thegreatbeyond

[chromus]

Ask your father if his company offers a VPN connection instead of dialing-up to company servers. This is often easier for a company to administer and cheaper to maintain, so it wouldn't surprise me if such an option were available to him. As for your mother, preventing outside access to e-mail accounts is a usual safeguard implemented by ISPs, (including cable internet and DSL) so this situation can't be rectified until she doesn't need to use the dial-up connection anymore. Am I right that your parents computer is set up as a router as well, so you can get online from another computer?

[Phred]

Caps lock makes all the letters you type Capital, Num lock lets you type in number with the number pad (as opposed to 8=up 2=down 4= left 6=right)
what does scroll lock do?

[chromus]

A long time ago (in computer terms, that's 20 to 30 years) the scroll lock key was a modifier just like the other two lock keys. While the caps lock key modified each lowercase letter to uppercase and the numlock key modified the number pad to arrow keys, the scroll lock key modified the arrow keys to scroll the terminal. This was back in the days before graphical user interfaces, so users needed the scroll lock key to see all the available data as well as the ability to move the cursor. Nowadays, only Microsoft Excel, Linu,x and the BSDs retain this functionality, and the later two only in a terminal window. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_lock

[Dither]

Plurkix wants to know "Why do the chinese use chopsticks instead of forks? Why did they invent chopsticks instead of just using forks? Even wooden ones."

[chromus]

In my random travels in the internet, I recall finding out that, once upon a time, China passed a law mandating the use of disposable chopsticks in public restaurants to improve general health. This law has since been repealed, but it was still in effect for a long time. Combine this with a general sense of pride that some Oriental-Americans feel for mastering unique form of eating, (source: http://www.riceandtimes.com/v1issue01_2003/html_v1no1/v1no1_culture.html) and you have an environment where people from the Orient use chopsticks over forks. I know this is a lot less researched than most of my answers, but this is one question where I searched for days and can't quite come up with a good answer.

[Dither]

What percent of bank robberies are successful? (The robber gets away from the bank without being caught.. may be caught later though)

[chromus]

Every year, the FBI collects statistics on bank robberies. In 2002, it published a study on the state of bank robberies in the nation. "According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, robbery is the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. The focus of this study, bank robbery, is a subtype of robbery targeted at banks."

According to the study, bank robberies have a clearance rate by arrest (the percent of arrests made out of the number of crimes) of 57.7 percent, the second highest clearance rate to murder. (62.4 percent) Source: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/pdf/02crime5.pdf

[Zornak]

what is the origins of tongue twisters and what was their purposes?

[Shadow Otenaki]

Here's an answer to an old question I found while I was reading the old pages.

It was something like this. "What happens when you crack your knuckles?"

Chromus said it was harmless, when actually cracking your knuckles wares out the cartilidge in your bones, and gives you a higher chance of getting arthritis in your...knuckles.
------------------------
Question:
I see Pezman sarcastically making hints to say that TGB is a good site host, and if so... how can I get my site hosted? >.>;
Do I have to ask Pez myself?

Though those questions are mostly for Pez, I would think.

Hmm...question for Chromus...Oh!

Where would be the best place to work? Jobwise... o.O

[Pez-Man]

That'd be Beyonder and my (Just Beyonder's) department. Ask in the IRC channel and it'll get resolved there.

That job question is pretty... unspecific at all.

To Chromus, what exactly does the phrase "When in Rome..." mean, and why do people still say it?

[chromus]

As far as I can tell, tongue twisters have been around as long as spoken languages have. It seems that tongue twisters come about from the unintentional combinations of similar sounds called phonemes. Even unspoken languages, like American Sign Language, have "tongue twisters" called finger fumblers. I'll continue to search for the origins of tongue twisters, but I doubt I'll find much more. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue_twisters

Actually, cracking your knuckles isn't harmless, but it doesn't contribute to arthritis as most people think. Over the years, cracking your knuckles can slightly weaken grip. Here are some sources that back me up: http://knbc-tvhealth.ip2m.com/index.cfm?PageType=itemDetail&Item_ID=58818&Site_Cat_ID=447, http://www.cnn.com/interactive/health/0210/interactive.medical.myths/2002/content6.html, http://webcenter.health.webmd.netscape.com/content/article/84/98155.htm

Yeah, TGB is a good site to host your page, provided you have the permission of Pez-Man and, more importantly, Beyonder (who runs the site). They chat on IRC all the time, so join the channel and ask around.

The best place to work is highly dependant on how far you are willing to travel and what you're interested in. In short, you determine what the best place you want to work at.

The phrase "when in Rome, do as the Romans" comes from the Bible in a conversation between Saint Monica and Saint Ambrose. Saint Monica asks Saint Ambrose "At Rome they fast on Saturday, but not at Milan; which practice ought to be observed?" Saint Ambrose replied "When I am at Milan, I do as they do at Milan; but when I go to Rome, I do as Rome does." Source: http://www.mindlesscrap.com/origins/more-c.htm

[chromus]

As an update to the question about chopsticks, I found a story about chopsticks on the back of a pack of disposable chopsticks. Trust it as you would trust Chinese advertising on the back on a disposable package.

"Chopsticks, originated in China during the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC), as a substitute for knives at the table. According to Confucius, knives were equated with acts of aggressions and should not be used to dine. Chopsticks then became the eating utensils of choice as neighboring Asian countries adopted its use and modified it according to cultural preference." Source: back of disposable chopstick package (punctuation preserved)

[Chewi]

Are there any dairy products in McDonald's shakes?

[chromus]

Actually, all three flavors (chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla) of shakes that McDonalds offers have whole milk as the first ingredient and nonfat milk solids as well. By law, ingredient lists in the United States must be ordered by percent of the item, so whole milk occurs in a shake more than any other ingredient. Source: http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html

[G byrd]

if you were hit by a car just a car going at an average spped say speed limit in main roads would fly over it or crunch underneath it.