Solar Granulation

This question is about products such as Humbrol enamel paints.

Years ago I was told that if I wanted a metallic effect in a colour that wasn't sold with that finish I could mix metallic silver into the plain, gloss colour and achieve the right effect. Is this true? Is it reliable?

What I want to achieve is a vibrant orange (something like Humbrol 18) with a metallic finish. Would I be better off mixing in a metallic gold, for instance, or is silver the way to go?

I'm using LOOKUP in my spreadsheet to automate some repetitive functions. I have a few text fields the contents of which define numerical modifiers to various values. I'm using SUM on a selection of LOOKUPs when more than one field has a bearing on the same value.

All well and good until...

One of my lookups is returning erroneous values. I've cut it down to a single LOOKUP, rather than several in a SUM, and it still isn't working correctly. The expression and relevant values are as follows:

G9=LOOKUP(A37,'Reference tables'.A46:A51,'Reference tables'.B46:B51)

A46: Anarchy

A47: Cursed

A48: Hunted

A49: Impoverished

A50: Plagued

A51: [BLANK]

B46: 4

B47: 0

B48: 0

B49: 1

B50: -2

B51: 0

I have been using the string value 'nil' in cell A37 (and others of its type) to avoid the #N/A error. Usually that returns 0 as the lookup value, but in this instance it returns 1.

I have tried various other strings. For instance, 'asdfasf' returns 4.

I simply don't understand. I see no faults in syntax, no differences from working instances elsewhere in the spreadsheet except in the ranges searched in the LOOKUP function. Yet, it behaves so strangely. If you can help, please do!

(N.B. The spreadsheet is intended to automate the creation of stat blocks for settlements in the Pathfinder RPG.)

My partner and I will soon be moving in together, away from our parents for the first time. I want to look after our finances properly (she's leaving this in my hands) and plan to employ office software to aide me in this task. I'm trying to decide whether I should use spreadsheets or a database.

I like databases because of their relational structure, so that I can enter data in one table and reference it elsewhere. The main drawback that I see is having to create queries and reports to glean useful information from the data.

Spreadsheets are more familiar in a financial setting, as my father still uses paper spreadsheets in this role. However I'm not sure how best to implement recurring expenses, such as rent, if I use spreadsheets. I dislike re-entering information.

Either method, I suspect, shares a particular issue regarding recurring costs, which is that of change. If a bill goes up then any central record of that bill must be split into before and after the change.

I could seek out specialised financial software, but I have been trained in the use of both spreadsheets and databases and do not want to have to learn another system just for this task. I have a background in coding, as well, but if I wrote my own application I would probably tinker with it more than I used it.

What do you, reader, think would serve better? Have you any tips?

I'm building a small electronic device and would like to use PCB mounted NiMH batteries in it. The total voltage would be 4.5V.

I also have a (relatively basic) charger for NiMH (and NiCd) batteries, designed to range between 7.2V and 9.6V.

I would like to build a recharge plug into my device and use my existing charger, but obviously the 4.5V device falls far below the 7.2V lower threshold of the charger. If I place a resistor in series between the batteries and the charger will it enable safe charging?

It's a smart charger which automatically switches to trickle charge when the batteries are at capacity. Would the resistor interfere with this function?

I've been working on a set of instructions and technical drawings for a bookbinding sewing frame. I want to release these instructions for other people to use freely, so that they have a clear path to binding books in a traditional manner. On the other hand, I don't want someone selling the instructions. They should be freely available, but protected from sale by other parties.

I've tried to make sure that they're of a decent standard, so I think they're worthy of a proper license. But, GPL or Creative Commons?

Since it's a set of instructions to build something, rather than the thing itself, GPL feels appropriate. Then again, since it's text and drawings rather than code, Creative Commons seems more correct. Which way should I go?

I'm also undecided about credit.

Incidentally, suggestions on how to make such materials easy to find would be appreciated.

For the question skip to the end, but first I'd like to explain the reason:

My fiancée uses essential oils to make lotions and similar things. We have a lot of the plants that produce these oils and I would like to be able to extract the essential oils from some of these (particularly lavender and yarrow).

To do this, as one would expect, I plant to set up a steam distillation rig. I'd ideally like to use proper laboratory glassware but I can't afford it right now. This being the case I'm looking at other options. Specifically I'm improvising the various components with glass bottles and so forth.

The hardest part is the condenser. What I have in mind is to piece together a Graham condenser from copper plumbing parts (from freecycle or friends). I plan to make the coil by hand-bending some 8mm pipe packed with sand and heated with a torch.

What I'd like to ask is whether a copper pipe condenser is likely to contaminate the condensate. Do I risk introducing copper to the essential oil?

I'm curious as to where one might find clockwork parts for hobby projects. Not just cogs, not the type of thing one can find from disassembled clocks and such. I'm thinking also of racks and other parts.

Some sort of standard gauge, perhaps, of small clockwork parts.

Any suggestions?

My fiancée and I are planning to attend Les Miserables in London, as we have been gifted tickets. Proper dress is stipulated thereupon, and I am caught between modern convention and my fondness for somewhat archaic fashion.

