wizard, I just wanted to say I have a 6 year old Dell, and though I can no longer extend the warranty (could only get it for 5 years), the last 2 years I had what was called Gold Support. I'm not sure if I paid extra for that over wwhat it would have normally cost for years 4 and 5, but with the Gold Support, my repair call was to be answered in 5 minutes....and it always was. Additionally, other than the initial repair call to tech support which was overseas (India I think) all the later calls were to US tech folks. LMK if you ever want me to check for a US repair # for you. My one and only call to India was a disaster and drove me nuts. Additionally, since having the Gold Warranty for years 4 and 5, I am entitled to tech support for the life of the computer.

Personally this would be the deal breaker for me 2 GHz Intel Celeron processor 550 celeron processors are just not near top of the line in fact they are pretty far down there. I don't know why they even still make them. It does have xp on it instead of vista which is a plus. as to the s-video I have no idea actually I could not find much info on the model other than what was there on the walmart site about it. Key Features & Benefits: # 15.4" widescreen LCD Presents vivid 1280 x 800 WXGA resolution with more than 16 million colors # 2 GHz Intel Celeron processor 550 Meets the demands of multitasking and multimedia while also saving energy # 2 GB of DDR2 system memory, 667 MHz Offers improved performance with today's demanding applications # 120 GB hard drive Provides ample space for documents, games, music, photos and videos # DVD+/-RW drive Lets you burn DVDs and CDs in a wide variety of disc formats # 802.11b/g wireless LAN Connects to wireless home and office networks or to Wi-Fi hotspots for convenient Internet access # 8-in-1 digital media reader Reads and writes the most popular memory card and Memory Stick formats for easy file transfer # Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Furnishes time-tested reliability and performance Here is a link that might be useful: info

Just an FYI...if you keep the island dimensions as-is and add legs, you'll be very tight on space for the 3 seats on the long side. You need 24" per seat - possibly a bit more to be able to maneuver in/out of the seats around the legs (you can't use the end "space" to slip into the two end seats b/c the legs will be in the way). With a 72" long island, you have just enough room for 3 seats. With legs, you need to either add length to the island equal to the widths of the legs (3" wide?), or reduce seating to 2. For the seat on the short end, you should have enough room but be aware that, as someone else mentioned, that seat will be off-center b/c of the overhang - at least when someone is sitting there. If no one is sitting at that seat and the one around the corner, then you can center that end stool (to help with your form over function sensibilities in this case). Island depth of 41.5": 1.5" overhang + 24" deep cabs + 1" decorative panel + 15" overhang For cabinets, if the 57" width of cabinets are already ordered and cannot be changed, then you'll have an 18.9" overhang for that seat on the short end - very comfortable for an adult or teenager! The 15" overhang on the long side will be fine for children and anyone under 6'2" or so (speaking from experience!) This will reduce your aisle to 51.5" behind the island - which will probably be OK most of the time. The only time it would an issue is if someone is trying to work at the counter behind the island while others are seated along the long end of the aisle. If you can do it, I'd move the island closer to the sink wall be 6" (for a 48" aisle) and add those 6" to the back aisle (51.5" + 6" = 57.5"). One question - are your aisle measurements cabinet-to-cabinet or counter edge-to-counter edge? If the aisles are measured cabinet-to-cabinet, then your aisles are actually not as wide as stated. Assuming the standard 1.5" counter overhang in front of the cabinets (protects the drawer fronts & doors as well as the drawer pulls/knobs from spills and bumping), then you need to account for the extra 1.5": Sink aisle: 1.5" overhang in front of sink run + 51" aisle + 1.5" overhang in front of island (aisle width: 54" - 1.5" - 1.5" = 51") You then have 3" instead of 6" to add to the back aisle if you can move your island and reduce the sink/island aisle to 48". Aisle behind island (MW aisle): 52.5" aisle + 1.5" overhang in front of counter run with MW. (aisle width: 54" - 1.5" = 52.5)" If you add the 3" from the sink aisle, then the aisle b/w the island and the MW run will be 52.5" + 3" = 55.5" [Edited for for those annoying typos!] This post was edited by buehl on Sat, Oct 4, 14 at 5:36

My apologies, I refer to rafters as trusses. The trusses are all engineered, I meant the rafter construction and walls were all site fabricated. Thanks, that name sounds familiar. We already have an inspector hired specifically because I did not like the plumbing etc showing daylight. We hired them about .. actually I think 2 weeks ago. There is nothing that looks out of the sorts enough to stop them at this point. The issues I have are things that need better support on one end, but that is a pretty easy fix at any point. The major areas are already supported, actually more than most homes I have seen / had experience with. My concern was, had anyone else seen the sort of framing like this. That answer would be a "no" lol. The pictures I showed are the areas I went through last night. One had already been resolved with a new beam being placed and support being placed above that to the end of the beam they needed support for. The second one was being done today the same way. What they did was bring in what appears to be a 4x6 manufactured beam, similar to the large beams they used for longer spans, and they placed it across multiple walls and supports. Then they brought up a 2-ply stud to support the end of the rafter beam, 2 wrapping it and 1 underneath, all nailed together. Pretty solid work. I told them I wanted the same thing done with the 3rd and they agreed it needed it, so those 'strange' supports, according to them, were temporary and not permanent. The last piece I wanted reinforced was the center beam. I am having them bring up a 3-ply load-bearing support all the way down to the slab to replace that one support. That should be in later today. BTW, if I sound defensive of them, I am not. I am totally with all of you. I love the input and I totally appreciate the help and guidance. Frankly, as I stated to them, the likelihood of me ever getting on that roof or the likelihood of a real "load" on that roof may be small, but the point is, I want to sleep well in the home and I cannot do so if it is not as safe as possible and so no matter what an engineer says, I want extra reinforcements on certain things, THEN.. we will let the inspectors tell them where else they need to add stuff. The bottom line is, they are willing and glad to add any changes I want. That makes it easier. They are not balking at anything I am asking for and welcome (or at least say they do.. heh), the inspector, so we will see what the inspector says. To their credit, they even found a couple things I missed, nothing structural, but it is good to see they are looking at all of it. I'll keep you all updated. Oh, one other note. I let them know.. "you fix concrete with concrete.. you fix wood with wood.. you do NOT "seal" things with anything other than what was meant to be there in the first place. You CAN come back and add an extra sealant.. but you do not make up aspects with a different material". I had a builder in the past that tried to tell me the crack going all the way up my brick fireplace (outside) was going to be "caulked".. I was like, "you fix a masonry issue with CAULK? Tell ya what, go get the engineer to sign off on that in writing and we will see what the manufacturer of the brick and fireplace says"... they came back and redid the entire fireplace.. lol. I have zero problem holding people's feet to the fire. This was step 1 of getting the issues resolved. Prior to sheetrock, the entire house will be safe and secure. R