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I am training for the Officer Commissioning Course. How can I train for pack running without carrying a pack? Can you wear a weight belt under your clothing? or over? unless, as it seems, appearance is your issue?

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I have to store my bike outdoors. What can I do to keep it from deteriorating? You don't specify where "outdoors" is; is it in your back yard? out in front where just anyone has access? in a carport where there is at least a roof? These all are factors in an accurate, helpful answer. Let's go for the intermediate--your back yard without a roof: in this situation, a large tarp and strong rack would be a good investment; I would rig an arrangement...

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I'm a girl, and another girl kissed me at a party. I freaked and left immediately, but my boyfriend of a year feels betrayed. He's been cheated on twice before and wants to know everything in my past. Is this cheating? YOU did not cheat unless you participated willingly in that kiss (and it doesn't sound that way fromwhat you say), but good luck trying to convince HIM! My own feeling is that you should run, not walk, to the nearest exit. Your boyfriend sounds like someone who is looking for reasons to be suspicious, and I was married to one of those. To put it into the most straightforward, simple...

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Why does light travel faster than sound? This is like "Why is up?" The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second. The speed of sound is about 1100 feet per second. (The qualifiers are because there can be variations.) Why are they different? Why is one person a blonde and another a redhead? or one tall and another short? I think you most likely want to know something more about the media of...

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Is a perm really permanent? The simplest answer is that the hair that is chemically treated has been permanently affected, but your hair grows out at a given rate, and the new growth has not been treated and is therefore not affected.

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My car was hit while parked in a lot, and no one saw who hit it. What type of coverage would be used to pay for damages in this situation? This would ordinarily come under your "Comprehensive" if you have it, or you might be able to make a stab at "Uninsured Motorist," but in either case you will probably have to eat the deductible.

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I have full coverage, and my engine just blew up. Should the insurance company replace the engine? What does your policy say? Does it mention the engine in its coverage? What caused the engine to blow up? Did you "exercise reasonable and normal care" in your use of the car? Before you ask US what the insurance company should do, you need to get your policy out and study exactly what they (and you) agreed to. I had a "bumper-to-bumper" warranty on a used car I bought...

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Are the Ten Commandments reaffirmed in the New Testament? If one looks carefully at the Ten Commandments, it is clear that the first five are about our relation to God, and the second five our relation to our fellow man. Therefore, Jesus was not giving a new set when he said that "on these hang all the law and the prophets;" he was restating the ten specific commands (mostly prohibitions) in the form of two more general, and more...

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What must Christians do in order to receive salvation? Doesn't the answer to this question depend on how one defines the term "Christian"? It is easy to say "I am a Christian, because..." (I meet some criterion established by some authority and I accept that authority as the definer of the term "Christian" and as the definer of the criteria I must meet). But that has little or nothing to do with what Jesus...

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I'm going to court, and I know that some of the records that will be brought up are incorrect. How can I dispute them? Whatever records you "know" are incorrect--get the facts on each one and the SOURCE of your facts so that in court your attorney can present the documentation to the judge in the case. It is not enough to say, "That's not true;" you have to be able to show your evidence as to the falsity of what is being presented. Good Luck!

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My boyfriend has pornographic DVDs and I am having a hard time dealing with it. Am I not doing something right for him to have purchased them? Why is it something YOU are doing wrong? Where is it written that it is your job to fulfill his every fantasy? If he watches them to amuse himself, how much time does he spend at it? Does his absorption in this take away from your time together or is it something he does on his own? Pornography can be pretty crude, but some--believe it or not--can be well done. You need to evaluate your...

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Why does bread always fall buttered side down? In actuality, bread doesn't ALWAYS fall buttered side down, but it does far more often than not for a very simple reason: as a general rule, the side with butter, jam, or other spread applied is almost always heavier than the other. This moves the "center of gravity" (if that term can be applied to a slice of something) toward that side so that when the bread falls free it...

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What is a seed bank? A seed bank is a repository for seed--an over-simplified answer. I think you want to know the "why" of seed banks, no? There is a great deal of concern among agronomists that we are hybridizing and modifying our basic seed stocks past a not-presently-measurable point of no return when we might have some blight or other disaster and be unable to recover from it, thus losing a...

