I can only comment on the Bluestar RNB, which seems not to be a front-runner for you. But as you ask about the hot doors . . . it just has not been any sort of problem for us. The door gets very warm under certain conditions, and you might be surprised if you were to fall against it with palms flat. Surprised, but not injured at all -- our door just doesn't get hot enough to burn somebody. Moreover, if I'm baking, or roasting (or braising, etc.) while working at the range, I'm not especially aware of heat coming through the door at all. And the oven door handle stays just fine -- don't need a potholder to open the door at all. Our two younger kids had just turned 9 when we bought the range and I'd had similar questions, and had them resolved before we bought place our order. They've never had problems getting getting burnt, and neither has our small dog. Of course other kids may be younger, and things happen, but I don't see a danger from the door itself. With our range, a little kid could fall against the glass door, or poke it with a finger while looking at cookies, and not be injured at all. Startled, perhaps, but not injured. The far more significant risk seems to me to be common to any range at all: little kids need to know that a stove is not a toy, but something to be careful about. They need to know that they oughtn't to go crashing into it or leap up and grab things. They need to know that whether you buy a BS, or CC, or NXR, or GE, or a 20 year-old whirlpool from a garage sale. An open flame is an open flame; a hot coil is a hot coil; and a pot full of boiling water can scald anybody.

Hi, it's me - Tricia. Great advice. I agree about the birthdate. Birthdays were not celebrated like we do today and many immigrants lived in countries where vital records were either not kept at all or were sketchy, at best. Church records are baptism dates - not usually birthdays. Result - many immigrants simply did not know when they were born. So, because it was required info they made a date up and, sometimes, didn't remember what they had put on each different form. Then, to further confuse the situation many immigrants were not literate or spoke dialects using just phonics and each person from the same village spelled the same word differently. Now, add in the problems on the other end in the US (lack of ability to understand foreign languages, poor literacy rates, equally poor spelling) and mistakes were more the rule than exception unless your immigrant came from an English speaking country. I agree to check other points of entry besides Ellis Island. Remember, to a non-English speaking person Ellis Island meant nothing. But, over the years it became the place most people associated with "immigrants" so they said that is where they were processed. T'aint always so. Even if they write Ellis Island on their official paperwork. My own grandfather is a good example. All of his official paperwork read Ellis Island. He told everybody Ellis Island, including me. I spent 10 years looking for him. Nadda. Hired the National Archives to search. Nadda. I'm a contact person for the German-Russian Historical Society for the village of Norka. Got an email one day - from a women searching for one of my aunts who immigrated with my grandfather. She said, "Ellis Island? Gee, that's funny. My aunt always said they arrived through Portland, Maine." With the correct point of entry - Grandpa was easy to find. Fifteen years old and towing behind 3 younger sisters. Sometimes, there no better genealogical research than dumb luck. :) I also think a membership with ancestry.com is a good investment if you're just getting started. But, I warn you - BE CAREFUL! People are idiots. They just copy what somebody else has written with no further research on their own. So, mistakes get passed on and on and on and on. LOTS of them. I use whatever I find on ancestry.com as a clue, nothing more, until I've confirmed the info by independent resources. Also, the Mormon church site is notorious for mistakes. So much so I could not with good conscience even recommend using their data bank. But, if you do - proceed with caution. My goal is always 3 separate confirming documents saying the same thing. And, I get copies if possible. I've got tens of thousands of hard copy records. I set an annual budget for vital records and such because it does get expensive. I had my second book, "Thunder on the Steppes, a genealogy of ______________", edited this past spring (while we were rebuilding from Sandy). I was especially nervous because I've written a novella inside the book to bring my German-Russian ancestors to life for my grandchildren. My first attempt at fiction. My editor loved it and said I should seek a publisher believing it has a broader audience than immediate family. I'm thrilled. First though I need to publish the entire genealogy and not get sidetracked. I'm so close to being finished - just got to sprint those last 200 meters and cross the line. It's taken over fifteen years. At that point, I'm going to call my genealogy project finished. Genealogy is never truly finished but after nearly 3 decades of research and two books each exceeding 800 pages and going back to the mid-1200s it's as complete as I'm going to take it. I'll leave it up to future generations to carry on. Have Fun! /tricia

If you're going with the IntelliTouch, the 3.2kw variable drive will be the best option. It will run you a couple of hundred more but the payback will be very quick. If your 1HP is only powering a couple of waterfalls, the pump and a valve will suit your needs. If you want the falls to run while you use your spa, than you will need that extra pump. If you opt to stay with the 4x160, go for the EasyTouch 8 IC40. It will give you the salt option a few bucks cheaper and also support your pump. You don't mention lights. If you are going with IntelliBrite or want the fancy lighting options, then you should stick with the IntelliTouch. A good rule is the more advanced and latest add-ons will do best with the more advanced IntelliTouch.

I would definitely call myself a "newer gardener", although I spent a lot of time learning from my father as a child through his obsessions with growing vegetables, conifers, and orchids (to which I wish I learned more). For succulents, I was gifted a single Aloe x Spinosissima about 9 years ago and learned how to propagate/care for/save dying aloe completely on my own through experimentation. Since I was able to propagate it so well, my Aloe was a very forgiving "practice tool" for the possibly dozens of times I killed it. Looking up these things just never occurred to me! Along the way I was able to share it with so many of my friends too. Now that I have started growing a collection of different succulents, I spend a lot of time researching on the internet. As gardengal mentioned above, the biggest challenge for me is finding the truth and facts among all the misinformation out there. Like many things I've learned in my life, "facts" are usually not the case! Gardenweb is definitely one of my top choices for advice, since there are so many knowledgeable people here with open minds. I pay particular attention to posts with images, because I can relate to what's going on through my own experience much better. As someone who teaches others in a few very specialized areas, I find little tidbits of expert advice go extremely far. In those areas, I can immediately identify what's wrong/right and the best course of action. Often, this type of expert information is not readily documented and isn't necessarily known by other experts even. If only gardening was the case for me! At least I am determined to find out exactly how things work. Always happy to see so many of you offering up your help and advice - hopefully you keep being patient with us newcomers. =)