I am not in the know as to what the answer(s) could be, but a lot is mind set, and that can be a difficult thing to change, and it takes time (years). Twenty years ago in the coffee room of my office there was a discussion about pollution and gasoline consumption, and someone made the comment about how we are gluts (in North America) about stuff, and how some of the things we buy or pay for are too cheap, and should be WAY more expensive. He used saran wrap as an example, it's so cheap that people use it alot, and once, and throw it out, yet it doesn't decompose well (or at all?), and costs $ and resources to make. I walked away (young and naive) thinking he was one of those 'hippies' from the 60's, yet over time I found myself coming back to his comment and I've started to look at everything I use, and questioning whether I need to do things the way the tv commercials tell me to (and society). I try to watch my gas consumption, grouping my errands to the same part of town on the given day. And waiting another week or two until I am back in that part of the city, instead of making a special drive for an item. But it's how to get other people to start to be aware of this. They get hit with 'global warming' speeches on the news, and it's so depressing and overwhelming that I think many just try to avoid thinking about it, placing hope and trust in researchers, or that all will turn out well. I read in a People Magazine that last year Tom Cruise's fuel bill was $1,000,000. (Jetting his beloved over to Italy so she can pick out the perfect dress for one of his premieres - is that like my family driving 20K in to town to window shop?) Just because he's got the $, what gives him the right to use so much? I cannot remember, but in some eastern country, residents had gas card allowances, where it did not matter if you had the money to buy more, you could only purchase 30 litres of gas per week for personal use. Maybe that's what's needed here, a weekly limit, to try to make people aware of the gas they use, when they want to hop in the vehicle and drive in to town to 'shop' because they've nothing fun to do that day. Or there needs to be some way to know what the actual cost of driving here and there is, like the meter on a taxi. kioni

I believe crime is further down the list way below economic conditions of the neighborhood and here is why: Crime makes news story in an upper class neighborhood as it is abnormal. We know crime happens everywhere in every neighborhood but upper class folks don't like to be disturb with it or have it lower their image so cops are called in, etc. e.g. Beverly Hills Middle class neighborhood also may make a news story but not as shocking as upper class. e.g. Irvine In lower class or depressed neighborhood - it barely makes the news as it is expected. That doesn't prevent more criminals from setting up shop. e.g. Watts or Compton We must keep in mind in the US many neighborhoods and their social economic were forecast by US government policies after WW2 and it is no shocker that interstates/highways (Interstate Highway Act) cut through previously good neighborhoods and some inner cities are predominately one group or another. Until you have a renaissance those communities will attract crime and less than ideal living conditions resulting in unattractive housing market for outsiders and businesses. No business owner wants to risk opening shop in a poorer or increasing crime neighborhood if they can pay a little more in rent and have business in the 'good' part of town unless it is fast food or church. The next biggest attribute to neighborhood downfall in the US - is companies/business relocate to cheaper or elsewhere. E.g. We have heard of Walmart killing a downtown or example Schenectady, NY which was HQ of GE until they moved elsewhere and it went from one of the most desirable destinations in NY to one of the most depressing (never able to turn itself around). Most of the mid-west cities follow the exact trend of losing a big employer footprint while continually receiving low-educated residents looking for employment/future. You are left with uneducated folks without money in a place with little upward opportunity. A family with no job and kids will probably foucs on some type of illegal activity to obtain $$$ eventually (even if they can hold out for a long time) or some dependency (gambling, drugs, gangs) to escape their desperate condition.

So I've been away from the forums for awhile due to hectic work and school schedule as well as the arrival of my second son. The following photos show the current status of the yard. I had a setback after July 4th as the sprinklers still weren't on and the lawn went two weeks without water... it started to try to go into dormancy. I set them to run every four days, and just switched to 5. I also have a weed popping up all over the grass. Does anyone know what this is, and the best measure for getting rid of it? I'm assuming I'm over watering a bit, but I'm still trying to get it the right frequency dialed in. The grass doesn't seem to like going a full 7 days yet, but I'm working towards it. Also, the weed mainly likes to grow on top of the grass, so it's not visible after a mow, but it seems to spread after its cut.

I think it's pretty important in this discussion to recognize the OP is dealing with a concrete slab. So am I. Everyone is universally telling me that I am limited to engineered hardwood if I want wood. Most of which aren't really great for refinishing, honestly. And, have the same kinds of realities as laminate in terms of underlayment and moisture exposure and the hollow feel and noise of floating floors etc. I'd love to have solid hardwood, preferably stained on site and nailed down. But, that's just not viable for me. Apparently, it's not for Dana, either. With solid wood, dents and scratches seem to just add character. That's not really true with the engineered samples I have checked out, though. When I mar them, there are these ugly plastic-like, white marks. I understand that it is because of the newer finishes on off-site woods or something. It's been consistently true in my testing. And, I have a bevy of local sales people telling me I am going to regret the engineered hardwood in six months and spend a lot more for it. They recommend LVT due to our climate/moisture or laminate for durability/resilience/minimal scratching. So... it gets tough to justify going with the engineered hardwood. I went through a brief period in which I became convinced strand bamboo was my answer - but then I started seeing severe cupping in climates like mine and that scared me off.