If you build it, they will come

I stood staring at the slimy cold little body in my hand and my brain could not register what I was seeing. I knew it was a large frog but it was like an alien frog, a transforming frog? My mind couldn’t reconcile what it really was.

So I stood there confused. I reached over with my other hand and touched it with a tentative finger. It still didn’t move. In a kind of stunned shock I stood looking at the pink colour where green skin should have been, and the way the legs petered out at the ends.

My imagination tried to turn it into some kind of monster tadpole that was almost turned into adult. I touched its mouth and nothing. I was so horrified I couldn’t let myself feel anything.

I gently laid it down at the base of a shrub,We have a fantastic range of Glass Tiles and glass mosaic Tiles. on the edge of the garden. I numbly went back to my little pond, kneeled down on the edge of the stonewall and pushed my bare arm into the cold dark water to gently pull another handful of debris from the base of the fountain.

For the first few dredgings I just pulled up brown rotting leaves. And then to my dismay I opened my hand to see another dead decomposing adult frog lying in my hand. My beautiful new pond had become a winter death trap for the resident green frogs that had moved in last spring.

I found one more before I gave up for the day, sad and heavy hearted. I wondered how many of the seven I had counted over and over last autumn had survived.Zenith manufactures a comprehensive range of RUBBER SHEET.Secured handsfree building and door access solutions with Hands free access by Nedap AVI. I still haven’t gone back to finish cleaning the pond, afraid I’ll find more dead.

In March during the ridiculously warm weather, one of the frogs had been sluggishly and slowly floating around, laying spread eagle in the water with his legs trailing behind him as they are want to do. On a few warm days in April I’ve again seen one frog basking on the edge of the rock in the shallow water. So at least one has made it through. But now it’s near the end of April and I’ve cleaned out most of the leaves at the bottom of the pond and the weather has turned freezing again, sleeting today. Is my lone frog sitting at the bottom, wondering where all his protective leaves have gone? Is he now freezing to death after making it through that long freeze and thaw winter because he has no protection at all?

While cleaning out the pond that dreadful day I called the Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme. They provide teachers, students and community groups with information resources and educational opportunities to conserve, restore and create wetland habitats. The coordinator Julia Phillips was sympathetic and helpful.

It looks like the first thing I did wrong was build a pond that was too shallow for adult frogs to survive in over winter. My pond is small, six feet across with a rubber liner and only 14 inches deep at the centre. It should have been at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) deep in order to keep the water from freezing completely. Julia said even safer two metres deep. That’s the point.All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats.Siebenwurst Werkzeugbau ist ein Unternehmen für Konstruktion und Fertigung von Werkzeugen im Bereich Stanztechnik und Umformtechnik. If it freezes solid the frogs will freeze and die, too.

I found out my second mistake shortly into the conversation. Julia said that green frogs, or Rana clamitans, have tadpoles that can overwinter for up to two years in the larval form. I groaned. I was part way through taking bucket after bucket of water out of the pond to water my newly planted raspberries. And I didn’t have my glasses on. I quickly found them and anxiously scanned the pond for tadpoles olive green and iridescent creamy-white below. I couldn’t see anything but insect larvae. No tadpoles I don’t think. Julia pointed out that they usually only lay eggs in slow moving water so maybe my fountain with the four bronze frogs spouting water into the pond, is too agitated for breeding. I’ll have to watch more closely this summer — with my glasses on.

Males become sexually mature at one year, females may mature in either two or three years. I had certainly made sure my frog’s lives were cut short before they’d even reached their first year. Last summer I had so happily watched them transform from tiny magical frogs to such large beings I was a little taken aback. I started thinking they might be princes in disguise. I found out that they are the second largest frog species in North America next to the bullfrog, so dreams of living in a castle dissolved with the facts.

Researching on the Internet became frustrating as one blog suggested lining little ponds with blue Styrofoam to keep them from freezing; that’s what someone did in Alaska. And another fellow said he pulled a sheet of plastic tight over the pond and that the air insulated the water and plants and kept everything from freezing. In frustration I called Cole’s Pond Store in Grimsby, to speak to their pond expert Jerry Clattenburg. I should have called him sooner.

