Captain Jean Luc Picard

I'm in high school, and I have never planned a trip on my own before. I want to have a basic idea of cost before I pitch the idea to my parents. I really want to go to Comic-Con next year, and I need to know how much money each person on the trip would need to save up individually, and the total cost of the trip. I know that I need to order tickets, a place to stay, know where to eat, etc. But I really don't know where to start. I've already looked on travel websites, but they have left me pretty confused.

There will be three people (possibly four, but I'm going to stick with three people) going, one adult and two sixteen year olds (which many travel companies count as adult). We would start in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and end in San Diego. Any means of transportation are fine, plane, train, even driving. Whatever would be cheapest.

When it comes to hotels, two rooms would be needed, one for girls, and one for the boy.

Comic-Con itself is $21 for a junior (13-17 years old) and $42 for an adult on Thursday-Saturday (I have no clue when we could go), and $12 for a junior, $24 for an adult on Sunday. All of this is without preview night. This price needs to be factored into the total.

Here are the things I need to know, and would like advice/websites to find out the answers to, if not actual figures.

How much is a plane/train ticket to San Diego from Milwaukee Wisconsin (or the Chicago airport) or how much would gas be from Milwaukee to San Diego?

How long would travel take?

What hotels are near Comic-Con?

How much are those hotels?

If there are cheaper hotels further from Comic-Con, where are they, how much are they and what is the best way of transportation to get there from the hotel?

For those of you who have gone to Comic-Con, how much pocket money would you suggest?

As for food, we can live on McDonalds, but is there any other cheap places in San Diego that would work?

Tolls? Do we pass through any toll states if we are driving, and are there tolls in California?

I may have forgotten something, if you can think of anything I forgot to take into consideration, please let me know.

Thank you so much.

Help with a Rainbow Dash costume? ;)?

I'm planning on being Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) for halloween. I have the whole thing planned out. I'm going to wear light blue fluffies (iheartraves.com/raveready.com, I haven't decided which yet), blue sweatpants (I live in Wisconsin, so after september, long clothes are mandatory), a blue shirt, and I am sewing some big puffy blue wings. My hair is already blue, but I am going to dye my bangs rainbow and put in a few rainbow extensions on the sides. I'm going to use blue face paint and do some anime-eye makeup (I'm even considering wearing large magenta contacts). I'm going to iron her cutie mark on the seat of the pants as well. The only problem is, I need suggestions on how I should do the tail.

I was thinking something that I could tuck into the waistband of my pants, but I don't know what material to use. Suggestions?

Thank you very much.

I'm planning on being Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) for halloween. I have the whole thing planned out. I'm going to wear light blue fluffies (iheartraves.com/raveready.com, I haven't decided which yet), blue sweatpants (I live in Wisconsin, so after september, long clothes are mandatory), a blue shirt, and I am sewing some big puffy blue wings. My hair is already blue, but I am going to dye my bangs rainbow and put in a few rainbow extensions on the sides. I'm going to use blue face paint and do some anime-eye makeup (I'm even considering wearing large magenta contacts). I'm going to iron her cutie mark on the seat of the pants as well. The only problem is, I need suggestions on how I should do the tail.

I was thinking something that I could tuck into the waistband of my pants, but I don't know what material to use. Suggestions?

Thank you very much.

For those of you who say that it doesn't say that homosexuality is wrong in the Bible, you are wrong, it does say that homosexuality is wrong, and that is not my question, so please don't answer that it isn't written. (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:8-10, Romans 1:24-27 all talk about the damnation of gays.)

What I was wondering is, WHY it is wrong in God's eyes. I grew up as an evangelical Christian, and now that I am becoming a young adult, I have come to the age where I begin to question my faith. I feel the presence of God all the time, and I believe he is real from my own personal experiences, but I want to know where God starts, and the damnation from the church begins. I like church, but I definitely think that Christians have misinterpreted and changed God's will over the years. I have gay friends, and though I don't understand the attraction to someone of the sam sex (because I am straight, and so there is no way I could understand), the God that I know is loving, and I don't know why it would be a problem.

