NigaiAmaiYume

This guide comes from my own experience, two months trying to make money by trying to convince other people to send money to a non-profit organization. Neither element worked very well for me, but I did pick up a few things sitting on the other side of the phone. These include the magic words: Do Not Call List (DNCL). Heres how to stop telemarketers BEFORE they call: Register at the National Do Not Call Registry (US only) (Canadian forum members: We may get a Do Not Call List as well. If I hear this passes, Ill update.) Basically, after youve had a telephone number on this list for 31 days, it is ILLEGAL for telemarketers covered by the Registry to call you at that number. It is a free service of the federal government; you dont have to pay anything to be on this list. You will be on the list for 5 years. (All this information is from the Federal Trade Commissions FAQ regarding the Registry. Other questions can be answered there.) Now, not all telemarketers are covered by this Registry. These include: calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom youve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls. If you get one of these calls after registering above, follow these steps: 1. Politely interrupt the telemarketer AFTER they have stated why they are calling. Trust me, telemarketers are trained NOT to allow you to have any opportunity to talk unless its a reply to a leading question. You have to get your word in edgewise by your own power. Be polite, but be forceful if necessary. As to why after, see the DONT list below. 2. Say, Please put me on your Do Not Call List. Say this clearly, this is the important part. Telemarketing companies maintain their own DNCL. These magic words make the telemarketer hit magic buttons on their computers that removes your number from circulation. Problem from these guys at least SOLVED. 3. If necessary, hang up. The telemarketer is not SUPPOSED to argue with you, but if they persist, hang up after saying the magic words. Dont waste any more time. Now, here are some things you DONT do. (Please. For me.) 1. Dont hang up as soon as you realize its a telemarketer. Second worse thing you can do. If the telemarketer doesnt have a chance to explain why they are calling, the number is added to the call back list. Good chance theyll never get to it again, but why take that chance? 2. Dont politely listen to the entire speech if you dont plan on contributing. Worse thing you can do. Youre wasting your time, and youre wasting the telemarketers time. If you dont want to contribute, tell them as soon as possible. Interrupt, as suggested above. Then use the magic words. (Do Not Call List) Telemarketers get frustrated when they talk, then dont get a sale. Do YOU want to be the one that gets the person with the voodoo dolls? Do YOU want to take the chance it might work? 3. Dont treat the telemarketer like a soulless, sadistic demon. These guys exist. I worked with a few. Actually, most of them were looking over my shoulder, implying I was lazy and/or worthless because I couldnt get retired grandparents to fork out $20. And yes, they are EVIL. If youre on the Registry, however, chances are the telemarketer youre talking to ISNT a professional harbinger of evil. They may be a college student trying to earn enough to buy something other than mac and cheese. They may be a single mom trying to make ends meet. They may be a 16 year old trying to supplement their allowance. I worked with all of them. I was the former. If their company works like mine did, theyre also probably pretty desperate for sales. The way MINE worked, was you were booked for a 3 hour shift. If you didnt meet quota in the first hour, you were kicked out without pay, then repeat every half hour. So thats 1 hour of minimum wage for 3 hours of wasted time if youre not able to squeeze money out of retired grandparents on pension. If you go over quota, you get paid more money per hour, but that NEVER happened to me. I was lucky to stay for 2 hours. So, get rid of the telemarketer with the magic words, but be nice about it. It makes your life easier, and it makes them a little less likely to hate you and make a doll for their collection.

Well, I finally made a sig I don't think is ABSOLUTELY horrible, thanks partly to discovering some fun Script-Fu effects in GIMP 2. I'm proudest of the eye-glow effect - I think I got it very subtle, so it hits a bit more subconsciously.

And here we go, my first completed Sig. Try to keep that in mind when you rip it to shreds, ok? ^-^ Render from Return of the Living Dead 3.

This post is partically so I know where to find this when I have to work on new computers (Frequent in my life.. *sigh*) but it's impossibly useful for anyone else trying to work with GIMP 2. http://registry.gimp.org/plugin?id=6988 Save the script in your ...\GIMP-2.0\share\gimp\2.0\scripts folder, load up GIMP 2, and everything will work. I don't know HOW to use everything yet, but it seems pretty simple. All the new, cool features will be under the Script-Fu menu. For example, Script-fu -> Decor -> Add Bevel.

