MML

I got a broadcast message from one of my friends on Facebook warning that there's a virus going around. The message states that the virus spreads by using your photos saying that you've been tagged then when you click on the link, it infects your computer and hacks your personal information like your banking and other accounts. I was just wondering if any of you have heard this and if it's true. Also, are there any other viruses going around on Facebook that we should be aware of?

Currently, female soldiers are not allowed to pick a combat MOS when they join the military. How would you feel if that ruling were reversed? Why or why not? One reason that I've heard against women in combat has nothing to do with a female's ability to respond appropriately if she were in combat and they realize that there are female soldiers that are in the top of their class in marksmanship, combatives, etc. Their issues have to do with the male instinct to want to protect the female in case she were wounded in combat which may put the male in danger of being injured or killed. I can see that being a legitimate concern. I know that soldiers are trained in what to do if the case arises where a fellow soldier is wounded, etc., but then a male's innate instinct might kick in if that soldier were a female and the outcome in what he does might be different, despite his training. There are jobs that female soldiers hold that put them in danger anyway (medics), plus women are assigned to patrol units which are susceptible to IEDs and enemy attacks. It has been said that there are no front lines in the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan; however, when a unit goes out on a mission they stay at an outpost away from the main forward operating base. To me, that is a "front line". Anyway, I was just wondering what others thought about the subject.

I am currently under the care of a PM doctor. Upon my very first visit as a new patient they did a urine drug screening which is fine because I don't use drugs. I had already been on hydrocodone from the doctor that referred me to this PM doctor and I told them upfront what I had been previously prescribed. I also was honest with them about the dosage per day and how some days I don't require what I'm allowed to take, but then some days I may need more, but that by the end of the month it all evens out because I don't run out of my meds. Anyway, I had my regular monthly appt. yesterday and they did a urine drug screen on me, which is the first one since I started going to them which was 9 months ago. My question would be - is this normal? Do they perform random drug screenings? I had to fill out paperwork and tell them what I had taken and the last time I took it. I've been sick the last couple of days and hadn't taken my prescribed meds in 2 days because they made me nauseous. I guess I had a virus. Will that flag my urine test as not having any of the prescribed drugs in my system, or does hydrocodone stay in your system longer than that and I'll be ok? I'm not really worried because I don't take anything illegal, nor do I take any other type of pain meds from any other doctors unless I notify my PM first. Their policy is to inform them if I have to undergo any procedures for anything and that the other doctors can prescribe pain meds for me - I just have to inform my PM doc and he adjusts the pain meds he gives me - like he'll give me my prescription, but maybe I won't be able to fill it for another week, which is fine. I'm still not really schooled yet on how a PM doctor/clinic works. I had some extensive oral surgery a couple of months ago and I let my doc know at the appt. I had before my surgery and he notated it in my file and I also told him what I had been prescribed for pain. I also told my oral surgeon that I was in Pain Management. I'm also about to have some knee injections and have informed my PM doc about it and I've told him that I'd most likely be given a prescription for pain because the dosing schedule will be different from my PM doc's dosing schedule for the hydro that he prescribes for me. Anyway, I guess I'm just asking if the drug screen I got was routine, or if they suspect something. Like I said, I don't smoke pot, or use cocaine, heroine, or even oxycodone. Anybody that has been thru this that can shed some light on their practices would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.

I had an injection in my knee Monday and was given some pain meds to help me thru the initial discomfort. The doctor prescribed 40 Lortabs so I took it to my pharmacist to have it filled, picked up the prescription and proceeded to go out of town. Tonight I was taking one out of the bottle and accidentally dropped the bottle on the floor and some of the pills fell out. It was then I realized that what I had left vs. what I had taken did not match up and I realized that I was shorted 10 pills - I was prescribed 40 and got only 30. I don't know if I should bring this to the attention of my pharmacist or not because it is a pain medication and I have no way of proving this. I'm sure about this because I keep up with how many meds I'm taking and when I take it. I'm a very honest person, but I don't want to sound like I'm trying to get more pain meds, but I also may need them down the road because my knee has been giving me alot of problems. Also, I'm out of town and can't even take the bottle back to the pharmacist until Monday. Should I call my pharmacist and bring this to their attention or just let it go?