Special Ops for Jeep Wranglers

IN 1993, Dave Harriton decided to cut his Jeep in half to make it longer. Little did he know what the project would entail — or that it would stretch into an enterprise that supplies aftermarket equipment for Jeeps and modifies the off-road stalwarts for even more extreme use.

“At the time, the Jeep was too small to carry around more than one other person,” Mr. Harriton said in an interview, referring to the 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ that he owned then. “The back seat in a ’91 Wrangler is kind of a joke, kind of like a 911 back seat. The short wheelbase made it ride rougher than I really liked.”

Mr. Harriton at the time was a business student at the University of Montana in Missoula and was taking up some adventure sports like kayaking. He decided to refit the Jeep — it actually belonged to his parents — to fit his lifestyle.

“I really wanted a D90 or D110, but that was out of my price range,” he recalled, referring to versions of the Land Rover Defender. He also wanted to install a lift kit, to raise the suspension for a more rugged look.

“When I went to lift it, the increased driveshaft angles caused problems,” he said. “So sitting around dreaming one night I realized that I could either sell the Jeep or stretch it to fix all the issues.Siebenwurst Werkzeugbau ist ein Unternehmen für Konstruktion und Fertigung von Werkzeugen im Bereich Stanztechnik und Umformtechnik. I found a guy with a welder who would do it for $500.”

He realizes now that was a probably dumb decision, particularly given his almost total lack of mechanical knowledge. But he bought a $40 socket set at a hardware store and set about taking the body off the Jeep. The project took him about a year to complete, but miraculously the finished product turned out pretty well.

“After I got done with it,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats. a lot of people liked it,” Mr. Harriton said of the three-foot extension he added to his ’91 Wrangler’s frame and body. “So, I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll start doing a few of these for customers.’ ”

By 1997, for a senior-year business school assignment, he drew up a mock business plan — it received an “A” — for a company that would build long-wheelbase Wranglers. He received a $35,000 loan from a local bank and started American Expedition Vehicles.

“I didn’t know how I would ever repay that much money,” he said. “It’s unfathomable now how crazy it was that I did it on those numbers now. It was almost eight years before I started making a living at it. I really struggled.”

For a long time, he added, his profits were so small, he survived by living in his shop. “I was making fiberglass molds in there for bumpers and things, and smelling all that resin and spray-gun chemicals 24 hours a day,” he added, grimacing. “It was absolutely horrible.”

From that humble beginning, A.E.V., as the company is known, has become a leader in the huge Jeep aftermarket equipment industry. A.E.V. now offers an array of options and add-ons, including suspension modifications, lift kits, axle replacements, Hemi V-8 conversions and accessories. The Brute, a pickup version of the Wrangler originally designed by A.E.V. in 2002, is sold by many Jeep dealers and is also offered as a do-it-yourself conversion kit.

“For whatever reason, I went the opposite of common sense,” he said. “And it’s led me down this career path that it turns out is exactly what I always dreamed of doing.”

And Mr.Zenith manufactures a comprehensive range of RUBBER SHEET. Harriton, who still lives in Missoula, is still growing Jeeps; A.E.V.’s latest creation,If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses. the Brute Double Cab, is a pickup version of the four-door Wrangler Unlimited. With an overall length of 216 inches, it is 63 inches longer than that original ’91 Wrangler.

And after his long, slow start, the prices his creations now command — some $60,000 to $100,000 for a finished Brute, depending on options — are an indication of the esteem Jeep aficionados have for the A.E.V. brand.

“We get to do things with Jeeps that the people at Jeep wish they could do,” he said,Secured handsfree building and door access solutions with Hands free access by Nedap AVI. laughing, “but maybe the types of things they can’t do because of regulations, cost or marketing considerations.”

Solar panels cause clashes with homeowner groups

The government wants you to install solar panels at your house, and will even give you a tax break to do it. But your neighbors? Maybe not.

It's a lesson Angel and David Dobs discovered when their homeowners association north of Atlanta denied their request to install solar panels on their roof. Neighborhood officials said the panels would look out of place and might lower home values in a community that regulates details as fine as the coloring of roof tiles, the planting of trees and the storage of trash cans.

"It's like living under communism — someone gets to dictate every possible thing you do," David Dobs said.

Homeowners associations around the country have banned or severely restricted the installation of solar panels, and the solar industry has pushed back to halt the practice.InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking. A recent attempt in Georgia to expand the right to go solar had support from environmentalists and some Republican lawmakers concerned about private property rights but it succumbed to opposition from developers and real estate agents.

