Dear Programmer,

I downloaded Visual Studio Express for free for a class, and it's not limited to students. You can find it here. If you're interested, you can try the full Visual Studio 90-day free trial here.

-Owlet, with thanks to Laser Jock, who has a lot more info below and pretty much wrote my answer too. He's the bomb.

Dear Future Programmer,

You're right, programming has gotten a lot more accessible; there's a proliferation of free software that you can use instead of having to rely on something commercial (and expensive). Owlet pointed out a good free one for Windows (Visual Studio Express); you can download a version for each of several different languages, including Visual Basic, C++, and C#. These provide you with both an IDE (integrated development environment, or a program similar to a text editor that gives you code completion, syntax highlighting, and other nice programming-related features), and a compiler. You don't have access to all of Microsoft's APIs, as far as I can tell, but it's still not bad for Windows. This would be most similar to what you used before.

However, you have other options, too. Curious Physics Minor suggested Eclipse, Anjuta, IntelliJ, and NetBeans (and there are more!) for IDEs. NetBeans is a good alternative to Visual C++ for C/C++ support, and it also has great support for Java and PHP. Eclipse is focused on Java, but is great for a number of other languages too, with plugins (I use one for Python for instance). IntelliJ is focused on Java but supports more languages than I can list. Anjuta is for Linux and supports C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python and Vala. As you can see, the list goes on.

For most of the IDEs I listed you'll also need a compiler, which fortunately is easy too. One of the most widely used compilers is probably gcc, which supports C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada, and Go. It's available for Windows via MinGW and Cygwin. Most other languages also have free compilers/interpreters: Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Scheme,  etc.

Personally, I tend to use Eclipse quite a bit for Java and Python; for C, I've mostly just used a plain text editor and gcc on the command line (I haven't written any huge C programs); and I'm trying out Ruby lately, using a customized version of Eclipse called Aptana Studio that has nice support for Ruby (and Rails).

—Laser Jock

Dear scaredy cat,

Dear B+ Student,

It's open enrollment. You have to meet with a faculty member, but at least when I did, it was more of a technicality. The meeting lasted about 45 seconds, and then it was over. You'll be just fine.

-Ace

Dear chicken,

I called Dining Services and the Cougareat, and all they could say was that there aren't any plans, but it's a possibility. As you probably know, they welcome suggestions, and you can contact them here. I'm not sure what happened with the supposed opening in February, but as of right now they have nothing definite.

-Owlet

Dear Friend,

While most people go through different hardships in life, and different degrees of challenges, I believe that most of us have felt what you feel. We all want to feel accepted and loved and feel like our efforts are enough. We've all been through times where we feel like repentance would be too hard or too scary or too complicated. We've all had moments where we lack the willpower to change, even though we want a different course of life. The most important thing you need to know is that going through these hardships makes you a normal person, just like we all are. And it's hard, and seems impossible at times, but somehow there's a way for us all to get through it. 

You seem like you've had a lot of time to think about what's going on in your life and what you're feeling and what you want to have happen. From what you've written here, it seems like your biggest desire is to feel accepted. But what you need to understand is that the most important acceptance you need is not from us writers, from your new ward family, or even from your bishop (though talking to him is important, and I'll get to that later). The kinds of acceptance I think you most need are: self-acceptance, and acceptance from your Heavenly Father (the same acceptance that Christ talks about in Matthew 25:23).

In your situation, you're already very aware of what steps you should take to gain self-acceptance. You've shown that, for you to be happier with yourself, you actually need to pull yourself in line with what you know is acceptance from God. And you've shown that to you, that means getting up the strength and courage to get over your sins, get help from your bishop, and feel the glow that comes from believing that you're doing the right thing. You've voiced that none of those things are easy, and I understand that; it's usually hardest to get over our problems when we're stuck in the middle of them all. So you need someone to get you on the right path. You got it: your bishop. These guys are good; even when I've heard stories of a bishop who's strange or a bit awkward, they're always super helpful and want to get people through the repentance process so they can go on to live happier and more fulfilling lives. You've said that you don't want to get judged by your new ward for not taking the sacrament. That's THEIR problem. And from my point of view, I think well of people who aren't taking the sacrament, because my assumption is that they've had the courage to talk to their leaders and are working through some stuff. You need to get your life back on track; even if you can't take the sacrament for a while, it'll be worth it. I had a friend a few years back going through the same problem; when they finished up following all the guidelines their bishop gave them and were able to take the sacrament, their joy was immense and I had never seen them so happy. 

