And yes it can be started from cuttings. Here is a link that might be useful: propagating oakleaf hydrangeas

Q: In Southwest Missouri, Interstate 44 is quite often the demarcation line for rain, snow or thunderstorms. In fact, our local forecasts are often couched in terms of "North of I-44" or "South of I-44", which makes me wonder if high traffic roads affect the weather. Would the heat rising from such highways in some way affects a storm's ability to cross it? A: You�re correct, television forecasters often use highways to describe the weather, but this is because they are good, local landmarks that most viewers would be familiar with, not because the highways themselves affect the weather. Heat rising from a highway, or a parking lot, or bare fields can create thermals, or rising columns of air, which can sometimes create clouds that can grow into thunderstorms. When this is going on, however, the thermals would not be powerful enough to stop, or even slow, upper air winds that could be pushing any kind of weather across the highway. The upper air winds that push weather along can extend from right above the ground to maybe 30,000 feet or more. Compared with the energy such winds represent, the air rising from a highway is pretty weak. But, your idea of the ways people are changing the landscape could be changing the weather isn�t off base. It's just that a strip of highway doesn't�t add enough heat (energy) to the atmosphere to make much difference. A city, on the other hand, is a different question, and researchers have been studying the effects of cities on weather for years. For example, see a NASA report on Atlanta's Urban Heat Alters Weather and previous USATODAY.com answers to questions about Human effects on weather. Some climatologists are also beginning to look at the larger effects of turning forests into farmland, and other human changes not only on local weather, such as downwind from a city, but on the Earth's climate. Here is a link that might be useful: usa today

Its a good school. Like most things, you kinda get out what you put in. We're going down to do a little tailgating with family and friends for the Aggie game. Might be the last one....

Re the brushed nickel finish -- I hope that it holds up since I have that on all my handles and the faucet in the kitchen! But, I do have a *very* cheap BN faucet in my bath; $30 I think it was... it has been there 10 years (at least, I don't quite remember when I put it in) and it was perfect until my DD moved back in and started abusing it. I caught her banging her razor on it to clear it, and maybe that combined with some of her face products (like salicylic acid in the pimple cream) has started some spots where the finish has turned blackish.