Java

I have a 9 year old indoor neutered male. His "sibling", an 8 year old spayed female very recently passed away. One of the reasons I got her (she was 2 months and he was a year) was because he wasn t handling me being gone for school and work for extended periods of time very well. It worked. Right now I m home quite a bit so I ve been keeping him distracted but I m worried when grad school starts back up that his old clingy behavior is going to come back. I ve never had cats with such an extreme difference in age. He s 9 and *starting* to slow down but was still trying to play with my girl (they would play fight and wrestle) before she died. He had zero problems except for a little initial stress when he first met her, and the cunning girl made sure there was a face-to-face introduction on day one! He was extremely upset when I took in someone s adult cat temporarily and that was with a solid door between them. Because of that history I ve been contemplating a kitten but I m worried the age difference is too great? Anyone ever had to go through a senior cat - kitten introduction? Is there such a thing as a "mellow" kitten?

I have a sickly betta. I've been treating him off and on for several months for persistent fin rot. Recently his fin rot flared up and he got a fungus on top of that.

Disclaimer: He's in a heated 5 gallon tank and has been getting aquarium salt added to his water during treatment sessions for fin rot. Filter has to be turned off during episodes or it shreds his fins. Water conditions are monitored and is changed almost daily (80 percent) with a vacuum to remove fish waste/debris. Ammonia is 0. So please don't even try to say "his tank is dirty".

During this latest bought I THOUGHT we were FINALLY making headway with his freakin illnesses. There's still a vague white patch on his head but there's no new fuzzy growth. Fins were less clamped and appetite was returning.

2 days ago I noticed he was struggling to swim and spending more time on the bottom. I immediately cut back on food, monitored, and stopped treatment. It's now very definitely swim bladder disease. I decreased the water in his tank to 5-6 inches so he can make it to the surface. I tried the pea trick - he is attacking the water surface like he normally does when he's hungry - but the pea pieces sink to the bottom and he has no idea they're there. He ONLY eats/stalks surface food and the only thing I've ever been able to get him to eat and not spit out is flakes (bad for SBD I know) and *occasionally* brine shrimp.

Suggestions?

This may be more of a human anatomy question but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

About 2 weeks ago my horse tripped at the canter, went down hard on his knees and I went over his shoulder. I landed on the back of my left hip. There was very little pain/discomfort and I was able to walk and hop right back on. It took 2 days for the pain to set in and I assumed (still do) that the damage was soft tissue related. In my experience broken bones/fractures are a more immediate kind of "ouch". I can press hard on my hip and everywhere around no problem. No bruising/swelling. But I couldn't flex my back the hip at all without a lot of pain (in the hip). The weird part and the part I'm wondering about, is that moving my left leg doesn't bother my left hip at all. Moving my right leg, however, equals instant left hip pain. I took over a week off of physical exercise - no gym and no riding - and everything seemed perfectly recovered and I was completely pain free. Then I had a lesson tonight and yep, my back left hip is still messed up. It didn't hurt at all in the saddle but as soon as I sat down in my car and moved my right leg to the brake...I'm slowly acknowledging that a doctor visit may be required since 1 week pain free apparently didn't mean recovered but I'm wondering what ligament/tendon/muscle/nerve would effect the left hip by moving the right leg??? Has anyone taken a fall/injury like this before?

So I'm looking for a programmable feeder that can feed my cats (yes I know I'll probably have to buy two separate machines) three times a day. I saw this product and was wondering if I would be able to use my own ceramic bowls instead of the plastic. Does anyone have any recommendations? One of my cats is pretty sensitive to plastic bowls so I really need to use her ceramic bowl.

I know macs aren't generally friendly with gaming but I'm really interested in getting Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and I'm wondering if my mac can handle it. I've seen mixed reviews from mac users. I'm running OSX 10.8.4

My specs are:

Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 4000 384 MB

--when I look under the graphics card section it also lists NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

Are these specs decent enough to risk buying the game? Buying an xbox at this point just isn't going to happen.

Starbucks used to have a special St. Patrick's day drink. It was hot coffee but I don't remember it was latte or mocha. Does anyone remember this drink and, more importantly, what went into it? I think there was some mint to it that I loved. I'm not a coffee drinker AT ALL (can't stand the taste of coffee) but this blend was really really good and I'd love it if I could get the baristas close to it.

I've been making popovers for a while now. Since I started using a popover tray they've come out excellent every time. Large, fluffy and tasty.

The recipe is:

1 cup flour (all-purpose)

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tb butter, melted

2 Tb butter chilled (to be melted in the popover tray prior to cooking)

Preheat oven to 425 - warm popover tray in oven (I know there's some difference of opinion whether a warm start is better over a cold one but I've always used a warm start)

Now, this recipe has been working for me in the past.