Normally we suggest that people get counseling, since none of us are therapists. But since you've already got that covered, your priesthood leadership is who is responsible for getting you the rest of the way through things. It's something you just need to do. All I can give you is my opinion (and I hope it's helped you). I recommend you call NOW, as in this very second, before you finish reading this answer, and schedule an interview with your bishop for as soon as he is available. All that will be left to do at that point is go. And you'll be blessed and on the way to a happier life.

Oh, and in response to your 'nym that you signed: it's impossible for any of us to be good enough when the standard set for us is perfection. But our Father is happy enough to see us just moving upward, even if it's just in little steps. So go get on the phone with your bishop and start climbing. That will be enough of a step to get started.

Hoping and rooting for you,

Tootles

Dear girl,

I think the most important thing you can do right now is learn to love yourself, regardless of your flaws. I'm not saying you should disregard your problems--sin is sin--but you are a daughter of your Heavenly Father and you are of infinite worth to Him, regardless of what you've done. You're right--you are not a bad person. You are absolutely not a bad person. You are a wonderful human being with a tragically common human weakness.

Don't expect too much from yourself too quickly. Addictions are hard to break, and even harder when depression is thrown into the mix. Start small. I don't know your situation, so I can't tell you how to do that, but set small goals, work towards them, and don't worry as much about the big picture. If you read porn and masturbate every time you go through a depressive episode, make it your goal to get through one entire episode without masturbating--even if you do give in and read pornography, and even if you don't make it through the episode before or the episode after. And then keep working at that goal. Maybe now you can make it through once a month, so next month, make it twice a month. Keep building up. When you're more consistently meeting that goal, start working on something a bit bigger, like staying away from pornographic stories entirely. Be patient with yourself. Healing is a long and gradual process, so don't beat yourself up for not seeing results immediately. Quitting cold turkey is a good ideal, but it almost never actually happens. I quit cold turkey about once a week for two years, and it was horribly frustrating. Peace and progress came when I quit measuring my success by whether I was perfect and started measuring it by whether I was doing better than the week or month before.

I'm sure you already know this, but you need to keep going to therapy. I'm sure it doesn't seem like it, but masturbation is not your problem in and of itself, it's a symptom of depression and stems from deeper problems. You need to fight masturbation, but I think it's even more important for you to work on overcoming your depression, and even more, work on overcoming whatever deeper issue is provoking your depression. Try to cut the connection between that issue and depression, or cut the connection between depression and masturbation.

You've probably heard the suggestion to use some sort of internet blocker. I think that's a good idea, but don't rely on it--it's only as effective as you let it be. In fact, I'd say you probably shouldn't start using one until you think you're at a point where you're capable of letting it stop you, so that you don't get into the habit of finding ways around it. An internet blocker's purpose is not to stop you from getting on sites you need to avoid, it's to give you an extra several seconds or minutes to realize what you're doing and give you the chance to make yourself stop.

It's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking of God as just continually demanding more and more and more of you. I promise you, that is not how God works. Yes, God will always ask you to stretch yourself to your full capacity, but He does not ask more of you than you are capable of doing. And He does not demand perfection immediately, or even in the long run in mortality. We seem to think so often that because mortality is a test, we all have to either pass it or lose our chance at entering the Celestial Kingdom. Here's the problem with that--we all fail. Every. Single. One. Nobody is perfect. Nobody measures up to God's standards. Nobody overcomes all of their trials. Everybody sins and will keep sinning as long as they are alive. And guess what? That's okay. The standard of perfection that we've invented is not what God asks of us--He will ask it of us someday, but that day will come long, long, long after mortality is over. In this life, we cannot and will not be perfect and God does not expect anything else of us. This is not a license to sin indiscriminately. We are still responsible for our actions, and we are still required to repent, and we are still required to make ourselves better. But we can never save ourselves. Only the grace of Jesus Christ can save us, and you don't have to be perfect to be healed through repentance and grace--in fact, if perfection were a prerequisite, that would defeat the entire purpose.

