Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

Penguissimo posted:

Do you have the original system discs it came with? You can boot off the restore disc, go into Disk Utility, and repartition/secure wipe the HD from there.

Unfortunately not.

Rent-A-Cop posted:

Remove the HD and physically destroy it. How is up to you, be creative.

Yeah, I did this with the last hard drive I had, but I really didn't have a choice with that one because it was giving me the click of death. I'm looking for something a little more set-and-forget this time around :v:

Gravity Pike posted:

Darik's Boot and Nuke

This actually doesn't work. The disc just won't boot on the MacBook for some reason. I guess I can just pop in one of those old Linux discs and do a clean install that kills both partitions and does a full-format first. Is that secure?

# ? Jan 7, 2014 20:25

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# ? May 22, 2024 04:38

Poldarn: Feb 18, 2011

photomikey posted:

You can replace all the moving/sealing parts in your toilet for ~$15. In fact, they come in a three pack, which might bring the price closer to $10. In a pinch, you can do it with your hands and not even use a wrench - I believe they are only supposed to be hand-tight. If there's no water leaking when you're done - you did it right!

I do this in every toilet in every apartment at every turnover. That $10 can save hundreds.

That is fantastic, thank you goonsir/goonma'am.

# ? Jan 7, 2014 20:34

Rent-A-Cop: Oct 15, 2004; I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!

Tiggum posted:

If every human on the planet were to simultaneously die or vanish or something, how long would stuff like electricity, water supplies, phone and internet connections, etc. continue to run? If you were the one survivor, how long could you keep using that stuff?

Until the first big storm. Water in the US (and most other developed countries) is heavily managed. Without people around to control the pumps, locks and spillways that keep everything going in the right direction huge swathes of land would get inundated in the first heavy rain. Cities like Chicago, New Orleans and New York would flood almost immediately.

Poldarn posted:

That is fantastic, thank you goonsir/goonma'am.

The only caveat here is that toilets are heavy and very fragile. They are made of porcelain and if you drop them, or drop a heavy tool on them, or crank down too tight on a bolt they will shatter and then you're boned. So be careful, and turn the water off first.

Rent-A-Cop fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Jan 7, 2014

# ? Jan 7, 2014 23:18

Powered Descent: Jul 13, 2008; We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.

Mak0rz posted:

This actually doesn't work. The disc just won't boot on the MacBook for some reason. I guess I can just pop in one of those old Linux discs and do a clean install that kills both partitions and does a full-format first. Is that secure?

If the MacBook is really old, it may have a G4 or G5 PPC processor in it instead of an Intel. Try the PPC version of DBAN, found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/files/dban/dban-2.0.0/

Failing that, if you have a Linux CD that you can boot to a live environment on, then that can work too, by manually overwrite the drive with random data. First you need to find the hard drive's actual device name. sudo fdisk -l will show you something like this:

code:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c44a8

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048   973645823   486821888   83  Linux
/dev/sda2       973647870   976771071     1561601    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       973647872   976771071     1561600   82  Linux swap / Solaris

Your particulars will be different, of course -- you should have a device with some Mac partitions on it, plus the CD that you're running from. It should be pretty obvious which is which. In my case, if I were to do this I'd be nuking /dev/sda. (With a number on the end it's a particular partition; without the number it's the entire device. If you want to nuke the entire thing, don't use the number on the end.)

So I'd do [b]sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda bs=1M[b] and then leave it alone for a couple of hours while it writes random noise to the drive, starting at the beginning. When it hits the end it'll show you something along the lines of:

code:

dd: writing to `/dev/sda�: No space left on device
781422769+0 records in
781422768+0 records out
400088457216 bytes (400 GB) copied, 141572 seconds, 2.8 MB/s

Congratulations, you now have a securely* blanked hard drive.

* /dev/urandom is technically not cryptographically secure, but it won't run out of entropy and block like /dev/random will. And as was mentioned, there have been no practical demonstrations of recovering data from a drive that's been wiped with just zeros, so in the real world this is plenty secure.

# ? Jan 7, 2014 23:53

The Pirate Captain: Jun 6, 2006; Avast ye lubbers, lest ye be scuppered!

