bored.....

I have a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle that I got about two months ago. I'm in college and I don't like the tap water here, so I refill it twice a day in the dining hall where there is a purified water machine. It's fine for about half an hour, and then it smells weird. The water tastes okay, but it smells really weird. This never happened to me at home with well water. I could have a bottle of well water out for a few days before it smelled even close to as bad as this smells. I wash the bottle every couple of days and rinse it with just water every time I refill it.

I'm assuming it's something to do with the water. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

I'm a freshman in college and I was talking to my mom recently about high school and she seemed to think that school was a lot more difficult for me than it was for her generation. We both went to public high schools and were both A students. She didn't have AP classes or Honors classes, which I took every chance I got (I went to a small school that didn't offer those opportunities for every class). She also says she was always able to finish her homework in under 1-2 hours, while she witnessed me work from 3 to 10 pm most days. I know there have been serious technological advances that schools have accommodated, but is school actually harder?

We haven't been able to compare college experiences, as she went to community college and never finished her degree and I'm at a pretty academically rigorous private college. I did take a class at a community college my junior year of high school and it was easier than any of my high school classes.

I'm making a short (4-5 minute) documentary about my town for a class (in college) and I've done 7 video interviews. 5 out of the 7 can be used (one woman couldn't be understood because she has Parkinson's and her voice wasn't picked up well, though she said a lot of useful things so I'm pretty disappointed that the video didn't come out well and one guy did not say anything of use to my topic. He changed my questions around and this is a pretty specific topic). The topic is community and it's relationship to place in my town. I have about an hour and a half of interviews without the 2, so I can definitely fit the 4-5 minute quota, but this is worth about 30% of my grade and I've put a lot of effort into this project and need my grade to reflect that. I also have videos of my town that will play with the interview voices over them and background music written by a local musician specifically for this. Will it seem like I didn't put effort into the project if I only include 5 different people in the video?

So I have two cartilage/helix piercings in right ear. One I've had for 3 years, the other for about two years I think... The older of the two occasionally gets a bump on the back of the hole. It's not noticeable, I can only feel it when I take out the earring. It goes away if I put used teabags on it (yeah, it's weird, but it works for some reason). It only happens on that one piercing. It doesn't hurt either.

What could it be?

I've decided that I want to stretch my ears. I don't want to go too big, maybe a 6g or 4g, but I'm not really sure what to do. I've done some research on the internet, but it's left me a little confused.

So what exactly are tapers used for? I've seen a few posts about how they're bad to leave in for more than an hour or so, but then others that say you should only use tapers. And where do the plugs come in? I get that they probably aren't really used for the smaller sizes, but what do you use instead if you can't wear tapers all the time?

Yeah, I'm confused and I can't go talk to any professionals or anything because there aren't ANY near me (near being within an hour and a half) and I don't know anyone who's done it.

I'm 17 and I first got my ears pierced when I was 7 so I don't have to go get that done and wait 6 months or something.

I've played bassoon for a little over 5 years now. I've used the school's student bassoon the whole time. I'd like to upgrade and buy my own bassoon. I'm graduating in the spring and would like to play in a college orchestra.

I've read that the Fox/Renard 240 is the best for intermediate to semiprofessional players. My band teacher agrees that that description fits me, but she doesn't know anything about bassoons. The school bassoon (a plastic fox student bassoon of some sort) was bought for $3,000 off of ebay.

It seems that the Renard 240 is around $6,000-$8,000, depending on the seller (most of whom are on ebay or independently selling) which is a bit pricey for a 17 year old. I have about $1,500 in my bassoon fund right now and my parents are willing to contribute something (I'm not sure how much) as my graduation present because I've done so well in school and with music and stuff.

Does anyone WITH EXPERIENCE have any tips on buying a bassoon used? What to check for and such when testing one out? Any reviews of the 240 model? Tips on bocals, anything helpful in buying a bassoon, really. Or on how to find a bassoon that's priced lower than $8,000 because I'm kind of broke.

