I accidentally left some miniDV tapes in my car overnight and the temperature (outdoors) was around or below freezing. I don’t believe that the tapes froze, but what are the safe temperatures for storing MiniDV? Could they have been harmed?

heat and magnetic forces will harm your tapes more than the cold. so long as they were not damp then frozen, they will be fine

I haven’t been camping since I was a kid. What equipment do I need? I don’t want to spend a fortune on camping equipment, but I need to be comfortable. I am five months pregnant and feeling very sick. I think the outdoors would help me quite a bit. Any advice would be helpful thanks.

#1 most important thing.

Be comfortable.

Pick out a tent at Walmart/Kmart/Target that is large enough for one of those Coleman (or off brand) air mattresses to fit inside it. Twin size at least. The air mattress should come with (you may have to buy it seperate) battery operated blower/pump, to blow it up for you. If it rains…the 6" thick air matress will keep you up off the ground and dry…even if you have an inexpensive tent.

Try to find a shadey spot, wherever you set up your tent. Tents can get hot in the morning with the sun shining on them.

I’d say the rest …keep as simple as you can. Setting up and taking down your camp should not the a "big" chore. If it is…your making it too hard on yourself.

My favorite time saver? I gotta have coffee in the morning. I don’t mess with a perculator anymore. I buy those big pre-made coffee/filter bag things. Drop one or two in a camp pot…boil…coffee! No mess to clean up.

Keep the "camp" part of it simple. You will have more time to relax, explore or goof around.

Just my two cents…

Have fun!

This mask can be purchased from any drugstore or hardware store and is used both in your shop and home or outdoors-reusable, cheap and can be worn to bed as well.
Helps those of us with allergies to whatever is floating around in the air and when the use of aerosol products is irritating-wear it at work or outdoors.

This is all well and good, but particulate masks (N95) are supposed to be custom fitted to the individual. This isn’t really a question you’ve posted but because you’re passing on good information I congratulate you. Thank you.

My camera has a 10x optical zoom and a ’sports’ mode which predicts movement. I want to use it outdoors (eg soccer) and indoors (eg ice hockey) but my pictures are not particularly crisp, even at 7×5in size despite the camera having 8.1mp and coming with a zeiss lens. I use autofocus and depress the button half way down before shooting.

What am I doing wrong, and is there an easy way to correct it? Thanks.

I’m not sure why this isn’t working for you, sounds like it should. The only thing I can suggest is turn on your "auto-bracketing" feature or auto-bracket on a manual setting. It might help. Also, do you use a tripod? This would help, especially on a timer setting or with a remote shutter release, which would steady your camera & give you crisper pictures. Sorry, I can’t think of anything else.

OK, he’s awkwardly different than me, and we both love outdoors–he’s army fatigues, I’m Swiss gear; he’s ATV, I’m XC naturalist. Big 2 hour ordeal to commute 8 miles home tonite. He hasn’t replied to 3 phone calls. Dump him? He’ll say it was unfair. Whaddaya think folks?

Life is too short honey and it doesnt really sound like you have that much in common anyways. Dump his butt !!! Lots of guys out there who would bend over backwards for you. Good Luck

I plan on staying at a national park for 2-3 nights in a tent at spot with water and electrical hook ups. This park is in texas and my trip will be around 29Aug08-01Sep08. I plan on bringing a fan,lights/extension cord..but what else might one need to prepare for the nights?

Thank you,
lol. Well. I am bringing a lady friend with me so I can not totaly go barberian style camping with her. I am concerned with the heat and sleeping. If it was just me I would bring a tent/blanket and a lighter for a good fire.
lmao! Look what I have started. I am really concerned about the heat tho. Thank all.

sleeping bag for 1.5 people.
condoms.
lube.
pillow

are there any alternatives to the regular laundry?

Try some paint thinner…:)

The cable of the exterior aerial runs into the house from the roof to under the staircase where the mains electrics are to be found. This is the point where the connection has to be made for the 3 TVs to work.
Unfortunately the aerial engineer we paid left the cables unconnected and hence no TVs work. Does anyone know what I need to make the connection work ?
Many thanks for any help.

Get a 3 way splitter first, then attach the single post to your aerial, and the 3 that are placed together are for your TVs…just connect them to the cable that goes to your TV. If you don’t have those cables yet, you can purchase them at Radio Shack, just like the 3 way splitter…or try your local lumberyard/hardware store.

We have ministorage facility where the front gate rolls on a rail to let people in. When it’s cold, ice builds on the chain that pulls the gate. This causes the gears that pull the gate to skip links and the gate ends up jumping it’s rail and getting stuck. Is there anything like an anti-freeze gel that we can put on the chain? Thanks for the help.
The chain extends the entire length of the fence. The gear assembly is housed with the motor and is covered. The problem is that the little spaces between the chain links (looks like a bicycle chain) gets filled with water and freezes.
What brand/kind of lubricant do u recommend? besides wd-40? I’ve heard grease helps, but where to buy and what brand?

I think spraying it daily with WD-40 or weekly putting a good coat of lubricant on it would prevent it from freezing -

I’ve been looking at shoe stores and they have sneakers broken down into many categories.

At this time, I can only afford to buy ONE pair of shoes…but am willing to invest in a good pair.

I plan to use them for working out (running/walking on treadmill, elliptical, etc), beginner’s tennis (4 days a week), and regular walking outdoors.

Should I buy tennis shoes, running shoes, walking shoes or something else?

Thanks!

Running/Walking shoes, but trust me. You want to buy a good pair. I began working out again after my daughter was born and went through 4 pairs before I finally just decided to spend $80 on some good shoes. Go to a sporting goods store and talk to a sales rep. They are trained to help you out. Good luck!