Home Depot and its cousins in the big-box store category are what are called "best value" or "operationally efficient" companies. Their success lies in the fact that they can offer the lowest price. They work with suppliers to get the lowest prices that they pass on to the customers. They also keep other costs low including costs of labor. That means that overall, they don't hire truly knowledgeable staff to properly service plant-buying customers nor enough staff over enough hours to properly maintain the plant material. For those customers who appreciate "best value" and think of it as the most important criteria in purchasing plants, then Home Depot and the rest are certainly the places to buy. It behooves you (and other "best value" customers) to do your homework first -- read as much as you can about the plants you want to buy (yes, that means knowing what you want to buy first and what plants are right for your garden). It also means that you should know when their shipments come in to be there before the plants have a chance to sit around without proper care for too long. Roger's -- and other good independent nurseries -- are what are called "customer intimate" types of companies. Their focus is on taking care of the customer (WELL BEYOND just saying "good morning" and "thank you for shopping"). They have extra costs that "best value" companies usually shave on, particularly when it comes to staffing. "Customer intimate" companies hire intelligent employees and more of them. Those costs are offset by the higher prices you'll find at such places. Customers that want top-notch service are willing to pay the higher prices. If you -- and other nursery shoppers -- need to know what are the correct plants, how to properly plant those plants, how to take care of those plants, and what to do with the plants if you have problems, then Roger's and other good independents are the place to shop. The extra price you pay is for the service. Consider it a tip at a good restaurant. The quality of the plants at both Home Depot and Roger's is the same. And not. Home Depot, and most other big box stores, pretty much buy from the same main suppliers as the independents. What happens to the plants soon after arrival, though, can make a big difference. Of course, Home Depot and the others big-boxers offer life-time guarantees: no matter what happens to the plant or why, they'll replace it or refund the purchase price. That means they don't want to bother helping you figure out the reason why the plant died and it's a small consolation for a lot of sweat that you've put into the plant. Joe

>>None of it is terribly happy news, but in terms of calamities, I'm not quite understanding why it's such a big deal. You are quite right. It isn't. But that's not a good media headline. The media has always preferred to tell you the glass is half-empty and leaking fast, becaus that's what sells. >>Aren't recessions and downturns typical? Why would this one be so fantastic compared to others? Because people have extremely short memories. As the saying goes, "History has but one page." There are folks who forget or are too young to remember the painful recession/inflation of the '70's (when I had PhD's begging me to hire them for a $4K/yr clerk-typist job) or even the RE recession of the 1990's, when we petitioned and got two property tax reappraisals DOWNWARDS because our brand-new house (bought, of course, at the top of the market) had lost over 25% of its value. >>Historically, have we always expected everything we buy to turn into gold? Yes. And this is why most people do so poorly in the stock market, by buying high and selling low instead of the other way around. Both RE and stocks are best held long-term. Flitting "in and out" of either properties or stocks, to make a profit actually takes a lot of observation, time, work, determination and nerve. It isn't automatic, no matter what the TV infomercials like to imply. There is always a risk, it's a matter of how much you are comfortable with. You are right that in "sell now and buy now" scenario, it probably doesn't matter much. The astute are the ones who sold at the top, stuck through renting for a few years, and are now able to purchase the same house for anywhere from 10-30% less than before. A friend of mine who is an independent CFP (and my former boss, BTW) did just that. His wife HATES renting, but he talked her into it and now, of course, looks like a genius. Even better, he convinced several of his clients to do the same thing, so they think he's a genius too!

Thanks again. We spent all weekend together and I didn't find myself wondering how many guys. I just enjoyed the time (and the great sex) and forgot about it. Scarlett is right, if she weren't interested in sex, that wouldn't be good for me. I guess I found myself wondering because she is so damn good at it, but she's not totally kinky, so I know she has a limit. This means that perhaps it is a healthy number, but not TOO healthy. But again, it's all in the past and me guessing about it will get nobody anywhere. Scarlett, nobody told me not to trust, but I watched my mom take advantage of my dad until he finally cheated and left. They were both to blame in that, him for allowing her to run his life, and her for taking him for granted. But I think that may be where some of it comes from. I find I often let my girlfriend's take over my life as well, similarly to what he did. That's something I plan to change with this relationship.

I don't know that I have much to add relative to the appliance forum, except to say that everything driving my interest in Bluestar had to do with cooking, and the way I cook, rather than any grand design plan (we don't have one and our kitchen, while pleasant looking and very functional, is nobody's idea of awesome, beautiful design). I like the more powerful burners both for fast searing and for, e.g., bringing a pot of pasta back to a rolling boil quickly, so that you are not poaching the life out of it. It's also very nice for wok cooking -- not my specialty, but something we really like here and there. The medium burners are versatile and the simmer burner rounds things out nicely. The large (gas) oven seems to be very stable once it's properly pre-heated; and the broiler is great, although not all that large. We had looked at the 30" before settling on the 36" model. Of the smaller ranges, it offered very nice spacing of the burners, which might be a plus for this range (and an issue with some alternatives) if you often work with 2 or 3 large pans at a time. Very good heavy continuous grates, which are nice for moving things around while you work. This is, of course, a large up-charge relative to many perfectly good ranges. For myself that was acceptable because (a) the range really mattered to me, (b) the cost, while substantial, was not great relative to many other things that might be done for a kitchen or home, and (c) the cost was manageable . . . for us -- we all operate under different budget constraints.