Well, News out of California links autism and pesticides. The pesticides were airborne, from use on some veggies, and on cotton. The last paragraph in the linked article, lists the crops, and the chemicals used. There were clusters of autism, in children living around these fields. Most pesticides cause DNA changes on a cellular level. It is not surprising to find direct links. Although these two, are shown to be strongly linked to autism, it is likely that others - bug killers, weed killers, and fungicides [all are pesticides damaging to formative cells] are harming those that are most susceptible. The ones that are already sick, and the yet unborn, These are chemicals produced to cause death in lower organisms, that are more resilient than we are. We should avoid these chemicals, especially when combined on our plates. DO NOT USE PESTICIDES IN THE HOUSE or the YARD, If, you have affected kids in the neighborhood, or young women who could get pregnant, or family members.... They are grossly overused, and these two especially, should be taken out of use immediately. Of course we will be probably be buying food and clothing with this on it for years, while it is being used up. Grrr Consider organic vegetables, especially those mentioned in the last paragraph of the article. We still need to eat our veggies. Lettuce grows well in cool weather and in some shade- I'm putting some in today, and may try a windowbox. Does anyone have a list of those vegetables, with the most and least, pesticide residues? Washing veggies when you get them home, reduces some anti-ripening agents, and waiting a day or two helps weaken some fungicides, but who wants tired veggies? There is probably no way to get this nasty stuff off . But ANY ides would be appreciated. Going completely organic is very [ too] expensive, and very hard. Meats, fish, poultry and, especially dairy, are a good place to go organic. Who knows what hormones and antibiotics added there do, when mixed with the toxins we eat. Although this is disgusting news, it does give hope, a path for action and discovery, and the information to protect ourselves. Good Luck, florey - Keep those updates coming. Here is a link that might be useful: autism and pesticides

Carrie, that was my old post, 11 years ago. I used to have the name Jaspermplants but had to change it at some point, don't remember why. In the time since that post I have gotten busy with some other stuff and don't have as many roses as I used to. At that time (I think Vintage was still around), I was experimenting a lot and had a lot of successes and failures. Also, it has gotten hotter here since then and we have had ongoing drought so some roses haven't done as well as they used to, especially in the past 2-3 years. It is very worrisome. Looking back at that post, I still have Mme Bravy which is probably fairly hard to find now; I probably got it (and many others) at Vintage, which was like heaven because they had so many varieties of roses. The others that still do well for me are Duchess de Brabant and Mme Joseph Swartz, Maman Cochet and the climbers, Souv de la Malmaison (which is full of blooms now) and a couple of her sports which I also have. I don't think you could go wrong with having Souv de la Malmaison here; it is truly wonderful. Romaggi Plot Boubon is great but I had to take the one I had out and I can't remember why. I've had a new one for about 2 years but it has been slow to develop. Mrs BR Cant also had to come out and I have a new one (a couple years old) but it has not done as well. She gets huge though. But she bloomed constantly. Also, I don't worry about what does or doesn't bloom in the summer; it is survival time for roses here then. But, they bloom most of the rest of the year here. So, conversations about what should bloom in our awful summer heat are not applicable to my rose-growing. I also have some moderns I like, I think I mentioned in another thread: Firefighter. Fragrant Cloud, St Patrick, Marmelade Skies. I don't have a lot of them, but I enjoy brighter colors too, at times. There are many more that do well here; besides the heat, the climate is pretty good for roses here, I think. I just experiment and try try again. Good luck

Patty: I know when the Cuties come in but what I meant to say is I don't know when the Tango mandarins are ripe so I could sample Cuties and know I was getting Tangos. Melikeeatplants: It is a Mexican/Socialist lie that "We stole(states)"... The Mexican/American war was fought as a direct result of El Presidente Santa Anna ordering his General to attack and occupy Texas. We gave them every opportunity to stop the war and and negotiate a border treaty with Texas. They refused just like they had refused to do even since Texas's first defeat and capture of this same Santa Anna years earlier in the Texas War of Independence. The liberal left has rewritten the accounts of that entire era to make sound as we were the aggressor on poor mistreated Mexico. That is exactly what should have happened to a lawless nation that refuses to live in peace with its neighbors. Only they never even until this day quit making armed advances into Texas. And the water source of the Colorado R. and every drop that is in it falls on our soil. And it it is ours. Not so similarly the Rio grande gets water from two countries and we have to share it. And they refuse. And that is the best you can expect from Mexico. Actually after it flooded a lot in Mexico and Texas they wanted to pay us back when all the resivoirs were full and the water was flowing into the Gulf anyway. With friends like Mexico.. Larry

I do like sport, I've played golf, tennis, volleyball, I ride horses, go swimming, etc but for fun, I don't like competitive sports when winning is everything. It shouldn't matter who wins or loses, it is having fun and learning to work together and support each other. I am more impressed by the person who stops to help someone who has fallen than the one who wins. I think that is more important - caring for others. "We have medicare and people who attend public hospitals and who pass a means test get their treatment paid for .FULL STOP!" Yes if you're prepared to wait years for a hospital bed. We have private medical insurance (which we can't afford) so we don't have to wait 3 - 5 yrs or more in pain for a hospital bed. It doesn't matter whether it is self-inflicted from drugs, etc or sports, it is still self-inflicted and avoidable in many cases. Yes they do deserve treatment but so do people who are sick or injured by accidents that aren't preventable. What I was mainly saying in the first place is why do other stations have to play repeats when these other shows are on. I am not just talking about the com games, but football, etc. Putting the games on is fine and people can watch if they want, it is the other stations I'm talking about. Not everybody watches the games or footy or whatever. I just can't see why other stations have to put on repeats, I thought they were rivals and supposed to vie for viewers. We thought about pay tv once but we don't watch enough to make it worthwhile and would've had to pay for a sports station which we don't want anyway. If you read down further you would see that I don't sit in front of the tv much but, like all of us occasionally I like to watch something to relax. Some nights when we aren't working on the books and when the kids are in bed, my husband and I like to cuddle up together and watch something interesting on tv (no, not that sort of thing either). You would also have read that I don't like soaps, reality or romance shows and never watch them. I read alot, much more than the average person - it only takes me an hour or 2 to read an average 2-300page novel, but we don't read all the time and after spending several hours helping with homework, doing bookwork, etc the last thing we feel like doing is more reading. Surely we are entitled to watch tv too. Good on the volunteers, if that is what they want to do that is fine. Congratulations to your daughter for giving up her time, you have obviously thought that I have been insulting her, I haven't. I haven't been personally insulting to you or your family at all. My kids (8yrs, 10yrs, 12ys) volunteer a lot too and I spend a lot of travel time as well as we live out of town. They mainly help at the school - working in the library, garden, etc giving up their lunchtimes, after school time, etc but also other things on weekends helping others - they don't have to and we don't ask them to, they volunteer. No I don't stop them...