I agree with the above. Plus the fact that too much personal information gets divulged or can be mined by joining facebook. I'd rather limit my online participation to forums like GW and other, less inclusive, less wide open sites. I've been a member here for a long time....going on a couple of decades......and I have seen the same ebb and flow of visitor traffic through the seasons as we are now witnessing. January, February, March are always as slow as molasses but it will pick up when the gardening season comes into to full force in the next 6-8 weeks. And I have to say that the comments about excessive ads and pop-ups surprises me. I don't experience hardly any at all and just use Explorer with the standard firewalls. Didn't realize this was much of a problem anymore regardless of the Internet server one used...... I have to be honest when I say I read more than post. Most of the topics don't hold a great deal of interest for me and I tend only to respond to questions that get neglected or overlooked or when erroneous info is provided. Since conifers are not my area of concentrated expertise, I let others respond first - there is an amazing knowledge base here :-) But I still remain pretty active in some other forums. I also live in an area where the Internet is not widely available so I am not online at home. And since my work life is pretty seasonal and therefore computer access the same, I tend not to post much in winter anyway.

(Dave, I apologize for going so far off your OT! But I hope you find this interesting, nonetheless.) Many countries, both friends and not-so-friendly, would like to see another currency become the de facto standard. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your domicile) it's not likely to happen any time soon. The Euro was intended to eventually compete with the dollar. But the inability of the EC countries to work together towards common goals, let alone create an ECB (their Bank) with real teeth, has pretty much torpedoed that. The EU is barely holding together politically - stressful times have created a lot of friction between the haves (France, Germany) and the have-nots (Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, et. al.). Many US states flirt on and off with bankruptcy because very few of them are required to have a "rainy day reserve" fund in their state constitutions. Those that do tend to weather bad economic times better, as one would expect. Bankruptcy isnt a descent into chaos, no matter the leftover emotional negatives from the past of that word. ItÂs merely a legal option to re-organize. The US has increased its debt. But remember that as it pulls out of the recession, tax revenues will go up as well. Even without increased revenues, we lack the debt burden of Japan, for instance, who now owes twice their annual GDP due to 20 yrs of deflation. Many people don't realize how weak Japan's government actually is, due to its unique parliamentary structure. Corporations and the Japanese mafia actually hold the most power in Japan. Did you know it's standard practice to hire the yakuza to police corporate meetings? Once out of Tokyo it's a whole different world. I doubt most Americans know that for all Japan has been a democracy for decades, you have to be a full-blooded Japanese to vote. No mixed bloods need apply; they can't even become citizens - unless they're willing, as the second richest man in Japan was, to bribe dozens of people with lots of yen (he's half-Korean). China's government and its citizens need to stash away money in savings. They have no socialized network as a backstop. No Medicare, no Social Security, no unemployment benefits, no food stamps. Sorry  you end up starving in the street? Too bad, your family should have taken care of you. Oops, I forgot  the government wouldnÂt let you have more than 1 kid, right? Oh well, too bad...for you. Nobody else cares, certainly not the government, which is as corrupt as anything seen in the Ching dynasty or Republic days. And those Chinese kids are SPOILED  my (half-)brother was flabbergasted by the Âprima donna treatment these kids get. He worked with a Shanghai contractor on a consulting project for two years and was fascinated by what he saw there (heÂs half-Chinese and half-Japanese himself). Their population is aging faster than the US and the one-child policy is turning out to be a very sharp double-edged sword. I remember back in the late '70's, a famous "doomsday is coming to the US" author visited Hong Kong and then raved endlessly about it. "Unfettered capitalism has created true economic growth, unlike the US," he proclaimed. "People are living prosperous lives without the interference of well-meaning but misguided government regulations." I asked my DH about this. He read the article, then said that obviously the guy's hosts hadn't bothered to take him around to the poorer slums, where the