There is a huge 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico. Do you really believe that it is caused by homeowners using too much fertilizer? I don't. The dead zone is blamed on runoff from farmland. If farm runoff is enough to cause that dead zone, how can it not be the cause of Phosphorus in streams and water supplies? When farmers farm, they do a very carefully analysis of how much fertilizer they need to maximize their profits. If they don't, they go out of business. They could care less about runoff if their farm is at stake. I agree with cyrus on this one; it's political. Just as with air pollution and vehicle pollution controls, it is politically expedient to force the ordinary person to bear the brunt of regulation. Businesses get a pass. For years, trucks were exempted from the requirement to use catalytic converters. They were 10% of vehicles on the road but they were creating 50% of the air pollution. Only recently were they required to clean up their exhaust.

Hello everyone! I'm definitely NOT a fan of Wal-Mart, although I can appreciate the reasons why people shop there. Wal-Mart has extremely low prices, but I am absolutely NOT convinvced their products are of good quality. One of the few things I bought was a garden-hose-spray-nozzle for .99 which broke within a few days. At a yard sale, I got 2 used garden-hose-spray-nozzles for $1 each, which have held up faithfully. 4 years ago, My mom bought a kids' mountain bike for her grandson. What a piece of crap that was. Crappy enough to make a kid not want to ride a bike. Yes, it was very inexpensive, but who cares, if its just junk? I bought my mountain bike on local-ebay, 2nd hand, for a lot less than what it'd cost new. Walmart clothes: decent, but Target is far better. I'm lucky to live in a metropolitan area, where thrift stores are chock-full of good clothes. Nobody does a better job of being thrifty than me: I'm enthusiastic about buying things 2nd hand, at thrift stores, auctions, on craigslist.org, in the local paper, etc. I get a lot of great things, used. Where I live, anything I need can be found for a good price at smaller stores (...every store is smaller than Walmart). And if paying a little more means supporting a smaller and/or local store, I will do so. Smaller stores sometimes have great sales! I believe in supporting small/smaller businesses, because I believe they are healthy for our economy, from which everyone benefits. I wrote a letter to the mayor of Oregon City, thanking her for saying "no" to a Walmart store being built here. (She wrote me back!) Another point: Don't buy anything just because it's dirt cheap. Garbage service costs, and the landfills have enough junk already. How much useless crap could a household possibly need?

Hort, who are these professionals? You will be hard pressed to find them. I've been trying to grow things for 37 years and still plants cark it. That is why we need an orchid forum. Sometimes you will find in posts little hints that make a difference. Anyway, it all comes down to conditions, conditions, conditions. Your Wal-Mart Dendrobium is probably a hard-cane, i've got about thirty of them and not many people grow them around these parts because they are considered "Difficult" . As for the disease, your plant is just showing what happens when conditions do not suit. I had one that grew too big, thought i would trial it outside a glasshouse and put it in a sheltered position of the front porch, sheltered position, morning sun. It declined! Moved it to my shadehouse. It declined more and then died. Your plant has declined to such a point that perhaps you should discard it and start off with a new one. These are the "weeds" of Florida, Hawaii, Queensland, Australia. They like moderate humidity, warmth, even watering, though slightly less in winter and sunlight filtered by some like shade-cloth. How can i tell you how to grow them seeing my total orchid experience is here? That is the real problem with orchid growing, you have to do some research and follow that up with some interpretation in relating what you read to your growing place(s). Even then many you try will just die.

Quote: "i was a dealer for 12 years and never once asked to see a sales receipt to do warranty work. the manufacturer has a date code on most machines telling the date of manufacture." What did the manufacturers do then for the machines that *didn't* have a date code on them? As nevada walrus posted, the companies always ask for the "in service" date when addressing warranty concerns. The date of manufacture doesn't factor into it at all. As for the Walmart situation, I have to ask.....why buy something that doesn't include the factory packaging or manuals? I always want the box myself. If the machine isn't completely set up and assembled, it could very well still find its way to the display counter.....while the factory packaging with some small parts finds its way to the box baler. I won't buy anything new without a manual either. Not only is the manual full of information on how to maintain and operate the machine, but setup info is also included. The guy in the back of the store might have loosely assembled something just to get it out on display. I've always sent my warranty registration cards in, and it's a good idea to do so. There's no information required on the cards that's worth anything to anyone else, so being concerned with your personal info being sold isn't worth worrying about. We get safety and product improvement updates constantly on the machinery we sell. If a customer's machine DOES have an issue later on, the end-user never fails to say, "You never told me that", when we mention a bulletin that could have prevented whatever issue they're having. The thing is, WE don't have a database that records which machines have been sold to which customers. WE don't record and monitor product changes and serial number breaks. The manufacturers DO keep track of such things, but they only can if they're provided the info. Then when there's an issue, the customer gets sent a card, and we get one too....if the customer listed us as the selling dealer when they filled out the card that is.