I recently moved, however, and the oven I have now is gas and the popovers WILL NOT POP. I even tried a miele multi-purpose microwave/bake/broil device and they wouldn't pop in there either. It isn't an altitude difference because I made these in a friend's home and they popped there. Just not at home. Any advice on how to get them popping again?

Does anyone know of a stable that does dressage lessons in the greater Wilmington NC area? I do not own a horse so they have to provide a lesson horse. I've searched online and can only find hunter/jumper barns (and few at that) but I cannot jump due to a bum knee. I'm willing to drive a ways but no more than an hour and half away and that would be pushing it. Any help is appreciated!

I asked this over on the community forums at apple's website but thought I might get a wider response here.

I have an older MacBook Pro circa 2008. Several months ago the graphics card (expensive!) went out along with the hard drive. Basically my computer is an expensive paper weight. The guy at the Apple store told me that for $300 I could send in my computer and techs would replace everything that's broken even if I didn't realize something was needing repairs. I should mention the computer is out of warranty. However, he also said that the techs would replace the hard drive and I would lose all data. So I took the computer to a repair shop to pull some info off of the hard drive that hadn't been backed up. The repair guy left my hard drive in an external device I provided so I could access the drive in case there was anything else that I forgot I needed (he was able to "de-corrupt" the drive somewhat but said it still needed to be replaced). So right now I have a hard driveless mac with a defunct graphics card and a corrupt hard drive sitting in an external drive. I'm NOT tech savvy enough to know how to put the hard drive back into the mac. I tried and lost a screw to the under-panel in the process. So it's a hard driveless mac with a defunct graphics card missing a screw.

I want to send in my mac to be repaired but I've heard some pretty bad stories about using Apple's services. Would the graphics card fall under the basic repair rate of $300 or something higher - something I read about on another board. The guy at the retail store didn't say anything about higher rates, just the $300 for the graphics card and hard drive. Would they charge me for not having the hard drive physically in the mac? I'm fine to send the hard drive with the mac in it's external case. They can keep or toss the drive it's in as it was donated to me by a friend. Would they charge me for the missing screw as in categorize it under "physical damage"? I'm not kidding. I've heard some really bad stories about how they up the charges AFTER you've sent in the computer and how the techs are encouraged to up the charges whenever possible. But I know people are more likely to complain about bad service than share stories of good service so I'm not sure how I should interpret those incidents.

Given my lack of technological savvy what should I do in my situation? Is Apple's way a good method to use or is there an alternative? I really don't have money to waste on a new mac even if I use their credit system or on a new graphics card by itself and $800-$900+ repairs are a bit out of my range. I can buy an ok PC for what I need for less than that. Should I just write my mac off as dead and save myself the hassle? I really loved that mac and would hate to go PC again but I'm just not sure.

Advice?

I have a degree from an accredited four year university. However, I wish to pursue a completely different career and have decided to break into accounting. My background in accounting consists of a course or two and work experience. I wish to pursue a masters in accounting and obtain my CPA. My thinking is that I should take general accounting courses at a community college. One college I looked at would actually give me an associates degree, though I don't really care about getting another degree except for my masters. Once I have a more solid foundation I would then apply to a masters program. Assuming I do well on the GMAT of course.

I'm just wondering if this sounds like a well laid out plan. It seems fairly obvious to me but I want to make sure I'm not missing some crucial detail. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? Most of the schools I've talked to don't really know what to say except I should take accounting classes. They're mostly interested in me signing on with them and paying money.

The Kroger here stopped selling it. I can't find it anywhere else, not Wal-mart nor Meijer. Has anyone in the KY area seen it for sale at a gas station or *anything*? Again, this is for the pint size ice cream.

Thanks!

So my old camera died and it's time for me to upgrade and I'm still a beginner with digital photography. I like to take action shots, mostly at equestrian events so something with 3+ fps would be great. Lighting is not always ideal since I'm sometimes in an arena. My budget isn't great so anything under $600 is what I'm looking for. I'm most familiar with canon cameras if it matters.

I've looked at the canon rebel t3i and t2i but not only are they expensive they seem to be a little more than what I need.

Any suggestions?

I just (maybe an hour ago) ordered a book from bn.com. I asked for Expedited shipping 1-2 business days. How reliable is bn.com shipping? Will the book actually reach me by Tuesday or Wednesday or will it take longer?

I've always been an Amazon customer in the past and they have never shipped me a book/item late so I'm curious as to what bn.com will do and what I can expect. Unfortunately Amazon didn't have the book in question listed for sale or I would've opted for them.

