Thx EMT, is this how you brought yours back, by cutting & soaking? HI GL, I'd potted up the plant, more than a month ago, but it appears not to be taking up liquid. So, I unpotted it, saw roots at the bottom of the stem & cut some of them off, cutting back the a bit of the bottom stem end to green growth, in btwn some of the roots (still left some). Am trying to get it to drink & plump up. Today, while it doesn't look better, it does feel firmer when I hold the cutting in my hand.

Okay. You guys are great. Clearly the collective wisdom is not to throw money at the problem - but figure the problem out. Owbist - in my thread on not connecting my husband's vista laptop to our network, I tried quietly, methodically to troubleshoot the issues - to no avail. I found lots of similar frustrations on google - but no solutions that worked - and I think I tried them all - at least to the best of my ability. thanks for those great, easy-to-follow instructions to transfer to an external hard drive. He'll want to do that anyway - even if he keeps this computer. This computer guy is pricey - but where I am in DC they seem to fall in the $125-140/hour range - and they can usually fix a problem. Others that charge $40-75 - that the uninformed think are good - but their know-how is less than what I find here. I tried a few of those locally recommended guys - and they accomplished the simple tasks but also made mistakes I had to hire the more expensive guy to fix. My main complaint with him is that he's wedded to his biases - he hates Vista - so his recommendation is usually to avoid or ditch it. Our struggles with Vista seem to often be how often we're blocked from things or performing simple tasks have all sort of obstacles - for "safety's" sake. Thanks to everyone for pointing out that Windows 7 is just a revamped Vista. I got my first issue of Smart Computing and they were tauting it and described some features I thought I'd love. DA - if W8 is in process, is there any indication of what it will be like? Probably worth waiting for - or at least waiting to hear more about how Windows 7 is panning out. So I'll keep plugging away on my other thread to get him connected. If I don't succeed by Tuesday, the computer guy will come and fix it. I guess we'll stop there. Thanks. Lynn.

Debbie, to use wireless cellular service, you must be near a tower, so in the mountains that may not be practical. Check that out first. Most plans that I've read about require a 2 year contract and the cost is around $60 per month. I doubt any sort of prepaid card is available for data service (which is different from voice service). If there is wireless service available in a hotel, coffee shop, etc. you simply connect via the card in your laptop. Check the various carriers' websites for maps of their service areas, etc. Verizon is buying Alltel, so your choices are probably Verizon, AT & T, and Sprint. I don't know if there are other carriers of data service or not. This service is provided via a USB modem or an "air card" of some sort. Each carrier has their own which you must purchase when you sign up for service.

Not ok. Check with your local building codes: Where I live steps need to be within 1/4" inch of each other in riser height, and can't exceed 8 inches. Understand that there needs to be a way to deal with the sloped top porch, but going from a 8.5 to a 6.5 to a 7.5 riser is not helping the slope. I also agree the work looks sloppy, but since this can be a bit more subjective (hoe sloppy is too sloppy), I think your strongest and easiest arguement is the building code requirements. I wouldn't give this contractor a second chance either- because even if they do the risers even, then you still have the other quality issues to be concerned about.