Roughly two dozen states now forbid or limit homeowners associations or local governments from banning solar panels, according to a database run by North Carolina State University. Similar disputes have prompted lawsuits in Nebraska and California.

Angel and David Dobs supported the Georgia legislation after their run-in with the homeowners association. David Dobs had viewed the project as his personal contribution to prevent global warming.

Leaders of the Vickery Lake Homeowners Association in Cumming say the dispute is about architecture and aesthetics, not the merits of solar power. Homeowners automatically accept the community rules when they purchase a home there.

"We're not going to debate whether it's a good idea to have green energy or not," said Jim Pearson, the association's president.

These debates are likely to keep flaring as more people install solar energy systems because the equipment is getting cheaper and governments subsidize the cost. Taxpayers can now deduct 30 percent of the cost of installing solar panels from their federal tax bill. Other states and local governments offer additional incentives.

The fight is not new. Some solar rights laws date back to the 1970s, while other states have added similar measures more recently.

California's law, first enacted in 1978, prevents homeowners associations from forcing residents to make aesthetic changes to photovoltaic panels that raise the cost by more than $2,000 or decrease a system's efficiency more than 20 percent.

Most disputes in California are worked out privately, but a few have reached the court system. Last year, a California appellate court upheld a decision forcing a couple to remove solar panels that were installed in their yard without the approval of their homeowners association. They were allowed to keep other panels on their roof.All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats.

"They don't like the way they look," said attorney Michael McQueen, who represented the couple and others in similar disputes. "And (homeowners associations) are all about looks. Is your lawn green? Are your hedges trimmed?"

Ricardo Cestero, an attorney for the homeowners association, said neighborhood leaders were concerned the ground-level panels were not set back far enough from the street, were inadequately protected from damage and might cause erosion.

Texas adopted a law last year preventing homeowners associations from totally blocking solar panels. The law makes clear that residents can install them on roofs or in fenced-in yards or patios, subject to some limits.

In Georgia, the fight between the Dobses and their homeowners association started in 2010. David Dobs said the rules required that he and his wife seek permission to build solar panels.

He first proposed installing 30 panels on two areas parallel to the slope of his roof. People could have seen sections of the three-by-five-feet panels as they walked or drove along the street.Siebenwurst Werkzeugbau ist ein Unternehmen für Konstruktion und Fertigung von Werkzeugen im Bereich Stanztechnik und Umformtechnik.

The homeowners association rejected that request and three others from Dobs.

Board member Jim Graham said that to win approval,If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses. the panels would probably need to be out of view, perhaps mounted in a backyard and obscured by a fence — though fences too are subject to association approval.

Graham said that if people don't like the rules, they are free to buy elsewhere.

"They chose to come into this community," he said.

Lawmakers in Georgia tried to resolve the problem with legislation giving homeowners associations the rest of the year to decide whether to ban solar panels. Any neighborhood that did not set a ban by next year would be unable to stop a homeowner from installing solar panels in the future.Zenith manufactures a comprehensive range of RUBBER SHEET.

Under-the-radar job growth

Three Chicago-area science and technology whizzes are busy learning their trades in fast-growing careers. Their work ranges from designing a comedian’s interactive stage set to mapping a health plan for trees to figuring out why the universe is rapidly expanding.

Their ease at winning projects, internships and jobs reflects little-known growth industries and a new education reality: Young people’s choices of study, training and financial aid are playing a big role in whether they fill menial low-paying jobs or tech-focused, higher-skilled work.

Devin Wambolt, a 24-year-old senior at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy in the Loop, has won attention on YouTube for his projection mapping visuals created with camera, projector and 3D software to create illusions that interact with a person’s movements. He stacked up moving boxes, covered them with paper and connected a projector to an Xbox 360 Kinect to create a system where a student can use his or her hand to “project” light onto the boxes, trigger footprints to appear where he has walked or otherwise augment reality.

“I’ve been playing with illusions and light and using fluid dynamics, physics and simulations — they all apply,” said Wambolt, who will graduate on June 2 with an associate’s degree in applied sciences. Everyone in the academy’s 230-member graduating class receives the associate’s degree, but each holds one of four specialties: Recording arts,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. film and broadcast, visual effects and animation, and game design and interactive media.

