jellybeanchick

Just read an article about Space Mountain re-opening after repairs, and the photo showed it painted white. Might have been a very old stock photo. Last time I was there, over 10 years ago, Tomorrowland still had the steampunk look. At that point the bronze paint was bubbling and peeling all over the place and it just looked awful.

Do any of you know of a website like bahiker.com, except for museums, gardens, zoos, etc? I'm well aware of major tourist attractions, but I want something comprehensive that includes little places that most people haven't heard of. For instance, looking around on Yelp I found a Barbie museum in Union City, a computer history museum in Mountain View, and a junior zoo in Palo Alto. It would be easier to have a website listing everything, if possible with suggestions for small children but otherwise I can figure out what is appropriate.

My husband has a week+ of vacation coming up in June. Our usual vacations together have been camping, or going to wine country. Here's the thing - I'm pregnant with twins, and by the vacation I will be about 25 weeks (6 months). Assuming I'm not on bed rest at that point, I will be physically uncomfortable, and will have to take it easy. An example of the kind of stuff I can do, is a few weeks ago we drove to the summit of Mt Diablo. I have no desire to get on a plane, and I really shouldn't go on a cruise at that point. It would be nice to go to a bed and breakfast or a non-primitive cabin with a gorgeous view.

Any suggestions, for either a day trip or a more extended trip? My main criteria:

- Driving distance from the Bay Area, or in the Bay Area

- Close to good hospitals

- No walking or hiking required

- A good variety of food available (ugh, aversions)

- Hopefully somewhere forested, or at least near some nice drives with trees around

- Any local parks with easy access nature, or drive-up views, would be great

My husband and I are thinking about going to Colorado Springs in February, to visit family. It seems to me that driving is a few hundred dollars cheaper than flying - 2800 miles worth of gas plus a night in a hotel each way, vs. round trip tickets for two plus baggage and other BS fees plus a rental car once we get there. However, my husband is concerned that we could get stuck in snow.

If you have any experience with this route in the winter, what is your opinion?

Google maps gives three options: Highway 80 all the way out to Cheyenne; Highway 15 and 70, via Las Vegas and Grand Junction; and Highway 40 through AZ and NM to Highway 25 (looks like very little mountains this way). I have never been on any of these highways except 80 to Reno and back several times. The one time it was snowing bad, a 3 hour trip back to the Davis turned into 12 hours.

Also, any interesting places to stop along the way?

Let's say I am married. (I am going to be married later this year but we have been together so long that I call his family my in laws). Let's say my husband has a sister, who is obviously my sister in law. If she is married, I know that her husband is my husband's brother in law, but is he my brother in law?

I have seen some people here on YA, and even an op-ed article, saying that most of the houses lost in the fire were in "dangerous" locations and shouldn't have been built in the first place.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20071026/cm_usato...

In So Cal, Nor Cal (where I live,) and the central valley, nearly every city and town is surrounded by fire-prone grasslands, chapparral, etc. Unless we blanket the state with houses, retail, and asphalt, there will always be some houses on the edge of a city or town, next to flammable material. Are we supposed to only build in the few moist areas, like San Francisco (already pretty much built to maximum capacity)? Should we be moving to houseboats on the ocean? Or do you agree, that new developments are in bad locations?

My fiancee and I have been engaged for a while, with no date set yet. Last year, his mother and her boyfriend told us that they already have our wedding present: the honeymoon. But not just any honeymoon. She recently bought a timeshare in Las Vegas, and with the timeshare got a pack of coupons for free trips to other timeshares around the world.

Since then, she and my fiancee have become estranged for unrelated reasons, and they recently have been talking to each other occasionally, just small talk. But if the honeymoon comes up again, how do you tell someone you don't want their gift?

Frankly, I want out honeymoon to be special, and not stressful. I don't want to go to some unknown timeshare property of unknown quality. I don't want the possibility of being subjected to a sales pitch as part of the free vacation. I'd rather go on a cruise or rent a house in the mountains.

I understand that the tuberculosis test is a test for TB antibodies, using a small amount of TB antigen. My question is, if you get too many TB tests, will your body eventually make antibodies for the antigen, causing a positive test result?

