Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • 33

4D SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010 FLORIDA TODAY ADVICE HOME GARDEN: IMPROVING INSIDE OUT Gas is most popular type of grill Dividend letters are assigned by the AP GRILLS, from ID Doug Lang Grill care Keep the grill covered to protect It from salty air and rain. Clean pits in the stainless steel with a product like Flitz. Polish a stainless grill with a product like Sheila Shine. Source: FlameTech Help! carries have durable cast-stainless parts. "You could take it out of there and beat your husband up with it if you want," Walker jokes.

"He's going to be upset with you for messing with his grill, but whatever." A cheap grill might last just a couple of years in this climate, he says, while a high-end grill with a good warranty, at $2,000 to $6,000, should be the last one you buy. Gas is the most popular type. Occasionally, people buy an electric grill because their condominium has restrictions. "And then some people swear by charcoal," Walker adds. "They won't cook on to get official documentation of his military experience.

"My government friends in D.C. struck out, but Help! came through," he declared. The column that led to ultimate success conveyed advice given by Rick Marquith, a counselor on the Brevard County Veterans Services Team. He said vets or their next-of-kin can request a variety of military personnel records by going online to archives.govveterans 1 i hVi -in- Chris Kridler, FLORIDA TODAY Lasts longer. FlameTech sells top-notch grills and accessories.

Good stainless grills are heavier and last longer than cheaper ones. Some have lights, built-in temperature sensors for different zones inside the grill, side burners that are handy when the power goes out, androtisseries. "If you're not going to use that stuff, don't spend the money," Walker advises. But if you're ready, a quality built-in grill has a "major wow factor," as well as added resale value for the house. "The thing about the built-in stuff is it needs to be done right," Walker says.

"I see a lot of things going on out there that I wouldn't do for myself. If we build them, anything but charcoal, the Big Green Egg (a high-end ceramic grill and smoker), Dear In Saturday's business section of FLORIDA TODAY, where local stocks are given prominence, lower case letters appear next to some of the dividend listings, but with no ex-planation. What do they mean? Henry Charest, Cape Canaveral Business editor Adam Lowenstein said the lower case letters are keyed to dividend footnotes from The Associated Press. To cite one example, the letter appeared six times last Saturday tied to the annual dividend rates shown for CVS Caremark L-3 Communications, Time Warner, Tup-perware Brands and Utd Technologies. The AP footnote indicates "current annual rate, which was increased by most recent dividend announcement." Interested parties can access the full complement of stock market footnotes at markets.ap.orgfootnotes Long time comin' Dear Thanks to the article, "How to obtain discharge papers" (Help, Aug.

13, 2009), I am in receipt of a packet containing my complete World War II service record. DickWebbe, Melbourne The wartime naval aviator said he'd been trying for a long time, without success, evetrecs. The site is maintained by 18-year-old kid in one, he says, and you have to drive some low-end grills before you're ready. "If you're serious about grilling," says Malis, "this is thewaytogo." Contact Kridler at 242-3633 I or ckrldlerSflorldatoday.com. they're out of concrete.

A lot of people are building them out of metal studs and frame, which will not last, or it will catch on fire." Malis compares getting that ultimate grill to finally getting the Porsche; you wouldn't put your the U.S. National Archives things like that. That's what they've got to have." Better grills can double as meat smokers, with a dedicated smoke box for wood chips and a smoker burner. and Records Administra tion. For the record, it took a little more than six months from the date of request for Webbe to receive the packet.

"You wouldn't believe the Cold weather brings real snowbirds around paperwork involved in ob taining it," he remarked. The material is about three-quarters of an inch thick and, as Webbe de Keith WInsten Brevard Naturally The recent cold weather has brought more than brown palm fronds and wool sweaters to Brevard County. It seems to have increased our populations of snowbirds as well. And in this case, I mean flocks of literal birds, not the northern tourists hoping to escape the cold. We all know those human flyers are still trapped in the Mid-Atlantic snowbelt, scribed it, "mostly readable but not particularly collated.

Remember," he said, "paperwork in those days was done by hand or typewriter and all kinds of rubber stamps. There were no computers." E-mail jo2guy4helpecfl.rr.com. waiting for airports to clear. Most notable has been the Mother should give influx of American Robins I've seen over the past few weeks. Dave Freeland, a lo sitter more notice baby cal birder of note, estimated flock, the stragglers and the slowpokes.

And scientists have noted that flocks have a unique way of coordinating the movements to minimize their edge exposure. Rather than having a flock leader, each bird reacts to the movements of their neighbor. If a bird turns into the flock, the other birds around it react accordingly. If they move toward the edge of the flock, the others dpn't, because that puts them at risk of separating from the others. These coordinated movements are called maneuver waves and are incredible to watch in action.