Wambolt is now working on an interactive program at iNG restaurant, 945 W. Fulton Market, and is creating a set design for Hot Mix Five DJ Producer Mickey Oliver, a Chicago native who created and stars in “Intensi-T,” a theatrically staged dance show and a TV variety show.

“My goal is to keep working on new and exciting projects. There are so many opportunities, I’d like to weigh my options,” Wambolt said. Before starting Tribeca Academy,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking. Wambolt earned certificates in web design, graphic design and 3D animation from Boston University and worked at an audio-visual company installing home theaters, stadium jumbotrons and high-tech lecture-hall systems at Harvard University, Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tribeca Academy has seen its student body grow sixfold— to a projected 650 starting in the 2012-2013 school year — from its first graduating class of 102 three years ago. The 2011 graduating class had a 77 percent placement rate in paid jobs that reflected students’ interests. The jobs range from TV production to videogame design, to writing for film festival blogs and creating 3D and video event coverage.What is a real time Location system (RTLS)? Full-time salaries range from $35,000 to $65,000 yearly. Tribeca’s tuition totals $50,000 for the full two years, and the academy offers financial aid to those eligible.

“We are seeing an explosion in WebTV and Google TV channels looking for 24/7 content,” said Jill Geimer, senior vice president of career services at the academy.Shop for oil painting and oil paintings for sale included. “We’ve also had students work for the casting director on ‘The Voice’ (hit singing competition series on NBC-TV). Good production assistants in Los Angeles earn an average of $1,100 a week.”

Other growth careers are developing apps for mobile gaming, creating animated commercials for ad agencies and working on live concerts and theater productions for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) union at major venues such as Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Margaret Yagen, a 22-year-old senior at Elmhurst College, is collecting and mapping data on trees, street lights, water-main breaks and other public works details as an intern at the west suburban village of Westchester — a job called geospatial technology that is used in farming, urban planning, military operations, utility infrastructure routing and developing apps for Facebook, online retailers and others leveraging smartphones and electronic devices embedded with location technology.

“With the information we create, we can figure out the types of trees the village has, how frequently they’ve been maintained and the order in which they need attention, and create a plan on how to go about it,” Yagen said.

Yagen will obtain a bachelor’s in Applied Geospatial Technologies with a minor in human geography when she graduates on May 26.Master Arts specialises in oil painting reproduction. Her field includes jobs in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS).

The number of such jobs nationwide is projected to skyrocket by 42 percent, to 850,000, by 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Most of the entry-level positions start at $45,000 and can exceed $50,000 yearly.

R.B. “Rich” Schultz, coordinator of the GIS certification program at Elmhurst College, said the college cannot supply enough students to meet the yearly demands for 50 to 60 geospatial technologies internships. Elmhurst last year became the first liberal arts college to offer a bachelor’s of science degree in Applied Geospatial Technologies. Elmhurst College’s tuition totals $125,800 for students who live on campus and who receive no financial aid throughout the four-year degree period.

Joe Bernstein, a 36-year-old postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory’s Leadership Computing Facility, credits his first physics studies at the College of DuPage with leading him to a future bounded only by his imagination.

Bathtubs are luxurious but affordable

It used to be that when one wanted to bathe they had to carry water to which ever place they had their bath,Our company focus on manufacturing Plastic mould. iron corrugated shelter, bush or behind the house and just did their business. But living standards have come a long way and tastes have evolved.

When considering re-adjusting your bathroom or building a home from the scratch, one of the decisions you may be faced with is what type of bathtub will be suitable for your new space.

Once considered a luxurious item, bathtubs are now available in several varieties making it possible for every household to enjoy the fun and excitement of having one. Bathtubs have become the normal feature of any bathroom.

Often, with a new construction, the builder is the one who suggests which type will suit the house, but now, with such a wide variety of tubs available, many homeowners are the ones making the choice.

Sometimes, the tub type is determined by the types of bathrooms chosen for the home to go with a certain style. Other times, however, it can be difficult to choose because there are so many different types of bathtubs available.

