First off, thanks for all the replies so far. I think I am on the right track. I started the engine, immediately started to surge, let it warm up for a few minutes, still surging. I can stick a screwdriver under the governor linkage and apply very slight upward or downward pressure and it will stop surging immediately. At WOT, if I keep the linkage from bouncing up and down for a few seconds and slowly let go, it will not surge for 20-30 seconds. It then starts surging very little but quickly ramps up to the full on surge in a matter of a couple of seconds. Keep in mind the surge from high to low and back to high is less than a second. I observed a few other things. It doesn't surge at idle, but starts at about half throttle. The spring from the throttle to the governor, at idle, has a slight amount of tension. The only adjustment I can see making, on the governor, is actually repositioning the linkage either up or down on the shaft that comes out of the governor. Would this be my next step? I like my JD dealer but I don't want to think about how much he would charge. Especially, since he has to come get it or I have to rent a trailer. Scott

Food is so variable that I can't understand absolutes. I think it was on Top Chef recently that they featured the heretic who first did parmesan cheese five ways, incuding frico and foam, and he's now considered a king and his efforts seminal. There are somethings that are innovative and good, but called by ”wrong” names. I remember reading that Wolfgang Puck, when he first got into the frozen foods biz, ran afoul of government regulations which defined pizza as having tomato sauce. IIRC, they compromised for that particular pizza by adding sliced tomato, but eventually decided that Michelin star chefs should define their food, not regulators, so they rewrote the definition. or something like that. I think the controversy also helped by publicising that pizzas might not have tomatoes, thereby changing public expectations. The Italian woman who taught us lasagna also taught us the ragout. There's a very basic recipe with canned tomatoes (fresh can be used—they just cost more and take a lot more work— and dried herbs that is the framework. The unwritten part is dependent on season and what you can afford, plus cleaning the fridge. Maybe not peas (shudder), but pretty much any alium, brassica or umbellifer could find it's way in, as well as nightshades and squash. Sausage for the flavor, or other meat and more seasonings/herbs/spices etc., to make up for it. Over time I've learned that a green bell pepper is necessary for it to taste "right" (and oregano, of course), and that marjoram makes things taste like pizza. Otherwise, pretty mich anything goes and it ends up pretty much the same as a whole. And using the framework of what we call lasagna, the dish, I also make lasagne, the pasta, with a barbecue chicken profile, and a pumpkin one. Definitely American. Really good.