I have an iPod Shuffle (the first version) and it has been having problems lately. I have been able to listen to it for only around 30-90 minutes before it stops working. It will stop after the end of a song, and make a loud crackling noise. When this happens, none of the buttons are responsive. It's not from the battery being dead, because if I wait a while (like until the next day) then it starts working again, but will stop working the same way. Compare this to last September, when I was able to listen to it as long as I wanted, practically nonstop on an 8 hour flight.

I have the latest firmware from Apple. And it has been around the block a few times; my fiance bought it from eBay and gave it to me last year when he got a video iPod. So if it is a goner, that's ok with me. Just wondering if there is any way to fix it.

I saw this cleaning guide, which says that a good way to clean silver is to put it in a bucket with baking soda, aluminum foil, and warm water.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_cg_cleaning_cha...

Do any of you chemistry geniuses know what kind of reaction this is? I was thinking it might be electrochemical, but now that I think about it, the baking soda is throwing me off.

BTW I was a biochemistry major in college and took 3 years of chemistry, but this is out of my league.

There is a possibility that I would have some fertility problems in the future when I try to have children, so I may be looking at adoption.

So, my question is whether people who adopted children from foreign countries try to assimilate them completely into American culture, or if they try to raise them with an awareness of their own cultural background? For instance, if you adopted a child from China, would you enroll him or her in Mandarin classes, or in cheerleading or ballet or baseball? Obviously older children can decide for themselves what activities they want to do, but would you encourage or discourage activities related to their biological background?

By the way I am aware that a lot of people here are opposed to foreign adoptions. I know your point of view, I am just curious about this issue.

How do you get deoderant off of delicates when you hand wash them? I have been using an all-natural detergent, would something like Woolite work better?

When I was in high school in the late 90's, 16 was no different from any other birthday except for getting a driver's license. 18 and 21 were much more important birthdays. Some people of Hispanic heritage had quinceaneras at age 15, and I knew a Filipina who had a similar party at age 18. But a 16th birthday party wasn't anything really extraordinary.

Now, I see a lot of questions here asking about Sweet Sixteen parties, with themes, grand entrances, catering, hired dancers, etc. Is this all just copying MTV, or was there always this kind of birthday party and my hometown was an anomaly?

I was wondering if anyone knows what the chances are of being pregnant and still getting a period. I have known of people this happened to, but I don't know how rare this is.

I had my period 2 weeks ago, but starting then I have felt sick to my stomach ever since. Occasional nausea before lunch and sometimes dinner which goes away when I eat, and BM problems almost every day. No other pregnancy symptoms. I always use protection, so it's most likely something else going on, but does anyone know roughly what the chances are of having a period while pregnant? A nearly normal period, not just spotting.

In general, for women who have rough periods (heavy bleeding, bad cramps, etc) is pregnancy a welcome relief? Or do the menstrual problems make it more likely to be complications in the pregnancy?

I have recently noticed that my natural hair color has become dark and dull. I used to have golden brown hair. I also have a few thick white hairs randomly scattered all over my head. So I want to do something about it, hopefully at least make it brighter. I have never colored my hair at home before, so I was wondering whether I should use a demipermanent color like Clairol Natural Instincts, or a glaze like the one from John Freida. I'm not interested in anything permanent, because I don't want to screw up.

I was wondering what happens when a pro athlete gets fined by the governing body. For instance, if the NFL fines a football player for some horribly jackass thing he did during a game.

Does the money go to charity? Or do they just go toward an upper level manager's yearly bonus?

One of my coworkers speaks Russian as his native language, and he is leaving next week. Would it be appropriate to say "Do svidanya" (written in cyrillic) in the farewell card for him, when I am probably never going to see him again?

I would like to write a little something in Russian, but I don't remember much from when I took it in college.

My fiancee's Hallowen costume will involve painting his chest, which will be covered with a shirt some of the time. He was thinking of using a sharpie, but does anyone know what we could use to paint his chest that won't rub off or stain his shirt?

At my company, at least in my department, they never fire anyone, even when they should. Rumor has it that the last time someone was fired, he had spent two weeks doing absolutely nothing before he got fired.

According to my coworkers this is because the company doesn't want to pay unemployment. However, my boyfriend said that unemployment is only for people who were laid off, and not for people who were fired with cause. So what should I believe?