Powered Descent posted:

If the MacBook is really old, it may have a G4 or G5 PPC processor in it instead of an Intel. Try the PPC version of DBAN, found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/files/dban/dban-2.0.0/

Failing that, if you have a Linux CD that you can boot to a live environment on, then that can work too, by manually overwrite the drive with random data. First you need to find the hard drive's actual device name. sudo fdisk -l will show you something like this:
code:
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c44a8

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048   973645823   486821888   83  Linux
/dev/sda2       973647870   976771071     1561601    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       973647872   976771071     1561600   82  Linux swap / Solaris
Your particulars will be different, of course -- you should have a device with some Mac partitions on it, plus the CD that you're running from. It should be pretty obvious which is which. In my case, if I were to do this I'd be nuking /dev/sda. (With a number on the end it's a particular partition; without the number it's the entire device. If you want to nuke the entire thing, don't use the number on the end.)

So I'd do [b]sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda bs=1M[b] and then leave it alone for a couple of hours while it writes random noise to the drive, starting at the beginning. When it hits the end it'll show you something along the lines of:
code:
dd: writing to `/dev/sda�: No space left on device
781422769+0 records in
781422768+0 records out
400088457216 bytes (400 GB) copied, 141572 seconds, 2.8 MB/s
Congratulations, you now have a securely* blanked hard drive.

* /dev/urandom is technically not cryptographically secure, but it won't run out of entropy and block like /dev/random will. And as was mentioned, there have been no practical demonstrations of recovering data from a drive that's been wiped with just zeros, so in the real world this is plenty secure.

You can even use zero instead of urandom (dd if=/dev/zero) to wipe with all zeroes, which will run 3 or 4 time faster and for practical purposes be just as secure.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 02:46

photomikey: Dec 30, 2012

Rent-A-Cop posted:

The only caveat here is that toilets are heavy and very fragile. They are made of porcelain and if you drop them, or drop a heavy tool on them, or crank down too tight on a bolt they will shatter and then you're boned. So be careful, and turn the water off first.

If you are just replacing the innards (as I suggested), you won't be cranking down on the bolts that crack the toilet, and you won't be removing the toilet, so you have no danger of dropping it. Granted, you could drop a tool on it and break it, but really, you handle heavy stuff around your toilet every day, and... how many have you cracked so far?

# ? Jan 8, 2014 06:09

Rent-A-Cop: Oct 15, 2004; I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!

photomikey posted:

If you are just replacing the innards (as I suggested), you won't be cranking down on the bolts that crack the toilet, and you won't be removing the toilet, so you have no danger of dropping it. Granted, you could drop a tool on it and break it, but really, you handle heavy stuff around your toilet every day, and... how many have you cracked so far?

There's a dick and/or poop joke in there somewhere.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 06:54

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

Powered Descent posted:

If the MacBook is really old, it may have a G4 or G5 PPC processor in it instead of an Intel. Try the PPC version of DBAN, found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/files/dban/dban-2.0.0/

Nope, it's an Intel. But thanks a ton for the block of advice! I'll give it a try.

The Pirate Captain posted:

You can even use zero instead of urandom (dd if=/dev/zero) to wipe with all zeroes, which will run 3 or 4 time faster and for practical purposes be just as secure.

Thanks, this is helpful too. I'll report back when it's done.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 08:23

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

I can scratch my nose with my upper lip, which I've discovered is kind of rare. Is there a name for this?

# ? Jan 8, 2014 14:24

Polio Vax Scene: Apr 5, 2009

Pulled this HD from a dead laptop. Is there a name for the pin layout/a cheap connector I can use to recover data from it?

# ? Jan 8, 2014 15:40

butt dickus: Jul 7, 2007; top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

Manslaughter posted:

Pulled this HD from a dead laptop. Is there a name for the pin layout/a cheap connector I can use to recover data from it?

2.5" IDE/PATA. You could read it with something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002

# ? Jan 8, 2014 15:45

alnilam: Nov 10, 2009

What kind/type of pokemon has fire and lightning as its main weaknesses?
Preferably from the original red/blue/yellow, if it exists.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:00

Namarrgon: Dec 23, 2008; Congratulations on not getting fit in 2011!

alnilam posted:

What kind/type of pokemon has fire and lightning as its main weaknesses?
Preferably from the original red/blue/yellow, if it exists.

I'm looking at the pokemon wikipedia and as far as I can see it would only be the case with a steel/flying pokemon which in turn narrows it down to just Skarmory.

VVV Well I be damned.

Namarrgon fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Jan 8, 2014

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:10

Dragyn: Jan 23, 2007; Please Sam, don't use the word 'acumen' again.

alnilam posted:

What kind/type of pokemon has fire and lightning as its main weaknesses?
Preferably from the original red/blue/yellow, if it exists.