bodies of those who've died in the streets overnight are picked up daily and carted away by those very same authorities. Nor, it seems, had the author been introduced to any mixed-blood middle-class, who (because they're neither Chinese nor English) were restricted, subtly but firmly, to certain occupations where they're 'welcome.' I absolutely believe the US is a declining country. But that decline takes a very long time, historically - look at Great Britain, whose pound is still worth more than the dollar, even though there is absolutely no logical reason why this should be so, now that everyone's off the gold standard. Despite the current pains, there is still a stable and large US middle-class. Most kids can still go to college if they want. You can sneer at McDonaldÂs, but their managers come up from the ranks of those burger-flippers. Yes, they/we have lost wealth, but so have millions of others, all over the world. Most of us still have a roof over our heads and a car (or two) in the garage. My DH and I may not be worth a million dollars right now, but weÂre still worth half a million and live very comfortably (and thatÂs not counting DHÂs pension). Like most Boomers, weÂre in the process of making regular trips to charity to clear out decades of accumulated possessions  we all have way too much stuff stashed around! ThereÂs a lot of what I consider whining about "gee, we canÂt retire early the way we wanted." Some people were in the right place at the right time, could and did. But yes, most of us will have to continue to work. With a life expectancy of almost 87 years, working until 67 or 70 isnÂt the "drop dead in the traces" example it used to be. I believe the US will stagger onwards, if only through sheer momentum. If we can straighten out our educational system that decline will slow to a century or more, at least. Other countries like India and Brazil (and who knows, maybe even China if they can straighten themselves out) will also establish themselves eventually in the global arena. But no country outside of a dictatorship becomes "great" without the majority of citizens living a stable middle-class lifestyle. No matter how brilliant or enthusiastic its people, hitting that percentage level takes physical time that cannot be rushed. People have to have jobs, they have to buy houses, they have to have kids that go to college and have good prospects. You canÂt invent that quickly, no matter how many oil deposits you find or gold you dig up. A big army  and China has a VERY big army, which is what makes it considered Âgreat  can only take you so far. Why do you think China invaded Tibet to begin with? Their missiles at the time werenÂt powerful enough to reach the US  but when fired from Tibet, they had the potential to do so. Still, dictatorships, historically, donÂt last. WeÂve seen that, too. In a truly global economy, dictatorships operate with a certain efficiency but are heavily handicapped by the fact that repressing creativity has real economic costs. Putin can wield all the power he wants, but will his creation survive him? ItÂs doubtful, based on history. China has rearranged its dictatorship to fit an awkward capitalist economics/proletarian politics hybrid, but this has put a real strain on the Communist party. Like they say, democracy stinks but itÂs way ahead of everything else. No other system is so obsessed with picking its warts and pimples in public, which is why it has an inherent strength even as it behaves with apparent weakness.

I used to have a terrible amount of allergies and moved to Calgary for 5 years. While there, I had very, very little allergy problems. Since coming back, more than 20 years ago, I have had little problem until the last couple of years but have been taking antihistamine the last 2 years as well, and it has kept them mainly under control. I took shots for many, many years before going to Calgary. My mothers family had a history of weak lungs, too. Last winter was the first year that I can remember since a very young child of not having bronchitis or pneumonia. A nice change. Ole joyful, when do you have your ultra sound, or have you had it. Please, please ask your Dr. how active you can be. I've seen you running to the car, too. How do you do that at our age? You don't want a piece of this clot breaking off and moving to your heart or brain. Believe me, it can happen. I told you about my father. I'd terribly hate to see that happen to you. All the best and please keep us informed. Ivamae

Happy 89.5 Ed. And I hope we are ALL around to wish you a happy 90th. edited to add: yes you can freeze the cake. I wrap fairly large pieces (uncut) in plastic wrap or a ziploc getting as much air out as possible. Then wrap again in foil. Label and freeze. Depending on how much you have left, you could freeze multiple packages to enjoy later, just don’t wait too long or it will be dry.