Please, learn to love yourself regardless of your flaws. Love yourself when you're at your best. Love yourself when you make any progress, no matter how small. And love yourself when you are at your absolute worst. Love yourself when you can't make yourself get out of bed. Love yourself when you're feeling utterly miserable. Love yourself when your family's problems feel utterly overwhelming. Love yourself when you have given in to sin and feel like you can never escape. Love all of yourself, always. Don't punish yourself for the things you do wrong. Life is already punishing you enough; you absolutely do not need to add to that. If you can't love yourself yet, at least learn not to hate or punish yourself.

I promise you, you are still worthy of love. God loves you. There are many, many people who are willing to love you for who you are, regardless of your struggles. I know we've never met and I know next to nothing about you, but if nothing else, know that I love you. I know it might not mean all that much, and I know that it's so hard to remember and feel and believe when you're feeling terrible, but I do love you, and I wish I could be there for you and help you through everything. So if nothing else, please at least try to remember that. I'll be praying for you.

-a writer

Dear Amity,

From my extensive research, there is NOTHING on this green earth that can retroactively count your key and mouse usage (I found this application that counts your mouse usage after you download it, but I wouldn't trust it; it looks kinda shady and home-written). But since you asked if there's a way to estimate it, I can run it through the Tootles Magical Estimatographafator. It can only calculate annual usage, so you'll need to multiply the following results by 7 to get your overall usage. But on the bright side, it offers commentary! Here's the results!

"A, E, I, O, and U - Probably like 36,000 times. Vowels are a big deal (except for Y, which is only used to end names and adverbs).

Y - 12. Just 12. You're a good writer, and you choose descriptive verbs that have no need of -ly type adverbs.

B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K - Only 12,843 uses each. Good consonants, but not really a huge deal.

L, M, N, P, T - 26,999 uses, except for L which gets a +1,000 power-up for being the most simple lower-case letter in the alphabet.

Master User, I have anomalies to report. Here are the results that yielded non-numerical values:

R, S, and Return - ∞.

Q, V, W, X, Z - &#($&@%!* [the Estimatographafator has never output something like this before. I'll have to get the technicians on it ASAP].

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 - DNE.

Function and Utility Keys - (∫ 32x^4-arcsin(42x^2) dx) +2; -7 ≤ x ≤ 42 [I hope you can do integral calculus; the TME is good, but it's no Wolfram-Alpha]."

Well, there you have it. I think I see a pillar of smoke coming from the TME's logic motor; I gotta run and take care of that. Enjoy your new computer!

-Tootles

Dear Driver,

I'm fairly certain that most of the parking beyond the JFSB parking booth is enforced until 7:00 pm, so the guard usually gets off and raises the gate sometime around then. Unless you have a really good reason, they won't let you past with a student ID.

--Maven

Dear Gedanken,

I'm thinking you'd notice pretty much immediately. There are several broad areas of life that depend, at some fundamental level, on an understanding of quantum mechanics.

First of all, electronics. Modern electronics depend heavily on our understanding of semiconductors, which depends on quantum mechanics. Things as fundamental as the transistor (used by the billion in modern CPUs) would not have been invented without understanding quantum mechanics. So you'd walk into the Wilk and see no electronic cash registers, nothing computerized,* no flat-panel monitors. No Internet. No cell phones, let alone smart phones. No tablets. You wouldn't see anyone sitting and studying with their laptop. Only analog watches (no electronic ones). And so on.

Secondly, the laser.** The laser is a fundamentally quantum mechanical device. And without lasers, so many things wouldn't exist: the obvious examples are CD / DVD / Blu-Ray, and more obscure examples include barcode scanners in supermarkets and libraries. But even beyond that, lasers allow for a level of precision in measurement and manufacturing that is unparalleled; we use lasers to measure the distance to the moon, to cut and weld materials, and more. They're also used for communications; fiber optics (used in high-speed Internet connections, including the biggest ones making up the "backbone" of the Internet) use laser diodes as their light source (not that it would matter without electronics, I suppose). You'd definitely notice the lack of electronics first, but I'm betting you'd see the lack of lasers soon-ish too.

