Thanks for sharing that Ron. I did not know any of those stories. They all touched me, and they made me think of many other stories there are out there. I travel a lot on my job and in pursuit of my other passion in life; trout fishing. I see men and women in uniform in almost every airport I travel to, but I particularly see many on my trips to Charlotte. Some of these folks are going "over there" (or getting ready to) and a few of them I've met were coming home. I never go by without letting these people know that many people here at home, whom they have never met, care deeply about them, worry for them, wish them a swift and safe return, and thank them for their service. I hope these people never ever want for their fellow Americans respect and concern. And I hope that if you are reading this that you will reach out to these people when you see them in your own life, shake their hand, thank them for the job they do, and let them know in some small but sincere way that you care. You'll be doing that person and yourself a great deal of good in the process.

GE is not a high maintenance plant, however it does have very specific requirements for planting. Once these requirements are met, it is virtually a zero maintenance plant except for watering, and always the showiest thing in the garden. My 3 mature plants range from 31 to 34 inches tall, and 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet across. In it's defense, the 'little' one is being severely crowded by Sagae, Frosted Jade, Blue Angel, and Sweet Susan, all of them monsters. I believe that given enough room, GE would top out around 36 inches and 6 feet or more across. First, plant GE shallow--very shallow. The temptation is to plant it deeply, as it's going to be a very large plant, but if you do, it will slowly dwindle and die over the course of a couple of years. This seems to be the most common cause for failure with this variety. Second, GE needs sun to really thrive. It will grow in shade, but very slowly, and will not reach it's full potential. At least not in my lifetime. Mine get almost full morning sun, then high dappled shade (lots and lots of light) for most of the rest of the day. I have also planted large numbers of small GEs in full sun, and they are all thriving. Third, this variety needs water, and plenty of it, to do well. When you plant, amend the soil (I skipped this step, since I was planting in really good Iowa dirt) to include lots of compost and peat, and then water deeply. By deeply, I mean until the water puddles on the surface, or at least an hour with a sprinkler. The soil amendments will allow for good drainage. My hosta beds get watered by sprinkler for between 2 and 4 hours for each area. Not this year, of course, since it's been raining every 10 minutes or so almost every day since April, but in an ordinary year I water everything deeply around the middle of May, again in late June, and once more in August. In between those times, if it's been particularly dry I might water a 4th time, especially for new plantings. I don't fertilize my hostas very often, and never with anything but organic material. Once the soil is amended, all I add is water most years. Once in a while I will top dress with either composted manure or rabbit manure, but that's it. I do leave all the leaf debris, twigs, etc from my trees on the hostas every year, so they benefit from that material as is breaks down into the soil. I also have lots of earthworms, which add nutrients to the soil. In any case, it's too late in the year to fertilize hostas this year. Any fertilizer should be used before the middle of July. After that time, it promotes new leaf growth, instead of the new root development that will give you a better hosta next year. GE is my favorite hosta, and if you follow these guidelines, yours should do well for you. Remember also, for those of you who have had trouble in the past with this variety, there were a couple of really bad tissue culture batches that were sold a number of years ago. The tc problems appear to have been resolved, and if you can find a nice, healthy looking plant to start with, GE shouldn't be any more difficult to grow than any other hosta. And if you want to see something really spectacular, look for a streaked GE--I have 2 little ones in my garden this year, from tissue culture tinies last year, and they are amazing!

I'd run a the Diagnostic Software (SeaTools) Seagate-exclusive hard drive diagnostic software designed to troubleshoot most hard drive issues. To me it sounds like a bad sector on the HD. You know what that clicking is. I'd be saying why me!, but the same problem on multiple new HD's, I'd be scratching my head. BTW - beautiful system you built there. Here is a link that might be useful: SeaTools

Well, I posted my lights on eBay and will do Craigs List as well. Fine Art Lamps discontinued them in October/November from their Casa di Campagna line so there aren't many stores still carrying them.. Maybe that will help me sell them. Who knows? I had emailed my salesperson but didn't hear back. I'll give it a few days. That's a long shot anyway. Of course, I did not order ANY new lights yet til I am sure!!! : ) I just wish I didn't spend so much on the originals.... Nothing I can do now though- hopefully I can get most of it back!