Flea

For four days at the end of last month, I was unconscious. After a week fighting an illness I thought was the flu, I'd ended up in an intensive care unit on a feeding tube and a ventilator with swelling of the brain, multiple organ distress and a platelet disorder called disseminated intravascular coagulation. ( Read the first part of Meghan Daum's medical odyssey .) When I regained consciousness (and apparently there had been speculation that this might never happen), it took several more days to figure out what was wrong with me. The diagnosis that finally emerged was murine typhus, or Rickettsia typhi , from the bacteria that lives in rats and opossums and is transmitted to humans by bites or contact with feces from infected fleas (a lovely thought, I know)

You are going to watch this video of Sand Flea, a robot developed by Boston Dynamics, and for a few seconds you are going to be bored. After all, Sand Flea isn't much to look at - just an 11 pound robot with large plastic wheels that don't look hi-tech or expensive, and all the robot does at first is move noisily over what appears to be a parking lot - much like a remote-control car. But then Sand Flea comes to a wall, and instead of...

After more than 20 years, the queen of Shabby Chic still heads out in the dark of early morning in search of the perfect flea-market finds. "We don't do wheel barrels-into-coffee tables," Rachel Ashwell said, referring to some buyers' penchant to take old stuff and make it into something else. Rather, Ashwell, like many shoppers, chooses for items that are largely ready to roll. But how? Some insights into what makes her say "yes" to a piece — and, more important, what makes her say "no. " Function.

Spain has a post-holiday tradition that goes way beyond Black Friday. Each year the country conducts an entire month of January sales, or rebajas , that make winter a good time to visit. Illinois-based Tourcrafters offers a four-night Madrid shopping trip through the end of the month that starts at $485 per person. On this tour, bargain hunters have free time to check out the Mercado de San Miguel food market, the Rastro antique flea market and El Corte Ingles department store while enjoying tapas and wine-tastings along the way. Dates: The five day/four-night tour is offered for travel through Jan. 31. Price: $485 per person, based on double occupancy (this tour is offered in February and March for a higher price)

"Gulliver's Travels" star Jack Black has purchased Flea's Los Feliz-area home for $5,965,000, Redfin.com shows. Sitting on a flag-shaped lot of more than half an acre, the two-story 1915 house had been renovated by Flea (a.k.a. bassist Michael Balzary) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who added a Topanga Canyon ambience. The kitchen was infused with a hippy vibe. Seven bedrooms and three bathrooms are included in the home's 6,500 square feet of living space. There is a swimming pool, a large motor court and solar roof panels.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary, known as Flea, has listed a newly built Malibu house for sale at $4,795,000. Designed by Marmol Radziner, the contemporary indoor-outdoor home has a cement floor and ocean and canyon views. There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and an office in more than 3,000 square feet. Outdoor amenities on the gated 2.4-acre site include a free-form swimming pool. Flea, 48, is a founding member of the Grammy-winning band, which has released nine studio albums since it formed in 1983 and has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide.

Humans like to think of themselves as residing at the top of the evolutionary chain, but the tiny water flea beats them out by at least one measure ? the size of its genome. The creature, which lives in freshwater ponds around the world, requires nearly 31,000 genes to complete its genetic blueprint, almost a third more than humans and 50% more than the common housefly, researchers reported last week in the journal Science . That gives Daphnia pulex , only 1 millimeter long, more genes than any creature whose genome has been decoded to date, according to geneticist John Colbourne of Indiana University, who led the team that performed the sequencing.

Question: I live in a flea-infested apartment. I do not own a pet. The fleas come from rodents inside the walls. The property manager will not fix the problem. What can I do? Answer: In California, the law requires that landlords offer and maintain rental housing that is fit and habitable -- and this means free of vermin such as fleas. When the infestation is traceable to the tenant, the tenant pays for the extermination, but if the tenant is not to blame, the landlord pays. Tenants have various options when landlords won't step up. You can complain to your local or state housing or health department.

A flurry of typhus infections since the beginning of the year has prompted health officials to warn residents to stay away from fleas, which spread the disease. "The key is controlling them around your house," said Howard Sutter, a spokesman for the Orange County Health Care Agency. Since Jan. 1, he said, six cases have been reported involving four adults and two children in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Placentia. Typhus is marked by fever, headache, muscle aches and rash.

