Hi, I am building a 4K sqft home and have done all the automation in my last house (by myself). During that time I worked for a company that owned a division that sold home and industrial automation and I could get anything for 50% below cost. Having said that we just broke ground on our second home and I am doing all the design install and automation for this home and here is what I am putting in from what I have learned in the past. #1 - Lighting System. It was my favorite thing in the last house (a Leviton system). This time I am using Insteon for many reasons but it can be programed by a small box you instruct - plug into an outlet and let it do it's thing. Custom printed buttons, complex scenes - timers whatever. It is the most flexible system out there and goes from standard configuration to super complex and everything in between. It is also cost effective. #2. You can get Insteon Thermostats that do a lot of goofy stuff - but I am going with 2 Nest units for each zone. Easy Simple. #3. A Cat6 Camera system from Samsung (16 cameras - only putting in 8 to start). I really like the fact that I can see the house and the sump pump etc. when I am out of state. #4. An ELK alarm system. This is the "brain" of the house and it talks to the lighting system and Insteon thermostats. You can hit the "Vacation" button and it will set the HVAC and even turn on and off random lights at night if you want. #5. I am wiring for Somfy drapes and shades. Simply putting in the 16/2 DC wires in locations for now. The bedroom will be all blackout shades. Roll over and hit a switch and you are in a 1000 a night hotel. I am not putting in any music systems. Never used them. I had a fancy Russsound AV distribution system as well and won't be doing that either. Simply doing Cat 6 everywhere, DirecTv, and will use wireless Apple products for music at patries. You will NEVER use a computer to control these devices. You will never get up and use a wall touch screen. That being said this is a hobby and should be treated as such. You won't get your money out of it. Your friends won't understand it. Friends at parties won't understand it. But if it is something you like then go for it. It takes 10,000 times more effort, time, frustration, and money to do these things with an automation system than it is to get up and hit the light switch or pull the drape cord. But to me it is something I can't seem to live without. Wife hates it - can't seem to understand how it all works - or the need for any of it. Even with custom labeled buttons that say "party" or "clean up" on the lights she still uses the switch instead of the scene button. It is nice to turn off every light in the house from your bedside - and then to have the alarm to arm automatically at 11:00 at night with no need to do anything. To have the lights come on and light the house when it detects motion etc. That being said it is a very slippery slope. Don't listen to the salesmen - they want to sell you what they want to sell. Best advice is to do as much as you can and bring in a pro for the things you don't understand (alarm for me)... Good luck!

Try this article for a more balanced global outlook. I repeat, the biggest investor in the US is Canada. But I guess since they're the right "color" nobody gets excited about condemning them. Overseas Investors Buy Aggressively in U.S. January 20, 2008 NYTimes (excerpt only; article is over 3 pgs long) Last May, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate bought a Massachusetts plastics maker. In November, a French company established a new factory in Adrian, Mich., adding 189 automotive jobs to an area accustomed to layoffs. In December, a British company bought a New Jersey maker of cough syrup. ..Last year, foreign investors poured a record $414 billion into securing stakes in American companies, factories and other properties through private deals and purchases of publicly traded stock, according to Thomson Financial, a research firm. That was up 90 percent from the previous year and more than double the average for the last decade. It amounted to more than one-fourth of all announced deals for the year, Thomson said. During the first two weeks of this year, foreign businesses agreed to invest another $22.6 billion for stakes in American companies  more than half the value of all announced deals. If a recession now unfolds and the dollar drops further, the pace could accelerate, economists say. Â..The influx is the result of a confluence of factors that have made the United States both reliant on the largesse of foreigners and an alluring place for