Get him a baby sized fire retardant racing suit or a firefighter coat. It will remind his parents that if they die and his religious development is left to you he'll go straight to hell.
Along the lines of the investment theme, when one of my nephews was born, I got him 1 share of Disney and a framed animation cell of Grumpy. You could also go the Michael Corleone route and just have a bunch of people whacked that day, including the kid's father.
Nothing says "I'll protect your child if something happens to you" like an intricately planned and executed string of murders. He may be on to something there.
Another post that will likely go unanswered, but: has anyone here donated bone marrow? What was entailed, in time/pain/etc? What were the risks and likelihood of risks, from your perspective? Anything else I should know as a potential donor, something common resources don't address?
I signed up as a marrow donor and was matched up with a patient. I went through the entire process up to and including scheduling the procedure before the recipient either died or recovered on their own (they give you very little information about the recipient) so I'm familiar with that part of the process. You have to fill out some paperwork and have a fairly thorough physical to make sure you're healthy enough to donate. This part doesn't take much time and it's a free physical and blood work. As for the actual donation you may either have it done under general anesthesia or with a local block and IV sedation. You pretty much have the standard risks of minor surgery. The most significant are complications from general anesthesia and post-op infection. The recovery is supposed to be pretty easy but I can't speak to that personally. I did a bunch of research before agreeing to donate so I might be able to answer some other questions.
Its time for a new work laptop. I just went to Newegg and Tigerdirect and my head is spinning. I want something fast, reliable, with a large display 15" preferred, and it should be around $1,500 so I don't get hassled by accounting. Help an overwhelmed brother out.
Might do better to post in the tech forum. 15" display takes you out of the realm of most really portable laptops (that is, you're not looking at lightweight machines, more looking at performance machines). Is that okay? And are your priorities more on speed, or battery life, or display quality? Frankly, I love Lenovo machines. The Lenovo W520 is pretty sweet and hits your price range. It's not super light, but the business class Lenovos are durable as hell, have great support, and for <$1400, you can have a solid state drive, 4gb of memory (upgradable of course, if you want more speed), a dedicated graphics card and a good display: <a class="postlink" href="http://goo.gl/9enjL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://goo.gl/9enjL</a> I've supported a lot of laptops, and the business class Lenovo laptops are the ones that least come back broken, or hated by the owner in my experience.
Wasn't sure where in the Tech Forum to post this, so my apologies: I have a shitload of NPR All Things Considered in my Itunes that I want to burn to a disc for my Sister. Each episode is over an hour, so CD's are out, but she can listen to DVD's on some device she's got. Itunes will only burn audio CD's or data DVD's - any suggestions on software for burning DVD's? Free to cheap is the preferred price I'm looking for here...
If any lawyers on the board are down for a few quick questions, I would be extremely happy. I'm in the middle of trying to get paid by this guy who's owed me since 7 months ago, and he's giving me lip. I just want to know where I stand. Obviously you wouldn't be held to anything and I know full well that this is legal advice distributed over the internet to be taken lightly. Just shoot me a PM if you'd be down for sparing a few minutes.
These sorts of questions pop up on this board from time to time so I have a helpful tidbit for anyone wanting legal advice here. Obviously, the best advice is not to ask here, but that aside, always include the relevant state for your dispute. For example, I'm a NY and MA lawyer. I can give you advice regarding NY law and MA law, federal law, and to some degree discuss general trends. But if you're in Virginia and you have a Virginia legal question, there's shit-all I can do to help and it would be a violation of professional ethics for me to do so. Other lawyers here are some mix of other states, Ballsack is in Nebraska I think? The other thing is that, much like with the giant disclaimer post for Dr. Rob's advice, lawyers should, theoretically, have a bunch of disclaimers too which is somewhat tedious for all involved but something to be prepared for.
The CFA Level I Alright folks, so I am going to have my company sponsor me for the CFA Level 1 exam. I will be taking the one in December since I do not have enough time to prep for the June exam. Is anyone here a CFA or taken the CFA level I? What worked for those of you who passed, what were some areas of opportunity for those who have failed? These series of tests are a fucking beast, any help or advice would be welcome. Also a side question for all the Esq, CPA, and CFP; what were some things that helped you most prepping months for a test? What made you able to succeed and not get burnt out studying the same material for months on end?
Can anyone with photo shop skills possibly take out the black line in the middle of this photo, so the pages of artwork match up? I have tried, and failed miserably and would be in your debt. Link; <a class="postlink" href="http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m512/wolf_2099/SplashPage.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m51 ... shPage.jpg</a>
It's not perfect, but it's close <a class="postlink" href="http://oi43.tinypic.com/2h70v9v.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://oi43.tinypic.com/2h70v9v.jpg</a>
I was wondering if anyone has any info on teaching English in foreign countries? I just started to scratch the surface of what's out there, but as is always the case, having someone with firsthand knowledge is beyond beneficial. I'm looking mostly in Asia, Japan/China, maybe Thailand. I see some places pay for you to teach, others just give you room and board. I've also seen some places seem to require a TEFL certificate, while others don't really specify. Just a quick overview of what's involved, past experiences, what to avoid, how not to end up as a prisoner of some revolutionary guerrillas would be helpful.
Can anyone help me turn this into a really nice graphic that I can use for t-shirts for my volleyball team? It's going to go on green shirts, so it needs to be black and grey with white around it so it pops out if possible. When I try to copy and paste it, it changes colors, and I can't expand it enough without it totally losing resolution. In short, when I try it, it looks like shit.
Is this what you're trying to get done? Let me know if I understood you correctly and I'll make it as big as I can without losing anything: