I spent my teen years and well into young adulthood feeling terribly intimidated by record stores. I never have been cool, never will be, and what I listen to is odd (classical flute by James Galway), boring and old (Peter, Paul, and Mary), and all sorts of other odds and ends... everything from current pop to Bach. My CD collection is all over the map, especially now when combined with my husband's equally eclectic CD collection. Battlefield Band (celtic)? Oomph (my friend Jack's klezmer band)? Got 'em. But not from my local music store.

There's nothing I enjoy more than browsing Amazon for CDs... getting to listen to sound clips, and order what I want with no one snarking at me with too many earrings, tattoos, and funky hair. I mean, those things are great if you want them, but just because I don't doesn't mean my money or musical tastes aren't any good. The whole problem with record stores is that they assume you know what's on all the CDs, so therefore you know what you want (and if you don't, you're just not cool enough to be there anyway). I laughed out loud when I found out my husband (current and former geek, but old enough now to be self-confident about it) felt the same way as a teen and college student. How odd that the culture of record stores actually chases away paying customers.

Bookstores are different... I can browse and pick up a book and thumb through it, and most bookstore employees just like books... all books. They have their favorites, but they're happy to show you their collection of books on orchid gardening or building birdhouses or the latest trashy romances. It's all good if it means buying books.

There it is, parked on four tires. I have two of the beasts in my driveway. Gas-guzzling fat machines. The Saudis have them too.

In my neighborhood (suburban USA), I can't walk anywhere useful. It's too far (two miles to the nearest grocery) and there are no sidewalks most of the way. The library is the other way, three miles and no sidewalks. Walking and bicycling are for fun, for recreation, for enjoyment. Not for necessity, not a regular part of daily life. I find it ironic that my local county planners will pay for road improvements, but only for cars. Bikes and pedestrians are extra, bonus. If you can find a developer doing a project, make them pay for sidewalks. If you can't, well, the sidewalk just ends and too bad for you if you wanted to walk there without being hit by a car.

I do believe that obesity is an epidemic. But it's one that could be solved through urban and suburban planning, as well as diet. If I could safely walk or bike everywhere I needed to go, maybe I wouldn't have to join a gym. Maybe I could get most of the exercise I need from just living my life. What a thought.

I feel for those Saudi women... stuck inside, in head to foot black robes. I'd be fat too.

... to let a cat roam free and poop in the neighbor's yard, and not a dog? I've always wondered about that. I have a large dog and a dog-door, she has great fun chasing errant cats out of the yard. But why is it OK for the cats to be there in the first place? If I let my dog roam free through the neighborhood, I'd have animal control on my doorstep giving me a fine, and rightly so. My dog has a collar, a license, a rabies tag, an ID tag, and most important, a FENCE to keep her where she belongs.

I know it's tradition for cats to roam free. But I think it's one that the LW is right to question. I'd say a live trap and a trip to the Humane Society with the offending animal might be in order.

If it turns out to be a raccoon... make sure you can open that live trap from a distance.

I've struggled with weight all my life. When I became pregnant with my second child, I was a member of Weight Watchers. I'd done well, in a year taken off all the weight from the first child and then some, and felt great. However, I was specifically not allowed to continue my Weight Watchers membership while pregnant, even in their "weight maintenance" mode. Insurance or liability, or some bean counter afraid of lawsuit, or some such nonsense.

I talked to my doctor (nice lady, but childless and very thin) and she didn't have much to offer.

I know full well that my drug of choice is a bag of Oreos. I can turn down wine, beer, margaritas, and even coffee, but Lord save me from the ice cream. I wish that someone had a structured regimen like Weight Watchers for pregnancy... for those of us who so easily cross the line from enough to too much. We all have our weaknesses... I'm fully aware of what mine are.

Now that my kids are older, yes I'm still me and I still struggle with weight. However, there are so many more resources available to me now that I'm not pregnant any more. It still frustrates me that I needed help, I knew I needed help, I asked for help, yet there was none to be had. I gained about 50 pounds with my second pregnancy, and had a devil of a time taking it back off again.