Thanks Kate. I truly feel you are a very nice person! Many of us have strong opinions, and sometimes it is so hard when we read what someone else has written, because words can be blunt when conversation usually isn't. I know that I can be quite blunt, though I try harder now to see what I have written through someone else's eyes. Not always easy to do. Buford, the report does address the water issue under the section titled Environmental Fate Risk Assessment. However, most of the report has raised the question of homeowner safety, as you said. I know it is unbelievable for most of the people here, but there are knuckleheads out there who think if the directions say a Tablespoon per gallon, then 5 must be better. And then they dump the leftovers on the ground or down the drain instead of using the spray up on some plants. I'm telling you, they get all kinds down here. The report does address the liquid spray form of the chemical. I do know that the granules cause huge problems with the soil and water table, and many of the garden centers down here do not have it available. I don't know if it was banned here, or if some of them have chosen not to sell it. I agree with you about common household cleaners and such. Our house is very "tight", so I can't use most of them any more, and have had to switch to gentler products like baking soda. That too, can irritate skin, so I were gloves, but I had to quit using a lot of other things because we would go to bed at night and wake up sick. Some of the bathroom products have warning lables on them that exceed many of the garden spray products in toxicity, and they are usually going down the drain, ultimately getting into the water table some century. Opening windows helps, but I can't always do that or we would cook and melt simultaneously from heat and humidity. I am sorry if I have offended anybody. That was absolutely never my intention. I wanted to bring up a few points that I felt were important to consider and not meant to accuse anyone of being a "terrible" person. On the other hand, we are helping the environment by doing something good....we grow plants! Sandy

This is an area of expertise for me, please feel free to send me any questions you might have. Most home systems are placed either in a dedicated entertainment room, den or living room Every room will be different depending on your goals, but some rules of thumb; Most systems are 5.1 or 7.1, Meaning 1 center Chanel speaker above or below the TV, two front speakers, two rear speakers and 7.1 systems will have two in the middle of the room. The .1 is the subwoofer which is typically run over an RCA type cable to any corner of the room. You will want all of these wires to terminate in one convenient place where your receiver and DVD player will go, and have an HDMI v1.3 run from the receiver location to the television location. Installing speakers symmetrically in the room will give you the best sound, one in each corner with a centered seating position. As a rule of Thumb, the highest quality speakers are full sized floor standing speakers like Polk, MB Quart, Martin Logan, Focal.. The list goes on. Have your speaker termination plates near the floor for these. Next option are small sat speakers like bose or mirage or any other small box speaker, surface mounted. These typically mount on the wall or ceiling and your jacks should be high on the wall or on the ceiling. In wall speakers typically have a high fidelity, look for MB Quart, Niles, Bose, Infinity or Polk speakers no less than 6.5" in diameter, perferable with multi speaker arrays. The sound in the wall tends to have much better definition since it is directed, compared to ceiling speakers. Finally, in-ceiling speakers are an option. They are out of the way and can be painted to match your ceiling. The real issues comes down to Quality, bigger is better, dont skimp on the speakers of you go in-ceiling. You will probably still want a subwoofer with ANY system setup you choose. Please visit my site for more info, or contact me directly. -Tracy Here is a link that might be useful: From Plat to Place

Why not look into probate property? I subscribe to BobBruss's free newsletter. He is a real estate attorney who writes a column for the newspaper. This was published last month. Here is what he has to say about finding them. "Would you be interested in acquiring a house, condo or other desirable real estate with little or no competition from other buyers? Or perhaps you are a real estate agent looking for an endless source of listings from sellers who are motivated to sell? Often-overlooked sources of properties for sale, frequently at below-market prices, are probate properties. Probate property bargains arise when the owner has died and the heirs don't want the property or the deceased left large debts, which must be paid from the sale of the property. Usually, these properties become available after the deceased's estate has passed through the local probate court, frequently six months to a year or longer after the owner died. By then, the heirs and the estate executor or administrator are often anxious to close the estate, get their money and move on. Probate is not necessary, however, if the deceased wisely either held title (a) in a revocable living trust, or (b) as joint tenants with right of survivorship (presuming there is a surviving joint tenant to receive the title). WHY ACQUIRE A PROBATE PROPERTY? Each year there are approximately six million U.S. probate court proceedings. Of course, not all these probates involve real property. In some states, small estates below $100,000 are exempt from probate court proceedings. The primary reason to acquire a probate property is to purchase at a below-market bargain price, either to live in as a principal residence or resell it for a profit. Benefits of acquiring probate property include (a) the heirs and/or estate executor are usually motivated to sell to pay the deceased's bills and distribute the cash to the heirs; (b) limited competition from other buyers to drive the sales price up; and (c) because the heirs didn't pay anything for their inheritances, they usually don't demand top dollar (although some heirs can be very greedy). Possible disadvantages of buying probate properties include (a) "as is" sales with no warranties and the estate doesn't have to pay for any repairs (although this is negotiable); (b) in some situations a property sale is contingent upon court confirmation, often increasing competition from other buyers; (c) many estates won't allow buyers to make purchase offers contingent on satisfactory professional inspections; and (d) some estate executors and administrators elect to offer the property at a public auction sales, thus driving the price up. FINDING PROBATE PROPERTIES TAKES WORK. Real estate agents seeking probate listings, and buyers desiring to purchase probate properties must be diligent. Following the daily newspaper obituary notices is a key method and then following up to check public ownership records to learn if the deceased owned real estate. Another method is to read the local legal newspaper notices to creditors. Most states require estates to publish a legal notice giving creditors several months to submit their claims. This is an opportunity for realty agents and buyers to check with the estate attorney to see if any real estate will be sold by the estate." Links that might be useful: www.BobBruss.com probateproperty.bobbruss.com/probateproperty/

Relax. Folks have gone overboard about mold and mildew the past several years. Can you tell it apart from mildew...they appear the same visually to many folks? There are many different types of mold and most types don't cause any health issues at all. You don't even know what you have and chanced are very, very likely that is is harmless. Also what brickeye says above is correct. The poster that says run away is simply fueling the fire with this fear of anything in the mold/mildew area. If you are really fearful, get it tested to see what it is(is it the bad mold, and how to remedy). ServePro is a nationwide franchise that does cleanup for mold and also fire clean up, and all kinds of clean-up. They can test it and even suggest ways to clean it, remove it,prevent it if it is indeed problematic. Again, what brickeye says is real important. Don't stress over this.