A local orchard is raising pigs under his orchard trees. Pigs clean up the fallen fruit, graze, and he didn't mention anything about pig/tree problems in the article. He was going to raise more piglets next year! Another bonus was that with pigs cleaning up the fruit on the ground, a certain kind of fly has no place to over winter, so they are not bothering his fruit like previously. Breaks the cycle with pigs eating fruit. Evidently the pig digestion kills the eggs or lavae so flies never hatch. Michigan State Ag Dept is EXCITED about this, will conduct further studies. Sounded like a winning combination all around for him. Pigs do require good fencing, but with plenty to eat, they grew fast, sold well for the orchard guy.

Hi Fellow Sensitive People, I've just moved into an apartment to escape another noisy apartment in which I lived for only three months. I was luckily able to re-assign that lease. My current Landlord was fair enough to allow me my first month before signing a one year lease. Before this month ends, I have to decide if I'm going to stay. The main problem in my last apartment was that it was in the basement of an older house. Therefore, every noise from the apartment above was as if it was in my apartment. It sounded like the only thing between me and the floor above was a piece of thin plywood. So, when the small but heavy footed woman above me walked, it created intolerable thumps and vibrations like a diving board. Not every day but on certain occasions, she had some unsavory characters over. These visits often resulted in foul language, shouting, threatening words and "Get Out" between them etc. I had to fork out over $150 a month more in rent to move into my current apartment. I'm in a triplex and the current landlord assured me that there is concrete and plaster between the floors and walls. Now, I don't have the thin floorboard above me. So, I can't hear the person walking. However, I think I hear cupboards closing and the water pipes clunk after the water is shut off. This is especially irritating in the morning when people are getting up and at night before they go to bed. Apparently, the vibrations and thumps from cupboards and furniture being dragged across the floor aren't muffled by the heavier materials. My floor is carpeted but not all of the other apartments are. I live near the stirs and those who like to run up them or walk heavily are quite audible as well. I could have taken a third floor apartment elsewhere but the area or condition of the building weren't as good. Besides, as others in this forum have mentioned, irritating sounds come from below as well. I hesitate to move again because this place is better than the last one. In addition, if a totally sound proof apartment does exist, it would be out of my price range. I think what we're all finding out here is that there is no "Bed of Roses." If you find it, enjoy it while it lasts because circumstances always change beyond our control. And, I think "Control" is the key word here. If we were all to form a club, it would be called the "Living Space Control Club." We are all nice people--I'm sure we've all heard that before. We're nice because we control our own behaviour to try not to offend or upset others. We're not wimps--if pushed too far, we'll unleash a world of hurt on the offender--but we'd rather avoid that, if possible. That being said, we often don't understand others who don't control their behaviour according to our standards. We tend to become resentful and interpret their "noise making" as an attack on our space. If we showed that lack of consideration to others, that would be our intention, right? So, we instinctively attribute such malice to others behaviour. Usually, they don't have a problem with us and no offence is intended. They just have different priorities to us. Here's the rub. Humans have very different priorities but we're all territorial to one degree or another. In my last apartment, I very politely confronted the noisy woman above me. I asked her if she could hear sounds from my apartment. She replied, "I can hear everything but I'm not a complainer." To that I replied, "Well, I have to do computer work down there." She was "getting drunk" because she just lost her job. So, she asked if we could talk about it the next day. I said that I just wanted to know if she could hear things from my apartment. Since she'd answered that, and was now aware of my situation, I saw no point in discussing it any further. Unfortunately, the situation did not improve. So, my point is that whether your neighbor reacts positively, negatively or indifferent, if they don't share your priorities, they'll think, "Who does he/she think they are?" "I pay rent here as well and I'm going to live according to my priorities." Based on the replies in this forum, there are more of us than I thought. In general society, I think we're in the minority. I have O.C.D, although I've kept it managable for years now. I suspect that I have A.D.D. as well. Someone else in this forum mentioned that he/she had A.D.D. These conditions along with many others are anxiety based. They would not have names or acronyms if everyone had them. Through my experience, I don't believe that there is any 100% cure for anxiety based conditions. However, through therapy, they can become manageable. I've had therapy for my O.C.D. and it helped. I will do a web search looking for suggestions to help me deal with my current sensitivity to noise. Perhaps, I'll follow up on the "nerve damage to ears" suggestion that another person made in this forum. I had many earaches as a kid. I've always found that the breathing exercises that I learned through behavioural modification helped. Maybe I'll try that as well. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as well. Take Care All!

mrb627, when we take the duct off the dryer, the loud whine comes from the back of the dryer where the hose would be connected. The first Electrolux i tried was an IQ touch which was the same way, very loud whine and also outside coming from vent. I returned them because the washer sounded like a tank when it spun,and didn't want to tolerate the noise of them. Then i got an Electrolux Wave Touch, the dryer had a good size dent in it when it was delivered, so i had to use it until the replacement came in and it was not as loud as the replacement. at least i could ignore it better. this sounds like a jet airplane,that kind of whine. i know that these put out a high velocity of air, but i wondered if putting the heavy foil one on it would make any difference in the sound. It may be something that i will just have to live with, but you can hear it over the TV, and i have to not have it on when sitting on the patio.

How are they planning to mount the laminated glass in the opening? From what I read it will be a more or less permanent mount? One potential advantage (but also potential acoustical disadvantage) of the plastic insert is that it's much lighter than the laminated glass so it can be relatively easy to remove from the opening if necessary, whereas the laminated glass is going to be heavy. A laminated insert using 3mm glass for both lites will be over 50lbs at the size window that you describe, and while laminated glass can be very safe when handling, it's still a chore if you have to remove it from the opening for any reason. But acoustically that weight (density) is to your advantage. The .06 acoustical laminate glass means that they are using a 1.52mm thick PVB interlayer in the laminated glass. Generically .030" or .76mm interlayer is considered safety, .060" or 1.52mm is considered security, and .090" or 2.28mm is considered to be impact resistant, or the thickness generally used for hurricane impact glass. Adding additional thickness also adds some acoustical advantage as well, roughly 1 to 2 dB advantage for every additional .76mm thickness. I would suggest that if you are going to be looking at comparing laminated glass to acrylic, you might consider using the laminated glass in your bedroom.