God help me for remembering this, but probably none. Grass type have fire weakness, and flying type have lightning weakness. The only ones that may be grass/flying that comes to mind are Beedrill/Butterfree.

ninja edit: Looks like it's Butterfree. Beedrill doesn't have a lightning weakness.

source: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Butterfree_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:11

muike: Mar 16, 2011; ガチムチ　セブン

tuyop posted:

I can scratch my nose with my upper lip, which I've discovered is kind of rare. Is there a name for this?

loving silly

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:15

AKA Pseudonym: May 16, 2004; A dashing and sophisticated young man; Doctor Rope

tuyop posted:

I can scratch my nose with my upper lip, which I've discovered is kind of rare. Is there a name for this?

How do you scratch anything with something soft and moist?

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:33

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

AKA Pseudonym posted:

How do you scratch anything with something soft and moist?

I am a man and my face is covered in coarse hairs, including above my top lip. Stubble is like the best itching surface.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:38

Grundulum: Feb 28, 2006

tuyop posted:

I can scratch my nose with my upper lip, which I've discovered is kind of rare. Is there a name for this?

I'm going to go with "Donkey Lips".

# ? Jan 8, 2014 19:40

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Given that cloud-based entertainment (movies, music, etc on itunes) seems to be the way things are heading (or maybe it's not a given, I don't know), are the special features from DVDs just going to become a thing of the past? Because I love me some easy access when it comes to my movies, but drat am I really starting to miss all the other things that came with actual DVDs. Commentary tracks, behind the scenes, etc. Is there no chance that cloud-based entertainment will try to incorporate this? I love being able to fire up the Apple TV and hit play on Hot Fuzz, but the movie is more than just the movie, you know?

# ? Jan 8, 2014 21:42

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

tuyop posted:

I am a man and my face is covered in coarse hairs, including above my top lip. Stubble is like the best itching surface.

This is absolutely correct. There is no better itch-scratching surface on the planet than my day-old scruff. It is worth getting poison ivy, just to be able to scratch that poison ivy on my cheek the next day.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 21:44

Nintendo Kid: Aug 4, 2011; by Smythe

jackpot posted:

Given that cloud-based entertainment (movies, music, etc on itunes) seems to be the way things are heading (or maybe it's not a given, I don't know), are the special features from DVDs just going to become a thing of the past? Because I love me some easy access when it comes to my movies, but drat am I really starting to miss all the other things that came with actual DVDs. Commentary tracks, behind the scenes, etc. Is there no chance that cloud-based entertainment will try to incorporate this? I love being able to fire up the Apple TV and hit play on Hot Fuzz, but the movie is more than just the movie, you know?

The current trajectory seems to be more of the movie alone being the "basic version" that you might see on a streaming thing or a digital purchase, and the physical discs remaining only as the "special editions" and "collector's editions" that get the full gamut of special features.

Kind of like how for a while there'd be the VHS version with just the movie and maybe one short extra video segment at the end, with the DVD release higher priced and including a bunch of special features.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 21:52

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

I'm about to leave the company I work for. I work at home, don't go into the office (no plans to do so until I leave), but I want to do a 2 week notice. I know standard convention calls for a written notice, but would email be ok in this situation? This is not a job that they're really going to miss me being gone. It's a call center if that explains it. I'd just rather not burn any bridges anymore, I've done that in my life with too many other jobs.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 21:52

Fork of Unknown Origins: Oct 21, 2005; Gotta Herd On?

You're giving the notice as a courtesy and it doesn't sound like they'll have to do a big search to replace you or take a long time to train your replacement, so combined with you not going in there regularly I don't think an email is unreasonable. Be prepared for them to let you go immediately though.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 21:57

Farecoal: Oct 15, 2011; There he go

I'm trying to order contact lenses based off the prescription my optometrist gave me a few days ago, specifically Biofinity Toric lenses. However, when I go to order them from here or here, I can't choose the right CYL or axis. On the prescription, the CYL for my left eye is supposed to be 1.00, the axis for my right eye 105, and the axis for my left eye 075, but none of those are available options. What gives?