Last night I was typing on my laptop and all of a sudden, it went black, then flickered on again, then black, then flickered on again. I type very fast and don't know if I hit a key or something to make it do that, but it was just the strangest thing, so I pressed the power button to turn it off. When I turned it back on, the appearance of my screen was whacked. I changed the resolution and that helped some, but it still looks weird. I have no idea what happened and I don't know how to change it back to the way it was before. It's like my fonts look fat and more bold and my background photo now won't fit on the screen. It's like my graphics are all off and I don't know how to check to see if that's the problem and if it is, I don't know how to change it back to the way it was before. I've looked in the control panel under "appearance" and don't see where I can make any changes. Any ideas on what I can do, or what may have happened in the first place?

I have a friend who is between the age 45-50. She told me that she had been doing weight training & cardio ( but never changed her diet ) and never lost any weight or inches with that program. She complained to her son about it and he told her that the fact that she was working on the weight machines was her problem and that if she did strictly cardio, then she'd lose weight. She took his advice and said the pounds melted off. She lost about 32 pounds in a 12-month period, but again never changed her diet.

I have a hard time believing that if you do light weight training along with cardio that you won't lose weight because the more muscle you build, the more fat you burn. I'm telling this story because I am also in that age group and am working on the weight machines. I joined a new gym a month ago and was told by their staff that I should lift weights for upper body one day, lower body & abs the next and alternate, which I already knew and that I should do that first, then do my cardio. They also said that I should have just one day of cardio w/o weights.

So, if I continue that workout program AND cut out fat, sugar & carbs and stick to fresh veggies and some fruit & lean meat, shouldn't I be able to lose weight and quicker than 32 pounds in a year? Thanks for your help - and if you have more suggestions give them to me. I'm actually looking to lose at least 15-20 pounds in a 6-week period, or at least lose 2 dress sizes.

I joined a new gym in June and have been pretty good about working out. My goal is to lose 50 pounds in all, but I'd like to lose some weight and tone up a good bit before mid-September because I'm going to the beach and would like to look decent in a one-piece bathing suit. Do you think it's possible to lose at least 20 pounds before then and what do you think I'd need to do besides working out at least 4-5 times per week? I know that cutting out fat & sugar would help and eating fresh fruits and veggies is good. I'm also drinking a protein shake every day that contains a little bit of 1% milk, soy protein powder, strawberries, and one banana. I read an article that stated that it's ok to have 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter daily, so when I drink the protein shake as a meal replacement, I do add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter to the shake. Can you think of anything else I need to be doing to reach my goal? Btw, my work-out consists of weight training and 40-45 minutes of cardio each time. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

My daughter got engaged a few months ago and set a 2011 wedding date. I got a call from her a couple of days ago telling me that they've talked it over and have decided that they want to go to the courthouse and go ahead and get married, but still have a wedding next year to celebrate their union. Her fiance had already asked her dad for her hand in marriage, but we were all under the impression that they would wait until their wedding to actually get married. Now, they are saying they want to go ahead and get the legal stuff out of the way and get it done on paper. He is in the military and he wants to be able to take care of her and doesn't want to wait a year to do that. She can get on his car insurance policy, his health insurance, etc. If he's deployed, he'll know she's taken care of back home.

I'm old-fashioned and I'm a little bit upset about this. It will just seem weird that on the day of their wedding, they won't actually really be getting married, but just going thru the motions. My family is old-fashioned as well so I don't want to tell them. I'd rather them go to the wedding thinking that they are reallly getting married that day. I know my family well enough to know that they may not be ok knowing that they are getting married now just to get that part of it out of the way. They aren't going to exchange rings until the ceremony next year. I guess war-time has made for some really strange situations. I'm just not sure how I feel about it. My balloon has been a little bit deflated because of this, but I'm still happy that they seem very happy together and love each other. I guess that's the most important thing.

Anyway, if it were your daughter, how would you react?

My grandson is almost 10 months old and he recently started biting and getting a little aggressive. When he bites, his mother sort of pops his mouth (softly) and says a very stern "no" to him. He just looks at her, then smiles. She repeats to him "no". Once it happened and she softly bit him back and said "no biting" and he laughed at her like they were playing a game. He's got six sharp little teeth and the biting leaves marks and it hurts!

He also is starting to pick up objects and hit people with them. Not all of the time, but sometimes. He was in bed with my daughter while she was laying down and he picked up a tiny hammer and hit her in the nose with it. Not hard enough to do any damage, but hard enough to make her say "ouch"!! Again, he didn't get it and smiled and thought it was a game.

What can my daughter do to prevent this? And, why is he acting out like this with the biting? I can give you a little background on his homelife. My daughter is an army wife and her husband has been deployed since October so she is pretty stressed out at home. I think that her baby feels the stress and maybe that's his way of acting out at her stress because he feels it, too. She's a very loving and patient mother, however, and she tends to all of his needs and doesn't yell at him when she does get frustrated.

