So, how did the show go? Got pics? Heck, got plants?? Korina, GREEN with envy

Roberto, If this is true, then Prain cannot be considered the true author. He did not correctly follow the process of nomenclature. If you do it quickly, S. trifasciata Roberto (Surname unknown on line) could be it's name! However, if laurentii is to be considered validly published, then the name must be S. laurentii fma. trifasciata. This ends with the variegated plant being the species, as it was first named. Now this would REALLY be messy in the system! All the cultivar names would be flipped and switched, wobbled and tipped!!! Yikes. Oh, but I do love your unorthodox viewpoint to stir the cauldron of science. Don't you just love taxonomy?!?!?! Michael Interlaken NY Z6

Fenworth, here's my rant about relying on Consumer Reports reliability ratings. While it is true that it's all we have, the methodology is deeply flawed, and the high-end brands have such a statistically low number of responses as to be random noise. You really have to take the Consumer Reports reliability and repair records with a huge grain of salt. It's the magazine's greatest weakness, I think. The data is entirely gathered by subscriber polls. There is no distinction for repairs needed because of 1) installation issues, 2) users need help, 3) so-called "infant mortality" when an appliance might fail early on, 4) shipping and handling damage, 5) common wear and tear, 6) design flaws, 7) other issues such as a power surge or natural disaster, 8) abuse, and 9) whatever else I can't think of at the moment. In addition to this, it should be also noted that expensive low market share products fair worse too. They simply don't have a large enough sample to be fair or accurate of a brand. This is why luxury appliances fair poorly in their eyes. All the poll asks if if your appliance has needed a service call. Period. I like CR, it's a fine magazine and I use their info when I make many purchases. But the reliability and repair ratings are the weakest part of the whole organization.

My take: Why no closet doors? That's an expense I'd have to make right after buying the house. Why traditional stained wood trim in some rooms, and a modern look in others? Why are they hiding the sink? Is there something wrong with it? They've removed the upper cabinets. Now everything is on the counters or walls. Looks cluttered. Another expense for me--adding upper cabinets. Advertised as a 3-4 bedroom house, but only one tiny, awkward eating area crammed into the kitchen. Where will the family eat dinner? Where will I host the extended family on holidays? Bathroom is a very traditional style. Kitchen and living room are not. How will I make that work? Will I need to remodel shortly after buying? More expense! Shiny wall of cabinets in living room. Mostly, I'm in favor of the Big Wall 'O Storage, as built-in storage can be space-saving. But the shiny finish on these cabinets gives me pause. So totally not my style, yet a centerpiece in the living room. How expensive will it be to refinish the cabinets to something I can live with? A large part of this is that it is right in the middle of the living room. That same cabinetry in the basement family room wouldn't bother me so much. It would still not be to my taste, but I could deal with it better in a casual family room than in the main living space in the house, the space I invite family and friends into, if that makes any sense. No one of these things would prevent me from looking at the house. But put them all together, and I'm looking at a lot more money than just the price of the house to make that house *my* home. In order for me to look at the house, it would have to have some other massively redeeming feature--location, low price, fantastic school district--something that would outweigh the cost and time and energy needed to alter the house to make it work for me.