Romans 1:24-27 says, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

This verse kind of says that homosexuality is a result of God leaving Adam and Eve (or at least that is how I read it). This lead me to believe that maybe God is against homosexuality because it is a reminder or a symbol of Adam and Eve disobeying him. I don't remember the exact verse, but I do remember reading (I think it was in Genesis) that in the garden of eden, there was no such thing as adultery, and it hinted that all men and women could have sex at that time. Obviously, that changed, so maybe his view on gay people changed as well? That seems to be a bit far fetched, but it is all I could come up with. I want to get other people's opinions in the mix to help me decide for myself.

I think that being gay is ok. I think that God is good, but he seems to disinclude gay people from heaven. I don't see their being a grey area in between those two notions. Why not? Here are some other verses to help people form their answers. It may just be the version of the Bible I am reading from, but they seem pretty harsh and straight foreword.

Leviticus 18:22

“ And with a man you shall not lie with as a man lies with a woman; it is an abomination. ”

Leviticus 20:13 states:

“ If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

1 Corinthians 6:8-10 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

Romans 1:24-27 says, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

Thank you so much for helping me with this problem. I am also considering joining our school's GSA program, and I don't know what to say to my conservative-repuclican-Christian parents about it. Any suggestions there? :)

Thanks again.

For those of you who say that it doesn't say that homosexuality is wrong in the Bible, you are wrong, it does say that homosexuality is wrong, and that is not my question, so please don't answer that it isn't written. (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:8-10, Romans 1:24-27 all talk about the damnation of gays.)

What I was wondering is, WHY it is wrong in God's eyes. I grew up as an evangelical Christian, and now that I am becoming a young adult, I have come to the age where I begin to question my faith. I feel the presence of God all the time, and I believe he is real from my own personal experiences, but I want to know where God starts, and the damnation from the church begins. I like church, but I definitely think that Christians have misinterpreted and changed God's will over the years. I have gay friends, and though I don't understand the attraction to someone of the sam sex (because I am straight, and so there is no way I could understand), the God that I know is loving, and I don't know why it would be a problem.

Romans 1:24-27 says, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

This verse kind of says that homosexuality is a result of God leaving Adam and Eve (or at least that is how I read it). This lead me to believe that maybe God is against homosexuality because it is a reminder or a symbol of Adam and Eve disobeying him. I don't remember the exact verse, but I do remember reading (I think it was in Genesis) that in the garden of eden, there was no such thing as adultery, and it hinted that all men and women could have sex at that time. Obviously, that changed, so maybe his view on gay people changed as well? That seems to be a bit far fetched, but it is all I could come up with. I want to get other people's opinions in the mix to help me decide for myself.

I think that being gay is ok. I think that God is good, but he seems to disinclude gay people from heaven. I don't see their being a grey area in between those two notions. Why not? Here are some other verses to help people form their answers. It may just be the version of the Bible I am reading from, but they seem pretty harsh and straight foreword.

Leviticus 18:22

“ And with a man you shall not lie with as a man lies with a woman; it is an abomination. ”

Leviticus 20:13 states:

“ If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

1 Corinthians 6:8-10 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

Romans 1:24-27 says, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

Thank you so much for helping me with this problem. I am also considering joining our school's GSA program, and I don't know what to say to my conservative-repuclican-Christian parents about it. Any suggestions there? :)

Thanks again.

I have friends who love anime, and I have seen a few movies here and there because of their obsession, and I read a few graphic novels over the summer. I like it, but I haven't really gotten around to watching the genre on my own. I was wondering what your favorite anime (books, movies, or series) is, and why. Are there any anime movies/series/books that you recommend NOT seeing? Pretty much anything having to do with anime would be nice, since I am new the whole thing, and I just think it's entertaining.

Thank you very much for your answers

I am doing a project for my high school finals, and I chose the topic of modern day feminism, because I wanted to do something that had personal meaning, and will more than likely be a woman for the rest of my life, so it's relevant to me.

Anyway, I don't know where to start. I know that women have lower wages than men, but what else? What organizations still stand? Powerful female feminist leaders? Powerful male feminists? Who apposes the feminist party, if anyone? If you have information about feminism that is not modern, I wouldn't mind hearing that either. Personal stories are welcome. Anything you feel is worth contributing, I want to hear it :)

Thank you so much for your answers.

I am doing a project for my high school finals, and I chose the topic of modern day feminism, because I wanted to do something that had personal meaning, and will more than likely be a woman for the rest of my life, so it's relevant to me.

