Recent content by Occamstazer

If anyone else is in Alabama-it is time for PEACHES around here! I'm in the middle of putting away a giant haul of Chilton County peaches tonight, because they're $0.94/lb today!

The vet I worked for in Tuscaloosa tried the bartering thing with pretty limp results. The group was called Tradebank. Clients who were members would pay their bills with their Tradebank card, which gave the Doc x number of Tradebank dollars to spend at any of the participating businesses. It...

Nah, it's free, I'm just cautious about giving any site access to my financial info. I had a minor freak out when I sold some stuff on ebay and had to set up a Paypal. From what I've read, it's about as secure as anything online can be, but I figured I'd rustle up a couple more opinions...

A good friend of mine introduced me to mint and I'm totally drooling over all the budgeting doohickeys. It's a financial management thingy that lets you track where money goes, generate graphs, create a really tidy budget, etc. Basically hog heaven for an obsessive-compulsive nerd like me...

Sounds like two different infestations, if that eases your mind any. :) The short, white worms on your pets are tapeworm segments, and they get them from ingesting fleas. The flea control products from your vet are really the only thing that works and won't poison your pet. The sticker shock...

This is great! I need new glasses as mine are so badly scratched up they're almost unusable. I haven't gotten new lenses because it's been well over a year since I got these and I don't want to pay for another exam. My prescription hasn't changed in years. I'm calling the place I went last...

This is neat! If you have any questions I will be happy to help. I'm a veterinary technician and I plan on vet school as soon as the husband graduates from law school. Identifying things under a microscope is one of the few things I can say with absolute confidence I am highly qualified to...

Anyone a fan of Pho? I keep seeing it on foodie travel shows, but I haven't had the chance to try it yet. It sounds pretty good, though. :)

I have yet to see a well-researched, peer-reviewed study of homeopathy. Remember, the plural of anecdote is not "data". ;) I'd be completely willing to read such an article if anyone has one. Until then, I'll stick with solid science.

Naturopathic remedies (some of them, anyway) can be scientifically valid. Herbal medicine for example, can be pretty useful. One of the vets I work for regularly prescribes milk thistle for liver support to pets taking NSAIDs, because it works. We also use cold laser therapy and pressure...

Be very careful using flea shampoos or any of the flea treatments available at the store. Every summer, I see *a lot* of cats that come in for flea treatment poisoning. Hartz in particular is awful. At the vet clinics where I work, we use blue Dawn dish liquid for baths. It's great for...

Whoa. Are you a vet tech, too? :P I was on a no-animal-bites winning streak up until last week when I got nailed by a possessed Pomeranian. Dog bites suck!

Yep, I do that with soup bones and it works fine. I keep two heavy duty gallon ziplocks in the freezer, one for chicken and one for beef.

Small piece of unsolicited advice: When the school screws something up and you're stuck in a red-taped administrative nightmare, don't hesitate to be a huge pain in the ass until things are made right. U of A was terrible about this kind of thing, and if you were polite they'd just shuffle...

I heard about it this morning on NPR, it's just totally gross. I don't get why anyone decides to go the formula route. I mean, I understand that stuff happens and sometimes it's the only option, but why do it if you don't have to? It seems like it'd be a hassle to prepare, and breast milk is...