the best advice I can give is: STOP caring! Not that I would say don't care about your SS. Just stop caring what he thinks. Every time you go out of your way to please him and he craps on it, he is in control and has the power. Take your power back. Learn to say "oh well, sorry you don't like it." and move on. I wouldn't run out and buy him ANYTHING as long as he treats you that way. "Oh, your dad can take care of it...." and not worry when dad lets him down. I'll give two examples from my family: SD was 5 when I met her. She didn't have a birthday party when she turned 6 or 7. When she was about to turn 8, I suggested to DH that if BM wasn't going to throw her a party, maybe he could. DH called BM and right away, BM said she had plans for a party. They agreed to split the cost.. yadayadayada. It got ugly when DH put the brakes on the cost, BM whined that he wasn't paying enough... big fight... result: custody battle. So, SD had a party at a bowling alley on her 8th birthday with BM and DH at opposite sides of the room scowling at each other and nobody from school showed up.. BM's mom didn't go and it was less than pleasant. I felt terrible. So, before SD turned 9, BM had met BF and moved away and her 9th birthday was approaching. DH had already decided no more joint parties. BM could have SD on her birthday but chose not to, saying she'll make her a party the next weekend. I decided to go all out. She invited all the kids in her class (about a third showed up), we had a tent with a ton of balloons, castle bounce house, popcorn machine, and the cake I made looked like a three tier wedding cake with butterflies and roses. (it was a princess party) and she was truly a princess that day. She had a blast! THAT DAY.... The next day, she reverted back to not talking to me.. not looking at me.. and I felt she was ungrateful and unappreciative... I felt a little used. She had been so chummy with me as we planned the party, shopped for everything and I stayed up three nights baking & decorating her cake... got up at 5am to start filling balloons, etc. and then she wouldn't even talk to me? So, I had to let it go. The reason I threw such a lavish party was because I felt she had been shortchanged the last few years.... and of course, it probably wasn't MY place to step in and try to make up for it. I guess I also hoped it would be a bonding experience for us.... to help us get along better. I know her mom was laying guilt on her, telling her how I refused to invite her and she couldn't be there so I'm sure that had a lot to do with SD treating me that way. (to make matters worse, the following weekend when her mom was supposed to make her a party, her mom left her with her boyfriends parents and went out... no party with mom. The boyfriends parents sang happy birthday and gave her some cake. She was very upset by that) Anyways, I vowed to not make a party for her this year. (not my kid, not my problem... because her attitude continued for a while) As her 10th birthday approached, I asked DH if he was doing anything... no. I kinda made him feel a little guilty so he took her to pizza with his parents and I made her a small cake. She was supposed to be with her mom on her actual birthday so DH put BM on the spot and she agreed to take SD. Well, she sent her mom and I've already posted about how that turned out. She spent the day calling & texting us and trying to start a fight, instead of actually celebrating with her daughter. She left at 4pm to go back home when SD expected to be with her until 8pm... they did nothing BM had promised. SD came home in tears. I think it made her think about all I do for her. I don't know if she thought about the party I made her but I noticed a difference in her attitude with me. I don't think she would have ever had the opportunity to appreciate me in any way if I didn't back off and let her experience that. It was tough and sometimes I want to jump in and figure out a way to make her like me... I finally realized it will never happen as long as I am trying. It has to be HER idea, not mine. My second example is my dad's relationship with my stepmom's biological daughter. My dad knew her before he knew my stepmom because she used to be my younger sister's best friend in high school. He would do favors for her, like drive her home from work because she would want to hitch hike at 16. After he married her mom, he treated her like his own daughter. For 22 years, he did more for her than her biological father, who treated her like crap. When her mom had an aneurysm, my dad continued to help her and her family... treated her entire family to a trip to Disneyland. I guess the day her mom had the aneurysm, she was planning to leave the next day to Disney with her family and they had to cancel the trip. A few years later, my dad wanted to make up for it and took (and paid for) a week at Disney for her, her husband and their kids. That was something he hadn't done for any of his own kids. She would give him cards on Father's day, his birthday, etc and call him Dad. She would tell him how thankful she is for him and loves him as a dad and so on.... Well, a year before her mom passed away... after she had gotten all the possessions that belonged to her mom.. and then some, she joined her brothers in a court case against my dad. It really crushed my dad.. to this day he still gets upset when he talks about her. He honestly believed she thought of him as a dad and for her to turn on him like that was a slap in the face with a Mack truck! and on a smaller level, I can relate to his pain because my SD will hold my hand, hug me, tell me she loves me and treat me like we are family as long as she is getting her way... then I am the b*tch that said no.. as soon as I impose a rule or say no. I have had to accept that she is someone else's child that is never going to love me, no matter how much I love her. I have to choose to love her knowing it won't be returned and give, knowing it won't be appreciated. Now, someday she may mature and love or appreciate me, but I cannot do for her with that expectation... I do it because I want to. I feel bad that her mom treats her like crap, but that's HER mother. I can't make up for it. I feel bad that her dad isn't 'into' planning fun parties for kids and she may never have another party.. unless her mom makes one or if she asks me. I won't offer ever again. It's the hardest thing to wear your heart on your sleeve and keep a child at arms length at the same time. Over time she is seeing that I won't be manipulated and yet, I still care about her and will do whatever I need to for her protection, but I am not going to kiss her ass and I am not going to allow her to use me. I do what I want for her and when I don't want, I say no... sorry ask your mom or dad.

I usually start my paint choosing by picking up a bunch of paint chips (big chips--not those itty bitty things) and taping them to the wall. I then eliminate the ones I definitely don't like. Then I come back and do the same thing in different light--morning, midday, under artificial light--eliminating a few chips each time. When I've covered the time-of-day bases, I move the chips to another wall and repeat. Usually I can narrow the choices down to just a few, and only then move on to actual paint samples. For my bedroom, I thought I wanted a blue-gray. Went through a lot of chips and ended up not liking any of them. Switched over to gray greens, and that is what I eventually ended up with. I ended up very happy with the color.