Stuck in the Middle Ages

My relative jointly owns a co-op with her mother who has dementia, is on Medicaid, and has been in a long-term care facility for about a decade already. My relative has power of attorney for her mother. My relative asked me how she could ensure that in the unlikely event that she predeceases her mother, the mother's share doesn't end up going all to Medicaid.

Can the co-op reconvey the stock certificate just to my relative since her mother has no capacity to make any decisions? If so, that--combined with my relative creating a will--would seem to be an easy answer.

My relative has no spouse, siblings, or father, so if she died intestate, her mother would receive everything.

Thanks for your responses.

My wife, teenage daughter, and I are planning a trip for almost 3 weeks in late June/early July to some parts of southeast Asia. We fly into Chiang Mai and out of Phnom Penh. We also plan to visit Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, and a Cambodian beach.

We plan to spend a little more than 3 days each in Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, and Luang Prabang. (We'll also see Siem Reap and go to the beach for a few days.) Do you think the equal distribution of time in these three places makes sense?

Also, is Kampot worth visiting for a day if it takes a day away from Phnom Penh?

Any other suggestions regarding places nearby, tours, etc. are appreciated.

My office is having a charity auction and an employee is offering one week of her four weeks with RCI (anywhere). She's had the timeshare for many years. I don't have any idea of the value of the timeshare and we could only use it in the summer due to job constraints. Any estimate of a 1-week timeshare's value would be helpful. Thanks.

Thanks.

I'm comparing refurbished MacBook Pro models (current versions of MacBook Pro). I am getting the computer primarily for my child going to high school in the fall. Her high school program involves making documentaries (Final Cut Pro), and she has been using Garage Band (on her phone and school computers) to make music and plans to continue making more. She may make artwork as well, using Manga Studio, Photoshop, and similar programs.

I am hoping whatever I get will work through high school. I am choosing between the MacBook Pro Retina 13 and 15 inch models, each with 256gb memory, 16gbRAM.

The main differences you get with the 15 inch versus the 13 inch seem to be the screen size (a plus), weight (a minus for portability because the computer/charger are 1.5 pounds heavier), Iris v. Iris Pro graphics, and quad-core processor.

For the mentioned uses, how important would these differences be? The cost difference on the refurbished 2014 models is $260 ($1700 versus $1440). I don't mind paying the difference for a significant reason, but I'd rather not pay the difference if we'd have never noticed it.

Thanks.

My uncle, who is 89, was very active until last week, and we was sharp as a tack as well. He has his own apartment and was living by himself. He was feeling bad and went to the hospital. His condition worsened, and we've been told he had an aortic dissection. Now he is in the ICU and is struggling to say simple sentences, and no one is sure exactly why; he hasn't had a stroke, according to the CT scan. It's possible that he is having a reaction to some medications but all we have are guesses. We've been told he will never live alone again and that he will need to go to a rehab facility if he makes it through this hospital stay. After the rehab facility would come assisted living.

My uncle's family is ill-equipped to deal with his problems. He has a wife who has dementia and has been in an assisted living facility for years. He has only one child, a grown daughter who feels very uncomfortable taking care of financial matters, including selling his apartment. She has indicated that she is over her head and doesn't feel she can handle all of the responsibilities.

My uncle has some assets, and I am concerned that if he survives and ends up in a facility, those assets will all go to his care. I do not think he set up anything in case of his own need for long-term care. Is there anything that can be done to prevent a situation that may leave nothing for his daughter? Thanks for thoughts and recommendations on a course of action.

I'm in my late 40s and noticed that I've lost about 11 or 12 pounds in the past 10 months without changes in diet, appetite, or exercise. I've gone from 168 to 156. I saw my general physician and he asked some questions including whether I've had any heartburn. I said I had a little bit but not much. He mentioned many possibilities-stress and cancer among them. He gave me Nexium and told me to take it for 2 weeks to see if my weight increased and also said that if I lost another couple pounds to let him know. Then he'd refer me to a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy and colonoscopy.

I said I was very anxious and asked him why we don't just do the scopes now, especially if it might be stomach cancer or something horrible like that. He said he's treating me, not my worries.

So my questions are (1) does it make sense to give me Nexium for a tiny bit of occasional heartburn and no other symptoms besides weight loss and (2) is there really no danger in waiting a week or two to see what happens with Nexium?

Thanks for your thoughts. I admittedly think worst-case scenario with these sorts of things, but it seems entirely possible in this case.

We had our gables painted less than a year ago. The previous paint job had been chipping a little for a couple of years and was 12 years old, at least. Now, the new paint job has bubbled and long pieces have fallen off. They feel almost plastic-like. There is now more exposed wood than before it was repainted last May. I should note that I hired a reputable one-man painter but found out that he had a friend do the job because the regular one-man painter had broken his arm a week before the job started.

What's happening? I'm going to contact the painter, but I'm hoping someone can tell me what happened so I have an idea before I speak with him. Thanks.

What's a current product that works well? I'd like to start my tomatoes and peppers (and maybe a few other things) now.

Any other veggies that work very well as transplants? Thanks!

Our Windows Vista computer has decided to spout off lots of blue screens and appears to be dead. At best it stays on for a couple of minutes before blue-screen error messages show up.

