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flipper

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Posts posted by flipper


  1. Dunno if they come from the same place, but tesco's do FF nuggets/sausages too... there's also a rather nice 'black farmer's' sausage (fnar fnar) available in most shops now that's gf/df, and last time i looked a couple of sainsbury's 'finest' sausages are GF/DF (one was the tolouse sausage, i think, which isn't very nice, but the other one gf/df was...) waitrsoe do a nice FF sausage too, and while a bit more expensive are stocking quite a bit in their FF section these days.

     

    Oh - can't remember brand, but Ben tried some GF/DF/Vegan encillada's from sainsbury's t'other day and said they were luvverly... Bit lazy, but a nice lunch/small dinner and not very expensive

     

    :D

     

    I never seem to be able to find the FF nuggets at Tesco, or the breadcrumbs for that matter, and we do have a couple of big stores nearby.

     

    Black Farmer sausages we've tried, but he's pretty rigid about what he eats, and had got in the routine of the Sainsburys FF range and the Black Farmer ones do look very different!

    I've seen the Enchildas you refer to - mand indeed they are quite tasty, but C wouldn't even look at something like that (he's only 5 so they are outside what he would consider "normal"!)

     

    Phil


  2. As you all probably know, Sainburys FreeFrom Nuggets/Sausages etc were withdrawn in December as they were found to contain milk protein.

     

    Like many of you, we seriously rely on these for our fussy eater, so the last month has been a nightmare!

     

    I've been in touch with Sainsburys and they tell me that due to "problems" these are not likely to be back in stock until March.

     

    Argh!

     

    Does anyone know of other GF nuggets anywhere? Also having major issues trying to find GF breadcrumbs to try and make our own!

     

    Phil


  3. Whenever i am online i get loads of webpages appearing all the time not the wee pop up advertisments, its web pages advertising stuff. how can i block these?

     

    wots the best antivurus i can download too

     

    ATM i have windows defender, and super anti spyware.

     

    What browser are you using? The latest versions of IE (7) and Firefox (3) should block most pop-ups.

     

    I use AVG anti-virus, and used to use Avast, both are free and seem to work OK.

     

    Phil


  4. Has anyone used an Eee PC?

    Would you recommend them?

    Are they easy to use?

    Do your eyes hurt with such a small screen?

     

    I'm a bit scared because they run Linux. Although I like the idea of Linux, I have never been able to make it work or access the internet. Is it easier now?

     

    You can get them with Windows. They are more expensive and have less disk space, but I think it might be safest to stick with what I know.

     

    Can you get external CD/DVD drives, which also are CD recorders, which attach through a USB point?

     

    My eldest (age 11) has one - she saved up various birthday/pocket money etc to get it and absolutely adores it - and I've rarely seen anything cause so much of a stir as this did when I bought it into the house.

     

    For the most part it's excellent. Because it runs Linux it's surprisingly quick - I'd expect the Windows ones to feel a bit sluggish - unless you buy the top spec one with the faster processor, but then you're paying as much as you would for a normal laptop (which you can get for about �300 now).

     

    She only really uses it for web stuff, though it comes with Open Office so she can do docs/spreadsheets etc if she want to.

     

    The 7" screen is very small - you can get them with 9" screens which would be better I think - but again, she doesn't have an issue with it, and the screen is very sharp.

     

    The only issue we've had is with the wireless. That may be down to my dodgy router which does play up, but I've heard reports from some friends that they had problems too (one of my friends has 4 (!) and one of them had to be rebuilt with a different version of Linux as it was so fussy). Don't let that put you off, though.

     

    Other than that, everything just worked, right out of the box (even the wireless worked straight off, it just sometimes refuses to connect).

     

    Overall I think it's a great little machine - but look around and you'll see there are others now. Acer's equivalent is called the "One" and is getting very good reviews. HP do one (more expensive I think) and Dell will be releasing one very soon. Beware, though, that there are even cheaper versions available in various electronic outlets which don't seem to be getting such good reviews as they come with much less memory.

     

    Ultimately, it's about what you want it to do - I'd never have one to replace my normal laptop, but I'd happilly have one (or some) for casual internet use with the ability to more if you need it occasionally. And they are very portable compared to a normal laptop.

     

    Phil


  5. WOW!!! Even more confused now. To try or not to try now that is a very big question. There seems to be an awful lot of conflicting stories. I think we're gonna have to hav a long think about this one.

