No chad, I'm not gonna keep dragging that around, I think I made my point. :) As far as being holier than thou?, Heck not a chance. I got thirty years worth of scars from learning about cars. Working on cars has a way of teaching you things you never wanted to know, because it gives you the test first, and the lesson (hopefully) afterwards. So when I see certain comments that come across as disrespectful of just how hard auto repair really is, I take them to task. Compare my next short paragraph to virtually anyone elses career. After thirty years of fixing cars, today I have more to learn ahead of me than I ever did at any time in my career. That is how fast the technology is changing. I have spent some $200,000 on tools, equipment, and software to date, and yet I have a greater expense ahead of me, than I have ever had at anytime in my career, if I am to stay fully up to date. Once again, thats because of how fast the technology, and the tools to support it are changing. I just spent the last two evenings, sharing every trick, and detail of knowledge that I have about Ford's 7.3l diesel, with 50 other techs from shops all around mine. These guys are all my competition, and I'm doing everything I can to help them be the best techs they can be for their customers. So I don't need "this" forum, I have one that really counts IMO and it's with my peers in the field. Oh, and if your wondering, I don't cut them any slack at all. If they try and take on work that they haven't been trained for, or don't have the right equipment for, I tell them exactly how it is. I do the same thing here, the motto is "Test, don't guess". Stick around chad, and just watch how someone new will roll in here in the future, and take shots at auto repair technicians out of "the old worn out stereotype". Then sit back and laugh as you see me not only help them figure their car out, but rattle them a bit just as I did you. Trust me when I say, I don't fit the stereotype, and neither do the fifty other techs that I just spent the last two evenings with.

No, Tinmantu, you are not wierd. You are very much like my brother. He is very polite and respectful to all people and he opens doors for everyone. I do the same thing. When I first started dating Robby, many moons ago, we were going into a restaurant. He was in front of me and opened the door to the restaurant. I heard a noise and looked back, but I kept walking and ran right into the CLOSED door! He didn't keep it open for me! He died laughing from the other side of the door, with greasy nose print on the glass. LOL I think it's just thoughtful and respectful to open doors for each other--a simple act of common courtesy. And it takes very little effort. Tardiness is a bad sign too. I'm always punctual and I hate having a date or meeting with someone and they're late. I have a friend who is constantly late for our lunch dates, so I rarely go to lunch with her anymore. I arrive on time and she's 30 minutes late. Did I mention phones? Mobile phones are good--for emergencies. But I hate to be out with someone and they're talking on the phone instead of being with me. It's just annoying. When I was growing up, if we had company and the phone rang, Mom would answer the phone. But she'd tell the other party, "I have company right now. Let me call you back later." Then she'd visit with her company and return the call when company had left. Tinmantu, and you other guys out there, what are turn offs for you when dating? Clue us gals in on some do's and don'ts. Casper

Thanks jkmom51 and morton5--I know I'd read a thread a few months back about seating/couches in the kitchen (after we'd planned our flip-flop and were either awaiting our couch's delivery or had it, but no cocktail table)--figured a picture would be helpful to those contemplating the same sort of thing. With our Christmas tree and menorah lit up this past week (equal-holiday observance household here! :-)), it's been really nice just sitting there in the evening, basking in the glow of our holiday lighting. pbrisjar--the painting is actual a felt(ed wool) wall hanging. It was a birthday gift from my very dear DH this past spring. While we've only had it for less than a year, it's actually one of the artist's older pieces (her works are very different now, so we feel doubly lucky to have found and been able to get this one--I'd fallen in love with her stuff years ago). BTW, the jewel-toned pillows are actually knitted pieces (by my mom!) that I sewed onto pillows I purchased in Crate and Barrel. todds--Yes, we both remember you! Did you end up purchasing any Wolf and/or SZ appliances? If I recall, you were having your cabinets custom made? I might need to get a name/number from you.... Good memory re: our house; we are in a bi-level. Our kitchen measures roughly 13' X 13'. The aisle between the window wall and the island measures 42" counter to counter, and the aisle between the pantry wall and the island measures 36" counter to counter (island top to msg center top). We deliberately biased the spacing the way we did, in order to allow plenty of room to walk between the opened DW door and the island. trailrunner--no fresher than you are...LOL

The thing is, people are people and a person's gender should NEVER be used to judge them by. You say the young women you see are far too bold - OK we were having a discussion on women so I said that the timid mouse image that was being painted is not my experience so the statement of too bold applied to women only because we were talking about women. There was no statement about men at all, so don't infer it. I never said or even implied that the behavior is any different than young college men or that it is more acceptable in men. In fact, I said both young men and women were too bold. Since the innuendo is getting me in trouble, the statement is probably going to get me hung but what the hell. I was specifically talking about the all too popular trend of asking any guy you like for d#ck pics, and reciprocating with topless photos. I get a few drunk pics of some guys junk several times a year. Believe me, I think they are too bold also. I never said that bias doesn't exist. I am just referring to the evidence that all biases seem to be lessening, thus studies centered around younger adults may be more relevant. There is still plenty of every bias to go around. You guys are really looking for a fight, that quite frankly, I don't want to be in. So you win. Risk aversion/acceptance varies widely within the genders and I suspect that women may be, on average, more risk averse than men. - Let me explain in greater detail. EVERYONE has different risk appetite. Older people are more risk averse than younger, poor people are less risk averse than the upper middle class, different races have different risk tolerance, different geographic areas have different risk tolerance, and all of those are gross generalizations. The reason why risk doesn't matter between men and women isn't that they don't have different risk tolerance, it is that everyone has different risk tolerance. So the first thing you learn in finance is establishing acceptable risk. There is no right answer. As long as the desired rewards match the risk, you are right. As investors both men and women learn about the market (become sophisticated), we usually see risk seekers temper their desire to make it big in the market, and we see risk avoiders start to focus more on the rewards, realizing that complete risk aversion may not achieve their goals. In the end, the two sides, whether they be race, gender, or just personality, get reasonably close together. So what I am saying is there really is no issue for gender to effect. Once you have a risk appetite that you are comfortable with, you control for it. Controlling for it simply means selecting the investments that will most likely get you to your goal at your stated risk and realizing that not every investment needs to be at your risk appetite.