacement keyboard from Dell. They'd want to have
a technician swap it.

Gary

--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man"
General of the Army (four stars) Ann Dunwoody

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:02 pm
From: Tony Sivori

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:07:47 -0500, OhioGuy wrote:

> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
> becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
> entirely.
>
> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
> and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
> anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
>
> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.

When you have nothing to lose, that is, after it quits working entirely,
you can try taking it apart. You may be able to correct whatever
combination of gunk and wear that is preventing the keys from making
contact.

Of course, that would only apply if it is by today's standards a lower
spec laptop that could be replaced with a new one for about the same cost
as professional repair.

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:48 pm
From: The Real Bev

Rod Speed wrote:

> Fix them or if that isnt feasible, replace the keyboard.
>
> OhioGuy wrote:
>
>> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming harder
>> and harder to get them to register anything. It is really becoming a
>> distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working entirely.
>
> Some you can pop the keycap on and clean whats underneath, some you cant.

My IBM Model M will be 21 in a month. I took the caps off, cleaned them, and
removed 21 years of cruft from underneath. Yeah, I realize I could have got
that out by removing the top and vacuuming, but it was kind of satisfying doing
it by hand. Besides, cablemodem service was down for half the weekend.

Laptop/notebook keyboards are hellspawn, as are touchpads. Fortunately I
discovered how to disable the touchpad on the Acer.

> Dunno about Dell keyboards specifically. Dell should be able to tell you if
> you call them.
>
>> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue, and
>> what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does anyone sell
>> replacement keyboards for them?
>
> Yes, Dell does and there are some on ebay too for all the common laptops.
>
>> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
>> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.

I've heard that laptops are the only thing you should ever buy an extended
warranty on because they ALL destroy some part of themselves that costs more
than the warranty within the extended warranty period.

> A replacement keyboard shouldnt cost that.

Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd be really
easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only seen pictures.

--
Cheers, Bev
===============================================================
Children, your performance was miserable. Your parents will all
receive phone calls instructing them to love you less.

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:43 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

The Real Bev wrote
> Rod Speed wrote

>> Fix them or if that isnt feasible, replace the keyboard.

>> OhioGuy wrote:

>>> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
>>> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the
>>> keys will stop working entirely.

>> Some you can pop the keycap on and clean whats underneath, some you cant.

> My IBM Model M will be 21 in a month. I took the caps off, cleaned
> them, and removed 21 years of cruft from underneath. Yeah, I realize
> I could have got that out by removing the top and vacuuming, but it
> was kind of satisfying doing it by hand. Besides, cablemodem service
> was down for half the weekend.

> Laptop/notebook keyboards are hellspawn, as are touchpads. Fortunately I discovered how to disable the touchpad on the
> Acer.

I like touchpads myself and dont bother with a mouse.

>> Dunno about Dell keyboards specifically. Dell should be able to tell you if you call them.

>>> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue, and what options there are to fix the problem?
>>> For
>>> instance, does anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?

>> Yes, Dell does and there are some on ebay too for all the common laptops.

>>> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
>>> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.

> I've heard that laptops are the only thing you should ever buy an
> extended warranty on because they ALL destroy some part of themselves
> that costs more than the warranty within the extended warranty period.

I've seen plenty that didnt, including every single one of my own.

>> A replacement keyboard shouldnt cost that.

> Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd
> be really easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only seen pictures.

Nar, I've never tried one either.

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:08 pm
From: "Dave"

"Marsha" <mas@xeb.net> wrote in message news:glinnb$qpk$1@news.datemas.de...
> Okay, my motto is panic first and think later. I put the system disk(?)
> in and finally figured out how to boot from that. There were 5 options,
> 1 of which was check memory, which I did first. No memory problems, but
> when it re-started, everything was fine. So even though things are okay
> now, I want to know what happened. I'll try to answer in line as much
> as I can remember when the problem was still there.
>
> Dave wrote:
> > OK, we need a lot more information to help you. First, what type of
> > computer is it? Exact make and model number.
>
> Dell Inspiron 530, bought new 14 months ago.