    :wallbash:

     

    For us the "try or not try" was a no-brainer. Unlike many possible "interventions" there doesn't seem to be any real downside to rtying GF/DF diet - except for the inconvenience and additional cost of the food (as GF is more expensive).

     

    In a nutshell, though, I'd say:

    1. Get the urine test done before you do any dietary changes - Sunderland ARU will then tell you whether they think either GF, DF or both would be beneficial (and, obviously, will tell you if they think you shouldn't try!)

    2. If they say to give it a try, then do so - but be prepared for a possible long wait before you see any improvement. DF improvements tend to be seen within a few weeks, GF improvements vary but seem to be in stages - a bit of improvement after a few weeks, then nothing for 6 or more months, but then possibly a big improvement after that.

    3. After 6-9 months get another urine test.

     

    If, after all that, you don't get on with it, nothing lost, you can go back as you were. If, like us and many, you believe you see improvements (for us it has been a dramatic improvement in communication skills) then you've done the right thing!

     

    Phil


  6. We put in the request for a statutory assessment in November07, and have just received the revised proposed statement (and we're in Hertfordshire - if we can get it, anyone can!)

     

    The school were supportive, but didn't want to request the assessment- told us we should do it.

     

    So... go for it!

     

    Phil


  7. hi

    my son has managed somehow to do this

     

    when pc is on everything is wrong way round-as in its all sideways on the screen instead of the correct way round?

     

    have no idea how he did it or how to get it back

    wondered if it was a simple thing i could do myself -or if i did to call someone in again? :unsure:

     

    It certainly sounds (as Baddad says) like your son has managed to rotate teh desktop - some new screens support having the screen in "portrait" mode rather than the familiar "landscape" (i.e. TV-like) mode.

    However, when it's in the wrong mode it's very difficult to use the mouse as up goes sideways... so here's how to reset the screen using the keyboard!

     

    Hold down the Windows key and press R

    In the box type DESK.CPL and press Enter

    Press the TAB key 5 times until there is a dotted line around the word "Themes"

    Use the RIGHT ARROW key until the SETTINGS tab is selected

    Hold down the ALT key and press V

    Now this is where I have to guess... you've probably got the GENERAL tab selected - press TAB until there's a dotted line around the word GENERAL

    There should be a tab called ROTATION (hopefully), use the RIGHT ARROW key until you've selected that, then use the TAB key to highlight the section you want to change - it's probably a radio button which says something like "Normal" and the press ENTER.

     

    Hopefully that'll get you back to where you should be...

     

    Phil


  8. No surprise, but despite repeated readings of C's proposed statement we can't find anything actually quantified - certainly no "hours" and no 1:1 support.

    The only thing quantified is "up to" 10 Speech Therapy sessions - which might not even be actual therapy but monitoring!

     

    I've downloaded the Afasic guide and the ACE guide and they are helpful, but having never actually seen a "proper" statement it's difficult to be really sure what's missing and what we need to ask.

     

    We've asked for a meeting, but she called today indicating that requesting a meeting is delaying the final statement which she "really ought to be issuing very soon" according to the guidelines... I'm sure this was just a none to subtle attempt to sway us into an easy acceptance (and we should be grateful we're getting a statement at all, eh?)

     

    If anyone can share similar tales/advice we'd love to hear it...

     

    Thanks

    Phil


  9. Well it's good to hear that statements are still being issued. It would be nice to believe that the system is working.

     

     

     

    I've heard of recent statements under the new system being issued with 0 hours of support - which guarantees nothing, so what's the point?! I'm hoping yours is a bit better than that! At least you can appeal if you're not happy with it.

     

    K x

     

    Yes, it does appear to be lacking in actual hours stated - only speech therapy seems to have been quantified. Of course, we're not experts on what the statement should contain so it's not always obvious what you're getting.

     

    We've requested a meeting which will give us more time to study it a bit closer.

     

    Phil


  10. I live in hertfordshire and since Septmeber, only those with exceptional needs can apply for a statement. Schools have to approximate how many children in the school will need additional support in each school year. as you can imagine, this has caused big problems, as they can only count on what they are told about new children coming in to school, and those who are picked up along the way, may not have been acounted for int he budget. there is also nobody monitoring the schools to make sure they are actually using the budget for the children that really need the support. To get a statement, the schools have to 'bid' for the children to see who has the child with the greatest needs! I also found out that they have to pay �200 a visit, for an advisory teacher to come in! This is absolutly ridiculous. with this sort of system, many children are going to suffer from not getting the help they need. Children who already have statements are not affected by these changes though. They also calculate the budgets by the amount of free school meals that they schools claim. Does that mean that you can only have a child with additional needs if you claim free school meals! Schools are stuggling already and the system as not even been in place for a year yet! :wallbash::wallbash:

     

    We're in Herts too and had heard all the same stories...