Spain has a post-holiday tradition that goes way beyond Black Friday. Each year the country conducts an entire month of January sales, or rebajas , that make winter a good time to visit. Illinois-based Tourcrafters offers a four-night Madrid shopping trip through the end of the month that starts at $485 per person. On this tour, bargain hunters have free time to check out the Mercado de San Miguel food market, the Rastro antique flea market and El Corte Ingles department store while enjoying tapas and wine-tastings along the way. Dates: The five day/four-night tour is offered for travel through Jan. 31. Price: $485 per person, based on double occupancy (this tour is offered in February and March for a higher price)

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea , whose given name is Michael Balzary, has sold his newly built Malibu house for $3.15 million. The two-story contemporary had come on the market in June at $4,795,000. Designed by Marmol Radziner, the indoor-outdoor home sits on 1.36 acres with a free-form pool and an outdoor fireplace. There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and an office in more than 3,000 square feet. Flea bought the previous house on the site in 2002 for $2.55 million, but it burned in the 2007 Malibu fires, according to The Times' archives.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, whose given name is Michael Balzary, has sold his newly built Malibu house for $3.15 million. The two-story contemporary had come on the market in June at $4.795 million. Designed by Marmol Radziner, the indoor-outdoor home has a concrete floor and ocean and canyon views. There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and an office in more than 3,000 square feet. Flea, 49, is a founding member of the Grammy-winning band, whose 10th album, "I'm With You," was released this summer.

After more than 20 years, the queen of Shabby Chic still heads out in the dark of early morning in search of the perfect flea-market finds. "We don't do wheel barrels-into-coffee tables," Rachel Ashwell said, referring to some buyers' penchant to take old stuff and make it into something else. Rather, Ashwell, like many shoppers, chooses for items that are largely ready to roll. But how? Some insights into what makes her say "yes" to a piece — and, more important, what makes her say "no. " Function.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary, known as Flea, has listed a newly built Malibu house for sale at $4,795,000. Designed by Marmol Radziner, the contemporary indoor-outdoor home has a cement floor and ocean and canyon views. There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and an office in more than 3,000 square feet. Outdoor amenities on the gated 2.4-acre site include a free-form swimming pool. Flea, 48, is a founding member of the Grammy-winning band, which has released nine studio albums since it formed in 1983 and has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide.

Humans like to think of themselves as residing at the top of the evolutionary chain, but the tiny water flea beats them out by at least one measure ? the size of its genome. The creature, which lives in freshwater ponds around the world, requires nearly 31,000 genes to complete its genetic blueprint, almost a third more than humans and 50% more than the common housefly, researchers reported last week in the journal Science . That gives Daphnia pulex , only 1 millimeter long, more genes than any creature whose genome has been decoded to date, according to geneticist John Colbourne of Indiana University, who led the team that performed the sequencing.

Mark and Cindy Evans make the rounds of Southern California flea markets early, before most shoppers have gotten out of bed. Their favorite stops: The Groves Antique Market Held the first Sunday of the month from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Irvine Valley College, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Admission and parking are free. Dogs allowed. (949) 786-5277. Pasadena City College Flea Market Also held on the first Sunday of every month, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Due to a scheduling change, the market happens to be open this Sunday.

I would like to commend Peter Greenberg and Jennifer Merin for their travel articles on Feb. 24. Those two writers are the only ones who seem to remember they're employed by an international newspaper. We rely on (the Travel Section) for up-to-date articles about flea markets in London, bargains on hotels and travel, and pictures of exotic places. EILEEN F. GIESER Orange

When it came to remake their Laguna Beach house, Mark and Cindy Evans wanted to emulate the calm of California missions they loved while celebrating their favorite pastime: shopping flea markets. "I love the peaceful feel you get whenever you walk through a mission," Mark says. "It is completely different from anywhere else. " So is his house. Mark likes to joke that he and Cindy refer to themselves as the Flea Marketeers, adding with some hyperbole, "We're collectors as long as it's cheap.

It was no small feat for Jack Black to find a house to buy in the Los Angeles area. It was a two-year search, local real estate agents report. But now the "Gulliver's Travels" star has purchased Flea's Los Feliz-area home for $5,965,000, Redfin.com shows. Sitting on a flag-shaped lot of more than half an acre, the two-story 1915 house had been renovated by Flea (a.k.a. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary), who added a Topanga Canyon ambience. The kitchen is infused with a hippy vibe.