Alaskagain

Ok, you are 20 yrs old, don't have a job, and not in school. Is that right? Do volunteer work. Right now, do it. Make a phone call to a charitable organization and ask how can I help? It will keep your mind off yourself and your ex girlfriend, and on the needs of others. The more hours you can put in the better.

so THAT is how you grill fairy cakes!

Ditto ditto! :)

The 1973 Honda Civic got 40 mpg. It was a great about town commuter vehicle. I'm not at all impressed with the not-green hybrids which only get perhaps 15 mpg over that when everything is operating at peak efficiency. It's 34 years later; why don't we yet have a car that gets 70 mpg?

That is great, Bunnzy! :) I'm so glad you are in a group and getting help with your PND. I really like that circle of security page. The whole mom-baby relationship is a circle. If you are tense and sad, your baby will feel that, and be fussier and then get indigestion and cry more. If you are relaxed and enjoying his company, your baby will feel that, and also be more at ease. (And I don't mean to imply that every fussy baby means a sad or tense mom. That's not true, either!) At this particular time, the controlled crying endeavor just seemed to be upsetting to you both. Hurray for you for standing up to the opinions of the midwives and nurses and choosing what you consider to be the best thing for you and your baby!

which are you just joking about- the muslims, the buddhists, the hindus or the democrats?

I think also HF must have a great sense of humor.

I tried to go back and check - I honestly don't remember if I had to download a viewer or game application in order to play on shockwave. It seems likely. If I did, it has not caused any problems at all on either one of the computers. That sight also has some fun wordgames, boardgames with group players etc. Some are only accessible thru paid membership, but usually the ones at the top half of the webpages are free. RD.com (Reader's Digest) also has a game page with a crossword and other games. You have to register there, too, but it's free, and I don't know if that one has a download either. (sorry!)

I went looking for the ecoballs for the laundry, but haven't yet found a US source of the original item. A google chase - went from ecoballs in (UK) to soapods (also UK) to dolly washer balls (also UK), to dryer balls (found those at Target), to using tennis balls in the dryer, to danpareda's t-shirt folding "machine". Now I'm back. The refillable ecoballs contain ionizing surfactants, which molecularly "loosens" the water allowing it to pass thru the fibers better, rinsing the dirt out of the clothes. Soap and detergent basically does the same thing - makes the water "wetter" by using chemical surfactants. But with the ecoballs, since no soap is used, there is no need to rinse the clothes, so you can skip a whole cycle. A set of 3 balls is used in wash, and the set is good for 1,000 loads. Sounds great; but found some comments on having to add soap for heavily soiled loads, whites, and you still have to pretreat some stains. There is also something (?) in the pellets which makes the water antibacterial. Does ionization kill the germs or is there a germicide in some of the pellets? Am not technically sure about "no chemicals" claim. . .is an ionizing surfactant a chemical substance? (I definitely am not a chemist.) At least it would appear that it would not be a harmful chemical, such as a phosphate. Did find one American supplier that offered a similar laundry ball item (not the same brand name) with refillable pellets.. only good for 70 loads though, but I think cheaper than ordering and shipping from the UK! I'll be glad to post the link if it's a good product! At this point, I am not quite sure, but willing to give it a try. My hubby discovered by accident that tennis balls in the dryer help the clothes dry faster and softer without chemicals - he keeps a supply on hand for the dog, and hand washes them periodically; wanted to get them dry fast so he could toss them to the barking pest, so he threw them in with the bath towels. After 20 minutes, he checked on them, and the entire load was dry. I try to keep in mind that most good things are discovered by accident. That was better than putting them in the microwave.

The free daily jigsaw puzzle at shockwave.com is one of my favorites. I think you may have to allow an active-x control to be enabled, and i used my secondary email address to register, and did not get any spam.

What are "ecoballs" for the washing machine? I have heard of the earthship architecture before, but calearth was new to me - thanks for posting the url. (You might run in to zoning/code problems with either style in Kansas, but it's definitely worth looking into.)

actually, my afghan coverlet and a good book!

my CAT is sitting in my lap! edited to add: Am I supposed to start another sentence?

Obviously, you don't. You are afraid to get a physical. And you don't care if you leave an orphaned daughter because you won't make arrangements to go to a doctor?

