why doesn't an optical mouse work on a glass table?

Optical mice use an LED and a camera to rapidly capture images of the surface beneath the mouse.  The infomation from the camera is analyzed by a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and used to detect imperfections in the underlying surface and determine motion. Some materials, such as glass, mirrors or other very shiny, uniform surfaces interfere with the ability of the DSP to accurately analyze the surface beneath the mouse.  \nSince glass is transparent and very uniform, the mouse is unable to pick up enough imperfections in the underlying surface to determine motion.  Mirrored surfaces are also a problem, since they constantly reflect back the same image, causing the DSP not to recognize motion properly. When the system is unable to see surface changes associated with movement, the mouse will not work properly.


What is the best off-road motorcycle trail ?

i hear that the mojave road is amazing!<br />\nsearch for it online.


Trans fats occur in manufactured foods during the process of partial hydrogenation, when hydrogen gas is bubbled through vegetable oil to increase shelf life and stabilize the original polyunsatured oil. The resulting fat is similar to saturated fat, which raises "bad" LDL cholesterol and can lead to clogged arteries and heart disease. \nUntil very recently, food labels were not required to list trans fats, and this health risk remained hidden to consumers. In early July, FDA regulations changed, and food labels will soon begin identifying trans fat content in processed foods.


according to the www.fedex.com web site:\nAir Fleet
\n
\n670 aircraft, including:
\n47 Airbus A300-600s  17 Boeing DC10-30s
\n62 Airbus A310-200/300s  36 Boeing MD10-10s
\n2 ATR 72s  5 Boeing MD10-30s
\n29 ATR 42s  57 Boeing MD11s
\n18 Boeing 727-100s  10 Cessna 208As
\n94 Boeing 727-200s  246 Cessna 208Bs
\n30 Boeing DC10-10s  17 Fokker F-27s


In the san francisco bay area, does it make sense to rent or buy ?

renting vs buying depends on your goals. <br />\ngenerally thinking is that buying is better b/c the payments that would go into the rent start building equity in your home. the govt also incentivizes you to buy by making your property tax payments and mortgage interest payments tax deductible.\nhaving said that current housing status in the bay area is such that housing cost to purchase is relatively high and rental prices (compared to ownership cost) are relatively low (relative to the rest of the country). it makes lese sense to buy vs. other places.\nbottom line you should base your decision on whether you think the market will keep going up or not. the other numbers tend to even out, the main gain or loss in buying comes from appreciation/depreciation.


What's the best way to clean a keyboard?

There are commercial kits available, but a can of compressed air, a lint-free cloth or wipes, mild dishwashing liquid, and a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush are all you really need for a basic cleaning. \nAfter turning off your computer and unplugging your keyboard, gently shake the keyboard upside down over some newspaper to dislodge loose crumbs and particles. \nUse the can of compressed air to blow a stream of air between the keys. \nDampen a lint-free cloth with a diluted solution of dishwashing liquid and water to wipe down the keys. \nUse the vacuum cleaner brush attachment to suck away any remaining dirt or debris. <br />\nIf you have a membrane-type keyboard (it doesn't have a spring under each key) and the keys are truly grungy, you can remove the keys with a small screwdriver and use cotton swabs and 90% isopropyl alcohol to get it sparkling clean. If you are still feeling industrious, next you can tackle cleaning your mouse. \nOf course, if cleaning your keyboard seems a truly undesirable task, you can always buy a new one for around $20.


Why do people blush when they are embarrassed?

from ask yahoo...\nhttp://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20040113.html\n<<Blushing is a unique blend of evolutionary and social behavior. It's an involuntary reaction of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our "fight or flight" response, but blushing is solely triggered by social cues. <br />\nPeople generally blush when they're feeling embarrassed, scared, or stressed. As a result of the "fight or flight" response, the capillaries that carry blood to the skin widen, and the increased blood flow lends the face, as well as sometimes the chest, neck, or even the body or legs, a reddened color. \nExcessive facial blushing, or erythrophobia, is caused by overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. The condition can cause a lot of psychological duress and has engendered several support groups. \nIt's common knowledge that animals don't blush. So while there are some evolutionary cues behind blushing, it's also linked to something uniquely human -- moral consciousness.>>


Is Lin Qingxia (aka Brigitte Lin) "the most beautiful woman in Chinese cinema?"

Well.  Everyone has different definition on what 'beauty' is.  I like Lin Qingxia, but I think many girls are prettier than she was. (She is more than 40 years old now). \nIf "Lin Qingxia" is the most beautiful woman in the Chinese cinema, the most handsome man in Chinese cinema should be "Chin Han" because they always made movies together.\nHowever, A male movie star once was asked his girlfriend in real life or the girlfriend in movie is more beautiful.  He gave a very good answer: "I think my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world."  :)


Not sure if this is the origin, but I think it was popularized in the 1989 film "Tango & Cash". After Tango, played by Sylvester Stallone, and Cash, portrayed by Kurt Russell, were thrown into jail and setup in a failed jailbreak attempt, the bad guy Yves Perret (Jack Pallance) locked them in the boiler room with a bunch of felons Tango & Cash had put in jail. Prior to unleashing a can of whoop-ass, their conversation was as follows:\nGabriel Cash: I don't know about you, but I have an aversion to getting F.U.B.A.R...\nRay Tango: What's F.U.B.A.R.?\nGabriel Cash: Fucked-Up Beyond All Recognition.


A tough question as it overlaps science and theology. Since you asked "how the human species evolved?" I'll assume you're interested in the scientific approach to the answer.\nThe current theory holds that Homo sapiens evolved from Hominid ancestors over the course of millions of years through a process called natural selection. Natural selection is the weeding and advancement of species variants over time based on the fit in that species' then current environments. The pressures for "fit" are competitive (with each other, with other tribes, and with other animals) and environmental (weather, terrain, availability of food, etc.). These factors all contributed to the development of our higher brain, which we now use to evolve as a global collective through communication & technology.


Who said the statement below and what does it mean?

That is kind of a tricky little quote. Sometimes placing it in context can help. This is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self Reliance," which discourages basing one's opinions and actions on common opinion in favor of self-trust (see the full essay at http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm). \nI think the point of this quote is that it's very desireable to have one's own original thoughts and opinions, and to live by them.  It's easier to live by one's own convictions and not be persuaded by others when in isolation (that's the "independence of solitude"). However, not so special to isolate oneself from others in order to attain this ideal. Because it's difficult to live by one's own thoughts and opinions while being a part of society, it's something only a "finished man" can truly do. Also, in the essay, Emerson refers to being childlike - unselfish, non-judgmental, open-minded, uncynical, unhesitant - as something to admire. So I think that's where the seemingly misplaced "perfect sweetness" comes in. When a man can remain pure of heart while living in the harsh world and also keeping and living by his own ideals. \nWhat do you think?


There are several websites that you can find rare or out of print books.  A couple would be alibris.com or abebooks.com.  These sites list books by booksellers all over the country and some internationally.


What are some tips on finding a good mortgage broker?

the most basic thing is to have someone you have a decent amount of trust for. someone recommended by a friend etc.\nthe things you have to look for are:
\n1. top priority is seeing that the broker can actually get your loan on time. many deals fall through b/c the broker cannot get the deal through on time and has less control than the original lender
\n2. secondary priority is to see that they have access to competitive rates. not all brokers have access to all sources and rates, although most of them will be similar.
\n3. you need to see that the broker is someone you trust to get you the best rate regardless of how much money they make off the transaction.


what's the best way to create a bootable windos/dos CD?

Well, the best way is to look at whatever program you have for burning CDs and see if it has an option to create a bootable CD.  If you can't find it, or use Windows itself to burn CDs, then it's a little more complicated.\nNote: If you find that booting from CD doesn't work, you may have to adjust your BIOS setting to allow your machine to boot from CD.\nIf you want to boot to windows: the easiest way is probably to go here: http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/ and download a utility that will do it for you.  There are instructions there depending on what type of boot you want.\nIf you don't trust using a third party utility, Microsoft has some instructions here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/167685/EN-US/ .  This process is not very straightforward though.\nIf you just need to get into your filesystem and poke around, you might consider booting a different OS.  For example, http://www.freedos.org/ (FreeDOS) and http://www.knoppix.net/ (Knoppix Linux) may do what you want.  For these, you can download ISO images and burn bootable CDs.


what is the reason for the increasing divorce percentage in the western world?

IMO... our lives are much more complex than our equivalents from 50 years ago and thus it's more likely for married people to grow in different directions over time (values, needs, etc.). Add to that how easy and acceptable it is to get a divorce, and how quick we are to dispose of things that we no longer want, and you get an increasing percentage.\nI wouldn't be surprised if in the not too distant future the average length of a marriage drops to ~5 years and the average number of marriages per person increases to 2+.\nA parallel to consider: how many different circles of friends do you have and how often have you joined new ones and left others behind over your life? (grade school, high school, college, jobs, etc.). We are a nomadic species. :)


Imaginary numbers are numbers than when squared equal a negative number, as in i^2 = -1, where i is the imaginary number. You'll also often see them represented as i = √-1 (that's the square root of -1).\nDon't be confused by the poorly chosen name - imaginary numbers do indeed exist and are used in advanced math, such as in the physics of electromagnetic fields. The analogy that Wikipedia uses is a good one - just like you don't need the concept of fractions to count stones, it doesn't mean that fractions don't exist. :)


What are good sources to find out about new gospel artists?

CCM Magazine or their online website will give you information on up and coming artists in the Christian Music field.


The current scientific theory holds that black holes are formed when stars of sufficient mass (about 3x the mass of our Sun) reach the end of their life and collapse down into a singularity, which is, in essence, an infinitely small point with a huge amount of gravity - gravity so powerful that not even light can escape it's pull if it gets too close. It is also thought that black holes can be formed from smaller masses if external energy/pressure is exerted to squeeze the mass into a singularity.\nNot sure if there's any direct experimental evidence of creation, but there is evidence that they exist. Cosmologists use several different methods to detect blacks holes, such as by looking for light being bent and/or disappearing as it travels from remote stars towards us, and also by looking for bursts of x-rays that are given off as matter is sucked into the back hole and destroyed.\nFun fact: current evidence and theory suggests that the center of the Milky Way is a giant black hole that was formed as the densly packed stars in the center collapsed and sucked each other in.


