Are you saying that GM should bust the union ? I can hear the caterwalling and cry for a boycott already, Boxer and Kennedy screaming in outrage. You are under estimating the pension problem. Unions were necessary, but now the pendulum has swung too far their way. You don't see any brick chimney's around here anymore as their unions have priced them right out of a career, chimney's are framed in wood now. I'll bet the packages for foreign car makers in the U.S. are nothing like UAW gives. I probably should state that I have never belonged to a union -- in fact, for 'most any job I ever held, union membership wasn't even an option. Similarly, the only person who ever fights for my job and compels companies to pay what they pay me is -- me. With that out of the way.... Bust the union? No. But GM could have stood a lengthy strike to make the point that benefits were getting "out of hand." The time to do that was years ago, when GM was strong and the UAW was just starting to build on their great benefits. Now all GM needs is one more solid punch and they're down. I still don't understand the "liberal" characterization unless you're using the sloppy meaning in which "liberal" is used to mean "not-pro-business-at-the-expense-of-workers". Didja ever notice that Southwest Airlines is about the only airline out there making money now? While American/Delta/Northwest/United/USAir/etc. are trying to force their employees to work for cheap, SWA keeps right on going. Funny thing is, they're as unionized as the bankrupt carriers. But they've figured out that working with the necessary unions is a better way to go than constantly being at each other's throats. Detroit never learned that lesson, so in addition to some stupid short-term thinking, they have an enemy in the UAW. Brilliant. Motor vehicles is not the only business facing huge pension liabilities. So are airlines. So are city, county, and state governments, because accounting practices let them defer the real cost of paying pensions and now those pensions are coming due. Speaking as someone who has never had anyone guarantee my pension, I think current and future retirees are in for some nasty surprises. What was promised (either by the business or their union) is just not sustainable. Especially if SSI will be handed out indiscriminately and especially for a generation or two that has seen the biggest increase in personal wealth in the history of the U.S. There will be a lot of caterwauling as people realize either they get stiffed a little bit now or they get stiffed a lot later when whoever is providing the pension and health care goes bust. FWIW, my next-door neighbor retired from one of the Big Three about four years ago. He was a line worker and was making in the mid-50s when he left after his 30 years. Including full health coverage for his family. Minus UAW dues. Not too bad for a guy who has no degrees and no certifications. He's d@mn good at what he does, but people in fields requiring far more education and certification are making far less than that even today. Not a bad deal at all.

It feels totally fine without the mortar base. Keep in mind that it IS plastic and if you push on the sides, there is a little "give" but it's not cast iron, so to be expected. I love the look of it, but to me it feels like it retains dirt more than other tubs, because it is plastic. I feel like I want to scrub it after every bath, as opposed to just rinsing/quickly wiping it and then scrubbing every week. But the overall clean lines look of it is amazing and I did not see any other tubs that I liked as much. I think we covered this in upper convos but remember that there are two heights (we chose the lower one and I would stick with that as it feels more standard. And the other thing is that it comes with a single or double tiling flange. If you need more info on that let me know, and I will give you more details.

