Journey or destination? To quote the sometimes abrasive, but always lovable IB, "That depends" Time caught my attention first, but a second theme bubbled up as well. It seemed different enough to post separately, and seems to hinge on the vagaries of human variation. My professional work includes mediation, group problem-solving, and group goal-setting. There's plenty of work in the field of decision-making preferences and, related to that, leadership styles that suggests that we humans are a variable lot. People fall somewhere on a spectrum, there being few people who function always and purely in one mode or approach. One preference that seems relative here is that some people prefer decision accomplishement. These are generally task oriented people. When they shop, they do it for something specific. They know exactly what they want. If it's on the shelf, they walk out of the store in 5 minutes. Job done. They take pleasure and satisfaction from completing the task and become uncomfortable with "unnecessary" delays. They don't much like the introduction of new information, particularly late in the game. They decide and execute. Then there are those who take delight in the process. They are always ready for another angle, a new wrinkle, more and more options. A final decision means short-circuiting the fun. These folks shop for shoppings sake. If they do go in a store for something specific, and it's not on the shelf, they may enjoy considering all the other possibilities on offer and will then wander on to related items and then not-so-related items. They may leave the store hours later, empty handed, but happy because they learned some new things. Or they'll go in for a wrench and come out with baby clothes for the neighbor's newborn. By the way, neither preference determines inteligence or organizational ability. When I'm helping groups form for a decision-making process (the oxymoron is intentional), I help people understand something about these preferences and the advantages of resourcing the strengths of each approach. Without a great deal of discipline and self-awareness, a group made up of persons who strongly prefer process over decision completion will never complete its task. There will always be another new angle to explore. Meetings will tend to be extremely long as every detail is discussed endlessly. If you need a decision to be made, make sure there is at least one person on the team who prefers decision completion and has good interactive leadership skills. The process people on the team will deepen and broaden the scope of the decision, helping to insure that all the essential angles are explored. Because I sometimes work with anxious and/or conflicted groups, I am also very aware of the dangers of too strong a presence of those who prefer decision completion. When humans are under stress, we all tend to prefer to move directly to a solution. I think we see that demonstrated in some of the posts here. It will appear to be the quickest way to reduce the stress. Sometimes that means moving an organization to a solution that really is a bandaid over deeper issues. The standard recommendation for these situations is to create a slower, structured process that helps a group clarify problems and brainstorm varieties of solutions, so that the best solution can be achieved. Sorry for the long segway, but my point is that people do have different preferences and comfort levels with decisions and process. We will work the problems differently in our back yards and our lives. One person will crystalize a landscape solution very quickly, and then execute it in short order. Little risk here, if the person happens to be a great landscape designer. Others will constantly redesign their landscapes with varieties of widely ranging optional approaches. Again, great creative energy here, if coupled with landscape design ability, and these designers will be much less frustrated when their clients suddenly throw previously unmentionned needs and wants into the picture. Scrap that perfect design and start over? No problem (or less of one) for these types. Finally, I don't think that all landscape designers are in the decision completion camp and all passionate gardeners always from the process camp. Just don't think humans do things so decently and in order. Wellspring

Hi again ethnobotany! I don't mind the play as I am not that touchy, it merely was a typing error and I in fact stopped using 35 years ago LOL. I'll remember that accidental pun for later use, though ;-) I am actually not (more of) a chemist at all, neither by trade, nor by conviction - but came to the conclusion that mineral based salts and chemicals (how would you call them best objectively?) are in fact clean and safe. And yet it's ideologically more complicated than that, as the manufacturing process is extremely energy consuming and polluting as well for sure (without the need to go into any details in this context). But isn't that the case with all kinds of stuff that surrounds us, including most of our favourite commodities, we wouldn't exactly be the first volunteers to abandon "including most hydroponic supply anyway..... "? But yes, I guess I see exactly what you are wrapping around your head at your end and what your master plan might be. I have been doing worm casting (liquid vermi-compost) with modular "worm farms" some twenty years back and would do it again anytime if time and space would permit. It's one (good-one) of a multitude of choices you have got. It's all about choices and the time you can- or are willing to spend on something, anyway. In my case, there is a semi-industrial (yet organic) worm farm at some agricultural university nearby where I can get cheap liquid and compost. There are other points that cross ones mind in a next step, when thinking "home made natural fertilisers or nutrient solutions" (instead of using the term organic). One is that you can't, or let's more like say you wouldn't mix both, natural and chemical ingrediants. Thus, if going natural you gotta give up all the mineral-chemical part in the first place. You don't absolutely need to do that, and yet it would be odd somehow if you wouldn't. One more crucial point is that you have to move from "calculation" and perfect dosing, - to intuition, less control and somewhat random. I am not saying that it is a bad or hard thing to do and yet it may take much getting used to it. If going down that road, there are several interesting and worth considering methods and means, you might look into. EM (effective micro-organisms) are still controversially discussed about there beneficial properties, but as a fermenting agent they are indisputably a good thing to use. Nitrogen isn't a problem as it is abundant in many organic substances and biomass of all kind. But to have sufficient amounts of Potassium, you have to "gather" it with specific bio-mass or ingredients that are exceptionally rich in Potassium. Seaweed extract (powder) is one of the key (additive) ingredients you would consider. If using manure, rabbit, horse, dunky and goat (elephant and some other exotics too) manures are the richest in Potassium. These are just a few examples how you would firstly need to find out about all dots, before you are able to make choices, to eventually connect them. As for manufacturing extracts, teas and concentrates, there are also a number of options. Machinery and tools range from simple bubblers over air lift pumps to high capacity Vortex Brewers. You may go for cooking a "quick fire" compost or rather have the patience and only use naturally fermented 1 year plus matured "stuff", rich in beneficial micro-organisms and with more readily available elements and trace elements. As you can see a whole new world and realm with multiple choices and options is opening here, waiting to be discovered by you! ;-) Cheers, Lucas Here is a link that might be useful: Vortex Compost Tea Brewer @ YouTube!

Good point baymee, I'll have to contemplate that one but also check to see if the draft is in fact adjusted correctly. Mark, thanx for that chart, thats really helpfull, I'm printing that as we speak. You work in a northern climate too as I recall. You probably see the same thing all the time too, people blocking off their combustion air vents because of the cold air coming in and the fear of freezing pipes. Thats why I think the "fan in a can" is such a good idea. We seemed to have comandeered this "Beckett burner won't stay running" post, but I believe we've all told him all he has to know to make a decision on what to do.

"After my last parent died, by biggest regret was not having walking away from both of them completely at 18 years of age. All those additional years of trying, and caregiving, only resulted in more heartache and damage. Nothing good came of it." My father is still alive but I have a similar regret. Both of my parents were completely dysfunctional, abusive, and if I had a do-over knowing what I know now, I would walk away in my late teens before they did even more damage to me.Some of the worst decisions I ever made was from fear of my parents, parents who did nothing but instill a sense of fear and neglect in me. Catherine, I could be wrong but I suspect because of her age, you are worried she will pass away without you resolving the relationship. I felt the same way with my mother, I jumped through hoops to make things right and she still died without ever giving me what I needed from her, to basically feel loved and accepted on some level. Losing the opportunity to "fix things" was one of the hardest things about her death. But eventually I realized that she was never going to give me what I needed, she just wanted to keep manipulating me and abusing me because that was her thing, that was her power over me and she wasn't going to give that up. If you haven't got from her what you've always wanted and needed by now, it isn't coming.