I adopted my cats from two different shelters and both were implanted with Home Again microchips and neither cat was pre-enrolled, the shelters told me I have to enroll them. I'm only familiar with Avid chips so I'm looking for a little clarification as I've heard conflicting information regarding Home Again.

1. It costs roughly 16 dollars per cat to register them?

2. Do I have to pay the annual fee in order to keep the chip numbers on file on HA's database or do I only have to pay again if I need to update the info (i.e. a change of address)?

I have a two year old pet rat. She's always been in good health (after her cage mate died a year ago she did start to show symptoms of chromodacryorrhea - red tears - but it's never progressed into anything serious. I spoke to a vet who suspects she's always had it but her cage mate would clean her face to where I wouldn't notice). Well, last week she got her cage cleaned like every other week. I used Dawn soap like every other week. Once a month I clorox the crap out of her cage but her cage isn't due for cloroxing for another week. I've been noticing a foul smell from her cage for the past couple of days and never saw anything alarming upon examination. This evening I happened to look up while she was climbing and saw diarrhea on her bottom. I checked the cage and saw a literal puddle of diarrhea on her igloo. Foul smell has been located, but now I'm concerned about my rat.

Her diet has not changed in the two years I've owned her. She eats the same lab blocks she always has. She hasn't been exposed to any new foods/chemicals (Dawn) recently either. I'm already planning on calling a local vet in the morning, but does anyone know of what can cause diarrhea in a rat OTHER than a change in diet or feeding too many greens??

So I use an old recipe for apple pie. It calls for 4-5 Granny Smith apples. For the filling it calls for:

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon (this usually becomes 2 tablespoons cinnamon)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (this usually becomes 1 teaspoon nutmeg)

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons lemon juice added to the apples.

My problem(s):

1. The pie is way too tart for my liking. To the point where I just can't eat it. I've tried other apples than Granny Smith and while I usually prefer the flavor, they just don't hold up as cooking apples (Golden Delicious and Honey Crisp apples, to be precise). I've heard adding more sugar can counteract tartness but I personally don't know...

2. The pie is way, way, way too runny. I've tried preparing the apple filling mixture two ways:

A) cut and peel all apples, add lemon juice, add dry ingredients, toss, then put in crust. Add butter. Bake.

B) Add apples to dry ingredients as they are peeled and cut. Add lemon juice. Toss, put in crust, add butter, and bake.

It bakes at 425 degrees F for 45-50 minutes and it's just too runny.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Also, I've seen several recipes that call for brown sugar. What kind of flavor would the brown sugar add to the pie? A richer flavor, a darker one? Would that help cut the tartness?

I have a relative. They really, really used to love riding - hunter/jumper to be exact. Then something happened to their ankle and now riding is too painful. They aren't interested in getting it looked at (been this way for years) because it only hurts when they ride. I've heard many a time that gaited breeds are good for people with back issues but I'm wondering if a gaited breed like the Paso Fino would be okay for this individual? I know you typically ride a Paso with long, loose legs but I don't know how much weight actually goes into the stirrup. Before I can so much as propose they look into it I'm looking for any and all articles that may support the notion a gaited breed might mean less stress on the ankle and therefore no (or significantly less) pain. Anyone know of any articles?

I've Googled already and I kept getting issues about horse joint problems O.o

I have a two year old pet rat. She has mammary tumors and is scheduled to have them removed. However, over the past two days she's gone downhill very quickly and I'm considering euthanasia. One thing I've noticed, and I'm wondering out of curiosity what it could mean if anything, is one of her eyes now appears sunken in. The other is normal. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this can be a sign of brain damage but now I can't find the article. She's ambulatory but she sometimes appears a bit disoriented.

I'm asking here because she'll be put down tomorrow and the emergency vet who's agreed to do so is by no means a rat specialist so I can't really ask them.

Any rat experts out there?

So, I recently got a new kitten (by recently I mean today). However, my adult cat has food intolerance and eats Authority Sensitive Solutions to keep his feline acne at bay. My kitten adores the cat's food and won't touch her Science Diet Kitten food but I can't just let the kitten eat adult cat food. However, if I only put out kitten food, or even mix it with the Authority, my adult cat will break out and start scratching his chin again. Instead, I would rather find a kitten food geared towards food intolerant cats (no beef, corn, wheat, or excessive chicken) so that my adult cat won't break out if he eats the kitten food and my kitten will still be getting their nutritional requirements.

They have separate bowls in separate locations, but the kitten is really, really, drawn to the Authority brand and won't even look at the Science Diet - which she's been eating since she was weaned (she's 10 weeks).

Any help or suggestions? Also, I know there are more expensive variations of the Authority Sensitive Solutions but it did the trick for my cat. I'm really looking for a kitten food that won't make my adult cat break out if he eats it (accidentally or on purpose).