It's just an experiment: September 18, 2008 Zillion, Trillion, Billion, Million...What's A Few Zeros Among Friends You know the old saying, "You do the math." Well in my little experiment today, I wanted to see how many people really do do the math. So I sent the message below to 100 of my pals at random. I wanted to see how many folks would catch my intentional three-digit error...just three little zeros. So far only 2 people have actually done the math and let me know about it. Congratulations Rick Steinberg and Derrick Phillips! They got it right. When you divide 200,000,000 people into $85 Billion you get $425.00 NOT $425,000.00. It would take $85 Trillion to get the $425,000 number. So what's my point? We are all number numb. And, very few people, even really smart folks rarely do the math. So in this election year - when numbers like billions and millions are flying by - it's best to keep a calculator handy! And if it sounds too good to be true...it's always best to do the math. That's All Folks! Well, not quite...just for the record, I'm still not in favor of bailing out AIG. Birk Here's the message below as sent: Hi Pals, Im against the $85 BILLION bailout of AIG. Instead, IÂm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It" dividend. To make the math simple, letÂs assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. citizens, aged 18+. Our population is about 301 million counting every man, woman and child. So, 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. Now, divide 200 million, 18+ adults into $85 billon - that equals $425,000.00 each! Yes, my plan is to give that $425,000 to every adult as a "We Deserve It" dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So, letÂs assume a tax rate of 30%. Every would pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam! It also means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife would have $595,000.00! What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00? · Pay off your mortgage  housing crisis solved · Repay college loans  what a great boost to new grads · Put away money for college  itÂll really be there · Save in a bank  create money to loan to entrepreneurs · Buy a new car  create jobs · Invest in the market  capital drives growth · Pay for your parentÂs medical insurance  health care improves · Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean  or else Remember this is for every adult U.S. citizen, 18 and older (including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehmann Brothers and every other company that is cutting back) and of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If weÂre going to re-distribute wealth letÂs really do it! Instead of trickling out a puny $1,000.00 ("vote buy") economic incentive. If weÂre going to do an $85 billion bailout, letÂs bail out every adult U.S. citizen!! As for AIG  liquidate it. · Sell off its parts. · Let American General go back to being American General. · Sell off the real estate. · Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. We deserve the money and AIG doesnÂt. Sure itÂs a crazy idea that can "never work," but can you imagine the coast-to-coast block party?! How do you spell Economic Boom? W-e D-e-s-e-r-v-e I-t d-i-v-i-d-e-n-d! I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion "We Deserve It" dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington, D.C.. And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest. Kindest personal regards, Birk T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

@ci_lantro 1) smaller sink - NO. Clearly you don't cook. Or at least you never do dishes. Plus, I have no idea why you even suggested that to start with. I don't NEED to put a smaller sink there because there is already plenty of room for a full size sink. A "smaller" sink that is still big enough to manage a few dishes isn't going to give me more than a few inches of extra countertop space at most. The ONLY reason to go to a smaller single bowl sink would be if there isn't enough space at the corner for an angle-mounted full size sink. But I'm 90% sure that there is, without cutting into the drawer unit next to the fridge there. I may have to cut into the stile about 1/4" though. I'll know better when I get the existing countertop off. Angled wall cabinet is not a problem as it can easily be cut down - or rather "up", perhaps. Remember this is actual wood, not the MDF crap that is all anybody can afford these days. As I said in the OP "I may or may not have to shorten that corner cabinet where it would hang out over the new sink area." I know, it was super long, but that cabinet is not an issue. I can do the same to the wall cabinets to the right there as well, if necessary. If it's a problem, it is easily fixed. In fact regardless of what else I do, I WILL be semi deconstructing that cabinet anyway to install a lazy susan as it is virtually useless as-is. 3) CANNOT move the fridge as you say without losing ALL the upper cabinetry on the opposite side of the room. From the OP "The entire expanse of wall cabinets along the long wall is one big long open space inside, ditto the 8' of cabinets on the opposite wall." Plus, the fridge is WAY deeper than the dishwasher and would stick out too far there. I didn't post a pic of that but it is next to an exterior door and putting the fridge there would block the passage through there. That wasn't mentioned in the OP simply because the fact that there is a wall cabinet over there (single unit 8' long) precludes doing that already. 4) putting a corner sink over the current "dead space" is an excellent use of that space. Since "under the sink" is already pretty much dead space. But if I WERE going to replace cabinetry there is no way I would leave that "dead space" dead, I'd at least put in a lazy suzan corner cabinet. "Dead space" should NEVER be left "dead". Unfortunately the kitchen backs onto the bathroom there (the toilet is on the opposite side of that wall) or I would have seriously considered cutting into that wall (NOT a supporting wall) from the back and gaining access to that space that way. Honestly I think those L corners are the best place to put a sink with the least wastage. Plus that space all the way back in the corner is already too hard to reach when looked at in the context of "working" counter space. Currently it just collects kitchen "driftwood" until I get fed up and clear it out again. But it is PERFECT for putting dishwashing accoutrements behind an angle-mounted sink, that you only need to get at briefly while doing dishes. In fact if this works out I'll be making a triangular dish draining "rack" to go there with a dish draining mat under it. PERFECT for doing dishes and not taking up otherwise usable working countertop space!