Would you mind expounding on how you cured your plantar fasciitis? Maybe give some more information on the massage? I have plantar fasciitis. I was reading up on a bit more, and interestingly, my dr. only gave me these expensive, custom inserts to help my arch (that's what he said was causing it...I've become flat-footed) and no stretches or anything, just "wear these and your problems will be solved." It did improve, but I still had issues. :glare: Lately, it's become worse again, probably due to my job.

Thanks. Perhaps they are related. Dd threw up earlier. :glare: So much for no vomiting.

If it was just one child, I'd be thinking it might be something other than a virus, but several kids have come down with fevers (not too high) and stomach pain, but they all say they don't feel like they're going to throw up or need to go to the bathroom. This is only affecting the 10 and younger crowd. We all also seem to have head colds, but I'm not sure if it's related or not. I'm thinking we're being hit by two different things. Anyone experience anything like this?

Don't know about boys, but my dd wears hers straight.

LOL....Okay, so the consensus is to do both. I will look into it. Exercising at home just doesn't work. I don't do well with DVDs, and it is impossible not to have a million interruptions.

I'm on my feet...a lot. I walk...a lot. But much of it is on concrete. I work on really hard floors. Our home is on a slab. My feet ache. I went to the podiatrist, and he gave me these expensive arch/orthotic inserts, but they really don't seem to help much. Now, my hip/groin is really starting to bug me. I know losing weight would help, but I have no luck in that area. I just can't get off the weight I've gained during pregnancies, and it doesn't matter what I do. I'm about 50 lbs overweight. Anyway, I'm thinking that the stretching with yoga would be most beneficial to me, but maybe water aerobics would be a better choice. What saith the Hive?

My dh doesn't like trick-or-treating. He finds the idea of going around knocking on doors and asking people for food to be....undesirable. ;) But he's from another culture and did not grow up with Halloween. He's happy enough to hand out candy, but he just hasn't been able to adjust to letting the kids go trick-or-treating. He'd rather buy them the candy himself. In our smallish city, there are plenty of other things to do. We have haunted houses and corn mazes and it's a Friday night, so just dress up and do whatever! Go to the movies, mall (do teens still do that?), skating, bowling, football game, etc. There's lots of things to do besides trick-or-treating, so IMO, it's not like it's the only thing teens can do on Halloween. Our kids are dressing up and we're going to the corn maze and then home to a bonfire with family over. We will roast marshmallows and pass out candy to those who dare to stop by. In the OP's situation, if my dh weren't adamantly opposed to his kids trick-or-treating, I'd be asking dd what she's planning on dressing up as. OTOH, if she didn't really want to go and felt that she was too old for that, then we would do something fun with just the family.

The same thing happened to me last time I colored my hair. I don't remember which box it was...Garnier Fructis, I think. Was your hair brown to start with? Mine is, so I thought maybe the brown on top of brown made it darker. I don't know. As to what to do, well, I wasn't thrilled with it, but it's not too bad so I'm just waiting till I can color again. I'm thinking about 4-6 weeks, whenever my gray's start really showing through, that's when I'll color again. I usually use hair color from Sally's Beauty Supply, not the box, but the box was more convenient. The stuff from Sally's seems to be not as drying and I get a better feel for the color. But the box stuff wasn't bad, except for being too dark, so I'll probably go with that again, just make sure I go a shade LIGHTER than I want. Sorry for all the rambling! Wish I could offer better advice, but at least you can know you're not alone in this. :)

And then to turn around and say, "You were infected because you didn't follow protocol"?! Is it any wonder health workers are upset about this?

The nurse did not have the same PPE (specifically, the hazmat suit) that has been proven to be an effective barrier. She used different protocols than what has been shown in labs to prevent spread. She used scrubs, gloves, mask and shield. Not a respirator and not the same level of protection as a fully enclosed hazmat suit. But this is what the protocols called for. She wasn't supposed to need a hazmat suit. This is the problem.

*shrug* Maybe it's perspective. Maybe it's word choice or semantics. Maybe "villainous" is a strong word. If you don't like my word choice, that's okay. Call it what you want. Here's one from the Times that makes a point of emphasizing how likely the nurse is at fault for breaching protocol, even though she says she didn't. But the emphasis seems to be on the suspicion that the nurse did not completely follow protocol, NOT that the protocol might be inadequate. Interestingly, here's another article that just came out where others agree with me and are a little "bristly" at the notion that it's the nurse's fault.