Electron microscopes and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are two more examples, although you wouldn't notice their absence just walking around the Wilk. Medicine would be behind where it is now, though, so you would probably notice the difference if you ever had to go to the hospital.

Personally, I'm glad all of these things do exist.

—Laser Jock

Dear Feeling,

Once upon a time, I was on a trip to see my grandparents in California. However, I had a major crush on a boy back home, and in an effort to stay connected with him (because I was one of the very few teenagers who thought that hanging with friends was much better than hanging with family), we arranged to play Starcraft together while I was gone. One day I got online hoping he'd be available to chat and play. During some solitary play versus the computer, I got a message from my crush, but with a different game handle than the one he'd been using when we played before. He said that he'd changed it. Content to finally hear from him, we played a "fastest map" game or two. Eventually we got to chatting, which is what I really wanted to do anyway. Our conversation took a turn toward our feelings for each other. To my surprise, he outright said he liked me! And so, feeling confident, I responded likewise. I was so giddy and twitterpated! My first juvenile requited love!

That was, until my brother came downstairs, shouting, "I KNEW IT!" and brandishing a picture of my online confession to my supposed crush with his "new" handle.

Lesson learned, Internet, lesson learned.

--Maven

Dear forever and always my life,

I've never straight-up told someone I liked them. Never. I think I'd be more down with saying that now, but when I was younger, I'd rather hurl myself off the Kimball tower than admit my feelings.

Not to say I haven't given strong hints before. In my younger years, these hints were completely on accident. Uncontrollable giggling, being physically unable to resist calling a boy, not-so-sneaky friends, the whole shebang. I do not recommend this middle school route. It ends about as well as you can imagine. (Poorly. It ends poorly.)

Now, the more mature version of hinting works very well. Perhaps because the hints were more orchestrated, perhaps because I'm less of a weirdo than I was when I was 14, but actions like meaningful glances, arm and leg pressure, and of course, discussing your feelings with your crush's roommates will yield much more positive results.

-serendipity

Dear awkwardawkwardawkward,

Yeah, for sure I have! Multiple times. I kind of fall in like easily. Which is not to say that the guys I fall in like with shouldn't feel deeply honored by my affection.

I've only ever told a guy I liked him, was interested in him, or wanted to date him more after we'd been on a couple dates and it came up naturally. I've never just confessed my feelings to someone I hadn't been on a date with or had a crush on a long-time friend that I had to confess, so I don't know what that's like. Since it came up naturally, it wasn't really awkward and didn't really have awkward consequences. 

Well okay, not awkward except for one time which is hilarious and strange enough to tell about. There was this guy who had been asking me out repeatedly for a few weeks and finding every spare moment to see me. We spent time together almost every day from the day I met him, and he seemed pretty attracted to me. Though I was uncertain how much I liked him, as he was a bit... quirky, I was tired of things being in stupid unofficial limbo land and liked him enough to raise the question, so I did: I asked him if he wanted to date me exclusively, since things seemed to be headed that way. He looked at me with complete and utter shock, as if I had revealed to him I was actually an alien sent to Earth to warn earthlings of an impending asteroid hit. He made some excuse about how things wouldn't work, turned on his heel, and left. Then he never contacted me again. Well, okay, one time a few weeks later he said "hi" when he saw me walking to class. But that was it. He was a strange, strange person.

A bit of parting advice for the single, female readership: if you like a guy, just let it be known in some (socially acceptable) way. Ask him out. Flirt. Seriously, men are not psychic and they will not magically notice your secret burning crush on them unless you send some kind of clear signal.

–Concealocanth

Dear awkward,

Once upon a time, I confessed my feelings directly to a good friend of mine. They were not reciprocated, and we went on being friends just like before without any awkwardness whatsoever. The end.  

Moral of the story: sometimes maturity is really boring. 