These signatures are annonymous, right? I'd HATE to think of what they would DO to me if they knew I'd signed this...No, wait, my name's on this... I didn't sign it, I swear! Lies, all lies!!!!

Suggested name for the most no-post count poster: Timewaster. ^-^ Although if you go by volume of posts, I'd likely win that.. *sheepish* NigaiAmaiYume: Champion Timewaster! Well, it's true. ^-^

Further research has resulted in the following answer:The GIMP has a "thumbnail" feature in View -> New ViewThis option opens a second window, identical to the first, except at 100% zoom. Changes to the first window will be reflected in the second.Now, wasn't that nice and obvious? o_O

Oh... My...... Merciful... Heavens...Is there a size limit to what you can upload into the GSpace?Even with a size limit, this is going to make my life SO much easier... I'm currently using library computers, which require reinstalling software, which at the moment requires cds.2GB of stuff to save and not have to lug around and a system even I can understand... o_O

I'd just like to point out something for gursimran2006, since I've been going through a few of his posts. You don't earn credits by the NUMBER of your posts, but rather the content. Making short, quick posts prevents you from getting as many credits as you can. And since you've already expressed a concern - "Please don't ban my account for missing some credits" - it's best to build up a good reserve of credits as early as possible. It's not that hard; after all, you're getting rewarded for expressing yourself and learning new information! Take advantage of it! As well, the more detail you include in your question, the more specific answers can be given. As well, watch the one-line posts. This is generally considered spam in the Xisto forums. Be sure to carefully review the FAQ so you don't get into any trouble. It also has help for working with your site. ^-^ The mods are very friendly as well (As long as you don't annoy them by continually ignoring the rules!) so you can Private Message one of them with a question if you are confused about anything (Or, if you're not sure who to contact, you can PM me and I can forward it to someone. ^-^). I hope you enjoy participating in the forums, and I look forwards to seeing what you do with your site. By the way, what do you mean exactly by "free community"? Are you developing a personal site to make friends, for example? Or is it for an established group? What kind of interests would be discussed? (I recognize you're from India, and I tend to use formal speech in the forums which can be a little confusing. If you're unsure about anything I've said, PM me and I'll try to translate for you. ^-^)

I almost never get blue screens of death anymore.I mess up so bad, everything just FREEZES, doesn't give the OS a chance to go to an error screen.What was the last OS that used the infamous blue screen? win98? What do they use now?

Re: Signatures in GeneralIt's come to the point where creating a signature requires a certain degree of design. I'm not just talking about creating sig banners; there's balancing images, text, and information in a manner that is useful but also pleasing.Designing is a skill, like drawing or writing. It can be developed. A certain percentage, however, in inborn, and the ability comes more naturally to some that others. Some people can easily balance elements because it fits naturally in their heads. These individuals are also more likely to be offended by bad designs because they can sense where improvements can be made - but are helpless to do anything.Ok, that last part was trying to nice-up the actual response. It's valid. So's "That's so ugly, I want to gouge out my eyes!!!". I sometimes get both. ^-^There's also the matter of WHAT to put into a signature that has to be considered. For some people, this is easy. There is only so much they want to share, so a quote will do. Maybe a link for something important or to advertise their site.For other people - and I fall into this category in a BIG way - personalizing elements are an almost necessary part of life. They have much to tell, much they want known, and much they want to know. Signatures become a forum for relaying that information relatively easily. A sig banner gives a visual representation of WHO they are; quotes sum up intangible qualities; and then there are things to brag about such as contests won, friends that deserve recognition, and information you think people should REALLY know.I told myself early on that I'd allow myself ONE sig banner, because that's the design my asthetics lean towards. A few lines of text, but trying to balance readability with small size.This rule means that I'm QUICKLY going to have to get a sig rotator, because once I start making stuff I can live with, I KNOW I'm going to go nuts with it.So keep an eye on my sig, and yell at me if it gets too big! I'll do my best to restrain myself! ^-^