So I'm thinking that we need a new desktop. Our daughter is in 7th grade and would like to start making/editing movies, and she already draws a bunch and would like to start creating animation as well. I'd like to get a desktop that won't be ridiculously expensive, but I'd also like to pay a little more to get more life out of it.

I know little about computer guts, but I don't mind trying to build my own with the advice of Youtube, computer sites, and questions to a friend at work in our IT department. But if it makes sense to buy one from ASUS or HP or Apple, I'd consider it. I get a minor discount at certain places (like Apple and Dell) because of my employer.

I would like to get a Haswell i5 at least, but I really hadn't thought about replacing the desktop until it forced me into thinking about it.

Any suggestions, specific or general, about specs (graphics-integrated or not, how much RAM, what type of drive, Windows 7 or 8.1 for a desktop if I don't go with Apple, etc.), the ease of building your own machine, and whether it's worth the time, are all appreciated.

A furniture store nearby is going out of business and has a chest of 5 drawers made of maple. It's part of a collection for smaller places (like mine) called "perfectbalance." Cheesy name, but the chest looks good.

Does anyone have knowledge about the company and its quality? The dresser isn't cheap, but I think it's at least $100 cheaper now than anywhere I've seen it otherwise, which is only one online store.

Thanks.

My VM phone (LG Rumor Touch) is 3 years old and the touch screen is dying. If I could buy a used VM phone, I might do that instead of paying full price for a new one. Does VM care as long as you're paying their normal monthly charge?

This s the riddle:

You stand at a fork in the road. Next to each of the two forks, there stands a guard. You know the following things:

1. One path leads to Paradise, the other to Death. From where you stand, you cannot distinguish between the two paths. Worse, once you start down a path, you cannot turn back.

2. One of the two guards always tells the truth. The other guard always lies. Unfortunately, it is impossible for you to distinguish between the two guards.

You have permission to ask one guard one question to ascertain which path leads to Paradise. Remember that you do not know which guard you're asking -- the truth-teller or the liar -- and that this single question determines whether you live or die.

The question is: What one question asked of one guard guarantees that you are led onto the path to Paradise, regardless of which guard you happen to ask?

The answer: Ask one guard what the other guard tell me to do (and then take the other path).

Would this convoluted answer also work? "If I ask you if I should go left to get to Paradise, would you answer 'yes'?" Assuming that left is the way to Paradise, the honest person will say "Yes." The liar will think about it. The honest answer would be that he would answer with a lie and thus say "No." But he has to lie, so he will also answer "Yes." So you should go left. (Conversely, you could get two "No" answers if the road went to Death.)

I think this works, but I may be missing something logically.

Other than the 2-volume Jewish Book of Why, what are some books on Judaism or Jewish life that would be accessible and (possibly) interesting to a new Bar or Bat Mitzvah? The recipients belong to a temple that's close to reform, though unaffiliated.

The Book of Jewish Values?

Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals?

Jewish Literacy (revised edition)?

Thanks for your thoughts on these and any other books.

(I realize that this really isn't a "Passover" question. I put this under "Passover" because I thought I might get more results than just putting it into YA!'s general category of religion and spirituality.)

We have Marriott points. The points cost for 5 nights is the same as 4 nights, and we have enough points to stay at a not-very-fancy (but not lowest-point-level either) Marriott-brand hotel.

We live near Washington, DC and would be willing to drive anywhere within 12 hours. The trip would have to be in the summer because of our jobs. It would have to appeal to a teenager (our daughter) to some extent. And we might do an up-to-2-hour (each way) road trip one day to see something special, but we're not looking to do that more than one day.

Due to the cost of airline tickets, we're not currently considering places requiring flights. So we're looking at the US and Canada. Sorry, Mexico and the West, but you're just too far.

Thanks for any ideas. Even if we don't go this summer, I still like finding out about different places where I might go someday.

We got a Whirlpool last summer. Yesterday it stopped draining. Washing works; draining doesn't. We removed the standing water. We made sure the disposal was clean. We checked the filter and line for obvious blockages. We made a baking soda paste, poured vinegar into it, and 15 minutes later poured boiling water into the base.

When we press Drain (Cancel), we initially hear a sound like something is going to happen. Unfortunately, the normal sound is quickly replaced by a light clicking/buzzy sound at the bottom of the dishwasher, which is followed by nothing. The water doesn't move.

Any suggestions for possible solutions or guesses as to the problem? Thanks very much.

My wife and I were listening to hits of 1980 last night and watched/listened to Benny Mardones' hit, "Into the Night." I know this song from middle school and hadn't heard it in a long time, but it's one helluva creepy song. Mr. Middle-Ager sings of his love affair with a 16-year old and how others don't understand it. I can't imagine that song being a hit today.

Any songs you know that were moderate (or bigger) hits that now seem creepy?

The outdoor spigot probably can still be forced open (it's now 18 degrees F going down to 5, and it's very windy) but it's close to frozen. The indoor faucets are on with a drip.

Thanks. Keep warm out there, especially people in places much colder than Maryland!

I'm probably going skiing soon (Eastern US in Pennsylvania) and will take a group lesson for a couple of hours. Thanks for the thoughts.