Altus04

I had the right-of-way in a two-way stop (i.e. my street had no stop) and was about to go through the intersection, when a cop decided he didn't need to acknowledge the stop sign on his street and came speeding through. He applied brake only when he was smack in middle of the intersection, after realizing my car was inches from T-boning his. He looked at me for a moment, then sped on. I did not hit him, but what if I had? I was driving carefully at the proper speed limit. Would there have been any penalty to me for hitting his car?

IMSLP says only works published before 1923 are safe for download, but wouldn't all of his material be public domain since Prokofiev passed in 1953? How exactly does the copyright law work? His fifth symphony is from 1944, so I assume I shouldn't download this in the US. If I am correct, where might I be able to purchase a flute part?

I'm supposed to upload my transcripts to my graduate school application online but the only acceptable formats are doc and pdf. The scanner only allowed image options or I would have simply scanned the document as a pdf, so how do I convert it now? Can I? Should I try to scan the pages again?

I'm trying to remember the name of this baby doll I owned ca.1990, simply because it's bothering me not to know. I wish I had a picture to help...I did an image search of "Baby Talk A Lot Doll" but nothing matches as of yet.

It was a baby doll in pink PJs with teddy bears on them. She had a head of short hair and eyes that would open and shut. She also had a voice box that would speak INCESSANTLY with phrases like:

"Turn me over! Turn me over!"

"Feed me!"

"Mommy! Turn me over!"

"Night night."

"I love you"

"Turn me over!"

"Turn me over!"

"Mommy! Turn me over!"

I believe she would say "Night night" and then stop for a while, but she always came back to life on her own like the creepy creeper doll that she was.

The creepy thing would wake me up talking in the middle of the night with "Turn me over! Turn me over!"

Did anyone else have this doll as a kid? Anyone remember what her name might have been??

When I say "healthy," I mean nutritionally rich meals with few artificial ingredients. I've been looking through Google and a few bookstores, but there is SO much material that it's a tad overwhelming. There seems to be a very blurred definition of "healthy" eating which is geared more toward weight loss than intake of essential vitamins and nutrients. I'm more interested in the latter. What's out there?

Please include links or places to buy if you make suggestions. Thanks!!

...because he was Haydn!

What's your favorite music joke? Corny, silly, dirty, whatever, I don't care (YA might...). 10pts for the best!

As I've begun to look online, I've realized that I have absolutely NO idea what I'm looking for. I'm seeing prices that range from less than $100 to more than $600, yet nothing on fluteworld costs more than $300.

It'd be nice to record some things myself, unaccompanied pieces and such...I'd like to put a website together with sound clips, maybe even link to the site on business cards.

I figure the amount of money I'd spend booking a hall for some recording sessions would probably equal that of what I could spend on some nice equipment to do much of this myself.

Recommendations? I'd really like a good microphone and probably some sound editing software that would allow me to edit out accidental noise and possibly add some subtle reverb. Where should I look, and how much should I expect to spend?

Thanks!!

So there's this ex-couple that I know and used to be close friends with. The girl has been a good friend of mine for years, and I simply know the guy through her.

Brief account of their relationship: All was great for nearly two years. We all thought they'd get married. I was so happy for my friend for finding "the one".... until he became a bit of a p***y about a year ago, breaking up with her over the internet while he was out of town, which devastated her. After it happened, he was really flaky with her, saying he loved and wanted to be with her but never putting forth actions that matched his words. She's gotten over it quasi-recently. I haven't seen much of her lately since she graduated, haven't seen him since before he broke things off, and haven't thought of them as a couple until two nights ago when I had a STRANGE dream...

He came into the coffee shop where I work. I said hello just before she stormed in, angry and swearing. She had a giant pair of garden shears. I hid behind the counter, unsure of what she was going to do. Sure enough I heard a scream and commotion, but didn't budge from behind the counter, nor did my other coworkers. Things are a bit fuzzy from there...but the next thing I remember is looking over the counter to see blood all over the floor. His body was gone, and my friend had fled. Police were questioning us as witnesses and I was crying. I tried to tell what I saw/heard but kept lisping to the point that no one could understand me...then I woke up...

What does this mean???

Should I pay attention to the couple? Their place in my life? The blood on the floor? The weapon? Hiding behind the counter during something so serious? My friend's action? This would NEVER happen in real life...

So which parts of this dream are important and what do they mean?

1.) Do you like it? Dislike it? Think it's okay, but don't really listen enough to form a genuine opinion? Has this opinion evolved over age and experience, or remained the same throughout your life?

2.) What led you to that conclusion? For example, do you dislike it because you find it boring? You've never given it enough time to develop a familiarity? Do you like it because it holds special meaning for your life experiences? Maybe you like it because it makes you feel cultured/intellectual? etc...

3.) What is your opinion of people who feel differently?