*blink blink* *blush* Oh, great, last time that happened, my hands stuck to my swollen face. Note to self: Do not cover face with hands. Um, thanks, guys? LOL I was going to put something up myself, just for the fun of it, but I'd never imagine an impromptu post for someone who's been a member a little over a month and active for only a small precentage of that. *hides face in hands in embarassment* Ah, snap. Anyway... My plans for the day: - Work from 11 pm Oct. 21 to 7 am Oct. 22. (done) - Added: Chat with friends from work for an hour. Wicked fun. (done) - Buy vast amounts of pop. Three 2L bottles for $5 isn't that bad a deal. Ya, Dr Pepper! (done) - Check out Xisto and internet (current) - Head to East Side Mario's for free birthday food at about 12 when finished .gif. - Hit mall, buy a couple of DVDs as birthday presents from family since they've come to the point where they just send checks. (One to many presents I'd already gotten myself. ^-^ - Head home, drop stuff off. - Nap. Head back to University, get back online. - Hit Casey's at about 6pm, get free Lobster and Crab dip using birthday credit. - Back home, phone family members to let them know I'm still alive (Haven't talked to them in a month. *sigh*) and prevent bad karma from not letting them know I love them on the day they helped make happen. - Hit Caribou Creek to see if they also offer free birthday food at about 11pm, if I'm still hungry. - Head back home, watch DVDs. Who needs sleep? I'm not working again until Tuesday! ^-^ I'll just put in 20 hours on Monday. And now you see my present to myself: my character Bethy doing a little happy dance! ^-^ This took WAY longer than it should have because I was teaching myself how to do animations in GIMP to make it. I'm going to be making a collection of character smilies, because I can. ^-^ I'll also make some generic ones for others to use; since these are based on MY characters, I don't want anyone else using them

I suggest a "best poster in" for each of the subforums. Like: - Professor - Best/most tutorials (non graphic) - On-line Millionaire - Make Money Online posting hotshot - Mad Scientist - Best idea of the year from the My Ideas... forum - Oprah/Dr. Phil Wannabe - best advice giver from Dating and Relationships And no, this is not to try and finagle something for the Creativity forum then spam everything I've ever written in hopes of getting it. LOL

I call whatever team salamangkero's not on! LOL *Proceeds to describe herself as the heroine of the adventure, and therefore a magic user that needs to be kept in the back of the party where it's safe. Strangely, she's hesitant to show any magic...*

Hey, if you can't be good, at least make sure you're not new! Ok, I'm just being mean, having even seen the new Explorer...

I work at a local Tim Hortons overnight, 11pm to 7am. Being a university town, during the weekend I get a fair number of drunk students, even though we're a distance away from the downtown bars. We only have two people working the 11pm-7am shift, one on front (me), and the baker. Generally, everyone else gets off shift at 11pm, and in the mornings I get one person at 5am and one person at 6am (Mon-Fri), and on weekends it's one at 6am and (usually) one at 6:30. The past couple of weeks, I've been running into the back at about 5:30am on Saturday mornings, crying from frustration and needing not to see people for 5 minutes. This is due to several reasons - I work WAY too hard, don't take quite enough breaks, and the baker usually done at 5 and I'm NEVER sure where they are on Saturdays since they're almost always students. o_O I seriously hate having to waste 5 minutes trying to FIND help while I leave people in line - but that means I push it until the last minute, when I BREAK. Anyway, I'm sick of this (For obvious reasons), and know I need to destress before I can work on handling it better (I'm working on that, promise! Going to go see a counsellor and everything!), so I asked if I could be moved from my current Tuesday - Saturday night schedule to Sunday - Thursday, avoiding the weekend rush. Well, instead, they said they'd book someone from 11pm-12am Friday and Saturday, and at 5am Saturday morning to help me! o_O We're SERIOUSLY understaffed. Which is probably one of the reasons they did this; I'm one of the ONLY people willing to work nights, let alone full-time, between the two stores the owners manage (and can swap staff, if necessary). But this means having people work MORE, instead of MY idea. I know this says something. I'm just not sure WHAT. Can anyone translate? ^-^

Very good, Hadi. The background is much better, and the font is very fitting. The sparkle effects add a good touch without being too overpowering.You could probably make this into an animated .gif fairly easily, depending on how you did the sparkles...

MSPaint might be simple to the extreme, but one feature I've appriciated is the Thumbnail view (View -> Zoom ->Show Thumbnail). If you're working on something close up in zoom, it lets you see the image at 100%. Very helpful if you're doing pixel art or trimming the edges around a render, IMHO.I can't seem to find a similar feature in GIMP. Does it have one?Would Photoshop?

