They didn't believe the Titanic could be sunk until it hit an ice berg.Great answer ken, seriously. 

Mean my sheet rock and insulation Sub out here in oregon / washington has done that and they have 400 employees and a company JET :) Now hopefully Ice does not snag their crews.

I avoid the area like a plague any more, which is a shame because there's a few things I do like down there like the car museum and the aquarium and there's a great custard ice cream place, but I'm not going to drive an hour and then fight the ridiculous traffic for that stuff. 

Agree about the rate nonsense - rates might be the icing on the cake, but most would-be buyers couldnt afford median-priced homes even if rates were cut in half overnight. 

@Radovan Matusovich Very familiar with Westwood, I can remember when the big red brick factory opened as a Sealtest Ice Cream producer. 

I have terrible hand writing but I think sending a hand written letter will help break the ice a little bit.

The internet is flooded with REI folks and gurus, but you have a different angle being so young, so you may be able to crave out a nice niche.

Of course as a relatively high W-2 earner, tax benefits are appealing to me as well, but that's just icing on the cake.

It is no different than if Dairy Queen released a "news article" saying study finds eating ice cream on hot days is great for preventing heat stroke. 

And of course ice is a major factor with private aviation and instrument flying ( IE in the clouds were Ice lives) I would ask my instructor how do we know or where is the ice..