Emerger

Light: Science and Magic by Fil Hunter. A book on the use of lighting in photography. Considered to be "THE BOOK" on the subject. Was detailed, very informative and very dry. I learned a lot.

You know I never thought much about signatures until I began surfing here. I gotta get to work on this. Thanks for the tut.

People talk about cholesterol all the time. Just to make sure you understand the basics, let me run through this with you.Based on good solid research over a lot of years, an association (risk) was found between cholesterol levels and heart attack and stroke. As the data was further evaluated and studies done, the risk was confirmed. High levels of blood cholesterol are associated with an increase in stroke and heart attack. The good news is that the same studies showed that lowering the cholesterol lowered the risk of heart attack and stroke. As the average cholesterol level in US citizens has declined, so has the incidence of heart attack. How do you interpret cholesterol tests?Some of the parts are measured and some are calculated. The basic formula is:Total cholesterol = LDL Cholesterol + HDL Cholesterol + Triglycerides / 5LDL = bad cholesterolHDL = good cholesterolTriglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. Also bad in high levelsThe "goals" are as follows:Total = under 200LDL = under 100HDL = over 40Triglycerid = under 150Total cholesterol / HDL = under 5.1 (optimum 3.5)Stricter levels are recommended for people with diabetes or heart disease.I hope this information is helpful.

My favorite hobby is fly fishing. I like just about everything about it. I like hiking and camping. I like that trout don't live in ugly places so where ever I go, there are birds and deer and other wildlife to see. I like the quiet and solitude of standing alone in a small stream trying to fool an animal with a pea-sized brain. I like learning new things like the life cycle of insects and how to mimic each stage with fly patterns that I tie myself. I like looking for the right spot where a fish could be hiding, making a good cast and having the fish take it. I like knowing whether I am right or wrong, it doesn't matter because the process was rewarding by itself. Look at this river. Despite the snow. It is a beautiful place to spend a few hours alone with nature. That's why I love fly fishing.

I think reflective silver is about the toughest thing to photograph. The EZ Cube is the best aid I have found. You still get some reflection, but not much. Here is another bead that is mirror like. Inside the cube you see soft white reflections instead of pictures of me or the walls and ceiling of the room. This makes for a very acceptable photo. My only criticism is that the surface is dulled. Looks more like pewter than polished silver. But I haven't found a way to get the full reflective surface without the reflections that are so distracting. If anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Staph is getting a lot of press these days. With good reason. It's causing a lot of trouble.Staph is a bacterium not a virus. It has always been around. You could culture it anywhere; house, yard, hospital, skin. There are many, many species of Staph, but the one we are talking about is Staphylococcus aureus--shortened to "Staph". Within the Staph aureus species, different strains have varying degrees of resistance to antibiotics. Mostly from frequent exposure to antiobiotics. If you kill off all the Staph that are sensitive to penicillin, the only ones left are the ones resistant to penicillin. Survival of the fittest. Most Staph in the US has been resistant to penicillin for years. MRSA stands for methicillin resistant Staph aureus. (methicillin is an antibiotic) the term was adopted because it helped doctors select which antibiotic to use. If it is methicillin resistant, don't use methicillin or it's relatives.In the last 5-10 years, MRSA has been developing resistance to other antibiotics also. And the bad actor of Staph typically is an infection acquired while you are an in-patient of a hospital. These strains have been resistant to most antibiotics so are very tough to treat. Also these days if you are in the hospital you have either just had surgery, a baby or are very sick. If you aren't real sick, your insurance won't let you be there! If you get a MRSA infection in a joint, (hip, knee, etc), you have a huge problem. Usually another surgery to drain or irrigate it. Weeks or months of IV antibiotics to fix it. If you get MRSA pneumonia when you are 85 in a hospital, already weak from heart disease, kidney failure or whatever put you in there, you have a potentially lethal situation. Most of the routine skin infections you get from a cut or scrape will be Staph and depending where you live, they may well be MRSA. But at least for now, most community Staph infections can be treated with normal pills.So what can you do? First, don't take antibiotics you don't need. Wait out colds and respiratory infections. They are caused by viruses and antibiotics don't help anyway. Second, if you get an open wound, wash it thoroughly, apply ointment and bandaid. It is a lot better to avoid an infection than have to treat it. Third, if a minor infection does happen, try warm compresses or soaks. If it start to spread, streaks develop, or a lump starts to form, see your dr.Sorry for the long post, but the topic is important enough to cover in depth.

I'm with the others. I use FireFTP extension within FireFox. It is so easy, always there in the browser. Good features. What's not to like?

gisellebebegirl,There are a lot of things that could cause your symptoms. From anemia to anxiety. But with the frequency and severity of the episodes, I would recomment you see a cardiologist. There are some people who faint easily because their body doesn't compensate for changing position. They can test this on a tilt table. Check blood pressure lying down, then tilt the table and measure it upright. But there are any number of other things that need to be checked.So rather than waiting and worrying, just go get it checked out. You'll feel better knowing what is going on

Moogler is right. It isn't contagious. The only time it can be spread is right after contact with the plant. Once the contact has bound to the skin, it won't spread. Cortisone, either by injection or pill will stop the reaction promptly. If you have had the rash for a while and it suddenly starts getting worse with oozing, more redness, pain or streaks, you may have a secondary infection. That is more likely if you have really been scratching at it.