What I would like to wear, and am therefore curious to the suitability of in the modern age, is an evening or dinner suit, accessorised by a top-hat and, perhaps, a pair of white gloves. Shirt white, of course, and I may go so far as a bow tie despite my slight distaste for that particular article. I have also a cummerbund which may lie well with the ensemble.

Alternatively, I do have own a modern and rather nice suit, possibly fitting the general category of a "lounge suit". It works well with various of my waistcoats. Would I be safer wearing this, forgoing the top-hat and gloves? I would feel sad to have to do so.

Would it be frowned upon to dress in my preferred, somewhat old-fashioned style?

I'm trying to design a form that, after printing, will be punched and fitted into a D-ring binder. I need to make sure of the margins etc.

What I need is a template, preferably SVG but PDF would be okay, for an A4 page to fit into a standard D-ring binder.

If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be grateful!

My brother in law keeps a gecko, which is fed live crickets. They arrive in plastic boxes, shipped in a cardboard box.

I'm making a mask for halloween, for which I need some corrugated cardboard. I've cut a piece out of the crickets' box for the purpose.

Is there a health risk attached to this, especially as the cardboard would be directly under my nose? Do crickets carry pathogens that should be avoided?

There were no eggs or similar things in the box.

I have an old laptop to upgrade, a Dell Latitude CP. It refuses to boot from its CD ROM drive, despite a BIOS upgrade and reconfiguration.

I'm looking for a Linux distro that I can install from inside ME. I tried using the gNewSense installer from goodbye-microsoft.com but it doesn't work in ME.

Would really appreciate suggestions.

I have a tube, made probably of light steel, that I would like to use to take some weight (not all that much). Its original purpose was as part of a greenhouse, the type with a tubular metal frame to support a flexible plastic cover.

I seem to remember seeing something on television years ago that talked briefly about hollow metal tubes and their tendency to kink when a load is applied. If I remember correctly, the programme stated that if such a tube were packed tightly with powder it would lend greater resistance to kinking and bending. I recall an allusion to gymnasts' equipment.

Is this correct, that tubes can be reinforced that way? If so, would it be feasible to use talc (talcum powder) to achieve this and without special equipment?

I recently bought an army-surplus jerrycan/fuel can, seems to be German in origin as that is the most prominent language on it.

To one side of the spout it has a space for labels which, conveniently, still had a set of reversible metal tags in it with a legend beneath. These labels include P for petrol (gasoline) and D for diesel, with appropriate signs for their explosive and combustible potential.

Anyway, now I am curious about these labels. About what exactly the symbols convey (I get the general impression, but not the specific meaning of the different signs) and what other, similar labels may exist. I'm especially curious since I bought this for 2-stroke fuel and it'd be fun to find an appropriate label that fit!

I'm also curious about the meaning of the colour of the can, as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information on that point. This can is dark green; does that signify a general purpose can?

I'm planning to try my hand at making ginger ale, but I'd like to be able to remove the alcohol in at least some batches.

What I have in mind is to gently heat the brewed ale, to somewhere around 80°C in the hopes of evaporating the alcohol.

But if I do this, will I also remove the carbon dioxide?

Will my idea, in fact, work?

I'm thinking about taking a short course in welding (if I can afford it) and there are two available; metal-arc welding and oxy-acetylene welding. I don't know which to pick.

It's one of those skills that I find myself wishing I had, so that I could build this, that and the other. For instance I have some things that I'd like to make from steel, others that I'd like to build from aluminium. I'd also like to know that, if the need arose, I'd likely be able to make common repairs.

I'd like opinions and advice on what type of welding to learn, please.

I'm a tad confused.. very confused, actually, because I have a load of resistors with five bands of colour on them. For instance...

Yellow, blue, black, black (thick), brown/gold, (Green background)

and...

Brown (thick), black, blue, silver, silver, (Cyan background)

What do they mean?

I want to visually design a database and would prefer to do it on my computer, not paper. I could use SVG, but it's cumbersome for the task. I've tried using UML in Umbrello but I find it quite ill-suited to the task.

What I'm looking for is a decent GUI tool for this purpose that:

Runs on Linux

Preferably is designed for KDE

Doesn't require that the database actually exist

Works better than UML (i.e. can use IBM-style relational modeling)

If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

I really want to do some work with X11R7.5, but my distribution (openSUSE 11.2) only offers 6.5 right now.

I'm thinking about compiling X.org myself so that I can play around with the Git version, but I'm concerned that if something goes wrong I risk messing up my installation beyond simple repair.

Should I risk it, or should I set up a separate partition for testing X?

Sincere curiosity, as I'm very curious about the image in 2 Samuel 22:11 and Psalms 18:10 (see below). The only image of a cherub with which I am familiar is rather Victorian one, of a winged and angelic infant. In a biblical context is there another image or definition of a cherub?

King James Version, 2 Samuel 22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

New International Version, Psalms 18:10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind

I have a wood splitting maul to prepare fuel for my wood burning stove (as well as a smaller axe for kindling), it has a 6lb head.

I also have a tree in the garden that needs to come down.

Would the maul be suitable for felling a tree, or should I use a different tool instead?