Geoff M

I have the opportunity to go on a contract (hourly) pay rate from my company, instead of a permanent, annual salary. Is there a "typical" conversion rate for contractors in the UK? It needs to take into account loss of holiday pay, sick pay, the fact I will pay taxes myself, etc.

Thanks.

For years I've had IBS, usually bouts of a few weeks and then subsides, so the doc assumes anything going on down there is IBS and suggests over the counter meds. However, over the last few weeks I've had a real problems with my guts. Huge amounts of gas. Noisy guts. Foul smelling, loose stools (not diarrhea as such, just soft/loose). Nausea (queasy rather than needing to throw up). Dizzyness. Dull pain in the abdomen.

As the doc won't do anything and I'm so uncomfortable, I'm thinking of some antibiotics from other sources just to try and kill anything off that might be lurking in my guts. Now, I don't believe in antibiotics unless they are absolutely necessary - it's been years since I last had any. But I'm so fed up that I'm willing to give it a go.

Any suggestions on:

(a) what it could be (it seems more than just IBS)

(b) whether antibiotics could help

(c) which antivbiotic and what dosage (I'll double check this myself)

Thanks

Where is the best place to go for a professional contact lens fitting, such as Asda, D&H, Boots, etc? I have unusual eyes and the "which is best, 1 or 2" type of test is no good to me. Do they do automated/computer tests using instruments that don't rely on me being able give an opinion? Such as using a keratometer and objective refraction?

Any ideas of costs for a trial would be useful.

Specifically an immigration visa for another country which requires evidence from my employer as to status, salary, etc? Assuming there are no other grounds for termination, just a request for a letter of reference from an attorney or the embassy.

The worry I have is that the employer will no longer want me as he will know that I will no longer work for the company if the visa is issued - and if it's not, then I won't have a job.

UK/English law.

I have a clause in my employment contract that states I cannot work for a direct competitor company within 6 months of my departure. This seems unenforceable to me because once your employment ends, so does the employment contract and thus the clause contained within it. Is that correct?

UK/English law.

I'm looking for a shop that sold a Chinese herbal remedy called Anshen, small White tablets in a small White tub. It was from a pharmacy in Ongpin street amongst lots of jewellers. I need to give directions to somebody so they can get some more but I don't have the exact address! What I remember about the shop was that the counter was on the right as you walk in, it was on the shady side of the street (maybe south side then) and the roadway was higher than the sidewalk on the side of the shop. If anybody could give an address or cross street nearby that would be great! Thanks.

I had a blood test a couple of weeks ago and found my cholesterol was borderline high. I've tried cutting back on fatty foods, red meat, drinking, etc (I don't smoke) and been drinking Benacol, and taking more exercise - but it's gone up instead of down!

I'm worried because I have an operation in two weeks' time under general anaesthetic - does cholesterol affect anything, and if so, what are the risks?

Is it too late to go to the GP to get some medication? My level is approx 6 instead of ideally <5.

Having a cataract op under general anaesthetic (due to complications) in a couple of weeks time, but only as a day surgery. Hospitals vary but what's a typical process - wait for hours in the waiting room, get led to some room, wear hospital gown, anaesthetist does his sleeping trick (snooze) then what? Recover in a bed or get chucked out into the waiting room again until they decide I can go home?

I've been given a leaflet with what to do, what not to do (eg eat) etc but it's a bit vague as to what happens after the op.

"It is ironic that you criticise others but cannot take criticism yourself"

Is the use of the word "ironic" reasonable here or would another word or phrase be more appropriate? Looking around it would appear that there is a divided opinion on certain phrases, perhaps a cultural divide (eg British vs American vs Australian etc).

If you were designing a website which had a particular page showing a custom graph, what techniques would you use and why? For this particular example there is no need for screen reader support, nor for the page to be bookmarked. It's a particular drawing that'll change dynamically based on data from the server.

Possibilities for drawing include <canvas> and SVG. To use an <iframe> or not? Cross-platform and cross-browser support is a must, possibly excepting tiny footprint browsers such as certain mobile phone browsers.

Languages could be anything, Javascript, VBScript, C#, PHP, etc. The data will be generated by the server (AJAX techniques?) and the rendering probably ought to be done by the client to allow for faster panning/zooming etc.

I'm not interested in 3rd party plugins or components, with the exception of, for example, freely available SVG viewers for Internet Explorer.

Just mocking up some menu items in a computer program for Norwegian customers and was wondering what the File menu consists of please, in Norwegian?

In English:

New

Open

Save [name]

Save [name] As

Save All

Close [name]

Print

Print Setup

Close

I could use Google Translate but it might not be right in the context of software. Thanks.

Car broke down last week, the AA came and did some tests and discovered that while the battery was fine, the alternator was not providing enough current or whatever to charge the battery. I took the car back to the garage (main dealer, but second hand and under warranty - 06 plate) and they stated that they would charge a diagnostic fee - even though it's under warranty. Now, since the AA have told them what's wrong with it (I gave them the AA report with the figures recorded by their test equipment), are the garage justified in charging me for this diagnostic fee?

