creeese

Okay my boyfriend and I have the first Rock Band. He has the Gold Membership, but I don't. Before the big update, which just recently occurred, we had the ability to play together locally, but also with other people in their own homes. Now since this update it seems like *I* have to also have this Gold Membership to play with anyone online, even if I'm the secondary player. I hope this is making sense!

When playing alone I never care to play online. However, when both my boyfriend and I want to play and he wants to play online with whoever, it's now not letting me be a part of it, even though he's the "leader" and has a Gold Membership... even though it used to allow this.

So basically, what I'm asking is this - has this JUST been changed so they can squeeze money out of everyone despite the fact that they're in the same household, or is there something we're doing wrong since the update? If it's the latter, is there some sort of workaround so I don't have to bother getting the Gold Membership, which I'll only use on rare occasions?

Not sure if it matters, but my instrument of choice is drums. :)

details:

- male

- 10.5 months old

- purebred maine coon

- indoor only

- all shots and everything up to date, he's very well taken care of

- schedule to be "fixed" next month

symptoms & non-symptoms:

- WAS throwing up foam, but now hasn't for about 10 hours (first vomit was actual food, then everything after was white foam)

- WAS breathing very rapidly, and even panting heavily in the car to and from the vet. breathing appears to have calmed down considerably since. i'd say it's almost normal thank goodness.

- lethargic

- no interest in food, but drank a little water

- has trouble getting comfortable, though this has calmed down a bit since last night

- ONLY lays down upright or straight on his stomach. he refuses to lay on his side, which is his usual position

- touching his tummy and throat do not appear to hurt him

- he's not hiding, he's out and about, but sits very still

- no meowing or noise (he's not a big meower anyway though)

- he gets very nervous in cars, and urinated and pooed on the way home from the vet. no blood in either. the stool was a little hard.

- nothing is swollen

so the vet this morning said he could have a ragweed allergy (?!). i'm in rural illinois and we haven't had the windows open for awhile because of the heat, then yesterday it was cooler so we opened everything up. it was around this time he started feeling bad, and ragweed has just heavily sprouted up here. i just don't understand why a pollen allergy would keep him from laying on his side.

i started to think it was constipation because of the hard-ish poo, but the vet said that when he felt his abdomen he didn't feel any "backup". the vet did give him some hairball goo, and i'd given him a little petroleum jelly earlier, but no hairballs have shown up, and he hasn't needed the litter box since the car ride this morning.

right now i'm just supposed to watch him, then take him back in if he continues to feel bad. the vomiting is over and the breathing has calmed, which leads me to believe he's getting better, but but he's still just seems miserable. i just wish i knew for sure what it is! the fact that he doesn't want to lay on his side and/or all stretched out is very alarming!

oh, and his temperature, heart, lungs, and gum color are all completely normal.

any ideas?

Hyundai Sonata 2004, about 70,000 miles / POWER STEERING FLUID IS AT MAX

I'm in Illinois where it's quite cold right now, and I have a feeling the temperature is part of the problem here. This started a week ago, and has gotten a little louder since the first time I heard it. Basically the slightest movement of the wheel causes a very loud driver's side squeak. Going over rough spots on a road and speed bumps also cause the noise to occur. It's even audible when you're outside the car. It sounds like something needs lubricating, like something has worn down, but I know nothing about cars. I'd just like to know where exactly the fixing has to be done, what parts are necessary, and how expensive is should be to get done. The price thing is what I'm really wondering about. Does anyone have any ideas???

Hyundai Sonata 2004, about 70,000 miles

I'm in Illinois where it's quite cold right now, and I have a feeling the temperature is part of the problem here. This started a week ago, and has gotten a little louder since the first time I heard it. Basically the slightest movement of the wheel causes a very loud driver's side squeak. Going over rough spots on a road and speed bumps also cause the noise to occur. It's even audible when you're outside the car. It sounds like something needs lubricating, like something has worn down, but I know nothing about cars. I'd just like to know where exactly the fixing has to be done, what parts are necessary, and how expensive is should be to get done. The price thing is what I'm really wondering about. Does anyone have any ideas???

Okay, first of all, we just went to the vet a 3 hours ago. We're going again next week for some follow-up vaccination shots, but I'm a little panicky and wasn't totally satisfied with what our vet said.

