Thank you for sharing your excellent thoughts on several different subjects. I am so in agreement about the deer. I cheer on the hunters and wish them all the luck in the world. The damage I see from deer feeding in our timbers is incredible. There are too, too many of them! And the hellebores--so true. I watched several lovely looking ones shrivel up and die over the winter in my exposed garden. Never again.

lucy you should be alec baldwins daughter... to say "whatever" makes you a rude, thoughtless little pig. I like the article. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. i bought a couple of these on ebay to use in my walk in terrarium and they work wonderfully. one is for reg heat and other is for backup.

I think that with people like your neighbour you really have to put your foot down. You do what you can practically do (not using ear phones) and then you tell them that you have made some changes and that is all you can do. If you continue to appease a him he will continue to make demands and wants to rule the building. Perhaps you are an easy target. I moved into a place and after 20 years of apartment living and never having a neighbour complain about my noise, my new downstairs neighbours started complaining about my noise. That was that my tv was too loud and they could hear it in their lounge under mine and in their bedroom. The night the wife came up to complain I had the volume on 4 when 2 is silent. I couldn't hear it in the next room of my own apartment. I moved the tv away from the wall and then next day told them what I had done. However, I then added - I have done all i can do. My television is not at an unreasonable volume and I have to be able to live in my home. If it continues to be a problem then you may have to contact the body corporate (as they own their apartment) and the owners of my apartment (as I rent which i think also explains their power feeling) and organise to have the sound proofing improved in the floors (which are floor boards with carpet). Other than that I do not think an indepenent body would think the volume of my tv was unreasonable. I really got the idea that these people were going to keep coming up with things if I didn't put my foot down. They did it all in a very nice way - but this is often passive aggressive behaviour to get their own way. So don't get pushed around. Ps they haven't complained since. But I also doubt they want to fork out money to fix the sound proofing. The only thing now is that I notice their sound more - one being the sound of the husband talking on the phone and they both irritate the hell out of me now. Oh yes prior to this complaint they complained about my son's basket ball hoop in the common garden area and their cat bullies my cat all the time and attacked me when I tried to stop it coming in to my home after my cat so I had to get a tetnus shot and go on antibiotics. When I origanally told them about what had happened with their cat their was no offer to pay my medical bills. So I am glad that I then set them straight and made it clear that I was not going to put up with their constant nit picking. They have been super nice since but I now don't want a bar of them. Well good luck and stand up for yourself.

As a follow up to my question, came home the other night, turned it out and it came on with a great picture. Well, at least it worked for that night.... now, can't get it to do anything except sound....no picture what so ever. When you cut it off, it does have a spot of light in the middle (little flash) and that's it.