Nowadays in market, very stylish types of bathtubs are available even for the small bathrooms that are irresistible. According to a sales executive of Tropical Africa Ventures Limited, Rebecca Nalumanji,FIRMAR is a Malaysia Injection Moulding Manufacturer. bathtubs come in a variety of materials as well as sizes, colours and styles. The choice and combination of materials should be based on one’s needs, tastes and budget.

Bathtub types can be defined by the materials used to construct them or by their style. The material used to make the bathtub and the styles of the bath are two of the most important factors to consider. Bathtubs are made from porcelain on steel, acrylic, fibre glass/ gel coat, composite, cast iron, cultured marble and wood.

Acrylic bathtubs are the most common type, since they are relatively durable, easy to care for,There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. and the least expensive. “Tubs can be constructed of metals as well, such as cast iron bathtubs and steel bathtubs,” says Nalumanji.

Acrylic bathtub is a type of tub that is vacuum-molded from sheets of colored acrylic and reinforced with fiberglass, hence resistant to chips and cracks. “It is economical and lightweight, and it can be repaired if damaged. It has a natural luster,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. and a non-porous finish that is easy to clean, but it is subject to scratching and can discolor over time,” she explains.

The second type is Fiberglass/Gel coat bathtub. It is usually light in weight, easy to install, and can be molded into a variety of shapes. Although similar in appearance to acrylic,Find beautiful landscape oil paintings here. fibre glass has some features that make it different from acrylic.

While the surface of an acrylic unit is vacuum formed from a single sheet of solid plastic, a fibre glass coat surface is formed by spraying a pigmented polyester resin onto a mold. Thick layers of fiberglass and foam insulation highlight the sleek and stylish lines of gel coat units. This material is much thinner and less durable than acrylic however it can be easily repaired.

Porcelain on Steel (POS) is another common and reasonably priced tubs available. They have not changed very much over the years and are usually found in older homes. The biggest change over the years in porcelain bathtubs has been the size of the tub.

They are made up of one thin stamped steel shell, which is coated with a heat-fused porcelain enamel. The advantage to this type is that they are resistant to acid, corrosion and abrasion, and are coloulllrfast thus they maintain their original colour and high gloss.

Bathtubs made from cast iron are the most expensive but really great in terms of durability and looks. Molten iron is used to make the cast iron bathtub. But the biggest disadvantage is that these are very heavy and can be scratched with sharp objects.
“Then you have the option of ceramic and glass tile bathtubs. This is difficult to find. Tile bathtub is made from the small mosaic tiles that are placed in a unique design and patterns. They are a bit difficult to construct thus are more costly,” explains Nalumanji.

The most recent modern type is whirlpool tub. These are different from other types of bathtubs in that they massage you while you relax. They have built-in water jets which gives them the element of luxury.

Energy costs may hinder tile industry growth- Report

The Sri Lankan ceramic tile industry could see a surge in both its domestic and export markets provided that positive signs as to a global economic recovery and booming local construction industry are not offset by the industry’s escalating energy and raw material costs, according to a report on the tile sector from Asia Wealth Management Co (Pvt) Ltd.

Noting that tile consumption is highly correlated with per capita income levels, the report stated that the domestic market holds significant potential for the industry.

“When compared to certain countries,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. Sri Lankan tile consumption is deeply low. This is due to the fact that tile is a luxury product and does not have priority in a typical dwelling construction. However, low per capita tile consumption compared to higher per capita GDP growth in Sri Lanka proves that there is ample room for the tile sector to grow,There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System.” the report stated.

Nevertheless, it noted that the industry remains highly exposed to volatility in energy costs; particularly LP Gas and kerosene, which currently account for between 35% and 40% of average production costs.

Despite its relative abundance, restrictive mining regulations on clay- the industry’s primary raw material- may also play a part in driving up costs for the tile sector,Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. according to the report.

Such restrictions,Plastic Injection moulds as well as other dies. in combination with an increase in the prevalence of illegal clay mining operations may force industry players to commence importing clay from China or India, ultimately exposing ceramic tile manufacturers to further risk through exchange rate volatility in an industry which at present sources 95% of its raw materials locally.

The report added that competition from cheaper foreign alternatives as a result of the government’s decision to reduce the Cess on importation of certain categories of building stones, including tiles, from 30% down to 20% may cause severe price competition for the local industry, potentially leading to the domination of local markets by cheaper imports from China.We are professional Plastic Mould.

