Just one last reminder to anyone local that tomorrow Karl will be here speaking. Hey Karl, have you checked out the weather report for here lately? URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 1158 AM EST TUE MAR 4 2008 ...WINTRY MIX LIKELY TONIGHT THROUGH LATE TUESDAY... .A LARGE AREA OF MIXED WINTER PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT AHEAD OF A STRONG WINTER STORM WHICH WILL LIFT NORTHEAST TOWARD THE REGION LATER THIS EVENING. WHILE PARTS OF NORTHEAST INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO ALREADY EXPERIENCED SOME FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET OVERNIGHT...THE LIONS SHARE OF THE WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION WILL NOT OCCUR UNTIL LATER THIS EVENING. AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES NORTHEAST THROUGH KENTUCKY AND INTO OHIO...WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE AREA. AS THIS AREA OF LIFT AND MOISTURE OVERRIDES THE COLD AIR IN PLACE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...A WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION. Winter Storm Warning URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 445 AM EST TUE MAR 4 2008 ...ANOTHER WINTER STORM TAKES AIM ON SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT... .A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT...AND THEN TO OUR EAST BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION BEGINNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON NEAR THE OHIO BORDER AND WILL SPREAD TO THE NORTH AND EAST THIS EVENING. WHILE THIS OCCURS...COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE WILL BECOME OVERRUN BY WARMER AIR ALOFT SOUTH OF INTERSTATE THIS WILL MAKE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF SLEET LIKELY FROM ABOUT METRO DETROIT SOUTH TO THE OHIO BORDER WITH A CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATION IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES IS EXPECTED ALONG WITH AN INCH OR TWO OF SLEET AND SOME LIGHT ICING.

these things are fairly simple items. if u swapped tubes, and you know for sure the tube is good, then the ballast is probably no good. It is worth buying a new ballast, because the new one will be reliable quality, and will last forever. make sure it has normal or high ballast factor, and is NOT an energy savings one. the problem with buying a new fixture, is that it may come with an energy saving ballast that will not light the lamps up as brightly. also, the design of the reflector varies, some have better reflectors than others, so there are lots of things to consider. Another possibility is the actual lamp socket may be cracked and not making proper contact. I normally get many years of use out of my fixtures, but I usually pay good money to start with, so I don't have to keep rebuying after a few years. But if you don't mind throwing stuff away, then just buy another cheap fixture from Wally World and you'll be all set. Keep the box, and if it stops working bring the whole thing back in its original box, claim that you just bought it, you lost ur receipt and that you want it replaced. Wally World will do this for you. If the Chinese are going to sell us junk, then you might as well get them to replace it for free when it breaks. Remember, there is no Chinese equivalent for the word "honesty" - it translates into Chinese as something like "fool" "dupe" or something like that, so that is what I would suggest - keep the box, and keep bringing it back and having them exchange you a new one whenever it fails. Tell them you bought it 2 weeks ago, even if it was 6 years. Eventually they will get the message - build quality, or go home.

Especially if it's an older fixture, you can give it a new lease on life, and greatly improve the light quality, by replacing the ballast with a new electronic ballast. This will make it start instantly, eliminate flicker, and improve the efficiency. Replacing the ballast is an easy DIY job for someone with a little experience with electrical work. If you know how to follow a simple wiring diagram (printed on the new ballast), strip insulation from wires, and make connections with wirenuts, you'll be fine. At the same time, you'll want to replace the lamps (which most people call "tubes") witn new F32T8 lamps. T8 lamps are fully compatible with electronic ballasts. I recommend 830 type lamps (82CRI, 3000K) for most people but if you like a whiter light you might like 835 lamps. Don't let them sell you 730, 735, 741, 841, or 850 lamps, unless you're 100% sure you like the light they produce.

Transplant shock describes a series of stresses a plant may undergo when being physically moved. In nature, growing plants do not move from place to place :-) They adapt and respond to their current environment, both above and below the ground. When that environment is changed - and often rather radically - they respond to the change by being stressed until they can readapt. And the larger and older the plant, the more difficult it may be to readapt and the longer it may take. So when you dig up a plant that has been growing happily and peacefully in one environment and move it somewhere else, chances are very good it is going to react to that disturbance in some way. Even plants that have been grown all their life in a container will still experience some sort of stress/shock when they are taken from the container and planted in the ground - different soils, some inevitable root disturbance, often different lighting characteristics, temperature changes, climate variations, wind exposure and moisture availability, etc. That's a lot of changes a plant needs to adapt to and that can take time. You will lessen the stresses involved in planting and transplanting by removing or reducing those changes as much as possible. That is why transplanting or planting while dormant or not in active growth can result in minimal stress/shock. Plant metabolism while dormant is at its lowest point and all the biological functions are on 'hold', so the plant has time to get used to the new setting before it responds to its seasonal clock and starts to grow. Minimizing these factors during the prime growing season - like right now - is much harder to do. Root issues have already been addressed by other responders.....in most cases, you are dealing with a compromised root system that needs sufficient time to re-establish itself and that will be dependent on all the other factors mentioned: age of the plant/amount of root disruption, time of year/growing cycle, soils, moisture availability, climate (heat, humidity), sunlight, wind, etc. If all these changes are not adequately addressed, transplant shock can last an extended period of time resulting in stresses that the plant may not be able to overcome.....it could die! OTOH, if these changes are taken into consideration and properly addressed as much as possible, then the transplant shock may be minimal or very short term. FWIW, planting a decent sized tree of any variety now in Utah is going to present all of these factors in abundance so the chances of transplant shock - and even severe transplant shock - is extremely likely. It would be a bit surprising for a tree to respond positively to this process at all this season and you might not see any signs of recovery until the next growing season. And unless you are extremely careful, you may not see any sign of recovery at all and the tree could die.