I hope it's still under warranty.

>
> > What operating system is it running?
>
> Windows Vista Home Premium

Good!

>
> > How, exactly, do you connect to the Internet?
> > Dial-up modem? Cable modem? DSL? If you have a high speed Internet
> > connection, how, EXACTLY is that Internet connection attached to your
> > computer? Is it Ethernet cable? USB? Wireless? Does it connect
directly
> > to a cable modem / dsl modem, or does it run through a router?
>
> Cable modem. Router. Wired. I unhooked it from cable and it still
> wouldn't boot, though.

Well now that you wrote more, I don't think this matters.

>
> > More importantly... we need to know after it was shut off for a while
and
> > you turned it back on, what do you mean by "it started normall"? Did
you
> > get to Windows? Were you able to log into windows? Did windows start
at
> > all, or did you just see BIOS splash screens (hard drives listed, memory
> > tested), and then go straight to a cursor on a black screen? When you
got
> > the cursor on the black screen, where was it? Lower left? Upper Left?
> > What did it look like? Square? Bar? Did you try to type anything at
the
> > cursor?
>
> It did not get to Windows. Got 1 beep (I think) and some words flashed
> very quickly in the upper left (too fast to even get one word). Then
> the cursor in the upper left - bar. Almost like the old DOS screen.
> This all took place in about 10 seconds after starting it. Pressed a
> couple keys, but nothing happened.

OK, there are a couple of possibilities. Normally, I'd say it's not a big
deal. But as it's a Dell we are talking about, it could get a little hairy.
Like I said before, I hope it's still under warranty. Since you never got
past POST, you can rule out your hard drive and everything ON the hard
drive, as a possible suspect. That doesn't leave much. Bad RAM possibly,
but you've already checked that. I don't know how thoroughly the RAM was
tested, but I think it's safe to rule that out, for the moment. Only
components left are:
1) Video card (integrated into motherboard on the Dell 530)
2) Power supply (likely a proprietary, non-standard beast, considering
it's a dell system)
3) CPU (odds of that failing are about 1 in a million, unless the CPU fan
failed...but the system would warn you and/or shut itself down, hopefully,
if that happened)
So in terms of possible suspects, I'd say 95% power supply, 4% motherboard,
and 1% CPU.

When it comes to computers, anything can cause anything. So there is always
a slim possibility that it could be some other component bad as well.

But keep your eye on this system. If it fails intermittently, watch for a
pattern. What you are looking at is how far into the boot process does it
get before it fails. If the failure point is almost always before windows
starts (or while windows is starting), that points to a bad power supply.
If the failure point is even earlier, like before you get the POST screens
(showing hard drive information, RAM testing, etc), then that could be a bad
power supply, a bad motherboard, or a bad CPU.

>
> My virus and adware programs found nothing.

Not surprising. Your problem was not the hard drive, or anything ON the
hard drive. The hard drive wasn't in use at the time that the symptom
appeared.

> I haven't loaded any new
> software in the last couple weeks, but would it be a good idea do the
> back restore thing to maybe a week or so ago?

That won't help. Your symptom appeared long before your hard drive, your
operating system, or your software, were in use. You DO, however, need to
back up all your important data files to something outside this system,
ASAP. You've got an unknown hardware problem that COULD (possibly) cause
your hard drive to fail and/or files on the hard drive to get
corrupted/deleted. Depending on how important your files are on that hard
drive, you might want to do daily backups to DVDR/W media, or an external
hard drive, or an enormous thumb drive, or all of them. Daily, until you
are certain that the problem is fixed. Even after the problem is fixed,
keep doing periodic backups. -Dave

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:28 pm
From: don@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein)

In <558f52ad-fcf6-4c74-a76c-ea1d001c1348@r36g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I
>hope. Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean
>business?
>
>Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>country's birth rate drop below a certain level -

It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming profit trends
that assume some population growth rate.

"Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me then
that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E ratio of
20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.

Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is
close to 1%. That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate of USA's
GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded corporations on USA stock
exchanges, especially NYSE.
And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500" to continue to
represent about 63-66% of "market value" of USA's public-traded
corporations.

Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.

Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from the
1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982 low
averages at least 6% past inflation,
I expect sudden achievement of "zero population growth" to set back
stock investments by a mere roughly 5 years compared to inflation, about
3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.

Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely good
to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more children tend to
be more religiously conservative and maybe "trying to outpopulate their
enemies"... (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the
buck" in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I
said!)

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:34 pm
From: josejarvie@ssnet.net

The bubble has burst the entire usa is going to be restructured now and all the
but richest 1% are going to suffer for it.

On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:28:56 +0000 (UTC), in misc.consumers.frugal-living
don@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:

>In <558f52ad-fcf6-4c74-a76c-ea1d001c1348@r36g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>>18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I
>>hope. Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean
>>business?
>>
>>Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>>country's birth rate drop below a certain level -
>
> It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming profit trends
>that assume some population growth rate.
>
> "Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me then
>that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E ratio of
>20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.
>
> Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is
>close to 1%. That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate of USA's
>GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded corporations on USA stock
>exchanges, especially NYSE.
> And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500" to continue to
>represent about 63-66% of "market value" of USA's public-traded
>corporations.
>
> Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
>like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
>causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.
>
> Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
>stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from the
>1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982 low
>averages at least 6% past inflation,
> I expect sudden achievement of "zero population growth" to set back
>stock investments by a mere roughly 5 years compared to inflation, about
>3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.
>
> Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely good
>to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more children tend to
>be more religiously conservative and maybe "trying to outpopulate their
>enemies"... (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the
>buck" in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I
>said!)
>
> - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:57 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

Don Klipstein wrote
> lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:

>> 18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I hope.
>> Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean business?

>> Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>> country's birth rate drop below a certain level -

> It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming
> profit trends that assume some population growth rate.

Nope, have a look at the Nikkei sometime.

It had swong that high before tho.

> Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is close to 1%.

The CIA claims 0.883

> That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate
> of USA's GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded
> corporations on USA stock exchanges, especially NYSE.

GDP doesnt include earnings.

> And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500"
> to continue to represent about 63-66% of "market value"
> of USA's public-traded corporations.

Mindlessly silly, there is no correlation. Have a look at the
Nikkei to see what a negative population growth produces.

Have fun explaining what Japan has seen.

Doesnt explain why the west had high population growth numbers at one time.

> (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the buck"
> in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I said!)

==============================================================================
TOPIC: you don't need any cables or special equipment
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/69d71e234adaf8b9?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:55 pm
From: The Real Bev

larry wrote:

> On the Dallas news last night, A website where you enter
> your cell number, they ring it so you can find your
> misplaced cell.

I assume this is because people no longer have a REAL phone, right? What if the
phone is turned off?

> I'm sure that establishes an "on-going business
> relationship" for the 3/18 month period of the NDNC list. ;-)

How about sending your phone a text message from your computer?

--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity
is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Hubbard, American author

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Is your dentist smart enough?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/10402e312812610e?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:09 pm
From: The Real Bev

Macuser wrote:

> You can control perio by flossing. Also, did you know that antiseptic
> mouthwash such as Listerine and similar house brands kill bacteria in your
> mouth and also help to control this.

There is some cheap Mexican tequila-substitute (as far as I can tell that's what
it is) that costs less than Listerine and tastes better. Almost the same
alcohol content and it comes in a plastic container with a ring on top so you
can carry it on your belt. "Licor Costeño Tonaya Supremo"

> It's also true that dentists may not be entirely motivated to keep your
> mouth healthy, because more damage means more services they can perform.
> Also, you get the best value and the most honest service at a dental school.
> A dental student gets a good grade when recommending only the services you
> need. A private dentist is motivated to sell you as much services as you can
> pay for.

OTOH, the little Mexican town of Algodones, just southwest of Yuma, exists to
service the dental needs of people all over the US. No crowds in summer.
Cheap, fast, and as good as anything you get in the US.

--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity
is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Hubbard, American author

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Monday, January 26, 2009

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