coquina

Regarding the neck - Have you ever had a whiplash injury? If you put your hand on top of your head does it go away? (Try with either hand) Foot - Do you have any athletic shoes that have that high ankle thingy in the back of them? I can't wear shoes like that - everytime I walk and bend my foot that thing hits the back of my ankle and hurts the spot you describe.

Eat a lemon wedge, rind and all. They will stop immediately, I've never seen it fail. (No sugar allowed).

http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/grounders/lightningsafety.html

I've been reading some articles about Alzheimer's Disease, there is some evidence that there is a problem with the blood-brain barrier. http://www.alzheimersupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/2050/e/1/T/Alzheimers/ I gather that this amyloid beta protein is what causes the "plaques" found in the brains of A/D patients. Is this a protein that is normally able to cross into the brain? If so, the brain must use it for something, but you'd think it would undergo a chemical change and not come out the same as it went in. I'm interested in knowing more about A/D because there seems to be a very strong genetic propensity for it in my dad's side of the family.

I've also read that the meat/dairy industry treats their animals with large amounts of prophylactic antibiotics. There has been some concern that this is leading to a higher incidence of drug resistant bacteria. I don't know whether antibiotics would pass through milk though.

What gets through? Why? What doesn't get through? Why?

I think sodium is the culprit.

Eat something salty - some dill pickles or potato chips. Salt makes your body retain fluid. It's not a good idea for an older person with high blood pressure, but I doubt it would have any adverse affects on a younger person. Of course, eating something salty will make you thirsty, so you'll have to deal with that. I would think your best bet would be not to drink a lot of anything before hand. Just a few sips of water. Are you allowed to carry a water bottle with you?

That's the scientific word for biological or geological processes that concern lakes. I don't know about why water forms droplets, but I think it has something to do with the cohesiveness of the molecular structure. Someone else should be able to help you with that. I found one source that may help - http://www.uib.no/norpec/isotopes.htm I know that one thing that geologists use to determine past climates are oxygen isotope ratios. From this site: http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/communication/Willson/isotopeevidence.html I think when you refer to the "unique density properties of water", you must be refering to relationship of water molecules with O^16, as opposed to o^18. I periods of high evaporation, the lake water will contain a higher ratio of O^18, because the lighter O^16 is preferentially evaporated, and in cold climates or winter, it remains locked in ice, away from the lake. The O16 will eventually be returned to the lake by way of runoff, and as it flows down the streams and rivers, it may react with some of the sediment it picks up. The remaining O^18 in the lake is used my the organisms that live in it. For example, foraminiferas use it to make up their shells. I also know that how much sediment that is returned to the lake is a function of volume and velocity. Of course, the volume depends on the amount of rainfall and ice melt, but the velocity depends on the gradient (steepness) of the surrounding area. The more water, and the steeper the incline, the larger particles the water can carry. In mountain streams, fairly large boulders can be carried, then when the velocity slows down in the foothills the larger boulders are dropped out. As the gradient decreases, the sediments are progressively dropped, from larger to smaller. If the area surrounding the lake is pretty flat, all that is left to be carried into it are finely suspended particles like clay. In times of flood, because of increased volume, more sediment is deposited. I also know that lakes are transient geologically speaking, because over time the sediment running into them fills them up. (This is also a problem with man made reservoirs.) I do not know how the differences with which O^16 and O^18 react with other organic and subtances and nutrients, but I hope I've given you a clue as to where to start. Remember, to use the scientific terms when you google - you'll have a better shot at finding reliable scientific sites. Here's a link to a search for "lacustrine nutrients" on google. Hope this helps.

If your teacher gives lectures, get 2 notebooks, take notes in class in the "sloppy notebook". When you go home, transfer them in outline form into the "neat notebook", where they are organized and readable. If there are parts you didn't understand, go to your textbook and refine your comprehension. I have a sort of photographic memory, especially for what I have written. When it came time to take an exam, I could "see" my notebook in front of me and write down word for word what the teacher had said. Until I explained to him how I did it, he thought I was cheating.

My mom used to tell me that the instinct for self-preservation runs very strong in our family. Psi - There was a very interesting program about a community that was built about 20 years ago to be self sustaining in the desert. There were no automobiles, and everything was solar powered. I just looked through the science and discovery channel to see if I could find it, but I can't remember the name. I think it started with an "s", maybe someone else saw it and can remember more.