opportunistic investors. With American banks reeling from the housing downturn and loath to lend, businesses are hungry for cash. The weak dollar has made American companies and properties cheaper in global terms, particularly for European and Canadian buyers. Even as Americans confront the prospect of a recession, economic growth remains strong worldwide, endowing oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia and export powers like China and Germany with abundant cash. As the German company ThyssenKrupp Stainless broke ground in November on what is to be a $3.7 billion stainless steel plant in Calvert, Ala., its executives spoke effusively about the low cost of production in the United States and the chance to reach many millions of customers  particularly because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which allows goods to flow into Mexico and Canada free of duty. "The Nafta stainless steel market has great potential, and weÂre committed to significantly expanding our business in this growth region," said the companyÂs chairman, Jürgen H. Fechter, according to a statement. Foreign giants like Toyota Motor and Sony have been sinking capital into American plants. Investment in the American subsidiaries of foreign companies grew to $43.3 billion last year from $39.2 billion the previous year, according to the research and consulting firm OCO Monitor. "This is a vote of confidence in the American economy, the American marketplace and the American worker," the deputy Treasury secretary, Robert M. Kimmitt, said. "These investments keep Americans employed and keep balance sheets strong." Five million Americans now work for foreign companies set up in the United States, Mr. Kimmitt said, and those jobs pay 30 percent more than similar work at domestic companies. Nearly a third of such jobs are in manufacturing, which explains why Rust Belt states have been wooing foreign investment. "WeÂve lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs," said MichiganÂs governor, Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat, who has traveled three times to Europe and twice to Japan in pursuit of investment since taking office in 2003. "IÂve got to get jobs for our people." Â..Proponents of investment from overseas note that finance from sovereign wealth funds is a mere trickle of the overall flow from abroad. Indeed, the bulk comes from Europe, Canada and Japan. Just as Americans have scattered investments around the world in pursuit of profit  with holdings of foreign stock and debt exceeding $6 trillion in 2006, according to the Treasury Department  foreigners are looking to the United States, with their capital generating economic activity, proponents say. Â..The United States has lost more than three million manufacturing jobs since 2001, with foreign trade often taking the blame. Foreign-made goods now account for roughly one-third of all wares consumed in the United States, roughly tripling their share over the last quarter-century. The soaring price of oil and a widening trade deficit underscore how the American economy is increasingly vulnerable to decisions made far away. Â.."It would be good if these companies didnÂt need all this capital and better if the capital was available in the United States," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, who was a vocal opponent of the DP World deal. "But given the situation that these institutions find themselves in and the fact that thereÂs a pretty strong credit squeeze, thereÂs only two choices: Have foreign companies invest in these firms or have massive layoffs." Â..Trade experts assume tensions will rise as developing countries  which tend to have more state companies  continue to expand their share of investment in the United States. Canada still spends the most money buying stakes in American companies  more than $65 billion in 2007, according to Thomson. But other countries purchases are growing rapidly. South KoreaÂs investments swelled to more than $10.4 billion last year from just $5.4 million in 2000. Russia went to $572 million from $60 million in that span; India to $3.3 billion from $364 million. But even if political tension increases, so will the flow of foreign money, some analysts say, for the simple reason that businesses need it. "The forces sucking in this capital are much bigger than the political forces," said Mr. Garten, the Yale trade expert. "If there is a big controversy, it will be between Washington on the one hand and corporate America on the other. In that contest, the financiers and the businessmen are going to win, as they always do."

