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1) The way one commonly gets a cold is by touching a "hot" surface - one with cold viruses on it - then touching a mucous membrane, such as eyes, nose or mouth. If you find yourself touching your face a lot, it could be that. I had a phase in college when I was in the "cold of the month" club, which got me considering what was causing it. Avoiding touching my face, eyes, nose or mouth unless I'd washed my hands resulted in a significant reduction in colds. Also - try Coldeeze. It does seem to help: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12424502 2) Top hospital in the world, Johns Hopkins: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ - it can take a few months to get in for a call-in appointment, but if you find a department that might be helpful, might be worth it. They take insurance. It is in/around Baltimore so you shouldn't go wandering the city. If the adjustments in item 1 don't help, this option exists. 3) Sleep hygiene. Many don't like going to sleep. It takes discipline. But getting 8 hours is pretty important for overall health. Yes, there are some who can get by regularly with less but it's not true for most. And getting enough can be difficult to do. But it's important for overall health.

QuoteSo I bought a laptop that has Windows 7 installed on it. But I would like to get Ubuntu Linux because I want to learn bioinformatics and they often use Linux. Should I make a partition on my harddrive & install Ubuntu on it? Someone also told me that I don't need to do that, that there is a way to install Linux within Windows.Quote My recommendation would be to download the free VMware player: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/faqs.html Then download a prebuilt Linux virtual machine: http://www.turnkeylinux.org/ Note: These are multi-gigabyte downloads, if I recall correctly. Run the player on your Windows desktop, navigate to the Virtual Machine, open it and experiment away. It's just like a Linux box in essentially every way. Be patient, it requires a lot of computing power. I have a router, and it gets an IP address from that. I just ssh to it. NOTE: If you click in the VMware player window, your mouse will disappear and the console gets full control. To get your mouse pointer back, hold down the ctrl-alt keys simultaneously. A great book on Linux is "Running Linux" by Dalheimer and Welsh (O'Reilly publishing). Download Putty so you can ssh into your new Linux box: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html There's typically no graphical interface in these virtual machines. However, Linux does offer a rich graphical desktop type interface. Red Hat usually comes with a good one. CentOS does too.

Title: "Amazing video of 747 lifting in place in extreme wind conditions - 1080P HD" Link (SFW, duration: 02:38 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHhZwvdRR5c

You might want to contact your local SPCA for pointers to pet crematoriums. I used a local one some years ago, run by the local SPCA, and was very satisfied.

Equifax is one of the big three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Transunion, Experian). They have a service for screening residents. No idea how much it costs. ... and edited to include one more data point: Equifax identity report: From the link: "Anyone who might be engaging in a person-to-person transaction with someone that they don't know can benefit from Equifax Identity Report. For example, if you are a landlord, if you're buying or selling a car, listing an item for sale in the Classifieds section, even if you're looking for a nanny or contractor, requesting to review someone's Identity Report can be a good first step towards a successful transaction."

I recommend McAfee Stinger for a first go-round: http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/how-to-use-stinger.aspx It should at least cripple the malware. I've used it to good effect. You could download it another PC, burn it on a CD and run it off that. Next, after the malware is crippled/removed, I hate to say it because I have a love/hate affair with Norton, but get Norton Internet Security (50 bucks). A friend with questionable internet tastes was routinely getting virii with the free antivirus he was running. I recommended Norton - a resource hog - but he recently commented that his computer has been virus free for over a year.

I'm not a doctor, of course, but that doesn't keep me from giving advice. I've found pain killers are only addictive if you're not taking them for pain. I and others I've known have taken them for extended periods for pain. When the pain lessened, so did the dosage. When the pain was gone, we quit taking them. No problem.

