jim

If asteroids are formed by little bits of dust clumping together - how do these tiny bits of "dust" eventually become a solid chunk of rock? Isn't an asteroid the size of a house or even a mountain too small to result in a molten interior or interior pressure that would presumably fuse the grains? Can "dust" become "rock" by just being stuck together for long periods of time?

Does the credit card company have the ability to retract a late payment once reported, or is it out of their hands and up to the reporting bureaus at that point? Trying to clear a single, very small, late payment out of my credit history. Thanks

I'll be putting down unfinished oak flooring in a 10x20 room. Having never sanded a floor before I would prefer to use a random orbit floor sander as opposed to a drum/belt sander as they seem more forgiving. Has anyone done this or is the orbital not cut out for unfinished floors?

I have had a few killer schwarma sandwiches from a Lebanese place by my job that i've been trying to replicate. In the sandwich they have these pickled turnips (they make their own, the are pink because a slice of beet is added during pickling) - Does anyone know if they are commercially available?

I just took my window units out and i'm not particularly happy with the screw holes in my recently installed double-hungs (Andersen 200 series). I'm thinking about building a support rig that takes the place of the lower sash - I have my own ideas, but would appreciate any tips or suggestions from anyone who has done this before.

I'm going to build a section of custom cabinets and am looking for recommendations on pocket screw jigs. I've seen sets run between $30 and $130. I don't mind spending the extra $ so long as there is a difference in quality (I expect to use the jig in a number of other projects) - just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this stuff and has recommendations. Thanks.

My sister is getting married and I am trying to budget for an appropriate size gift. The circumstances are as follows: I'm her older brother, my wife and I make a good amount (though most of it is chewed up by mortgage, child care and student loans) but we are not rolling in it, we are in the NY metro area, we come from a solidly middle class background, the venue will likely be the standard $100 per plate *and* I've been designated as her "maid of honor" (I'll have fun with this in my speech). I was thinking that $1000 would be appropriate given the circumstances. I could probably swing more, but parting with just the $1000 is something I have to plan for. I appreciate the input.

I have a gently used hospital bed in my garage that I want to get rid of, but I'm having a hard time finding a charity in my area that wants it/will pick it up. Anyone know of a national charity that deals with this stuff or maybe a more local charity that operates in the NYC metro area/north NJ? I would feel real bad about junking the thing but its getting close to that. Thanks

We are having my son's 3rd birthday at our town pool and I am looking for ideas for little kid party games. So far we are going with pin the tail on the donkey and a piñata - any other suggestions? Thanks

I don't think it would surprise anyone to learn that the conservative causes supported by the Koch brothers very often benefit them as capitalists. The self interest already obvious, it's hard to find ulterior motives. 

The billionaires on the left, however, give millions and millions away solely to promote the greater good, or so they would have you believe. Tom Steyer wants to drop $50 million of his own cash to elect climate conscious candidates to, primarily, kill the XL pipeline. But it turns out Steyer, through his "former" firm, made his $1.4 billion through fossil fuel investments. Oddly, the firm (and Steyer) have a bunch of cash invested in an energy firm (TransMountain) with its own plans to construct an oil pipeline. Weirdly, if XL gets killed, Steyer would have a good chunk of cash invested in the only pipeline out of the oils ands.

So, just curious if liberals distrust the likes of Steyer (or Soros, who makes his $ betting that currencies will lose value).

 Every time my 2 y/o has a temperature it invariably shoots through the roof. He has never had just a low grade fever - every single time his temperature is elevated, we have to jump in to full fever control with alternating ibuprofen/acetaminophen, temperature checks every 15 mins or so, cold baths, dr sick visits, etc. He has had (short) febrile seizures on two occasions because of how his temperature can spike.  He does, however, seem to tolerate these temperatures well (often times there will not be any apparent indication of distress,  even with temps as high as 104). 

Is my kid the only one that does this?

What ever happened to the jewlery that Trayvon was "holding for a friend". Does the school still have it? Has the "friend" been questioned? Has any attempt been made to see if it matches any jewlery that was lost or stolen? Just wondering ...

A few days ago a window for updating Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool popped up on my computer, I accepted it and shortly afterwords I got smacked with the FBI/moneypak virus. I ran system restore snd got my computer back up and running. Now the removal tool is popping back up. I haven't seen anything about the virus masquerading as the removal tool, but I suspect this is the case - anyone know if this is accurate?

Wondering why you don't really see re-releases all that often. I caught Alien ( the directors cut) back in 2005 and was excited and happy to have done so (I missed its initial release because I wasnt born yet). I would certainly pay to see more than a few re-releases - Jaws, raiders of the lost ark to name 2. I get the argument that big screen surround sound setups are widely available and that you can get the stuff on netflix, but I can't be the only one that would enjoy seeing these flicks in the theater. I also get the argument that it would cost the studio a lot to promote it - but what about letting a theater do its own promo, maybe have it generally known that they run old blockbusters on one of their screens a few times a week? Or letting them piggy back off of an anticipated sequel/prequel - I'm sure someone would have gone to see the first two Batman movies if they were playing when DKR came out, or LOTR when the Hobbit was released. What re-releasing during the January/February horrible movie season?

Were tea party members pis*ed off about paying taxes? Thanks MSNBC!

When my toddler gets fevers we try to get him to rest and relax. Nap time is no problem, but you would think that you otherwise could get a 1.5 year old to chill out and watch some Bob the builder or something, but he is on his feet as if he wasn't sick, and i fear that it may prolong his illness. Anyone have these issues?

Have a zero water brand filter. Worked great for a few weeks but now tastes slightly acidic, and the meter it comes with is now tripple what my tap water was. Googled it and saw others have similar issues. Before I toss it, just wanted to make sure this isn't something I did.

As in, how come when I turn my lamp on, all 20 amps that are on that line don't just blast through it, but if I do something like stick a paper clip in a socket, it absolutely will?

I'm going to be refinishing my floors this spring. I certainly plan on leaving the windows open while the finish cures, but I am a bit worried about dust blowing in. I was thinking about tacking an old sheet or something to the window to act as a filter. Anyone do something like this? Am I overly concerned? Thanks

My 18 month old is just getting over a 10 day bout with a stomach virus/flu. He has been without a fever since Saturday afternoon, but we thought it better that he stay home from daycare today (Monday) and rest up. Last night we asked my mother in law to watch him today. In the car, after picking her up this morning, my mother in law tells my wife that she "had the chills" last night, but is better now - no doctor, no nothing (she has a history of not taking care of herself, and downplaying pain, etc). My wife gets home, and after talking we think that it is better to send our (normal temp, eating fine, happy) son to daycare, rather than have him stay with potentially ill grandma.

We tell grandma this. I try to thank her for coming over and volunteering, as the situation is kind of awkward, and tell her that I will take her home. Grandma, however, flips out and says among other things that she should have kept her mouth shut about feeling ill.

My question is: Did we do anything wrong? Our initial thinking was that our son could have one more day away from the possible germs of the day care center - but when faced with grandma (our only alternative option) probably carrying something - we though daycare was the better bet. Frankly, we have had issues with grandma before and really did make every effort to be diplomatic to avoid a blow up. But I was not about to put my son at risk of getting sick again simply to avoid insulting my in law. Also, am I wrong to be incensed that she would consider NOT telling us that she was feeling sick before she came over to take care of my son?

If I was on the other end, I may have thought it an overreaction (if I was definately feeling better), but as a parent I think I would have understood.

Thanks.