-The Entropy Ninja

Dear Lucy,

Congratulations on your post-mission success! It's hard recreating your own persona, and I think it's stellar that you were able to stick to your goal and get it done. I've done this at points in my life too, and it's so refreshing to know you have the power to change yourself. But now you're at what's usually the hard part when you're trying to reinvent yourself: not falling back into the old patterns. This is usually where most peoples' New Year's Resolutions, long-term goals, and hopeful plans get abandoned. So, how do you fight your urges and maintain the personality you've been working so hard on cultivating?

That kinda depends on how much of this new persona you want to keep. If I were in your position, I'd be willing to cave a bit. Not completely, but I'd be okay with starting to (but not completely) close off relationships with other people in favor of this one guy. Believe it or not, some people can actually sense that shift in devotion. Or maybe it would be wiser to keep on like you are right now. There isn't really a manual for relationships (oh that there were!), so it's really up to you. The transition from casual dating to an official couple is a little different from couple to couple, so you get to write your own story! Oh, and one last piece of advice: if things don't work out the first time, that's okay. You haven't dated a lot, and sometimes it takes a relationship or two to figure out how things work before you feel comfortable in the dating scene. The important thing is, you'll get there. Just stay relaxed, follow your heart, and enjoy the ride!

-Tootles

Dear Needy,

Yep—just don't get fired.

-Ace

Dear ISWNM,

You should also be aware that the ABA puts special restrictions on first-year law students in terms of how many hours they can work. I took a quick glance, and the restrictions seem to roughly parallel BYU's, so you shouldn't have problems—but be aware that the law school may get nervous and want to keep tabs on how much you're working.

No Dice

Dear Henry,

Almost certainly not, though an outcome like selling a company for more than a billion bucks is going to be extraordinarily unlikely with any set of inputs, even David Karp's, so even taking a stab at a differential is kind of an exercise in futility.

Not sure if there's anything else to say here.

No Dice

Dear Vampiress,

The gas lines to the stove run through or behind the wall of the pantry. When the boy wedges himself in tightly, he knocks a sharp edge of a can or a tool against a gasline and it opens a hairline fracture. He doesn't recognize the smell of the gas, but becomes dizzy and struggles to get out. He flails around to get out, tries to grab the pull-cord of the hanging lightbulb, but yanks too hard, causing the bulb to break and spark. The spark ignites the gas and there you go. Or maybe one of the boys was using the stove and left the burner on when the hide and seek game started, so the boy in the pantry, when he cracks the gas line accidentally, doesn't even realize that on the other side of the wall is an open flame.

You might also consider some flammable stuff that people sometimes keep in kitchen pantries. There doesn't need to be any gas leak. These could include matches or lighters, lantern oil, or (in a box of medicine/remedies) rubbing alcohol or acetone. Perhaps at the back of the pantry, behind some canisters of old beans, is an old box of faulty wiring. He slides the canisters aside, wriggles in, and accidentally kicks the box, causing a wire to spark.

Another possibility, if the kitchen pantry part isn't crucial to your story, you could have the boy hide somewhere in the house where there is already an active flame, something like the pilot light of an old water heater or furnace. Those are often kept in closed, dark cabinets or basements and old gas lines might easily be damaged by sometime climbing around near them. So if the boy were to try to hide behind a water heater, and he were to break the valve controlling the flow of gas, and there were some kind of spark a fire could easily spread that way. I don't think you need to come up with a Rube Goldberg-series of properly placed things in order for a house to burn down, especially an old house.

- Rating Pending (who jumped on this question because he gets to refer to this story about a woman who lit a snake on fire when it scared her, but then it went and burned down her house)

Dear DJ,

It appears that none of us have specific experience with or connections to UCDH. I read some reviews to get a general sense of student satisfaction, and while there were a few concerns about the high cost, most of what I read was positive, and many reviewers mentioned the high job placement rate of their peers. I would recommend that you contact the college with your concerns; you could even ask for information about alumni who would be willing to speak with you. UCDH also has a Facebook page where you could try posting your questions and asking for advice. Good luck!

-The Entropy Ninja

Dear Oscar,

They use @yahoo-inc.com addresses.

