In my opinion they look fine. On the basal break I've had lots with extra fine thorns on strong shoots coming up and the bottom leaves are greening up. The lateral looks as thou it will also be fine. If you could get a clear pic from the side and top end of the shoot it would be easier to see. Those are the ones I keep a close eye on. They usually turn out fine but not always.

I think that it may have increased because a lot of people are looking for young dogs (especially puppies); there is a mandatory spay/neuter policy at shelters run by municipal governments have been joined by shelters run by humane societies or SPCA’s that have contracts with cities/counties, pure bred are several hundred dollars from breeders and puppy mills are under increasing threat (as they should be) of being shut down. I adopted Molly in 2006, it has hands down proven to be the best $37 I ever spent - the local county shelter was running a special promotion, so after a year of looking online at adoptable dogs for the right dog for me I spotted her, I called to place a commitment hold and took home a 4 month old chihuahua mini pin mix with all her shots, spayed, and microchipped. The SoCal area I lived in had so many puppies at the time, but as time has passed, there are fewer and fewer, particularly those of smaller breeds which I am likely to be looking for in life after Molly (hopefully not for years yet). In our new state, small dogs are a rarity at the ‘pound’ that is contracted with the humane society here, most that come in are senior dogs and while I want them to find homes I will be looking for another puppy. A puppy of any breed or a young dog from a shelter can now cost a few hundred dollars or more (the one here increases the fee when the dog is a popular breed), they have people fill out the application and then the staff decides which dogs they can meet and consider. (Note, this is only applicable to the one here, which I have direct knowledge of, the practices MAY be different elsewhere.) So, the demand for puppies and young dogs has held steady or increased while the number available and in existence has dramatically dropped, at least in the lower cost range. Add in the places that decide that they will ‘control the supply’ by only making these younger dogs available to people whose application and ability to pay meets all their standards, and the desire for a puppy and you have a perfect storm. That they decide for someone which dog they are allowed isn’t going to be acceptable if the potential adopter doesn’t want an older dog no matter how many constraints and rules they have to utilize in trying to force it. So what’s a person to do when looking for a puppy but meeting with blockades at every option, other than turn to places like Craigslist? Apparently some expect them to either give up on finding a dog altogether or give in and adopt the older dog they are ‘allowed’.

Picked up this Pearls and Jade Pothos a few weeks ago, and I'm just wondering: is this damage from someone at Walmart being too rough when handling it and so it's scarred, or is it a pest? There are a few more brown marks like this on other leaves, but this is the biggest one. It's only on the bottom of the leaf. Thanks in advance for any help! :)

> "typical legal boiler plate" typical to who ? Typical in any business, not just homebuilding for a contract to disclaim any prior agreements, verbal, or otherwise, etc. The standard legal clause nothing unusual: - This contract supersedes all written and verbal agreements prior to it - Time is of the essence -... I had years ago apartment complex gave me to fill-in the notice of termination [landlord tenant], to be submitted with a final check, the notice was modifying the contract. Signing that notice as is would have costed me $1700+ extra vs the contract; a windfall for apartment management company because the rules were changed about early termination. I crossed, sent the final check with the clause denying the contract modification, stating that the original contract will be inplace. Shockingly got contacted later by the debt collection agency attempting to extort based on the contract modification that I denied and they cashed the check. - LOL. The debt collector was trying to tell me that the rule is implicit, NOT in MY STATE when there is the written contract [the instrument]. Emailed him few papers and that was the last time I talked to him. You CAN deny the contract modification clause. I have done this 10 - 12 times. 99.99999% other party can understand and will agree. Not going to hire an attorney every time I get one of those. If you are building a house you going to get one of those every time you upgraded, had the builder do something extra, had extra expenses based on the site condition ... etc etc etc. Get used to it. If you are acting as a GC, I issued all the contracts [simple form] not the subs, because of insurance rules.