Advice Thread

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I don't know. I'm interested by them.

I'm terrible at oral tests due to social anxiety and I dislike doing homework.

But, I did enjoy doing my Adult Welsh Course (to brush it up).
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I just realise that my training in my professions (artist and plumber), means that I can realistically work in another country. And... Spain, appeals now.

[CSt]

It depends on several factors, one of the more important being if you have any kind of knowledge in other languages, preferably roman.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I have some knowledge of German and a a handful of French.

[CSt]

Well, the French will help you learn Spanish, but German, Welsh and English are the wrong family, no help there.
Yesterday I had an add for a language-site that claimed to teach you any language in 180 days, maybe you could try that. My personal experience is, that you learn best by learning the basics and then just learn in situ.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I'll learn what I can.

I did get taught a few songs in Catalan and Spanish, so, it might not be impossible. Though I was learning the songs musically rather than language.

[ch3m1kal]

https://www.duolingo.com

Duolingo is a fun way to pick up some basic language skills. I suggest you give it a try for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. I also highly recommend getting the mobile companion app for it.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I sadly have a "vintage" mobile phone, so I am appless.

[Lord Chrusher]

Spanish is considered one of the easier languages for an native English speaker. I was able to learn enough Spanish to survive in Chile fairly quickly but I have to admit I never got to the level were I could have a proper conversation. This was more from lack of effort than anything - I was only there for four months and everyone I knew spoke English fluently. Since they are both derived from Latin, French and Spanish share a lot of similarities so knowledge of French will help.

[Prospero101]

Hey gang, what's the best method to compress a large number of PDFs without corrupting the files? I need to transfer a bunch of them between Google Drives and I don't have nearly enough space.

[Tycherin]

Zip files are the go-to response for compression (gzip if you're on Linux), but that might or might not work depending on the PDF creator in question. Some programs compress PDFs by default, so compressing them further won't do anything in that case. Try zipping one and see if it decreases the filesize from what it was originally.

[Bebop Man]

Does anybody here use HootSuite? You know that program that lets you manage all of your social media accounts, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.? Alright I have TWO HootSuite accounts: my personal account, and my workplace's account. I'm the admin of my own account whereas I'm a minion or whatever at my workplace's.

Now: WHY does EVERY tweet, EVERY post I schedule in my workplace's account upload PERFECTLY and right on time, but whenever I program something in my personal account, it never uploads, and instead the post simply disappears from the publisher when the time comes up?

[AdmiralMemo]

I use it, but only have one, never schedule, and it all works fine for me, so I'm no help. Sorry.

[Kapol]

So I ended up trying repair my laptop that I mentioned on the last page. I ended up opening it up and finding out the power socket isn't actually soldered onto the motherboard. Switching it out was as simple as taking out the old one and putting in a new one.

Trouble is, that didn't end up fixing it. So now I'm not really sure where to go from here. I'm not sure if the power socket I got was just faulty or if the problem is elsewhere with the computer. It seems like it's a weird problem to be based beyond the power socket and/or it's cord. Maybe it's the plus on the motherboard where the power plugs into?

The big thing is that the computer sometimes charges. If I jiggle the chord around enough, it'll sometimes work. So it isn't just a static 'this doesn't work.' And this socket did show a slight initial improvement (it would actually let the computer's original charger work for a few seconds). I don't think it's the charger since I've been using another one as well.

I dunno. If there any good idea where to start with this?

[auberginequeen]

Can anyone give me advice on how to maintain a long-distance relationship when you're very busy? I have to work 6-9 hours a day, 7 days a week, classes in the morning, lab work mid-afternoon to night. The thing is I am close enough to visit (about 45 min away) but I don't have a lot of free time, and my partner is still a full-time undergrad with a full course load. Out of the two of us I am the one who has access to a car on a regular basis. Even if he came to visit I would still have to spend 5-7 hours in a lab he's not allowed to be in.

Any ideas? I am trying not to go crazy and being able to see him every few weeks would help.

[Ptangmatik]

Regularly scheduled skype video chats?

It's a pretty classic question, it's good that we have technological solutions these days.

[JustAName]

Yeah, now that I'm employed full-time, IX and I have been skyping on the weekends. It used to be hard when we were always trying to find something to talk about, but we've found that watching a tv show together over Skype can eliminate the awkward silences to start, and then we can talk about our lives after, if we want, or go to bed. It's sometimes nice just to see each others' faces, without pressure to have to have something to talk about.

[Prospero101]

Hell, my best friend in the world lives all the way in Edmonton (for context, I live in the American state of Missouri). We talk every day via Skype text, and most nights we turn on voice or video and watch TV shows and movies. Right now we're working our way through True Blood. We've even used it to start a semi-regular tabletop RPG group together.

Technology makes long-distance relationships of all kind much easier.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

A nice relationship is when you both can comfortably sit in each other's silence.

[Elomin Sha]

I can't do that, I start singing bad anime songs.
"HEY MR. DANDY! HEY MR. JOY!"

