Jay, Thanks for update on DTM, I guess weather pattern may also play role in DTM. It would be interesting to see if higher latitude may shorten the DTM? I never tried to save seeds from the plant grown in our garden as I have enough seeds in stock. It would be interesting to see how next progeny will perform from the plants grown here to their parental conditions (southern India). In case of coriander/cilantro, I have observed that offspring seems to doing much better than its parents, they seems to be naturalized in just one generation. George, That is true, our cluster beans keep producing despite of moisture deficiency and scorching heat. Here are two photos taken yesterday; Cluster of beans! they are already reached over 5ft and still counting

Hi all, Gates i will record the temps when i do another few washes! Also i did the "fast wash" cycle today for small clothes. The booklet does not say what would be considered a "small load" to the washer, so i washed, 1 jean, 1 sweat pant, 2 polo shirts and 1 thin t-shirt. The cycle is defaulted at, maximum spin speed, you cannot change the spin speed, warm water, or you can opt for cold, minimum soil level, or you can opt for light soil level, which only adds 1 minute to the wash, so instead of 15 minute fast wash, its not 16 minute fast wash. Also you can add steam, but then the cycle goes up to 36 minutes. The washer filled with water and flooded the clothes with the spray jet, mixed with water and detergent. The wash time started at 16 minutes and started to drain at 10 minutes going into the rinse. The rinse cycle seemed to have the recirculation pump and jets spraying the clothes, on the whole cycle. At 3 minutes is when the machine started the final spin. This took a little longer for the machine to balance out the load, im guessing because i had one pair of jeans in the load, but i thought that adding the shirts and a pair of sewatpants would even it out. But instead of 3 minutes to spin the load, it seemed to take 5, as it had to try and balance it, which it did an excellent job, and then spun the clothes out very dry, for the remaining 3 minutes! My clothes came out clean, smelled fresh, no detergent residue on them or anything, so it did work for me very well, as i needed my clothes clean in a hurry today. I would only use the cycle if im on a tight schedule and need clean clothes within the hour. I've beem talking wiht Chris Polk from Electrolux, who has gone out of his way to help me, with questions i had about the washer before i got it, to the many questions i had about the washer after i got it. He has been more than helpful to me and i am very thankful that theres still someone like Chris who cares about customer service 100% I asked what a "small load" means, as the book does not say. He said like, a load of hand towels, curtains, table cloth, light weight shirts. He said the load i did was perfect, but that the heavier the clothes, the more water used and the higher the spin speed needec, so there was nothing wrong with the washer adding time to balance the load correctly for that cycle and the spin speed selected. I am very happy with this washer and all the help Chris has provided to me!

Hi again pcock, Well - it's almost 4 months since your earlier message. I hope that you've been successful in your choice of quitting. Nothing was said about your age, but ... ... if at age 15 you invest a single dollar, and get 5% rate of return throughout, after 50 years, when you get to be 65 and would like to retire, that Dollar will have sprouted another 10 like itself: your value would be $11.00+. Should you be able to have that Dollar grow at 10%, value at age 65 woulod be $117.00+. (If your personal financial advisor could help you get 15%, value 50 years later would be about $1,080.00+). No allowance in either case for the ravages that income tax does to your annual income, or that inflation does to your accumulated assets. Better invest at least some of your savings, for you'll likely live longer. And have the improved health that will permit you to do a lot more things - some of them expensive - after retirement. Or - you might even choose to retire early. Good wishes for success in your Quit. ole joyful

I have to emphasise in the strongest terms that I am not intending to preach, proselytise or convert. I'm just saying what I have learnt and practised for the past 20 years (plus some) and I have come to accept as undeniably true. Everything, without exception, is completely impermanent. Now, I know that sounds obvious to the point of "Well, D'UH!", but it's one thing to know it as obvious, and quite another to accept it with a calm heart and an appreciative understanding. I am dying. I am conscious, every single day, that every single day that goes by, is one day closer to my final demise. Every breath, is one breath less. We begin this life by taking a gulp of air, and we end it, by breathing out for a final time... I am dying. So are you. As you read this post, your life is continuing to pass, and the minutes ticking by, you will never see again. And life is utterly, totally, completely and absolutely unpredictable. I worked with a lovely lady (Let's call her Jane) who was employed during the Christmas period to provide additional staff cover. She was in fact a fully-qualified nurse, with many years' experience under her belt, but she had MS, and was on some pretty heavy meds to counteract the most noxious and debilitating effects. She had stopped nursing, but was able to function relatively well in a non-stressful (by comparison!) working environment. As many will know, currently, there is no cure for MS. It can be managed, but it's a condition that will both never go away, or get better. People's health deteriorates until eventually, it all breaks down, and the person eventually dies of associated untreatable problems. Jane was on her way home one evening after work, when a truck flew out of a side turning, smashed into her car and killed her outright. We all envision ourselves dying calmly and gently at home, surrounded by our loved ones. The people in the WTC Twin towers thought that too... That's how unpredictable death is. There is a personage, a "God", a manifestation, in TIbetan Buddhism, called Yama, and he is the Guardian and Administrator of the Afterlife. He is basically, the terrific and imposing manifestation of Death, and he's pretty awesome and Intimidating. Basically, that's how death is viewed by many... I Meditate on Yama and his role, his task, every day. I like to call it, "Taking Tea with Yama. " Sometimes, he is so tiny, I can tuck him into my Jeans change pocket and he's barely noticeable. At other times he is so present and imposing, so grand and colossal, that his magnificence blocks the sun... But he is always with me. he never leaves my side, his presence is constant and uninterrupted. And one day, he will place his hand lightly on my shoulder, bid me 'come', and I will not be able to refuse him. Time is relative. A Mayfly lives for a day, while a bowhead whale can hit 200 years. But the one thing they have in common, is that they are born, and they die. The intervening period is what counts. And that's what counts for us. We never know, can never predict and can never estimate with any accuracy, how long we will walk this world. Our beginning was beyond our control. Our end is unknowable. The important, is to live for today, and go to bed each night, thinking, "Today I did good". But just as we have no choice but to let go of yesterday, and let it pass us by on the calendar, so we must embrace all the things we love; the people, the creatures, the homes, furnishings, cars, plants, gardens, jewels and clothing - and know that it all has a beginning, a middle and an end. Instead of being fearful and mournful (although that is natural) we must also learn to rejoice, be glad, and release. Let go, and remember gladly. We shall join them all too soon.... Buddhism has taught me so much in these past years. But this lesson has perhaps been the most beneficial, most salutary - and most difficult one - to embrace.