I agree with Katy and ashleysf. First, the world is in uncharted territory and no one really knows what is happening right now, much less where we're headed. There's just too much unknown, too much failure in infrastructure, etc. over in Africa to get a completely accurate picture. Secondly, I am very annoyed at the push the media is giving with blaming the nurse for not following protocol. I see no reason to assume that she did not do just what she said...EVERYTHING THEY TOLD HER TO DO, especially when viewed in light of what I said above. (Also, you can go back and read Katy's post toward the bottom of page 2. Very good post.) I don't have time to rant on the way the nurse is being villainized (from articles I've read), and it really isn't productive, but it appears to me that the media, or perhaps the medical professionals informing the media, are trying to use the nurse as a scapegoat to avoid a panic. But this is exactly what I do not want to see. DON'T SPIN, FABRICATE, OR LIE IN ANY OTHER MANNER IN SOME MISGUIDED ATTEMPT AT AVOIDING A "POSSIBLE" PANIC. They don't know how she got infected. So just admit it and say they're studying that and until they know for certain, let's focus on what we do know, and redirect the attention. I do this all. the. time. The media are experts at redirecting focus. They could do this easily. Edited to clarify: I'm talking about the media (in various news reports I've read) villainizing the nurse.

Don't know if it would work for you, but my parents replaced the legs on their table with shorter ones and now use it as a coffee table. It works great. You could also add cushions to the chairs and set them around the house for extra seating.

Can we not get this thread locked because people can't let go of things? Can we please just forget the she said I said/I didn't say/yes you did stuff and focus on the topic?

The grocery store I work in cleans their restrooms every hour. I have no doubt that the restroom surfaces (counter, sink, etc...maybe not necessarily the actual toilet!) are cleaner than the checkout lanes. HOWEVER, no matter how often we clean them, there is such poor ventilation, that when someone goes, it STINKS. If someone suddenly had stomach problems and rushed to the bathroom, then it's possible that the virus would be in the air in the restroom. Someone who gets sick with vomiting or diarrhea usually heads to the bathroom, and diarrhea and vomit can produce droplets that hang in the air, and there isn't the ventilation that would facilitate their removal. This is why I caution against restrooms. I've noticed the ventilation is an issue in many public restrooms, not just my store, too. But again, the caution is if ebola shows up in your area.

As has been mentioned, yes, it can survive on surfaces. Here's a very simple run down on how ebola is spread: Ebola has to enter your via infected fluids to fluid/membranes like through an open wound or the eyes, mouth, or nose. If you touch an infected surface and then touch your mouth, stick your finger in your nose, or rub your eyes, you're at risk of infection. If someone vomits or has explosive diarrhea or is coughing and the particles are in the air and you breathe them in or it gets in your eyes, you're at risk of infection. ---- Please understand: this is does not mean it's airborne! The particles won't stay in the air long enough to be considered that, but no one knows exactly how long they will be in the air...and poor ventilation and air circulation will help it to stay in the air longer, hence my cautions about restrooms! If you have an open wound that brushes against an infected person who is sweating heavily, then you're at risk of infection. None of the above is the case if the infected person is not experiencing symptoms! Just because you're exposed doesn't mean that you'll necessarily get it, but it appears that no one really knows how likely you are to catch it once exposed. I remember at least one case of exposure in a laboratory setting that did NOT result in ebola. Basic precautionary procedures if ebola shows up in your area, IMO: WASH THOSE HANDS! Don't touch your face. Keep open wounds covered well. Stay out of crowded and poorly ventilated areas. Avoid public restrooms at all costs. Avoid buffets and other gatherings that involve eating food. If you have to go to medical facilities, consider wearing a mask and goggles in addition to the above. Those aren't extreme measures, and are very common sense and non-panic inducing. (Though not so good for buffet restaurants.) How bad would it be for the media and officials to stress this?

I think there are many people who have a casual "this isn't something that will ever affect me" attitude and there are people who have a chicken little "the world is coming to an end" attitude. Then there are the people in between. It isn't a one or the other. I agree that there have been many who appear to believe that it is something that will never affect them, and that concerns me, too. The other end of the spectrum concerns me, too, but less so. If they want to hole up in their bunkers, I'm not going to worry about that. I believe we need to work really hard at maintaining a balance with this.

