I've had the same experience as Harvestman and Eric with Golden Russet. It's been a very sweet apple for me (from farmers market and Averill Farm). The sweetest were from Averill Farm over an hour North of me in Western CT. They had 18-21.8 brix and were possibly the best apples I've had (top 3 at least). I wonder if there is some confusion about English Golden Russet vs American? It's easy for such a distinction to get lost and the subsequent tree propagated. I've actually used two different sources for Golden Russet- Cummins for a tree and Maple Valley for some scionwood. Both were just added this spring, so it could be a while before I can compare. Thanks for the mention of Thompson's cider mill Harvestman. Even though I have a lot more apples coming in this year, I may still make one or two drives out. What made me think that there could be a relationship between "Old" and "Ross" Nonpareil is that they seem to share the same qualities, small, yellow/russeted, sugary. But, on closer inspection, I see that they have different sources (1802 in Ireland for Ross and 1600's Britian for Old). Since they appear to be different and you've given it high scores, I'll probably add one next spring. Though I may have enough apples, with 32 in-ground and another 20ish potted (many new rootstocks). This post was edited by bob_z6 on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 15:16

NCREGuy, "no good deed goes unpunished" ;-) Tis a sad day when we have to be paranoid over legal ramifications of something for illustrative purposes. I used the blueprints and physically measured the house while doing this mock-up. It was surprising how "off" BP-to-Actual really was. Now my measurements were done with steel tape and probably not as accurate as laser, either. We'll be using this "for illustrative purposes only" to show floor layout and flow. Our REA will add boilerplate in the ad copy. Sorry for being semi/off-topic ;-) As we're relocating, it's interesting looking at listings here & there. Rural property is a different critter LOL and I see more pix of the pasturage, barn, out-buildings, etc than the interior of the house. Usually house interiors are very dark, as in electricity was turned off dark, and the photographer used basic camera flash. Maybe there's a card table in the middle of a room with some REA's laptop & Big Gulp adorning it. My favourite was interior & exterior (landscaped) shots of an outhouse (working...) beautifully staged with folded-corner pink toilet paper, basket of bow tied white dinner napkins, and gallon jug of Orange Goop. Yes, the property was listed as "sportsman paradise" so we knew it would be more rustic. Got me to wondering if there was a "working inhouse" in house. The ad copy showed "deep well with water rights on property" so we're pondering whether there's any house plumbing (or electricity for that matter). Sometimes I wonder if I've seen too many Parade of Homes and Gallery of Homes and have set my expectations too high :-) Here is a link that might be useful:

we will never get a ban on all guns, it's unfortunate but true :-/ We can get a ban on clips, magazines and drums and some semi-automatics and enact other laws for mental health, liability of ownership, enforce existing laws not being followed (severe punishments for lying on applications) and stop exemptions from background checks at gun shows. banning all guns is too late, the horse is out of the barn and in the next country by now, chicago is a great example of that. I do think that making the ammo for semi-automatics cost hundreds of $$ will end alot of drive-bys and mass shootings, if people want to waste to time to reload their own bullets there is nothing you can do to stop that thou. I do support legal, responsible gun ownership of non semi-automatics with some laws applied. in some states you may only have 3 bullets in your gun for hunting, I believe GA is one of them. why have rules like that for hunters (which are ok by me) but allow semi-automatics to be used to shooting people? that is crazy! we need to make gun owners legally liable for what happens w their own guns and force them to take proper precautions (safety locks and real gun safes) in order to keep their rights. they need reminding that severe laws restricting their gun rights are just a pen writing away thru executive order! the Conn shooters mother got what she deserved for having hundreds of rounds of ammo laying around, multiple guns including semi-automatics also left out when she had known for years her son had mental problems. I can't think of a more appropriate end for her, she is exactly what the NRA would love to sweep under the carpet. we have all sorts of rules & regulations for getting a driver's license & owning a car, we should have similiar tests of ability, liability insurance and renewal laws concerning guns. things will be changing in this country, if you don't believe it you must have missed what happened on Nov 6 when the largest ground game ever organized in US history changed things forever. my focaus had already turned to 2014 but for now I am using my time and $$ for this cause. Can you just imagine how we can change the culture of violence in this country if we all want to imagine a future w/o it! in the last year, who really has not had a twinge of concern (even if it's just a thought) going to a mall or movie theatre now...that is a culture of fear & violence. ~ liz

Banning assault style weapons would not reduce these numbers hugely but would still be meaningful. And it seems like pretty low-hanging fruit, too, when you consider all the other guns do have some arguable use. Not sure what the legit argument for having military-type weapons is. Remember that the United States does NOT have an official manner to track gun deaths. There is no mandatory reporting guidelines by law enforcement agencies to give a true number. So it's probably worse than the charts show. Studies suggest that suicide by methods other than gun are often failures and the person usually regrets the attempt and sometimes even gets help. (Otherwise, why bother with the oops net under the Golden Gate bridge?) Nobody knows if gun attempts would be regretted cuz...they work better. Suicides by gun is a problem. It's a different problem than assault-style weapons being used for mass random murder. They can't be addressed the same way but they shouldn't be forgotten. Shame the CDC can't support studying gun violence or suicides. So yeah, my kids' schools have drills. The middle school might have a security guard; the elementary school doesn't. The typical mid-century California suburban school has no inner halls. It's just a conglomeration of buildings. If you didn't feel like entering by the kindergarten or the front office or the library, you could enter from the other side by sneaking through the backyard of one of the 20 or so homes that back onto the field.