When will Her Majesty be released in Dvd format?

It's already available in Australia, if your DVD player can handle PAL:


Is a transponder required to fly in class C airspace?

the answer is that you must have a transponder in order to fly in a class C airspace.


Call an area apiarist.  They should be able to help you and would most likely remove them at no charge in exchange for the hive.  The bees have value and they now belong to you.


I can't tell you which of the many are best, but I can tell you about one I lived in briefly.\nI lived for a month in the Avalon at 4th and King. I was put up there as a corporate apartment. While it was fine, it was relatively expensive, and the rooms were small. It also had one of those rooms that served as kitchen, dining room and living room all in one. I'm not fond of these kinds of rooms, which are particularly American. The smell of cooking, people watching TV, people eating -- these all seem like activities that should be separated from one another. Call me old fashioned.  \nThe Avalon had a big gym, however, which was very good, and concierge service, which was very convenient. Most of them were very friendly. One concierge even hugged me when we left and said she was going to miss me!  Also convenient was its proximity to the Caltrain, the Safeway across the street and the Starbucks. But if you crave culture, this ain't it: everything is a chain store nearby.\nSo depending on your budget, your need for convenience and culture, and your tolerance for small rooms and/or omnirooms, it may suit you.


1. The Vatican City in central Rome ranks as the smallest nation of the world. It measures 0.17 square miles.
\n2. Monaco.
\n3. San Marino.\nHow did they manage to become countries?
\n1. The political freedom of the Vatican is guaranteed and protected by Italy. It concordat between the Holy See and the kingdom of Italy signed in 1929 in the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Cardinal Gasparri for Pius XI and by Benito Mussolini for Victor Emmanuel III.
\n2. Monaco came under French protection in 1861. However from 1911, when the first constitution was promulgated, the prince of Monaco was an absolute ruler.
\n3. According to tradition, Marino, a Christian stonecutter from Dalmatia, took refuge (4th cent) on Mt. Titano, the chief geographical feature of present-day San Marino. By the mid-5th cent., a community was formed; because of its relatively inaccessible location and its poverty, it has succeeded, with a few brief interruptions, in maintaining its independence. In 1631 its independence was recognized by the papacy.


If you were standing in front of a door, one leading to heaven and one leading to hell, neither of which are labeled, and guarding that door is a guard, one who always lies and one who always tells the truth, but you don't know who's who, what question would you ask to definitively know which one is the door to heaven versus hell.\nanswer: "what would the other guard say that you would say is the door to heaven (hell)?" then you know the opposite door is the door to heaven (hell)


90% of restaurants fail in their first year of existence. A 10% profit level for a restaurant  is considered a success. The average revenue and net income is hard to define without knowing the food concept and what type of liquor license the establishment will have: just beer and wine license or full bar license? Will the restaurant depend heavily on take out food orders or mostly dining within? The hours are very long 12 to 15 hours a day if yo will be serving lunch and dinner.


Why do gas stations mix ethanol into gas?

Right.  Fuel additives are helpful for reduction of emissions, although they are not always economical.  For the most part, the US congress has subsidized the creation of ethanol, which tends to be a net cost unless created from waste agricultural products.\nAnother substance that has the same anti-emissions properties as ethanol is MTBE.  There has been a lot of press about MTBE recently due to its tendency to pollute groundwater.


Why we are not using the sea waves to generate electricity?

Same reason solar power isn't more popular despite lots of sunshine: with current technology the cost per kwh is still much higher than for power generated with fossil fuels. As fossil fuel prices rise and technology improves so-called "alternative" energy sources become more cost effective, but the crossover point still appears to be several years in the future.\nForcing expensive alternative technologies on the market before they are economically viable simply raises electricity prices for homeowners--this is part of the reason CA electric rates were so far above the national average in the 1990's, opening the door for Enron and like to make their ill-fated arbitrage plays...


Why doesn't the NBA implement a minor leagues?

The NBA does have minor leagues - they're called the CBA, and the International leagues. :)\nSeriously - because viewers seem to value explosiveness over efficiency, I think we're seeing a major shift in the average age of NBA players towards young athletes that are quicker, high-flying and more resilient to injury. I wouldn't be surprised at all if by the end of this decade the average age of the league allstars is well under 25.


What's the longest english word without a vowel in it?

The longest word without a vowel is Rhythm.\nIt is referenced on below web site where you can find more fun facts.


how was Einstein's General Relativity theory proven ?

First, I would never say that a theory has been proven. There may be a lot of evidence that supports a theory, and as a result it may no longer be on the list of theories that are being challenged, but theories are always theories and should always be open to adjustment by new evidence. A good theory is just a collection of hypothesis, experiments and deductions that survives repeated challenge and can therefore be used to predict untested outcomes.\nNow to your question (sorry for the tangent)... I think that most physicists consider Arthur Eddington's observations of the bending of light during the 1919 solar eclipse as the first solid evidence to support Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Einstein's theory predicted that gravitational fields would bend light, and Eddington's measurements supported that prediction, thus making it the first empirical data to support the theory.


Can someone tell me what happened in Buffy's series finale?

The gang makes an attack on the First's army, aided by Willow, who performs a powerful spell to imbue all of the Potentials with Slayer powers. Meanwhile, wearing the amulet that Angel brought, Spike becomes the decisive factor in the victory, and Sunnydale is eradicated. Buffy and the gang look back on what's left of Sunnydale, deciding what to do next...\n--but more importantly, there will no longer be any slaying in Sunnydale, or is that Sunnyvale....


How does a person live his whole life with the notion of impending death


A helicopter gets its power from rotors or blades. When its rotors are spinning, a helicopter doesn't look much like an airplane. But the rotor blades have an airfoil shape like the wings of an airplane. So as the rotors turn, air flows more quickly over the tops of the blades than it does below. This creates enough lift for flight.


Why would Big Ten keep its name inspite of adding a 11th school?

i would think to keep the "brand" recognition and the history of the Big Ten. the conference has invested a lot in building the Big Ten name as well as any merchandising and corporate sponsorship.


How effective is massage in relieving stress?

Massage is good for relieving stress if you find the right kind of you. \nOne of the most popular massages is Swedish massage. Light to medium pressure is applied with long, soothing strokes. Sometimes stress can cause muscle pain. Deep tissue massage can be tailored to the person's need. Aromatherapy massage makes use of the therapeutic effect of essential oil combined with a relaxing massage. Warm stone massage has become very popular in the past few years. Reflexology is a special form of foot massage.\nIt may take a few trials to find the right kind of massage for you. Once you find it, it can help maintain good physical health and stress reduction.


Is there a good reference for California Landlord-Tenant Law?

Check out "California Tenants:  A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landloards' Rights and Responsibilities" (listed as a reference below) from the department of Consumer Affairs.


check out this site:\nhttp://mathworld.wolfram.com/TriangularDistribution.html


So the answer to your specific question is 'no'.  The problem is that if the container shines, it means that light and energy is being lost and will eventually run out.  There are materials that will glow for a long time due to radioactive decay or via chemical processes, but all of these are using up their 'fuel' in the process and will eventually run out.\nSome radioactive substances have a pretty long half-life and will appear to glow steadily without much decay over the scale of a human lifetime.\nNow, to get more generalized... it is possible to trap light in a container that doesn't shine. Scientists have been able to free light in its place using supercooled clouds of sodium which are naturally opaque, but can temporarily transmit light when altered via a laser beam.  If the laser is shut off, a light beam that is passing through the cloud will be temporarily frozen in place.  Australian scientists have recently been able to extend this interaction to be nearly as long as a second.\nOnce the laser is reintroduced the beam is recovered and continues on its way.  Now all this is a little debatable, since the photons actually get temporarily swallowed up by the material.  The photons that come out afterwards have the same configuration and quantum state as what went in, but whether they are exactly the same photons is more of a question for philosophy than for physics.


Their respective market caps are too close for this to ever happen.\nInterestingly, many reporters, analysts and tech pundits that I talk to think that the supposed competition between Google and Yahoo is fallacious, and that they are very different companies with very different strategies. Google's true competitor is often seen as being Microsoft, not Yahoo. This would support your claim that they are complementary.


It's clear that humans and animals (especially those close to us in the evolutionary tree), share similar chemical responses in their brain when faced with highly emotional situations.  Whether it be fear, contentment, mating urges, we have a lot of analogous mechanisms going on.  On this basis alone, there is a pretty strong argument that animals have feelings.\nOne possible counter-argument, however, is based on the definition that for certain chemical responses to be called feelings, that the being in question needs to have a conscious awareness of their state.  With this defition, it becomes much harder to say whether animals experience feelings in the same conscious manner even though the neurochemical signatures are similar.\nMy opinion is that this definition based on conscious understanding is a little specious, as it's based on an ongoing desire by some to try to define humans out of the context of the natural world... and to claim that we are categorically better than the other animals.  \nIf the neurochemical basis for consciousness is ever discovered we'll be able to quickly check which animals have this, and I suspect we'll find that many are conscious.  If this is so, then their feelings will be as real as human ones in all senses.


Is Trigonometry considered high school or college level math?

In the US, Trig is normally considered as a high school level course, however, it is not a required course to graduate. I believe Algebra is the highest of the high school math courses that are required for graduation, although some schools may still only require Geometry.\nIn the US the typical sequence for math courses is Pre-Algebra, Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry and then Calculus (which is usually taken at the high school level as Pre-Calculus, but may also be taken as full "AP" Calculus, where the "AP" stands for "Advanced Placement" and means that the student can get University-level credit for that course when they go to College).


Why is there often a mirror in an elevator?