4.) If you dislike, are there any classical works you DO enjoy? If you like it, are there specific pieces/composers/styles/genres/periods you despise?

5.) Have you refrained from sharing that opinion with peers/family/colleagues for fear of their judgment?

6.) Have you ever attended a live performance of a symphony, chamber music, opera, or ballet? For what or whom did you specifically attend? Would you feel more inclined to do so if tickets were less expensive?

7.) What was your experience like at said performance? Did you enjoy any/some/most/all of it? Were you ever bored? Did you wish it could be shorter? Longer?? Shorter individual pieces? Better-known pieces?

(If you attend regularly, or have attended many performance, describe either your overall experience, or your most recent)

8.) What is your favorite type of music?

Most of the time, I vote for my own answer if I put considerable thought into it and genuinely believe it to be the best. I have to admit, however, if I notice that a question in in voting and no one seems to be leaning in the direction of another answer I go ahead and choose my own. Sometimes I see the most ridiculous, pathetic, BS pieces of advice "chosen by voters" on these things, though. Those folks clearly voted for themselves, because I'm pretty sure the asker looking for real advice would have chosen that, nor would the other answerers who actually took the time to give real advice. It's just funny.

So be honest, do you choose your own answers as the best, regardless of their content, just to get the points? Do you choose them only when you believe them to be the best? A little of both?

No point here, really. I'm just curious, and I WILL be choosing a best answer, so give me something clever :-P

I know how to set up folders and move specific messages to those folders, but is there a way to set my mail so that messages from certain contacts go straight into those folders rather than my inbox? I like to get Facebook stuff sent to me, but it really clogs up my inbox, which is especially annoying when I'm waiting for important messages. Can I set up a Facebook folder so that all Facebook info goes straight into it?

How long can you take something like Tylenol PM (i.e. how many consecutive nights) for it to remain effective and safe?

I can NOT remain on a consistent sleep schedule to save my own life. It doesn't matter what time I got up in the morning; it doesn't matter if I resisted a nap...absolutely nothing natural works in getting myself to sleep before midnight. I try everything physical (hot shower, getting into bed, only using bed for sleep, etc etc etc blah blah BLAH), but my mind stays busy. I have to be on the verge of collapse to fall asleep, which doesn't happen unless I'm ridiculously sleep deprived or using a sleep aid. After today: waking up at 6:15am, working out, going to work at 8, getting home at 2, maintaining a full schedule of activities until attempting to wind down at 10:30, yet still being awake now at 3am, I'm wondering if I need some help with it. Could I take a sleep aid at 9pm every night until my body recognizes that dark=sleep the way it's supposed to? Would it interfere with the stimulant medication I take in the morning for ADHD? I did indeed have this problem prior to beginning the stimulants (which I wonder if I could manage without if I found the means to sleep consistently every night). I don't even take the full two-pill dosage of the sleep stuff as it makes me groggy in the morning. Would this be safe if it were only for a week or two?

The description seems almost made-up, an attempt to somehow validate irresponsible sleeping habits. This is not to say that I doubt the symptoms, as I have all of them, but I guess I'm curious as to whether this is a psychological issue, or a genuine condition which can be diagnosed through tests or sleep studies.

The nights when I make it to bed before sunrise are deemed a success. As my family describes it, I "come to life" at night. It's the way I am and the way I've always been.

In my public school years I often wished for school to be held from 8pm to 3am rather than 8am to 3pm. To this day I wish I had the liberty to function productively during these hours and sleep during the others (though during school I admittedly used many of those 8am-3pm hours for sleeping as it was)...I just feel BETTER at night; My energy levels are higher, my moods are consistent, and my concentration is 99% better than it is during the day. Sleeping during this time sometimes makes me feel as if I'm wasting the better part of myself (perhaps it's part of the psychological inability to fall asleep at an acceptable hour).

Now...I'd LOVE to feel like this during the day and sleep at night the way everyone else does, though if it were that simple I'd have changed the pattern long ago. I've tried...believe me, I have...approaching nearly every night over the past 15-ish years with the resolve to "get to bed at a reasonable hour this time." I'll get ready for bed at 9pm, get in bed by 9:30 or 10 and manage to stay awake until 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

I TRY to fall asleep and I psych myself out of it; I turn on the TV and become engrossed in the program; I turn on the computer and become engrossed in my activities; I get out my schoolwork and discover the ease with which I can complete it at this hour, then intentionally or unintentionally play catch-up; I read and get pulled into the story; I try to lay there in the dark and I worry/toss/turn; I take drugs and there's no point in going to bed early because I'll still be groggy enough to sleep until 1pm. Basically, I have to be on the verge of collapse (usually from several nights of inadequate sleep or one previous night of no sleep) to fall asleep at night.

I've tried to rearrange my patterns, though they never seem to stick. One night of accidental deviation and my whole system will instantly throw itself back into its old habits.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? I know there are many theories regarding the chemistry of larks versus night owls, so is DSPS just some additional justification behind the percieved inappropriateness of the night owls' behavior?