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I want to cash out my 401k to pay my student loans so my husband can't get half once we process our divorce. Can I do this without him having a claim to that money after our divorce? This question is way-y-y-y too general to get an effective answer. Do you live in a community property state? Were you married while you were earning that money? Were you married when you incurred those student loans? The answers to all these questions will impact that situation. Get one of the "Dummies" books or the "Complete Idiots" books on the subject of divorce and...

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What does the law say about people expressing partisan views in polling places? Is it okay to wear campaign buttons, or talk to voters to encourage them to vote a certain way? "The law" varies from state to state with regard to electioneering, which includes "all of the above"--thit is, "expressing partisan views," wearing campaign buttons, encouraging people "to vote in a certain way." As I understand it, it is a violation of federal law to engage in ANY form of electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place.

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Why was there an international team of observers monitoring the presidential elections in 2004? In several locations (primarily a number of Florida precincts, although there were others), voters requested international observers as a preventive measure in situations where they felt they had reason to supect that there might "again" be chicanery. After all, isn't that what international observers are for--to deter anything underhanded?

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I gave a private mortgage to a buyer who bought my house, but then the person never paid the mortgage. Do I still have to pay capital gains tax on the full amount I sold the house for even though I did not receive the full payment? You only have to pay tax on income you have "effectively" received, so you should be free of tax obligation on payments not received. You need, however, to make visible and apparent efforts to collect the unpaid portion if you don't want the IRS to decide that you knowingly made a gift of the unpaid amount to the buyer, and may not have intended to collect in the first place....

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How can I remove movie popcorn butter from my jeans? The best grease-removal material I know is cornstarch. Rub it gently into the grease spot and let it sit to adsorb the grease. Brush it gently off and reapply until greasy appearance is gone. Then wash your jeans as usual. The important points are 1) to get all the grease adsorbed by the cornstarch, and 2) to get all possible cornstarch brushed out of the garment before the washing.

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What is the origin of the phrase "true colors?" In naval parlance a ship "sails under the colors" of her nation, meaning that she flies the flag of her country of origin. During the years when vessels literally sailed, a ship's colors flying from the topmast were the first sign of her presence to show over the horizon. Pirates and such would often fly the colors of a merchant-ship or convoy for which they were lying in wait...

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What are commissary rights? The only "commissary rights" I know of is the right to shop in a particular commissary, the military term for their restricted-access market facilities for personnel. As the widow of a career military man, my mother had commissary rights at Vandenberg AFB for the last 20 years of her life--she lived in San Luis Obispo, about 60 mi. from the base. Our family had commissary rights...

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On my 2000 Pontiac Bonneville, the heater stops working after I've been driving car for an hour or two. It works again after letting the car sit for a few hours. What could be wrong? While I cannot give a direct answer to your question, I know where you can get one: "Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers," are on National Public Radio every week. They answer just this sort of question for an hour on KPCC 89.3 FM on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 a.m.

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Is there a home remedy to reduce the itch from mosquito bites besides calamine lotion? Don't know whether you'd consider it a "home remedy," but years ago my mom taught me to paint a layer of clear nail polish over a mosquito bite. My skin being super-sensitive, I add another layer each day; this prevents the light touches of your clothing from tickling the highly sensitized surface of the bite. The tickle is actually what keeps re-starting the itch....

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Is there a way to keep my the skin on my fingers from cracking open? Believe it or not, you can give yourself a regular treatment while hand-washing delicate items. Go to your local drugstore and buy a pair of latex gloves in a size that is comfortably loose for you. Every time you need to rinse something out, first wash your hands in warm NOT HOT water and cover them with a good quality hand lotion, preferably one with aloe or lanolin or both. Put on the...

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How do you keep grass and other greenery from growing through cracks in the driveway or cemented areas of the patio? Simplest remedy I know is to strain your pasta (yes, I said pasta) into a large container when you've cooked it and pour the resulting hot, salted water carefully on the crack that has the grass growing in it. The near-boiling temperature of the water kills off what's growing and the salt in it (I presume that you salt the water in which the pasta cooks) penetrates and inhibits new...

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What works best in getting rid of roaches? There is a wonderful bait that costs very little to make and kills the little beasts off by the nestful. It consists of boric acid, flour, ground rolled oats, and powdered sugar. In this order (alphabetical, so that I can remember it) it is four parts boric acid, two parts each flour and ground oats, and one part powdered sugar. Because both the boric acid and the final bait are toxic to...