I blew up my ankle back in August 06. I kept a detailed timeline of my injury recovery because a) I'm that kind of guy and b) I thought it would benefit someone in the future. The timeline is here. Re: leg aching: I was on Percocets for about six weeks. They were marvelous for reducing the post operative pain. They are very dangerous in terms of addiction. So as soon as I could, I weaned myself off of them. I wasn't a happy camper, but after the Percs, I did understand what painkiller addiction was all about. I wasn't keen to live the experience. Keeping the leg elevated is important. The leg will have problems pumping out for a variety of reasons. Keeping it elevated is important and helps reduce the swelling. I'd sleep with it elevated. Re: the depending on others - I think the best thing I did was to accept the situation and make the best of it. Make the best of it. I could have had a "woe is me" attitude, or lamented my misfortune, but that would have just caused me more discomfort. I actively tried to make the best of it in order to reduce my discomfort. I'm hardly a chirpily cheery fellow. But several people complimented me on being so positive about it all. Ultimately it benefited me. Finally, do what the doc says. When he says, "Don't put weight on it", he really means it. Don't eff around with that. Think of a very slow-setting epoxy that is healing your bones. You cannot move it around. It must stay still and unstressed. Some discipline now will pay off later. I had a spectacularly complex break, literally blew up the ankle. It's healed pretty well. Five years later, I still have all my hardware (9 screws and a plate). It doesn't bother me. It's an interesting memento of my experience.

I'm very sorry for your loss. My sincerest condolences. Cancer is the scourge of our age. I know a lady whose husband died in 2000, after a five year battle. A week or so after that, her son took ill. Within 18 months, he too was gone. Two terrible blows. After some time, she started seeing other people again. I last talked to her in person in 2007, and she looked vibrant.

Don't let him suffer. Regarding euthanasia at the vet's, it's a calm process. I bought my friend a thick cushion from a fabric store. On it I put some puppy absorbent pads. On that I put a plush towel. He couldn't walk so that's where I put him. He was quite comfortable. I was petting him and making silly talk, like we always did. The vet got the syringe with the anaesthetic primed. He looked at me, and I told him to go ahead. He gently administered the surgical anaesthetic in a front leg. My friend's eyes slowly closed. There was a moment of tenseness, then he completely relaxed. He looked like he had smile on his face. I made sure he didn't see me upset. I kept petting him. After a few minutes, the vet took his stethescope, took a few listens, and indicated he was gone. Our local SPCA has a cremation facility. The vet and his assistant helped me put the cushion with my friend on it, in the back seat. It was a 30-40 minute drive. I felt a sense of relief that the storm had passed. At the SPCA, the attendant took the body. The next day, I got his ashes. They hold a place of honor. I have one regret - I wish I would have clipped a lock of his hair. Over the next days as we cleaned the house and put his stuff in a storage steamer trunk, I'd find a few hairs. I saved them. Now, years later, it's nice to have them. Even though they were nothing but an annoyance when he was on the planet. Get some powerful pain medications for him. Make sure he isn't suffering. Let him go a bit sooner rather than later, IMHO. Don't let him see you upset. The transition is something all beings must go through. Make his as pleasant as possible. The best we can do for our companion animals is to give them the best life we can, and give them the best death we can. Later, when the storm has passed, you can think of his life and smile, and you can think think of his death as being the best one you could give him. This essay on the loss of a cherished companion, "The Journey", by Crystal Ward Kent, is worth a read.

I saw this in Newsweek some time ago and have been meaning to post it here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/184156/page/1 "The science that explains why elite military forces bounce back faster than the rest of us. ... NPY is an abundant amino acid in our bodies that helps regulate our blood pressure, appetite, learning and memory. It also works as a natural tranquilizer, controlling anxiety and buffering the effects of stress hormones like norepenephrine, one of the chemicals that most of us simply call adrenaline. In essence, NPY is one of the fire hoses that your brain uses to extinguish your alarm and fear responses by keeping the frontal-lobe parts of your brain working longer under stress. ... With so much more NPY in their systems, the Special Forces soldiers were much more clearheaded under interrogation stress and performed better according to the trainers. Special Forces soldiers really are special and different from the rest of the Army. They stay more focused and engaged in a crisis and bounce back faster afterward because their bodies produce massive amounts of natural anti-anxiety chemicals. In the fog of war—and everyday life for that matter—that's a major advantage. ... At POW camp and dive school, Morgan has discovered a simple and accurate way of predicting who will survive and perform the best under extreme stress. You might call it the telltale heart. It starts with something called heart-rate variability, or HRV, the variations between beats. Healthy people have a lot of variability in the intervals between their beats, with their tickers speeding up and slowing down all the time. It turns out that the best survivors don't have a lot of heart-rate variability. Instead, they've got "metronomic heartbeats"—their hearts thump steadily like metronomes—with almost no variability between beats."