The purpose is functional, but it's psychological rather than mechanical.\n\nHere's an explanation, from: http://www.slyasafox.com/book/book_33.html\n\n"In the early industrial age, buildings began to spring up all over the east coast. Many of these new buildings were taller than anything ever built before and most had elevators. As buildings got taller and taller, more people began to use elevators. Elevators in those days were pretty darn slow. People were constantly complaining about how slow the elevators were. \n\nElevator companies were challenged with this problem and came up with the typical problem statement elevators move too slow. So they went off to design elevators that were faster and safer, but at the time it was very expensive to do so. Several companies went off and running to build a safer and faster elevator, and one elevator company proposed a different problem statement. They may have had a different name for the approach, but they were using the fundamentals of the �est problem statement tool. One engineer said, I think our elevator speeds are just fine, people are crazy. \n\nThen an engineer proposed that they work on a different problem statement. He proposed that the problem was people think elevators move to slow. He inserted two words people think into the problem statement which allowed the design team to approach the problem from a completely different angle and thus a whole new set of ideas. Instead of concentrating on larger motors, slicker pulley designs and such, they concentrated on the passenger in the elevator.\n\nWhen they looked at the problem from this angle, the ideas started to snowball. Is it really too slow? Why do they think it is slow? How can we distract them? How can we make it more comfortable? Are customers scared of heights?\n\nThis lead to some first hand customer research. They found that a lot of people thought the elevators were a lot slower then they actually were. \n\n\nThey also discovered that people had an exaggerated sense of time because they had nothing to do but stare at the wall and think about the safety of the elevator  being suspended in the air, and preoccupied with the fear of falling. \n\nt room for additional equipment of any sort, so they brainstormed on that. This lead to the idea of mirrors in elevators so people would think about something else besides danger. Was their hair combed properly? Did her makeup look okay?\n\nBy installing mirrors in the elevators, people became distracted and were no longer preoccupied with the fear of falling. On a follow up survey, customers commented how much faster the new elevators were even though the speed was exactly the same. The elevator design itself had not changed at all." \n\n


Can someone explain the theory of e=mc2?

In general it means that in a very high speed (also apply for low speed but hard to measure) , a Mass turns into Energy and vise versa. The conversion rate is C2 (C square).


Why can Bush get away with misinforming us about intelligence, then use that as reason for war?

Because the American public is more willing to forgive presidents that don't project themselves as smarter then them.  Its similar to how Oliver North and the Irancontra scandal in the 80's did not affect Reagan's popularity, but how Clinton's "lies" about Monica almost resulted in impeachment.  In a way, this may be Bush's genius, that he understands what lies Americans are willing to accept, and not accept.


where did term "tie the knot" come from?

Bed frames used to be sprung with rope. To make a marriage bed you needed to 'tie the knot'


How can the Chicago Cubs break their curse?

Do what the Red Sox did. Fire the coach from last year, trade your best player, and get a long haired guy to bat 1st.


What's the cheapest source for ordering DVDs from Asia?

I don't know if this is the cheapest option, but I use the site YesAsia
\nhttp://us.yesasia.com/en/index.aspx
\nfor my Asian DVD & CD needs.  You often have a choice of region format, and its cheaper than buying it in some store.


Why are there 5 rings in the Olympics symbol?

The 5 rings were introduced at the the 1920 games in antwerp games. The rings included at least one color from the flag of every participating country.


What is the over/under for wins by the 49ers this season?

At Tradesports.com the contract has been set at the 49ers getting more than 4.5 wins, and it's trading at slightly less than even odds for that. 4-12 seems a good guess.


In the movies, James Bond gets Married at the end of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", but unfortunately his wife dies very soon thereafter when the bad guys  shoot her while trying to gun down James. Her name was "Contessa Teresa 'Tracy' Di Vicenzo Bond", she was played by Diana Rigg.\nI've never read the books, so I don't know if he every married in the books.


How do I take my money out of 401k without penalty?

You can withdraw the money for childrens higher education. Details:<br />\nHigher education expenses.   Even if you are under age 59½, if you paid expenses for higher education during the year, part (or all) of any distribution may not be subject to the 10% additional tax. The part not subject to the tax is generally the amount that is not more than the qualified higher education expenses (defined later) for the year for education furnished at an eligible educational institution (defined later). The education must be for you, your spouse, or the children or grandchildren of you or your spouse.


What are the rules around who can throw the ball in football?

As long as a player is behind the line of scrimmage , they can throw the  ball. So to answer your question, anyone can throw the ball.


here is an article that I've found:"Long before there was ever an established guide dog program was developed, dogs have been aiding the blind. A wooden plaque from the Middle Ages portrays a dog leading a blind man with a leash. The first actual attempt to train dogs to aid the blind was made in 1780 at Les Quinze-Vingts hospital for the blind, in Paris. In 1788, Josef Riesinger of Vienna was able to train a dog so well that people often doubted that he was blind!..."


If I lose lots of money in stock in one year, can I carry the negative capital gain forward?

You can keep dumping every year upto a net loss of $3,000.00


What are the steps required to edit, publish and distribute a book?

Publishing a book is a lot of hardwork. It takes 2 years sometimes for first timers. See URL below for broad steps.  Steps differ based on what kind of books one would try publishing.


Virgin Galactic is offering this "as soon as 2008" for the low price of 100 million USD.  Realistically, it will probably take more than a few years to ramp up tourist missions to the moon, especially if no one is signing up...


I recently came across a site that offers some pricing information for the silicon valley:


How long does take a space craft to get from the Earth to the Moon?

It depends on what you are sending.  The Apollo missions were the last set of *manned* missions to the moon, and here is the travel time:\nLaunched: 16 July 1969 UT 13:32:00 (09:32:00 a.m. EDT)<br />\nLanded on Moon: 20 July 1969 UT 20:17:40 (04:17:40 p.m. EDT)\nIt took about 4 days to get there.  Rocket technology has not change too much since then so you can expect that getting people to the moon at this point would take about the same amount of time.\nIf you are dealing with a non-human payload, you may be able to cut down time, both because it is likely lighter, and because you don't need to worry as much about damaging G-forces.\nI've included a link that has the history of all missions to the moon, manned and unmanned.


At what level are math olympiads held for Kids?

The official math olympiad competition is really more for high school students and the organization (math assocn of america) hosts a number of competitions that determine whether students will qualify to take the math olympaid tests.\nThe org also hosts a number of other competition for other students from jr. high and below but those are separate.


Can anyone list the short name of the common names?

Al - Albert, Alfred, Alan
\nBob - Robert
\nBeth - Elizabeth
\nBill(y) - William
\nCathy - Catherine
\nChris - Christopher
\nDeb(bie) - Deborah, Debra
\nDick(y)(ie) - Richard
\nDon(nie)(y) - Donald
\nDom - Domenic, Dominic
\nEd(die)(dy) - Edward
\nFred(dy)(die) - Frederick
\nJim(my)(mie) - James
\nJoe(y) - Joseph
\nKate - Katherine
\nKim - Kimberl(e)y
\nLarry - Lawrence
\nLiz - Elizabeth
\nMaggie(y) - Margaret
\nMargy(ie) - Margaret
\nMatt(y)(ie) - Matthew
\nMike - Michael
\nNick - Nicholas
\nPeggy - Margaret
\nPhil - Phillip/Philip
\nPete - Peter
\nRick(y) - Richard
\nRay - Raymond
\nRon(ny)(ie) - Ronald, Veronica
\nSteve - Steven, Stephen
\nTina - Christina
\nTim(my) - Timothy
\nTom(my) - Thomas
\nTory(ie) - Victoria
\nWill(ie)(y) - William
\nVic - Victor
\nVin(nie)(ny) - Vincent
\nVal - Valerie


Do all professional athletes do steroids now?

I would say a good majority are, but the question is whether the steroid is considered a performance enhancing steroid or not. Andro was legal while Mark McGuire was using it, but subsequently banned. BALCO was reported to manufacture steroids that are desgined to avoid being detected during testing.


Why is Dick a shortened version of the name Richard?

There doesn't seem to be a consensus on this. \nFrom http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/d/dick.php:
\n"It may come from the Dutch Dyck, a bank or dike, a bulwark thrown up in the Low Countries against the sea or rivers to prevent inundation."\nAccording to http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/M/English/meaning.asp?name=Dick
\n"Rhyming nickname from medieval times. Richard 'strong ruler' was shortened to Rick then rhymed to Dick."\nI trust "The Straight Dope" in all things, and according to them, over the years "Dick" has meant "a riding whip, an apron, abbreviation for "dictionary," a policeman, a declaration, and (of course), the penis."
\nhttp://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspotteddick.html


In my experience you just know. It's a long term feeling of always wanting to share each new experience with the other person in order to make them happy, to laugh or to know what they think about it. It's jonesing to call even though you just got off an hour long phone call with them. It's knowing that being with them makes you a better person. It's all of the above and much more.


There are several possible causes for headaches.  According to a Chiropractor friend of mine, dehydration is a major cause.  For example, too many Margaritas one night can leave you seriously dehydrated, hung over and with a headache the next day.\nOther causes are stress, allergies, etc. Dr. Hoffman's reference below explains some of these in detail.


Why didn't anyone send more buses to the Superdome earlier?

I don't have an article, but I was listening to NPR last night, and the commentator was saying the evacuation was really bungled due to an organization and communication problem. No one took charge and said, hey I'm running the show, get 2000 buses and send them down, because no one felt they were in charge. FEMA, State & local police, National Guard, all were not sure what the other guys were doing and so waited for overall direction, which never really came.


What is the best YMU-compatible mp3 player out there?

You should definitely check out Creative's new Zen Vision. I don't have that model (it's new), but I have the Creative Zen Micro and like it a lot.


The source of Gamma Ray bursts is currently unknown.  They are a surprising phenomenon because gamma rays are so powerful that very few events could cause them.  They have also only been recently discovered by projects like the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and appear to be coming from all directions, not just in the galactic plane.\nThis would indicate a phenomenon that has extra-galactic origins... for example, activity inside of an active galactic nuclei, or quasars.\nBecause they happen at random intervals, abd are ephemeral (often just a few seconds), and the "scopes" used to capture them are not tightly directional, we don't have any instruments currently that can figure out exactly what they are.  For now that means, the best we can do is hypothesize based on what cosmic events we believe are of the appropriate magnitude to tigger gamma rays.


I'd say that TV is more popular than books because it is multimedia and much more closely matches how we normally take in information. TV is video and audio. You can see and hear it and thus more information can be squeezed into a short amount of time while also giving a much richer experience. Next time you're watching TV, consider how much you would have to write just to completely describe a single frame.\nLast, TV is also much easier because it's a passive medium. Reading requires your brain to work harder to both read the words and then interpret them into visuals. TV is already visual and can be watched with much less focus & energy.


