I guess in reading this thread I just wonder why anything has to be said about people doing things wrong in the first place. Why not just give advice if it is asked for and let people be if they don't ask? Besides, who is to say what is the right or the wrong approach to doing things? Gardening is one of those things where it seems like rules are meant to be broken. I know a lot of what I suggest to people is contrary to the advice and practice of most people on GW. Does that make it "wrong?" I don't think so, but many might say it did. Now what if I told you that folks from the University of Maryland Extension were so impressed by my garden knowledge that they tried to recruit me into their master gardener program? (I said "no" because I expect to leave the country around the end of this year). Does that make my methods right because some of the folks from the local extension were impressed by my expertise? I don't think so. At most, I can say that my methods allow me to achieve my goals. When I first started, the goal was simple: grow some tomatoes. They weren't great, but I did get a few tomatoes. And I had achieved my goal. As time has gone on, I've added herbs and other plants, and even developed somewhat of a speciality in hot orange habaneros (and no, not all orange habs are hot--you can dilute the heat a lot by using too much water), and become more ambitious. This year my goal is to see how far down I can reduce my produce buying. All my friends and (I think) everyone around me in my immediate neighborhood knows I grow edibles. If people ask me for advice, then I give them whatever suggestions I can. But if they ignore me, I don't care, and I probably won't even pay enough attention to them to notice. If people don't ask me for that advice, then I also don't care. I figure that half the fun of horticulture is the process of discovering these things for oneself. :) And I have enough of my own stuff going on. So live and let live works really well for me. :) Angie (who is stuck inside this evening due to a heavy thunderstorm)

Coxy, I would guess that you have a Savio standard skimmer. I am guessing that you have 2 50 watt UV's. The thing that I can not know is if you have Savio UV's or Emperor Aquatics UV's. If they are Emperor you may be able to find someone besides Al Zimmer to sell them cheaper. Al is the brother of the owner of Emperor and everyone watches that he is not selling Emperor products cheaper than MAP pricing. You may find someone else that won't advertise any cheaper than MAP but will sell them cheaper if you contact them. UV bulbs by most manufacturers are to be changed when they drop down to 80% of their new output. Most of the time this is 9,000 hours of use or about 13 months of use. There is no way to tell by looking at the bulb if it is still operating at the level that is needed. The metal that is coating the inside of the bulb at the ends has nothing to due with the age of the bulbs. Whatever you do don't look directly at the bulb when it is on even for a short period of time. The UV will be burn your eyes very quickly and you will not know that it has happened until later. Mike

I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

Mari, Hi! Sounds like I'm in a similar position to your sister. In October I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer that had spread. At our first meeting with the oncologist i was told that this is not a curable cancer and that with no treatment I would live 6 - 9 months and with treatment 9 - 12. I was not a candidate for surgery or radiation since the cancer had spread so much. The oncologist was proposing an aggressive chemo that had only a 40% response rate. 2 year survival less than 5%. However he added that what I had going for me was that I was young (44) and in great health (other than this little problem) and that someone had to be in the 5%. Hospice was never mentioned. I began chemo on 10/17 and just finished the 6th round (it will go on indefinately). However the size of my tumors have shrunk 60% since diagnosis and no new ones. So far I'm a success story. The doctor is even talking about giving me the "summer off" if I continue to respond in this way. While the chemo is certainly no picnic; it is not as bad as I thought. Nausea/vomiting is 100% controlled by medication; so that is not a problem. Being bald is the least of my problems and hey I don't have to shave my legs. The worst is the fatigue and some bone/muscle pain 9bedrest and Tylenol help but out of every 21 day chemo cycle I feel more or less like myself for about half the days. Anyway... I don't know if my situation is relevant to your sisters but I wanted to give you another perspective. Everything I have heard about hospice has been wonderful and won't hesitate when the time comes. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.