I recently try both Echo Power Blend and Mobil Racing 2T. I ran both in my new Shindaiwa C4 blower. I have been talking about this on other post here already. I mix about 32:1 on all. 1) When I first bought the blower, the dealer put a tank of gas mix and I finish it. I check the plug only. It was covered with black corbon. I did not clean the plug, just put it back. 2) I use Echo Power Blend at 32:1 and ran 3 to 4 tankful ( 1.5 hrs. ) I pull plug, the plug became mid brownish color. Much better looking. The black carbon was gone. Nice and Dry. I took the muffler off, inside muffler looked ok. There was corbon cover the heat shield, I wiped it up and put them all back. 3) I ran one tankful of Mobil 2T at about 35:1. I pull the plug and notice the plug get very dark, almost black and a little oily. I pull the muffler and looked like more carbon. The heat shield cover with carbon. Not thick but noticable. I open the valve cover ( it is a 4 cycle engine) and see a lot of oil, dripping amount. 4) I use Q-tips, clean the inside of the muffler as much as possible. It was black. I clean the inside the exhause port best I can. Clean the heat shield and put everything back. This time I go back to Echo Power Blend and 44:1. I'll update you when the next time I open up. From the little time I have with the two oil. I feel Echo is much better than Mobil 2T at 32:1 ratio. Maybe Shindaiwa C4 is very different than the two you were using. Maybe 32:1 give very different result. But the plug look so nice after using the echo the first time. I cannot see the piston through the exhaust port because it is a 4 cycle. I didn't have a procedure down, that's why you see I could have done better. But this time, The muffler, exhaust port and the heat shield were all clean using either gas or alcohol. When I pull them out and inspect them again, it will be more conclusive. Stay tune!!!

hi,just found this forum after I was paid memberand was searching around. I have a 7 yr.old dd that is "gifted" loose term kinda like I. q. tests .she was born and early on was in daycare and never in pre k or little kids programs and we were very afraid that she would not know enough it turned out she knew to much . that said she was read to before birth and every day since then she started reading and spelling at 4 reading past k at 5 and entered k at 6 and it was then that we realized she knew all of this stuff literally shoot she knew all the prices in the shopping cart at 5 and they were counting to ten, they were working on abc 123 and she was spelling compound words whew . I read all of the folks responses here and learn from all .I like the word advanced . although true genius is out there it is rare and if it is genetic how many folks are never seen or "never made it out of the trailer park". this happens to women more as they are impregnated and become mothers and slaves to their children . we are blessed although she could have recieved more attention and it took past the first 9 wks of kindergarten the system here weeds these kids out and they are transferred in to a "gifted setting . meaning she starts school in a 1st grade class then spends 4 hrs a day in another class with only 7 other kids from different ages . and one teacher, in days of under staffed schools this is like a parents dream .and although I don,t feel she is moving fast enough she gets one on one .I know that sounded bad but I still don,t feel the teacher quite has a grasp on what all she knows academically. to help answer the question the answers about finding the best of the best and start there are solid. also you don,t state what leads you to think this kid is "gifted " does she just naturally act smarter than her peers is she advanced like my kid . is she counting stars . I would also like to touch on another touchy subject I am now leaning towards the idea that add is present in my d.d. and this is something I said before she was born if people thought this she would not go on meds .I say this about her only because after watching some t.v commercials my wife referred me to aadd website and slowly after about a yr. of learning, I am the poster child for this "disorder" and my daughter has a lot of my characterristics . and although not nearly as hyper or busy as I was she does a lot of the same things I did I am still learning on this one .and frankly it scares me because it is like a big book was opened explaining some of what I have done and do and why and then complicates it further looking at my daughters angle. I am 41 and was mostly ignored or put to back of the class when I was young because of a lot of the things I heard described here. correcting teachers when your 9 doesnt get you brownie pts.and was constantly pressed to show my work when I could not do it on paper but could think of it and then write it down I speed read and read books backwards I did not know this was not normal until last yr. the reason I include myself is I probably have an Iq in the very high category and was gifted as a child although not recogognized and I always knew I was smarter I just got ignored or so much was expected of me that I just rebelled. I quit school at 16 and aced the state test and ged test they thought I cheated somehow and I took it twice scoring higher the second time I turned to drugs and alcohol and joined the navy at 17 same thing I scored so high on the tests that they tried to put me in a lot of jobs that I could not handle . the nuke sub program for a teen hippie ,yeah right . and although I am good at every thing I try I technically don,t have a trade . although I do have 10 1/2 yrs. sobriety. the reason I included that was to show how quickly you can lose the game as parents I was bored and needed things to do to see different things and while someone was very strongly urging me to stay inside of the box I was figuring a way out and should have died many times while thinking I was smarter than them. I don,t claim to know much about parenting ,it is a learning game I do know if you read to your kids they will be smarter than your neighbors kid. and I,m teaching my d.d. to use her knowledge and teach her friend the stuff she allready knows and take something from your friend because no one knows it all . just make sure you are not doing this for your self and be willing to take it all the way . sorry so long but I have a lot of questions also .Rick In wichita