I'm going to talk to my private lesson instructor to see if she knows anyone selling. I haven't had lessons in a while because school has been overwhelming lately and she lives an hour away. She's like, 80, and doesn't know much about buying/selling bassoons anymore, but she knows a lot of people. (She was a professor of double reeds at some private liberal arts college and has a little music shop in her house)

Also, suggested category: Consumer Electronics > TiVO & DVRs

^No...

So my homework assignment was to "Create three different functions where nDeriv gives a false value at x=-5. Explain why the value is false using ideas from calculus."

Am I right or wrong to take this as meaning "find functions that are non-differentiable at x=-5"?

The three equations and reasons I came up with were:

y=(x+5)^(1/3), also known as the cubed root of (x+5)

the reason would be that the slope of the function at -5 would be infinite

y=sin(1/(x+5))

the reason being that the function oscillates so it doesn't have a derivative at -5 (I'm really not sure if that's even close to being correct)

y=abs(x+5)

because there is a corner at -5 (the graph switches direction there)

So are these correct or not? I tried checking on my TI-83 plus, but I can't get nDeriv to work. I'm not great at using graphing calculators...

I have a not very mild bit of pneumonia in my lungs. I found out two days ago. I went to school yesterday because it was the first day of my senior year and missing it would be confusing. I got a reluctant ok from my doctor as long as I felt ok. I didn't really "feel ok" but I survived. The cough hasn't really gotten better yet. I'm pretty sure my fever is gone, but the cough is awful. The reason I want to stay home is the coughing and rib pain accompanying the cough. It is so painful that it has me unable to move when I cough. Yesterday it was hurting only when I coughed and not much, but now it is constant pain and much much worse when I cough. I've been taking extra strength Advil for the pain, but it only dulls it for an hour or so (and I can't take more at school because it's the 2nd day and I don't have some form yet that allows the nurse to give me more and I can be suspended if I bring some in for myself). It was awful in school with the coughing yesterday, but today (even though I can breathe in a little deeper without pain) I feel awful.

Is this a decent reason to stay home? Or could I go in and be excused partway through the day if it hurts too much? (Sitting in itself hurts a lot). my school is a little strict about absences, but is this reasonable? I'm not puking (I've been nauseous for a week) and have no fever, which are the only normally "accepted reasons" because our nurse isn't qualified. I do cough to the point of almost puking a lot, though.

Also, don't tell me to take more drugs. I have codeine syrup to sleep, but it's only a cough suppressor and I'm not to take it during the day. I can only take Tylenol because of the antibiotic I have.

I'm not asking for a diagnosis because, of course, this is the internet, not a clinic, but I'm not sure if this is like OCD.

Here you go:

-things need to be perfectly organized, perfectly lined up the way I want or I won't be able to sit still.

-everything is better in 4s or multiples of 4. Again I get restless if things aren't in 4s.

-I pull my hair a lot. Strand by strand from the top of my head.

-I tap my fingers and pick at things A LOT and it prevents me from doing things like schoolwork

-I redo things. When typing I will go back over a letter and retype it, over and over again. (Just now, I backspaced over the . 4 times and retyped it.)

-when writing I erase single letters, go over them, and pick at them if they aren't "good enough". I sometimes put little holes through my paper.

-when I have nothing to do, I draw patterns, covering entire pages.

-I have things I do with my hands that I can't really describe and don't really notice until they're pointed out. (Like clenching my fist, tapping fingers, and repeating.)

This is what I can think of right now, but there are other things unfortunately... Does it sound like OCD behavior?

I just got distance glasses about a month ago. I only wear them for things like driving, or watching movies, or when I need to read something far away, like the board at school(when school starts again). My parents and friends, though, wear their glasses all the time and say I should too. The problem is that they make everything within five feet fuzzy and magnified and I don't like it. I've tried wearing them a lot and I can't even get used to walking around with them on.

Am I supposed to wear them all the time and is it better to? Or can I keep wearing them only when I actually need them?

