Sam

Is it true that [abs(x-y)]^2 = (x-y)^2?

Thanks!

Hello,

I've had acne on my face, back, and chest for over 2 years now. During that time I've tried regular washing with soap, various salicylic acid body washes and scrubs, benzyl peroxide, two different types of antibiotics, and 6 months of accutane. My face has cleared up, but my chest and back haven't changed at all. Now the acne has spread to my thighs and I have red marks all over my skin that just simply aren't going away.

What is the next option for treatment here? I'm getting really tired of nothing working.

How can I make the program run a line of code that the user enters? For example, if the user types "Form1.TextBox1.Height = 30" into a textbox, how can I make the program actually run what they type in? Thanks.

I have had what I have considered to be fairly minor acne for a while now, and my dermatologist recently prescribed accutane. 

Well, I've been taking it for three days now. In that time, I've gotten incredibly irritable and have been feeling hostile and depressed, I've had random joint pain, my hair is beginning to fall out, and, of course, my acne has gotten worse. It doesn't help that I've been finding a huge number of articles online saying accutane causes liver damage, vision and hearing loss, etc. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I know I won't have a day of peace if I continue to take this drug.

So here's my problem. I've brought these concerns to my parents, and they're insisting that I continue taking it anyway, up to the point where they are literally forcing me to, i.e., if I don't take it each morning, they won't take me to school or work (we only have one car and I don't yet have my license), and they'll yell at me for being unreasonable.

What the hell do I do? I've felt like complete crap since I've started this drug and it's getting worse every day. There's no way I can continue taking it for another day, let alone five months. Please help.

I've had moderate / what I'm told is severe acne all over my upper body for two years now that is beginning to scar. I've tried the salicylic acid body washes and scrubs, benzyl peroxide, antibiotics, hell, even honey and baking soda. Nothing except antibiotics worked, and even their effect wore off after a few months. I'd have thought I'd have grown out of acne by now, but it just keeps getting worse with no signs of slowing.

My dermatologist just put me on accutane. I know it would clear it up and I'd be done with acne forever in a few months, but the drug scares the heck out of me. So basically me continuing to take it for another week is out of the question, let alone the full course.

Now, it could just be the accutane affecting my mood, but I'm finally getting quite unhappy about my situation. Nothing has helped and the only actual cure is no longer an option, so I don't know what to do. (To be honest, I don't even know why I bother asking this question because I know from experience nothing anyone will suggest will be at all helpful. But I'll set my cynicism aside for the moment and say) help please.

Oh, and please don't bother with telling me your personal success stories with accutane and how it's not harmful. I've reached the conclusion that no one knows what they're talking about when it comes to the long term effects, and there's no way I'm willing to risk it.

I have a snake I've apparently overwatered because one spear has root rot. This problem happened several months ago and I repotted the plant, removed the rotting spears, and watered it less often, and it was fine for a long time. Now another spear is rotting.

It seems that the spear is healthy except for the bottom couple of inches; there is still over a foot of seemingly healthy plant left. My question is if there is any way to save this spear, and if I need to worry about the rot spreading to the other spears. Also, I would like to know if I can use a partially rotted spear for propagation.

Thank you in advance.

I have a snake I've apparently overwatered because one spear has root rot. This problem happened several months ago and I repotted the plant, removed the rotting spears, and watered it less often, and it was fine for a long time. Now another spear is rotting.

It seems that the spear is healthy except for the bottom couple of inches; there is still over a foot of seemingly healthy plant left. My question is if there is any way to save this spear, and if I need to worry about the rot spreading to the other spears. Also, I would like to know if I can use a partially rotted spear for propagation.

Thank you in advance.

I've had acne for several years now and despite all the various methods I've used to control it, it just keeps getting worse and worse.

My doctor recommended benzyl peroxide, which only accomplished staining my clothes, and everyone I've heard from says benzyl peroxide didn't work for them either, and now apparently research links it to skin cancer.

I've been using salicylic acid off and on for a couple of years, and I noticed that my skin looked much better when I wasn't using it.

I've tried natural remedies I found online like honey and baking soda. Half of the pages I saw claimed that they work wonders while the other half claims the opposite.

And then it doesn't help that people try to capitalize on the disease and intentionally spread lies about things that don't work for the sake of profit.

The only thing that's come close to working for me was an antibiotic, but that stopped working after a few months and caused some unpleasant gastric side effects.

So I don't think anyone has a clue what they're talking about. No one agrees on the effectiveness of natural remedies, the OTC products don't work, and the prescription stuff doesn't work either, and the end result is that not a damn has helped.

So I know I haven't asked a question in there at all, but if anyone has experience or advice they'd like to share, go ahead. Just don't claim to know what you're talking about if you don't.

Does anyone know where I could get a video clip of a horse in front of a green screen?

