Quite a read, but the only thing I see that might apply to my situation is that I have free Zone Alarm as my firewall. It never caused a problem in the past, but I'm wondering if the latest update has something to do with this. By the way, another recent thread referring to firewalls had some interesting information indicating that ZA might not be such a good choice any more. I tried Comodo and found it nagged too much, but I'm thinking of trying the one a poster on that thread recommended. Since I have a firewall via a router, maybe I'll shut down ZA and try the System Restore. I still like having a software firewall on each computer, however.

A few things to try, Copy and paste the text between the stars below into Notepad. ********************************************************* @Echo on pushd\windows\system32\drivers\etc attrib -h -s -r hosts echo 127.0.0.1 localhost>HOSTS attrib +r +h +s hosts popd ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew ipconfig /flushdns netsh winsock reset all netsh int ip reset all shutdown -r -t 1 del %0 ******************************************************* Now Save as flush.bat to your desktop. Double-click flush.bat file to run it. Your computer will reboot. Note: For Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click flush.bat and select "Run as Administrator" Next If the above does not work. Windows 7 and Vista From the Start menu, select Control Panel, or Settings and then Control Panel.Double-click Network and Sharing Center. From the list of tasks on the left, click Change adapter settings (in Windows 7), or Manage network connections (in Vista). For a wired network connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and then select Properties. For a wireless network connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and then select Properties. From the Networking tab, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), make sure it is checked, and then click Properties. Click Obtain an IP Address Automatically, and then click OK. Windows XP From the Start menu, select Settings, and then Control Panel. Double-click Network Connections. For a wired network connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and then select Properties. For a wireless network connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and then select Properties. From the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), make sure it is checked, and then click Properties. Click Obtain an IP Address Automatically, and then click OK. http://uits.iu.edu/page/aiyy

Early detection is key to cancer survival rates and England does not cover early screening as well as many other countries do and thus they are near the bottom of many cancer survival stats with the Us, Japan and France at the top of a 2008 study of five common cancers. In our country those on government healthcare fare much worse than those with private insurance, food for thought. It seems that poorer people everywhere fare worse than those with more. This article is very recent and informative for comparing life expectancy and treatments between countries. You may be surprised but if you take away accidental deaths(cars, violence, overdoses) guess which country has the highest life expectancy, yes the USA does. The new OECD ten year study has not been published yet and the chart in the link is the most recent data available so this might change but probally not that much. Here is a link that might be useful: wealth begets health

Oakley, I am sorry you feel ignored. You sent your note in the wee hours Thurs. I read it at 7:30am Friday morning but was rushing to get into work early and didn't have time to post. Friday evening was hectic and I did a couple of hit and run responses. But every time I started to post, the phone rang. I am so sorry I missed a response to you. (((Oakley))) Yeah, I did say that my experience was different-- but that was in response to Ded's question about what eye to look at. You said no one looked at your lazy eye.. but I had a very different experience. I guess all my responses to this thread have been pretty self absorbed. This is a major focus in my life right now... and though I opened up here (and with some in my real life), it's one I am mostly dealing with alone. I have fears of what if it doesn't work.. what if the lenses are crazy thick.. will I be able to drive when I am transitioning between regular and prism lenses.. will I screw up my job prospect because there are two interviewers and one eye? As I have said, I have a lot of anxiety rolled in with my eye issue. It's not that I don't care about you or the other people dealing with the same or worse... I am just very much in my own head. I am VERY glad to hear you will be going to the Dr too. I am sorry that you have been affected as I have. Please do make an appointment and let us know how it goes! You can reach out to me privately if you like.. And I am sorry to anyone else who I missed responding to. I am SO appreciative of everyone's responses. Your encouragement and kind wishes for a good outcome mean the world to me. I am especially appreciative of those who shared their own experiences.. and those who are spurred to go to the doctor.