The JBs have arrive here. I have had a few on one of my young peach trees. I have had a few on my rose bushes. I see a few holes in my beans and cruciferous vegetable plants. But actually I have seen very few. I applied Milky Spore last year, but then it did not rain and I didn't water it down to well, so I doubt it took. I think it was the late spring that has kept down their numbers. They are a social bug and seem to gather in numbers after a few arrive and find it hospitable. I am spraying early to get rid of the few in hope that the many do not arrive.

Personally I think this is a really interesting discussion. I am an engineer at Honda R&D near Columbus, OH. At my location, there are over a thousand white collar workers, mostly technical. Within a hundred mile radius of me, there are a 4 Honda assembly plants, employing around 10,000 people. At other sites in the US and Canada, there are probably another 15,000 workers. Each of these plants is turning out thousands of new Hondas per day. Nearly every Honda/Acura sold in the US (by volume) is made in the US. The engines, transmissions, every major component. Furthermore, Honda actually *exports* cars from the US, something that the Big 3 can barely talk about. Sure, there are niche cars like the S2000 roadster that are 100% Japanese, but that is a tiny part of our market. I think these are pretty impressive numbers, especially if you consider that Honda is only something like the 7th largest market share in the US. Its been here since 1979, I'd wager that in those 27 years Honda has contributed significantly to Americans and their way of life. There are a lot of secure $25/hr plus full benefits jobs available in Ohio because of Honda. The US auto industry lost their way in the oil crises. They haven't been able to turn it around since then. They concentrate too much on short-sighted markets like giant fuel-guzzling SUVs. Its not that the Big 3 makes bad cars, its that they make cars that aren't in demand. Compare a Focus to a Civic. A Taurus to an Accord. Sure, those Fords might last 200k miles, but I'd much rather spend that time in a nice Accord than a hard plastic Taurus. I would rather support the thousands of American workers who build Hondas than support a few suits in Detroit and drive a Mexican Dodge. That said, my garage: 1980 Lawn Boy 7229 1996 Stihl trimmer 1997 Honda Accord (shocking, right?) 2002 Triumph Speed Triple (mc) 1976 Honda CB400F (mc) 1976 Suzuki GT550 2-stroke (mc) 1948 Johnson Sea Horse (outboard) 1949 Evinrude Zephyr (outboard)

Carol, I got tired of trying to explain it to people and having them look at me with total skepticism so I figured I'd write about it. I'm glad the editor wanted photos with it so there's some tangible evidence that it works. One of my co-workers said she was going to try it immediately. Another one, who's heard me talk about it all winter, was on the website and said, "Caryl, there's an article on here about sowing in milk jugs like you do." I told him to check the byline. (Since I'm in the sports department I guess he wasn't expecting to see me writing for features.) Caryl

The delayed ignition for the stove-top burners is an easy adjustment. In the vast majority of cases, you simply need to bend the spark igniter back into the proper position. If your range is still under warranty, I would have service technician do it. While not difficult per se, there is a small chance that you could crack the ceramic insulator in the process. Better have somebody else be responsible, if that happens. If it no longer is under warranty, get some locking pliers, grip the top part of the igniter and very gently move it into a better position. This might require some trial and error, but if the burner doesn't ignite within three clicks, you know that you are not done yet. Oh, and if you do break the igniter, don't panic. They are cheap and if you ask nicely,, your dealer (or Bluestar) might just give you a handful of them for free. The biggest pain is unscrewing them from the burner head, if the stove has already been in use for a couple of years. The screw tends to seize up over time (and if it isn't firmly fastened, the igniter won't click at all; so do make sure it has a solid electric connection). Can't really tell you much about the temperature swings for the oven. I don't see those with my oven, and the installer did actually verify the oven's performance with a thermometer. My only comment would be that running the convection fan is likely to reduce uneven temperatures. But the 50-70 incorrect top temperature is easily adjustable. Pull off the oven's control nob. In the center of the axle, you'll find a tiny screw. Turn it adjust the setpoint for the thermostat. Again, this is something the installer really should have verified for you. And once it is set, it shouldn't really need additional adjustments.