The suicide bomber strategy is a big winner and left unchecked, will be the end of all Western civilization

Why? It's all in the math

I recently saw a cable TV program about WW1, specifically, a single battle that took place November 1916

The first amazing statistic was that on a SINGLE DAY in November 1916, 57,400 British soldiers died on the battlefield. That's JUST British dead - one day

By the end of November 1916 the sum of ONE MILLION men were dead from both sides included. That came out to ALMOST EXACTLY one dead in exchange for one dead on the other side. The war went on for two more years

One-for-one killings is a get-nowhere-fast war. If one side is not killing way more of the other side (in exchange for one dead on their side), the war is a stalemate, a waste of life for both sides, with no particular outcome/solution to conflict

Body count results via suicide bombers is much better; a winning pace if you will. One suicide bomber often kills dozens, even hundreds of victims. For the leaders of the suicide bombers, that's "cheap" and extremely efficient, an excellent killing ratio

Let's do some figuring

Let's say one suicide bomber on average kills 25 people. How long will it take (how many dead victims) before the bad guys are winners?

Were suicide bombers to come to American soil, the public would instantly panic and withdraw. After just a few bombings, the economy would be massively disrupted. Sales of all non-essential goods and services would come to an almost immediate halt

People would be laid off from work, except for people who sell orange barrier tape, Kevlar vests, guns and ammo, etc. Our money will quickly inflate 1,000 times and only gold and silver will be worth anything

Say what you want. The math and the tactics tell the story. The Democrats have turned Iraq into the new Viet Nam with their cut-and-run successes. Bring home the troops they say. Doing so you also bring home the suicide bombers. America's days will numbered, small numbers

eMail coming in with hedge questions would amaze you with the volume

The main questions are about ficus hedges and "WHAT NOW COACH" pleadings as the ficus hedge gets out of control, or loses leaves down low or starts breaking up walkways and driveways

Folks who have not yet planted ficus are interested in alternative plants

What everyone seems to neglect is maintenance.  No matter what hedge plant you select, you must prune for shape and prune for height.  This pruning will never stop, especially in warmer zone 9 and zone 10 climates where hedges start looking unkempt after just 6 weeks or so (after the last pruning)

Most folks in Florida hire hedge cutters (usually their lawn maintenance crew) to handle the pruning

Here's the point >>> it would not be unusual for a homeowner to spend $1,000, $2,000, even $3,500 a year to prune that hedge (and feed it, and water it)

10 years = $10,000 or $20,000 or $35,000

With those kinds of maintenance dollar numbers on the table, a fence makes more and more sense

A "best of both worlds" idea would be a sturdy and tall chain link fence where you plant vines to grow on the fence

The advantages are many…

1.  No pruning or just once-a-year pruning (saves a bundle of cash)

2.  You select a vine whose blooms you enjoy so you get color

3.  You can have low plants at the bottom of your fence and have the vines covering the rest so you get excellent privacy, foliage and color

4.  You could have more than one kind of vine, so if you have a long fence, you could have sections of different colors

5.  You are a good neighbor (whereas hedges encroach on your neighbors' property)

6.  When you sell your home, buyers like fences

7.  Hedges keep getting wider and wider over time.  This way, you have a thin line and no branches crowding you out of walking beside your home or by your pool

8.  If you change your mind with a hedge, it's expensive and semi-destructive to remove

9.  Hedges really don't produce blooms/flowers/color because with every pruning you are cutting off branch tips from which flowers would form, hence, plants like hibiscus sound great (for flowers) but in practice, you get almost no flowering

10.  Fences are real barriers, e.g. kids, dogs, iguanas are kept where you want them to be

11.  Vines are planted typically at 6-10 foot intervals so you pay way less for plant material and vines grow WAY WAY faster than hedge plants so you get privacy coverage the first year

12.  Replacing the vines is cheap too if you decide to redecorate outdoors

Cya

TIVO is very popular …a must have service for many, but for me, it makes me crazy …truthfully, I hate it

Why?

Let me do my TOP 2,000 REASONS TO NOT HAVE TIVO

1.  TIVO can suddenly turn the screen black,  Usually, I still have audio but changing the channel using the TV remote will not work

2.  Sometimes, TIVO changes the channel to whatever.  If you don't scramble quickly to the TIVO remote to click for "Watch Live TV" it may take a while to get back to where you were

3.  We've had it where TIVO selects a channel and does not allow any change with either the TIVO or TV remote control.  We have to unplug TIVO to re-start watching TV

4.  You're watching live TV and TIVO changes the channel.  You click for "Watch Live TV" mode, but TV again changes the channel.  This can continue for hours

5.  TIVO vastly slows down channel changing in "Watch Live TV" mode.  I click or input a channel number, and it's slow

6.  My wife sets TIVO to record a certain show and TIVO selects a different channel we don't even get to record (black screen is recorded)

7.  You enter a time and channel to record and TIVO will not accept your commands.  It changes the time or the channel to whatever

8.  TIVO will not record any channel you are not already watching…that's stupid

9.  You are watching live TV and TIVO changes the channel.  You click to say "No" but the channel changes anyway…to another live TV channel (not the one you were watching)

10.  You click the button to turn on the TV and it will not turn on.  You have to first use the TIVO remote then try again

OK, OK, so it's not 2,000 reasons, but it's still a nightmare.  Even my wife who uses TIVO (I have never once recorded anything) admits it's "difficult"

NO !!!  TIVO IS A NIGHTMARE !!!