Many thanks. And, yes I agree. Looking at the heuch has me wondering about space limitation and I'm definitely lamenting the caladium as an addition. The Dr. was planted so that the crown was at least 2 - 3 inches below the soil line for winter protection. I just can't get over the fact that the new growth that peaked its head from that crown just flopped so quickly and I have no idea why the other buds on the old wood have failed to respond to the warmer weather. I just can't give up hope, even if it looks bad. I've had good results from moo poo or alfalfa tea bags when dealing with roses on their last leg. Perhaps it'll help heal the damage I may have caused. But if by the end of June there's no significant change, I'm afraid that may be it. Given that it is in a container and the fact that we had a harsh winter in DC, I'm wondering if the below freezing temps may have weakened it. If this doesn't work out and I'm really hoping it does, I refuse to give up on the Dr. b/c it's just such a beautiful clem and will plant another one in a container all on its own. Perhaps I'll do that next to this one just to offset what I've lost.

I haven't priced used Macs but it sounds in the ball park. Doesn't much matter anyway, it's not like you can return it. <lol> I love OSX and you'll find it a little different than Windows but you'll pick up quickly enough (and wonder why Microsoft hasn't put some of these features into Windows). Apple's native browser, Safari, isn't the greatest so you'll want to add Firefox and/or Chrome. OpenOffice is available for OSX if you need an office suite. You're likely maxed out on RAM but if you want to speed things up a bit you might think about replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD). Prices of SSDs have dropped considerably.

First thing that I'd look to are iron deficiency and pH. Here's a chart with the basics of systematic leaf conditions. It's not always so cut and dry, but these are the basics... http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/hydro/symptoms.html Since it's the easiest fix, I'd get a water soluble micronutrient product and use that first. A common formula is Iron, Zinc, and Manganese (not to be confused with Magnesium.) If it works, and you're growing in the ground, then check with your local county ext. to see if it's a common deficiency. If it is, then you know the fix. If it isn't then you'll want to discover what could be interfering with nutrient uptake. Common causes are imbalances where a surplus of one nutrient/mineral affects another, and pH issues. Good luck. :-) Oh, it could be herb. drift, but iron deficits aren't uncommon. Edit: Dave posted while I was typing... I basically agree. Especially since micro-nutrient supplementation is so simple, and plants usually respond quite quickly to their application, I'd try that first. If it's herbicide drift, they're damaged beyond repair, and there's no sense worrying about that until you've ruled out the easy fixes.

I partially but only partially agree with both zep and mike k. I don't think an 8 year old PC is worth spending any money on, not a cent's worth. Tomorrow it will be something else that will go kaput. And you don't know if the damage is restricted to the keyboard. Use it if you can with an external keyboard but first be sure to take backup copies of any files that are important to you. Yes, I did that once (with red wine) with a brand new net-top PC I'd bought to travel with. Fortunately, the manufacturer's US sales and service HQ is in my area and I felt comfortable having them do the fix. In my case, the damage required replacement of the keyboard AND the motherboard. The cost was just a bit less than half of the purchase cost brand new, so I figured it saved me some money to have the equivalent of a new unit. Again. It taught me to be more careful. Today, I know to never have liquid anywhere near a PC or keyboard. It's not worth it.