     

    However, we requested an assessment in November 2007 and received the proposed statement just over a week ago, so it's not as hopeless as it may appear. We also attended a morning session where the statement process was explained and the Head of the assessment team assured us that this had been badly misunderstood (indicating that "exceptional" related to, for example, a child whose needs suddenly change, perhaps as a result of an accident which leaves them needing oxygen or similar).

     

    I've no idea if we just got lucky with the timing (putting in our request after IPSEA had contacted Herts) or whether the process really is working better than it's perceived.

     

    Of course, whether the proposed statement is right is another matter... we're still trying to decipher it...

     

    Phil


  11. Can I ask a techie question without looking stupid?

    What does a server going down actually mean? I assume it doesn't actually go anywhere, but what has actually happened when people say this has happened? :unsure:

     

    Advanced warning: techy geeky suff follows!

     

    When a server goes "down" it could be for a number of reasons. It could be a hardware failure - perhaps in the power supply or on a disk; it could be a "service" that has stopped (services control many functions, like providing Web Pages, allowing you to log on, access to the network etc); it could be the server "blue screened" (if it's a Windows Server - I can't recall the Linux equivalent - Kernal Panic perhaps) where some part of the Operating System gets screwed and kills the Operating System (if you used Windows before XP you will have seen the "Blue Screen of Death" if something went badly wrong, it's much less common these days); it could be that there is a problem with the network - so the server could be quite happy but unable to "talk" to the rest of the world... and so on.

     

    In other words, a Server Crash is a very generic term for "something went wrong"!

     

    Depending on how bady wrong (whether it's just one web server or whether the whole data centre has suffered a power failure) will determine how serious/stressed/panicky the tech guys look - unless they are true professionals who don't get stressed by anything and see these things as a challenge, but there aren't many of us left (ahem)...

     

    And I can't remember the last time anyone brought me a Chocolate Orange (or anything, come to that :( )

     

    Hope that's all clear!

     

    Phil


  12. Ds came home from school yesterday and his home/school book said he was upset a lot of the day. I asked him later what was bothering him and he said M had kneed him in the groin. This morning I saw a bruise completely down one side of his "you know what" (not sure what I'm allowed to say on here :rolleyes:) and he said it hurt. So I took him to A&E to get it checked out and cos I want a record of it. No swelling so it should be ok but still a nasty bruise covering one side of his sac.

    My inclination is not to let him go on the bus on Monday to school but to ring school and ask for a meeting to tell them about it and require them to speak to - punish even - M before my ds has to face him again (my ds gets punished enough for the slightest of things). Then ds explains that it was an accident - I said why do you say that and he said because "Miss (dinner lady) said it was". How do you accidentally knee someone in the b_lls enough to cause that sort of bruising. Anyway ds says he did it because he didn't want ds to play their game he and others were playing so unlikely to be an accident isn't it? I think she was just trying to pacify him at the time perhaps. Oh god I hate confrontation with the school. They are good with my ds in many ways but cr_p when it comes to dealing with these situations and they get all defensive. I'm tormented for the w/e now.

     

    I can't believe that can be just an accident and it's very disappointing that the dinner lady didn't do more - it certainly should have been reported in my opinion.

    I think you have to take this up with the school ASAP.

     

    Phil


  13. Hi I spoke to my GP about changing e's diet to gluten free and asked about the IQ fish oils. He was very nice but saw no need for either??? I know its not up to him and want to go ahead but was suprised by his response. Also as a single mum I had wondered if he could have put the IQ on prescription but didnt ask as he said there is omega three in everything these days!.... Anyway as the oils are expensive just wondered if any of you have found they help at all? I have heard they can really help with behavior. Also is it hard to maintain Gluten free diet? e is a very picky eater and it feels daunting.But if it will help then will try anything. Thanks lin

     

    Re: GF - what Baddad said, speak to Sunderland first, very helpful.

    We found that, in general, health professionals etc are very sceptical of the effects of a GF/CF diet and basically told us not to bother. But we did - and at our recent visit to the specialist he noticed some noticable improvements in C (particularly in speech), but we decided not to mention that we'd gone GF as he'd been so against it.