What is the origin of the name 'Soccer'?

In the early days of this game, an association was set up in England to codify the rules.  The game was sometimes referred to as "association football," probably to distinguish it from other variations.  "association" was abbreviated to "assoc.," so the game was nicknamed "soccer."\nSince the term "football" was already used in the U.S. to describe a different game, the name "soccer" stuck here.


Sucre is the legal capital, though the government sits in La Paz


It isn't as foggy as you might think. Spring and Fall are quite temperate, and San Francisco is renowned for it's "Indian Summer" in September. However, Mark Twain had a point when he said "The coldest Winter I ever spent was Summer in San Francisco."\nThis is because the warm air from inland (where it gets quite hot in the Summer) clashes with the cold air from the surrounding Pacific Ocean and the SF Bay. When that happens, fog forms. Further explanation from http://kids.earth.nasa.gov: "At night, the ground surface cools by radiating heat to space. Air near the ground cools to the dew point temperature, causing water in the air to condense."\nSure it's cold, but fog can be quite beautiful and atmospheric. Just look at the pictures on http://www.goldengatephoto.com/sanfran/thefogrollsin.html  Lovely!


Why does it seem that most of the diets don't work on over weight people?

I think that the main reason is that obese people should be treated as drug addict. The main problem is that both obese and drug addicts have habits that causing them to either eat or do drug. Both of them also have physical addiction that needed to be treated accordingly. Only after facing those two major factors it will be the time for diets.
\nAnother major issue is that the society actually unknowingly supports obesity; let me give you an example- today in the US, an obese person can claim disability and get welfare. By that, the government actually encourages obesity. Why would someone even try to get better?
\nAuthorities should condition those allowances: if you lose weight over a specified period you will continue getting it. If you did not lose weight you lose the allowance.
\nWe should always keep in mind that obesity costs a lot more then just the allowance that the obese person gets. There is the health costs, taxes lost and so on.
\nI say- do what you can to leave healthy life, and don’t give up


Which car and house insurance company is recommended in California?

Costco gives some of the best rates. \nThe service is very good, too. There was this time when I couldn't start my car. Since it's a certain European car, it couldn't be jumpstarted by a friend's car. Only a tow truck had enough power to jumpstart it. I called the Costco auto assitance. Not only did they send a tow truck quickly, but they also called to follow up on whether the problem was fixed or not. Highly recommend it!


There make very low frequency sounds that we cannot hear. They also make sounds that we do hear and it is because they what other animals to hear it.


How come the usage of alternate power generators is not more prevalent in a state like Californi

California electricity is generated by several sources, including hydroelectric, wind, geothermal and nuclear (in addition to the more traditional natural gas).  The question is why these other sources aren't used more, and the answer is that historically, they've either been more expensive or have environmental risks of their own (esp. for nuclear).  As petroleum and natural gas sources start to get used up, and world demand for energy increases, the cost of electricity from natural gas will go up and the other sources will become more cost effective and more prevalent.\nIncidentally, solar power is another source used in California, but it's provided by individuals, not power companies.  If your house has solar power and you have the right equipment, you can sell your surplus electricity to the power company and your electric meter will literally run backward.


Water is transparent cause it was meant to be like that.


When do you use a semicolon instead of a colon?

While historically the use of the semicolon and colon were similar, modern usage seems to be diverging, with semicolons indicating breaks slightly stronger than commas and colons introducing lists and explanations. \nSemicolons have always been used in a manner very similar to commas, but with greater "weight."  That is, the semicolon introduces greater breaks in the sentence, dividing clauses which are longer and more independent, while commas are reserved for short pauses and for separating lists of short items.\nContinuing up the continuum, colons are "weightier" than semicolons, but less so than periods.  They introduce a break which is longer or more important than that introduced by semicolons, but not as final as periods.  Colons separate clauses which can stand as independent sentences grammatically, while semicolons can also be used for non-sentential clauses.\nHowever, in modern writing the colon is rarely used in this role as glorified semicolon.  The colon has developed a specific semantics as a break separating an introduction from an explanation.  For example, the colon is used after the salutation in formal letters.  It is used to introduce quotes, separating the source from the quoted text.  A colon is used to introduce a list, included bulleted lists.  A colon is used to separate the parts in a multipart title, such as "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books" or "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't".


There are a couple of reasons why this was done a few decades ago.  Dogs with curved tails are known to be chasing flies and fleas that got on their tails. Owners of the dogs found this a nuisance that all of a sudden a dog would keep chasing its tail for several hours in a week. Due to this dogs forgot their "job" which was to guard sheep, or pull carts, etc.\nSecondly, certain dogs go very wild if we pull their tails, even if its done playfully. They simply get mad at you, bite you or even kill you, if you are small.  Since little children always found it playful to pull the tails of the dogs and this meant a potential danger to their lives, the owners cut their tails short. \nEver thought of the word CUR-TAIL? :-)


Largely because of the massive amounts of gravitational force involved.  A sphere is the only sustainable shape when talking about forces of that magnitude.  Stars are incredibly dense towards their core, and over billions of years the matter will coalesce in a sphere like shape.


Define "best". Oracle is like a BMW. Expensive but has all the fixings. But not everyone needs a BMW. MySQL is like a VW Beetle (the old model). Its cheap, and gets you where you need to go. But you have to tweak it to suit your needs.


Which cat has the largest variety of prey?

In Africa, a pride of lions (male: ~400 lbs, female: ~280 lbs) pretty regularly hunt wildebeest (440-600 lbs), although they usually go after the sick or young ones.  Occasionally, they can take down a giraffe (2420-4250 lbs), but this doesn't happen often.  Elephants (11,000 lbs) and rhinos (2500 lbs) are just a little dangerous to be bothered.\nIn Asia, tigers can take down a water buffalo (1800-2600 lbs), although again, they usually go for the sick or young ones.\nThese are the cats with the largest prey.


When a mirror is hit by particles of light called photons, it reflects the photons back to us. When photons hit a smooth surface like a mirror, they bounce back off of the mirror at roughly the same angle at which they hit the object, creating a reflection that looks the same.


Where is the best place to cycle in San Francisco?

Around the Embarcadero and into the Presidio, then aound Ocean Beach and back through GG Park.


where is the best place to look for love?

It might be easy to use the internet- there are many good matching web sites that can help


The McLaren MP4-20 is considered to be the strongest car.  When it doesn't break down it beats the Renault handily.  The Renault is the best balance this year between performance and reliability.  I think the vast majority of F1 journalists consider the McLaren to be the strongest car, even the Renault F1 team admits that McLaren's car is better.


Depends on your question.\nKimi Raikkonen won more races than FA in the 2005 season, and many, including myself, believe him to be the best.\nMichael Schumacher has won an unprecedented seven world driving championships and has shown no signs of losing the edge (his car this year was handicapped by tire rules and their supplier).  He also has by far the most wins of any racing driver for all of time.\nFernando Alonso Diaz is the champion for 2005 but all signs pointed to a heated battle for 2006.  But as the WDC, he does get to wear the #1 on his car for the 2006 season.


Why do I Sound Different When I Hear My Own Voice?

Specifically, "when you speak you hear yourself not only through your ears, but also through the bones and tissues of your head (i.e., internally)".


What type of fresh-cut Christmas tree lasts the longest?

Fir trees. Their more expensive but it's really worth because it lasts longer.


There are two kinds of primary colors:  those you get by combining light (these are called "additive") and those you get by mixing pigments (these are called "subtractive").  As many computer users know, the additive colors are red, green, and blue.  Traditionally, the subtractive colors were red, yellow, and blue.  But more technically, they are magenta, yellow, and cyan (a kind of blue).


Who is Earth-2 Superman and how is he different from regular Superman?

It's relatively simple.  Back in 1961, DC Comics revealed that all of their Golden Age (c. 1939-1945) characters had lived on a different Earth from their Silver Age (c. 1956-1970) characters.  Some characters (Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman) were virtually the same on each Earth, while others (The Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom) were radically different.  \nEarth 2's Superman was slightly less powerful than Earth 1's, mostly adhering to the classic "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" description.  Earth 1's Superman could travel faster than light, juggle planets, and had a host of super powers including super-breath, super-ventriloquism, and super-hypnotism.  Earth 2's Superman eventually married Lois Lane and became the editor of the Daily Star before (temporarily) disappearing in 1985's "Crisis on Infinite Earths."  Earth 1's Superman finished his adventures in Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?," a two-parter than wrapped up and resolved some 30 years of continuity.  Both Supermen were supplanted by John Byrne's 1985 reboot of the character, which was intended to simplify that continuity and start over from scratch.\nEarth 2's Superman has reappeared twice since "Crisis;" once in 1999's "Kingdom Come," and most recently in 2005's "Infinite Crisis."  What his role is in this maxiseries is undetermined as of this writing.  Earth 1's Superman has yet to reappear, but longtime fans can always hope.


How do you become a judge on the Supreme Court?

There are nine seats on the United States Supreme Court. You must be nominated by the President of the United States, and confirmed by a majority in the U.S. Senate. Justices are appointed for life (except in cases of retirement or impeachment).\nIt is not necessary for that person to have experience as a judge (George W. Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?ei=UTF-8&fl=0&fr=slv5-&p=harriet+miers+%22supreme+court%22
\nis not the first time a non-judge has been nominated), just a solid legal mind. Generally when a President chooses a nominee, he will look for someone whose ideals and worldview match his own. Gerald Ford famously did not make an idealogical choice when he appointed John Paul Stevens (http://www.supremecourthistory.org/04_library/subs_volumes/04_c11_f.html)
\nand in subsequent years was rather disappointed at some of Stevens' decisions. \nThere is a lot more information at the official Supreme Court site: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/


Some evidence of photosynthesis was found on rocks in Greenland dating from 3.7 billion years ago. Danish researchers reached that conclusion analyzing the relative abundance of uranium and thorium in some rocks, and the high abundance of uranium in those suggests that there was oxygen present. Their conclusion was that microorganisms like present day cyanobacteria were converting sunlight to chemical energy through oxygen-producing photosynthesis.