The problem:

His anus seems to slightly protrude from the body, definitely more than our other two cats. The outer skin and beginning wrinkles of the anus are not red and don't looked inflamed in any way, HOWEVER, right in the middle it looks like there's a bright red fleshy bubble type thing. It's more visible depending on how he's sitting/laying. Sometimes it's not even visible at all. Basically it LOOKS LIKE THE INNARDS OF HIS RECTUM, and I find it strange that it's visible at all, regardless of positioning, since my other two cats have never exhibited such nastiness.

I noticed it about 3 days after I brought him home for the first time. After a few days we switched to canned food only, thinking the dry was causing harder poo and possibly scraping the area on exit. Nothing seemed to change. Even though he has this weirdness, he's never had blood in his feces, has only had diarrhea on once occasion, and doesn't seem to have any problem with it. He doesn't over-lick the area, scrape his butt on the floor, or even remotely act like anything is bothering him. Besides this he appears to be a normal, healthy kitten, just playin', eatin', purrin', snugglin', and sleepin'.

Okay, so the vet today said it was a gland and is just an individual thing. He said he was totally normal! He explained it almost like it was just an unusual "feature" that cats occasionally have. Meanwhile, I'm reading about prolapsed kitty rectums online! I don't know what to think! Believe me, I kept pushing with questions, but he kept saying he was completely normal and healthy. He's a very good, very experienced vet and we've used him for years and years. I was shocked, but he kept reassuring me that nothing was wrong with him.

The facts:

- male

- almost 3 months old

- maine coon purebred

- not neutered yet

- will be up-to-date with all kitten vaccines next Wednesday

- no chronic illnesses of any kind

- healthy parents/breeding

- normal sweet, playful behavior

- normal poo and urination

- there's never been any anal secretions

- has never vomited, except for two hairball incidents

- gets along well with other cats in the house

Does anyone have any knowledge of a slightly protruding anus with a bright red, fleshy middle exposed frequently on a kitten? Am I overreacting? Should I change vets???

Ever since I was a kid I've had this "problem". I've never had any health problems, have always had a normal blood pressure and body temperature, but for some reason I get hot really easily. I am half-Asian and half-Caucasian, but my skin isn't dark at all. Even weight gain and weight loss has had no effect on this condition. I would not say I'm an excessive sweater though. My palms never sweat, and I only get "wet" in extreme heat or activity. I just get the feeling of being hot while everyone else is okay. Even now, it's cold with winter, but if we put the temperature above 70 it's too hot for me. I've been told by multiple people that I actually radiate heat. My thyroid glands and all that kinda stuff is normal. I've always been a pretty healthy person, and this certainly isn't the slightest bit debilitating. I just want to know why I get hot so easily! Any ideas?

No other meds are being taken. Meto is to help with digestion. Cypro is to stimulate his appetite. Do these interact with each other in a negative way? Is it safe to have two drugs that can cause drowsiness? He seems a little out of it.

Cat is 7 months old, purebred Maine Coon. He had very invasive stomach surgery for a foreign object (thread) about three weeks ago, and has since avoided food. Our vet doesn't seem to have a problem with the mix of drugs, but I figured I'd ask the general public if it was a common combination.

I've heard so much about the discussions on there, but I can't for the life of me find a link to it! Their homepage has no mention of it. Can someone please give me a direct link?

I've heard so much about the discussions on there, but I can't for the life of me find a link to it! Their homepage has no mention of it. Can someone please give me a direct link?

I know in some states you're required to work for 2 years as a salesperson before being "allowed" to become a broker. In Illinois, is it possible to skip the whole sponsoring thing and go directly from getting a sales license to taking classes for a broker's license?

Can your first EVER interview with a real estate firm be as a licensed broker, or are you forced to start at the bottom?

Besides actual carpet cost, of all the other fees involved, which company installs with the least expense? Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc. Any ideas?

So my printer broke and I called Canon. The customer service guy walked me through all kinds of steps, but it appeared the printer was unfixable. He said they would send a free replacement, which would include shipping supplies to return my broken one. The replacement wasn't brand new, but factory refurbished. The day I received the refurbished one, I miraculously fixed my own printer.

So, ethics aside, what will happen if I don't return either printer? I realize this is highly "wrong", but is there any way I can keep the one they sent and have two fancy printers? They have very little information about me. Would they forget the whole thing, or somehow be able to send the situation to a collection agency?

Before I got on the birth control pill (at 17), my periods were few and far between. I'd say about 2-3 times a year! It was very strange and blamed on hormones.

Since being on the pill, my periods are extremely normal. My question is, once I decide to try for a baby, will I have problems since I'm SO irregular without the pill? Should I work on this sooner than later? Does this somehow mean I'm unable to conceive?