     

    Re: Omega 3 - we tried all the Eye-Q stuff but couldn't get C to take any of them (although we did think when our girls were on it that their overall behaviour improved - they are NT but boisterous!); he now has a standard vitamin supplement which has a small amount of Omega 3 in. I'd like him to have a higher dose (as I don't think it does any harm and *might* be good) but if he won't take it then it's not worth buying!

     

    Phil


  14. We had a follow-up appt yesterday for C - 9 months after his diagnosis (it was supposed to be 6 months but they're very busy).

     

    Apart from the slight concern that his notes had gone AWOL it went OK but at the end we were asked if we wanted another appointment or not. He asked if we'd rather just get in touch if we had any concerns (which we'd probably then have to wait months for the appt) or whether we wanted to come back in 12 months time.

     

    We chose the 12 month option (which will probably be more like 18...), but it left us wondering whether we would essentially be left to our own devices unless we asked for help as we'd assumed that there would be regular monitoring of C to see if anything had changed.

     

    (As it happens he thinks C is making good progress as he now reponds when called and is very sociable and quite chatty which he wasn't last year. We think this may be down to the GF diet, but we know they are very anti-that so didn't mention it).

     

    How often do you see the CDC?

     

    Phil


  15. Hmm, am I doing something wrong - this doesn't seem to be free - when you're a few steps int the installation it asks you to text codes to them three times at a cost of �6...

     

    I'd rather not pay for something that might not do what I want.

     

    Sorry, Mumble, I gave you the wrong link - looks like they are being a bit naughty! 7Zip is supposed to be free...

     

    Probably too late now, but the proper link is http://www.7-zip.org/

     

    Phil


  16. How do I compress a file?

     

    I'm probably missing something really really obvious, but I can't find anything on my new computer (I'm sure my old one had something called 'zip' :unsure:)

     

    I need to email a word doc that has lots of graphics in it and at the moment it just crashes anything it gets near. HELP!!!!! :)

     

    You probably had a program called Winzip, but strictly speaking it's not free to use (though it carries on working after the trial period with a nag screen every time you start).

     

    You could try 7zip ( http://www.7zipsoft.info/uk/ ) which is free to use and does the same thing.

     

    Phil


  17. I think it is just the nature of forums like this - as another example I belong to various tech forums where you tend to see more posts about problems with equipment than you about people who have no problems; to an outsider it might seem that a particular camera (for example) is riddled with faults where in reality the number of people with problems compared to the number of cameras sold overall is most likely only a tiny minority.

     

    I also think that sometimes it is difficult to know how to reply to a good post - there are only so many "that's great" posts that you can read whereas when someone needs help it's easier to offer an opinion.

     

    Of course that doesn't mean no one should post positive experiences, it must be helpful for everyone to hear that things can and do go well and it's not all doom and gloom.

     

    Phil


  18. Dear All

     

    We now have the possiblity of creating a chatroom on the forum. I know that some people are in favour and some people are opposed to the idea.

     

    For obvious reasons (we can not be online 24 hours a day) the chatroom would be unmoderated and therefore we would not have the tight control that is currently exercised over the forum.

     

    What I am saying is that the chatroom would be open to potential abuse and it would be down to each and every member to follow the rules we have for the forum when using the chatroom.

     

    So I have created a poll for you the forum members to have your say.

     

    A final decision will then be taken by the hosts.

     

    Kind regards

    I think a chat room could be very useful and would be happy to volunteer as a part time mod if required

     

    Phil


  19. Hi Rainbow queen -

     

    I don't know either of them personally (ben's web browsing is fairly basic and I'm usually around to supervise at this point) but there are a couple of freeware programmes that get good reviews:

     

    http://www.download.com/K9-Web-Protection/...tml?tag=lst-0-6

     

    http://www.download.com/ParentalControl-Ba...tml?tag=lst-0-3

     

    This, along with tucows, is one of the most reliable/safe download sites, and their reviews and recommendations are usually on the nail... Also, both progs have good user reviews too, which is always reassuring ...

     

    If you give one/both a go let me know what you think, as it's not gonna be long before ben's doing more online stuff himself. :rolleyes:

     

    L&P

     

    BD :D

     

    I'll give a second vote to K9 Web Protector- it's free and simple to use and works pretty well. Certainly a recommendation.

