Flickr photo by yananine

I’ve just been asked to be a bridesmaid, in a year’s time. It seems like a lot of people I know these days are planning for or recovering from wedding fever.

Even though I am not the one who will be taking her vows, the idea of this wedding is already starting to stress me out. Especially since this is the first time I have been in a wedding since I was a six-year-old flower girl. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know what a bridesmaid is supposed to do. Luckily I am on the Yahoo! Answers team, because without this web site I don’t think I would make it.

I have so many questions about what I am responsible for, and how much it will cost. I hope I don’t have to plan the shower — I like the idea of a wedding shower, but am not really one for coming up with girly party games. I am more of a bachelorette party-planning type of girl. Those are the fun, goofy types of games and charades that I can get into.

I am definitely going to need help when it comes to the wedding itself, though The first fear of any bridesmaid is the dreaded dress. I’ve known this girl since high school, but weddings can make anyone crazy, so I am crossing my fingers that I won’t have to wear pink taffeta. I think I will handle what to do during the ceremony when it gets closer to the date.

Are you in the midst of wedding fever? Has Answers helped you during your wedding? And more importantly, do you have any advice for a first-time bridesmaid?

Stephanie

Flickr photo by eecue

I’m not particularly computer-savvy — much to the consternation of my father, who seems to equate my working for Yahoo! with being an IT guru, and who is perpetually perplexed as to why I cannot fix his router, firewall or motherboard — so, to me, Answers is a godsend for all things techie.

Before Answers, however, I used to occasionally watch the now-defunct TechTV, which featured programmes about computers, technology and the Internet, including advice show Call for Help, hosted by Chris Pirillo. A well-known tech personality, Chris co-founded Lockergnome, an expert bloggers network, and Gnomedex, an annual techie conference (this year’s edition is coming up next weekend, in Seattle). Chris also streams live online videos from his home, discussing anything and everything to do with computers and technology.

Last week, Chris shared with his viewers the Top 10 Ways to get Good Answers on Yahoo! Answers, a list that was originally sent to him by Answers user ScottyG. We thought the suggestions were so helpful and informative, that we decided to share them with you:

* It may sound strange, but do not make the title too descriptive. If the title is too descriptive, many people will not even open the question to take a look at it. Almost all of my most answered questions have titles which are not overly descriptive.

* Spelling goes a long way. It is much easier to read a correctly spelled question than one with spelling and grammatical errors.

* Do not include huge chunks of conversation in your question. Keep it informative but informal.

* I recommend using bullet points and a summary of the question. This is an easy-to-read format.

* Look for answers with good ’sources.’ Remember, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone so it is not always true.

* Don’t use the ‘add details’ option to have a chat with Answerers. Many questions end up with a flood of added details.

* Don’t put ‘a quick 10 points’ in the question or title. If you do this, you will get a lot of short, rushed comments rather than longer, detailed answers.

* Do not post the same post many times in a short period of time. The Yahoo! community WILL ignore your question if you do this!

* Do not put ‘title says it all’ in the question. Questions can seem quite ambiguous on the Internet, so further details will be needed.

* As soon as you have the answer, pick the best answer straight away. If you are a courteous user, your questions will be answered much faster.

What do you think? I’m guessing there are more ways than the ones listed above to get really good answers from the Answers community. If you have any tips, suggestions or helpful hints that weren’t mentioned above, feel free to let us know below!

Flickr photo by Incase Designs’

If you’ve been watching the coverage of the Beijing Olympics, you may already know what swimmer Michael Phelps is eating (12,000 carb-heavy calories a day!) to keep in top racing condition. You may have stayed up late at night to watch him earn all his gold medals. But what many people are really burning to know about Phelps is: What the heck did he listen to before each race?

We all noticed that Phelps typically showed up at the Water Cube wearing a Speedo LZR Racer, maybe a tracksuit and always his MP3 player earbuds. So what was the musical mojo that got him pumped up for his gold medal wins?

The Answers community has been able to dig up a few clues through a little detective work, but nothing conclusive. It appears from the Q&A on his own web site that he was listening to Young Jeezy at the World Championships. In Athens four years ago, it was “‘Till I Collapse” by Eminem. Clearly he favours rap or hip-hop, but what exactly is the magical mix that makes Michael move?

We may never know for sure, but whatever he listens to, it’s certainly doing wonders for him … that, and the countless hours of practice, dedication and focus, of course.

Do you use music for inspiration and motivation? What songs or musical artists get you going?

Mitzi

Fast forward many, many years to this summer, when I was looking for a fun, inexpensive activity to pick up, preferably one that didn’t require a steep learning curve or team sports (I’m not much of a ‘joiner’). I found my ancient, beloved roller skates in my basement and while they obviously didn’t fit, I found a great online site that sold wicked cool modern versions. I debated between inline and quad skates, but finally settled on the old-fashioned kind. I’m not one of those people who can effortlessly switch between roller blading and ice-skating; I figured quad skates would give me more balance.