I'm playing around with the tone and emotion of writing... I would like someone other than me to describe how this bit of writing feels. I'm not looking for mechanics or coherence, just what emotion comes to mind when reading:

          "The colored leaves in the light of the evening sun set the trees as if ablaze in unison with Sam's emotion. The song of the forest expanded, growing in volume; always growing, nature and the world not limited in its grandness, never ceasing to overpower in its glory. The incapacitating expanse of the world pushed Sam forward, through the rough underbrush that scratched his legs and drew life-blood from his flesh, so insignificant among the perpetual horizon and the God of the creation.

          Sam stopped at the edge of the steep cliff with the ocean sixty feet below, energy surging past him, out of grasp, out of realization; returning past the sunset burning in the dome of the sky to the heavens beyond. With the energy gone and impossible to reach, the abyss in Sam's heart and mind exploded, with silvery-golden wrath of melancholic longing striking down his being to the ground, never to be relieved on this earth in this majestic world."

Sometimes I will just stare at an object and my mind goes totally blank with a pleasant... not really dizzy, but a relaxed, empty feeling. It requires effort to move my eyes and begin thinking again. I know that it's very common, but I don't know what it's called.

I have been familiar with very basic usage of Visual Basic for maybe a year now. I still have no clue what more than half of the things in it do or mean, and there isn't anywhere on the Internet I have found to be any help whatsoever.

I recently tried to use C++, and holy crap, I am totally, totally, totally lost. I have literally no idea what's going on in that world. I've looked all over the Internet at different "beginners' guides" that start out using ridiculous terminology that I have no hope of understanding, and they don't explain crap.

Then I look at sample C++ programs, and it looks as redundant as hell. Random punctuation, cryptic "element names..." I have no clue. So my question is why does programming so insanely difficult? Did Microsoft intentionally make it so that programmers must be geniuses with nothing but time to waste trying to learn the unecesary crap that could be so much simpler? And if anyone knows a website or book that truly is a beginner's guide and not something that would make Alan Turing roll in his grave, that would be great.

I have recently been having frequent moments where I don't notice obvious things. For example, I was looking for something today, not realizing for several seconds that I was staring right at it. This kind of thing happens several times a day.

BTW, I have also been experiencing much greater agitation than normal, and difficulty recalling things from short-term memory.

Does anyone know what's going on here? Should I be worried?

Help! Time constantly seems to get faster and faster and the months and years are passing me by. I know this is a common complaint of older people, but I'm only 15. I feel as if time is becoming exponentially faster.

A year ago, I thought the years were seeming shorter. Then weekends seemed almost non-existent. Now the year is almost half way over, and I feel like it's hardly been 2 months!

The worst part is when I look at my watch, thinking it's, say, the 16th, because I remember the 15th being yesterday. And it turns out it's the 17th. I remember the events of yesterday just fine; it's not like I'm having memory lapses... But it's scary. Half a year has flown by. How many half-years do I have left? Maybe over 100? When time is just becoming faster?

I am worried. I fear death and that my life will be over soon, or rather, I will look back and realize it's only seemed like a few years... Is there any way to slow down my perception of time (non drug-related, of course)?

Hello, I just took some Maalox after measuring the amount in a 2-Tbsp. measuring spoon thing that my family shares for when we take liquid medicines. Well, after I drank the Maalox, I had a kind of soapy taste in my mouth. Was the spoon contaminated with another drug? I know I use that spoon for Maalox a lot. Can old / dried Maalox have a soapy taste? Should I be worried?

Today I saw a helicopter flying very low overhead. It flew almost directly over where I was, then it stopped and made a 90 degree turn and kept flying. The helicopter was orange with little zebra-like black stripes on it.

So now I'm worried. Was it possible it was a terrorist attack? Could the helicopter have dumped some kind of bioweapon over my city? I kind of have a mild sore throat right now. (I saw this around 15 hours ago).. I'm really freaking out. If there was an attack, would we know by now? Please help...

Oh, I also had a dream last night involving an airborne toxin. So I'm really anxious.

Whenever I do private things like shower or use the bathroom, I feel awkward because of the idea that my dead relatives are watching me do it. How can I resolve this problem?

Why are so many people suicidal today? What the hell happened? I mean, not to belittle anyone's suffering, but doesn't it seem like there are more suicide-related posts than usual?

But seriously, guys, suicide is a terrible decision. Don't do it. Face your problems. You can solve them. It just takes patience and effort.

I cannot stand how people act and think. It's incredible. At school, people will intentionally prey on other kids' weaknesses to intentionally cause them distress. What is the drive behind that?

And then most "normal" people my age will obsess over trivial matters like sports and movies and dating. And they smile all the time. What is there to be happy about? Where do we get the time to have fun?

People are suffering and dying in poverty-stricken, disease-ridden places, and their lives could so easily be improved with our help. But we don't spend $10 buying a mosquito net so an African child doesn't die of malaria. No, we spend that money to go see a movie. Is our entertainment really worth other people's lives?

And then we have people on our government. They spent almost a year on healthcare reform. Is it really such a difficult decision? Is it really so hard to spend money so people not as well-off can afford medical care?

So why are people so fundamentally flawed and moronic? Seriously. Am I the only one who wants to punch almost every rich, greedy human who has ever existed?