Where did the band, The Dismemberment Plan, get their name from?

Straight from Travis Morrison (singer and guitarist) himself:
\n"It’s from the movie Groundhog Day. There’s a guy who chases after Bill Murray and tries to keep selling him different types of insurance and 'the dismemberment plan' was one of them. It just stuck."  In another interview, Morrison admits that when you're young, you think things are incredibly funny when, in reality, they're not THAT funny.  Considering all the nicknames they earned, I think it was a rather witty, catchy band name.  Best,
\n`k.


What does 'zig' refer to in the All Your Base clip?

the enigmatic and poorly translated introduction to the American port of Zero Wing is equal parts confusing and hilarious. what in the world could a "zig" be? well, it would seem that the word "zig," unfortunately, is not yet another perplexing term lost in translation. according to sites actually dedicated to reviewing the game in spite of its connections to the "all your base are belong to us" phenomena, the word "zig" is actually a made up name for the fighter plane you pilot throughout the game. think "x-wing" and you're on the right track.<br />\n"Take off every zig!!" likely meant that every zig fighter needed to take off to battle the mysteriously robotic villian of the game, known only as "Cats."


Why is it considered unlucky to open an umbrella indoors?

Possibly because African royalty used umbrellas as protection from the sun, and opening one in the shade was considered an insult to the sun god. Opening it indoors was also taboo.


What is the name of the second US astronaut to land on the moon?

Edwin Eugene (Buzz) Aldrin Jr<br />\n"On July 20, 1969, Aldrin became the second human being to set foot on the moon. He was joined Neil Armstrong on the surface for two hours of ceremonies and moon rock collecting."


Which singer has the largest number of records


Eggs are laid by birds and cold-blooded reptiles. The largest eggs by far were laid by dinosaurs.


Can water be hotter then 100 Celsius degrees?

I've found a nice web page that support the first answer


Why do we only drink eggnog during Christmas?

Eggnog is a popular wintertime drink.  We do not serve eggnog only during Christmas.  It is also popular on New Year's day and some serve it on Thanksgiving.


I would recommend starting with something you enjoy, find a wholesale supplier or make the goods/services yourself, and setup a store with eBay.  This is really quick and easy (AKA: cheap) to start.  If you don't know exactly what you want to do it is a good way to see how it will work without a huge investment.  If you are successful in that marketplace you can take it to the next level and expand into a more traditional business model with less risk!  \n\nTry playing around with writing a business plan and see what your risk and financial tolerance is.  The link below is a good tool for planning a new eBay business, I would recommend you check this out first!


what is a tag, and why is it being hailed by some people as the greatest thing since sliced bread?

Tags are like post-it notes that readers of the content leave behind for other readers. They give clues to the context and meaning beyond a simple description. They're like finding notes in a text book scribbled by a previous owner. You can usually gain insight into the material based on those notes. \n\nNow imagine there is a cross-reference of all those post-its and margin notes. More than one person can add their own post-it. You can easily find the most popular "post-its" thanks to an index of all of them.  This is where the real power of tagging lies-- in the weight and meaning these agreed-upon notes give.\n\nOf course, context is everything. Next time you're together, show her MyWeb2.0 and del.icio.us in action. Show her how the information is sliced and diced-- most recent, most popular, most frequently used tags. I find my parents only get these new paradigms when I show them to them in context.


What is the maximum number of identical stones so that after a look-alike is added...?

The answer is 9 stones (or maybe more). \n\nAfter adding a look-alike to 9 stones, there will be 10. Name them ABCDEFGHIJ.\n\n"ABC<DEF" means "the stones ABC as a group weigh less than the stones DEF."\n\nWeighing 1. Weigh ABC vs. DEF.\n\nIf ABC<DEF:\n--Weighing 2. Weigh ABC vs. GHI.\n----If ABC<GHI, the look-alike must be light and among ABC.\n----Weighing 3. Weigh A vs. B.\n------If A<B, the look-alike is A.\n------If A=B, the look-alike is C.\n------If A>B, the look-alike is B.\n----If ABC=GHI, the look-alike must be heavy and among DEF.\n----Weighing 3. Weigh D vs. E.\n------If D<E, the look-alike is E.\n------If D=E, the look-alike is F.\n------If D>E, the look-alike is D.\n\nIf ABC=DEF, the look-alike must be among GHIJ.\n--Weighing 2. Weigh G vs. H.\n----If G=H, the look-alike candidates are I and J.\n----Otherwise, the look-alike candidates are G and H.\n----Weighing 3. Weigh one of the two candidates against A.\n------If they differ in weight, the look-alike is that candidate, otherwise it is the other candidate.\n\nIf ABC>DEF:\n--Weighing 2. Weigh ABC vs. GHI.\n----If ABC>GHI, the look-alike must be heavy and among ABC.\n----Weighing 3. Weigh A vs. B.\n------If A<B, the look-alike is B.\n------If A=B, the look-alike is C.\n------If A>B, the look-alike is A.\n----If ABC=GHI, the look-alike must be light and among DEF.\n----Weighing 3. Weigh D vs. E.\n------If D<E, the look-alike is D.\n------If D=E, the look-alike is F.\n------If D>E, the look-alike is E.


Does anyone know any Lutheran Church in or nearby Phoenix?

Take your pick:\n\nEvangelical Lutheran Church-Grand Canyon Synod\n4423 N 24th St # 400, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 957-3223\n\nAmerican Ev Lutheran Church\n1830 W Glenrosa Ave, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 265-2527\n\nChrist the Redeemer Lutheran Church\n8801 N 43rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ\n(623) 934-3286\n\nLutheran Church of the Master\n2340 W Cactus Rd, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 997-7439\n\nGood Shepherd Lutheran Church\n3040 N 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 265-7130\n\nBethel Lutheran Church\n7310 N 27th Ave, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 995-0629\n\nPrayer Garden\n9849 N 40th St, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 996-4040\n\nAhwatukee Health Resources\n11002 S 48th St, Phoenix, AZ\n(480) 893-3137\n\nMount of Olives Lutheran Church\n3546 E Thomas Rd, Phoenix, AZ\n(602) 956-1620\n\nWestridge Lutheran Church\n8444 W Encanto Blvd, Phoenix, AZ\n(623) 849-4327


What movie did Joe Pesci describe kids as "YUTS"?

It was from the movie My Cousin Vinny when they were in the courtroom.


Try this one, NO colors, that would be freaky. everything just black or white, no "in-betweens"!


Who is the world's highest paid actress?

Cameron Diaz briefly surpassed Julia Roberts in 2004, but Julia is back on top:


Can you recommend a good preschool with childcare around New York?

You don't specify-- do you mean around Manhattan? The Urban Baby message boards are a good and very active source of information: \nhttp://newyork.urbanbaby.com/community/messageboards_main.html\nI also like the GoCityKids site: \nhttp://www.gocitykids.com/?area=197\n\nI'd recommend contacting moms in your area for recommendations, and touring schools that are near your home. (GCK can help you find one in your neighborhood.)\n\nHere's a nationwide roundup of childcare websites: \nhttp://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babychildcare/6104.html


Does echinacea really help prevent colds?

Well, there appears to be some controvery about this.  While some people swear by the stuff, others say that it has no real effect on overcoming a cold.  \nHere are some links, one of which is from a National Institute of Health study.  I hope these help you decide whether to head to the health store or not.


Other lists I've seen count that 28 mm figure as Tokyo/Yokohama, sprawling outside the city proper. This list of top ten most populous *urban areas* (the city proper) puts Tokyo at #10:\n\n1. Seoul 10.2 million \n2. Sao Paulo 10 million\n3. Mumbai 9.9 million\n4. Jakarta 9.37 million\n5. Karachi 9.3 million\n6. Moscow 8.29 million\n7. Istanbul 8.26 million\n8. Mexico City 8.23 million\n9. Shanghai 8.2 million\n10. Tokyo 8.1 million


What are the effects of parental favoritism?

From my personal experience, I've seen parental favoritism cause lifetime effects. \nMy mom's brother was the favorite- she was the least favored. 50 years later, she still struggles with feeling inadequate and has a hard time trusting people. Because of this, she has a hard time maintaining friendships and family relationships.\nMy grandmother and her sister were treated differently by my great-grandfather. My grandmother was treated as the most special. Her sister was expected to do chores, take care of the family etc. She ended up being the dependable, reliable one because she developed her independence. She also never forgave her father or her sister for their unfair treatment. My grandmother grew up needing others to take care of her.\nThis is a pattern I've seen. Those that are favored end up developing few of their skills and talents. Many times they grow up becoming more concerned about pleasing other people. And many times they don't know how to take care of themselves.\nThose that are disfavored can become strongly independent, but they may also have weaknesses in their ability to trust others and form lasting relationships. What is true is that favoritism has an unhealthy emotional impact on all children, whether favored or not.\nA good book that deals with this subject is The Emotional Incest Syndrome : What to do When a Parent's Love Rules Your Life, by Dr. Patricia Love.


what is the biggest number  in the world?

infinity \n\nand for those people..\n\ninfinity + 1, infinity x infinity\nand infinity ^ infinity


In the very first strip, Hobbes is caught by Calvin in a tiger trap that is baited with a Tuna fish sandwich.  From that strip on, they know each other, so that's probably the best description of how they met.


where can i find a women's basketball league to join?

One good resource is to find a local pick-up game that accepts women, and then ask the players if there are any local leagues.  Try http://www.hoopsfinder.com.


What is the best place to get guitar lessons in the South Bay Area?

It's really according to what you are looking for. Certain teachers specialize in acoustic vs. electric (for example). Your best bet is to place a request on a service such as Click For Lessons that will show you several teacher bios and let you decide for yourself.


What is the boot-shaped country found in Southern Europe?

You must be referring to Italy.  ...Hope that's what you're looking for!  Best,    `k.


Which soccer team has won the most European club championships?

Real Madrid has won 9 titles, followed by 6 for AC Milan and 5 for Liverpool.


Where can I find information about Superlatives?

