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i put three new single coil pickups in my squire to kinda upgrade it a little bit. as i move the 5-way switch thru the positions and test the pickups by tapping them with a screwdriver they all work, but the sound barely resonates thru when i play a string. i THINK i made nice solid solder joints (but i could be wrong - it was the first time ive soldered anything). any ideas of what could possibly be going wrong? should i maybe take it apart and clean the pots? if anyone could help me i would really really appreciate it.

I bought a ball python yesterday (approx. 1 year old) from a breeder. During the evening last night, while handling him during a movie, he started moving quickly away from me as if to escape from my hands. During my attempt to regain control of him, he struck at me. When I set him down he proceeded to hiss at me. Once again when I attempted to pick him back up to put him in his tank. I ended up getting him back successfully, but the slight moment of aggression kind of bothered me. Should I give him a little more time to get acclimated to the new environment, or are there things I can be doing to improve his disposition? Thanks for any help.

What happens to the price of my shares when a company I have stock in is bought out by another company? Lets say my shares were at $10 per when the buy-out was made, and the acquiring company's shares were at $50 per. Is this my chance to greatly increase the value of my shares, or am I forced to sell at last cost before the deal was made? Thanks for any help.