I don't look for it to get out of control here in the U.S., not likely anyway. But I do look for pockets of ebola activity. How large those pockets are, how many people are affected, what officials do to prevent spread beyond those pockets, and how people in these areas react are things I'm wondering about. I don't think Dallas is going to be last place ebola hits in America. What they do here hopefully will help others learn and respond better when it happens again. Understanding the risks of catching ebola, should it show up in your area, is very important, IMO. Downplaying it is dangerous. Hyping the risks is dangerous, too. At this point, I'm not unhappy with how the Dallas case has been handled with the media. We've been informed. Important questions have been asked. We've been given some answers and yet individual's privacy is still intact (the names haven't been splattered all over the media). SO FAR, so good. That could change quickly, though. I'd like to continue to see more of this kind of reporting: this is where it's at, this is what we're doing to keep it from spreading. I'd like to see less of the downplaying and more practical advice of what to do if it shows up in your area, kind of like what I listed in my earlier post. But I think many people think that might create some kind of hysteria or something. Warning people to avoid public restrooms and crowded areas if a contagious and deadly disease shows up in the area is not hysteria-producing. Warning people to be extra vigilant about washing hands and not touching their faces and keeping open wounds covered is not hysteria-producing. Bad thing I've noticed: Telling people that it is not spread through the air is just plain wrong, IMO. I cringe every time I read that. It's downplaying a risk, not correcting wrong assumptions or spreading accurate information. Not being airborne, and not being spread through the air are two different things. Understanding that droplets can spread the disease is important to preventing spread. How many minutes of air time or lines on the paper would it really take to explain this? Good thing I've noticed: Telling people that ebola isn't spread by people not showing symptoms. Someone has to have symptoms to spread the disease. The man in Dallas did not have symptoms until several days after flying, so the people that shared a plane with him do not need to worry about catching ebola. Understanding that we're in uncharted territory and this is something new to many, many people should mean that we need to be very careful about trying to compare the numbers to things we've faced before and know how to handle. It also means that we should be very practical and repetitious about what to do if it shows up in your area, because we don't know where this disease could hit next and we don't know how bad it could get, but we do know that it's become more deadly and more widely spread than original projections. So, downplaying the risks of it coming to your area is not going to help save lives. Having a plan and knowing what to do could. Hysteria and panic are thwarted through information and planning, not through dismissal and denial.

It was never a question of *if* ebola came to the U.S., it was a *when* and more importantly, what happens after that. Like others, I am not at all happy to hear that someone recently out of LIBERIA (one of the main countries with ebola) went to any sort of medical professional with symptoms and was sent home. That, to me, was a huge red flag that there is a breakdown somewhere. People, particularly the medical profession, are not taking this serious enough, are not receiving correct training or information, or something. On the other hand, I'm glad that they were truthful about it. I'm glad someone finally recognized it and got him into isolation and proper treatment. And I'm glad they're tracking down those that have been exposed. Those are good signs, to me. I'm still waiting to see where this leads. Hopefully, it will be a wake-up call to those who have not believed that it poses a problem for the U.S. It does. Maybe not to the scale of west Africa, but it WILL infect people in the U.S. and the more serious it is taken, then less people it will infect. I am also not very happy with all the reports I've read that seem to downplay its infectivity as though it's not something that will spread here in the U.S. I've spent the past few months attending ball games, school events, church events, and working at a grocery store. I don't know where others live that don't worry about the spread of non-aerosol viruses, but I've seen enough in the past three months to have absolutely no doubt that if it's not taken seriously, it could spread easily. With ebola, IMO, the biggest things to remember regarding transmission are that It's not aerosol, but droplets CAN carry the virus. Which means that if something like diarrhea or vomit or heavy coughing happens, droplets can be propelled into the air and stay there for who knows exactly how long. The most likely place this would cause a problem is in public restrooms with poor ventilation. It's transmitted through bodily fluids of any kind, not simply blood. Eyes in particular are susceptible. You don't have to breathe it in or have an open wound come in contact with it to be infected. The most likely way it would be transmitted here in the U.S. is the same for the flu, cold, noravirus, etc.: hands to face, except with ebola, that includes the eyes, not just the mouth or nose. Some of the most likely places for transmission that I've observed: high school football games where porta-potties are often available for the increase in bathroom use (this is the case for EVERY game I've been to this fall) restrooms in public facilities which often have very little ventilation, including doctor's offices and clinics grocery stores where sanitizing wipes are available, but not often used and conveyor belts, check-out registers, credit card machines, etc. are not wiped down often enough to prevent the spread of any sort of disease church or school gatherings where there are lots of little kids that like to touch their mouths/noses and then touch everything else, especially where food is served theatres, where people rushing to get back to the movie do NOT wash hands work and school, where people do not stay home if they are symptomatic. They wait until they are really sick. If they are simply symptomatic, they will be penalized for not showing up.--middle/high schools where kids swap desks which are not cleaned between classes. --work break rooms which are not cleaned that often --reception areas where people clock/sign in public transportation, including school buses medical offices and hospitals where symptomatic people would most likely go and sit and wait until they're called (if they're having stomach issues, the bathrooms in these areas could easily be a hot spot for transmission) The problem in America is not lack of the availability of hygiene measures, it's that so often People get rushed and don't take the time to follow decent procedures, and Illness is not something that many Americans really worry about avoiding. If they get it, they get it. They will take medicine or go to the doctor, and hopefully avoid missing work or school in the process. Most people do not stay home from work or school just because they are symptomatic. They wait until they are really sick. By that time, the disease has been spread. This doesn't mean that ebola is going to hit us as hard as Africa, hopefully not even remotely close, but to think that it won't come here (it already has) and that it won't spread just doesn't fit with my experiences on virus transmission. So, the question for me has always been, which areas of the country are going to be affected? How bad will it be in those areas? What procedures are going to be implemented once ebola has been discovered to be in an area? The case in Dallas is not off to the best start because he was not quarantined until after four days of being infectious. But it's being dealt with now, so I'm watching to see how well they track it down and keep it from spreading. I will be happy to see them containing this (which I believe they can do). It will be very concerning if they fail to catch all other cases and it spreads even more.

