Hi luvbrugs, Don't be scared ! Little needle stick. They will teach you @ the clinic how to do it. The question about it causing cancer you should talk to the clinic about that before you do anything. ALWAYS ask questions !! They are there to help. I'm sure thay will answer all your questions. Good luck

I assume that you are talking about the chrome or brass or painted pipe that protrudes from the shower wall above your head and has the shower head attached to it. That piece of pipe is called the shower arm. And no, it is not brand specific because the shower arm screws into a common plumbing fitting with ears cast into to it so that it can be screwed to a supporting 2X4 in wall framing. The same holds true for the tub spout or "toe tester". You select one either with or without a diverter, depending upon whether the shower valve has a built-in diverter or not.

I've been following this thread with interest & amusement. Some pretty hard line stances here. For the record, I consider my primary residence an "asset". It shows on my Balance Sheet as such and since we still have 8 years left on our mortgage there's a corresponding "liability" against that asset. However, when I calculate our "Retirement Savings" that asset is not included. We max out my husband's 401(k) & my IRA before we calculate what we can afford for housing costs. Houses go up & they go down. Neighborhoods have a life-cycle. If the location, etc. is good, they appreciate over a 2-3 decade period. Over this time frame, there will be periods of higher than normal appreciation & there will be periods of recessionary elements pushing back at the appreciation. Overall, during this time in a home's life cycle the overall average momentum will be up. Then, as they start showing their age...value begins to drop & often these neighborhoods become low income. After that phase, a lone wolf appears & purchases a piece of property...puts hard money into the place & renovates. Then another sees that there's potential in these old, run down places & buys into the lone wolf's dream. Soon, the old neighborhood is considered an "up & coming" place to be. And, the cycle begins anew. I don't know how long I'm going to own this home I'm living in now. I don't know where it will be in its life cycle when I decide it's time to sell. I may live here 30 years. Or, I may move next month. Due to the uncertainty of both when I will sell & the life cycle of real estate, I do not consider my home as a source of retirement income. I choose to raise my family in a stable environment. Therefore, I do not bounce them around from one house to another every 3-5 years treating my family home as an "investment" that requires portfolio management. Of course I'm pleased if the property appreciates. But, you won't see that appreciation on our "Return on Investment" calculations. It shows on the Balance Sheet only. Personally, I couldn't sleep at night if I was making a mortgage payment so high that I couldn't max out my 401(k) & IRA's every year. I'm old enough to have lived through several "boom & bust" real estate cycles. The appreciation of the last 4-5 years couldn't & won't last indefinitely. Prices will fall back & then slowly climb again. Remember back in the heady Nasdaq days? People were saying such ridiculous things as, "Oh, you're being a fool. It's a NEW economy now." Oh, phooey...there's nothing new under the sun. A company has to eventually make a profit or it will collapse. P/E ratios have to have some sanity behind them. Real estate is no different. It also must find a balanced equilibrium and it will. For some, the pendulum swings are painfull. Because of its inherent "cycles", I don't consider my primary residence either a "cash cow" or a retirement investment. So, there's another opinion. And, it's just that. My opinion. It works for us. The mortgage lenders say we can afford 5 times as much house as we have. We say that we can't afford that much house. We have to save for retirement first before we start spending. Our parents tought us to always save first. Tricia

Hi Marianne, Perhaps my grasp of English is not the best, but are you talking about bowel movements? I've been a vegan for years and everything seems to work just as it was intended. Forgive me if I have misunderstood what you are asking! Paul