Nemo

I'm an expecting father and will be welcoming a son or daughter in August, 2010. I'm trying to come up with an idea for a "gift" I can purchase from my child that will be something that they will appreciate when they are older - like 18 or 21 years old. My first idea was a bottle of wine that I can store and age for them, but I know nothing about wine and would be afraid I would end up giving them a bottle of vinegar. My next idea was to buy some stock in a company that I could give them in 20 years - but again, if I purchase company that I think could never go belly up (General Motors??),...you get my point. My latest idea is a Gold coin or two, but I thought I would ask to see if anyone has any other ideas.

I really don't have a price range in mind, but lets say $1000.

Ok, first off, I'm not asking because I want to date her or anything like that. I was talking with my wife about the Jenna Bush wedding this weekend and we were both wondering if her twin sister was bringing a date or if she was even dating anyone. Does anyone know?

This is no so much about Thompson, but in general, when any of these Presidentical candidates drop out, what happens to the remaining money they have received in donations?

I wanted to get the opinion from some women of what they thought of this gift idea. Would it be insulting or welcomed if you got a gift certificate from your husband to have a service like Merry Maids or who ever to come into your home to do a one time whole house cleaning service? I already have reservations for dinner and a babysitter lined up and I have already ordered flowers to be delivered to her office, so this is in addition to that. Or should I stick to jewelry?

I bought a home a few months ago and I've recently discovered a bunch of old concrete footers for an old fence and/or clothes line pole (s). There are about 8 of them and I did notice one had a hole the shape of a 4X4 - that is why I think it is from a fence. The previous owner just piled them up and let ivy grow over them to hide it. How can I get rid of this stuff without digging a big hole in the backyard or illegally dumping it in a shopping center dumpster or in the woods? Who can I call about removing it?

I want to get a rototiller to start a veggie garden at a house I recently purchased. I don't think those little Mantis size ones are big enough or powerfull enough to break new ground - but I don't need (nor have the space in the garage) for a huge machine. So what has people had success with? I've heard good and bad things about Troy-bilt, Craftsman, Honda and the like, but wanted to get some more opinions.

I bought myself some hop rhizomes from my local homebrew store and I’m getting ready to plant them. My question is the trellis that I need to build – how tall do I really need to go? I’ve read that commercial growers let the vines go 25+ feet. I can’t realistically do that in my back yard. My idea of going the Lowes and getting a 16 ft 4X4 (w/ 2 feet in the ground) has been scratch since I’ve read about the dangers of using pressure treated wood in the garden. Anyone have a suggestion for a free standing system that my wife will not think is an eye sore? Or is the amount of exposure to the pressure treated wood not a real issue?

I have a 1999 Jeep Wrangler (Sahara) and I noticed a few days ago that the oil pressure gauge that would normally read about 40 psi is now reading just about 80 psi consistently. It doesn't matter if it is as soon as I get in the car in the morning or if I'm been on the road for and hour - the pressure is reading high. Other then that, everything seems to be running just fine. Any idea what could be causing this? Is there something I can do or do I need to get to the Jeep into the shop right away? Is this going to end up costing me a small fortune to get corrected?

In case it matters, I do change the oil regularly and it has 160,000+ miles.

How many people have a 72 hour kit incase of an emergency? Maybe a better question is, how many people know what a 72 hour kit is and what should be in it?

I have a 6 year old boy that is becoming really good at the PS2 games that we already got him and I'm looking for ideas for Christmas. Last week he got all excited and proud for finally beating the Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer game so I'm looking for something like that. Right now he is playing the Jimmy Newtron and a Scooby Doo game and I figure by Christmas he'll have them figured out.

Only looking for games rated E or E+10.

I have a window (or set of windows) in my family room that takes up a whole wall. I don't have the exact measurements, but it's close to 84" high and 108" long. I want to get curtain/drapes/window treatments (whatever they are called) made. I know that a major cost factor will be type of fabric that I select plus hardware, but can someone give me a price range so I can start budgeting? Just to make it easy, let say I select a fabric that is $20 per yard.

I was thinking of using my Cast Iron Skillet on the charcoal BBQ - has anyone ever done this? Is there enough heat generated to get the skillet hot enough to cook on or am I going to be just warming the food up? If I had a gas BBQ with the side burner this would be a no brainier, but I prefer to cook with real wood charcoal and I don't want to get a propane burner if I don't have to.

Also, if you know of any websites out there that talk about this and/or have recipes, that would be great.

I'm engaged to a wonderful women (Jane - not real name) who has an equally wonderful 5 yr/old boy (John). Unfortunately, the father (Bob) of this boy has been out of his son's life for the past 4 years - no visits, no cards, no calls, no child support - NOTHING. From what I heard of Bob, he was (maybe still is) involved with drugs and other destructive activities which is one of the reason the marriage ended. I know, I'm only hearing one side of the story, but Jane is a very open person and I have no reason to think that she is lying.

John is starting to ask about his father. Why he doesn't visit or call and wondering who Bob is. Jane is struggling with explaining to John what happened. Why Mommy and Daddy didn't get along? Why they move back to her hometown from NYC. John wants to call his "Father" and to know why Bob doesn't want to know him.

I'm not looking for legal advice, but how do you explain this to a 5 yr/old and not have him think he did anything wrong?

I'm installing a dryer into a house I just bought and I need to go through cement-asbestos siding for the vent. I understand that this type of siding is very brittle. Anyone have a suggestion on the best way to put a 4 inch hole through the siding without destroying the whole piece? And if I do end up breaking the piece I'm going through, are replacement pieces still able to be purchased?

I just bought a house that never had a clothing drier. So since I do not have Gas service, I purchased a brand new Electric Drier. Now I need to run electric for the drier and it calls for a 30 AMP circuit breaker. The home was recently upgraded to a 200 AMP Service and the circuit box in the utility room is the brand "Challenger". I noticed that one of the other 30 AMP breakers had the code "C230" on it. Do I need a Challenger C230 brand breaker or are there other kinds that I can get. My local Lowe’s and Home Depot do not carry that brand.

I have closing on a home in Pennsylvania scheduled for this Friday (6/23) and I just got off the phone with a rep at the Title Insurance Company. They said that they might not have the final cost calculated until Friday morning - shouldn't I have more time on this?? The Closing is scheduled for 3 PM. I have the Estimate from the mortgage company, but it's just that - an estimate. Shouldn't they be giving me more time then just a few hours?? I'm a first time buyer, so I might be just sweating the details, but would still like some input.

Thanks

I'm a first time buyer and I'm getting close to desiding on a house to put a bid on (single family home). I got the pre-approved mortgage, the real estate agent and have been in contact with my insurance company. My question is, why would I also want/need a real estate attorney? When do I bring them into the process? What service are they going to provide? What rate are they typically going to charge? If I need one, any suggestions on finding a good one (Philly Suburbs)?

I've been trying to access my e-mail account at Hotmail all day today and I keep seeing the message "Temporarily Unavailable". I can't even get the "Login" screen at Hotmail.com.