Also, I can't choose the right power for my left eye either (-6.25)

Farecoal fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Jan 8, 2014

# ? Jan 8, 2014 22:04

365 Nog Hogger: Jan 19, 2008; by Shine

jackpot posted:

Given that cloud-based entertainment (movies, music, etc on itunes) seems to be the way things are heading (or maybe it's not a given, I don't know), are the special features from DVDs just going to become a thing of the past? Because I love me some easy access when it comes to my movies, but drat am I really starting to miss all the other things that came with actual DVDs. Commentary tracks, behind the scenes, etc. Is there no chance that cloud-based entertainment will try to incorporate this? I love being able to fire up the Apple TV and hit play on Hot Fuzz, but the movie is more than just the movie, you know?

Seeing as those extras were literally just pack-ins to convince consumers to buy DVD's, I really don't see it transferring.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 23:07

randyest: Sep 1, 2004; by R. Guyovich

jackpot posted:

Given that cloud-based entertainment (movies, music, etc on itunes) seems to be the way things are heading (or maybe it's not a given, I don't know), are the special features from DVDs just going to become a thing of the past? Because I love me some easy access when it comes to my movies, but drat am I really starting to miss all the other things that came with actual DVDs. Commentary tracks, behind the scenes, etc. Is there no chance that cloud-based entertainment will try to incorporate this? I love being able to fire up the Apple TV and hit play on Hot Fuzz, but the movie is more than just the movie, you know?

Just about every movie you can buy (not rent) from iTunes comes with extras.

# ? Jan 8, 2014 23:52

Carbon Thief: Oct 11, 2009; Diamonds aren't the only things that are forever.

Farecoal posted:

I'm trying to order contact lenses based off the prescription my optometrist gave me a few days ago, specifically Biofinity Toric lenses. However, when I go to order them from here or here, I can't choose the right CYL or axis. On the prescription, the CYL for my left eye is supposed to be 1.00, the axis for my right eye 105, and the axis for my left eye 075, but none of those are available options. What gives?

Also, I can't choose the right power for my left eye either (-6.25)

Do you normally wear contacts? I know when I tried to switch to contacts a couple years ago, I was told at the optician's that they didn't make a toric lens in my particular prescription. They gave me a sample of the closest ones, but it was too far off and everything looked strange/gave me a headache. You might have the same problem.

# ? Jan 9, 2014 00:45

Farecoal: Oct 15, 2011; There he go

Carbon Thief posted:

Do you normally wear contacts? I know when I tried to switch to contacts a couple years ago, I was told at the optician's that they didn't make a toric lens in my particular prescription. They gave me a sample of the closest ones, but it was too far off and everything looked strange/gave me a headache. You might have the same problem.

I've worn them for about a year and a half and my new prescription didn't change that much afaik

# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:05

AlbieQuirky: Oct 9, 2012; Just me and my 🌊dragon🐉 hanging out

Maybe call or email Coopervision and ask what's up?

# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:32

Gabriel-Ernest: Jun 3, 2011; Such dreadful things should not be said even in fun.

As of 2013, who are the youngest and second youngest musicians ever to have been admitted to Juilliard? (I don't mean "Which people attending Juilliard right now are the youngest two?"; I mean, "Who are the two people whose acceptances to Juilliard occurred when they were youngest?" Sorry for being strange and reiterating the question; I've been looking at it for so long I can't figure out how ambiguous it is.) Is Sarah Chang one of them? I have been trying to figure this out for work, and I've been looking all day. I hope I've just been using the wrong search terms.

# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:40

Xandu: Feb 19, 2006; It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

Gabriel-Ernest posted:

As of 2013, who are the youngest and second youngest musicians ever to have been admitted to Juilliard? (I don't mean "Which people attending Juilliard right now are the youngest two?"; I mean, "Who are the two people whose acceptances to Juilliard occurred when they were youngest?" Sorry for being strange and reiterating the question; I've been looking at it for so long I can't figure out how ambiguous it is.) Is Sarah Chang one of them? I have been trying to figure this out for work, and I've been looking all day. I hope I've just been using the wrong search terms.

Probably one of the youngest (can't get much younger than 5), but they admit quite a few young people.

http://www.juilliard.edu/about/newsroom/press-kit/juilliards-pre-college-division?destination=node/13290

# ? Jan 9, 2014 03:14

WerthersWay: Jul 21, 2009

Do identical twins have "identical" metabolisms? I feel like I've never seen an identical twin and his obese brother.

WerthersWay fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Jan 9, 2014

# ? Jan 9, 2014 03:53

Gabriel-Ernest: Jun 3, 2011; Such dreadful things should not be said even in fun.

