indreni

Do smartphones actually last the whole 2 year contract, or is this cell phone company crookery? Is this just a US policy or do cell phone carriers in the rest of the world put these sort of stipulations on people?

My 1st smartphone was a Blackberry, which broke (the thumb pad stopped working randomly) within the first year. It was replaced by the company, luckily, as it was a manufacturing fail.

My 2nd was a Motorola droid, which I really loved it, but yesterday it broke after a year and a half, and I am sort of out of luck...total OS failure, won't get past the M boot up screen, lost all pics and contacts, not even tech could get back into it.

I hate to sign another contract because I'm so afraid of my smartphone breaking before the 2 years is up.

I was wondering how hot it tends to get in the FL Panhandle in early June? I see average high and low temps online but I'd like someone who actually lives there to give me a good sense of how hot I could expect it to be in early June. Also, I was wondering about the beaches--are they safe for wading? How much concern is there about jellyfish and other hazards, really? I would be traveling with my young son who has an underlying health condition so I was a bit alarmed about the news stories I read about bacteria in the Gulf. Thanks!

Fellow cat lovers/serious answers only, please. I have a 6-year old rescue cat whom we've had for 5 years now. She is spayed/not declawed. She is aggressive/alpha cat with other cats but a submissive personality with humans.

She seems to have a lot of lasting trauma from her earlier life, which I know nothing about. I am a lifelong cat owner & cat lover but I've never before met a cat with this particular set of "issues," & it's been 5 years now with no change.

She wants a lot of attention, & will loudly vocalize her feelings, but she *hates* being held, picked up, or sitting on a lap. She loves playing and being pet, but only if the person is about an arm's length away (for easy escape, it seems). She will lie down and meow loudly for attention but if you get too close (closer than arm-length), she runs away.

She also *hates* being enclosed. We haven't been able to shut a door for 5 years because any closed door, and she starts yowling, scratching door, clawing carpet until it's opened.

She is a loving, well-behaved cat but in general, a nervous wreck. She also has a gimpy leg, like she had an injury while a kitten & it never healed properly. I wonder if she was dropped, and that's why she's so afraid of being picked up.

I think her time in the shelter seriously traumatized her. She is terrified of being in a carrier or going to the vet--I mean, way beyond typical cat displeasure or even typical fear. It's sheer panic & I feel so bad for her when that happens.

I think she's also afraid of abandonment--if we leave for a trip, she hides from the cat-sitter but crumples at our feet in a heap when we return & won't leave our side for days.

We have an older cat who is basically a perfect/model cat, but our younger cat, instead of taking her lead, is jealous with her & aggressive with her.

Feliway turns her into a monster (the box says on rare occasions this can happen) so pheromones haven't worked. It's hard to say what motivates her--she's certainly not food-motivated.

Do I accept this is her permanent state, or is there any way to help her get over her fears, insecurities, trauma? I need a cat expert here...I consider myself a cat expert & have even been a cat socializer for our local shelter but even I'm out of ideas here. Thanks!

We are in the offer/counter-offer process on a home we like. We had the flooring tested on the 2nd level to see if the tiles contained asbestos. The test came back showing they are 10% asbestos. The owner doesn't seem willing to replace them. We have only a day to respond to the counter-offer, so I'm in a hurry & can't do a ton of google research. Should I be concerned about the tiles? Would we want to have them removed right away, or leave them as is until we want to remodel (at which time, I'd get a professional abatement company)? I'm thinking of covering them with rugs, and it seems it's only harmful if the tiles break. Home materials are so toxic these days anyway, that I think it might be better to leave the old tiles for now, as new materials will give off fumes and chemicals as well. But we have a young child so I want to do what is best for him. Thank you for any responses!

Hi, I'm looking for good scary movies for Halloween. There was one I saw a preview for a few months ago (it was a new movie, maybe it came out this year or in 2011) but I can't find the title for it, even googling it. It's about a couple who goes to an island (and I thought it was an Irish island, or maybe Scottish, etc), and while they're staying in a cottage there, a guy shows up and convinces them that an epidemic is raging through the world, and they'll only be safe if they stay there on the island. The couple believes him at first, but then they think he is lying about it all, and is just a psychopath. If anyone knows what it's called, thanks!!

This is a bit of a silly question, but since the post office doesn't have night hrs, it's hard for me to get there during the week. I have a ton of photo postcards to mail out, but I'm putting each one in an envelope so it doesn't get lost in people's junk mail. If I go to the post office and have each one mailed, will it be cheaper than putting a 45-cent stamp on every single one of these? Thanks!