My condolences. Losing a good friend like that is always difficult. The river of Time eventually turns the jagged rock of loss into a smooth pebble. Here's an epitaph from Lord Byron, upon the loss of his companion, a Newfoundland, in 1808. This is on the Newfoundland's stone monument on the estate grounds: Epitaph To A Dog "Near this Spot are deposited the Remains of One who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human Ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a DOG, who was born in Newfoundland May 1803 and died at Newstead Abbey Nov. 18, 1808. "

Wow, great pictures

I'm very sorry for your loss. I, and many others, have experienced it too, from time immemorial. Lord Byron said it very well, on the loss of his companion, a Newfoundland, in his Epitaph To A Dog, etched on the dog's stone monument: "Near this Spot are deposited the Remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human Ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a DOG, who was born in Newfoundland May 1803 and died at Newstead Abbey Nov. 18, 1808. "

1) I put the drop-down box into Zarkon's workbook, in the Calc sheet. 2) Zarkon's Vlookup function was looking at cell B3 (Social Security number) in order to find the correct row in the Data worksheet, and copy the value from specified column in that row, into the Calc worksheet. 3) The drop-down box now updates the cell B3 with the Social Security number. 4) Thus, all the vlookup functions Zarkon set up, now change, based on the social security number that is listed in cell B3. =============================== References: The VLookup function: http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/vlookup.php The drop-down box: http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/questions/create_combo.php =============================== Notes: 1) Regarding the gray fields under the drop-down box: the top one is the position number in the list. 2) The bottom field looks at that position number, goes to the data sheet, and displays the social security at the corresponding position in the first column. So, if Sally is the third item in the list, the index function pulls out the third item in the first column, which is social security number. 3) I said the drop down box updates the Social Security number. Specifically, the drop down box puts the list-position-number of the item selected into a cell; the INDEX function finds the social security number by going down the column of social security numbers, and picking the number in the same position in that range (list); and a formula in cell B3 just displays that value. 4) IMPORTANT: As you add rows (employees) to the Data sheet, you must 1) edit the drop-down box control (right-click->Format Control) and increase the range to include the new row; and 2) update the index function's first parameter to also include the new row. 5) No macros were used by the drop down box. There is one VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) function (i.e., a macro) in the workbook, but I don't think it's being used for anything. 6) If you are trying to display a date, make sure you format the cell to display a date. Otherwise, it will display a large number. To interpret that number as a date, the cell must be formatted to display a date.

I took a crack at it too. The drop-down box is put on the sheet from the Forms toolbar (View->Toolbars->forms). The values in yellow are values from the drop-down box. The values in green are the few values the macro is loading from the Data sheet. The peach field is a value from the Data sheet I wasn't sure where to put. The drop down box runs the macro "CaptureUser()". I set what macro the drop down box should run when I right-clicked on the drop-down box and selected "Assign Macro". The macro is just some simple VBA code. Go to Tools->Macro->Visual Basic Editor, and you'll see the "CaptureUser()" macro. I've heavily commented the relatively simple function to give you an idea of what it's doing. I'm an intermediate Excel user, but know some VBA. I got the combo box information from this site: http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/questions/create_combo.php This should get you started. There is one drawback to this method: You have to update the formula on the Calc sheet whenever you add a new employee on the Data sheet; and you have to update the values the combo box is linked to, and displays, when you add a new employee. But, that's no big deal really.

I think nothing beats a good physical therapist to help getting back to normal. I felt that mine was quite effective. Some are not. I've said that mine's effectiveness was a result of her "skill, training, and utter lack of human compassion" The physical therapy was rather painful, but it was a tolerable, "good" pain, not a bad pain. It would make me sweat on occassion, but it was worthwhile. I got my range of motion back as a result of my physical therapist twisting and turning my ankle. Then I started back with the leg work at the gym. So, I personally did not do anything with swimming. I waited until the incisions were healed before immersing the ankle. I recommend a good physical therapist to brutalize you back into full range of motion. Then doing leg work at the gym. Or other appropriate exercises to help with the atrophy. My $0.02.

PBS's NOVA chronicled the building of a full-sized trebuchet here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/ An absolutely fascinating documentary.