     

    Phil


  20. Hi well we had him tested and although he didn,t show any peaks for glutenomorphine or caseinomorphine he showed a IgA peak which is said to be indicative of a gluten intolerance, (hope i have all above terms correct). We are therefore trying the diet. He really withdrew for the first week and was very clingy unwell and hyper, then he appeared to calm down for a week and now he is manic again. Behaviour is equally as bad if not worse than before. We have been totally gluten casein free for about 5 weeks now although to be honest we are still allowing apples and citrus fruits juices etc. Is this common is it still withdrawal or is it the fruit. It could also be that it is the time of year of course.

     

    Hi

    That doesn't mimic our experience - but everyone is likely to be different.

     

    From what I recall reading, the more major the reaction in the early stages, the better! This, apparently, is an indicator that there is a form of addiction taking place - so I'd say that (hard though it is) it's probably a very positive response.

    However, I've recall also that after a few weeks things settle down (perhaps returning to near-normal) for some months before gluten is finally expelled from the body's stores.

     

    TBH, I'd give Paul Shattock and his team a call to see if these are typical (or, at least, not unusual) symptoms - he can give you guidance if you wondering whether to continue, and can also answer your other questions about fruit etc.

     

    Phil


  21. My son has been GF/CF for over 3 years now, the results from Sunderland only showed a problem with dairy, not gluten . He has recently eaten a few things with gluten and shown no reaction, please tell me should i keep up the GF or not, only I read that the body will change to gluten peptides if the casein ones are withheld, I would love to hear your views whatever they are! Many thanks........

     

    Perry chie

     

    In truth, I've no idea.

     

    Have you phoned Sunderland and spoken to Paul Shattock or any of the other researchers there? They are surely best placed to advise.

     

    Phil


  22. doh is it? the BBC have removed my posts trying to pass on the warning.

     

    Absolutely, 100% hoax.

     

    Best thing to do with anything like this is to immediately go to Google and type in the name of the warning (Life Is Beautiful) followed by hoax and see what you get...

     

    Snopes.com is a very good resource - they are the urban-myth debunking site - but you will also see hits from the likes of Symantec, McAfee, CA, Sophos etc - all of whom will have the hoax information available.

     

    These hoaxes work by feeding on panic - thus you (with all good intent) post to forums and send multiple emails, which only serves to overload corporate email systems and networks - thus achieving its aim of causing disruption!

     

    Fiorelli is absolutely right in her assumption not to open unexpected attachments, though.

     

    In general, virus warnings should come either from your company IT department, or very occasionally as alerts from a trusted source (usually someone working in IT!).

     

    Most importantly - you should have an up-to-date anti-virus package on your machine!

     

    (End of preaching, sorry - working in IT I do see a lot of this).

     

    Phil


  23. You might not know this answer but it is worth asking. Marcus is prscribed movicol paediatric for constipation. Does anyone know if this is suitable for gluten free diet. Anyone elses child on this also. If it has gluten this may be the end of us trying the diet as it is the only laxative that works for him that he will take. I am so hoping it is suitable. Thanks in advance.

     

    I'm no expert (no medical background) but the wonders of the internet lead me to netdoctor.co.uk and a search for movicol there doesn't indicate and gluten in it (as far as I can tell).

     

    However, as in all things, you should see your doctor. Sunderland Uni recommend you see your doctor before starting a new diet - though we didn't, we'd already started before we saw him - and in your case I'd say it'd be a very good idea to see the doc once you have the urine test results, but before you make any major changes.

     

    Phil


  24. I've tried goat's milk, but it just smells like goats to me and I'm not keen.

     

    I have to admit I expected not to like it; I'd heard it had a distinctive taste... but for me, I can't taste any difference, though my daughter can and won't be fooled if we tell her otherwise, so I guess some people have more sensitive taste/smell than others.

     

    Have you tried rice milk? That's reasonably pleasant, with none of the odd taste of soya.

     

    Phil


  25. have you tried goats cheese? Though it still contains the same proteins, it is supposed to be better.

     

    I'm just making my first batch of gluten free crumpets! They don't look like crumpets!!! :unsure: The new shop ones are so expensive - nearly �2 for four!!

     

    If it's casein that;s the problem then goats milk/cheese will be much better but if it's lactose then goats milk/cheese is no better at all!

    (As well as lactofree milk, you can buy lactase - the enzyme - in capsule form which you take 5 minutes before you eat, or also as drops which you put into ordinary milk and leave overnight - both work really well for lactose intolerance)

     

    Are the crumpets "pikelets"? If so, they taste fine, they're just a little on the skinny side, so eating 4 at once is a little too easy...

     

    Phil

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