I'm looking into University of Southern Maine because it has everything I want in a school and I like the location. My boyfriend is looking into the technical programs at Southern Maine Community College, which is less than 15 miles from USM. I know community colleges let freshman live in apartments, but does USM? I've checked the website and it didn't say anything about having to live on campus for the first year, but it didn't specifically state that freshmen could live off-campus. It does say that freshmen can have cars, which I do. I do not like the idea of living in a dorm (especially because USM has limited campus housing, says the website, and that would make it crowded). I also want to make my own food and not pay $5,000 for a 2 semester meal plan (not exaggerating). My parents spend less than that to feed a family of three for a full year. It works out to about the same price for a small apartment as a dorm room.

I stepped on a really small piece of broken glass and it got stuck in my big toe and made it bleed all over the place, mainly in the bathroom when I got the glass out of my toe. My mom noticed that I was in the bathroom, went in after I left, saw the box of band-aids on the counter, went through the garbage and found the tissue I used to clean up and put alcohol on the cut. She then came screaming up the stairs and yelled at me for cutting myself without giving me a chance to explain. She knew there.was broken glass on the floor, but she didn't believe me when I told her that and showed her the bloody bandaid on my toe. She made me show her my belly, back, shoulders, arms, and legs, and there are no cuts. She still thinks I'm hiding cuts and has grounded me for a week.

She also thinks I'm anorexic and is setting up a doctor's appointment for me. This will be the third one since the start of the year that concerns anorexia. I haven't lost weight, I'm still 110-115 pounds which is healthy for a 16 yr old, 5'3", girl. I eat plenty and she saw me eat 3 brownies this morning. May I mention she is more than 100 pounds overweight. I have also never had an eating disorder.

Why won't she believe me?

I'm 16 years old; I'll be 17 in October. I live with both of my parents and I do not get along with either of them. My dad has always had a bad temper. When I was little he would take his anger out on me by hitting, pushing, screaming, etc. Whenever I did something wrong I got hurt, both physically and emotionally. He didn't beat me, but it was enough to make me afraid of him. He still gets angry with me and hits me. My response is to leave, to walk away, but he has literally chased me down the street and shoved me to the ground. He's gotten better lately, but I resent him and sometimes even feel that I kind of hate him, as well as love him. My mom constantly pushes me over the edge emotionally. I know it's one thing for a parent to do what's best for their child, but I can barely make decisions for myself. She screams at me on a daily basis and grounds me for things that I don't understand. I didn't look into the college she wanted and now I am grounded for a week after a four hour long fight. I was punished for having my mom call my friend and cancel plans.(I would have called myself bit I was puking, and the matter was time sensitive). My parents both make me feel completely worthless, so much so that I have contemplated suicide, first at the age of 7. I could never go through with it because when I'm not home, when I'm with friends or at my boyfriend's house I'm fine and happy. I can't sleep when I'm home. I feel that if I got away, I could be much happier. My boyfriend has always told me that I have a place to stay with his family ( we've been together for more than two years). I would be comfortable staying with them and then I would be allowed to get a job and choose my own path. Where I live, you have to live away from parents for 3 months to become emancipated. This is the only thing that poses a problem. My parents will never let me leave, but I feel like I have no other options.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Anyone been through anything like this? Does this seem like a good case for emancipation? I think it would be good for me. I love my parents and I'm grateful to them for raising me, but I can only take so much.

If it makes any difference, I have a GPA of over 4 (my school does that for some reason), I've got a 2130 on my SATs which is more than enough to get me where I want to, I've passed some AP exams for college credit, and I have every intention of going to college and paying for it myself.

I'm 16 and to my knowledge I cannot rent a car. My car is technically the family car (everyone is insured on it), but my parents each have other cars to use. My dad used my car last week and hit a deer. The car isn't driveable and can't get fixed for a few more weeks. The problem is, it's summer and I'm taking a class at the community college 45 minutes away on the highway and I do a lot of community service. My parents work every day and cant drive me anywhere. I can't miss my college class and I'd rather not stay home ALL summer like I did last year when I had no car and license. I live in an area where there is absolutely no public transportation. Low population and hundreds of dirt roads mean no buses or taxis.... The nearest "city" with transportation is about an hour and a half a way. I can't use friends because they're busy with camp, work, karate, boysouts, etc. And live pretty far away from me.