Anyway, I don't know where to start. I know that women have lower wages than men, but what else? What organizations still stand? Powerful female feminist leaders? Powerful male feminists? Who apposes the feminist party, if anyone? If you have information about feminism that is not modern, I wouldn't mind hearing that either. Personal stories are welcome. Anything you feel is worth contributing, I want to hear it :)

Thank you so much for your answers.

I have a male mouse and a female. The female was pregnant once before but had a miscarriage. I knew she was pregnant a second time, but I did not expect her to have them for another couple of days. She surprised me with a large littler today. I removed the father as soon as I noticed, and she was snuggling with them earlier, but now she is ignoring them and sitting in the corner of he cage (her babies are in a nesting box in the middle of the cage). She is familiar with me, she has always been an attention hog, so I don't think that I made her want to disown her babies... but maybe? I did not touch the babies, but I did touch some of the bedding around them. I moved her food into the nesting box to try and make her want to care for them, but it hasn't changed anything. I removed all housing things that don't have babies so that she would want to go there for comfort, but she still is ignoring them. This is her first successful litter, and I have no nanny female for her.

Is it possible that she is just taking a break to clean herself? That she will go back to them?

I'm very worried. I want to know how long they can go without her, and how to get her re-interested.

Thank you very much for your answers.

I am in the process of mating a pair of regular mice. Before anyone gets worried, I am not talking about cross breeding fancy and spiny mice. I am going to keep all of the mice from the litter, and have a colony of female mice, and male mice in separate cages. I was wondering if it would be at all possible to integrate a spiny mouse or two into a colony of regular mice, just for the sake of variety, and because I really like the look of spiny mice. I have a friend who breeds them, and they are legal in my state. Any reasons why this would be a bad idea?

Thank you very much for your answers.

I'm a freshman in high school, and up until now, I have never owned a bird (I have two rats, and we keep family dogs, I've owned fish, frogs, mice, toads and newts before, but nothing avian). My Dad used to own an African grey when he was younger (who was so tame that he would go in the shower with him, and go on walks, etc.), so I have someone with experience with higher matenence birds if I ever need assistance.

Anyway, I am interested in buying a lovebird, and there aren't a lot of websites out there with in depth information. I have some questions.

Which would you suggest, a female or male lovebird? Why?

How big of a cage would you recommend?

Would you suggest getting one, or two (I read that there is a debate among experts about this, and I would rather just get one, but I don't want to make a mistake by only buying one and then realizing that I need to get him/her a companion because they are lonely and then having to go through the whole introduction process after the birds territorial of its cage)

If kept alone, how much time should be given to the bird daily?

Any toxic foods?

Any other weird things that are lethal to the bird (and I don't mean obvious things like bleach, or nail polish remover)?

Is this a good first time pet bird?

If you think there is a better pet bird out there, what is it?

How much space do two lovebirds need (the cage I have is on the smaller side)?

Are they big cuddlers?

Do they have unique personalities?

What kinds of games do they like to play?

Do they have any sweet spots?

Are there any places a lovebird doesn't like to be pet?

Why shouldn't I get a lovebird?

What kind of water dish do they use?

What kind of food dish do they use?

Do they need litter on the bottom of their cage, or newspaper?

Clipped wings, or unclipped wings?

If there's anything else that seems interesting, or that you think I should know, please tell me. Obviously I'm really early in my research, and I won't be getting one for a couple months, just to be sure I know exactly what I'm doing, but I thought some outside voices could be useful. :)

Thank you very much for your answers.

I'm a freshman in high school, and up until now, I have never owned a bird (I have two rats, and we keep family dogs, I've owned fish, frogs, mice, toads and newts before, but nothing avian). My Dad used to own an African grey when he was younger (who was so tame that he would go in the shower with him, and go on walks, etc.), so I have someone with experience with higher matenence birds if I ever need assistance.

Anyway, I am interested in buying a lovebird, and there aren't a lot of websites out there with in depth information. I have some questions.

Which would you suggest, a female or male lovebird? Why?

How big of a cage would you recommend?

Would you suggest getting one, or two (I read that there is a debate among experts about this, and I would rather just get one, but I don't want to make a mistake by only buying one and then realizing that I need to get him/her a companion because they are lonely and then having to go through the whole introduction process after the birds territorial of its cage)

If kept alone, how much time should be given to the bird daily?

