Mike A

Okay, so my long time close friend is finally in a happy, secure relationship with a woman. She's a mother herself and her fiance, also a woman, wants to have a child. We've pretty much negotiated out all the details. I just have some concerns.

So, suppose this relationship fizzles? It happens. Would the Mother be able to come after me for money? If we all signed a notarized document that we all agree that I'm just a donor, and that's it, would that be enough?

I've already done my own research, but I want to see if what I uncovered is true or not.

I am not posting this for myself obviously. A woman I am friends with has decided that she is done meandering around and wants to work towards finding a marriage-minded man. So, my question to you, is what qualities you would consider ideal? What makes you decide whether to date or pass on a woman?

I have 20 points to give, for the best-explained answer, that has the most useful info.

Gentlemen, start your typing!

I decided long ago that I don't want to have children. In fact, I decided this long before I even knew what sex was. I have decided already that I want to get a vasectomy.

However, I have considered the possibility of having sperm frozen. I could either offer it to a lesbian couple who wants children, donate it to a hetero couple with a sterile man, or at least offer a woman the chance to carry my children if her mind changes from not wanting them and I have already had the procedure.

My question to you, the answerer, is if you know what my options are. Google is just turning up companies that have advertisements and want you to think their service is THE official one or something.

Now, I know that some people are going to suggest that I am hesitating on this, but it's a decision I made when I was 8 years old, and has not changed since. I am now 35, and I see zero chance of me waking up one day and regretting my choice.

I'm a massage therapist by trade. Where I work, there is a receptionist, who I have seen signs of definite chemistry with. Yesterday, she was my client. Despite our possibly mutual attraction, I stay professional during the massage. So that is not a concern.

One of the modalities I practice is a form of energy work similar to reiki. It involves the Chacras. So, their presence in our bodies is familiar turf.

So, here's what happened:

At one point in the massage, our foreheads were very close. I was kneeling at the head of the table, massaging her neck. She was face-up. I was concentrating on the muscles I was working, and started to feel a charge building in my third-eye chacra. After a solid minute of this, a jolt of energy jumped from her forehead to mine. It didn't hurt, but it was palpable. In fact, she opened her eyes with this look of surprise. I asked "Did you feel that too?" And she said she did.

What do you think happened there?

I have taken a liking to pickled eggs. I've been re-using brine from store-bought pickles, but that's gotten boring. I wanna try something new.

I have a gallon glass jar. I've got the eggs. What would you suggest I do from there? I like savory, tangy and spicy flavors.

10 points for the best-sounding recipe! Aaaand go!

I'm fairly active. I've also been very broke as a of late, and as a result, I've been eating poorly. Basically just what I can afford to get. I have lost a significant ammout of weight doing lots of cardio, eating a simple diet iof meat. Vegetables, rice, other such things. Definitely not starving.

One day, I started to feel very spacy. Could not carry or even follow a conversation. It got so bad that I got sent home from work. The next day, same thing. Blew a job interview, ended up again getting sent home from my current job.

The worst part, and the point of this post, is what happened in the middle of the second day. My memories felt like they were traveling through my head on a film strip. That's what I literally saw. Then the strip broke. I lost almost all memory.

I couldn't remember who I was. What day it was, what moth. Hell, not even what year. I just knew the day was going to end at some point, and had no idea what I was going to do when night fell.

After trying and trying, small traces came back. I remembered enough to find my way to my job, only to be sent home.

When I got home, I took vitamins. Fell asleep and had a vivid dream. Woke up, took more. Same thing a couple hours later. My memory came back, extra-sharp. I've been back to normal since.

My question to you, is what in the freakin hell happened? How did I loose my mind, only to get it back with vitamins?

Ten points for best, most well-informed/researched answer.

Ok, so no other way to say this. I went pee, and it smelled fishy. This happened once years ago and lasted a few days. Now it's happening again. It's very weird.

Additionally, the color is only very pale yellow. Not dark at all.

I am back In touch with an old friend. She and I once dated, and there are some old feelings there for both of us. 

Nowadays, she lives on the east coast and I live on the west coast. I have made it clear that I don't want a long distance relationship, but have fully encouraged her occasional talk of moving back to LA.  

Recently, she got engaged to a guy she'd been only dating for a solid month, so I expected to not hear from her much, if at all. But I still do. 

What I get from her are random text messages, telling me that she hopes I'm doing well, ones that tell me to have a good day/weekend/holiday. Or she asks me when my next day off is, and tells me she will call me, but never does. 

So, what do you think is going on here?

So, I was flirting with a woman I know on Facebook. The conversation took a turn for the "interesting" and at one point she said I'm "50 shades of gray" and only said "just like the book".

I have no intention of ever reading the book(s), as their subject matter does not interest me. However, I just want to understand her compliment/comment.

