best treated like a cactus plant. You can usually judge when to water by the leaves start to droop then water well. Keep in the brightest, hottest area you have. When it looses all it's leaves let dry out and only water maybe once a month. If you can keep it with some light it will do better. You'll notice a change in the tips when they are ready to come out of dormacy and then start treating like growing plant slowly. They are very tropical so make sure they don't get any frost. Hope this helps you get started. This is what has worked for me. Pattie

can you be more specific about how to get the correct url in the space. and could you clarify example url with the two options I see, optional and name of the link. I don't own a camera and don't understand how pictures are posted here, but I do understand the "Optional Link URL" and "Name of the Link" boxes. "Optional Link URL" -- This is where you post the web address of what you're linking to. It's "optional" because most posts don't contain any links. Links to web sites must begin with the http:// -- and won't work if that's missing. "Name of the Link" -- this is how the link shows up on the page. For instance, in Dave's post above the link is named "How to post photos FAQ." He could have simply pasted the same thing (the page address) in both boxes, as I've done below (or he could have named the link "Fred"). This box cannot be empty, or your link won't show up at all (IIRC, you'll get an error message in Preview). So the first link tells the software where the link should go, and the second link is how the link appears on the page. I have no idea if photos can be posted using those two boxes -- but I do know that photos can be posted without using the boxes. Links can also be posted without using the boxes (but the only time I tried, it didn't work). Here is a link that might be useful: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/pepper/2002072150000611.html

it does take a little getting used to and letting the program learn, it will pop up and ask you do you want to let such and such connect to the internet you will likely know what is asking because you are trying to use something that needs access so in those cases say yes, if it is something that needs to access it regularly like your antivirus check mark where it says remember this so it does not ask each time. Do not give server rights some things will ask but it is not necessary once you say no to server rights it will next pop up asking for access, that you can allow. If it is something you do not recognize asking then say no and see if you can determine what it is, if you had some type of malware that is trying to phone home you would not want to allow that access. I prefer mine to pop up and ask each time with some of the rarely used stuff I like to know what is connecting. When getting zonealarm or any other free firewall or any program actually be very alert during the install period and uncheck or do not allow the addition of any toolbars or extras, Zone alarm unfortunately now does try to include a toolbar with the free version, you do not want that toolbar. and if you have problems or questions just ask. When something like generic win 32 something ask for permission say yes or you will not be able to connect to the internet, that is one to check mark always allow. Yes as grandms said with cable you have a direct connection and with no router in between you and the internet that even more dictates the use of a software firewall. The benefit of a router with built in hardware firewall is great but I use both on my windows machines, actually my linux has guarddog firewall built into it so I even have one on linux. The link I had provided the main reason I do refer that link is that there are such good instructions and pictures for someone new to firewalls.

DavidAndKasie is correct. Heat pumps CAN be set back (turned down) effectively with a setback thermostat that has smart recovery. First, since you say that you don't understand much about how heat pumps work, let's cover that. A heat pump basically is the same as an ordinary airconditioner, with the addition of a reversing valve that changes its functioning to HEAT the indoors instead of cooling. Air conditioners don't so much MAKE cold as they MOVE heat from one place to another. In cooling mode, heat is moved from inside to outside. That's the hot air you feel blowing from the unit outside (the inside blows cool air). In heating mode, the unit picks up heat from outside and moves it IN (the outside unit blows COLD air, the inside WARM). There technically is heat in the air (or an object) down to scientific absolute zero (-459.67F) when molecular motion stops. It's cheaper from an electric energy expenditure point-of-view to MOVE heat than to CREATE heat. Thus heat pumps are cheaper to operate electrically than glowing-red heating elements. However, when the outdoor temperature drops, particularly to the point of ice/frosting, it's harder for the heat pump to pick up the heat and move it inside. So all heat pump system have an auxiliary heat source, typically standard electric heating elements, that activate as needed when it can't maintain the desired indoor temperature without help. This is called the "balance point" -- the point at which the heat pump can't move heat in fast enough from outside to counteract the heat loss that's occurring through doors, windows, walls, etc. Every system and house is different in that respect. The indoor temp drops below the setpoint (thermostat set on 70°F, room temp is 68°F for example), and a 2nd pair of contacts trigger in the thermostat which turns on the heating elements. Electronic thermostats may also do this based on time. If the system can't reach the setpoint (70°F) within a specific time period, or the thermostat senses that the indoor temperature isn't increasing or isn't increasing fast enough, the elements turn on. Of course, the heating elements pull a lot more electricity and aren't as efficient as the heat pump. So the trick after a setback (or having turned the system completely off) is to raise the temperature SLOWLY so the heating elements DON'T turn on. Electronic setback thermostats designed for heat pumps do this automatically. The computer figures out how soon to start the recovery process so it can raise the temp slowly and hit the target at the specified time without using the auxiliary elements (or minimizing use of them). It may take a few cycles for the computer to "learn" the characteristics of a particular system and get the timing right. You can also do it manually, but you have to PAY ATTENTION and not raise the temp too fast or too high at a time. This may take a couple hours at lower outdoor temps. Beware also that if the outdoor temp is well below the aforementioned "balance point" the system may NOT be able to recover the desired indoor temp at all without use of the auxiliary heating elements. Another aspect of heat pumps that you should know about is defrosting. As mentioned earlier, the outdoor unit in heating mode is basically cooling the outside. During some conditions, particularly wet/freezing weather, the coils can ice-up, like a food freezer that needs defrosting. Air can't blow through the coils when they're clogged with ice, so like a freezer they must be defrosted. The system does that by switching back to AIR CONDITIONING mode for a few mins so the outside coils get warm and melt the ice. Now remember that when running as an air conditioner, the system blows COLD air inside the house. During defrost, the auxiliary heating elements turn on, NOT for the purpose of melting the ice on the coils outside, but to warm up the cold air that would otherwise be blowing in the house. There's no way to prevent defrost from happening, the system does that automatically as needed. Some people say that if the outdoor temp is so low for an extended period that the system is running continuously, the outdoor unit is repeatedly icing over and defrosting, then it's best to set the thermostat to Emergency Heat, which shuts off the heat pump and runs ONLY the heating elements ... since they're being used a lot anyway during the frequent defrost cycles.