My kitchen work isn't finished, and there is one issue that rankles me. My GC told me I'd "love" puck lights under the cabs, as do all his clients. Before he started work I told him over the phone that I was considering fluorescents instead. He dismissively said they were more expensive and changed the subject. I guess I expected to revisit the type of UCL before they went in. Suddenly I had low-voltage wiring and 5 xenon puck lights. The pucks gave off harsh shadows, slightly heated the shelf where I keep my chocolate chips and when on resulted in horrible radio interference. After a few days, I told him I wanted them changed. He got pissy, then called me back to apologize and the wiring and lights were changed. I went out and bought new lights myself and he charged me extra to replace the wiring. My KD is furious about me paying extra. But I'm choosing to bide my time. There's still work that needs to be done that I want done right and not under a cloud of resentment. I still owe him money. When everything else is done to my satisfaction, we'll discuss the pucks. Depending on how I feel, I'm even prepared to let the $260 extra go by the wayside. While it irritates me, I need to put it into perspective.

It's the GOVERNMENT, people-- the government BUREAUCRACY. You're not really supposed to be able to decipher it! Just think about when you filed your tax forms this year--how long did it take you to understand some of the new rules? (And I'm not talking to the people who took it to H&R Block). Really, some of you are acting ridiculous. What do you think "verify" means? Have you never had to verify your name and address when contacting a utility company or your credit card company? You've all been reading too many scare stories about identity theft. Nobody is going to steal your identity and open up 100 credit-card accounts on the basic info that the census people are supposed to ask you. And if you should happen to get that caller who is really a scam artist and asks you for your bank account number, then you hang up. But just do your civic duty--help the census work! Help tell the government where they need to put funding for your state! I don't get some of you: You filled out a form and perhaps talked to someone at the front door, but you won't take 10 minutes to complete the process? And, from Lowspark's example, these are the questions that make you think it's some con man, or that this is so intrusive and a waste of your valuable 10 or 20 minutes? Really, I think the Oprah show and even this chat board can wait a few minutes. This sort of questioning is suspicious? Did you fill out the form correctly? What is your name? Did you fill out the form? What is your address? My god! I can go to the reverse-directory at my library and get this info in 10 seconds! And anybody wanting to plan to burglarize your home and wondering if you live alone can just sit on your block for a couple of hours and figure that out. Are you also peeking out your curtains to make sure this isn't happening? There are some bad apples in every bunch, but pls, use your intellect. (And when you take a trip on a plane, when the check-in clerk asks you if you packed your bag yourself, does that make you feel as if they've intruded on your privacy?) The gov't has already spent a ton of money on this. It's not going to spend more to send some other kind of form to guide you through this last step. There is a lot of official census bureau info you could check, if you can spare that 10 minutes to do the research. You've crossed the line from cautious to paranoid. Not everybody is out to get you. This posting makes me livid.

tish - I am not in an open primary state. Just a state that is assumed to go Democrat so no point in anyone spending money here. I do get calls for non-presidential campaigns. We got a ridiculous number of calls a few years ago when we had a high profile congressional election. It was truly annoying so I understand how those of you in first primary/swing states must feel. My experiences with campaigning and where the information comes from. I worked for the Ramsey Clark senatorial campaign (yes, I'm pretty old) when I was in college. I had a copy of the voter registration roles for my area and I sent literature to everyone registered as a Democrat or independent. (How old school and small budget does that sound? lol) I did one session of calling for candidate Obama. We called registered Democrats. The point of it was more to get out the vote rather than change minds. I didn't do it again because the campaign office didn't have enough phones so I had to use my mobile phone. I got calls afterwards from people who hadn't answered their phones. "Saw you on caller ID, what did you call about?" calls. We had been advised not to leave messages but in retrospect maybe we should have. Hang in there everyone!

The product I was using was Norton 360, I've always presumed they are on the up-and-up. But I got tired of all the come-ons to purchase Lifelock and a more secure router from them after paying them quite a bit for protection. It was constant. Kudzu9, awhile back I posted here asking if Windows Defender was good enough. You advised me that Avast Free was very good and gave me instructions (so complete and easy to follow, thank you) on how to switch when my contract was up. So when the contract was going to end I did the switch a couple of days before it ended. Everything went fine, I had uninstalled Norton before I downloaded the Avast program. So 2 days after the contract was to end was when I got the phone call. I just think it's quite a coincidence. I'm just wondering if it's a scare tactic. The robot that left the message never gave the company name. Mayfleur01, I don't know what you are referring to concerning ACH, what is that?