It was fun to check in with this forum for the first time in quite a while and see this thread on the first page. I appreciate all of the comments, especially the newest ones. So let me share what I've been doing about organzing my lifef. I have been struggling with the "control journal" concept since I posted this thread over three years ago! for starters, I dislike the name, "control journal." The system seems inflexible. And something that I don't care for about Flylady is that there is a high level of emotionality in that system. But I will admit that she is spot-on about many things and I appreciate all of the insights that I've gained from that system. But back to "control journal" I prefer kitchen binder or household binder. Maybe I'll call my the household binder. But that's not the point. I do have a white 1/2" binder with all of my zones and lists in it... it just looking at that binder every day that is a huge challenge for me. I have seven children and my days seem to bring me such a variety of things, many unanticipated, that it's hard to keep everything on track. Plus, I'm a lazy soul, so it's hard to get me moving. But of course, if I'm not going to work the program then it won't work for me! Just a last week I found a Franklin Covey planner on clearance at Target, so I finally took the plunge to organize my time better. This is a smallish size #4 planner in a six-ring binder, so it doesn't give an hour-by-hour breakdown of the day, but it does provide two pages to a week, a two-page spread for the entire month, and then lots of other forms for a lot of different purposes. Before, I've just used the fridge calendar to keep track of activities. That was hit or miss (things didn't always get recorded). Plus, it's inconvenient to take the enormous calendar off of the fridge door and write things down in front of the computer (we get so much schedule info via email). Now, when I'm going through email, I take my planner with me. That makes it so much easier. And rather than writing things on post-it notes and sticking them to my microwave door, my coffee maker (the really urgent reminders go there), or my key ring (see how zany I was) I jot things down in the planner. So for the first time in the 20 years that I've been a wife and mother, everything is being written in one place. However, we still put notes on the coffee maker when something is very, very important. I make myself read the planner while I drink my coffee in the morning. And now I feel so guilty about not using my control journal *household binder* in three years that I will take that binder with me and my planner and my cup of coffee every morning. Something else that I also do with my *household binder* is put paperwork that needs immediate attention into it so that this stuff doesn't get lost. I noticed on the Franklin Covey website that you can buy "Forms Wizard" which is software to create personalized planner forms. I would love to take my Flylady zone lists and make forms to fit into my planner. By the way, I am a stay-at-home mother and my planner doesn't leave the house. both binders stay on my microwave oven during the day. I read Julie Morgenstern and liked her notion that time is like a closet that you fill with tasks, rather than a real closet that you fill with stuff. It helps me to see my time more concretely. Something else I'm learning is the importance of goal setting. That seems to be a Franklin Covey focus as well. I personally have had such a difficult time (throughout the years of raising my seven children) of actually accomplishing anything for myself, that I really just gave up trying. But about a year ago I decide that the extra weight had to go. So I have lost 55 pounds. That has been my focus in life. But now I can shift back to the household since one of the most important issues in my own life is finally being dealt with successfully. I need to revisit Flylady, I'm sure she's added new ideas to her program. I will check back to the forum for more advice and encouragement on how to get it together and become more organized. Thank you for your posts, I appreciate reading anyone's story, even if it's still in process, of how they created a system to manage time better.

I agree Kathy. It is a proven fact that those who get regular weigh in's that they're held accountable for, and who spend a little more $$ to go to the meetings do much better. The fact that those who stop ANY diet plan and try to do it on their own and gain back all their weight PLUS some speaks volumes for this fact. My own sister is one of those people. She lost over 50#'s on WW's then decided she didn't need them anymore. Even though she was a free lifer! All you need to do to keep that entitlement is show up once a month for a meeting which is 45 minutes of your time and to stay under your goal weight (or no more than 2# over). She not only gained back the 50 pounds, she gained a few extra. Having the support of a few dozen people EACH and EVERY week, hearing their success stories, sharing recipes, sharing where to buy what 'good' foods at a great price, etc., makes a whole lot of difference. This is actually the longest I've ever kept off my weight. Why? Because #1, it did cost me $17.00 a week for 8 months to lose the weight, and #2, the continued support of everyone at the meetings. I don't go every single week, but I do know that when I do go I want to stay under my goal weight so that help enforce my healthy eating. While nobody scolds you for gaining a pound or two, you do see it recorded each time you go and it is a great feeling to know you're still under your goal, or reaching your goal whether it be a tenth of a pound or two pounds a week. And even those people who gain a pound or two get a pat on the back because we encourage them to make a few changes the next week by sometimes just adding more water to your diet and 'flushing' out the weight. Simple things like that. I am also lucky in that I have found the best WW's meetings in Calgary. I hear of so many people complaining about the team leaders and how boring their meetings are. Our team leader could be a stand up comedian. She is so funny that you want to go every week to watch her facial expressions as she tells yet another husband story, or kid story. And to just hear her stories, she's so funny yet so full of information. Everyone who works for WW has been through the program too, so they know what we're going through. Anyways............ unless you've been there and done that, you can't say for sure that 'save your money and do it on your own' works. It doesn't for most people. If it did, weight loss programs wouldn't exist.