—Laser Jock

Dear choco,

It doesn't seem like any of us have gone through this experience. I don't think you sound vain, necessarily, but I think what you're going through has a lot more to do with self-confidence than this coworker. You're used to being wanted for your looks and appearance, but you can't rely on that anymore.

It also seems like you think desirable and attractive are synonymous. Just because you're not looking to attract men doesn't mean you you can't put yourself together and look attractive. The point of looking good isn't to attract suitors; it's to make yourself feel good. It sounds like you don't feel good about yourself anymore because you're married, and you don't have guys saying how great you look. That doesn't mean you look bad or old.

Once again, I have no real experience here; I just want to stress that you shouldn't let others determine your happiness. You're not an old lady—you're married. There's a difference.

-Ace

Dear Cuttlefish Salad,

I checked with two former roommates who served in different parts of the UK. One said that he was pretty sure that salt was used more than pepper, and the other said he didn't notice any sort of trend.

-yayfulness

Dear Joan,

I think you're talking about a quote from a talk President Monson gave in October 1996 titled, "Be Thou an Example." Here it is:

The concept of fast offerings appears as early as the time of Isaiah when, speaking of the true fast, he encouraged people to fast and "to deal thy bread to the hungry, and ... bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." The Prophet Joseph instituted the practice of collecting fast offerings for the poor in Kirtland, Ohio; and later at Nauvoo, Illinois, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles sent a general letter to the Church defining "the principle of fasts," stating: "Let this be an ensample to all saints, and there will never be any lack for bread: When the poor are starving, let those who have, fast one day and give what they otherwise would have eaten to the bishops for the poor, and every one will abound for a long time; and this is one great and important principle of fasts approved of the Lord. And so long as the saints will all live to this principle with glad hearts and cheerful countenances they will always have an abundance."

-Ace

Dear Wet Socks,

What's this? A question addressed to me? Well, I must say, I'm flattered.

First off, I should mention that camping in the rain can be a blast. If you are prepared for it, and if it only rains for a day or so. Any longer than that, and it can get a little old. But! If you're ready for it, it's awesome! There's something about sitting in a tent, listening to the rain, the birds chirping softly, playing an intense card game, smelling the fresh scent of trees, ...... oh, yeah!

In the best case scenario, you would already be camping for a day, anticipating the rain to come in the middle of your trip. Packing and unpacking camping gear in the rain isn't fun. There's a lot going on here, so I decided to organize my thoughts by starting out with how I would set up the camping place, and going from there.

1. Decide where you are going to stick your tent. You'll want a tree at each of the four corners of the tent-site. Clear the area of rocks, and make sure it's flat.

2. Lay a tarp down that is slightly larger than the perimeter of your tent. This will help the tent stay dry if the ground underneath gets soggy.

3. Put up your tent and stake it to the ground. Gather four Idaho-potato-sized rocks. Put the rocks in the inside corners of your tent. This helps your tent stay stable in the event that the wind gets really nasty. Unzip the windows so that the tent can air out  while you finish unpacking. Unpack the rain fly,  but don't use it until you need it. Put it in an easily-accessible spot.

4. Dig a six-inch trench around your tent, about two feet from your tent wall. Dig an extra channel that leads from the main trench that runs downhill, away from the tent (a bit like a lasso). Decide where you want to do your cooking. This should be several feet away from your tent, to prevent tent combustion. Dig a "lasso" around the fire pit, just as you did with the tent.

5. Tie a single gigantic tarp to a tree at each end of the tent site and cooking/picnic area, angling the tarp to one side of the tent for runoff. The tarp should be about 7 feet off the ground at the low end, and 9 feet off the ground at the high end.

6. Keep your firewood/charcoal briquettes in a dry place. When cooking in the rain, drizzle your firewood with wax: It's a good fire starter.

7. Break out the dutch oven and get the fire/briquettes going. While you're waiting, prepare the food of your choice. It could be stew, cinnamon rolls, pizza, chicken and rice; the yummy possibilities are endless.

8. When the rain comes, don't be afraid to put on your coat and cheap plastic poncho and go out for a nature walk. It'll be fun!