Any toxic foods?

Any other weird things that are lethal to the bird (and I don't mean obvious things like bleach, or nail polish remover)?

Is this a good first time pet bird?

If you think there is a better pet bird out there, what is it?

How much space do two lovebirds need (the cage I have is on the smaller side)?

Are they big cuddlers?

Do they have unique personalities?

What kinds of games do they like to play?

Do they have any sweet spots?

Are there any places a lovebird doesn't like to be pet?

Why shouldn't I get a lovebird?

What kind of water dish do they use?

What kind of food dish do they use?

Do they need litter on the bottom of their cage, or newspaper?

Clipped wings, or unclipped wings?

If there's anything else that seems interesting, or that you think I should know, please tell me. Obviously I'm really early in my research, and I won't be getting one for a couple months, just to be sure I know exactly what I'm doing, but I thought some outside voices could be useful. :)

Thank you very much for your answers.

I bought a pet feeder mouse today (a pretty little tan). She's a female. Because she was supposed to be a feeder, they didn't keep track of how old each litter is, so they couldn't tell me how old she is. I intend to breed her after she's 8 weeks or so of age. She looks to me like she's at about 5 weeks now, and I know there is no way of knowing for sure, but I'd like to get an opinion from someone else.

She's about 6.5 cm long (not including the tail) and about 3 cm wide.

I know that size varies mouse to mouse, but if any of you have a guess, I'd like to know. I am thinking that I will hold off on breeding for a month, just to play it safe. Does this sound unsafe to anyone?

Please, if you don't know what you're talking about, don't talk.

Thank you for your answers.

I have a school project on anything in America from the year 1880 to the year 1962. This could be wars, music, television, inventions, politics, fashion; what ever. It's difficultly vague. I have had a heck of a time finding anything of interest. We are supposed to make it very, very specific, and pose it as a question. An example he gave us was instead of wanting to do "Teenage suicide", narrow it down to "Causes of Teenage suicide" and further narrow it to "Changes in society that have lead to teen age suicide". Personally, I think that is too specific and you will have a dry project that talks itself in circles, and their won't be enough information to make anything interesting. But that's just my opinion.

I would like to do a topic that I haven't learned about yet, so that I will actually get something out of it. This means (generally) that I would like to avoid racism, war effects, economics, and many standard procedure school topics (but, I'm not ruling those topics out).

So far in my research, I have liked the idea of flappers, and rat pack sort of things (but they are just a few years too far in the future). I was toying with the idea of Goldie Hawn and her effects on Hollywood, American circuses of the 1950s, Lucille Ball, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Barbie Dolls and how their disproportioned bodies have given girls weak body image (all of which is much to vague, but I would have narrowed in a bit). I want to do a project about people, and personalities, preferably not a historical event. If a project is going to give me this much wiggle room, I would like to really get some feeling into it, and I find it hard to become passionate when talking about war strategies, if you know what I mean. If I can do something that I usually wouldn't get to look up for school (I thought Woodstock would be fun, but that is just a few years after 1962). Something along the lines of entertainment, like musicians, actors, or sociologists who studied people of the time's general way of thinking. I open to any and all suggestions though.

So, if any of you have ANYTHING that you can think of within this time-frame that you would like to do a project on, please suggest it. Even if it's not something that fits what I previously described, I would love to hear it.

Thank you very much.

As of right now, I own two rats.

But, I have a friend who has two snakes and breeds mice to provide food. They keep about 10 breeder pairs and go from there. If a mouse is beating up other mice, they feed 'em to the snakes. If one of the babies is too cute to eat, they keep them. Anyways, I was there the other night, and I decided that I want a litter of mice. My idea is, to buy one female mouse, borrow one of her males (this has already been arranged for, and she has many males for me to chose from) until the female is pregnant.

I want to know from any experienced breeders, how different combinations turn out, and what your favorite is. I personally like moo cow mice (I'm not sure if that is the professional term for them, but I've heard them referred to as moo cow mice before, so I'm sticking with it) but I want to get an idea of what all my options are.

Once the litter is grown, I plan to keep all of the females and sell the males (although that plan might change).

