James Y

I brush teeth twice a day, floss once a day, use a tongue cleaner twice a day, and even occasionally use mouth wash. i also drink water throughout the day. however, my breath still smells. it's not heavy, but as soon as i eat something (not even smelly foods, even just something like lettuce will do it) my breath smells.

and even if i don't eat something after i brush my teeth, my breath gets stale very quickly.

what else can i do? i feel like i always have to be chewing gum when i talk to people. but i hate chewing gum cause it makes me thirsty and sometimes my jaw gets sore

My mom has a masters degree in Piano/music, and she has a lot of students and can be a good teacher. However, I don't know if it's because we're related, but we just don't have good chemistry together. And while I admit that it's sometimes my fault, I feel like, after reflecting as objectively as possible, that it's mostly her fault.

For example, I'm practicing a song for a performance exam, and there's this one part where my left hand won't articulate a rolled chord as cleanly as it should be, and she shows me how it's done correctly- which is fine. But every time I try to practice, she stops me mid-playing and shows me AGAIN how to do it correctly, over and over again. She keeps saying I need to play it the right way- which I agree with- but I find it extremely hard to learn to do it the right way when she keeps stopping me and showing me the correct way to play it.

I already know how to play it right! I just need to be able to practice it so I can get it down, but she keeps stopping and showing me over and over again which just wastes time. I can agree with her stopping me when I play it wrong, but the thing is when she shows me it again- I already know what I should be doing, it's just that I need some time to get it down. It's just wasting time, not to mention she gets all fumed up because she thinks I'm criticizing her or something and she gets all self-defensive as if I'm trying to tell her the way she's showing me is wrong.

I'm not disagreeing with her- but it's just that when she shows me unnecessary over and over again and gets all bent out of shape and starts shouting, it gets so annoying to practice and every time, I feel like I never want to play piano again.

I really want to learn from a different piano teacher, but I know that she would get really offended, not to mention it'd be a waste of money since she's a nationally certified piano teacher herself.

someone complimented me on my photography, and i wanted to say thank you without just saying a short thank you and without being conceited. i thought of "I still have ways to go, but thanks :)" but i realized i wasn't completely sure of the meaning of that saying...

So I tried searching this on Google, but I haven't found an answer that's thorough and clear.

I know lots of different servers throughout the world host the internet, but I also know that the internet keeps existing even if a computer crashes (correct me on either of these if I'm wrong).

So if the computers/servers can crash without affecting the internet, how does the internet exist and how are websites saved into the internet at different URLs? Unless a computer crashing refers to regular computers that most people use, and not internet-hosting ones like a server?

I've been looking for an instrumental version of the song I believe I can fly, but I can only find R. Kelly's version which is too low for me.

Yolanda Adam's or Bianca Ryan's version would be better, but I can't find one. Can you give me a link to it? Preferably downloadable, but not mandatory

I see fewer and fewer answers to the questions that are laying around.

http://www.arch.uiuc.edu/programs/discoverarch/

I wanted to apply to a summer program for architecture, journalism, and or advertising because I wanted experience in those fields to help me decide what I really want to major in (I'm a high school junior right now), and what things I actually would not enjoy studying/doing.

I also wanted to attend a program to just give my college application a little boost.

But as I researched, I realized that college programs are pretty expensive. The cheapest ones I found were 5 day, $500 camps. I also read a lot of peoples' opinions, and from what I gathered, college programs are minimally helpful to your app, and you should only do them if you're interested in the subject matter. Also, apparently there are a lot of bad summer programs that aren't even run by full time teachers, just grad students or part time teachers.

So now I'm wondering if there are other options for me. I could do volunteering or find a part-time/full time summer job, but my concern isn't just having a productive summer- I want a summer that helps me decide my major, and I don't think I'll be finding a volunteer/pay job for architecture/advertising/engineering. And internships are probably even more unlikely....

so any guidance on the summer program/what other things I can do to help decide my major?

I want to tag photos in an album so that they make my profile banner (the photo strip at the top of a facebook profile), but I don't want them to be clickable (full size viewable). Is there a way to do this?

I know about the crop factor and comparisons to 35mm camera equivalents, but recently I was wondering, when people talk about true focal length, does that refer to the number written on the lens, the 35mm equivalent, or the focal length with the crop factor applied?

I have been working on a piano composition, but my biggest problem is that I feel like I'm just latching on a beat for the left hand part instead of making a true accompaniment to the right hand melody.

For the most part, I'm probably just unsatisfied with my composition because what I want to write/play is above my current skill level (I played for about 3 years when I was young; then I quit for 4 years and now I'm picking it up again at 16 years old)

Any advice on how to make a more riveting combination of right and left hand parts?

I am planning to buy a camera and online retailers have some of the best prices around. But all the best deals come from stores whose return policies require that the product be unopened/unused.

For me this means I can't try the product at home to see if I like it, and that if something goes wrong down the line, I cannot simply return it and must go through long processes of manufacture warranties or worse, having to be stuck with a dead camera that I paid money for.

This is why I love buying electronics at Costco because it has a flexible 90 return policy, but unfortunately it has a small selection although it also have great deals.