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Is there a way to get nail polish out of a white bedsheet? Soaking, dabbing, sponging the spot with polish remover can get the polish out but doesn't do much about the color stain. You could try getting all the detectable polish off and then wash the sheet (or at least that area of it) alone--without detergent--a mild soap only. Then wash the sheet with your regular wash, after which try bleaching that spot with a small brush. It is MOST...

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How can I remove an old paint stain from a pair of jeans? Presumably you don't care a great deal about anything but the unsightly color? Soak the area involved in paint remover, arranging the rest of the garment up higher than the spot being treated (so the fabric won't "wick" all the paint remover out of the container into the rest of the jeans). Check in 15 minutes to see whether the paint itself has softened. Then scrape with...

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How can I remove fruit stains from fabric? It depends, to a large extent, on the fabric and the fruit mix: If it is pure fruit--fresh or jam or jelly or such, which only has sugar added--place the spot over a bowl with a rim larger than the spot. Let the fabric sag slightly rather than be taut. Pour boiling water gently over the spot and let the fabric sag a little more so that you can dunk it up and down gently in the water in...

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Is dumping biodegradeable debris (tree stumps, grass, broken rock, etc.) down a ravine in your backyard legal? If not, what is the penalty? If the material is truly bio-degradable (and your includsion of broken rock is questionable), I know of no authority that prohibits it. But if you really want to produce great planting soil, you need a good mix. For years I lived in a house on a hill that was almost solid adobe; I collected all kitchen waste in a tight-lidded container of about 2-quart capacity. When this was full, we dug a...

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I have a swollen knee from kneeling too long. There is no redness or broken skin, but the area is tender and warm. How can I reduce the swelling? Alternate applications of heat and cold are very helpful in reducing swelling not based in an actual injury. An ice pack for five minutes, then two minutes rest, followed by a hot pad (but only hot, not HOTT) for five minutes and another minute of rest is a workable cycle and has been known to reduce swelling caused by a sharp blow to the knee. Again, no real damage was involved.

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Are there natural ways to help me sleep? A great evening cocktail for one or two is two cups of lettuce leaves pressed down tightly, combined in a blender with two cups of pineapple juice. This is more effective fresh than leftover, so reduce the amounts if there's no one to share.

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What do cicadas do while they're underground? The eggs hatch, the larvae feed and grow through several stages, the pupae form cocoons and slowly (very clowly) develop into adults.

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How long do you cook a turkey? Regardless of all the gloom-and-doom warnings about safety and all that other stuff, I do mine overnight -- have for years -- and NO one has ever complained or gotten sick. The point is that although it is cooked at a low tem for a long time, it is NEVER left sitting out at room temperature before cooking. Our method has always been to stuff it very loosely, baste it lightly with the liquid...

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What works best in getting rid of roaches? The best success I have ever had is a bait I made from instructions in a book titled "Tiny Game Hunting" available through the L.A Public Library, (website is LAPL.org). This worked so well that I was misled into believing it useless and really disgusted until I realized that the flood after flood of roaches I was experiencing were different sizes, colors, and shapes. I was actually...

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How long does it take light to travel to Earth from the Sun? About eight minutes is "close enough for government work," but if you REALLY want to KNOW, the relevant facts are that the speed of light is almost exactly 186,000 miles per second, and the average distance of the earth from the sun--longer axis slightly more, shorter axis slightly less--is 93,000,000 miles. Simple arithmetic tells us that the travel time of light from the sun to the...

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How do I get a bloodstain out of carpet? It depends partly on how old the stain is, but I ALWAYS start with cold water. This may or may not remove a large portion of it (not if it's really old and/or dried). If it hasn't been "set" with hot water or some chemical, I've had fair success with Shaklee's Basic-H, which I use at half strength, diluted with water. If this doesn't do it, follow with a...

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At what age are children usually ready for toilet training? This depends on the child--I've known of some that take to the process readily as soon as they are walking and others that resist for some time. The important point is to make it easy and not a burden to the little one. It IS a burden (albeit temporary) to the one doing the training: the potty chair should stay in the bathroom in order to create the connection in the child's mind;...

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