georgez5il, I can sympathise to a very limited extent with the way that you feel about this particular posting, but cannot agree with your conclusions regarding being unable to answer the query in its totality. I feel that some information is better than non, and that other posters' are subsequently given chance to pick up the slack so-to-speak. I am also in favour of group involvement and this post gives an excellent opportunity for precisely that. Apologies for sounding a bit "preachy" on this one. ;-)

I have a mammilaria rhodantha that is two inches wide and four inches tall. sadly, it appears to have base rot and I fear that my only options are to either cut it in half and try to root it or just throw it away. Can it survive this kind of surgery???

Only can answer a few of your questions: I've always had curtains with tub/shower combos. The trick is to seal the curtain edges to the tile/tub. This is best done with a thinner liner (a heavy one can be used, but might want to put a shampoo bottle on it to keep it there). Start the shower and point the head away from the open edges. Get in and by this time the tile will be a little moist. Run your wet hand along the back of the liner and stick it to the tile, tracing it down and over the inside corner of the tub. Never a water problem in 20 years. Had to train my DH how to do it when I married him though. We've had pocket doors with latches on the inside only. You can find the hardware at any home depot or lowes in the replacement door and window hardware areas for closets, patio sliders, casement windows, etc and install them yourself.

The window itself isn't a problem if your local code allows it. The window might make your hood higher than optimal however, and it can be dangerous reaching across hot pots to adjust the window. With induction you won't set your sleeve on fire, though. Moving the ducting for your hood might well be a bigger deal than moving the gas. The best way to know is to talk to your plumber and HVAC guy and get estimates from them. A range is usually the less expensive route. Plus, if you don't already have induction capable pans you'll need to budget a bit more for cookware (though sometimes they give a few pans away with the cooktop). Most people here report back after changing from gas to induction that they'd never go back. A few miss their gas or actually do change back. Most of the reasons are in the realm of it being too weird cooking without fire or otherwise missing the flame, or having trouble adjusting to setting the temperature by number rather than sight (flame height). Have you tried getting advice on your layout in the Kitchens forum? If you did, and didn't get much response, try again.