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This will sound silly, but the only stupid question is the one you don't ask, I guess.

I belong to a homeowners board. We're all old enough to be grandparents. One of the other women has taken a dislike to me, and constantly makes faces and flips obscene gestures when the others don't see. I confronted her privately and she flatly denied it and said I was crazy. One of the men said he didn't believe it. (People don't always mature as they get older) I would like to take in a hidden camera and film her geriatric antics, but my husband said I can't film someone without her permission.

If this is true, how do people get away with nanny-cams? I don't want to publish the film; just show it to the other members privately. Thanks for any help.

Some recipes say to start at 500 and then lower the temp after 15 minutes. Others say to keep the same temp throughout cooking. I have a 5 lb bone-in standing rib roast for Christmas Day. How can I make it perfect? Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

I was just given a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread by the lady across the street. The flavor is OK, but it didn't rise in any way and texturally resembles a door stop. Can any of you creative chefs think of a way I could use it other than feeding the ducks? I thought of crumbling it and toasting the crumbs and then making kind of a parfait with ice cream and a little liqueur. This is just an exercise in creativity for all you excellent chefs out there. I've learned a lot on this site, and don't need any sarcastic answers. I've already thought of enough myself. I KNOW I can throw it away, but she WILL ask if we enjoyed it, so I thought I'd throw the question out to Yahoo. Thanks for any ideas!

A group in our area is trying to restrict the freedom of members by passing a law eliminating elections and restricting the rights of members. They say it's "in the interest of efficiency". I'm looking for a quote that will be included in a letter against this. Something about how people can lose freedom without noticing. Maybe something from Machiavelli? I'm researching, but I'd appreciate suggestions from all you erudite people out there! Thanks in advance!

I need them for school, and the students don't seem to have enough. They sell blank ones online, but I think that's too expensive. I see hundreds of crafts online, but they never say where they got the cds. Any ideas? Thanks to all who answer!

My son has been asked to paint a sign for a store front on an acrylic sheet, which will be attached to the door. The owner wants a tie-dye type background (almost a stained glass effect) with a glittery gold sun on top. The design is complete, but he doesn't know what type of paint would achieve the stained glass effect on the acrylic sheet. His samples have turned ot opaque. Any ideas?

This may sound silly, but I hope a person who knows about wildlife will know the answer. We have a squirrel in our yard whom we've named Buddy. It lives in the brush under a rock and is furiously digging holes and shredding pinecones in preparation for winter. It's very territorial and drives all other squirrels away from the area. My question is, is Buddy more likely a male or a female? It's definitely alone and is probably getting ready to hibernate. I don't know when mating would occur.

If you happen to know, I'd appreciate learning something about squirrels! Thanks!

I have a good winter recipe for a stovetop chicken and carrot stew. The recipe calls for boneless chicken thigh pieces, but I tried it with thighs on the bone last nght. It tasted all right, but the meat was kind of tough. This was a "rehearsal" for a dinner party and the thighs "present" much better than the pieces.

I was thinking maybe it should be cooked longer and at a lower heat? What do you "experts" think?

I have to make a salad for a picnic that calls for some chopped red onion. Red onions always seem

too strong to me. Does anyone have a tip for getting out some of the bitterness? I've heard about

soaking it in water or milk, but I'm hoping some of the foodies on this site will have the ultimate answer. Thanks in advance!

I've been taking a glucosamine HSN supplement and found that it has helped me quite a bit with back pain. I've been wondering if I should add the chondroitin the next time I buy it. My chiropractor says there's not much evidence that chondroitin does any good, although there is for the glucosamine. Does anyone have any experience or advice about this? Thanks!

I was a teacher for years, but I'm now retired and doing substituting and tutoring. I have one little girl who's going into 6th grade, who was told, either by her teacher or her mother, that she's only reading at a 3rd grade level. She's very scared about going into middle school and has decided that she's "dumb". This diagnosis was based on the California standardized tests, and please don't get me started on those.

In order to help her, I need to know where her problems lie. They are probably in the comprehension area,

since her phonics skills seem fine. I have post graduate degrees and could probably order a test from a publisher, but I need a recommendation of a good one that will give specific results. I've been out of the loop for awhile and would appreciate the advice of someone who is up on the latest. This little girl is very anxious, so I don't need silly answers. THank you to all who have sensible ideas.

I have a black cooktop on my stove. No matter what I try, I cannot completely remove grease streaks.

I've tried Windex, other cleaners, soap and water, Comet, paper towel, cloth towel, you name it. Does anyone have a solution? I'd even buy something off the internet if I knew it might work. Please, no silly answers; I try to help others and I hope you will too. Thanks to anyone who has an idea!

I live in the mountains of northern CA and a woodpecker has decided to have a go at the sides of our wooden house. I have to go out at least 4 times a day to shoo it off. I know about hanging shiny objects, etc, but our house is quite tall and I can't get to the roof. My husband is currently out of town and will take care of it when he returns, but does anyone know of a scent that they don't like that I could spray on the

side of the house in the meantime? I want to discourage it before the hold gets too big and the squirrels move in, which happened to our neighbors! Thanks for any help!

I want to roast a Cornish game hen for dinner, but I'd like to put something more interesting on it than salt and pepper. How would you do it? All sensible ideas greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I've read that the spice turmeric has many possible health benefits, but I don't know what amount is good or how to use it (other than in recipes, of course). Does anyone have experience with using this spice for health purposes? Thanks!

Our new 8 month old kitten started using one of our former cat's beds for a kitty box. (We forgot to throw it out when the other cat died.) She does use her own box, but used the bed, too. Obviously we threw the bed out, but I'd like to put some sort of non-injurious repellent in the area so she won't be tempted to keep "going" there. Also, if anyone has ideas about a repellent spray for furniture, they'd be appreciated. She's a love, but a real digger! One suggestion was an infusion of rosemary in water, but if anyone has

a better idea, I'd appreciate it!

I'm a substitute teacher. Our district has too many subs, so they decided to fire some of us. But instead of doing it sensibly, like last hired, first fired, they've decided to hold a witch hunt. If subs "have complaints" against them they're dropped without being able to defend themselves or face their accusers. I went to see the superintendent and demanded to see my file, and he said, "Well, most of the complaints aren't in writing -- it's just stuff we've heard." The stuff he told ME about was just stupid gossip except for one thing: he said that "he'd heard" that I hit a child. He would not show me my file, or tell me which school, teacher or principal was involved. But he did say

that he was going to "give me a second chance" and put me back on the list. I've never hit a child, and no teacher or principal has EVER spoken to me about it. My professional reputation is more important to me than a dumb job that doesn't pay much anyway. But if I go to a lawyer, I don't really know what to ask for.

Please answer seriously: I usually try to. Thanks!

I am recovering from standard (not swine) flu which started 10 days ago. I have to get a flu shot for my volunteer job. My pharmacist says you're not supposed to get the shot while you actually have the flu, but no one seems to know when it will be safe to get one. (The volunteer job is at a hospital. Go figure.) Does anyone have any info on this?

Thanks!

We gave a party and have quite a bit of smoked salmon left over from the platter we served. We've made sandwiches and put it in salads, but we're running out of ideas. It's still good and it was expensive so I hate to throw it out. Any ideas?

My son is a professional artist with a good degree. He is privately teaching young autistic adults in Los Angeles and would like to find more students, either mainstream or special needs. Does anyone know of good places to advertise? Thanks!