Hi, libbyliz. Your speeds sound amazing. I'm on cable too and my tests are half that. But everything works instantly so not sure it makes any difference, unless you're into gaming. (No matter the speed, it doesn't make my reading or typing any faster.) If you're trying to cut your cable bill, you just might want to ask if they have a lower tier you could try. I read about RR Light on a local computer forum and called to ask about it. (Best kept secret in town, not even any mention of it on their website.) They said it was very slow--not much better than dialup. But I'd read it was good, so I asked to try it with the understanding I could switch right back. They made the switch and the first place I checked was the Kitchen Forum Gallery and purposely picked one that said lots of pics. There was the slightest difference. Next tried U-Tube and still fine. Internet part of bill went from $35 to $15/mo. and still getting speeds in the 720-740kbps range. Plenty fast for my needs and love the price. YMMV as each franchise sets their own prices. Sandy

Hi squarefour, We worked directly through our local plumbing supply house for all faucets and plumbing fixtures, but we had to make it clear to our GC (who had to let his plumber know up front) that we would handle the purchase of all fixtures. Our local plumbing supply saleswoman gave us about 40% off retail (maybe partly because it was the 2nd whole house remodel we did w/her). We bought mostly Kohler fixtures with some Hansgrohe and Grohe. I price-checked against several online retailers and found, on most items, she was giving us a comparable, or sometimes better, price as those found on efaucets.com. You can save even more during the efaucets free shipping or 10% off promotions, which they run quite frequently. In a past remodel, we had a plumber get quite upset about the fact that we intended to buy fixtures directly through the supply house because (unknown to us) he had bid the job with the expectation that he would also get a markup on the fixtures. We ended up working it out with him and paying him a bit more, but our GC had not explained this process to us (it was a cost plus contract) so we assumed it was okay for us to do our own thing with fixtures. During our most recent remodel, we knew the question of who buys plumbing fixtures was one we should specifically ask the GC before the contract was signed (both for plumbing and electrical). It was fine with him and was perhaps different because we were on a fixed price contract and maybe that makes a difference, but I don't really see why it would, as long as you make it clear to the GC and his plumber that he should not assume he'll get any fixture mark-up on the job, and his bid numbers need to reflect that. Also, some plumbers will try to convince you that it's important for them to buy the fixtures because they will then stand behind them, but I've never understood that position because the fixture warranty is what matters on the fixtures, and the contractors' work is supposed to also be guaranteed, so if there's a problem with either within the set period of time, you should technically be covered. If, for example, there's an issue with a faucet and you have to pay a plumber to come back and fix it, you'd probably have to pay for the plumber's time (unless you get the manufacturer to agree to cover it all) so you'll have to weigh the risk/benefit of getting the lower price on the fixture. I'm sure others will disagree with this strategy, and of course, I'm speaking from the homeowner's perspective, not the contractor's. Regarding light fixtures, as it turned out, I wish I bought these online. My electrician told me he and many of his clients have had great luck using online retailers. Instead, I used my local lighting showroom, after researching the types of fixtures I wanted online. They did give me a fair price (which I, of course, doublechecked against online retailers), but actually, the local showroom service left a lot to be desired. We had a few fixtures that came in damaged, and they did not "pre-check" them so they sat in my garage unopened yet damaged and then when our electrician came back to set fixtures, we found several of them were broken and, as it turned out, were on backorder so it took about another 4-5 weeks to get them in and could have delayed the final building inspection. The electrician claimed that it was the lighting store's responsibility to check the fixtures for quality control when they arrived in the store before we picked them up. We also paid one of the lighting showroom "designers" a $100 fee to come out to the house, give us design advice for proper fixture sizes, review our order and make sure that our downrods were correctly sized for chandeliers, etc. As it turned out, when the fixtures were delivered, she had not ordered long enough downrods on the DR chandelier and two of the ceiling fans. Again, another 3 week wait for these with another return trip by electricians! Very frustrating. So, you can get poor service either way, and who knows, I may have been better served by going online. There are some excellent lighting retailers online who offer good phone support, as I've since found out. Here are my favorite online retailers for both lighting and plumbing, all of which seem to offer excellent prices - For lighting - www.1800lighting.com (the store is actually called Capitol Lighting, but this is their website address) www.lightinguniverse.com For plumbing - www.efaucets.com - they seem to offer around 40% off retail, but I don't have any experience with their service. Also, do a google search for ongoing coupons for all of these websites and you may find they have a weekend sale of 10% off or some such thing frequently. Best of luck on your project!

that is what I was expecting to hear but I was very surprised after explaining to them what data mining was and having them look at some things on google I did not get the you are in the dark ages line, but they know I am heavy into computers and computer security so maybe they considered that (and the fact I am the one they have to call when they have a problem). I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. And as you said if you have good kids with good smarts they can understand the issues. those little third party apps and stuff like say Christmas Cheer for example if you read the fine print you see just how much info you are signing away! Plus most of them that put out those 3rd party apps and games for facebook have no listing of their terms of service or privacy policies anywhere.

I was very pleased with his price. I didn't ask what the price was prior to ordering, though I did know the internet price. I was assuming that his price would be 20 to 25% higher. I am a very happy camper and I will be ordering at least three more rugs from him, flooring and tiling for 2 bathrooms, and I want to tear out the wtw in our br and have him install hw. Win/win situation!