Gordon

I notice that when I scroll down the pages I see questions that were posted a few minutes ago, a couple of hours age, then suddenly it jumps to questions from 5 or 6 days ago. That's a big gap. Was Answers down or something?

I have an oil leak behind the main pulley at the bottom of the engine. (main shaft bearing, right side) I am told that this is a common problem with this car. How hard or expensive is this to fix?

I have an 18 year old MTD Yard Machines push lawn mower with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It runs fine; once I can get it started. The only way I can get it to start is to remove the long bolt that holds the air cleaner on, and drip gasoline into the air cleaner. Pull the starter cord and it fires right up.

The normal starting procedure is to use the priming bulb. But it doesn't seem to work. When I push it, I hear 'whoosh, whoosh' as it pumps air. I should be hearing the ' goosh goosh' sound of gasoline. Anyone know if there is a simple fix for this?

The soil in my garden tests out as slightly alkaline. Various spots read above 7.0, some as high as 8.0. I need to pull the pH down by about one point. I believe that sulphate is the preferred treatment. But I may have other means at hand. So here are my questions:

1) Currently the garden is bedded down for the winter by a thick layer of leaves. What affect will tilling in these leaves have on the pH?

2) I heard that two inches of Peat Moss tilled into the soil will pull the pH down by one point. This will also help the soil texture. What do you think?

3) I also have several gallons of used coffee grounds. What would they do for the soil pH?

4) I could combine any or all of these treatments. Would that be a good idea? What combinations would you recommend? Or not recommend?

Any other comments or suggestions are welcome. Easy 10 points for the most complete answer.

Right now they are just growing in the dirt. I was going to use grass clippings from the lawn as mulch. But I'm afraid that it will attract slugs. I can't use plastic because the plants are already in the ground. So I'm thinking about using rubber mulch (basically ground up ribber chips). Anyone ever done this? How well does it work.

I have a few 'volunteer strawberries in my garden (I didn't plant them. They just showed up). I heard that you shouldn't fertilize strawberries in the spring. OOPS! I already did! What will happen now?

So last fall I mulched my vegetable garden by raking all the leaves from the yard into it. Some time in the next several weeks I'm going to add some composted manure and roto-till the "campaign promises" and the leaves into the soil. Should I let the garden rest after roto-tilling or can I plant immediately?

I have a Samsung Intensity (AKA u450) that was sold with Verizon's pay as you go plan. But I want to use it with another service. Is it possible to hack or reprogram (flash) this phone to remove the Verizon Impulse specific stuff? Can you point me toward resources or tools?

I'm looking for a digital camera that can be used by my kids. I don't want to spend too much money, but I want it to take decent pixs. I have found several theamed cameras that are marketed for kids. But they have a sub 1Meg picture resolution. Anyone know of any good ones??