If you want to answer a question like "What is the tallest mountain on earth?" Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com) is a good place to start. You can also perform an advanced search on Yahoo! or Google, putting the phrase in quotes like this "What ist he tallest mountain on earth?"    Of course, Q&A can help you, too!


Why do we get tickled when somebody tickles us and we don't when we tickle ourselves?

When we tickle ourselves, our mind knows in advance that is supposed to happen. So we develop some sort of a defence to counter the effect of the tickle.\nWhen somebody else tickles us suddenly our body is not prepared for that change of state.\n\n Even if u hit urself (not too hard) it pains lesser than when some body else hits u suddenly.


Why are the San Francisco 49er's Sucking so Bad Again?

1.  Poor drafting.  Between 2000-2006, the 49ers drafted 55 players. Only 8 starters on offense from all of those draft classes combined, and only four at the 'skill positions' (Barlow, Lloyd, Battle and Smith).\n\n2.  Injuries:  9 guys on IR, including starting Center, starting T, starting FS and SS, starting LB and starting TE.\n\n3.  Four different starting QBs this season.\n\n4.  Barlow not a difference maker/elite back.  His 3.3 yards per carry are actually worse than last year!\n\n5.  Unimaginative play calling (other than first game of season).\n\n6.  49ers lead the league by a wide margin in number of series that go 3-and-out.  This leaves the defense vulnerable.


what is the temperature on the sun and how to calculate the lost of heat per distance from it?

You might not have intended it, but your question is a lot more complex than you might have thought.  It turns out that the temperature of the sun is a function of how deep into the sun you are, with the surface temperature being about 6000 Kelvins.  To make things even more complicated, the Corona of the sun (which extends in all directions around the sun beyond the surface) is actually 1,000,000 Kelvins.\n\nThis fact is well established, but further research is required to understand *why* there is such a huge difference in temperature between the two.\n\nNow for the second part of your question:\n\nThe light intensity of the sun drops off as the inverse square of your distance from the sun.  The "heat" is another thing entirely, because heat is defined as the average kinetic energy of particles, and photons don't count strictly in that definition.\n\nThere are particles that come from the sun in the form of solar wind, and around the region of the Earth, they have a "temperature" around 1000k.


Who is going to pick up Terrell Owens after he comes off suspension?

It's hard to imagine Terrell in the same locker room with Keyshawn Johnson (Dallas) or Michael Vick (Atlanta).  The Denver Broncos are more likely to pick him up.


Should T.O. be allowed to play for Eagles or any other team this season?

He deserves the punishment he's been given.  Let him sit it out this year (and still get paid a ridculous sum of money) and maybe that will set him straight.\n\nGreat player, I agree, but calling your teammates out on a regular basis isn't cool.  The Eagles did what was right.


The wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the soul of Ghandi, the heart of Mother Theresa and lots of aspirin, coffee and Malox.


What does 4 8 15 16 23 42 _really_ mean?

Don't know yet, but lots of wild theories and mathematical approaches being tried (some, via\nhttp://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/search?p=4%208%2015%2016%2023%2042):\n\nhttp://www.d.kth.se/~dicander/lost.html\n\nhttp://www.4815162342.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3


looking for a good spa in the SF bay area

Nob Hill Spa downstairs from the Huntington Hotel. They offer couples massages, and have spa cuisine available next to their lovely pool.


who should I start this week in fantasy football? Delhomme @BUF or Brooks @NYJ?

Both teams have good passing d and both match ups are on the road.  Delhomme has a better #1 receiver in Smith although Horn is healthy and is pretty good in his own right but Brooks has the better #2 receiver in Stallworth so that balances it out a little.  Neither is a great option and it's a tough call so I think you gotta go with the guy who's performed better so far this year which is Delhomme.  You might want to check the waiver and see if somebody like McMahon - the new Philly QB is available as he's got a nice matchup this week and could be better than your two current options.


What are the options for volleyball leagues in the south bay and SF?

I would try IVL (http://www.ivlinc.com/) or City Beach (http://www.citybeach.com/sports/sports_volleyball.htm)


Why was the Passion of Christ a controversial movie?

Jewish people were concerned that the movie would fuel antisemitism. A concerned Rabbi Eugene Korn previewed the film before it came out and made the following statement,\n\n"We are deeply concerned that the film, if released in its present form, will fuel the hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism that many responsible churches have worked hard to repudiate."\n\nAnother controversial aspect of the movie was its graphically violent depiction of Jesus' crucifixation. Some Christians were upset that the movie choose to focus on Jesus' violent death rather than other Biblical themes like the resurrection and his life experiences valuing messages of love, tolerance, and redemption.


how can I recover the security key for my Yahoo! account?

Yahoo! Help\n\nYou can get a new password, a Yahoo! ID reminder, or both. Visit the Sign-in Problems page (http://edit.yahoo.com/config/eval_forgot_pw?new=1&.done=&.src=&partner=&.intl=us) and supply some basic verification information, such as your birthday and the ZIP or postal code you provided when you registered. \nMake sure to provide the same information you gave during registration or when you last updated your account. Without the correct verification information, you will not be able to obtain a new password. \n\nYou can obtain any other information with Customer Care.


I'm new to road biking and need a bike under $1000. What frame and parts do you recommend?

I'd agree with TaraN's answer. Take the time to really find what you want. Take a lot of extended test rides. You might find that aluminum might be too harsh for you, in which case you might find that steel or carbon might be more comfortable. That's just one example. Lots of test rides will give you a feel for how the various bikes at a given price point can handle very differently. Without getting into too much tech-speak, you might find that one bike handles a bit more twitchy than another. Think of the difference as driving a Mini Cooper versus a basic sedan. Some bikes are set up more for racing, where you'll get a quicker handling bike, whereas others will handle a bit more laid back.\n\nParts wise, you'll find the same component offerings on many of the manufacturers out there for a given price point, as TaraN pointed out. You'll most likely be getting a bike with Shimano componenets, with perhaps a mix of some of the manufacturer's own branded components (for example, Trek outfits their bikes with a lot of Bontrager componentry).\n\nFocus on the overall ride of the bike. For a $1000, you can get a lot of bike.\n\nWade at The Spokesman in downtown Santa Cruz is a GREAT guy - very helpful, and yes, very patient. He's very knowledgeable and will set you up right.\n\nAlso in that same category, I'd highly recommend seeing Vance Sprock over at Cupertino Bike Shop. He's just like Wade - he'll set you up right.\n\nGood luck!


Is there a place where I can see graphs of U.S. National Budget allocations for the last few years?

You can find tables (not graphs) of the US National Budget allocations since the 1940's in a single PDF:\n\nhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/pdf/hist.pdf\n\nIf you have your heart set on looking graphs, you can find several from the website for the US House of Representatives Budget Committee:\n\nhttp://www.house.gov/budget/chartsgraphs.htm\n\nYou can also see various budget, deficit and spending statistics, some graphed over time, on the Public Agenda website:\n\nhttp://www.publicagenda.org/issues/factfiles.cfm?issue_type=federal_budget\n\nAnd if you want to really veg-out with numbers, try the Financial Management Service's website (they're a part of the US Treasury Department).  They provide reports (in PDF and XLS files) on the receipts, outlays and balances of the US Federal Government.  I particularly like the reports on this page:\n\nhttp://fms.treas.gov/annualreport/index.html\n\nHope this helps!


Who said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"?

Plato quoted it:\n\n"Remember how in that communion only, beholding beauty with the eye of the mind, he will be enabled to bring forth, not images of beauty, but realities (for he has hold not of an image but of a reality), and bringing forth and nourishing true virtue to become the friend of God and be immortal, if mortal man may."\n\nN.B.: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."


Why doesn't college football have a playoff system?

- The bowls came first and have to be dislodged\n\n- The bowl organizers control larges amounts of money.  Some of these monies are given to participating universities and their conferences. Bowl organizers do not want to risk lossing this money. And universities who frequent bowls want to be assured of still receiving the big bucks before switching. Hence bowl organizers are generally against playoffs and univerisities are only luke warm supporters.\n\n- Universities like to believe their players are really students (some actually are) and not semi-professional atheletes, so they limit the number of games per year.  Playing a game takes a lot of the players time preparing and practicing.  Also due the physical nature of the game, players need several days to recovery.  This limits games to about one every 5 days or so (about one a week). A playoff system would require the two teams meeting for the championship to play and additional 2-4 games depending on the number of teams allowed to participate in the playoffs.


Can't answer your question exactly, but it looks an awful lot like a Gibson archtop or a Gretsch.  You can poke around either of their websites to see guitars that look pretty similar to the one in the picture.  There are particular models of Gibson & Gretsch that have the diagonal bridge piece that appears in the movie -- Gretsch calls it a "chromatic tailpiece".  I didn't see that Gibson had a particular name for their version but they definitely have guitars sporting that same shape.\n\nThe one thing I'll agree with you about is that unless it's an anachronism (a modern guitar that doesn't belong in the time period depicted in the movie), it's not an electric guitar -- you can clearly see there's no obvious "soapbar" pickup like there would be on an archtop electric guitar (there are sneaky mics/pickups in acoustic guitars today, but I can't believe that was available then).


What is a good entry-level road bike to purchase?

For $1500, you're starting to get out of the "entry-level" stage. I have a Trek 1000 and absolutely love it. I've used it for century rides, triathlons and duathlons no problem. The Trek 1000 was about $900 CDN. The only difference in the bikes up to the $1500 range is the shifters are usually a little better (they don't stretch as easily, which makes shifting cleaner for longer). The weight and wheels are basically the same. \n\nIf you want to trim 30 sec off your race time, you might consider the more expensive bikes. But, you should be an elite athlete to really notice the difference. \n\nI'd go for a $1000 bike and spend the rest on pumps (road and home), spare tires, some nice cycling clothes, tools and a bike computer. Maybe even a trainer for home use.


Who holds the single season rushing yards in NFL?

While it is true that Eric Dickerson holds the single season *total* rushing yards record, he accomplished this in a 16-game season. On the other hand, O.J. Simpson is the only player in NFL history to break the 2,000 yard barrier in a single 14-game season. O.J. Simpson gained 143 yards per game in his record-breaking season, while Dickerson only gained 131 yards per game in his. So, the answer depends on whether you are interested in total yards or yards per game.