It is possible that it was a backhanded compliment. It is possible it was actually a cryptic jab at me. And it's also possible she was mocking me in a way she knew would go over my head.

Any clues?

Today, I saw a photograph posted by a girl I am particularly attracted to, and it caused me to go weak in the knees momentarily. This happens from time to time, when I am captivated by a gorgeous woman.The last time it happened was when I was watching a belly dancer with crimson hair at the Renaissance Fair, and these are just two of countless incidences where this has happened.

My question for you, is does this happen to girls too? Or just to guys? I have considered the possibility that it might be a male anatomical thing, but thought I'd ask, because well, that's what people do here...

Alright, so I have been single for a while now. Years, in fact. I have friends who have kids, and I have been single longer than those kids have existed. (it's by choice).

By this point, my ex has been long gone. I've given Back or gotten rid of every reminder of her, and often go weeks or months without even thinking about her. When I do, it's because someone else has mentioned her. That should demonstrate how over her I am. Like, I've forgotten her name a few times.

So there's this jewelry. Beautiful moonstone, with silver detail. Let's just say that its construction is something sacred to my faith, though its not a religious symbol. Hard to explain... I bought this jewelry from a jeweler, who made the pieces (necklace and two matching earrings) from hand and they are gorgeous. They probably wouldnt be valuable enough to sell, and I'd never want to see them go to scrap or into the trash. So I've tried to give them away. Never to a girl I was dating. But just to friends. I've had several girls interested, and are excited at the thought of them, even mentioning that they have outfits it would go great with. Then they ask me where I got the jewelry. I'm not gonna lie, so I tell them. Then they get almost offended. Suddenly this jewelry gains a "white elephant" status. They always give me a polite but firm, if not curt apology, put the jewelry back in it's box and hand it back.

One friend actually suggested I just toss them, but we've already covered that. They are beautiful, and I bought them. She wore them like once, then forgot about them.

So, my question to you, the answerer: what's going on here, in these girls minds. Why don't they want this obviously pre owned jewelry? Why is 'who owned it before' so important? Should I just lie about where it came from?

10 points if I can tell that you read my question, and have presented the best info/insight.

So I have a friend who was living in this country illegally. She was quite open about this fact, and seemed a little too comfortable with this process. Unfortunately, for people who get careless in this fashion, she was picked up by the authorities. She was arrested by the I.C.E., and last I heard, she definitely as being processed.

I am certain that her life has been turned upside-down. I hope she actually has someplace to go when she gets back down to South America, and I hope I will hear from her once she is able to write. Until then, there is this huge uncertainty hanging in the air. Is she in jail? prison? do they send her immediately? do they hold her until a bus/plane fills up and then send her? Once she gets back to her country of origin, does she go to jail there? or do they just turn her loose at the airport?

As far as I know, the only crime she committed was, in fact, living here illegally. She may have been guilty of other things, but who knows? Is emigrating to another country illegally something punishable in her own country? Would this hurt her chances of being able to apply to come here legally sometime in the future?

And yes, I do believe she exercised poor judgment in coming to the US the way she did. Though I don't know how much of what she's going through is actually deserved. It's one of those subjects that seems very clear cut until it happens to someone you care about. Please try to keep anecdotes, slogans and other sneers and jeers to yourself.

First off, I am aware that there is a worldwide shortage of honey bees. I am also aware that bees are protected by law, in that it is actually a crime to kill off a hive. That being said, I have a neighbor who is doing exactly that. He/she/it is not just swatting the random bee here or there, or modifying wasp traps to actually catch bees that fly into them, but is actually killing them en masse.

On a daily basis, I find an inordinate number of dead bees littering the sidewalk out in front of a nearby building. And by inordinate, I mean that it could never be accidental, with the sheer volume of them. We are talking hundreds of bees a day littering the sidewalk. They can be found littering the sidewalks and gutter, all on their backs, with twitching legs.

I know that bee hives can be removed for free, and some bee keepers will even pay you to take the hive away, as they ultimately profit from doing so. What i don't know is who i can contact to report this problem. I do not know why my neighbor is doing this, but knowing the common honeybee is considered a threatened species, I don't like the idea of just ignoring this.

So, my question to you, is who can I call about this? I doubt there is a "bug police" or a "honeybee welfare services" or anything nutty like that. I would like to ultimately see this hive removed and relocated to someplace where it can be more useful and productive, and less of a hazard to people's safety.

I recall a handful of years ago, the now famous "Spaceship One" flew a triumphant flight into lower orbit, then repeated the feat two days later. It was a great day for sci-fi fans everywhere, watching a privately built spaceship go from dream to reality.