It's all right, Pedropmp, I learn better by trial and error than by being lead through step by step. I'll work it out. ^-^Thanks, though.

SOME girls are.When I got asked out for the first time in University, I had to leave for a few minutes to "rebuild my shattered reality". o_OMy self-esteem is better, and I can accept I would be attractive to some people, but still.. o_O

The Double Slit experiment is a famous example of how we don't understand how reality works. Here's a brief explination of what the Double Slit experiment is about, based on my understanding, largely influenced by What the BLEEP Do We Know?, which does a much better job than I ever could at making this clear. ^-^ Anyway, on to the explination. Step 1: Why are there two slits? The two slits are used to determine whether an object is travelling as matter or as a wave. It's quite simple, really. If you were to fire a lot of small matter - say, paint balls - at two narrow slits in a heavy screen, they would form two lines on a wall behind the screen, because the paint balls - and matter - travel in straight lines. All you really need to know: Matter makes two lines. Waves of energy, however, travel in curved lines. They also interfer with each other, making the waves stronger or weaker at certain points. When they travel through the same two slits as the paint balls, they make a pattern of fuzzy lines, best seen here. All you really need to know: Waves make interference patterns. Step 2: What are we testing? The double slit was originally used to test whether light behaved as matter (making two lines) or waves (making an interference pattern). The result was waves. Electrons behave in the same way. All you really need to know: Electrons make interference patterns. For now, at least... This is strange, especially if you took High School Physics, which describe Electrons as small pieces of matter. The scientists were kinda confused, too, especially since they could isolate a SINGLE electron, as though it were matter. From here, it gets clever. Step 3: What if you change part of the experiment? As said, it's possible to isolate single electrons. So, experiments were performed firing single electrons at the double slit, assuming the many fast-moving electrons were bouncing off of each other in some way to cause the interference pattern. This didn't change the results. All you need to know: Single electrons make interference patterns. This is the equivilant of firing one paint ball at a slit a bit bigger than the ball, and getting two lines. VERY freaky. They only theory was that this ONE electron was interferring with ITSELF, the Copenhagen Interpretation. Step 4: Can we prove the interferring electron theory? No, because trying to changes the results. No, that's not a mistake. Detectors were placed at each slit. This way, the scientists could record which slit each individual electron entered. If the electron was interferring with itself, it's possible it was travelling through BOTH slits at the same time, and the detectors would catch it in the act. All you need to know: When the detectors are on, a single electron makes two lines. Nothing else of the experiment was changed. As I understand the interpretations of this: Quantuum mechanics suggests the electrons are actually travelling through every possible path, at once, and therefore able to interfer with itself Human beings, however, cannot comprehend all the possible probabilities. When we impose our reality on the electron, it is forced to follow only one path - a probability we can understand - and begins to behave as we expect of it. Thoughts? Ideas? Other interpretations?

Pedropmp, you're moving too fast for me. That's Step 2, after recoloring the hair. ^-^

And now we know the tastes of Trap 17 forum members: Blood and guts. LOL All of these stories are inspired by a question I have about a fairy tale, or at least a version of it. Fear the Hunter: Coincidence of the hunter at JUST the right time... Blood Dreams: How could she sleep for a hundred years, and not age? I hadn't thought of a Goldilock and the Three Bears, but Saint_Micheal's comment inspired me. Of course, I doubt this is what he had in mind. ^-^ The question for this tale: Why were the bears eating porridge? (Believe it or not, it kinda got away from that...) This is very first draft ? I haven?t even re read it. LOL I apologize in advance for mistakes, therefore. I wanted to get the raw thing up, to see how I?d like it later.

The animation was hand drawn in MSPaint. o_O I'm glad it was so small, less detail to ruin. ^-^ But thanks for the compliment, Saint_Micheal. I'll probably leave it as this.The animation, btw, is based on one of my other user names, "paper_dolls". Hence the paper doll shapes. ^-^jlhaslip: Cropped to fit in a smaller area. Forgot this one is 75X75, I need to dig up my 100X100 version when I decide to redo the hair. Although I like the quip about the wings. ^-^

VERY small .gif animation I've done. The still part of the image is just a basic doll I made and modified, so not a consideration. The animated paper doll/origami bit is 100% me, though. Any thoughts? Suggestions for improvement? Edit: Just realized I need to update this, my hair's no longer this color. ^-^