Flocking birds also can time when the maneuver wave will hit their section of the flock much like people can time when the human wave will make its way to their part of a packed stadium. The difference is that the birds react in milliseconds making it all seem seamless. WInsten to executive director of Brevard ZooEast Coast Zoological Society of Florida. Contact him at admlnObrevardzoo.org. at hand.

If you are constantly scanning the skies for avian predators, that takes away from the time spent on energy intake. So, you can share scanning responsibilities much like meerkats or prairie dogs post sentinels who alert the family in case of troubles. If a bird in a flock sees a predator, it makes an alarm call and takes for the skies. The other birds immediately follow. This leads to flock safety reason No.

2. When the birds all take flight at once, it makes it hard for the predators to focus on and chase down an individual in the mass confusion. We also think the sheer volume of flying birds results in safety tip number three. Flying predators don't like to dive in a seething, boil of feathered bodies because they fear for their own safety. Remember, even Mufasa the mighty lion king, couldn't survive in middle of a wildebeest stampede.

So, the hunters of the sky seem to prefer picking off birds around the edges of the there may be a million robins in the county. He hypothesized that the only be 15,000. The best place to finds these flocks is on the Indian River along South Tropical Trail south of Pineda Causeway (SR 404) and the Mathers Bridge near the south end of Merritt Island. The appearance of mega groups of birds raises the question of why live in flocks? I mean why would they want to crowd together like that? The answer appears to be multifold. The most common reason attributed to flocking behavior is for protection against predators.

Flocks provide safety in a number of ways. First, more birds means more eyes on the lookout for predators. When it's cold and you need more calories to survive, you want to feed efficiently by sticking to the task Abigail Van Buren proliferation of Brazilian pepper, a favored food, and Dear Abby: I am 17 and baby-sit regularly for a family on my street. The kids are well-behaved and enjoy it when I go there-to watch them. Mv problem is their V.

the northern cold resulted in the super flocks that descended on our Dear Abby mother never gives me no--' efX tice when she needs me. Dave also noted that tradi tionally our most common down, and that it indicated that seats were spoken for. Were we in the wrong? Wondering In Columbus winter bird is a duck called the Lesser, Scaup. In 2008, half a million of these water-birds were counted during the Cocoa Christmas Bird Count. This year, there might Dear Wondering: Every body was in the wrong.

The young couple should not have moved your things and grabbed your seats. Because you were all guests in a private home, you and your GARDEN CALENDAR wire should have taken what seats were available. (I mean, would it have killed you to sit apart for a couple of hours?) And last, the cou pie who corrected you should have kept their mouths shut. Dear Abby: I have a daughter who is on a waiting list for a service dog. She has been moved to dressed at clinics across Brevard County by master gardeners trained by the University of Florida extension service.

The county extension service offices In Cocoa and Palm Bay are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Call 633-1702 or 952-4536. Clinic times and locations are: Titusville 10 a.m.

to noon Tuesdays at the library, 2121 S. Hopkins Ave. Call 264-5026. Cocoa 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays at the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center, 380 Forrest Ave.

Call 633-1792. Cocoa Beach 10 a.m. 952-4536. Melbourne Master gardener clinic will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E.

Fee Ave. Call 674-5700 or 952-4514. Eau Gallle 2 to 4 p.m. Fridays at the Eau Gallie Library, 152 Pineapple Ave. Call 255-4304.

Palm Bay 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and 1 to 3 p.m. Thursdays at the Palm Bay Extension Service office, 1455 Treeland Blvd. S.E. Call 952-4536.

Send announcements to events calendareflorldatoday.com; Gardening Calendar, FLORIDA TODAY, P.O. Box 419000, Melbourne, FL 32941-9000. the priority list, and I'm hop ing she will receive her dog She'll ask if I can baby-sit that day, or even worse, that moment. Sometimes she'll just "say something vague like, "Sometime later today I'll let you know when I need you." I love the kids and enjoy looking after them, but I do not appreciate their mother's inconsiderate behavior. How should I deal with her next request? Seething Sitter In New York Dear Sitter The next time the woman calls at the last minute, tell her you're sorry, but you already have something scheduled, and when she needs you to baby-sit to please give you more notice so you won't disappoint her.

And if she isn't definite about what time she wants you to be there, tell her you need to know now so you can make any arrangements you need to. Dear Abby: My wife and I were recently invited to a friend's home for a screening of a movie in their home theater. About 15 other guests also were in attendance. We arrived on time and chose our seats by leaving our coats on them, then joined the other guests for pre-movie socializing. When we returned to the room to watch the film, we found that a college-age couple had tossed our things aside and taken our seats.

