I come from a banking family, with many bank presidents among my uncles, but I do not have a banking story to tell. My bureaucratic story is from when I was getting my design degree from UT Austin. I already had a B.A. from Rice University with a double major - German/English and had taken summer graduate courses in German at UT Austin while I was at Rice (Rice does not have summer classes, due to the oppressive Houston summer weather), but I was still required to take two classes listed at "writing components" in order to get a B.S. in Interior Design! I didn't matter that I was a published author - I had to take classes designated as writing components to prove I was literate! The Interior Design department was in the Homemaking Department, which was in the Social Sciences School, meaning that I had to take two semesters of biological science to get an ID degree! Of course it would have been better if I could have gotten a graduate degree, but that was not offered. While at UT I took a graduate course in History of Architecture to help fill the ID requirement, but I was then told that graduate courses could not count toward an undergraduate degree. The degree I ended up getting was a B.S., which was fortunate because they would not have allowed me to get an additional B.A. degree. I still have nightmares about this - including last night. At Rice, everything was negotiable (It is a private school), and Rice allowed me to take graduate courses for my undergraduate degree with no questions asked. For my UT degree, I had to have the professor of the graduate level History of Architecture class (where I made the highest grade in the class) write a note saying that it was acceptable to downgrade the course to undergraduate. Even she thought that was silly, but at UT rules are unbendable. I learned a lot about bureaucracy there. I'm glad I took the graduate course, however, as it allowed me to do some interesting research. Lars

Based on my experience as homeowner (not a professional), I'd say a 2 ton or 2 1/2 ton AC system would be the max you'd need. I'd be very leery of anyone saying you needed anything larger unless they had the facts to back it up. American Std is made by the same company that makes Trane, so it's not a low end brand. 13 SEER is now the mininum you can buy. Your wiring will probably be ok, but you can discuss that with the salesmen who come out, they take all that into account. Get a lot of estimates, at least two on each brand. Keep in mind there's a 30%/$1500 Federal tax credit on more efficient models. I found that with the tax credit included that some of the mid-grade systems were actually more expensive than some of the upper end units.

Oh, I feel your pain. My cat jumped on a table in the lr to look out the window (early in the morning, pleated shades down). She knocked over the lamp, broke the finial and the Kraft paper shade shattered all over the place. Just the shade was over $50 to replace. Wanted to strangle her!!!! Have you tried Home Goods, TJ or Marshalls? I often see great lamps there for little money. Here's another alternative for you from Crate and Barrel. Probably too expensive, though if they have an outlet near you (they do near me), it might be worth checking out. Here is a link that might be useful: Crate and Barrel lamp

I don't know what I was thinking with that second fixture. It's kind of steampunk. I was really tired when I posted. I still like the first, but agree it's too trendy, especially for my neighborhood. I hear you all. A traditional and safe choice will have broader appeal. Even if potential buyers don't love it, it won't be objectionable to most people. I think I'll just go with a drum shade pendant. Thanks for saving me from myself. :)