Child's Play, Part 2: The Serious Part

As parents and grandparents we want our children to be happy and safe. As stated in my article on April 11, decorating children's rooms can be lots of fun, but challenging.

The Safety Council periodically reminds me of the dangers in children's rVulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china.ooms. Common sense tells us that adult supervision is paramount. The home fashion industry has also addressed safety issues, which should be made known.

Windows first: Most of the blinds we use for privacy and light control have cords. The news in the past couple of years has covered the danger they present with strangulation.

To give us safe options,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. the window blind industry has developed products that function well with cordless lift systems. Some use power, either hard-wire or battery, with a remote control. Cordless blinds are also available without power. These function effortlessly with the touch of a hand. If you are putting new blinds in your nursery or young child's room, you may want to choose a product that offers a cordless function.

Also keep in mind that children live in the entire home, and windows other than those in their room could be a danger if cords are present. While working recently with a client on a breakfast nook and family room,Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. we discussed these products.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? Their windows were quite tall, with the sill close to the floor. Since the mom is a pediatrician, she appreciated knowing about that option for the benefit of their son, who was fast approaching his first birthday and getting more mobile.There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System.

Furniture hazard: We usually don't consider our children's furniture being a hazard, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that in 1994, there were about 8,100 emergency room treated injuries associated with tip-over of furniture. The majority of these injuries involved children under the age of 5.

Conscientious furniture manufacturers have now added a number of safety features in their children's lines:

Drawers with "stops" prevent drawers from pulling out all the way.

Mending plates are included with items that have a base and top so the top can be attached to the base.

Furniture that is more than 30 inches high include brackets and cable ties so the furniture can be secured to the wall.

Recommendations are also offered:

Storing heavier items in the bottom drawers or bottom shelf.

Open only one drawer at a time.

Televisions should never be placed on furniture other than entertainment consoles specifically made for them.

Warning labels are now included with most children's furniture.

All of these features can help keep children safe, but offer no guarantees. Setting rules and supervision is still the best bet.

Ti Foster's snowy landscape photographs are both stark and sublime

Sometimes there is something about photographs that, from a distance, make them look like paintings. So much so that they pull you in to look closer to verify that these frames are the capturing of light and shadow in a moment and not the work of fine brush strokes and prudent paints.Capture the look and feel of real stone or China ceramic tile flooring with Alterna by Armstrong. That's exactly what Ti Foster's Pictures looks like.

The 10 panels that hang on the walls of the RMA Institute are of landscapes _ solitary, hypnotic _ from around the world. The way they have been framed _ their size, their colours _ make them appear as though they were lit from the back, probably from some large light boxes that reveal the colours and contours that make up hills, plains, snow and sky.

RMA Institute on Sukhumvit Soi 22, is a small space, but it's airy with high ceilings. The fact that the gallery is not a clinical white cube complements the nature Ti's work, as the viewer is encouraged to explore the space, to look behind walls and to wander, perhaps to get a little lost.

The Pictures exhibition starts with a pair of photographs _ the first is bright blue, serene and radiant with a figure in orange the bottom of snowy mountains. The figure is tiny next to the monumental white mountain and piercing blue sky _ this is Blue Snow. It is juxtaposed by the white wilderness of South China Sea, where from this vantage point you can almost feel the wind blowing over the grass.

Adjacent to this is Frozen Time, which pitches you somewhere between the blue of the sky and the white of the snow, and you find yourself in a barren land where time is frozen.

Hidden in the back is Beijing Snow, and here you can almost feel the piercing cold of the Chinese winter and the vastness of the space as you are transported to arrive on an empty road with not a soul in sight.

Then, in a few seconds, you walk away from Beijing and arrive at Cambodian Wall, where, again, time does not matter _ it is about the wall, its texture and existence.

In the main room you arrive at a trio of photographs. There is something sublime about the combination of these three images and the symmetrical conversation of the lines and the perspective _ a nod to Ti's architectural training. Yet they move beyond this foundation as Ti captures life and time, complete with their rawness and imperfection. He takes us to these landscapes where you feel frosty at times, warm at others and you can imagine yourself navigating the physical space that he captures in the frames.

