The sense of smell is directly connected to the sense of taste. If you loose the sense of taste, the sense of smell goes too. I believe what is perceived as a bad smell is a built in protection against eating poison, infected waste matter or rotten food. Personally I like very hot foods, such as hot peppers but many do not. I also like vinegar, most anything that has been pickled & started asking around & discovered many people who like hot peppers also like the smell & taste of vinegar. I wonder if the different ways people react to smells is based on their tongues & taste buds? Why do some like hot while others cannot take it? The worst smell around here is the stockyards. It smells like burning fat & hides with rancid overtones that just smells greasy. I grew up in a refinery town & that smell never bothered me & still doesn't. Most people find it absolutely awful so maybe when you are exposed to a smell considered bad by most as a child, a bit of nostalgia or familiarity sets in? The best smell was the time I went to Phoenix & the Orange Blossoms made the entire city smell like Jasmine tea. Of all the wide ranging odors I've run into that still wins #1 as the best I ever encountered. It did smell better than a refinery town, I must admit. I like medicinal smells in plants and most woodsy smells like patchouli, a favorite. I hate any perfume with musk, the really sweet ones----some women nearly gag you with over doing it, the worst is to have someone come up & give you a hug then you're stuck smelling it the rest of the day. Thanks a lot. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Tue, Apr 1, 14 at 14:25

OK, some people are taking things I've said a bit too personally. I agree with a couple others who have suggested that this thread come to a close before any true harm comes. I never had any intention of this thread turning into a debate. Fact is, this place is just too nice for this. I don't regret starting the topic, but I knew it would bother some of you. I understand some people don't want their beliefs challenged. I find this odd, as I am inclined to question extraordinary claims. All this being said, I don't like leaving things hanging out there, so I will answer a few of Prouds points. **Don't read any further if you plan on taking any of this too personally. ** I really don't want to have any kind of debate. I am terrible at such things, because I am not very scientifically minded. It's all based on what makes sense, and what doesn't. It all boils down to this for me. I simply wonder why so many people, when faced with the origins of the world, choose to believe in an invisible, supernatural being who resides over some super-elite kingdom somewhere. Like Kent said, It all just seems so silly. It makes more sense to believe something a bit more logical first. "Do you have evidence to support that there is not a supreme being? If if can't be proven it doesn't exist? What about if it can't 'not' be proven? Does it then indeed exist? Hmmm, would that mean that there are or are not aliens?" A person making the claim is the one who needs to provide proof. You can't prove a negative. Someone says "I believe god" I say "prove that god exists" someone responds with "prove that he/she doesn't!" This doesn't make sense. I can say there is an invisible tiny dragon sitting on my shoulder. You can't prove there isn't, now can you? When proof shows up of gods existence I will join you all in your adoration. We have one child. He is not a gift from anything. We created him because we wanted a child. Amazing biological stuff happened, and then there he was. We are teaching him to not just accept everything people tell you. Ask questions. Doubt. Be skeptical. I tell him that many people believe many things. If he chooses to be religious when he gets older I would be baffled, but accepting certainly. No, I don't believe in miracles. Nothing happens for a "reason". The world just is what it is and we all happen to be lucky enough to be here. There is nothing special about humans or what we do in the overall scheme of things. Our lives are utterly meaningless when you consider the scope of the universe. Depressing, isn't it? "Here's an interesting concept. I once asked a practicing christian (and there is a difference between a christian and a practicing christian, but that's a different topic) "What if you get to the end and you find out there is no God and you've lived all of your life serving him?" His reply, "Wouldn't you rather spend your life serving God only to find out there was no God than to spend you life not serving him only to find out there was?"" This is called Pascal's Wager. See link. Makes no sense at all. Personally, I find religious debates pointless. Nobody convinces anyone of anything, and everyone leaves in a huff. This was fun, though, at least for me. I'll have to think of a topic a bit less controversial to start up. Maybe about favorite color, or the great 'Tea or Coffee' debate. ; - ) Here is a link that might be useful: Pascals Wager

Thanks greatly everybody! Of course, I should have been more clear in my question. I have a "subfloor" original to the house (1920) that's diagonal boards. Also original to the house is another layer of wood on top of those diagonals. I refer to both of these as the "subfloor" although I now recognize that the upper piece -- plywood where it's been newly installed -- is considered "underlayment." Anyway, all the wood floors in the house are installed on those two layers. So what I deduce from the many comments is the following: 1) that because the diagonal boards are rather bouncy, backer board -- which is not structural -- should not be used in place of the top layer of plywood. I need to keep the plywood. (2) Ditra would give me the smallest increase in height but cement board would also be a good option. (3) If I used cement board, I need to do what Mongo said (which looks like the way the tiling people did my bathroom floor). This project is a partial GC job followed by DIY. So, for the pantry and also a new powder room, I'm going to do the tile. I had thought -- past tense! -- that I would have the GC install cement board in the powder room on the aforementioned diagonal boards but now it sounds as if that would be a huge mistake -- I should go with the plywood and accept some amount of transition height depending upon what material I use. If this is all correct, then I might have a problem with my bathroom floor tile (not yet installed) because they put cement board (with screws and thinset) onto the subfloor which was, as I recall, a mishmash of diagonal boards and new plywood (it's partly old and partly new construction in that room). This is a very high end tile installer so if I question anything, I'm going to have to sound like I know what I'm talking about! Is there any source I could cite other than the experts on Gardenweb? I'm getting a very strong feeling that I should raise this issue now or I'll be sorry down the road.

Hmmmmm....I guess there are many different ways to look at what is going on. Bottom line, right or wrong, I think she probably does "need the sympathy" or at least some support. I think you may be being a little tough on her. Many parents of teenagers have problems with their kid's boyfriends or girlfriends...straight or gay. I'm just wondering if maybe she wouldn't have acted the same way if it was a daughter, and I think maybe she would have. Very conservative people, are very conservative. Now, it is a shame if she is truly slandering this poor boy..using his name and other people actually know him. How bad are the things she is saying about him? I think most may be able to read through the "sexual agressive" label as her just being overprotective of her own child. And, another thing to consider. I've been to support groups before and some people will have real major problems--- illnesses close to death, or major hospitalizations, while someone else may seem to think that a hang nail is a major drama. Every comes for their own reasons and thinks their own problems are major. Don't write off your friend's feelings; I'm sure they are dealing with a lot at one time and may just need some support to come to terms with everything. Plus, just because you like Scott doesn't necessarily mean he is right/good for their son...maybe there are things about him or the way he treats Brad that you are not aware of. No one really knows for sure if what anyone says at any support group is the whole truth or not, but support groups aren't formed to verify facts, they're formed to lend support and help let people talk and get feelings off their chest. You could talk to her personally and say..hey, I really like Scott, I'm surprised you don't...and see how the conversation goes. Other than that, if she's not totally falsely bashing him, I'd just let it go.