Xandu posted:

Probably one of the youngest (can't get much younger than 5), but they admit quite a few young people.

http://www.juilliard.edu/about/newsroom/press-kit/juilliards-pre-college-division?destination=node/13290

Yeah, I was checking that out! The reason I'm looking for such specifically ranked information is sort of complicated. I'm trying to fact-check this article in which the author writes, "I'm one of three kids, and my sister and I are the youngest two people ever admitted to the pre-college program." (That is a paraphrase.) The author has the surname Chang, or claims to -- but when I combine that with their reported first name, it returns zero Google hits associated with anything Juilliard or musical. Everything I can find about Sarah Chang says she's one of two kids. I can't see how it could be possible that this person is telling the truth, and I want to find clear evidence for their honesty or lack of it, but I can't actually find anything that says "[Specific person other than this article's author] is the second-youngest musician." Or even "Sarah Chang is the youngest," really. (I think I might just call up Juilliard and ask.)

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:09

Nolan Arenado: May 8, 2009

Did the scroll bar on the right side of Chrome change or did I accidentally change a setting?

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:09

Xandu: Feb 19, 2006; It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

Gabriel-Ernest posted:

Yeah, I was checking that out! The reason I'm looking for such specifically ranked information is sort of complicated. I'm trying to fact-check this article in which the author writes, "I'm one of three kids, and my sister and I are the youngest two people ever admitted to the pre-college program." (That is a paraphrase.) The author has the surname Chang, or claims to -- but when I combine that with their reported first name, it returns zero Google hits associated with anything Juilliard or musical. Everything I can find about Sarah Chang says she's one of two kids. I can't see how it could be possible that this person is telling the truth, and I want to find clear evidence for their honesty or lack of it, but I can't actually find anything that says "[Specific person other than this article's author] is the second-youngest musician." Or even "Sarah Chang is the youngest," really. (I think I might just call up Juilliard and ask.)

Calling them is a good idea, but the bolded part is suspicious unless she phrased that sentence way to disguise the fact that she never actually attended (though I'm basing that off your paraphrase).

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:13

Lanky Coconut Tree: Apr 7, 2011; An angry tree.

The angriest tree

What's the French expression for something over the top. Absurd, ludicrous even. Like the hallway scene from Django. Or the scene from The Great Gatsby when he first introduces himself

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:22

Tad Naff: Jul 8, 2004; _{I told you you'd be sorry buying an emoticon, but no, you were hung over. Well look at you now. It's not catching on at all!}

Lanky Coconut Tree posted:

What's the French expression for something over the top. Absurd, ludicrous even. Like the hallway scene from Django. Or the scene from The Great Gatsby when he first introduces himself

Outr�?

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:35

TATPants: Mar 28, 2011

Gabriel-Ernest posted:

Yeah, I was checking that out! The reason I'm looking for such specifically ranked information is sort of complicated. I'm trying to fact-check this article in which the author writes, "I'm one of three kids, and my sister and I are the youngest two people ever admitted to the pre-college program." (That is a paraphrase.) The author has the surname Chang, or claims to -- but when I combine that with their reported first name, it returns zero Google hits associated with anything Juilliard or musical. Everything I can find about Sarah Chang says she's one of two kids. I can't see how it could be possible that this person is telling the truth, and I want to find clear evidence for their honesty or lack of it, but I can't actually find anything that says "[Specific person other than this article's author] is the second-youngest musician." Or even "Sarah Chang is the youngest," really. (I think I might just call up Juilliard and ask.)

The "Changs" you are talking to are not Sarah Chang et. al. There may be another Chang family, but it is not the Sarah Chang family.

# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:40

greazeball: Feb 4, 2003

Mordecai Sanchez posted:

Do identical twins have "identical" metabolisms? I feel like I've an identical twin and his obese brother.

This newspaper article talks about the field of epigenetics--how our DNA adapts to the lives we live--and why identical twins don't die from the same disease late on in life. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jun/02/twins-identical-genes-different-health-study

# ? Jan 9, 2014 06:40

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# ? May 22, 2024 04:38

Lanky Coconut Tree: Apr 7, 2011; An angry tree.

The angriest tree

FeloniousDrunk posted:

Outr�?

Ah no, I wasn't clear. It's a description of the situation, a description of why it drives people to laughter. Something grandeur macabre I dunno.

# ? Jan 9, 2014 08:04

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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