When making complex calculations one should always seek to employ some element of redundancy as a check for gross errors and blunders. Look back at the last graphic I posted. If the grid units are in feet it is easy to see that the approximate dimensions are about 180 by 95, or an area of 17,100 sq ft. Any calculation of area that is way off this amount will be wrong. When I invited others to estimate the area of the shape, I failed to tell you that it is composed of standard geometrical shapes, segments of pure circular curves connected with straight lines. As such, the shape can be subdivided into its components and the true and exact area can be determined. I did this and the true area of the shape is 16,303.5 Then I made estimates of the area by the baseline average method suggested by laag. For the first run I used an interval of 20 feet. The 20 data points used, left and right, were: (0,0) (0,0) (20,56) (20,-30) (40,59) (40,-49) (60,56) (60,-48) (80,52) (80,-43), (100,53) (100,-43) (120,55) (120,-50) (140,50) (140,-55) (160,41) (160,-48) (180,24) (180,0). The area derived was 16,240 or 99.6% of the true value. For a second run I chose an interval of 30 feet. (0,0) (0,0) (30,56) (30,-40) (60,56) (60,-48) (90,51) (90,-40) (120,55) (120,-50) (150,46) (150,-54) (180,24) (180,0) The result was 15,606 or 95.7% or the true value. These two calculations demonstrate what you can expect from the baseline average method of estimating area. The precision is dependant on the shape, the interval selected and how the intervals fit the shape. It can give good results but errors of plus or minus 5% are not uncommon. Are you wondering what I would have done in the field? In the graphic below I show how I would have walked around the shape and set points such that the straight line between them was a good representation of the boundary. Calculation is done as I outlined at the start of this thread. The data points are: (0,0) (15,50) (48,62) (85,50) (115,55), (150,48) (180,25) (180,0) (167.5,-42.5) (150,-55) (135,-55) (90,-40) (45,-52) (19,-30) The result is 16,270 or 99.8% of the true value. This method always yields high precision values, the measurements required are not more than needed for other methods, and the math is just not that complicated.

You can do either. If you have a good amount of rain coming this week, I would lime first. Most soil lab fertilizer recommendations aren't very good. They are very general, the computer just spits them out. When you fertilize use enough to apply 1 lb of nitrogen per 1000 square feet. For most of your apps half quick release, half slow release is recommended (you can use Milorganite as a slow release if you want). If you are overseeding I would apply half an app of starter at seeding, the other half after you mow the new grass 2 or 3 times. So let's say you overseed on Sept. 1. Apply half an app of starter at seeding time and the other half will be in about a month or so. Then in late October a full app, you can use the starter if you want or regular 50:50 fertilizer. Then in late November/early December when topgrowth has stopped, but the ground isn't frozen a full app of all quick release nitrogen (urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate). Make sure to always water in synthetic fertilizers to avoid burn.

Amongst my work colleagues, at least, statements like "all generalizations are false" are part of a well-known joke. We say "all generalizations are false... including this one." Since two people (at least) reacted negatively, I probably should have included both the punchline and a smiley for those who don't get my sometimes dry humor. Sorry if it seems like I was flipping anyone off. I tried to show examples of sales tax being due and collected collected when one might think it would not, as well as the other way around .. so I was really only trying to make the point about generalizations being dangerous and often inaccurate. FWIW, I believe that MT and OR are not the only states with no sales tax... I think NH an DE (and AK) similarly have no sales tax. I don't know if local jurisdictions impose a tax or not, nor do I know anything about whether the jurisdictions in any of these 5 states impose a use tax on out-of-state purchases that are brought into the state. Obviously, a person living in these states have a different set of concerns than persons who live in other states. It's also true that some states have (like NY) have what I think they call "safe harbor provisions" on their tax returns. With these, you can voluntarily pay the state essentially an "estimated" use tax based on your AGI. These may not cover everything -- in NY I think it only applies to purchases under $1k. YMMV, of course .. .and I'm not a lawyer, CPA, or employee of the Tax department. The real point I was trying to make is that folks should 'never say never' or 'never say always' when it comes to these kinds of topics, since the laws vary dramatically from state to state. Finally, re: local vs. "internet" purchases -- Weissman is correct that depending on the individual (and the manufacturer), after sales service may or may not be a consideration. The macroeconomic arguments for or against local vs long-distance purchases are interesting. The conclusion is not obvious (to me, anyhow). The impact on the local economy is more obvious. This should be an incentive for "local" vendors to provide well-trained sales folks and competitive pricing.

Rita, thanks for the advice. I'm shopping much more carefully; reading labels; and weighing foods. We are doing lots of fresh fruit and veggies, and I'm making my own chicken stock. DH's low-sodium diet is so much less restrictive than many I've heard of. He's allowed 2000mg of sodium a day...only 300mg less than the recommended daily average. I agree with you about my health. I've started going to the gym more frequently. Needless to say, I too have cut back on sodium. Our next big challenge is going to be eating out for 10 days. DH is going to be on a business trip that we are combining with a mini-vacation. I have downloaded to my phone two pretty good apps for figuring out sodium content of foods. I had the same problems with sparkpeople that I had with nutritiondata. Everything is added from a drop-down menu and frequently the amounts or the items are not the same. For instance, I needed to enter 1 lb of bone-in chicken breasts. I could not find a match. Since there are several folks who like each, I'm assuming the difficulties are me and not the site.