Should US computer programmers be worried about outsourcing trend to India and other countries?

Yes, not any time soon, but expect the trend to increase as companies find ways to reduce costs. Get into management and your job will be saved.


If light travels faster than sound, then why do we hear sound first and then see picture when we turn on TV ?

In most cases, the television needs to 'warm-up' its cathode ray tube before it can start to display an image on the screen.\n\nThe audio coils require much less charging time and can start to emit sound sooner than we can see the image on the television.


What is the minimum GPA to get into colleges?

Yeah u can get in to college . A 3.0 is really good my friend. I understand what you are going through..\n\n   Then www.gradschool.com is a good source


resume writing can be tricky because not only is it important to be detailed when describing skills and work experience, but it is also advantageous to balance this with brevity. be concise and to the point while packing your resume full of key information that presents your strengths as a candidate for employment.
\nkeep it simple, and make sure that formatting doesn't take away from a neatly streamlined and cogent resume.
\nbelow is a link to hotjobs' resume tips, which i found extremely helpful in this process.


The Wall stretches over a formidable 6,350 km (3,946 miles), from Shanhai Pass on the Bohai Gulf in the east, at the limit between China proper and Manchuria, to Lop Nur in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.


Where can I find help about an inventor or invention?

Wikipedia has a list of inventors and invention.  Also, about.com has a list of famous inventors.


What should I look for when buying a laptop? What is the best brand and what's reliable?

Weight and dimensions are important if you're planning to travel with the laptop. Get something with at least 512 mb of RAM, built-in wireless, and CD/DVD burner.  Dell is a good brand, and has an easy to use site where you can build a custom laptop.


Who is the most famous woman athlete of all time?

Historically I believe it would be  Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who was a golfer and olympic track star.\n\nAnswers.com's bio says: " Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias was voted the outstanding woman athlete of the century in a 1950 Associated Press poll. Though she gained her greatest professional fame as a golfer, she rivalled Jim Thorpe in her remarkable ability to excel at nearly any sport. She began as a basketball All-American, then won two track and field golds at the 1932 Olympics. Next she turned professional and began touring the country, exhibiting her prowess in track, swimming, tennis, baseball, and even billiards. In 1935 Zaharias took up golf and excelled at that, too, winning 82 tournaments in a 20-year career. She was only 42 when she died of cancer in 1956."


Could a very powerful directional microphone pickup sounds from the past?

In a sense, any microphone is picking up sounds from the past, due to the speed of sound. This is similar to what you mentioned with radio telescopes.\n\nThe main differences are 1) velocity -- light moves at about 1 foot per nanosecond while sound moves around 1 foot per 1/1000 second, and 2) that sound moving though a medium diffuses quite rapidly. Something really loud, like thunder, you might hear from 20-30 seconds away. For normal, everyday sounds, the delay won't be more than maybe a few tenths of a second.


What should I offer for Xmas to my grand'ma ?

How active is she? If she's confined or in a nursing home, keep it simple. Make her a photo album or frame a favorite picture. Bring her a favorite treat that she can't get on her own.  \nIf she can get around, experiences are better than things. Take her to a play or an outdoor concert or to a museum exhibition. If she has a favorite kind of food, treat her to a special meal. \nThe best gift you can give your grandma is time with you! Visit as often as you can, and promise to do so on a regular basis.


is there a good art school in the San Francisco bay area?

I visited the SF Art Institute a few years ago with my brother, who was considering an art school for his undergrad work, and we were pretty impressed with the student work and facilities.    http://www.sanfranciscoart.edu/


from the American Heritage Dictionary: it is "The main board of a computer, usually containing the circuitry for the central processing unit, keyboard, and monitor and often having slots for accepting additional circuitry."


The earliest form of currency used was large stones that could be used to get food and meat in exchange - this was during the stone age. Before this there was a barter of goods (so i am not considering it currency)\nLarge stones which were round were considered more valuable since they were more difficult to obtain\n\nThe first recorded accounts of currency date back to 2000 BCE and silver or metal tokens were used to represent a stored value of grain. Also these were useful to ensure that a shipment of commodities arrived with the same goods that were shipped\n\nPaper money was used in the 18th century, but only in the late 18th and through the 19th century was a central monetary authority created in various states that had a virtual monopoly of creating bank-notes that had to be accepted as legal tender everywhere (Prior to this, the one accepting payments could refuse the payment if it was not in a currency which  had been predetermined before the loan or in general use: Note gold and silver were widely used as legal tender)


Where can I get ideas for our science project?

My daughter gets her science project ideas from infoplease.com.  She loves this site.


what are the materials that can be used to produce laser beam?

Materials that form an inverse energy distribution?  Not quite.\n\nThere are three basic components for getting a laser to work.  First, one needs an excitation source (pumping source) such as a flashlamp, an electrical spark, etc.  Second, one needs a material (the gain medium) which can exhibit what's known as population inversion - the capacity for a material to raise the electron energy level from the lower to the upper energy states.  Nearly all materials will exhibit this behavior with some more efficiently than others.  Finally, one needs to direct the stimulated energy by using a resonator.\n\nThere are many combinations of pump sources, lasing materials and optical configurations depending on the intended use.  There are solid state (ruby, Nd:YAG), gas (nitrogen, helium-neon) and semiconductor (gallium-arsenide) lasers that come in a variety of wavelengths (colors) to choose from, again, depending on what you want to do with it.\n\nJust a little bit of background: My degree is in Physics, and I've been working in the lasers and electro-optics field for the past 10+ years.  You can see what my graduate lab at SDSU looked like at: http://www.equationlab.com/mtp/quantumblog/about.html


What is the difference between software and hardware?

Hardware is the physical componentry of a computer system.  Memory chips, mice, monitors, and keyboards are all hardware.  \n\nSoftware is the information stored on the computer, so programs and data are considered to be software.  Basically, if you can email it to someone, it's software.


Is there any proven evidence that Mars at some point in the past had microscopic life?

The answer to your question is no.  There is no absolutely definitive evidence to date.  We do have very strong evidence that significant amounts of water once existed on the Martian surface, and some recent results show that Martian water may still exist below ground, and under heavy packs of ice.    There are many scientists who believe that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere, which would have made it a considerably wetter and warmer place.  Given this, and the ability for solar system bodies to seed each other via ejecta from large impacts, Mars could very possibly have been seeded by Earth or vice versa many billions of years ago.  Still, we're not sure if life exists or every existed there.    The most recent chapter was the recent discovery of methane there.  Methane can be created by non-biological processes, but we have not observed the right conditions for this on Mars.  Another possible explanation would be a biological origin for the gas, potentially from colonies of microscopic organisms in the soil.    Given our current rate of deepening understanding, we will likely solve this mystery sometime in the next 50 years, but as of now we simply don't have enough evidence to constitute "proof"


should i trade Baron Davis and Joe Johnson for Allen Iverson?

Whenever you can trade 2 good players for 1 superstar player, it is a steal!  Because now it will open up another slot on your active roster and now you can play your other good player that's always in your bench.  But if you don't have depth, I wouldn't pull the trade trigger.


ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, proposed in 1944 by Robert Moon, a postal employee, and finally implemented in 1963.


What is the oldest magazine that is still in circulation?

Arguably, The Scots Magazine, published first in 1739.


Do you really need 8 hours of sleep every night?

i've heard several times that the amount of sleep each individual requires is based on a number of factors, some of which include age, weight, and even diet. everyone has different schedules, and each one is independent to one another depending on their own individual health.
\ni'm not one to set an example, but i average anywhere from 5-7 hours of sleep on a regular basis. sometimes my body requires more, sometimes less, but it seems to balance out and i never feel as though i'm suffering from lack, or over abundance, of sleep.
\ni've included a yahoo! health article to help shed light on some of your own personal sleep habits.


If God is both all loving and all powerful, how can he/she/it allow suffering to exist?

Frankly, the answers thus far show a complete lack of understanding of basic theodicy and even the Christian Bible.  Assuming that – as a Christian – you buy into Job’s tale as at least allegorical, then there is acknowledgement that you cannot know the mind of G-d.  To attempt to do so is itself blasphemous.  To attempt know the mind of G-d is to be G-d, yet we are admonished when G-d responds to Job, not with an explanation for Job's suffering but rather with a question: Where was Job when G-d created the world?\n\nAnd it was said:\nJob 40 \n1 ¶ And Jehovah answered Job and said:\n2 Shall a reprover contend with the Almighty? He who reproves God, let him answer it.\n3 Then Job answered Jehovah and said:\n4 Behold, I am vile! What shall I answer You? I will put my hand to my mouth.\n5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yea, twice, but I will go no further.\n6 ¶ And Jehovah answered Job out of the tempest and said:\n7 Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will question you; and you make Me to know.\n8 Will you also set aside My judgment; will you condemn Me so that you may be justified?\n9 And have you an arm like God; or can you thunder with a voice like His?\n10 Adorn yourself with majesty now, and with grandeur, and clothe yourself with glory and honor;\n11 pour forth the outbursts of your anger; yea, look on everyone who is proud, and bring him down low;\n12 look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and trample the wicked in their place;\n13 hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in darkness.\n\nKnow that to contend to know G-d is to set yourself above him.\n\nA previous answer blasphemed: “G-d desires that we do not suffer, but as a result of the choices men made we have suffering.”\n\nAnd also: “But there is a plan to alleviate the suffering. And that is through redemption.”\n\nLies.  \n\nAnd “John 3:16”?!  I think that means “go Broncos.”\n\nAn alternative explanation is the easy one:  there is no G-d.  You either believe that, or you blaspheme in the attempt to understand Him.


Where can you donate an old encyclopedia set?

Any public Library should be able to accept your donation.\n\nIf you are in the Bay area, Sunnyvale Public Library is the best library to donate..


LASER is an acronym for\nLight Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation


Is there another cure for headaches besides taking pain killers?

If you would like to cure headaches naturally, try to take a lime, cut it into half and rub it on your \nforehead. The throbbing will go away.  This worked for me.


Would it seriously affect my chances of getting into college if I don't have a high SAT score?