To get to someone quickly who is an expert at what you need to know, I suggest you go to the "About Physical Therapy" forum. I know that physical therapists must know in detail about how every muscle works to help people get rehabilitated from accidents and strokes. http://physicaltherapy.about.com/ There is a forum at the site - you have to register, but it's free.

http://www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/AnOldLadysPoem.html

Look into Pilates - http://www.pilates.com/pilatesfitness.html It is a system that strengthens the core muscles, and it does work. I have used it along with walking and diet modification to lose 110#. You don't have to have a lot of expensive gear, although they do sell it. You can just buy a book that explains the exercises.

I read somewhere that they also dried berries during the summer to be eaten during the winter.

to go sing for them. I love the "big band" sound, and the songs that were popular during the '40's. Here is a link to songs that were sung by Billie Holiday: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie-holiday/ There are some really great songs there. You might be able to find a music book of "Top Forties" songs. My mother was 95 when she died, and she had to be in a nursing home for a little while, because she broke her hip and it got infected. Mom had a wonderful mind, but the rest of her body was shot. I went to visit her every day, but I had to work. She was alone for hours, and she would have loved to have someone talk to her. I suggest when you go again that you ask the administration people which of their patients might enjoy having someone to talk to. The go - and listen to their stories about how life was when they were young. I'm sure you'll both enjoy it.

They have to deal with it the same way a single or widowed parent of an opposite sex child has to. Of course, the adoption agency places the children, maybe they wouldn't be likely to place an opposite sex child in the home. In the case of same sex parents and children, I would hope (and expect) that the gay parents would not try to force their lifestyle on the child, but would allow the child to choose his/her own preference, and support them, what ever it was.

I don't mean to drag this off-topic either - but I think I can compare the situation of whether there is a "homosexual" gene to that of whether or not there is an "alzheimers gene" Alzheimer's is rife in my dad's side of the family. There seems to be a gene that gives one a predisposition to it, and one can go to be tested to see if one has the gene. There are two problems. 1. Until somebody can do something about it - will it really benefit me to know. 2. Considering who has access to your medical files - if that becomes a part of it, and some insurance company gets wind of it - what will happen if I try to buy long term care insurance, or life insurance. Taken a step further, considering I am 55, if I apply for a bank loan, is somebody going to be able to access this data and find out. If there homosexuality is somehow linked to a gene, think of the implications. I would expect that, just as all people who carry the alzheimer's gene will not get the disease, all people who carry the "homosexual" gene - if there is one, will not exhibit the "syndrome" ( I don't know what to call it - it's certainly not a "disease" - but I don't think it's a choice either.) Anyway - I can see insurance actuaries adding dollars to the premium for what they perceive to be an increased incidence of AIDS. Bottom line, I guess, is that although I would like to understand people who are homosexual, I do not. That doesn't mean I am not able to accept and be friends with, people who are gay. I would compare it to people who come up to me because I am a widow and say, "I know just how you feel, my cat just died." No, you do not know how I feel. Just give me a hug and keep your mouth shut. So...I will do the same thing...

Especially as you get older. I had it in my knees. I saw a program on sports medicine that talked about knee problems. It said that most people overdevelop the muscles on the front and backs of their legs from running and walking, but do not do exercises which hold the joint in place from side to side. I started doing exercises which strengthened these muscles and both crepitus and joint pain has departed.

It's when you can hear your knees or other joints grinding. Apparently it is also a term used for the sounds one's lungs make when they have emphysema. Regardless - here's a definition and a link to the Universtity of Maryland about it - you can google it and come up with more. http://www.hyperdictionary.com/medical/crepitus http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsLookups/Symptoms/crepitus.html

As Ed's link says - that's the name for it. I have it too. I think it is related to stress because I first got it while my mother was ill, shortly after my husband died. It is there all the time, but I can usually "tune it out". It is expecially bad at night when everything is quiet - so I don't let it be quiet, I put the TV on the channel called "soundscapes" which plays soothing quiet music all the time, and in that way I can fall asleep.

The Native Americans had a unique point of view: http://www.newint.org/issue201/dreams.htm Has anyone else read about this?

If it's a "super magnet" you're probably out of luck. A wire EDM (electric discharge machine) might be able to cut it, but you'd probably be able to buy 10 magnets of the size you want for what it would cost to burn it in half. It it's not a very strong magnet, you might be able to saw it in half with a hacksaw, if you have a saw and vise in which to hold it. (If chips sticking to the saw blade and in the cut are a problem, use duct tape to get them off.)

I didn't mean to hijack your idea - I guess you had your own idea of writing something original. When you said that Blike was the cop - Office Krupke clicked, and I kinda went off on a tangent. I do think that writing a takeoff on something that is accessible to everyone would be easier than writing original stuff - especially with the limits of posting sound files, and "Westside Story" is something that we all can get access to, one way or the other. Heck if this works, the SFN Players could go on - to "Grease", "42nd St." , & "Chicago".