So, we're just trying to figure out why this little man is biting! Any help and/or suggestions will be much appreciated.

Have you ladies (or guys) ever used those really big round cylindrical glass vases to decorate with? If so, what did you put in it? They have varying sizes and I know that they can be used in the bathroom, bedroom and even the kitchen or den area. I came across a really big one at Marshall's the other day and there was nothing around to even suggest what it could be used for and I didn't have time during that shopping trip to get creative. Like some of the ones that I have at home I have put nice soaps in. One of them has bath bombs in them - all different colors and it looks really pretty. One of them I made into a vase and used glass gems and silk roses that I used at my daughter's wedding. Some of the bigger ones I know that people put in fake citrus fruits such as lemons/limes and oranges or grapefruits and fill with that and put that on the kitchen counter or table for decoration or a centerpiece. I've even seen dried florals curled around inside of them.

Any suggestions you have will be welcomed. Thank you!

My daughter's friend's cat is in heat. She's an indoor only cat and is nine months old. Obviously, the owner has not yet had her spayed so the cat is going nuts not being able to go out and mate. The owner feels bad about it but doesn't want to let her outside because there are some male cats that have already come around and the cat will get pregnant if they let her out. Is there anything they can do to make the kitty comfortable until this heat cycle passes? I suggested to just give her lots of attention and scratch her head & back and be patient. She's also releasing some liquid and I told them that there's probably nothing they can do for that. I did urge them to get the cat fixed as the heat cycle could come back within 2-3 weeks. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I'm putting Frontline Plus on my three cats for fleas, but I'm wondering if Advantage is better. I notice that it's more expensive so it makes me wonder if it's better. Has anybody used both on your cat and had better results with one over the other? Thank you.

I have 2 indoor cats that are littermates (male & female) and both of them have been fixed. They are 18 months old. Yesterday afternoon, I was in my den and they were both in there with me and the male was being particularly active and running around the house. He ran into the den and swatted at the female's rear end. She turned around and swatted and hissed at him. He then jumped on her back like he was mounting her and bit her neck, then rolled her over. Now, I know that male cats do this when the female is in heat and he wants to mate, but these two cats have been fixed. My question is - can male cats still assert their dominance, even tho they've been fixed? It does seem that's what he was trying to do. The only reason he got off her is because I clapped my hands and said "no" really loud because she was being submissive to him and it didn't look to me like he was playing with her and it didn't look like she was enjoying this. She's a very sweet & gentle kitty anyway and it made me feel really bad for her.

I've had cats all of my life, but usually the same sex, so this is the first time I've had a male/female combination so I've never experienced this behavior in an indoor cat. Thanks for your comments on what might be going on with my little stud kitty.

I would love to lose some weight. I had major spine surgery back in February and March and I have been recuperating ever since. It's been a painful road, but I'm readly to start slowly exercising again, but I haven't been cleared to do alot by my spine surgeon.

I'm wondering if the Quick Trim diet system works w/o alot of exercising? I have a Wii Fit Plus System that I will be hooking up soon & using so I will have some form of exercise while I'm on the Quick Trim diet program, but I was just wondering if anybody out there has used it and what were your results? Pros/Cons? Which products did you use that worked? Thanks for your help.

I have 3 indoor cats and we have been battling an infestation of fleas since the late summer. I kept my daughter's cat for her while she moved and her cat had fleas and infested my house, and my cats (we didn't know her cat had fleas). We kept trying to treat the problem ourselves, but finally had a professional come in and spray in December. They sprayed the entire house and came back 10 days later and sprayed again. It was one of those things where we had to take ourselves, cats, and every other living thing out of our house for 4 hours.

Of course my cats scratched themselves silly when they had fleas, but we've been treating them with Frontline Plus since October. Although the fleas are gone, they are still scratching themselves a little bit. Is it possible that they could still be suffering from any type of skin condition or bites from the fleas? Or, maybe I'm just being paranoid and noticing normal scratching? Since we didn't get our house sprayed until December, I'm wondering if this is just them still getting over having the fleas. I know they don't have fleas anymore because I've been combing them and nothing comes out of their fur - no eggs or fleas and my vet said that we've done the right thing by having the house professionally sprayed and told us to keep using the Frontline Plus. I've been applying it every 3 weeks instead of every 4 since we had such a problem and my vet said that was fine.

So, is there anything I need to be putting on their skin, or do I just wait this out and let their skin heal naturally? Thanks for your help!

