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Sadly, I no longer have a job where it s acceptable to every day wear ripped t-shirts and camouflage shorts. Thus, I have bought some nice shirts. However, as soon as I purchased the nice shirts, seconds after at my estimation, I lost the collar stays (the little plastic things that stay in the collar , you know collar stays).

Where can I buy some of these suckers? Grocery store seems to be a big no.
Thanks,
Posted in , , on September 10th, 2006 I was wondering if y all had a good way to get itunes to act more like a music server.

Want I really want, is for it to auto update the iTunes music library folder, and update the library according. Either the library itself, or, a watch folder that it checks, and move the files according into the library, or copies them and then labels them (using finder labels or something like that).
Or am I trying to push iTunes too far, and is there an iTunes compatible solution that s vastly better?

Ideas?
Posted in , on August 21st, 2006 If your lungs and stomach start talking to each other in cartoon bubbles, stand with your arms akimbo and think about chemistry
Dear ldopa,
I read your article on band webpages but it still isn t coming out right. I m not that witty.

What should I do?
Don t worry about it. Here, have some
To the best of my knowledge, I m not gay but I just loooove making origami quilts.

People keep telling me I should frame and sell , but I m not sure what the best approach for that is. Any suggestions? Also, what would you* pay for something like this?

*Well, not YOU, because you re cheap, but someone who would buy an origami quilt. Posted in on April 24th, 2006 Well, you didn t ask, but, birthdays and Mother s Day are a source of true befuddlement for everyone and some people have it harder than others because, well, just don t pick up on things. So guys, if you re looking for some help, here s what you need to know: generally, it s the thought that counts, but there are a few additional guidelines.

First of all, no empty wrappers. It shows forethought, yes, but then it shows afterthought.
No mom should receive .

Remember, she pushed you out of a very small orifice. Instead of having to acknowledge this every year on your birthday, we have Mother s Day instead, so you can thank her in private. For exciting office supplies, consult your local bylaws.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself is if it is more or less exciting than a box of tacks.
Try not to get something she already has. Or is to.

And, under no circumstances, should you ever give . The temptation to use them for evil, even for your mom, is just too great. I hate so many bands that I have trouble keeping track of them all.

Is there an algorithm I can use to compute my level of hatred based just on the band s name?
- Confused in Cambridge
good question, CIC. I usually use the rule of thumb where I hate any band that has any of the words Death , Cab , or Cutie in the name, but readers may have better ideas; please feel free to post your tips for hating bands in the comments below.

(quotation CSS code blatantly stolen from graciously donated by , probably the best web designer in the Pioneer Valley. If not the world.) Posted in on February 9th, 2006 If you had to choose one part of your body to uncontrollably and constantly glow given that the intensity of the glow was so great that it would shine right through your clothing with no hope of concealment what body part would you choose?

Also given: you cannot choose your nipples or your genitalia. Dear ldopa,
my wife wants me to get a video game console from the
Annual Gift Man. Problem is that the Gift Man doesn t know which
system to get and, even worse, I do not know either.

Should I
go for the 360? Or should I wait for the new offerings from
Sony and Nintendo? Or how about one of the portable systems?

your wife wants you to buy her a videogame console for Christmas? Every man should have your problem:

The Playstation 2 can be picked up for a song ($150) and has many inexpensive and used games, but at this point the graphics are a little behind the curve. The new Playstation 3 will be very technologically advanced, but expensive Ken Kutaragi, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, keeps making as to how expensive the Playstation 3 will be statements such as Ninety-two weeks of salary is not too much to ask for a technological marvel such as the Playstation 3 and I hope you haven t become too attached to your youngest child, because soon you will gladly trade them for a Playstation 3 and Hey I couldn t help noticing your child looks succulent and delicious and I really look forward to eating your child .

What PR purpose Kutaragi hopes to accomplish with these statements is unclear, but what is clear is that the Playstation 3 will probably be expensive and won t be out until around March of next year. It s probably worth waiting for the new model rather than picking up an older one, but start saving your pennies, and , now.

As you may know, I have an unhealthy and forbidden love for all things Nintendo.

I have the world s largest collection of GameCube ($100) games, in fact, I just yesterday moved the entire collection to the other bedroom, and while I was moving it, I put the collection in order from girlfriend-friendly to not-so-girlfriend-friendly . I was impressed by the number of girlfriend-friendly GameCube games I own; I define girlfriend-friendly game as a game I would offer to play with my girlfriend, like Super Monkey Ball , and not a game I would hide away like underage-snuff-porn, like Resident Evil 4 . Recently, Josh, Carrie and I have been having a lot of fun playing Monkey Boxing and WarioWare.

Also, I love the wireless controllers Nintendo offers, they are cheap and comfortable and run forever on two AA batteries. And additionally I point out: it s the cheapest of all your options at $100. However, the same caveat applies to buying a GameCube that would apply to buying a Playstation 2; next year there will be something , so at this point it might be better to adopt a wait- n-see attitude.

Finally: I am an fool, soon parted from my money and so I own both a Sony PSP ($250) and the Nintendo DS ($130). I would the Nintendo DS; I ve found lots of games I have enjoyed playing on the DS, while almost a year after purchase, the Sony PSP sits gameless. If your lovely wife would have any inclination for gaming-on-the-go (or gaming while lying around languidly in bed, another big plus for portable gaming) then I say pick one up.

The downside is that two-person gaming becomes an expensive and extravagant affair you d have to pick up two but two Nintendo DS s cost about the same as one Sony PSP, and is still cheaper than one Xbox 360.

Hope this long, rambling polemic helped!
Posted in on October 26th, 2005 Dear Ldopa,
I have a large frost heave lump in my driveway that scrapes the bottom of my car every time I leave my house (pictured above).

My landlord doesn t seem to want to fix it; her car has slightly greater ground clearance, so she doesn t actually experience the problem. However, it s causing real, actual damage to the bottom of my car and the bottom of my girlfriend s car; how can I best get her to take this problem seriously? Or how can I fix the problem myself on the cheap?

Sincerely,
Posted in , on October 24th, 2005 One of the things I ve become quite fond of lately is dinner music , or the putting on of a specific playlist for having dinner and a glass of wine to. Here s a list of what albums are currently on my dinner music playlist:
Posted in , , on August 25th, 2005 So, I ve got this friend who bought some music from the iTunes Store. The media is now on his PC.

He found that he can t burn it to a CD because of the DRM. He s promised me he won t listen to the music in two places at once.
I know l-dopa is well versed in the area of iTunes and I m a lazy sonnovabitch.

What apps are available to help bypass the DRM for legal use of said acquired songs? I m of course looking for Windows info, but I m really interested in the whole topic. Posted in on July 19th, 2005 Can anyone recommend a good proxy server app for Win or Mac?

Linux would be ok, but I don t have a linux box handy right yet.