Well, I called down to the plumbing office... and sure enough, I'm wrong! I was thinking of the original AS Cadet, thus everything I said about it is about the original AS Cadet, not the "3" version, which is apparently a totally different animal. Siphon-jet, gravity-based, no expensive/failure-prone/noisy pressure-assist tank. They're still not real hot on American Standard 'though, but that comes from many in-field failures and lack of good quality control on others like the AS Champion toilet and some of their other plumbing fixtures, such as tubs & sinks. From what I'm told, AS has claimed several times that a toilet model was "Better than a Toto Drake", like their Champion toilet, but what they've seen in the field, especially with the leaking tanks, proves otherwise. I do find dchall's comments interesting and plan on doing a little excursion to the local home improvement store to take a look at this Cadet 3 toilet. AS switching to a gravity-based system with standard parts is a huge step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned, BUT, my AS Compact Elongated & AS Rennaisance toilets are gravity-fed and use standard parts and don't work worth a damn, BUT both of my AS toilets are washdowns and not siphon-jets, so I'm willing to give them a chance... BUT not in my bathroom -- both of my AS toilets will be replaced with Toto toilets. I'd rather pay more and get the real thing rather than skimp and get a knock-off of unknown quality. The Cadet 3 has been on the market for less than a year and their Champion toilets became rather problematic after the first 6 or so months. The one thing I'd be really curious about is the distance the AS Cadet 3 can move the waste down the waste pipe. I donated a few Toto Drake toilets to my church after they were calling Roto-Rooter every 3-4 months to unclog the lines. Previous toilets were 6 gallon models. Since the Drakes were installed in Feb, no clogs/backups have occured. Commercial-grade products and standards/codes *ARE* of higher quality/standards than residential. Electrical codes, structural engineering design, ventilation codes, and plumbing codes are all more strict and demanding for commercial applications than residential. In the case of toilets, this would be performance, durability, and weight-handling capacity. There's a reason that both AS & Toto list far fewer toilets for commercial applications than residential. This isn't dissimilar from being able to use 15-amp receptacles & Romex wire in houses whereas you must use 20-amp receptacles and hard-pipe conduit in commercial buildings. As far as the disclaimers go, they came about from homeowners buying $50-75 toilets @ Lowe's/HD and expecting the plumber to install them, then calling & complaining that the toilet was installed wrong b/c it didn't work like their old 6-gallon toilets did. This requiring a call-back, which ate more time & money, and of course, customers who were buying $50 toilets are going to complain even louder when you come out a 2nd time and have to charge them for the 2nd trip when there's nothing wrong with the install. Their $50 toilets are junk and there's nothing the plumber can do to make it work better. The disclaimer simply states, "I have been informed that not all low-flow toilets perform equally and wish to install something other than what ________ Plumbing has advised me of and that ________ Plumbing does not guarantee the performance of this toilet." Ever since coming up with that, the # of false callbacks have dropped to almost zero. As far as wanting to sell toilets (as I have been accused in the aforementioned link), my degree's in EE and do electronics design/engineering and currently going back to school to study medicine, my father's is in law, the plumbing business is simply an investment, not an occupation. My specific plumbing knowledge was taught to me by one of the plumbers and consists of "hot on left, cold on right, gas goes up, s**t goes down", said like a true plumber. The plumbing business really don't make THAT much on parts, however labor is billed at actual cost (~$100/hr) rather than a more appealing rate other plumbers charge ($65-75/hr) and 50% markup on parts. So, they sell a Drake for ~$220, Carusoe goes for ~$120. I doubt you'll be able to find them for much less than that. The high labor rate also tends to weed out the less-desirable clientelle who are most concerned about price and not quality or performance. They've worked on numerous repairs and renovations for the local 5-star resorts (I won't say which, but one of the resorts selected Toto Drake toilets and Speakman dual-head showerheads; most road-warriors probably know which chain this is), numerous 4-5 star restaurants, and plenty of high-end houses. At this level, performance is your reputation, NOT price. As a last parting shot :), the AS toilets are made in Central & South America, whereas most of the Toto toilets sold in the US are made in the US. Like I've said, I've had Totos in my other residence for 5 years now, used a plunger 0 times, no leaks/quality control issues. For my money and posterior, there shall be a Toto beneath it. I'll gladly pay more for a product I know will work the first time, every time.

Rococco, sure. Sephora should have a BE counter and a tech to play with your face. I was in Chicago last night and dragged my makeup phobic friend into the BE Boutique at Woodfield, (Mecca itself, only two in the midwest I think) for a makeup application. Had to ply her with a glass of wine first. We'd been up since 5, driven 3 hours, then had a tedious all day conference - our 50s faces were not exactly dewey and fresh... When they were done, she looked great!! Another convert. BTW BE is "15 spf", but you use so very, very little that I doubt it is sufficient protection. Oh, and on the messiness of the powders. I'd forgotten to swirl the brush in a bit in the lid, and was kinda dunking it instead. Duh. The lid and the Kleenex tip did the trick. Thanks.

It certainly happened at our house and I had no idea what it was. In fact, I called two plumbers, one of whom suggested over the phone I might have put cat litter in the toilet. Hello! We never did that and besides our cat has been dead almost 2 years. Our LR toilet was regularly flushed before we retired because, at the time, we had a housekeeper and a gardener weekly who used the laundry room toilet due to easy access from the garden and the housekeeper always cleaned and thereby flushed all the toilets. A second plumber almost diagnosed the problem over the phone (the smell was very bad, like a P-trap odor). However, he did come out and he explained that the infrequently used bathrooms need to be used occasionally.

I had been trying to re-connect with a friend by emailing her and arranging lunch dates. I was always the one to initiate. I kept it up for several months. When we saw each other it was always really nice. When we ran into each other at church there were always big hugs and "we have to do lunch again soon !". The only way that was going to happen was if I initiated. I stopped. For good or bad I don't think that it can be one-sided. I have given this a lot of thought. I have always been a loner and I believe I always will be. I have had one good friend at a time for years and then it would end and I would have another. I seem to be able to manage that and nothing else. I believe that if I really wanted more I would do more to aide the process. DH and I are really close and do a lot of things together and separately. He has no close friend either. But that is nothing new. Looking at it dispassionately it is the way we are. I no longer think there is something wrong with us. Everyone finds their own way of carrying on. My way wouldn't work for someone else and their way wouldn't work for me. When I am on a bike tour for months at a time I do enjoy being with others ...up to a point. All of us on the trips agree that our tent is like a return to the womb :) When I get home I really relish the lack of stimulation from others and go right back into my solitary ways. I have meditated at length on this and on my original thread that spawned this thread. I am what I am and that is all that I am. Peaceful is how I feel ...not lonely or alone. c