Unfortunately, the answer is "Maybe".\n\nIf you are trying to get into a top tier school with very selective admissions, then a low SAT/ACT score is virutally a "kiss of death".\n\nHowever, if you are looking at most state univerisities, then a low SAT/ACT score is not too bad.  You may have to take a few remedial courses.\n\nMOST IMPORTANT!!  A low SAT/ACT score WILL NOT stop you from going to college.  And, in the long run, it really doesn't matter very much where you get your undergraduate degree (as long as the college/university is "regionally accredited").  For example, a degree in education from ANY regionally NCATE accredited school will get you hired as a teacher.  An engineering degree from ANY ABET accredited school will get you hired as an engineer.\n\nEnjoy


What's the market share of GM and Ford together in the USA?

From this article:\nhttp://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/04/A01-369542.htm\n\n"Their [U.S. automakers] combined share of the U.S. market shrank to a new low of 52.4 percent last month from 57 percent a year ago and 70 percent in 1999 when American consumers were snapping up light trucks and SUVs."\n\nIt fluctuates more than you would think, but right now (a 7-year low) it is a little over 50%


Hiccups are sudden, involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle. As the muscle contracts repeatedly, the opening between your vocal cords snaps shut to check the inflow of air and makes the hiccup sound. Irritation of the nerves that extend from the neck to the chest can cause hiccups.\n\nAlthough associated with a variety of ailments (some can be serious such as pneumonia or when harmful substances build up in the blood for example from kidney failure), hiccups are not serious and have no clear reason for occurring.


What are the best ways to incentivise people to answer questions here?

I think that, though counterintuitive, one of the most effective ways was to limit the number of questions a user can answer per day. A casual user will still answer the 11th question the next day, and more hard-core users will try to answer as many questions as allowed. For this to work, the limit has to be pretty small, at least starting out, so that it is reasonably easy for someone with other commitments to achieve it. Setting a small limit also requires users to choose which questions they most want to answer, which increases the likelihood that their answers will be useful. When more answers are useful, it increases the usefulness of the service, which in turn "incentivizes" people to answer questions. And by placing a premium on the number of questions a user can answer per unit time, the likelihood that the user will throw him/herself into it full-throttle but then quickly become bored is also decreased.\n\nSee my answer to the question, "Why am I only allowed to answer 10 questions a day here?":\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1005120801767\n\nOn the issue of the term "incentivize"--it is shameless corporate-speak, but it describes an impersonal, profit-oriented process. To attempt to use softer language to describe something that is inherently cold, calculating, and opportunistic (though not necessarily bad or wrong) would constitute euphemism, and would be both misleading and dangerous.


Does anyone have a recommendation for a good CPA who charges reasonable fees in Indianapolis?

i have used Dunbar,Cook and Shepard and the accountant was very good.As far as the "reasonable"part goes,they may have been a bit more than someone down the street,but if they are thorough and save you money-it's worth it ,isn't it?


Can you recommend a good credit union located in St. Louis?

I joined Meridian (recently merged with Anheuser Busch Credit Union) and have been very happy.  Financed two cars, have two credit cards, and a personal loan from them.  Very easy to do business with and great rates.


What bowl game will Penn State be going to?  What's the best way to get tickets?

The 'Joe Paterno' Retirement Bowl to be held some place in Florida.


How many U.S. states are named after kings or queens?

Things get a little sticky in the counting process here.  See, the Virginias were one until 1863, so do we count them as one or two?  Officially there was only one Virginia to name at the time, but I think we're looking to count how many states are named after kings or queens today, in the here and now, right?  So the number I think you're looking for is 7!    Georgia - Latin or English - After King George II of England  Louisiana - French - After King Louis XIV of France  Maryland - English - After Queen Henrietta Maria of England  North Carolina - Latin - After King Charles II of England  South Carolina - Latin - After King Charles II of England  Virginia - Latin or English - The virgin country (or country of the virgin), after Queen Elizabeth I of England  West Virginia - Latin or English - The western transmontane, counties of Virginia.  See Virginia, above.    Unless, of course, we want to squeeze New York in there too, because it was named after the Duke of York, who later became the King of England... James II, see.  I'll leave that one up to you.  Best,    `k.


Should cell phones and PDAs be allowed in school? Why or why not?

I don't think Cell Phones and PDAs should be allowed since students may spend lot of time playing with (and showing off) the  cool features of these gadgets. Also, some features can be misused (eg. camera phones). For communicating during emergency situations, I am sure school phones can be used.


How do you bring up the salary subject during an interview if the interviewer didn't bring it up?

Large companies usually have an HR person coordinating the interview for the hiring manager. In such a situation, its better to bring up the question with the HR person. After the first round of interviews, if you are being called back for further interviews, then I think this is a good time to bring it up with the recruiter. \n\nIf there is no recruiter involved, then in my opinion you should not bring up the compensation question till you get the sense that you are being seriously considered. The exception in my mind is that if you are trying to make some decisions/choices while interviewing for multiple positions then you can candidly bring it up after your first interview is done.


Why do human have five fingers and five toes?

According to a column that I read written by Joël Carbonnel, "Nature has never been able to count above five."\n\nA researcher has discovered that when the limbs have more than five digits they become distorted into a bow-legged shape which seriously interferes with normal walking or running.\n\nhttp://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Regular/joel74.htm


What is the difference betwen a close knit family and extended family?

A close knit family is simply a family that is close--it could apply to a nuclear family (mom, dad, kids) or extended family (cousins, uncles, grandparents).\nAn extended family describes a family unit that extends beyond mom, dad, and kids to include cousins, uncles/aunts, and grandparents.


Who had the shortest celebrity marriage?

Well, if you overlook one tiny but technical detail (Zsa Zsa Gabor was still married to husband #7) then Mrs. Gabor's marriage to husband #8 was shorter than Britney's. \n\nBritney's was 48 hours, while Mrs. Gabor's was just a day.


Here is a useful link:  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/optoutalrt.htm


I believe it originated in Croatia sometime in the middle ages where it was primarily worn by men to show allegiance to their King. It seems to have gained popularity in France where the French form for Croatia resulted in them being called 'cravat'. Details in the article.


Where is the nearest US post office in Se 5th Ave, Portland?


Why do people have the bird, turkey for thanksgiving?

It is believed that the pilgrims and indians shared wild turkey and venison on the original Thanksgiving. \n\nTurkey's "Americanness" was established by Benjamin Franklin, who had advocated for the turkey, not the bald eagle, becoming the national bird.


How can I record audio directly from the browser to the web server?

Userplane has an audio/video recorder that will do that - you can check it out at http://www.userplane.com/apps/videoRecorder.cfm


It has become a tradition in some countries.


Is there a way in MS Excel to have a cell be equal to multiple cells? e.g.= D3 and D5, where d3 & 5 are words?

Use the CONCATENATE function, with one of the arguments being ", "\n\nThe formula you end up with should look something like this:\n=CONCATENATE(D3,", ",D5)


Can you give me tips on how to get over an ex?

Surround yourself with friends, family, people who love you. Go on a trip to clear your head. It doesn't have to be expensive, just go camping with some pals or take a day trip to a beautiful outdoor spot. Take up a new hobby. Now is the perfect time to start doing something you didn't have time for before. Exercise. Read humorous and uplifting books (NO romance novels!). Go to the movies (NO sequels to movies you saw with your ex!). Buy fresh fruits and vegetables and make a delicious homecooked meal for your best friends. Get out in the world, get some fresh air, stretch your legs.  Take some time to get to know yourself and figure out what you want in life.\nWhatever you do, DON'T wallow in self-pity at home. DON'T get drunk and call your ex! DON'T write your ex emails begging to take you back. DON'T hang out in front of your ex's house hoping to bump into him/her. DON'T jump into another relationship right away.


The finale of "M*A*S*H":\n\n'"Dallas," by the way, delivered an amazing 53.3 rating and 76 share with its "Who Shot JR?" wrap-up in 1980. It ranks as the No. 2 show of all time, behind only the 1983 series finale of "MASH" (60.2/77).'


Who played Will's dad on Will and Grace?


Why are handicapped bathroom stalls always built at the end of the restroom?

Presumably because they tend to be longer/bigger to accommodate extra space, and the most efficient place to put a larger stall is at the end of the room. (It would be in the way if it were in the middle.)


Who said "Do, or do not. There is no 'try'"?


Some fundamentals for men: talk 30-40% and let her talk the rest of the time.  Open doors, pick up the tab, and make eye contact.    One big mistake I see guys make, and one that I made back in my dating days, is making the date seem more like an interview.    Sure, you want to get to know the person, but that doesn't have to be crammed into one night of Q&A.  Make an effort to strike up casual conversation, and talk about things that are in the moment.  Remember, people evaluate how much they like or dislike you based upon the quality of the experience they have in your presence.  If you are able to show people a good time, they will be attracted to you.  If you make people feel like they are interviewing for a job, they will not be so keen on another date. (Watch any episode of Blind Date to find out what NOT to do.)


How many countries and territories are there in the world?

There are 193 countries in the world. \n\nhttp://geography.about.com/library/misc/blnationalcapitals.htm\n\nThere are 61 territories and 6 disputed territories.\n\nhttp://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762461.html


Mean Distance of Moon from Earth - 238,712 mi (384,400 km)\nGreatest Distance of Moon from Earth (Apogee) - 252,586 mi (406,740 km) Shortest Distance of Moon from Earth (Perigee) - 221,331 mi (356,410 km)


The answer to this question changes from day to day.     Dell flatscreens have a good reputation.  If you stay away from the very biggest screens (25" for example) you can save a lot of money.\n\nSharkeyExtreme (www.sharkeyextreme.com) recommends 17" LCDs for the most savings (~ $250).  If you want something a little bigger, they suggest the Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW 20.1" LCD.  I got one of those myself and it's gorgeous.  I checked www.shopper.com and found one for $518.


What song that was played whenever they showed the dancing baby on Alley McBeal?

Hooked On A Feeling written by Mark James


RSVP is the abbreviation of French répondez s'il vous plaît - please reply.


Where's a good place to buy a skirt for beneath the Christmas tree?

Target has a great selection.  You can get plain red felt for $4.99, or a variety of more elaborate ones for a lot more.  As always, Target is a great choice!