> Blog post by the Houston ChronicleÂs ombudsman: "When > Redding, a longtime scout for Playboy, discovered (Anna > Nicole) Smith, the model could barly right a sentence ..." > ... and to think I had an article published in that paper. ;o) Your Al mix is smart idea to all. I am to say this. Is not to hurt feeling or bring eye tear. For organic piece of soils, I use this coconut husk not pine barks to my plants (the Citrus, the Fig, Adenium, Plumeria, Bursera, Agave, the Tea Oils Tree, Lauris nobilis, the many exotic vine, and is still many more). I try both coconut and pine from orchid shop (expensive!). Plant grow same in both, happy in balance in sun life and winter night to dormants. Coconut better to buy for me, big cube pressed. Is last longer not break down fast! Is important! Why because bad drainage happen when pine bark brake down to small dirts. I change coconut huks 2 year sometime 3 (sometime 1 if to repot but is still good for use to other plant). I wash in epsom salt water, is what they say and I am not to argue. Is said important doing this somewhere I forgot. Maybe Chronicle? Is possible but is not Playboy I am sure! ;o)

Mike, thank you so much for your feedback and the rebate link. I will definitely ask about it. I have heard good things about the Carrier Infinity system, but can you tell me what is so special about the controller? I know it has some diagnostic capabilities, but is that the big difference? Tigerdunes, thanks for your input. I know the furnace model I posted isn't an Infinity; it was the first one he quoted me, but in talking later, he said the Infinity only cost $1 more in his price book, so we could upgrade to it if we wanted. I don't have the model number for it, but I'll ask next time I talk to him. Where are you recommending the R8? We are planning on R13 fiberglass batting for the roof rafter bays, because we are limited by the stud depth. We are planning to fur down with 2x2s to gain enough room for the fiberglass. We looked into spray foam, but it's out of our budget. I've always understood that the new hybrid units are a great choice in efficiency and energy savings, even in the South. We don't know how long we will be in this house (we love it, but we've never lived any place more than 4 years, so I have to look at history), so we weren't planning on lots of upgrades. But at this price, we can have it for not much more than the bare bones. I do see what you are saying about the upstairs system versus the downstairs. I will ask about the cost difference to do a 14 seer heat pump up there. Is there any other upgrade you think would be justified for the top story? Neohio, we have propane right now for hot water, range, and wall heaters. We were paying $2.49/gallon, but it will be going to $2.89 for the year starting next month. Natural gas would be $1.23 for the equivalent gallon (it's priced per cubic foot, but she gave me this number for comparison), with a $7-something monthly charge. We pay a base service fee of $22.11 per month for electric, plus $.088/per kilowatt based on usage. Because we don't currently have central heat and air, it's very hard to determine what our utilities will be and what system would be best. Our winters are mild, but we have been pretty cold in the farmhouse unless we close off interior rooms and run the 25,000 btu propane wall heater (serves the living and dining room), a large electric heater (for the kitchen), and a 10,000 btu propane heater for the bedroom. All the other rooms, upstairs and down, are unheated and cold! In the summer, we had three window units in about the same places (main living area, kitchen, and one downstairs bedroom), and could stay comfortable. But upstairs, with no AC and little insulation, was miserable!

I actually have a huge ax to grind w/shopgoodwill.com. I notice that most of the things I find myself interested in come from the Goodwills right here in my own area! : ( They're skimming the good stuff off the top so that we can hardly find any of the really exciting finds that have been so much fun in the past. Goodwill of the Columbia-Willamette also is run by the highest paid CEO of any Goodwill. It's a scandal. He pretty much profits off the overly-high prices they charge for things, and the shopgoodwill aspect helps him squeeze even more out of the merchandise they're *given*. They've also steadily *increased* their in-person prices as the economy has gotten *worse* --it's so mean-spirited. Guess they're happy that more folks have nowhere else they can afford to go. Really not friendly to folks who shop there regularly and have come to depend on it. : ( I refuse to bid on things from this area, which takes me out of most of the things I would otherwise be interested in.

Michael darling, I say with all affection....Give your head a shake! "May" is good....it's not "won't be" surely she could not say "are" ...not her place. It's Easter weekend, they interviewed you on Good Friday. You are right they they are not focused on this interview until tomorrow. I just know this will work out.