I have problems with ADHD, depression, and anxiety...so my hesitant attitude with DSPS mainly comes from the fact that I don't need another "disorder" in my life....I know also, that I've experienced SIGNIFICANT reduction in the symptoms of all three on the rare occasions when I've managed to control my sleep. If this is the underlying cause for most of the rest, then maybe I should look into it further. Is there anything that really helps, though? Techniques I haven't mentioned to rearrange my circadian rhythm, professional treatments that specialists can help with? Maybe I should just look into careers that would allow me to work the damn night shift?

I'm a flutist, and I'm having trouble getting gigs now that I'm no longer living around school. It was admittedly easy living in town there. The churches and such in the area were well aware of the music school and called to get musicians all the time. A couple of the churches knew my name and called me directly whenever they needed flute.

Now...no one in town knows my name. More bluntly put, I don't know how to go about getting gigs now that I have to get them for myself instead of them coming to me. I'm on sublists with some of the orchestras in my state, so I get those on occasion, but no one has any regular openings. Even if they did, I'd obviously need to do more to earn the money I need...but how do I do that? Every town is different, I realize, but in general, who should I contact and what should I say?

Churches in my college town were willing to hire/pay students, but are most churches up for that when they likely have members who will play for free?

What about weddings and other events? How do people who don't know musicians go about finding them? I imagine they're more likely to hire an existent chamber group than a flutist who says she can find others to play...or are they? Should I get a chamber group together that can adjust instrumentation/rep according to needs? How do we advertise in that case?

I have a few core classes left before I'm completely finished with my degree, at which point I'm more willing to travel to make this happen. In the meantime, how do I make this work while I'm in one area? I accept this being a partial income on top of teaching or a regular job for a while, but how do I make that partial income larger and keep myself playing until I'm done with undergrad?

Several days ago, my jack russell terrier came into the house with a red nose, swollen face, and bloodshot eyes. My parents rushed him to the vet, who determined he'd been stung by something and gave him a shot of benadryl and steroids. The swelling went down and he was fine, but ever since then he's been lacking in his usual energy. He's never been one to lay around much and now he's doing so nonstop. Is he feeling some after-effects of the shot, or should I be worried?

I've been coloring my naturally-blonde hair dark brown for a few years now and I'm tired of it. What's the least damaging way to remove the color? I've got some DIY color remover, but I'm a little scared to try it. Is it expensive to have the color professionally stripped?

Was it simply the uncertainty about its intensity that had everyone in a panic? Is it somehow more dangerous than, er...regular flu?

How many died from the influenza virus in 2008 and why weren't those stats watched this closely?

I guess I'm trying to understand what makes this disease different, because if the media and others were truly accurate about such things, I imagine we wouldn't be around to worry about the swine flu this time around as we'd have died already from the avian flu or sars, or AIDS, or the swine flu that came around decades ago...

I always seem to feel tired, dizzy, or just plain ill. It never fails and I don't know why. I eat well, drink plenty of water (I do drink 1-2 daily cups of coffee or tea, but feel this way even when I don't), and exercise 3-5 times a week. The only times I feel okay are during/immediately after exercise, or when I'm doing something that stimulates my mind enough to distract me from the nausea.

Fatigue makes it worse...while I don't always get adequate rest, even getting a good night of sleep won't correct the issue.

I've been in decent health all my life. I do have heart health issues within my family, but I'm normal thus far. Blood pressure is consistently in the low-average range because of my regular exercise.

I rarely get sick, but I never feel completely well. Never 100%...more like a very consistent 60-80%. What could this be???

It turned black last week after I wore some bad running shoes. I drained the fluid, but it sort of became loose a few days later, and last night, it came right off. It's obviously a little sensitive, but it doesn't hurt at all. I've used some peroxide and ointment, and intend to keep it as clean as I can, but is there anything else I should do for it?

A few other concerns:

1.) Will wrapping my toe with tape or a bandage interfere with the re-growth?

2.) Do I need to take any kind of a break from running?

3.) Is there any reason to see a doctor? Obviously I will if it starts to hurt, but it's painless at present.

4.) There's also a little bit of nail beneath the cuticle that I can't seem to remove. Will my toe become infected if that stays there, or should I keep trying to remove it?

Thanks for your help!

I've been running for a few weeks now, but am having some trouble with my right calf over the past few days. It doesn't happen while I run or when I'm resting, but right after I get in from my workout I get this extreme discomfort (no pain, just discomfort) at the front of my leg for several minutes. I'm fine again after I stretch and rest for a short while, but I'm now on day three of this occurrence and it seems to progressively get worse.

I'm not working that hard...5-6 mph for 15-20 minutes, 5 days a week, warming up and cooling down every single time, plenty of water, eating enough...What's the deal??