Vicki D

As I was doing my Hurricane Sandy preparations I came across a hot 9 volt battery. The top is starting to bow out. What do I do with it? I'm afraid that it will explode.

When I moved my mom took all of the batteries out of the original packages and threw them all in one container. I think the terminal was touching a D cell battery.

I have a strap wrench but cannot get purchase on the section which connects the shower head to the pipe -- it is only about 1/4" wide. When I attach it to the shower head itself, it just swivels around.

Today my mother gave me my great-grandmother's old camera. In fiddling around with it, I found that it is a Kodak No. 2A Folding Cartridge Primo and that there is a roll of film inside. I doubt that the film is any good, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to try and develop it. If nothing else, I may take the film out to display with this old camera.

On tonight's Master Chef, the contestants had to identify as many foods as they could during the pressure test. What were the other foods?

On tonight's Master Chef, the contestants had to identify as many foods as they could during the pressure test. What were the other foods?

I will be driving from Washington, DC to Chicago with my dog next month. The last time we made this trip it was January and the weather was cool enough that he could wait in the car while at rest stops and restaurants. With our horribly hot summer, I am concerned about leaving him in the car for even just a few minutes while I take a bathroom break. I am driving by myself -- any ideas on how to keep my dog safe?

I am thinking about hiking to the waterfall at Scott's Run this weekend with my small dog, but the trails look pretty challenging (concrete posts over the run, steep hills and ridges). Is anyone aware of an easy route to and from the waterfall?

I have been put in charge of sending out an invitation for a Baby Shower at work. Do I include both parents' names on the invitation or only the mommy to be?

I use Hotmail for my personal email. Lately the banner ads on the right side of the screen have been showing up in a small box in front of my Inbox list. It is not exactly a pop-up, but I can't seem to get rid of it. There is no X to click and close. I have tried dragging back to the banner ad section, but this has not worked. This is super annoying! I have had my hotmail account forever (15 years?!?) and I would hate to get rid of it because it is the most reliable way people can reach me.

I have been spotting almost daily for the past 6 weeks. I have not had a regular period since the middle of January. Not sure if I should be worried or if this is just perimenopause.

I just got back from Best Buy's Black Friday event with a new Sony 32" 720p 60 hz L series TV for $377. I had gotten the flyer in advance and did some research on the set before deciding to purchase it. I could not read the specific model number on the e-flyer, but I went to the Sony website and I could only find one model with these specs. The reviews were good and other stores are selling the set for $500.

When I got to the check-out, I was told the tv was $499. After looking at the sales flyer with the clerk, she told me that I had the L500 model and the unit I wanted was the L504. I exchanged the unit for the cheaper model and purchased it. Now I can't find any information on the L504 model and I feel like I was scammed.

Does anyone know the differences between the L 500 and the L504?

I can't get a free estimate to get my car repaired. Costs range from $75-$95 to do a "diagnostic" even when I know what I want them to fix. Some places apply this fee towards the repair while others do not.

How can I compare costs without getting these estimates. I feel like the repair places are preventing consumers from shopping around.

So here is my dilemma. My dog does not play well with some dogs. When we are walking he will bark like crazy at large dogs. He has also nipped at my mom's dogs. Some dogs he gets along fine with. He needs to be better socialized, but I can't socialize him because I am afraid he is going to be aggressive. I have taken him to a couple of off-leash areas in the past and he has been fine, but I rarely do so because I am so worried he is not going to be fine. I now live in an area with a number of dog parks, many of which have separate small dog areas.

Any suggestions on going to the dog park safely, or should I avoid them altogether?

Because of the small hole and the curve of the bowl, I cannot get a seal no matter how hard I try. All I am doing is splashing @&%$ water everywhere.

Help!

My dog was quietly laying at my feet chewing an object. I thought it was his favorite nylabone, then I realized it was on the floor next to him. I couldn't see anything, but when I reached into his mouth, I found a piece of a plastic twist tie like they have on bread bags. The twist has a thin metal wire running down its length. I think he may have swallowed a small piece (maybe 1/4 inch).

What should I do? Should I feed him some rice? Take him to the emergency vet? Wait and watch for signs of intestinal distress?

This week I have noticed that the picture on my tv is cut off. Characters' faces are cut off but the side of my tv. It looks like when I watch fullscreen DVDs on my tv (which I hate!). Have shows changed their aspect ratio?

Is there anything I can do beside buy a new tv? I like the picture on my large screen tube tv better than any LCD or plasma tv that I can afford. I don't like the pixellation on the new tvs.

I owned some shares in my family's business. When the business was sold, I received $55,000. How do I include this on my tax return? When I added it to my salary and looked at the tax table, it said I owe over $18,000. Please help!

I just moved to Northern Virginia and I would really like to see the cherry blossoms in DC. I know that I can take the Metro, but I really want to bring my dog. How realistic is it to find parking around East Potomac Park? I figure if I go early (8:00am) I can miss the crowds.

Every night when I go to bed my nose gets stuffy and I cannot breathe. There is no congestion, my nasal tissue just seem to swell up. When I sit up, I can feel my nose clearing. There is only one thing that helps and that is to take a 12 hour pseudophedrine (the real stuff, not that PE stuff) about a half hour before bedtime. I can't do this regularly because it is very bad for my health and raises my blood pressure.

I have tried the nasal strips, but they are not enough. I have had this problem since I was a little kid. Back then I would breathe through my mouth, but then I would have a sore throat and my tonsils would swell up, making it even harder to breathe.

I don't think I have sleep apnea -- as long as my nose is clear I sleep really well. I only snore when I have a really bad cold.

Please help!

When I record onto DVD-Ram and play it back, the picture is pixellated and freezes. I can get it going again by reversing, then fast forwarding past the frozen spot and hitting play. It used to happen occasionally, but is so frequent that I can't watch what I have recorded. I initially thought that I needed a new disk, but this has happened with both of my brand new disks.