If they are NOT justified, can you point me to a specific piece of legislation to wave at them? (UK/English law)

Thanks.

I need to have an operation which is complex and might result in loss of sight which would mean no work, driving, Reading, etc. Apart from cover on the mortgage for inability to work, is there an insurance scheme to cover a single operation whereby I can sustain a comfortable lifestyle if it goes wrong without joining those on benefits?

Thinking of moving to north LA, San Dimas or nearby. I know what house prices and rental prices are, but was wondering if someone has some typical expenses for a 2-3 bed apartment other than the usual costs (ie utilities, phone/internet/TV) - not obvious ones being local taxes, garbage collection fees, or anything else that one would expect to pay out). Thanks.

I did ask a similar question before but only got rent and electricity/internet/cable costs. I want to know what else I would pay! For example, in UK we have to pay council taxes which for me are a good US$150 a month, so obviously I want to factor that kind of extortion in!

Thinking of moving to southern California, perhaps renting for a year initially. I need to budget so was wondering if someone has some typical expenses for a 2-3 bed apartment with air con, cable TV, internet. Any other typical costs would be appreciated (eg local taxes, electricity, gas, water, garbage collection fees, etc). Thanks.

Thinking of moving to US as a senior software engineer (ie office environment) but I'm wondering about typical employment conditions/benefits etc. I know this is a very general question where answers vary wildly according to contract and/or employer, but some "typical" values would do (if there is such a thing):

- paid time off per year, 1-2 weeks typical?

- sick leave, is that paid (let's say 3-5 days per year)

- working hours, 40 per week? 9-5 typical?

- lunch break, half hour unpaid?

- how many statutory days off, eg Christmas day?

- unpaid time off, is that frowned upon?

- eating/drinking at desk, ok?

Any other major differences between UK and US workplace practices would be appreciated.

I have a database with three tables, one for a train, one for a location, and one for the list of locations called at by each train. I need to generate a list of trains based on a query, but within the results show the first and last location for each train.

I can do this with one query and dataset to return the list of trains, and then for each entry perform another query to get the first location for that train, and another for the last location. But there must be a better way.

Schedule:

- ID

- Name

Location

- ID

- Name

ScheduleLocation

- ScheduleID

- LocationID

- Sequence (ie 1 is the first location etc)

So the results should be:

(Schedule.Name [1]) - (Location.Name [first]) - (Location.Name [last])

(Schedule.Name [2]) - (Location.Name [first]) - (Location.Name [last])

...to...

(Schedule.Name [n]) - (Location.Name [first]) - (Location.Name [last])

The first query is simply "SELECT Schedule.ID, Schedule.Name FROM Schedule WHERE Schedule.ID LIKE (whatever)"

What I need is the rest of the query for the first and last locations. Thanks for any help!

My 20 month old goes to nursery 3x a week which is enough for both us parents to work full time without the need for babysitters. However, since October last year when he was misdiagnosed for 3 months (GP said it was a simple chest infection, private doctor diagnosed as pneumonia - yes, still a chest infection, but more serious) he does get moderately ill as he has a weakened immune system. Mostly this means a runny nose but he does get a high temperature which usually comes straight down with Calpol, and he's not really ill at all. However, the nursery phone us up to collect him every time this happens. Both our employers have been tolerant of this but there comes a point, and that has been reached. Neither of us have any annual leave left so we can't just pick him up every time they, the nursery, being judge and jury (and acting doctor (not)), decide he has to go home. Not only that but we have to pay for any sessions he misses - they also insist on waiting 24 hours after a temperature before they'll accept him back again.

Two things here then: is the nursery right in doing this (probably so but I will check his temperature myself when I collect him in a minute)? Secondly the GP says he's fine, but I want him checked by a paediatricion - or is this being too melodramatic? It can't be right to need Calpol virtually on tap.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for any ideas, tips, suggestions.

I've had a sore throat for 6 weeks now, constant pain though not excessive pain. My GP prescribed antibiotics over the phone a few weeks ago, without even visiting, probably because my baby son also had a throat infection at the time and maybe thought it was the same. The trouble is, the GPs are so overwhelmed by people with bog standard common colds that they can do nothing about, that it is not helping me get a proper diagnosis (triage nurse does a phone diagnosis before accepting GP appointments).

This morning I had a close look at the back of my throat and noticed at least one largish white spot, maybe 3-5mm across. There might have been more but it's hard to look at your own throat! I've seen mention of white spots before but never read about their typical sizes.

I'm also coughing up a lot of yellow-brown, chewy phlegm which I try to get rid of rather than swallow. I have to clear my throat before speaking. I'm not a smoker. I'm also very thirsty and get a dry mouth very soon after drinking, despite taking lots of fluids.

Is it worth seeing the GP again, or am I another hypochondriac wasting their time?!

What is the typical open season for water parks in the LA area? I saw some opened in early May this year but want to know when they'll be closed next year.

Specifically San Dimas Raging Rivers, but a general answer will do.