It REALLY is hard not to. Even in a non wt bearing, full leg cast, sometimes I find myself resting a little on it, mainly when in a sitting (non reclined) position. I am trying though. There is a touch of leeway here. I was able to rest my cast on the floor when I was sitting up, which slightly loaded the cast. I didn't do it for too long, but it wasn't something that was going to impact the healing. I specifically asked the orthopedic surgeon about this, and he said resting it on the ground while sitting was okay. You may want to ask your orthopod about the sitting thing. But the bone healing is like slow setting epoxy - lack of movement and loading is paramount, so the epoxy can harden. I'm delighted it's provided some benefit. When I was recovering, I scoured the web for tidbits of information about fractures and recovery. I put the page up for both posterity and to provide information to others in a similar situation. And here's one more link I found quite interesting: A description of the fracture recovery process. One can make the best of the situation or make the worst of it. Making the best of the situation is much more pleasant

I had a trimalleolar ankle fracture. Here's my recovery timeline. And here's a description of the incident. Hope that might provide some perspective and perhaps an expection of how things may proceed. Some observations: 1) Don't put weight on the leg. My doctor said, "Don't put any weight on it." That didn't mean put a little bit of weight on it, or put weight on it when I feel like it - it meant, "Don't. Put. Any. Weight. On. It." This seems to be a problem with skydivers, based on a variety of injury posts I've read. 2) Books, an internet-connected laptop, email, a telephone and the TV are your friend. 3) Keep the leg elevated. Avoid the whole "compartment syndrome" scene. 4) The better you take care of yourself now, the less problems you'll have later on. 5) Get your laptop hooked up to the Internet. If you are having connection problems, the first thing to do is remove power from the modem entirely, wait 30 seconds, then power it back up. Then connect it to your laptop. 6) Take a multivitamin and calcium supplements. 7) The first week is the most annoying, while you are trying to figure out how to do stuff like use the toilet without putting weight on the leg. 8) Speaking of which - get rails for your toilet. Easy to install, and really, really helpful in not putting weight on the ankle. I also used a wheelchair in the kitchen, and to sit at my desk, doing mail and such. A foldable eating tray is nice to have in the kitchen. The wheelchair was a rental. 9) I was on the couch for 3 weeks. I started going back into work the next week, once a week for a few hours. I'm a keyboard commando though. Adapt, improvise, overcome. Keeping the leg down can get uncomfortable. Especially in the first several weeks. Keeping it elevated was really helpful for me. Adapt, improvise, overcome. Keep perspective. You're confined in a climate controlled environment, with access to the latest entertainment, in the USA, in 2008. This ain't Darfur. Some more potentially interesting links: http://eightstepstohealth.com/My_Trimalleolar_Ankle_Fracture.html http://www.koaseeds.com/trimalleolar-fracture/ankle-page.html Google searches on fracture recovery and such can provide some interesting reading. Hope this helps.

I'm very sorry for your loss. I've been there. In difficult times, I believe the best a person can do is acquit one's duties honorably. You did so. Time heals everything. The river of time eventually turns the jagged rock of pain into a smooth pebble. In the meantime, realize that your friend had one of the easiest deaths on the planet, with a barbiturate overdose. And remember the 99% of time together was good. The best thing we can do is give our companion animals the best life we can, and then the best death we can. Plus, posting this information on the web will provide someone else with this information and hopefully allow them to make more clear and informed decisions.

I believe University of Pennsylvania has one of the top veterinary hospitals in the country: Ryan Veterinary Hospital (small animal hospital). The Penn large animal hospital was where they took Barbaro. Perhaps get some thoughts from your vets about veterinary hospitals they regard highly. FYI.

Congratulations!

It gets better. Don't grasp the grief too tightly. Never forget, but try to think of the good things. Eventually, the sharp edges of the grief are smoothed away in the day-to-day of life. Like a jagged rock becoming a smooth pebble in a river. And, think of it this way: You had your cat for some years most likely. These last weeks are a tiny percentage of the time you've spent with your cat. You can choose to focus on the vast percentage of good times, or the tiny percentage of bad, at the end. I don't think it would be fair to you or your cat to just focus on the painful part. And I don't think your friend would be too happy if you did that. And, you did your best. The best thing people can do is to is to give their companion animals the best life possible, and then, when the time comes, the best death possible. Your cat had one of the easiest deaths on the planet. And it sounds like the life was pretty good too.

Little Italy has attractions too. It's one of the patrolled, touristy pockets.