I have Shetland sheepdogs. More so than any other breed I've seen (most Sheltie owners agree with this) Shelties gravitate toward "their own"--seeming fascinated with and compelled to greet any other Sheltie they see, and more likely to get along with other Shelties and Sheltie mixes than with other breeds or mixes.

Shelties come in two basic colors--black or sable (brown)--marked with varying degrees of white and/or tan. Blue merle and sable merle are black and sable with the merling gene. The reason I mention this is that though Shelties seem significantly interested in other Shelties, they are even MORE interested in Shelties of their own color--and if you get a big group of them together, like as not they'll split up along color lines and tend to play with their own color--bi-black, tricolor and blue together, and sables together.

What does this mean? Absolutely nothing, and it's strictly from observation and discussion with other Sheltie owners. It's an example, though, of like gravitating to like even among dogs.

As I see it, part of the problem is that so many cities rip down the humble starter homes built in the 40's and put up giant houses on tiny lots--or knock two lots together and put up giant houses on a double lot. I saw a lot (hah!) of this in the Chicago suburbs when I lived in the area.

Luckily, where I now live (Columbus, OH) it's still possible to find tiny starter homes that are surprisingly energy-efficient (the way my 2 bedroom, 1 bath house is set up, it's extremely easy to heat and cool, and the finished basement has a fireplace and provides extra living space) on small lots that don't require a ton of maintenance (i.e. watering) at a remarkably low price (housing is quite inexpensive here). And hey, there are jobs here too! And my neighbors are really nice! And there is a gourmet grocery store, restaurants, good thrift stores, a gym etc. within walking distance!

I think many cities HAD "compact, affordable housing" which was gentrified away or allowed to crumble. I think before A/C houses tended to be built with an eye towards ease of cooling/heating. And my 1942 freestanding house certainly FEELS more solid than the 80's townhouse I lived in in Illinois.

I think we should all really seriously consider how much space we actually need (as individuals and for our families) and how best to use that space. And consider what landscaping is best for our neighborhood and environment.

Cuz I live in a Great Lakes state too. And I do my best to conserve.

Ummm... what?

I've never had a serious virus on any of my PCs (by which I mean I've never had any that did anything to my computer at all). I've had 4, all Windows. 2 I still have--the first one got fried by a power surge of some type(and my insurance bought me a better one), and the second my ex-boyfriend reformatted and gave to his sister when he made me a new one.

Now, I DID get a virus from an Apple computer, back in the day when you had to carry your software on disks from one computer to another at my college. It hid all my files.

I've used UNIX, various forms of Windows, Gentoo and Knoppix (Linux) and Macs, and I've been happy with all of them for their purposes. I'm no fanboy of anything in particular. Actually, I always liked UNIX because it made me feel like an adult--didn't hide its functions, and you actually had to know something to use it.

I don't WANT to resell my computer. I want to keep it until it dies. Resale value isn't one of my considerations when buying a computer.

If you were living in Chicago when the pledge-begging became the Ira Glass show, you wouldn't find him particularly sexy either.

There are certainly plenty of people who do; people in abject poverty who sell their children into slavery, or marry the girls off at 12 because they are so expensive to keep, or pimp them out (girls and boys) for food money or drug money.

They do seem to get the clothes cleaner using less water. They DO have a longer washing cycle than your average washer--though I quite often use the "quick cycle", especially if I happen to be putting in a smaller load. You can also wash stuffed toys and tennis balls in them without causing the washer to stop due to unbalancing. (I have dogs and a lot of dog toys).

One thing to note--even a small amount of hair (hairy dogs, my long hair) on the gasket of the washer can cause the door to leak. When it leaks, it doesn't leak MUCH--but once I figured that out, I started checking the gasket after a wash and wiping it off if need be. Save yourself a service call.

Oh, and I LOVE the dryer, which has a sensor and stops when the clothes are dry. It's about 85% accurate--small loads with a mix of heavy and light things (say cotton socks and t-shirts) and very large comforters often need to have a little time added, but regular-large loads of similar types of clothing are ALWAYS dry when the dryer stops.