I have a few recipes I want to try (macaroons & coconut cake) and I have alot of coconut that are in bags, but it has gone dry. Is there any way I can get it moist again, or can i just use it in the recipes dry and hope that it will draw the moisture from the eggs & milk that are in the recipes? Thank you for your help.

We are going to be installing tile flooring in our laundry room and in the hallways of our basement. We have opted to use a textured ceramic tile and won't be utilizing any pattern. We will be eventually tiling the kitchen floor as well - probably next year when we have a little more money. My question is - what type of tile is best for the kitchen area? When I entertain, that's where most of my guests gather, although we don't throw alot of parties. It's just when we do have company, that's where everybody ends up going, so there will be some high traffic at times. The tile we are using for the laundry project and the basement hallway project isn't as expensive as the tile we will probably use for the kitchen area. I do know that I shouldn't get a slick floor. I'm just not sure what type of floor (ceramic, slate, etc.). Any help and tips would be appreciated. We've never done this before, so if you have installed a tile flooring, please let us know what you wish you had known before installing your tile flooring. Thanks in advance for your help & advice.

I gave my three cats a Frontline Plus treatment around November 5th. One of them lives mostly on the main level of my home while the other two sleep in my finished basement (they are littermates). I've had to keep them separated because of the fleas. My two basement babies seem to have them worse so until I get rid of the fleas, I can't let them upstairs. Anyway, I was wondering if anybody knows whether or not I can go ahead with another Frontline Plus treatment for my basement babies since it hasn't quite been 30 days since their last treatment? They are 16 months old if that makes any difference and they are very healthy. I went to my basement tonight to feed them and had on white socks and noticed the fleas jumping all over my feet. We vacuum down there every 3 or so days, but it looks like we need to pick that up and start vacuuming every other day. I also gave my upstairs kitty the Frontline Plus treatment on November 5th and it seems that we've almost gotten rid of the fleas on him and on the main level of my home, so we'll be concentrating on the basement. I figured getting rid of the fleas in the basement would be alot harder since there are two cats. Anyway, if anybody can let me know if it's ok to go ahead & apply the Frontline even if it hasn't yet been 30 days since the last treatment, I'd appreciate it. Thank you!

My three cats have had fleas since September. We kept my daughter's cat for her back in July when she was moving and her cat had fleas and brought them into our house. My cats are strictly indoor, so you can imagine my frustration at finding out I had fleas!

Anyway, I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can because I combed my cat tonight and still got five fleas off him. For the last 6 weeks, we have bathed them twice, used Capstar twice and recently started using Frontline Plus. I've given them only 1 treatment of the Frontline and plan on doing the Capstar once a week for the next few weeks. We've been vacuuming at least every other 3 days. We sprinkled Borax on the carpet and vacuumed it and have vacuumed all of the furniture. In order to keep the fleas from moving to other parts of the house, I have kept my oldest cat in the kitchen for the last few weeks and the other two cats have been in the basement. And before you think "oh my gosh - the basement, how horrible", I need to emphasize that I have a completely finished basement that is 1450 square feet and they have run of it. We had to recently tear out the carpet, however, because it was old anyway and the basement got infested with the fleas before we realized that we had them so badly (that's where my daughter's cat stayed when we were keeping her). So, although there's no carpet down here, we have a ton of rugs that we keep vacuumed and also vacuum the rest of the basement every 3-4 days. But, all of the cats still have fleas!

I just want to make sure I'm doing everything possible. I'm frustrated that we've been doing this for six weeks and we're still having a problem. I will say that the fleas seem more under control in our main living area and we are now tackling the basement area more aggressively, so I'm hoping that will help soon as well.

So, to summarize - we'll be using Frontline Plus once a month; Capstar weekly; flea combing them often; and vacuuming every 3 or so days. Is that all we need to do and just be patient, or do I just hang it up and get Orkin to come in and spray? If you have suggestions on what else we can be doing, I'd appreciate it.

I have three indoor cats and have never had to deal with fleas until a few weeks ago. I kept my daughter's cat for her while she was moving and that cat brought fleas into my home and we've been trying to battle them for about a month. I am new to all of the flea control products out on the market. We are starting to get more aggressive with trying to get rid of them and will start to vacuum more often and I'm using Borax on the carpet/rugs, etc. I also know to get rid of the vacuum bag when I'm finished vacuuming. I've given my cats the Capstar pill, but at this stage of the game I don't think that's enough so I'm going to start using Frontline Plus. I know that Frontline is supposed to work for 30 days. My question is - if within that 30 days, an adult flea jumps on my cat, will it die because of the Frontline? Does it kill the eggs, too or just the adults? How does that work exactly? Thanks for your help.