Vijay R

A specific list would be much appreciated.

We are looking for a place to host a child's first birthday party on the SF Bay area Peninsula. We'd like a place that's indoors, will allow us to cater our own food, will accomodate 150 guests (with seating for eating a meal), but also has some space to set up tables for children's games and activities (e.g., face painting). We could look for a restaurant, but most don't meet the last requirement.

What does this term mean?

What is the formula for calculating the maximum magnification ratio (i.e., 1:1, 1:4, 1:8 etc) achievable given the following: 1. Lens focal length, 2. Minimum focusing distance of lens, 3. Diagonal (or some other dimension) of the film/sensor?

I am looking for sites that have good educational content on how to use Eclipse, tips and tricks, etc. Besides eclipse.org, where can one go for this type of info?

I have a 2001 BMW 3-series _without_ automatic climate control, so the fan is manually operated. Starting a couple of days ago, the fan simply wouldn't turn on when I turned it on. If I leave the switch in the on-position, it will turn on every once in a while and stay on for a few minutes and then cut out again. Could this be anything more than a simple loose connection somewhere? I'll take into the shop to get it looked at, but I'll probably put this off since it isn't a major issue. Just want to make sure I'm not ignoring some more serious electrical problem. Haven't noticed anything else wrong electrically.

I'd like to know the name of the plant with the following description. If you can provide a few possibilities for the identity of this plant, I can do an image search to confirm.

The plant is currently (January) in bloom in northern California. I've seen this plant in varying sizes, from a 5-foot bush to a 15-foot tree. It's most distinguishing characteristic is softball-sized flowers. The petals are a dark purple at the base, shifting to white at the tips.

Need recommendations.

I know there are cases/situations where the right to free speech is not constitutionally protected (I think slander is one of them, but not sure...). I'd appreciate a list of basic types of situations/circumstances where it's not protected.

I'm talking about the kind you buy in the supermarket in the little plastic containers.

Something that can be done 8 hours round-trip would be great.

Or do I need to purchase them in advance?

There are small flying insects in our bathroom. We think they're gnats. Spraying Raid (insecticide) does not help, they just return after a couple of days.

It's planted in the ground, so I can't move it. Also curious about when I need to protect it (at what temperatures?).