nicedoc

For the past four days, there has been a persistent chirp in my house, roughly every 60 sec or so which I initially assumed was one of the smoke detectors. I replaced the batteries in every detector in the home but it didn't stop the beeping. I even turned off the power to the house from the circuit breaker and the beeping was still there which I interpreted to mean that it is from a device that is battery operated and not plugged in. However, after searching all around the house, I have yet to find the source.

I suspect it is from something my attic since even though I disconnected completely the detector that I thought was the source but the beeping seems to be coming from the ceiling from where it was mounted. It sounds identical to the other smoke detectors so I assume it is perhaps a spare one lying around in the attic. It's not so bad that I could deal with it if it would die within a week or so, but if not I'd try harder to find the source. I guess before I really start to ransack the house finding this thing, I was wondering how long it would take to die on its own.

Sometimes when I have writer's block for my own music, I arrange pop songs I like for string quartet as an exercise. I tried doing this by ear so the music might not be exactly right. What do you think?

http://www.box.net/shared/cxd8ufpbbs

Just for fun, I wrote a transcription of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" for string quartet by ear. I don't listen to much modern pop music but I found her song very catchy. It's definitely not as good as the Vitamin Quartet's version but I thought I'd give it a try.

http://www.box.net/shared/h9gpmioqcg

I used to play the violinist in my youth and I want to try picking it up again after barely touching if for quite awhile. I definitely need a new bow and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for what I should look for, models etc. for a quality bow. Could I get a decent bow under $200? Any help is appreciated!

I used to play the violinist in my youth and I want to try picking it up again after barely touching if for quite awhile. I definitely need a new bow and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for what I should look for, models etc. for a quality bow. Could I get a decent bow under $200? Any help is appreciated!

Auction league with 10 teams, H2H, regular settings. I didn't expect to end up with both Pujols and H. Ramirez so it forced me to make some tough decisions later. I deliberately didn't go after closers as saves are only one category I don't find worth spending lots of money on and also closers emerge over the season anyway.

C Yadier Molina 1

1B Albert Pujols 42

2B Chase Utley 32

3B Kevin Youkilis 19

SS Hanley Ramirez 40

2B/SS Marco Scutaro 1

1B/3B Nick Swisher 1

OF Carlos Lee 14

OF Adam Jones 13

OF Nelson Cruz 13

OF Matt LaPorta 1

OF Josh Willingham 1

UTIL J.D. Drew 1

P Roy Halladay 26

P Dan Haren 19

P Adam Wainwright 15

P Josh Beckett 13

P Ted Lilly 1

P Scott Downs 1

P Carlos Zambrano 1

P Andy Pettitte 1

P Hiroki Kuroda 1

BE Alex Gordon 1

BE Kevin Slowey 1

BE Phil Hughes 1

I'm trying to write a novel with one of the major characters being a brilliant military leader during a time period equivalent to the late Roman Empire. I'm looking for some examples of military leaders to draw upon as inspiration for this character, specifically historical figures that are not as well-known or appreciated by the general public (i.e. not Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Hannibal etc.). Someone more on the lines like Belisarius for example, who strikes me as a very underrated general.

Also likewise, if you have any examples of lesser known battles that also highlight interesting tactics or military situations, that would also be appreciated.

I appreciate any input.

I have an IRA that initially had about $10,000 but with the recent economic downturn, it's been down to about $6,000. I 'm thinking to converting it to a Roth in Jan 2010. Will I still have to pay taxes on it? Or can I actually take a deduction because it has lost money?

My wife and I have a signed contract to purchase for a home. When we got our pre-approval, our rate was quoted as 4.875% but rates have shot up since then and now it would be around 6%. Do people think rates might come back down?

My wife and I are looking to buy a home and we were recently pre-approved for our target figure with no problem. Our focus had been finding a single family home but we came across a townhouse condo that would suit us perfectly, better than any other house we had seen and also is in our price range. My question is whether our pre-approval would also apply since I've heard that it's tougher to get financing for condos these days. For what it's worth, we both have excellent credit and also plan on putting 20% down.

My wife and I are first-time homebuyers and are looking to find a good buyer's agent to assist us. What specific questions should I ask or attributes should I look for to determine if the agent is any good or not?

Thanks.

Visiting Vegas in about a week and want to try some tournament poker with low buy-in's but decent payouts (at least 70% of the entry fee going to the prize money).

Thanks.

Visitng Vegas in about a week and want to try some tournament poker with low buy-in's but decent payouts (at least 70% of the entry fee going to the prize money).

Thanks.

I received a couple 1099-MISC forms for some paid surveys I did this past year listed in Box 7 as non-employee compensation. The instructions tell me to report this on a Schedule C, C-EZ or F but these seems to only apply to sole-proprietorship business or farming income which doesn't apply. Where should I report this?

My wife and I will be in Las Vegas later this month and want to catch one of the Cirque shows. Any recs to which one is the best? Thanks.

My wife and I are going to Las Vegas in April. My wife is a novice in gambling but wants to try some Blackjack but at as small stakes as possible. Can anyone tell me where I can find low minimum tables (<$5)?

Thanks in advance.

10 Team, 5x5 league, $260 budget

C - Bengie Molina $1

1B - Ryan Howard $25

2B - Ian Kinsler $27

3B - Melvin Mora $1

SS - Michael Young $6

2B/SS - Jose Lopez $4

1B/3B - Derrek Lee $13

OF - Ichiro Suzuki $25

OF - Corey Hart $10

OF - Carl Crawford $17

OF - Hunter Pence $11

OF - Vernon Wells $5

UTIL - Raul Ibanez $8

Bench - Jhonny Peralta $2

SP - Brandon Webb $28

SP - Jake Peavy $26

SP - Dan Haren $22

SP - Ricky Nolasco $11

SP - Fausto Carmona $2

RP - Jason Motte $1

RP - Chad Qualls $2

RP - Brian Wilson $2

RP - Joey Devine $2

RP - Mike Gonzalez $2

RP - Brandon Lyon $1

A serious question.

After all, when investors put in money into the market, stock prices go up. However when investors sell and take money out, stock prices go down. Ultimately if everyone sells, the market loses trillions in value and the stockholders who are left end up with nothing or at least far less than they had.

How is this any different than a Ponzi scheme where investors who take their gains early on benefit while later investors who do not end up with nothing? It just seems to be the only difference is simply the scale and duration of the operation.

I have a few ideas that I think would make a good basis for a short story but I haven't written anything creative since grade school, I was wondering if any writers out there had any tips or resources that help a novice like me to give writing a try. Thanks!