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

There is no such thing as a bad anime song.

[Elomin Sha]

You never head the English dub version.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

There is no such thing as English dub. There is no such thing as English dub. There is no such thing as English dub. (If I say this enough times, will it come true?)
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I'm planning on building a Desktop computer sometimes soon (when I get my learning grant in).
I live with my parents, and even though I am 25, I want a list of things that justify buying this desktop computer. I am 25 and own my own life, but I still live at home and I will have to live with my parents regardless of if they're happy or not. So it's a good thing to not cause any or reduce any potential arguments alness.

[Avistew]

Can anyone give me advice on how to maintain a long-distance relationship when you're very busy? I have to work 6-9 hours a day, 7 days a week, classes in the morning, lab work mid-afternoon to night. The thing is I am close enough to visit (about 45 min away) but I don't have a lot of free time, and my partner is still a full-time undergrad with a full course load. Out of the two of us I am the one who has access to a car on a regular basis. Even if he came to visit I would still have to spend 5-7 hours in a lab he's not allowed to be in.

Any ideas? I am trying not to go crazy and being able to see him every few weeks would help.

People have been suggesting Skype and it's pretty good, but you need to both have free time at the same time in order to use it, and that's not always going to be possible. So when you have less time I suggest emails, texts and phone calls (leaving a message). All 3 can be done at any time even if the other person isn't available.

As for seeing each other, plan like crazy. Since you have a deadline (every few weeks), mark a date, now, for the next time you see him, then for a few weeks after that, and so on. The earlier you set them, the better. Otherwise you can accept other engagements thinking you'll plan visits around them and that won't work too well. But if you plan the visits first, you can say you have something that day if someone wants to make other plans.

45 minutes away isn't too far (that's half my husband's commute) but since you only have small "slices" of time and no days off, there isn't really a good day to visit. Does /he/ have any days off? You could try and visit when he does. At any rate, staying the night might be difficult if you have stuff to do in the morning, but it's still possible. When you leave in the morning before visiting him, bring an overnight bag with you and anything you might need for work/school the next day. Drive to his place instead of your own that evening, and from his place instead of your own the next morning. You should be able to do that every few weeks, it increases your commute, which may be bad if it's already long, but is probably doable.

[auberginequeen]

Thanks, everyone. We do Skype, but Avistew is right: it's an issue of time overlap. He is only available in the evening and it seems that I will have to work through to the evening. Watching something together sounds like a good idea; we kind of do that already, send each other links to stuff like Top Gear episodes or Youtube videos and comment back and forth via Skype. My headset is currently broken so voice chatting is a little more complicated, and he doesn't have a cellphone of his own, so routine texting/calling is likely out of the question (also apparently 45 min from here is "long distance," but when I was 30 min away I was "local." Go figure).

Avistew, I like your idea of sleeping over. I did some thinking of my own and I think you're right, if I could go over once I'm done (though this will be late, like 10-11 pm) and we could hang out for a couple hours but also just be cuddly for a bit it might help. Either that or since my project will likely have an afternoon start, maybe I could swing by in the morning for a little bit.

Everyone keeps telling me it's all about time management and "making time" to have a life, but my situation (seriously limited in both time and money) is not exactly conducive to doing so. I suspect they just say that so they're off the hook. "Well we told you to balance life and work, why didn't you?" </cynicism>

Thank you for the suggestions though. I know some of you are in a less ideal situation vs. me. I'm sorry if I'm being insensitive. I know I'm not the first person to go through this, an LDR, grad school, or both, and I do have technology on my side. I am trying to keep a sense of perspective, sorry if I sound whiny. I probably shouldn't be this bitter right off the bat.

[Bebop Man]

A little help here.

My cousin and "brother from another mother" (mid 20s) is slaving to sustain his mom and dad (early 60s), who simply refuse to work. He doesn't make nearly as much money to sustain himself, let alone both of his parents - who choose to ignore their incrementing debts or do anything about it. His dad - my uncle - is too depressed to look for work or even keep the ones his son finds for him. His mother is even less cooperative. Both refuse to acknowledge that there's any kind of crisis going on. They don't look for jobs, they're not interested in keeping them, and they seem content to live off their hardworking son, who like I said makes barely enough money to cover some of the bills.

He keeps talking about selling this or that to buy some time - chief among them the apartment they live in. And that would buy some time, though it wouldn't solve the problem of two completely unmotivated people who'd rather die before moving a single finger to provide for themselves or even their son. My mind keeps going back to a simple fact: these people need to understand the seriousness of the situation. You need their cooperation, you don't need them as further burden. But there's no way of making them snap out of it. Interventions have been made over and over, I think at this point everybody in the family has loaned money to them and gotten squat in return, and... I dunno. I don't know what to do, say or suggest to be of any use. It's not about money - it's about snapping two very unmotivated, depressed people to action. I'm fresh out of ideas and so is everybody else in the family. Please - whatever advice spun out of imagination or personal experience would be much appreciated.