We do not post publicly how the Stout vote breaks down by region since that is not a requirement to win the Award. You can find the HM and AM results posted by region, since votes must come from 4 regions for the HM and 8 regions for the AM. But with the Stout,it is simply the cultivar that gets the most votes. The number of judges varies by region. There are more judges in the regions with the most AHS members. Region 2 has our largest number of members, and also the largest number of judges. Region 4 is the second largest region and it has the second largest number of judges. Some regions with low numbers of AHS members ( Regions 7, 8,9) also have fewer judges.I don't think that having the largest regions represented by the largest number of judges would skew the vote. It would just give an accurate representation of what our membership reflects. Most, but not all, judges vote each year!

Jon-When I lived in Arkansas I knew a lot of people who regularly rode horses. But I only knew ONE who always rode a mule; never a horse. The mules name was Willie. I commented one day since mules have a reputation of being "difficult" in a way few horses are, it surprises me that he rode Willie all the time. His reply made perfect sense to me. He said "Awe, Willies OK. You just have to smack a mule as hard as you can, right between its eyes with a 4 x 4, to get its attention first." It made sense because I never tried to ride a mule. The topic was not about killing a hosta to prevent HVX, or any other virus for that matter, from spreading. It was about what commericial growers, retailers, hybridizers, TCers, etc. actually do with their waste. Since we ALL CONCEDED it can be spread from hosta roots left in growing medium, it posed the question: Is it wise for them to recycle their hosta potting materials and waste by composting? I'd already conceded that I only presumed this is what they do with it, based on the piles I had seen, and was open to enlightenment. At the outset I had invited any growers, etc. to take part in this discussion. It illicited Chris and Rob to participate. Now they are not. I am afraid the string has been severed, repeatedly, and can't be recovered. I give up-Jon. Its your field now. Go ahead and run with it with my blessings! I have one statement to make to you JON, and will not respond if you have a comeback. During much of MY lifetime, engineers based much work on the hypothesis that the electron, proton, and neutron were the most fundimental elements of matter. This hypothesis was dealt with as if it were fact and the basis for much progress, while it was commonly accepted it was a very consistent hypothesis. Now we KNOW (at least I do), of course, that it was not fact. We learned this as scientific researchers developed greater technology that disproved the hypothesis. Their work is applauded, and their success was achieved because they DID NOT ACCEPT IT AS FACT and looked for better answers for unsolved questions. SO MUCH FOR ENGINEERS ONLY DEALING WITH FACT, NOT HYPOTHISIS(as your opinion clearly stated). This experience has created no hard feelings towards you on my part. I am frustrated because the question has not been answered. Back to Hosta Forum! Les

Hello Everyone! For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Bump. Dan's a bit busy today, so I thought I would take some time out from my busy napping schedule and tell you what Dan received from Wendy. It was a really cool box, and I thoroughly enjoyed helping him investigate it! So, here's what we received from Wendy... There was some black chocolate tea, but it's gone now. Dan drank it all last night. There was a miniature hanging basket in which Dan planted the included petunia seeds. I tried to help him plant the seeds, but Dan said to wait and help him hang it up outside. Oh, also there were some plastic plant markers and a big flower pouch. I think Dan is putting in an aerial garden this year, so those will help a lot. Then there were these two funny little men in the box. One of them is sitting on the desktop with his arms open wide (personally, I think he may have had a bit too much catnip) and Dan says he'll hang on the outside of a flower pot. I can't wait to see this happen! The other little man is outside now, talking to one of his friends beneath a mushroom that also came in the box. I think there's a picture of them somewhere here, let me see if I can find it. (This would be so much easier if I had opposable thumbs!) Oh, okay, I found it! George, the new guy, is the one on the right... Then there was this frog-on-a-stick thing. I was glad to see this guy go outdoors, he moved around too much and kept teasing Stella... Then there was a baggie full of seeds. Just what I needed! Here I am, working with Dan on his addiction, actually making a little progress, and Wendy sends him more seeds. Frankly, I think I'm going to have to speak to all of your owners (even the dogs, who slobber way too much!) about getting you people into some sort of rehab program! Honestly! I guess you want to know what kinds of seeds Dan received from Wendy, so let me see if I can read her writing on all of these. Some of you need to work on your penmanship... Let's see, there are gypsophila, money plant, pink pampas grass (you're sending him grass??? is that legal??), vitex agnes castus, birdhouse gourds, little bluestem grass, black dragon coleus, bright lights cosmos, heirloom tomato paste mix, black moudry grass (more???), butterfly orchid flower, popcorn cassia, amaranthus, giant reed grass, more birdhouse gourds, ornamental grass, orange cosmos, double click cosmos, ladybird lemon cosmos, vanilla grass, balsam, crocosmia "lucifer", cosmos - dazzler rosy red, summer dream cosmos, seashell cosmos, bottle gentian, more ornamental grass, globe gilia, and brizamedia grass. You all must think he plans on smoking a lot of grass this year! Then, there were these really funny looking birds at the bottom of the box. Dan put them outside, and they look strange, sort of like they're dead actually. Dan wouldn't let me or Stella taste them before he put them outside, which we didn't like. They're birds, we're cats, so that makes them dinner! Want to see what they look like? Okay, but make sure the young humans aren't in the room, these things look kind of freaky... See what I mean? Dan's making a halloween-themed section in the garden, and I think he should put those two flamingo skeletons in it. Don't you? Anyway, Wendy, Dan, Stella, and I really appreciate this box, and everything in it! Oops! I almost forgot something! There was also a brass sparkly thing in the box, which is now hanging on the front of the house. Between all the grass, brass, and catnip, I think we're going to have an interesting summer hereabouts! Yep! Might even get to meet some of those silly police dogs! That's okay though, I've got claws and Stella, so we'll be just fine! Take care everyone, and I'll talk to you all again when I host the May Swap! Should be fun!!! -Bump

Both Android and the Apple operating systems for phones and tablets aren't 100% safe (nothing in life is) but they're both sitting on customized versions of Linux (which has pretty tight security features). I've never heard of anyone having a problem with either types of devices but I'm sure it happens, however rarely. The best security is a careful user, no matter what device is involved.