BA> That's certainly true around here.  "Developers" won't be satisfied
 BA> until they've
 BA> subdivided and paved over every square inch of Mills County (where I
 BA> live).


 Bot. Notice. Notice roads and driveways not more than a year old,
cracking. Notice curb side  trees dying. Notice virtually brand new
sprinklers breaking. Virtuality brand new plumbing leaking... Note how
they mow down all the beautiful wild flowers in the development
parks... replacing it boring grass ... (notice the brave wild flowers
coming back.)

The roads crack because they were laid too fast so I've read, the
trees die due to buried construction debris poisoning the soil so I am
told, and why the hell they take out the wild flowers which up the
side of man made embankments... helps stem erosion ie: mud... ??? They
don't think about drainage too well... oh and the plumbing? They find
the cheapest ones and guaranteed to have something go wrong the day
after your warrantee runs out.

OH yeah .. cracked foundations galore around here. You see them being
fixed... brand new houses!

OH btw. Note this all of you. The builders have a cute habit of how
they paint the interior of the  house. You want to know why the
ceilings and walls are the same color and the walls are stucco more or
less not smooth? They don't want to bother with smoothing the sheet
rock and then the SPRAY PAINT the walls and ceiling. Then they stick
carpeting or tile over the slab floors. If you plan to replace the
crapeting.. be prepared to scrape paint off the concrete floor.


There's new bigger houses going up all the time. Big houses crammed
together side by side on tiny lots. Claustrophobic? Head for the
hills.  THat is if they are still there.
............

 BA> Probably 25 years ago I purchased a small cast iron wood stove from a
 BA> local (Plattsmouth, NE, at the time) merchant.  It weighs about 100
 BA> pounds and was made on Taiwan.  Apparently it was and is cheaper to
 BA> cast the stove there and ship it halfway around the world to here than
 BA> it was and is to make it here. You can get US made wood stoves - but
 BA> have you priced them lately?

 No but I get your point. And what do all the artisans do ? make
building things a hobby instead? My hubby is good at carpentry but
sticks to puter programming.. you know if there was big money in
carpentry he'd prolly do it .. he is so good at it but isn't that
keen it as a hobby.

....


 CH> That is so ..totally insane. BUT it's .. that P word!
 CH> THe magic P world yes! We and especially the we who can't find a half
 CH> way decent job... must not care. P word is all! Need a good job? Go
 CH> to India. LOL.

 BA> Nope.  Learn Mandarin and go to China.

 heh.. I like mandarin oranges 

Cindy

... Gravity always wins.

--- PPoint 3.01