Everyone who pays a health insurance premium is already "chipping in" to help make up the uncollected fees from the uninsured who don't, won't or can't pay their medical bills. Or at least that's one excuse the health insurance companies use to raise premiums. My question is: Why should the federal government be responsible for health care? Every time the federal government gets involved, another layer of bureaucracy is created, the rules become overcomplicated because of special interest lobbyists, and many dollars (and other resources)are wasted, and none of us feel like we can do anything about it because the problem is in Washington. Look at the FDA. Look at Medicare. Look at the Medicare Prescription Program. Look at Medicaid. If the government must be involved in health insurance, let it be on the state and local level, where it can be controlled more easily by the local citizenry. Yes, I agree that any person should be able to obtain adequate health care. It does not matter to me whether they work, or whether they parent well. If someone can't work, is disabled, has no or limited or low income, then yes, there should be a public health program available for their needs. All of their medical needs, not just some of their needs, which is the way Medicaid and Medicare are set up now. Again, these are federally based programs, which should be totally under state jurisdiction. If you can't find a health care provider in your community who will treat you for what you can afford to pay, then do something about it. Negotiate with a family doctor to pay him $x a month for family care before you need it. Contact your local health department (every county has one) and work to get a public health clinic in your area for the uninsured. Join with 100 of your other uninsured friends to form a group to get lower rates on health insurance; get a quote from every single one of the health insurance companies authorized to do business in your state. Set up a self-help medical fund amongst your trustworthy family and friends to help each cover basic costs or high deductibles with your monthly contribution. Find out what programs your local hospital has, many offer basic wellness care and other health programs. Hospitals that are chartered as "not for profit" are very nearly always required to accept monthly payments for reduced charges in hardship cases (and "hardship" can be loosely defined), or they risk losing their corporate status as granted by their state. There's a lot I don't like about health care today. There are problems out there, but why make the government come up with the solutions when we have so many intelligent private citizens in this rich powerful nation of ours?

I am not at all annoyed. I certainly do care when people die. I get sad all the time because I hear about perfect strangers who have died in bad circumstances. I care about how people live. I respect that you are a single dad, taking care of your child(ren). It is not in my heritage not to care about other people. I simply don't "get" why you think I have no compassion if I don't want to pay higher taxes, or pay for other people's health insurance. Can you clarify that for me, please?

I get your point. You don't have health insurance. You want me to buy it for you.

The best way to get me to be more green? Give me more "green"! I use compact florescent light bulbs all over my house. They are environmentally friendly (allegedly, although I've heard they will contaminate your house with mercury if broken and you should never use your vaccuum to clean up the mess); they also cut my electric bill. I recycle aluminum cans because the recycle center pays by the pound. I drive a relatively fuel efficient car (and keep it in good mechanical shape) so my Exxon charge card bill is not totally out of sight. I use cloth toweling to wipe up spills because I think paper towels are a big waste of money. I have to wash the bath towels anyway, whats one more in the load? I believe in being frugal - not just with money but with all resources. I don't like to waste what I've earned or what has been given me. It is part of stewardship. I also recycle plastic, paper, computer parts, furniture, etc, when there is no financial incentive. Freecycle is great! I don't like waste.

And exactly what part of not raising taxes results in no compassion?

Well, you got me there. Those two cars in my garage are all I ever think about. The Massachusetts plan requires everyone (household/single person) living in Massachusetts to purchase a health insurance policy; similar to mandatory automobile insurance for every car owned or licensed driver. The end result is that premiums fell and coverage widened, because the market expanded by coercion. I don't know if any taxes were raised in the process. I imagine, though I have not personally researched it, that anyone who is below a certain income level still receives Medicaid. It is possible that even the poor have to pay small premiums or copayments.

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I'm sorry you are going through a rough time. . . I have found friends here. So kick off your shoes and relax a while!

I came here to spout off political, scientific, legal, religious and personal opinions; and to be mean and arrogant and noisy in an anonymous way. How about you?

Please don't take this the wrong way. It is just my humble opinion. You are saying he cries for "hours". His nose is raw and bleeding? Yes, you are traumatizing him. Obviously, he needs more of something. Cuddle your crying baby. Coo at your crying baby. Sing to your crying baby. Rock your crying baby. Love your crying baby. You will never regret it.