1. Getting married. The changes and new responsibilities are huge and mostly unknown, plus (this is a guy thing) you wonder up until the wedding date approaches: did I (or her) make the right choice? Will we be happy? Can we stand each other after a year? Can I make enough money to support us? Will we be sucessful? What about children, and when? Will she stll love me after a couple of years? 2. Passing the second stage of marriage: At about year 3, I found that I did not really did not know abour her religious preference. I thought that I knew, but did not. Its at this time that both of us re-evaluate our marriage, and must come to a conclusion: do we continue or split (before there are children on the scene)? We stuck together, had some rough times and dissapointments, not in each other, but from life's big blows that strike sometimes. Others are lucky enough to escape these calamities - its a crap shoot who gets what. After you realize that is the case, you blame no one, roll with the punches, and look for the best solution. We've been married 49 yrs - time to re-evaluate, eh? Maybe not! Let's give it a few more years and see what happens. 3. Leaving home at the age of 17 with two other high school graduates in my class to look for our destiny. I had about $200. We three rented a garage that had been converted to a rambling, open space, apartment (in St. Louis). My first chore the next day was to investigate a trade school to see what was offered and costs. The next thing on the same day was to do a job search to find work that would support my rent and food. If I did not find something in a week, I would have to take the bus home. This little adventure lasted about a week when my high school principal contacted me to tell me of another opportunity that he had discovered. I listened and immediately accepted the challenge. 4. The Challenge: My first escapade away from home was only 100 miles distant. This time, it would be 350 miles away by Greyhound Bus, and I would be alone - just me and my suitcase. I would attempt to win a apot in a new experimental engineeing training program sponsored the US Ordanace Weapons Command. Only 40 would be selected from a field of 400 applicants. Entrance was by the college entrance exam and the old fashioned I.Q. test. Veterans were given a 5 point advantage. I made it in! and now one of the biggest projects of my life began: working my way through college. This was during the Korean Police Action (the US never described our part as a war, but there was no difference. A dead or wounded soldier has the same hurt no matter what the policy makers choose to call it.) The US Government ahd no idea what the nation was facing during this period, but were preparing. They were training a pool of engineers for an Arsenal, and at the same time, trying a work-school program. One my 18th birthday, I did recieve a draft notice and had to appear at my draft board to show them where in the Federal Register to find a special act of scholatic defferment for this group of students. Mind you, this was not a 'freebie'. If for any reason, I did not complete my degree, I was subject to immediate draft. Also, it extended my draftable age. At that time, the draft was for ages 18 through 24. For those of us who were in this program, our draft age was from 18 through 28, thus we could have been taken after graduation, however, there exemptions that came into being if, as new grads, we took employment in certain capacities. This was my grand project and it was scary for the first couple of years. Failure was always a real possibility. Fifty percent of the group dropped out the first year. It was this period that shaped my future for the rest of my life.

Both of our sons have been in the gifted/talented programs in our K-8 district. Older DS is now a freshman in HS, in all honors classes. OUr district does not "test for giftedness". Participation in the program is based on a combination of things, including teacher observations and recommendations, classroom observations by the gifted/talented teachers, test scores on the standard tests given to all the children (Gates-McGinity being one) in which they must score at 97% or above to be considered for the program. While the enrichment of the gifted program was fun for the kids, most of the programs at the elementary level are not geared to advance the subject matter, but more to advance the thinking process and depth of exploration of a subject. In other words, in the gifted classroom sections, the kids may work on the Civil War, which is what their classmates are also doing in the regular classroom. However, the gifted kids will do something with greater depth or challenge, but still on the same subject matter. Older DS participated in the MIdwest Talent Search sponsored by NOrthwestern University, and took the SAT (the same one taken by high school jrs and srs.)in 6th grade. Don't know if younger DS will be invited to take it, as he is only in fifth grade now. But again, the invitation came because of test scores on the standardized testing, not because of some special screening we did or testing we sought out. Kids can be gifted/talented in one area and not in others. There are some great websites and books on giftedness, but in truth a lot of the "characteristics" that they mention seem to be present in lots of kids I know. My older DS was a very early reader, like the poster's son. He was reading at a second grade level before he started kindergarten. But rather than seeing that as a problem, we saw it as a benefit for him as he went to school. It was. I will tell you that while there are things that the school can offer, you might also look into your local jr. college - they often have a "kids on campus" type of program, part of which is geared to gifted/talented kids, in which they can take advanced classes, etc. Gifted/talented kids can benefit by being in a regular classroom, and being leaders. Neither of our boys has EVER complained about being bored in school, whether in their regular classroom time or during gifted/talented classtime. Watch what is happening to your child, and seek out interesting experiences to enrich him, but do not let the concept of being "gifted" worry you, unless HE complains about his learning experiences.