The Chromecast that I linked to (which works with a variety of platforms including android and iPad/iPhone) is only about $35, which is still more expensive that the $10 or so we spent on the cable, but that's a lot cheaper than $99.

Because cords are forever getting in the way and I hate having to deal with them! :001_smile: If XBox hadn't started offering Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming without having to purchase Gold, we'd have gotten one by now.

We bought an hdmi cord off Amazon, but if I had it to do over again, I'd get the Chromecast.

Your link requires you to log in to The New York Times. But here's a link to an article from the Times, I'm not sure if it's the same one you're talking about. What We're Afraid to Say about Ebola This came through Google News, so hopefully it won't require signing in. (I didn't have to when following from Google.) Anyway, yes, the potential to mutate is scary. I wonder just how badly this is going to affect Africa. When words like "decimated" and "unstoppable" are being used when talking about the outbreak in Africa, I fear this is already a TEOWAWKI event for Africa. :( I don't wonder about whether it will spread to other countries, including the U.S. I believe it will. I do wonder exactly what kind of spread we will see. It could get really bad in densely populated areas. On the other hand, other countries are forewarned, so they may be able to catch it before it ever gets a hold of an area, which I hope to be the case. When other outbreaks do happen, how bad will they be? There's just no way to know how bad this will be. It could be globally catastrophic, but I don't think that will be the case. But exactly how much this is going to change things and whether or not it comes to my area is still up in the air. (I live close to a major university which is involved in a lot of international travels through students coming in and programs, etc. going out, so there's a higher chance of it coming here than in another city that doesn't have this kind of influences.)

Part of the problem is very likely eating contaminated meat. But it's only one of many variables. I personally don't think the exponential spread comes from eating contaminated meat. But you raise some very good points. I know a lot of people that hunt for food. And we do have meat recalls because things occasionally are not properly handled and such. So, I guess it's not just people carrying it over that we need to be watching.

Ebola Outbreak is a "Serious Threat" to Liberia's Existence Oxford study predicts 15 more countries are at risk of Ebola exposure The more this spreads, the more likely it is to come here. And as some others have pointed out, we have enough of a problem with viruses being spread around that I feel that if Ebola comes here, it's going to spread, too. Without knowing exactly how easily this might spread inside *our* society, I don't know what level of precautions to take. Apparently, it's easily spread in west Africa, but they live differently than we do, so I don't really expect the same here. BUT knowing that if you do catch this virus, you can toss a coin as to whether you will survive it or not makes it worse than any other virus that's gone around. The enterovirus, the flu, the noravirus, etc....when things like this go around, I make note and stock up on supplies and double my efforts at washing hands and avoiding exposure. This is different, IMO, so I'm watching it much more closely. BTW, this whole epidemic is like watching 9/11, or the tsunami that hit India, or the one that hit Japan. It's surreal, but yet you know that it IS REAL, and that so, so many people are dead and dying and going to die because of it. :(