He didn't seem to be dishonest...unless he saw the smashed condenser and was shining me on hoping I wouldn't see it. I doubt it. My wife and I were concentrating on the bumper which looked ok to us, I assume he was too. From an insurance standpoint it wouldn't matter whether on private property or public road. Car 'a' striking car 'b' is a claim no matter where it occurs. Of that I'm sure. I'm out of luck because I didn't get his info at the time so have no way to identify or contact him now. I could file a claim with my insurance company but I won't. Didn't get an estimate but the damage is probably close to my deductable. Fortunately...I guess, everything still works fine. If the condenser would have puked out r134 at the time at least I would have seen the damage. Oh well. Maybe reading my story will help someone else in a similar situation someday.

Human size cut out posters (standing upright) doing all sorts of activities or lined down a hall. They bother me for some reason. And is it just here.....but when did walking on the right to shop at malls (akin to driving) become a norm? Tis' a standard here. Haven't shopped at a mall for years and people sure know how to tell you where they want you to be. For some reason I do right side cart in grocery stores, from osmosis or all those electric carts. TPMs....has anyone notice they look like someone's "bare" rear end? Who designs these things? New car and the thing won't go off. What good does this do? Mechanic told me this happens with some cars and it is a law now to have them. Lazy mechanics are my stupid design things...animate or inanimate. Although the design logo is the same, MINI has had this for years and can be turned off manually when tires are changed, adjusted, etc. I can do it if they can't, an odd routine. But again, a lazy mechanic is going to avoid it and spend the time talking about how it is fine. They must have changed the build from original design, or we are getting junk ones. Perhaps there is a way for the user to manually turn it off....and off to search. This isn't a design thing. I cringe when looking for something in a store, then asking the clerk for information and they answer "I don't know". Can't count the times I've wanted to tell them to find someone who does know or to learn something and find out. Every color possible on appliances, no need to put any holiday lights in the kitchen. Just turn the lights out and everything else on. Same with your car at night. Dazzling!

I think it is more of the popularaity of the fast food places than it is working moms or kids vegging out in front of the TV. Kids today are involved in much more activities as compared to when I was a child. When parents have that much running around it is much easier to run through a drive thru or get pizza on the way home (stay at home or working mom) then it is to make a meal, get everyone to sit down, clean up and get out the door. I know because I have four kids and it's not that they are in too much by themselves but with 4 kids it makes for a busy week. I am a sahm but I still struggle with getting them from school, getting homework done, and getting them a nutritious dinner. When we get home in the evening that is when the dishes are cleaned off the table. It is so tempting to just run to McDonalds. Also, did you ever notice how many kids have lunchables packed in their lunches? Those things are packed with sodium, fat, calories, and tons of preservatives. Plus my kids' schools starting selling snacks (like nutty buddies and ho hos for lunch) I tell my kids "no you eat the snack that I pack and you are not getting a ho ho" But of course their friends get them (12 fat grams in the pack of 2) and share some of it with them from time to time. Can you imagine the amount of fat grams these kids are getting? Over 30 at lunch with their lunchable and their nutty buddies and then 30 more at dinner if they eat at a fast food place... not to mention any cookies they might snack on through the day? That amount of fat will make an adult gain weight. I hear that some schools actually have fast food like McDonalds available to them. So even if the kids were active in sports and activities they are getting too many fat grams to offset it :( Also I heard that kids today are getting too much juice. There are a lot of calories in juice and a lot of natural sugars. It is better for them to eat the fruit than it is to drink the fruit juice. I always have OJ but after 2 glasses of it they have to switch to water. My kids would drink a half gallon of OJ a day if I let them (each one of them) So kids are drinking a lot more calories than they use to as well.

We hired a contractor, a staining and finishing guy who said he could refinish the woodwork in my bathroom (it was previously painted), and also remove the white wash stain on my cherry bathroom cabinets and restain that with a natural stain. He first tried stripping the whitewash with an orange stripper, which I told him beforehand would not work on a whitewash finish - the orange stuff is not a strong enough product. He refused to work with any marine strippers, so instead he started sanding my woodwork - now it has SWIRLS all over it, he broke half of my moulding trying to get it off the walls, and then told me that the windows couldn't be stripped without breaking them. He insisted that he smash out my double hung windows (frame and all) and replace them with a new double hung that I could get for about $60 at a local hardwood store. He showed up at my house drunk when he suggested the smashing out the window bit, and I told my husband I don't ever want to see him again. After stripping the original paint with a paint gun, I have now repainted my woodwork AND my cabinets myself. I am still trying to salvage the rest of the moulding that was destroyed. It's a shame that anyone who walks around with a business card and does some advertising can call themselves a "professional". What a joke!