-Squirrel

The 100 Hour Board is not be responsible for any camping accidents that may include, but are not limited to chipmunk infestation, burglary of your teddy bear by raccoons, tents catching on fire, caterpillars falling on your head, bears attempting to break into the bear box, moose denting your car with their pointy hooves, and blue jays stealing your toast. Please be kind and courteous to other campers, and obey all campground rules and national and state laws. Use common sense. Don't be stupid.

Dear Oregano,

Congratulations on your mission call!

I asked my favorite former companion's mother (technically she asked for me) who is, with her husband, serving as the mission presidents in one of the Sao Paulo missions. She said that in Sao Paulo (which is a huge city), you can get all the American brands, but they are pricey. She wasn't sure sure if the local brands are of the same quality, but they are working for millions of Brazilians, so somehow you'll get along. If you get really worried, you can call the mission president's wife (I did that with general clothing questions, it was invaluable!) for specifics.

I will say, in Australia, we could never (ever, ever!) find brands that had an applicator, which was so weird to me. Somehow you just learn to adapt and add any deviation from the norm to your list of weird "Guess what I had to do!" experiences you can share at dinner parties.

If all else fails, your parents and close friends can use them like packing peanuts in any packages they send you. Also, not that you asked, but the same former companion lived in Brazil when she was little (because her parents were there on a work assignment) and she said there was a lot of mail theft that you can prevent by putting stickers of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on packages. I don't know if that tip still holds true, but it worked for them back then.

-Marguerite St. Just

Dear Jotunheim,

After some extensive googling, neither No Dice nor I were able to find anything even approaching a reliable source for the quote, except for a claim on Goodreads that it appears in Nixon's memoirs (but no mention whatsoever of a page number or any sort of context). Without anything else to back it up, I'm going to guess that Nixon didn't say it. The HBLL has a copy of the book, though, so if you feel like scouring its 1120 pages to try to find the right set of five words, you're welcome to do so.

-yayfulness

Dear Jot and Tittle, 

I'm going to also guess that Nixon didn't actually say it, but in any case, let's give dubiously attributed Nixon the benefit of the doubt here! I mean, maybe he was making a deep comment on synonyms in the English language. Or maybe he was summing up the problems he was facing in chemistry experiments. 

If I had a little boy cat, I'd name him Nixon.

–Concealocanth

Dear Curious,

I think we all have our specialties. For instance, I could spend a great deal of time looking up answers to science questions, but I know that others can do it easier and better. There's no set rule saying Eirene takes all the questions related to med school, but she knows it best right now, so she has a tendency to rock those, while I tend to jump on other subjects. I think the subjects we gravitate to have little to do with our research capabilities and much more to do with what we already know. 

-Ace

Dear Loving a wolf lover,

You're in luck! I found two options for you. The Hogle Zoo has a wolf exhibit that you can visit.  It seems that it's not a hands-on program, but you can watch the pack, and it definitely looks like it's worth the visit. For a more interactive experience, you can schedule a private event with the Wolf Totem Ambassadors. From what I gather in this article, you can pet the wolves and spend some time with them and their handlers! The Ambassadors visit zoos, schools, and libraries, but are willing to do all sorts of events to raise awareness. You can contact them at WolfTotemAmbassadors@Gmail.com. If you want to find out more about what they do, you can follow their blog or Facebook page.  

Have fun! 

-Squirrel

Dear PJ, 

Congratulations on going on your first date! I'm sure you will have tons of fun. You're right, clothing is important, especially when doing physical exercise. You didn't mention if you had anything else other than sweatpants and jeans, so if you have cotton or canvas shorts, I think those would be your best bet. If you only have jean shorts and sweatpants, I think you should wear the ones that are the most comfortable, without worrying too much about how they look. Date Guy is't going to expect a runway look because you're going hiking. He won't be wearing his best clothes, either.

If it were me, I would go for comfort first, then think of how I could make the outfit cute. For instance I would pick out some lightweight shorts and a t-shirt. Then I might add a matching bandana, and grab my mini hiking backpack* with miniature water bladder, my Yellowstone bison baseball cap, and put my hair in either a ponytail or braids. I'd lean more toward a ponytail, but only because of Board Question #61637. You could also wear sunglasses (keeping in mind Board Question #71951), and earrings if you want to look extra cute, but I'd only wear posts. Dangly earrings while hiking always looks incredibly silly. 

