Stairs are the coolest things, really. They are under-valued for their furnture qualities. Everything ought to have at least three functions in the crowded nowadays. In my college apartment (blessed Pufton Village of the Golden Age of graduate school, in Amherst, MA), we had open stairs leading up to the second floor -- in other words, you could sit on them and look through and have conversations with people in the living the room (the stairs slanted down into the kitcen area). They also were a gentle divider between living room and kitchen area, and we had a rocking chair under then on the living room side -- a Swiss Army Knife of stairs! They also became a central part of our furniture. No matter your height, you could find a set of steps to spread out on comfortably, and of course a 'table' at your elbow for your coffee or beer. Many hours I sat there, talking, playing D&D, thinking. I sometimes think I ought to design a set of stairs for my living room, modified to be furniture and storage (put draws on their sides, or at least a bookcase or cupboard). In fact, is there not some Asian furniture style that resembles stairs or were used as stairs? Where did I see them them? Peabody Museum in Salem, MA? Any way, stairs, wes thu hal!

When you live in a city - there's no room for one story "burb ranches" :p

I live in the 'burbs and there's barely any ranches... a few split-levels, but very very few ranches... Thus, it IS a conspiracy!

That's it! That must be the formula! In order to get a job, you have to make something over stairs!

Thats harder to do than the illuminiti dice consipiracy of '07! Oh well, I'm off to go do something stairly!

Outside the Gym!!! You use climbing gear on rock faces not in gyms! You know like real rocks and stuff!

gear as in harnesses, grigri's ropes etc, all stuff you can still use in gyms