So, I bought a pair, laced them up and figured I was good to go, which I was, for about 5 seconds … until I lost my balance, fell spectacularly and spent the next 10 minutes picking gravel out of my bloodied knees (and cleaning my dirty wheels). Apparently, roller skating is not like riding a bike — you do forget over time, and I found myself searching for a crash course (so to speak) in the mechanics of how to skate. Once I regained my balance, my next dilemma was figuring out how to break in my new skates and, soon after, how to deal with blisters (note to self: buy some Moleskine!).

I also decided to move my training inside after a few more cuts and scrapes, but soon realised skating on carpeted surfaces was virtually impossible. Luckily, there’s a roller rink not too far from where I live, and my skates were suitable for both indoor and outdoor use — I didn’t even have to change the ball-bearings. Now I’m good to go, and even have my old Queen and Blondie tracks queued up on my iPod to skate along to. Next up: skating backwards!

Do you roller skate? Roller blade? Ice skate? Which do you prefer, and why?

Fionna

How can you do this? Easy! Use the Search Box.

You can do a simple search (just enter the search term(s) in the box and hit Search), or an advanced search, which will allow you to select certain parametres:

* You can filter out certain words
* You can search by question, by the Best Answer or everywhere
* You can choose the category or subcategory
* You can filter by country
* You can also select the question’s status. This can be useful not only if you are looking for something, but also if you want to answer questions on a certain topic.
* Finally, you can also select the timeframe in which the question was posted.

Hope this helps you find exactly what you’re looking for!

Flickr photo by Tama Leaver

Every two years, Canadians get all hyped up to wildly wave our flag in support of our Olympic athletes. This year, with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it seems there has been more controversy than national pride.

During the torch run, it seemed at times that these Olympics were doomed never to happen, with some people thinking maybe we should just boycott them altogether. The symbolism of the rings of the Olympic flag should inspire us all to come together as people for this time of celebration.

Regardless of the politics, though, the games are on! Our runners and swimmers and basketball players are in China ready to get things going. Within the beautiful setting of Beijing, the opening ceremonies should be quite a spectacle. I didn’t realize that even though the games have been going on for centuries, the idea of the opening ceremonies is still a fairly new concept.

I have never been a very sporty person, so I cannot imagine the amount of training and dedication it takes to get to the level of our Canadian athletes. It’s all about a dream of representing your country, though, so our Answers users can give you tips on how to start off your journey to the gold medal podium. Since you don’t need to be a professional athlete to compete, maybe you will win for us on home soil at the next Olympics in 2010!

What’s your favourite Olympic sport, and why?

Stephanie

Now, when you ask or answer a question, you’ll see a little bubble giving you some tips:

If you make any spelling mistakes — we all type too fast sometimes! — you will be warned and, with help from the spell checker, be able to correct your mistakes.

Select Change to choose the correct spelling, then click Done.

You’ll also be warned if your caps lock is on. In the online world, writing in capitals is often perceived as shouting and regarded as bad netiquette.

For those who feel they don’t need any help, the tips can easily be closed — just click on the X on the top right-side of the speech bubble to make them disappear.

These are just a few of the tips we have for you — use them to really make your Answers shine! And don’t forget to leave us your comments about them — we love hearing from you!

Feeling a little confused about what you might see? Don’t worry, Answers users have cleared up the difference between a lunar and solar eclipse. The most important thing to remember is no matter how neat it seems, to try to not look directly into the light. Bright lights are bad for our eyes, but solar eclipses can trick the eye, as anonymous explains.

I think many of us are fascinated by these events because of how little most of us really know about our solar system. We all know the sun is necessary for us to survive, but we don’t really know how it can burn so brightly without burning out.

The sun burning out is the stuff of science fiction, but some may wonder if it could truly happen. Marvel E says that this is happening now … but assures us we will be safe on Earth for a few billion years.

Still curious about what would happen, though? I was, too. Luckily some people our there, like Krynne, can give us an amazing description of a sunless planet. The image of humans floating around the solar system aimlessly is one that should be snagged up by Hollywood.

Even if you can’t see it outside, though a quick look on the web will yield numerous sites that have live streaming of the total solar eclipse filmed from prime viewing spots around the world.

Are you planning to watch the eclipse?

Stephanie

Growing up, my dad used to wake us up to watch the lightning bolts of big storms brighten the sky, so fear of thunder and lightning has never been a big problem for me. But from the looks of Answers questions, Astraphobia (fear of thunder and lightning) is more common than we give credit for it. Unfortunately for those suffering, it’s something you can’t avoid. As long as you know how to be safe, all you can do is cuddle with your loved ones and wait it out.

Whether you are watching for hurricanes on the East coast, experiencing record rainfalls in Ontario, or already used to the rainy days in the West, I suppose all you can do is embrace it. Just like when we were little, designers are bringing out rain boots and rain coats of all styles. At least the rain gives us another reason to go shopping!

We might as well try to have a little fun even though it’s wet outside. Little kids and dogs usually love playing in the puddles, so let your hair down and have a little fun with the family. Or keep everyone inside and play some games with rain themes, as Shelby suggests, and paint pictures of rainbows while you wait for one to appear.

What’s your favourite rainy-day activity?

Stephanie