Facebook is saying my profile will be switched over to timeline next week. I guess I can adapt to most of the timeline features,a lthough I'm not crazy about it at all. But I do NOT want the map on my profile...I think it's just a little too creepy having my whereabouts mapped out like that (mine are all check-ins from friends "checking me in" at places). How do I get this thing off there?! Can I?! I keep trying but it takes me to an "edit" page where I can only add things to the map and not delete the map!

My son has a medical condition that prevents him from walking far, and he is now too big to put in a stroller or jogging stroller. I would like to get a bike trailer so I can take him on bike rides this summer, but I haven't biked much in the past several years. Most of the trailers (like In Step) that I readily find at major stores have reviews that say they're very small (even too small for a 2 yr old), but yet, many bike trailers say they accomodate kids up to 6 years old. If anyone has a recommendation for a bike trailer that would give my son enough room (he's a little over 3 ft tall right now) and is under $250, I would really appreciate it. I would probably be able to find the brand at a bike shop. Thanks!

Hi, I am looking for a music video/song that I saw a couple years ago (it was new at that time). It's a pop song with a ukele in it. The song has a male and female singer doing kind of a funny duet on what looks like a stage set. If anyone knows, please tell me the name of it, thanks!

I have a Blackberry Curve and the camera options are very limited! I've played around with them, but the photos I take always turn out blurry, dark, or both. They'll look fine on the phone itself, but when I post them to facebook or something, they're so dark that you can barely make them out. Indoor and especially outdoor--even on sunny clear days, the photos look like I took pictures in a haunted house. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Is there a way to turn off just the facebook group notifications for my Blackberry app? I know how to turn all notifications off, and I know how to turn the email notifications off for groups. Yet, the group notifications still come to my phone via the Blackberry app. I still want to get notifications from my friends, but I belong to a lot of groups and I don't want a notification every single time someone posts in 1 of the groups. Thanks!

I know this is probably a dumb question, but i'm already way over on my text messages for the month. If you upload photos to facebook using your Blackberry app on your phone, does it count towards your monthly picture messaging plan? Or do they upload directly from your phone without counting as "sent" photos. I really appreciate it. I've called my cell phone co a billion times already but forgot to ask them this and feel dumb.

I know this is probably a dumb question, but i'm already way over on my text messages for the month. If you upload photos to facebook using your Blackberry app on your phone, does it count towards your monthly picture messaging plan? Or do they upload directly from your phone without counting as "sent" photos. I really appreciate it. I've called my cell phone co a billion times already but forgot to ask them this and feel dumb.

What is the biological purpose of viruses (other than to make living things miserable)? Do they have any beneficial purpose whatsoever, like some bacteria do? Are they a part of the ecosystem, like bacteria are? Do any living things feed on them (for instance, you could say mosquitos are parasites, but bats eat them)? If viruses aren't part of the ecosystem, and serve no beneficial purpose, can we completely eradicate them? What's stopping us? The fear that some will survive and mutate into super viruses? I understand that there will be a few people out there who will say "population control" (both in people and other living things) but don't we already have enough other factors causing death in living things like other diseases, pollution, war, accidents, loss of animals' habitat, etc? How did viruses originate? Scientific viewpoints only, please--I am really curious. If anyone has some latest research articles to share please post.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone is familiar with a type of craft from Central Europe involving beautiful pictures and crosses made out of some sort of grain (maybe wheat?)? I saw them at Polish fest here in the US several months ago, but they were very expensive. My mother in law had a Czech name for it and said she used to have one of these but her cat destroyed it. I'd like to get her one as s surprise for Christmas. But I've been creatively googling for a half hour and can't come up with anything other than generic "corn dolly" making, but the ones I saw at the ethnic festival were much more elaborate and complex. Thanks for any help!

Hi, we're planning a trip to NY in a few weeks and the #1 site we're interested in is the Cloisters. I've never been to NY. How is the neighborhood around the Cloisters? We'd be coming from the Museum Mile area...should we be worried if we get lost on our way or about wandering around in the vicinity? Thank you in advance. 1 of my friends who lives in NY said that "anything below 125th is safe" and the Cloisters is above that lol.

Hello, can anyone tell me what saprem and satyam mean? Thank you!

I'm embarassed to even ask this, but I've always felt a little lonely, my whole life. I have a decent amount of good friends (probably an average amount), married with 1 child, part of a local social group, etc. But all my life I've at times felt nagging lonliness no matter how many friends I have, whether I go to church and Bible studies, etc. I'm too embarassed about it to ask any of my friends about it, like they might think I was pathetic or depressed. I asked my husband if he ever feels lonley and he said, "no, never." He said between our family and work he is not lonely at all. I really like being alone and can handle being by myself a lot, but is this just part of modern life...or are other people really not lonely?