My question for you, is what happened to the other ships who were competing? I know there were numerous others, and at least one that was never built. I hope there were no "Epic Fails" where anyone died. But did they fly too? Were they all used? Did they just all get scrapped?

Maybe you know...

So I have some pots and pans that were left behind by an old roommate. Let's just say I know he won't be coming back for them. some of these pans are frying pans, and have a polished nickel surface instead of some sort of non-stick. One of them is a bit deeper than a frying pan, but still the same diameter, and accepts the same lid. I cooked an egg in one once, and it was a disaster. I don't recall if I used cooking spray or not. While I possibly may have answerers my own question in the process of posting it, I would like to hear what you, the answerer has to say about these pans.

Some people say they prefer these types of pans, but generally have no explanation for such. They just say "I don't know. I just think they are better." They tend to all be avid chefs and I have seen them produce fairly decent results. So I will be awarding ten (10) points to the person who can give me the best reason why I should use these pans. I look forward to your responses.

First off, 10 Points if you have obviously read the whole post, and it reflects in your answer.

Alright, so I am at slightly above amateur when it comes to wiring. I know how to strip wires, splice cords onto appliances, soldier and I have some basic know-how with ohms law and circuits. I have been on the lookout for touch switches these days. I have an old iron lamp with an iron oxide finish on the pedistal. It's an awesome lamp with this cool parchment shade and everything. The only thing it lacks is an actual switch.

I decided on a touch switch, but I have no idea how to install one. Do I need to run the wires to polar opposite ends of the lamp frame? Do I hook one up to the positive lead and one to the frame? Do I hook both the control leads up to one spot and hook the pos and neg up like I would on any other switch? Do I need to add a bolt or other "touch spot" to the lamp?

Your help is much appreciated.

There is a tool I have seen, that looks as though it is meant to drill pilot holes for screws and other hardware. the tool has a drill bit that comes to a fine point, and has a conical shape to it. It is attached to a metal tube, and set up so if you take the point of the bit, and push on the handle, the bit rotates and retracts into the tube at the same time. It pierces a hole into drywall or wood, then you can just insert the tip of a screw and tighten it in. The only time I saw this tool used, I asked what it was, and the guy just said "Its something for pilot holes" and walked away.

Any ideas what the name of this tool is?

There are a few key details to note. I will be awarding 10 points to the person who gives the best information. Please read through the whole thing. 10 points could be yours as soon as tomorrow!

Alright, so I have a friend who is trying to put together her family tree. She has most of her family located, except for a brother of hers. He was put up for adoption 45 years ago, Long before any sort of computerized records were used. He was not given a name at birth, and the birth certificate they have located only has a last name and her parents' names listed as the birth parents. It was a closed adoption, so the names of the of the adoptive parents were not recorded. My friend has hit a dead end.

So, they have already enlisted the help of Ancestry.com, consulted the Mormon database, and done just about everything short of making a road trip all the way to the hall of records, in the city where the brother was born.

My friend is trying to do whatever she can to avoid hiring an investigator or handing money over to a questionable "find a person" website. She may have to resort to that, but if there are any other options short of that, I would love to hear about them.

Thank you very much for your help.

First off, this is kinda detailed. 10 points for the best answerer who obviously reads every detail before or during answering.

I have a friend who is married. She and I got into a very late night conversation once not too long ago, and in that conversation, she mentioned she has been considering cheating on her husband. He has cheated before and she forgave him, but lately she has been miserable. She told me that she was thinking of cheating with an old ex of hers, but was afraid of getting his drama back into her life.

I admitted that I have had an affair with a married woman before, and she reiterated that she doesn't want to cheat with the ex she mentioned previously, then went further to say she isn't sure she wants to cheat. The subject changed, but wandered back to her feeling lonely and missing hanging out with "the old group". (we have a circle of friends who used to hang out together, but slowly drifted apart). The conversation resolved to me suggesting we hang out sometime, to which she immediately said her husband had a meeting to go to the following day and said she'd see about coming over while he was there.

My question to you, is what do you think this means? She did not actually come over, and it was because she said she didn't feel good. But she said she wanted to sometime soon. We were in nearly constant contact for a couple of days, then that dropped off again.

Important details: she and I had a tryst one night before she got with her now-husband. Her husband cheats, and while she hasn't done so, neither of them consider it divorce territory. I would not do anything with a first-time cheater, nor one whose husband was just an innocent bystander. Heck, the guy tried to bang one of my female friends. So I would not be destroying a happy couple if I went along with this.

And people who have hateful things to say to me, go right ahead. I deserve them.

I have been dating a girl for just a bit now, and I think we are definitely hitting it off. I am looking for a good rock song to dedicate to her. Something devoid of shrill vocals or anything that sounds too clingy. Just something that says I like you and it's definitely more than a friend.

10 points for best answer!