Also, right after the female gets pregnant, is it ok to remove the male, or does he actually help raise the babies until they are of breeding age? How long do you think it will take for the female to become pregnant, and how long will she be pregnant?

Thank you very much!

I'm looking for something of really good quality (like a cannon or something similar) that can take good pictures and film. I don't mean a pocket camera, but something nice.

Thank you very much.

As of right now, I have a 7(ish) month old hairless rat, and a 8-9 week old fancy rat. They're both females. But, they aren't the reason I am asking this question. I went to my local pet store to see about volunteering there, and while getting the tour of the rodent department (because I have the most experience with rodents), I got to see the baby rats, and when I asked how old they are when the store sells them, I was told that they sell many litters for live reptile food before they mature, because their rats mate faster than they sell.

I understand that all animals need food, and though it's sad, I don't have a problem with that (I'm just trying to give you some context). I got the idea that it might be fun to buy two of these feeder babies and raise them myself. I think it would be fair to the rats, because I am confident that I can care for them, and if something goes wrong, they were predestined to be food anyway.

I have done a lot of research, I have a few contacts in case something goes wrong, and I will not be able to execute this plan for a couple of months, so I have a ton of time to prepare.

I was wondering if any you thought this was an unreasonable idea (or a humane idea), or if you saw any flaws. I am not sure if this is even a possibility for me to do, but I wanted to get second opinions before I plan too far ahead. I would have to do it in summer, because then I would have enough time to mother the rats until they can do well on their own (plus, I live in Wisconsin, where it gets so cold it can be deadly for humans, and it would be extremely difficult to keep a pinkie warm. Also, I'm a student, so I couldn't safely/logically fit them into my schedule.)

As for when they're older, I have a cage that's 17.5 X 30 X 30 that should be suitable for four rats, don't you think?

I just wanted to run this past other people (it never hurts).

Thank you very much for you input!

(Also, this is the website I have found the most information from if any of you would like to try the same thing, or if you have anything to say that you didn't see on here (it's where I've gotten all my notes thus far) http://ratfanclub.org/orphans.html )

I have a four month old hairless rat. I've had her for a month, and I have finally been able to get her a companion. The only problem is, her companion is 8 weeks old, and too small for the same cage. Whenever my older rat goes near the smaller, she will step on her, and hurt her. The eight week old can squeeze right out of my original cage, so we got her her own cage.

But how am I supposed to get them used to each other if they can't be caged together? They can hardly go near each other without my older rat stepping on her (and it is definitely not an action intended on hurting my smaller rat).

My baby rat is acting homesick. She hasn't been away from her Mom for long periods of time yet. Is there anything I should be sensitive to with such a youngster?

Also, the smaller cage I got her cannot have a wall attachment water bottle, so I gave her a dish of water- is that ok?

Most importantly, how can I safely get them used to each other?

Thank you very much

I would like to get two female mice in the very distant future. I was wondering whether spiny mice or fancy mice would better fit me (I know it's mostly preference (right?) and I wanted to know other people's preferences). I have some questions.

Do either type have special needs that the other doesn't?

Could I house one female spiny mouse with one female fancy mouse (because I definitely would do so if it is an option)?

Does one stink more than the other possibly?

Is a spiny mouse actually spiny feeling, or does it just look spiny?

Is there a special diet for a spiny mouse?

Any other differences I should know about?

Also, if I bought a spiny mouse, it would be from a breeder, and if I bought a fancy mouse, it would be from a local pet shop (it's well known, they take very good care of there animals, and I bought my hairless rat there) if that makes any difference to any of you. Whatever you can think of about either would be lovely.

Thank you very much.

I have a four month old hairless rat. I've had her for a month, and I have finally been able to get her a companion. The only problem is, her companion is 8 weeks old, and too small for the same cage. Whenever my older rat goes near the smaller, she will step on her, and hurt her. The eight week old can squeeze right out of my original cage, so we got her her own cage.

But how am I supposed to get them used to each other if they can't be caged together? They can hardly go near each other without my older rat stepping on her (and it is definitely not an action intended on hurting my smaller rat).

My baby rat is acting homesick. She hasn't been away from her Mom for long periods of time yet. Is there anything I should be sensitive to with such a youngster?

Also, the smaller cage I got her cannot have a wall attachment water bottle, so I gave her a dish of water- is that ok?

Thank you very much