Would you say it's safe enough to buy online from a store with a strict return policy? Or should I cough up one hundred bucks or more/choose a different product for a more flexible and safe return policy?

For example, if a pancake lens is 20mm f1.7, does that mean it is wider angle than the Panasonic LX5 (a point and shoot) which has a lens of 24mm and f2.0 (with about 4x zoom)? Or is there a conversion factor when comparing?

What measurements would be considered wide angle, telephoto, and fast for interchangeable lenses? Do they compare the same for point and shoots?

I want to buy this camera, but almost every other store has only a 14 day return policy, which means only two weeks for using the product and only two weeks to see if there is some problem with it. Costco has a 90 day return policy on their electronics which is IMMENSELY useful for me.

Costco also has some of the best deals whenever I search around, but the only problem is their merchandise is usually small because they sell more than just cameras.

Is there any way to submit a request to Costco so that they might sell a certain product?

I have been looking for a new camera. I am an advanced amateur still in the learning process.

I have always been attracted by long, 10x or more zooms on compact cameras, but when I think about it, I don't use the zoom all that often. I use it here and there for animals, framing shots I can't get physically closer to by feet, etc.

I am deciding whether to buy a compact megazoom like the Panasonic ZS5 or a higher end compact with less zoom like the Panasonic LX5. Both are appealing in their own ways, so for me it comes down to if I'm really going to utilize the megazoom's zoom range.

So can you list some cases/reasons I would use/want more optical zoom?

Thanks

Skip to the last paragraph if you dont' want to read through the details

My friend and I were talking at our bus stop after school. These guys usually drive by about 10 minutes after we get there. Whenever we've seen them, they've tried being cool, waving back at us after they passed us (and curving off their lane because of it). Today they called my friend by name, which is kind of creepy because neither of us knew them (there's a chance they go to our school, but we've never seen them around) and they also threw a plastic coke bottle at us (we weren't sure if it was at us, or if they were just throwing it on the ground, but either way it just landed in the grass without hitting either of us). Then they came back down the road for some reason. When they reached the stop sign at our bus stop, my friend took the coke bottle they had thrown and threw it at their car as they drove away. They stopped, backed up, cursed at him, then drove off. Although my friend was somewhat provoked since they were being annoying, littering, and swerving on the road, it was uncalled for to throw the bottle at their car; it was just a total lapse in judgment.

Would there be any damage to the car from a half-drank, plastic coke bottle/any legal motivation for them to come after my friend? They seem like the kind of people who would do something about it even if there is no damage....what are the chances they'd do something really dumb to "get back" at my friend?

My friend and I were talking at our bus stop after school. These guys usually drive by about 10 minutes after we get there. Whenever we've seen them, they've tried being cool, waving back at us after they passed us (and curving off their lane because of it). Today they called my friend by name, which is kind of creepy because neither of us knew them (there's a chance they go to our school, but we've never seen them around) and they also threw a plastic coke bottle at us (we weren't sure if it was at us, or if they were just throwing it on the ground, but either way it just landed in the grass without hitting either of us). Then they came back down the road for some reason. When they reached the stop sign at our bus stop, my friend took the coke bottle they had thrown and threw it at their car as they drove away. They stopped, backed up, cursed at him, then drove off. Although my friend was somewhat provoked since they were being annoying, littering, and swerving on the road, it was uncalled for to throw the bottle at their car; it was just a total lapse in judgment.

Would there be any damage to the car from a half-drank, plastic coke bottle/any legal motivation for them to come after my friend? They seem like the kind of people who would do something about it even if there is no damage....what are the chances they'd do something really dumb to "get back" at my friend?

Find it without a calculator*

I know you could group so it becomes:

x^2(x-4) - 25(x+4)

but I don't know what to do from there because x-4 and x+4 are different so i can't use a common factor....or can i? do the signs not matter?

anyway, regardless of the method (as long as it's by hand, not calculator), can someone explain it to me?

thanks

I've already searched online how to do this, but I still have some questions. The car will be running on a carpet hallway. The mousetrap is the only thing that can power it, and the goal is to have a long distance

1. Which has a bigger effect on distance, the weight of the car or the friction on the car? I know a heavier car will offer more momentum, but a lighter car will ease friction resistance

2. How much grip should the wheels have? I'm thinking of using CDs as wheels, but I don't know if the smooth edges will be good on carpet (whereas i know something too rough will obstruct movement)

3. Should the wheels be spinning on the axel with the axel immovable? Or should the axel be spinning in the chassis will the wheels immovable? Or does it not matter?

Thank you

For a 6 month long English project, I have the option of choosing one of 11 books. I've narrowed them down to either:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde or Catch 22 by Heller or Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

Any opinions on them? From what I read online, I'm leaning towards one of the former two since Crime+P seems like a psychological belief frenzy I wouldn't enjoy.

DG I think I'd like the ideology, but I don't think I would like the 1800s setting and that type of dialect/characteristics. And I think I'll like Catch-22's war dialect and culture, but I think I'd enjoy the ideology less than DG, but only by a little.

Thank you for opinions, please give a reason, don't just list a title.