Stan Dalone

We camp two or three times a year, and of course our morning coffee is an important part of the experience. I'm picky about coffee--the stuff I buy is almost as good as Starbuck's though less expensive, and we brew it in a French press. Currently we camp with a pair of old ceramic coffee mugs, but they're breakable and don't travel all that well. I'd like to get a set of mugs for camping that aren't breakable, something that insulates about as well as ceramic, something with a handle. Can anyone suggest something that would fit the bill?

My son was playing in the backyard today with the plants (and, presumably, the bugs) as usual, and was stung by something. I didn't see what stung him, but he brought me the stinger he pulled out of his finger. Does this look familiar to anyone?

I'd guess it's a wasp sting, but I'm no expert. We live in Sacramento, CA--wasps aren't too uncommon here, especially yellowjackets. But then it might've been something else. He's doing fine and isn't having an allergic reaction, but I was curious to see if anyone could identify the sting.

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I was wondering: during the Space Race, how long prior to a mission did astronauts and cosmonauts begin training? Was that training period typically on the order of six months, or a year, or what? And before they were assigned a mission using a given capsule, did they spend a time training with that specific type of capsule before being assigned to a mission on it?

That is, if I change a directory's position to, say, "rw-rw-r-- leon advusers", will subdirectories created under it be set with those permissions by default?

My wife and I would like to scan our parents' old slides (the total number is probably somewhere in the hundreds). I have a flatbed scanner, but it only goes up to 1200dpi, and using it may prove overly cumbersome with that many slides.

So I'm looking at maybe buying a slide scanner. We don't have a lot of money to spend, so no fancy $300 models please. I also don't mind standing there and feeding in one or a handful at a time. We'd like something that doesn't take up too much space, and ideally, I'd like to at least consider buying one that features digital ICE.

Any suggestions?

We have a small house behind the main house. Ventilation to its crawl space is through cinder blocks placed on their sides. The screen on one of them seems to have fallen off (see attached photos). What can I do to replace it? Plans to the back house show a scuttle to the crawl space, but I haven't been able to find it--I'd have to pull up the carpet in order to access it, if it's there.

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It looks as though our garbage disposal has died. It doesn't run any more; it just hums when you turn it on. Needs to be replaced, I expect. So, what do I need to find out before I go to the hardware store to get a replacement? Pipe diameter, size of unit, whatever--I don't know what's standard and what depends on your sink. I hate to go to the store only to find I need to go home to get more information before I can come back and buy the thing. (We're in the US, btw.)

My wife bought a small helium tank to blow up balloons for our son's first birthday party. What's the best way to dispose of it? (That is, how are you supposed to, not what's easiest.)