>It was the southern vernacular "one of them houses in the woods." (using 'them' as a demonstrative determiner instead of 'those') Either I've forgotten my english language rules or you've been in the south too long! :o)

You're right. Properly, he should have said, ..."them thar houses..."

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>>>>Now, as a telecommuter, as soon as the last of our daughters hits college, we'd gladly move into one of them houses in the woods, make everything solar - insulated - selfsufficient, grow our own food, and I could still telecommute like I'm doing since 2002. These houses will soon be dime a dozen.
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>>>I really got a kick out of that last paragraph (emphasis mine) :o)
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>>OK, now for us spectators with cheaper tickets, was it the apparent contradiction between solar and "in the woods" (but I saw those - they got enough of a roof and clearance around them to put many mirrors-collectors-panels-whatever), or did I hit a particular shade of English? Just guessing what was it that amused you.