The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXIII

[Borachio]

<nvm>

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I have a 3 hole punch and the lever won't go down on it no matter how hard I push or how many papers are in it. How should I try to fix this?

 

[Muhammed]

You shouldnt. Thats when you buy a new one I guess..
On the other hand I've never had so much success with fixing stuff, since I discovered the wonders of violence..

 

[Borachio]

A 3 hole punch? I don't think I've ever seen one. 2 and 4 are the limit of my experience.

Buy a new one, is possibly the most unhelpful suggestion I can think of. But what else is there to do?

 

[Cutlass]

I have a 3 hole punch and the lever won't go down on it no matter how hard I push or how many papers are in it. How should I try to fix this?

Open up any part you can and poke around with a really narrow tool to try and dislodge whatever item is jamming it.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well I got my mom to look at it and she sprayed cooking spray in and it unstuck, so I'm not sure what happened.

We're on such a tight budget at the moment that 'buying a new one' isn't a great suggestion. I had to scrape together pop can money just to afford some pencil lead refills for my mechanical pencils.

 

[Muhammed]

Is it possible to watch fox news online from europe? Im guessing no, but is there a(relative easy) way of making my IP american? Is this post against the board rules btw?

 

[Borachio]

http://live.foxnews.com/

This works for me. Unfortunately! I've no desire to watch it.

But is it live? I doubt it.

See? They lie before they've even started.

 

[Thedrin]

Are ellipticals more efficient than exercise bikes? My friend claims that I will get the benefits of a full body workout and cardio without the impact to my knees that happens when you run. A bike only gives you a lower body workout, this friend says, and so an elliptical is exactly what you need. What says you?

I think I've an article at home about those things being really bad for your hips ... or something. But I've got a prejudice against machines in the gym that require specific movements from more body parts, so I'm more skeptical of ellipticals than bikes, thread mills, or rowing machines.

 

[Muhammed]

http://live.foxnews.com/

This works for me. Unfortunately! I've no desire to watch it.

But is it live? I doubt it.

See? They lie before they've even started.

Works. Thanks.

 

[Flying Pig]

I think I've an article at home about those things being really bad for your hips ... or something. But I've got a prejudice against machines in the gym that require specific movements from more body parts, so I'm more skeptical of ellipticals than bikes, thread mills, or rowing machines.

It's usually more effective to do 'organic' exercises than to use machines, at least for the general human being: the logic is that machines isolate certain parts of your body, while running, cycling, lifting weights and so on involve a lot of muscles not directly included in the action. For example, running requires your core and obliques to keep your balance and transmit power to your legs.

 

[Thedrin]

Yep, that's the general prejudice I have against machines (except pulleys) in the gym. I'd be skeptical of ellipticals since they seem to lock the relative motion of different body parts. I strongly suspect that they'd remove a lot of the core work that you'd get from using a treadmill.

 

[Quackers]

Bit of a more unusual question here but why does the EU operate a "common" competition policy when many member nations already have their own competition authorities?
I know the directorate general of the competition policy has a slightly more specific aim - the intergration of economic phenomona as a goal in itself which is different to national authorities.

Is it simply just to standadise the rules firms face in the market place in regards to anti-competitive practice so that each firm is equally obligated to the same level of legality and hence costs making it more equitable? That could be one reason but i'm looking for some other ideas.

 

[Borachio]

http://www.europedia.moussis.eu/books/Book_2/5/15/?all=1

It ensures the competitive conduct of undertakings (firms, companies, businesses) and protects the interests of consumers by enabling them to procure goods and services on the best terms. It promotes economic efficiency by creating a climate favourable to innovation and technical progress [see section 17.1]. It prevents anti-competitive practices on the part of companies, which might choke off the competitive dynamics generated by the completion of the single market.

Under the control of the Court of Justice, the Commission establishes the European law on competition, which provides a framework for and orientates national laws [see section 3.3]. In effect, the national competition authorities put into effect their own national competition law which, in many respects, takes its cue from the European competition law.

Or is this just so much hot air?

 

[Quackers]

The thing is the first statement is true to a single member state. So whilst it's argument is sound and stretches it to a "common" supranational level; its not specifically applicable only to the EU level.

 

[Borachio]

Yes. I see what you mean. But then if foreign firms are operating, don't they have to conform to the same rules despite the fact that their head office is elsewhere? Isn't that what they're after? So that a foreign firm can't get an unfair advantage over a native one?

Meh! I don't know. I think you know more about this than I do.

 

[Quackers]

Yeah I've been looking into this but for not for very long i have some answers but CFC always has a different take on things which makes you think Thats what i want to see

 

[bhsup]

Oh dang, I forgot you guys call it differently.

http://www.food.com/recipe/dandelion-jelly-90601

Over here, the difference between jam and jelly is that jams have actual parts of the fruit or whatever flavor you're making whereas jelly is strained 'essence' of them.

Actually... TO THE TUBES!

In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).
In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

Pectin is an indigestible carbohydrate (fiber). It is found in the cell walls of most fruit. When heated with sugar in water, it gels, giving jam, jelly and preserves their thickness.

Jell-O is entirely different. It is made from gelatin, which is a protein made from animal skins and bones. For information on gelatin, see this Question of the Day.

Well, that's that definitively sorted!

And what you call Jell-O, we call jelly.

So then what does the UK call what the US calls jelly? If it is jam, then ditto question for jam. And where do preserves fit in?

 

[Borachio]

I think jam refers to the whole range of what you call preserves, jams and jellies. Though I'm not sure. I'm no expert on the subject since I don't really like any of them. Far too much sugar for my taste. (I'll go look it up.)

Certainly, I'd say, jam originally meant whole fruit "jammed" into a jar with sugar and boiling water. Hence the name.

edit: yeah, right. As far as I can tell, and the tale is a bit confused:

preserve is the generic term for all ways of keeping fruit (etc) by boiling in sugar and bottling (but also sometimes for pickles too);

jam is the term for whole or halved fruit boiled in sugar syrup for 20-30 minutes, depending on the fruit;

conserve is the term (I think!) for whole fruit boiled in sugar syrup for 5 minutes;

fruit butter is pulped and sieved fruit boiled in a low sugar syrup till it thickens;

fruit cheese is pulped and sieved fruit boiled in a higher sugar syrup till it thickens really well;

and jelly is also used for what you call jelly too (!); (but most people will think you mean Jell-o, and it's associated with children's parties).

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

If only you'd all accept the inherent superiority of Vegemite, you wouldn't even need to worry about it.