Waterbug guy, First I will talk a little bit about concrete in water. You say it is a myth that concrete in water can kill fish and raise the PH. When concrete first sets up the surface PH is 12.0. Which is the same PH as a drain cleaner called "draino". As it is exposed to the CO2 in the air the PH goes down. But water is a very good leaching agent and so water will continue to try and get the chemicals out of the concrete. So will the PH in the water be raised? If the water has normal PH of 6.5 to 8.5 the answer is yes. The real question should be "how much will it raise it"? That question isn't easily answered as there are a lot of variables. Just to list some the age of the concrete, the condition of the concrete, is the water flowing over the concrete, the natural PH of the water, is the water being changed, and the volume of the water versus the contact area of the concrete. In some cases the rise might be so low as to make it very difficult to measure. But in other cases it can and does raise the PH to 9 to 9.5. At these levels it can and does kill fish. If I remember correctly you have stated that you are a pond contractor. If you are I hope you having started using roofing liner in the ponds that you build. Most of the time a person on this forum is never going to have a problem with roofing liner. Can there be a problem with roofing liner? This should be the question. The answer is yes. The chances that there could be a problem is very low. The largest pond product manufacturer in the US sent out a letter to all their customers a number of years ago. This letter said that all their liner in the future would be tested to be fish safe as they got a batch in that was not. In other words they were selling roofing liner as pond liner. This company had been selling a lot of liner for 10 years before this problem. If it had happen today with the wide use of the internet I would have think that some lawyer would have gotten this information and started a class action lawsuit against them and they would be out of business. The lawyer could easily have sued them not only for the cost of the liner that they had sold but for the cost to replace all those liners in the ponds built with them going back to the first time they sold this liner. The largest liner manufacturer in this country has told me that almost never would you ever have a problem with roofing liner but you might. I think that as a contractor you can't take that chance. If you were unlucky and did have a problem and were sued over that problem the lawyer handling the case would find out that they would sue for every customer that you have that has this liner. In other words you would be out of business. So is roofing liner toxic? No most of the time. But there is a small chance that there maybe a problem. I have only talked about 2 of the 8 things that you listed. I could easily talk about many of the other things listed but my point is this. You listed these things as black and white but they are not black and white. The only thing that is black and white about ponds is that all aquatic life will die. Mike

You did say that you didn't know her well and that she was new to the choir. It seems to me like maybe she likes her new acquaintances and would like to get to know you better. It's not necessary to give a gift every time. You could attend the wedding, take a few minutes to greet her, welcome her to married life, the church, the choir and invite her to call on you in the future when she and her new husband are settled. Back in the good old days when calling cards were the norm, it was also considered an honor for a young bride to be invited to call on an "established matron" after her marriage. It was a matter of being accepted in local society. Not necessarily high society, but older folks were prepared to provide young marrieds with their wisdom and an occasional small gift. Young married women who eschewed the invitation were rarely if ever invited again. Now since this is 2009, and the young bride probably hasn't been raised to recognize the signs of graceful society, she might be forgivven if she doesn't come around. But I think that through time, she may well come to recognize you as a wonderful person, and since you go to the same church you may still have opportunities to share the wisdom of your experience with her.

I second pillog's recommendation for a test drive, especially if you can go to Purcell Murray. Amazing places for an appliance geek (My SoCal cousins tell me there is now one in Huntington Beach now in addition to the one that I went to in Brisbane some years ago when I was last on that coast.) Getting hands on time -- cleaning up as well as cooking --- is, as they say, priceless. Not everybody likes induction, but most who try it find that they like it a lot. To be sure, you and your wife might still find that you prefer one or more particular gas cooktops over the specific induction units you try, but, as pillog says, you won't know for sure until you try them out. I say this as somebody who likes induction a lot --- I've used induction at various times over the last thirty years --- but nonetheless ended up choosing a particual gas range over the two induction stoves I was looking at when I was last stove shopping. I "get" your wife's preferences for seeing flames while cooking and for having a stove that is simple enough for me to maintain and repair by myslef. I, too, prefer rotary knobs on stoves to digital touchpads, (Unlike some, I'm not opposed to touchpads. After all, I make my living in digital media production. Still, when it comes to stoves, I'm happier turning large knobs.) But those are only a few of many factors which can affect how well or poorly a stove or cooktop will serve you in your cooking in your kitchen. Every appliance is a mix of attributes and design compomises. You choose a balance that you think may suit you better than another.What I found when I was shopping -- wow, almost three years ago --- was that the balance of factors slightly favored this one particular gas range over the two specific induction ranges I was looking at. Were I shopping today, I would still consider my gas range but the newer models of induction ranges are now available and the balance (for me) might very tip to one of them, instead. For me, it would really help to lay hands on the actual equipment and get a test drive. Hands on time will likely tell you and you wife more than reams of further commentary here. So, if you can get the opportunity, take it. And, to go back to one of your original questions about safety features, the boil-over shut-downs work a bit differently on different models and brands. There is a thread currently on chowhound with some discussion of this subject. Apparently, some folks (with JennAir models, IIRC) find it over-sensitive and annoying to them. Others, with different models, report experiences in line with what Gary reported. (I've never had problems with it myself, either.) Here's the link if you want to plow through another induction thread. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/903217 This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Mar 27, 14 at 21:05

Maintaining friendships is (and always has been) work. It takes time and effort. And even before technology ruled our lives, there were always those people who just didn't want to put in the work it takes. I've definitely lost friends over the years who could either never find the time to get together or who never made the first effort. A friend of mine and I commiserate over the fact that in our group of friends, she and I are almost always the initiators. If we wait for the others to say "Let's get together" it will probably never happen. I've learned over the years that although some friendships can last a lifetime, it's rare, and people do drift apart and friendships do die. I think the difference that technology makes is that it's easier now to stay in touch even though you never see each other. And I think that maybe what that does is extend a friendship beyond it's natural expiration. She e-mailed me last week several times re: a problem, and again discussed getting together This makes me wonder if she's only interested in venting over email and maybe doesn't actually really WANT to get together. Maybe she just needs a sympathetic ear and she can get that without the trouble of actually meeting in person. I would even venture to guess that she's not doing it conciously. She probably intends to get together, but when it comes right down to it, she just isn't going to follow through. Ditto re: the texting .. .no desire to learn, but I bet it will be a "must" someday. I agree with that. It almost already is a "must". I only very recently (a month ago) got a smart phone and my previous phone did not have texting. People still texted me and expected a response. Not youngsters, but people my age (50s). You might compare it to email -- can you live without it? It's become so much a part of our lives, I can't imagine not having it. It looks like texting is not far behind.