If you have trouble with excessive sweating, make sure you have an antiperspirant/deodorant combo. Also, you might want to think about the other areas of your torso that sweat a lot too. There isn't a rule that you can only use deodorant on your armpits. That's all I'm going to say about that. Also, I've heard of girls wearing undershirts with sleeves, because they catch the underarm moisture better than just a plain old cami. 

As for the after-date text, I'd take Board Question #61991's advice and only text if you like the guy and want to go out on another date. I think if you keep it casual, and don't make it love-letter-esque, it will send the message** that you still want to keep it casual, but that you like him.

Have fun on your date! And remember, "just beeee yourself!"

-Squirrel

*The one that has the "I made it to the top" pin. It impresses the guys, and it's a conversation starter. I wonder if Canthy still has hers....

**Pun!

Dear you have taught me a new word,

I'm going to be honest here and say that as a guy, I probably wouldn't remember what you wore. At all. Unless it was something spectacularly unusual and bad. I am trying to think back right now and remember what any girl was wearing when I went on a date with her, and I'm drawing a complete blank. I'm not saying you shouldn't take some time to find the right thing to wear. I'm just saying you should rarely, if ever, stress out about the impression it'll make on a guy. As long as you use good common sense and don't do anything extreme or horribly unsuitable, then as far as he is concerned, you're probably just fine. Your choice of clothing, more than anything else, should be based on promoting your own comfort and self-confidence.

-yayfulness

Dear juggernaut,

There are lots of cute activewear options that will let you be comfortable hiking without looking like a total scrub. A "mesh" or "tech" top will help wick away moisture and keep you cool (a regular cotton t-shirt is also fine; odds are good that's what he'll be wearing). For bottoms, I'd look at activewear shorts (like running shorts or basketball shorts, or something else made of thin, flexible fabric like these or these). Stretchy yoga capris are really cute but probably not as cool and comfortable as activewear shorts (still better than jean shorts, though).

If you don't have any clothes like that, you don't have to spend tons of money; just check out the activewear sections of stores like Old Navy, Target, or even Walmart for some good deals (and bonus—once you have some workout/active clothes, you'll have something to wear for any other times when you want to play volleyball or go for a walk or run).

- Eirene

Dear what the Portia????!!!

I would do either one of the following:

1. Slowly dilute your sugary drinks. For instance, when you drink soda/pop, pour it into a glass first,* leaving one-tenth of the glass empty.** Then substitute that part with either diet soda, or some other drink that is less sugary than the pop you are drinking. Slowly increase the amount of substitute until you are only drinking diet soda or the non-sugary substitute and can't tell the difference.

Along with that, there are some juice carbonation machines on the market that you might be interested in, though they are quite expensive. However, if your need is that great, it could be something you might want to look into. You might find that you actually end up saving money, since you wouldn't be buying any more soda. Laser Jock brought up the point that unsweetened juice actually has more calories than soda (and about the same amount of sugar). He also thought of using Crystal Light instead of juice (thanks, Laser Jock!), so you could make your own fizzy Crystal Light, if it's the carbonation you like the taste of.

2. Drink one less glass/can of sweetened beverage a week than you did the week before. Before you know it, you'll be drinking one can of ultra-sweetened beverage a day, then one a week. 

 I hope this helps. 

-Squirrel

* This method would work better if you bought the two-liter bottles of soda/pop, instead of having half-filled cans of flat soda/pop.

**I don't mean that you should end up with a completely full glass. Leave room so you don't spill, obviously.

Dear you,

I'm not aware of any specifically geared classes for potential homeschoolers, there are several classes that may be tangentially relevant, such as:

• A practicum class for one of the education majors (or even a 276 class). Maybe see if you can just audit the lecture portion.
• Building Historical Literacies (400-level history class to learn about teaching history skills)
• Adolescent Development (SC Ed)
• Principles of Learning (Psych)