Is it possible for my dad to rent a car and let me use it?

During the week both my parents have asked me if I'm losing weight and so has my boyfriend. I said no, but then I weighed myself and apparently I've lost 5 pounds. I'm 16, 5'3", and usually weigh 115 ( now 110). I look thinner all over just from losing 5 lbs. I like my body and don't feel the need to lose weight as long as I can fit into my size small shirts and size 2 jeans. I'm not a muscular person. My legs have the most muscle and are kinda chubby looking, but that gives me nice curves and makes my small waist look even smaller. I like my body how it is and I don't want to lose weight, especially when I eat all I want (including the massive cake I made for my mom's birthday and brownies I made for myself) I've weighed the same since the 6th grade and the weight has only been shifted around to different areas so look more... Mature than I did then. It kind of worries me that I'm suddenly losing weight and it is noticeable to others.

My dad has always had asthma, but lately his cough has been getting much worse. He has a few prescriptions for his asthma and his doctor keeps changing them because my da tells him they "aren't causing any improvements". He won't say that his cough is sometimes so bad he can't breathe and his voice has completely changed during the last month. He can hardly talk some days and the rest of the time his voice is scratchy. The bad cough prevents him from going out places because it is disruptive and embarrassing. Some days he can't eat because his cough makes him spit his food out. He has been a little depressed lately for no reason that I can see. Could it be something more serious than asthma? I've begged him to go back to the doctor for a real checkup but he refuses.

I ordered my textbook on amazon.com and it came in the mail today. It was an Instructors Edition, which is NOT what I ordered. My class starts next week and this book doesn't have as many pages as the normal textbook is said to have and it has all of the answers. I don't want this book; I want the normal textbook, but I don't know if I have time to get it. I definitely do not have the money to buy a new book because of how much this one cost. The website did not say that it was an instructor's edition. There was even a picture of the normal textbook (which looks much different from the one I received in the mail). I don't know what to do.

This morning my boyfriend went to take my puppy and my dog outside and my puppy went to jump at my dog (she always does it, it's a problem), but she hit the end of her leash and landed on the ice and immediately started screaming. He quickly unhooked her leash and picked her up and brought her into the house. My parents weren't awake yet, but they came downstairs and he told what had happened. We sat on the couch with her and she was leaning against my boyfriend on his lap and holding her right hind leg up against her side. She's a very hyper puppy, but she was being very mellow and quiet. Whenever we went to touch her leg, she would start shaking violently. I know she was in pain, and scared because she's never been hurt before (other than getting her paws stepped on). She was still wagging her tail when we were just petting her. There was a little bit of swelling on her leg.

My parents took her to the nearest Emergency Vet, which is an hour away and they aren't going to be home for a while. I'm worried about her and I wanted to know if anyone knew how serious this is. I know infections are dangerous, and one could kill her. There was no broken skin, as far as we could tell, but she's a very dark color. Has anyone been through something like this, or know anything that they can tell me?

She's a five month old chocolate lab puppy.

Also, our financial situation isn't great right now. It was just Christmas, our insurance went up because I got my license last week, and we are helping to pay for my grandmother's medical bills. My parents will be getting their paychecks soon, but right now there is only enough money in the bank to pay this month's mortgage. Are there any suggestions on how to afford all of the costs that would be associated with this kind of injury?

Please, I don't want any comments about the financial situation and having the money to pay for all of a puppy's needs. No matter what it costs, we will find the money to pay for her bills. It's just really bad timing for this to happen right now. If this happened next week, money would be fine.

Also, I'm only 16. My boyfriend was at my house because he was here for New Year's Eve and we didn't want him driving home at 1 in the morning.