First it is good news if the scope didn't show ulcers or other causes of bleeding. And I am glad you followed through to have the test. GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a condition where the acid of the stomach backs up into the esophagus. The stomach has a mucus layer to resist acid. The esophagus has a lining like the mouth. It isn't made to resist acid, so it gets burned or scalded after exposure. Most of the time people will respond to medicines like the Omeprazole. There are 8-10 more meds also. Also you should do your part by stopping alcohol, smoking and anti-inflammatory meds like ibuprofen. Eating 4-6 small meals per day instead of 1 or 2 big ones helps. Don't lie down after eating and don't eat within a couple hours before bed.Should all this fail, surgery is a good option. These days the surgery is done through a scope. It is very successful and not a long recovery. Just be sure to use a surgeon who does lots of them. Again, if you smoke, quit. Nicotine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter ( the muscle that closes off the esophagus). Good luck and keep checking in with your Dr.

Glad you liked it.

Well, there are needles and then there are needles.....The statistical risk in health care workers from a freshly contaminated needle, with blood from a know HIV positive person is 0.3%. That is 3 in a thousand sticks with a known positive fresh needle. That isn't Lotto kind of odds, but not as high as one might think.If you consider risk from discarded needles in alleys, playgrounds, or abandoned houses, the risk is essentially zero. There has never been a recorded case of HIV conversion from that type of exposure.

I photograph beads for my wife. I have had a few problems. First they are small, so macrophotography is needed. Second they are silver, so getting the white balance right is tough. Third they are shiny so reflections are a killer. Look at this bead: You can see the reflections behind me. Or check out this one, it's even worse: You can see me holding the camera. I think it makes my hands look big, don't you? Then along comes EZ Cube. It is a commercial lightbox. Made of white nylon, it provides smooth light. Stops all the harsh shadows and reflections. What a difference. Check out this bead: Much nicer. And the white balance was a snap. Here is a link to their site. I have no affiliation with them, except as a happy customer. EZ Cube They have a lot of accessories to go with the basic box. Check it out.

I read a lot of mystery, thriller, suspense and legal fiction. Seems like I am always running out of good authors to read. Then last year my sister introduced me to Lee Child's Reacher series. These are great. For those of you who haven't heard of them, the protagonist, Jack Reacher, is a former military police officer who wanders through the country with nothing but a folding toothbrush in his pocket. He always seems to fall into trouble. But don't worry, he is up to the challenge. Here is a link to the author's site with a list of the books. They are super. Read them all. The Reacher Books

I take pictures for my wife's eBay auctions. She likes her name inserted on the photos. While there are many ways to do this, my solution is quick, easy and flexible. Open a new file with a transparent background. Size isn't important. Select the text tool and choose your font. I used a script font. Type the signature. Now click on Edit/define brush preset A box will pop up to name the brush. Open the picture you want to sign. Select the brush tool. From the drop down menu select the brush. It will be the last one. Select the color on the foreground color. Adjust the size of the signature with the bracket keys [ ] . Then single click on the picture where you want the signature. Now you are done. The signature brush will remain in your brushes until you delete it or restore the default brushes. Hope this helps you out.

I have a Pentax 20W. I take it fly fishing all the time. It is a simple point and shoot camera. It is waterproof so you can take pictures under water. It fits in my shirt pocket and I don't have to worry if I drop it. The pictures are good and the macro function is good too. It doesn't have a viewfinder so in bright light it is a little hard to see the LCD screen on the back. The movie mode is only fair. You can't zoom while filming or you get this horrible noise--which is the lens motor. Not loud in person, but on the play back is very unacceptable.Good luck with your purchase.

I really like quick tips and tricks. I tried this on a picture and in just 3 clicks you have a great effect. It was fun running through the other modes of fading. Each one gave a different effect. Here's my picture. Keep up the posts!

Great tutorial. I've never tried this, but just whipped out this little image in a couple minutes. I'll do a better one later.

Hi, I live in the country so have many wild animals and birds that visit regularly. They are the easiest kind to have as I don't feel totally responsible for them . Just fill the bird feeders. Put a little rabbit food out occasionally along with some corn for the deer when it gets really cold and snowy. Domestically, I do have one horse named Cupcake, one Gordon Setter named Ranger and two cats. Sadie and Meisha. I love them all.

I live in the Western US, near a city, but far enough out that no cable TV is available. I've had a Dish system for nearly 10 years. Most of the time things are fine. Nearly always works, good programming options. But they do have fees that aren't shown in their ads. DVR usage fees, $5 to drop programming, rental fees. Dealing with them has at times been frustrating, but all in all, they have been better to deal with than computer tech support. I am contemplating changing to HD satellite, but don't know that Direct TV would be any better.Emerger

Good advice. Now if we could just pick our parents to avoid things like diabetes, breast cancer, hypertension....Emerger