Because there were no other seats together, we told them the coats were ours and that we had placed them on the seats for a reason. within the next two months, While I'm thrilled about the opportunities the dog Garden club: The Dirt Daubers Circle of the Cocoa-Rock-ledge Garden Club will sponsor an "After the Freeze" card party at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the garden club building, 1493 S. Fiske Rocktedge. This -event is open to the public and Includes a lunch of salad, sandwiches and desserts provided by members of the club.

Tickets available for a donation of $12. Call Dee Chandler at 610-4014. Garden walk: Country Care Roses, 14070 109 Fellsmere, offers garden walks featuring garden displays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. today and Sunday.

Experience the colors and fragrances of spring among the heirloom roses. Old Garden Roses and Tropical Daylilies will be available for purchase. Call 772-559-5036. Garden club: The Cocoa Beach Garden Club meets at 9:30 a.m. the second will provide her, it also has raised a concern.

What do I say when people ask what her disability is? I know that legally no one each month at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Ave. Call Kathryn Merry at 724-2698. Garden club: The Titusville Garden Club meets at 9:30 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month and at 7 p.m.

the second Monday of each month at 5275 Sis-son Road, Titusville. Garden club: The Island Garden Club meets at noon every second Wednesday of the month at the Melbourne Beach Community Center, 509 Ocean Ave. Presentations this year will Include, flower arranging, butterfly gardening, orchid care and more. Lunch will be served; RSVP needed. Call Beth Glover at 726-0800 or contact bethbethglover.com.

Native plants: The Conra-dina Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society meets from 6 to 8 p.m. the second Monday of each month at the Melbourne Library, 540 E. Fee Ave. Presentation topics include preservation, conservation and restoration of native plants and native plant communities as well as gardening and landscaping with native plants. Master gardeners: Gardening questions can be ad is allowed to ask that ques tion per the Americans With Disabilities Act and I would have no problem tell ing nosy strangers to keep their questions to them selves.

But there are people like my co- workers and my daughter classmates whom we can't avoid. to 1 p.m. at the library, In the Jane von Thron room, 550 N. Brevard Ave. Call 784-1874.

Port St. John 10 a.m. to noon Mondays at the library, 6500 Carole Ave. Call 633-1867. Merritt Island 1 to 3 p.m.

Tuesdays at the library, 1195 N. Courtenay Parkway. Call 455-1369. Satellite Beach 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at the library, 751 Jamaica Blvd.

Call 779-4004. Patrick Air Force Base 10 a.m. to noon Fridays at Patrick Air Force Base, Base Exchange lobby. Call If you see my daughter on good days, you might not no tice anything different, al though she has a number of Wednesday of each month at Cocoa Beach Community Church, 126 S. Atlantic Cocoa Beach.

Call Bridget Hull at 784-0913. Garden club: South Brevard Garden Clubs Asso guest coming? ciation meets from 10 a.m. to noon the first Monday of significant health and emotional issues. What is the correct way to respond to the honest questions out revealing my daughter's medical history to people who have no need to know? Mom In Iowa Dear Mom: Respond by saying, "Oh, I don't want to bore you the dog helps my daughter." Then change the subject. The couple left.

Later, another couple mentioned that they thought we had overstepped our bounds that we should have said nothing because this was a private home. I had always been taught that one could set one's items Best Selection mr In Crevard County! Perfect for Your New Ffl Feb. Feb. 25 QACADEMY AWARD1 'Flat Screen Plasma, i-4 LCD, or DLP fj NOMINATIONS 2- BEST ACTOR JEFF BRIDGES BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS MAOOII QYLLENHAAL BEST OHIOINAL BONO "THE WEARY KINO Shutter Island (A) 1240 430 725 1025 WoHmin (A) 1250 300 505 710 930 Percy Jackson (PG) 1245 510 745 1015 Vtlentlne'e Day (PG) 1235 445 730 1005 Legion (P.) 720 940 From Parle with Love R) 115 330 545 805 1020 DeerJohn (PG-13) 130 455 735 1000 Edge ot Darkneea (R) 125 535 810 1035 Tooth Fairy (PG) 105 320 530 600 1010 Ahrln and the Chipmunks 2 (PG) 1225 240 525 Avatar (PG-13) 2D 1230 400 715 1030 Crazy Heart ifestyle 8. unction WWW.CRIZyHEtnTM0yiE.COM fcj vvoot I i 321.723.0430 1401 Clearlake Rd Cocoa www.unfinishedfurnihjredirect.com 0B PUri.l Wf THf.lJf.aa Bi.S- -Ti'.

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