The first of the trio on the wall is called Grand Teton View, a snowy US highway that continues into the horizon. This is next to Iron Horse Tracks, a moment of enchanting stillness with canyons in the background. Look closely and you hear the wind whistling on this solitary country road devoid of any human life _ only cactus, wild grass and sky. Yet the front-on perspective is a break and safe refuge from the never-ending horizon of its neighbours.

Shoshone View is another landscape of snow,There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. covered with misty fog and trees that look like ink. This notion of landscapes depicted with ink is further explored in Untitled Mountain, as the black trees remind us of ancient Chinese ink pictures of mountains, wrapped in an air of mysticism.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? The black trees against the white snow look like shadows, and mystery is their virtue.

In all, Ti takes us on a journey through his eyes and the lens of his camera. When asked about how this journey starts, he says, "Sometimes the journey begins with some spark of stimulus. A word,Excel Mould is a Custom plastic injection mould Maker. painting, text or photo becomes a clue. If the instinct becomes a desire and the clues keep coming,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. then eventually I will get to that place _ even if the process takes several years to come to fruition."

Ti's Pictures are about the capture of a moment in time, of a landscape in which he chooses to immortalise in its stark bareness and beauty. To be transported to these landscapes is to succumb to a dream. Perhaps there is some magic here as Ti describes his 15-year-old Hasselblad film camera. "I call it 'the magic camera' because on a good day, there seems to be some kind of alchemy taking place inside it."

School district turned on by solar power

A proposed contract between Las Virgenes Unified School District and a solar energy company based in San Diego will allow LVUSD to begin using solar power on district property with no initial cost. It’s a move that will also promote environmental stewardship among students,External Hemroids are those that occur below the dentate line. the district says.

The school district recently hosted town hall meetings at Agoura and Calabasas high schools to discuss the future of solar energy on LVUSD property and to give residents an opportunity to share ideas and provide input about the planned solar panel installations on local high school campuses.

If a contract is approved by the school board later this month, Borrego Solar Systems Inc. would install solar carports and panels at no charge in exchange for a 20-year agreement that would obligate the school district to pay the company a fixed rate of 19 cents per kilowatt.

Construction would take place over the summer.

At Agoura High, the solar systems would be in the faculty parking lot near Driver Avenue and Easterly Road and on the slope along Easterly. The solar systems at Calabasas High would be installed on a portion of the student parking lot near Old Topanga Canyon Road and Mulholland Highway.

The district pays 16 cents per kilowatt to purchase power from Southern California Edison. Officials anticipate the solar systems could save about $33,000 per year, equaling more than $600,000 in electricity-related costs over the next two decades.

The savings are calculated based on Edison increasing its rates over time, said Karen Kimmel, chief business official for the school district, adding that energy prices are expected to rise by 3 percent annually.

The district’s energy costs are about $1.2 million a year, she said.

The solar systems installed by Borrego Solar would provide about 20 percent of the energy needed at each school. The solar company would provide maintenance.

“The district has to look at any way it can to save money,” said district Superintendent Donald Zimring,A key component of the system is Ekahau crystal mosaic Controller location engine server.Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market! who added, “It’s part of our overall mission in the district to become greener.”

As part of the agreement with the district,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. Borrego Solar will offer internships and opportunities for students to learn about solar power and how much electricity they generate.

“One requirement (for a contract) was the educational component to provide materials for science teachers and give a pathway for students to learn about this technology,” school district board member Dave Moorman said.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET.

The non-glare panels will be installed on steel poles and measure between 10 and 14 feet in height.The carport panels will provide lighted and covered parking.

Rhonda Bacot, director of maintenance and operations for LVUSD, said existing roofs are unable to support the panels.

Steve Gittleman, who lives in the Annandale townhome community south of AHS, feels the panels are a visual blight and should be installed elsewhere on campus.

“Everybody that’s in here who says ‘let’s all put panels’ doesn’t stare at this particular thing, which could very well be an eyesore,” Gittleman said.

Others supported the solar venture.

“It’s a great concept,” said Herb Eckerling, who lives in Morrison Ranch.

“I feel that solar has to be part of any energy savings plan for the future. Having solar panels on roofs or over parking lots and hillsides would be the way to go.”

Moorman said all companies that visited AHS found no other viable location for the solar panels. The systems must be near the school’s utility system to minimize transmission costs.

At Calabasas High, the solar project will help solve an existing problem in the student parking area, Moorman said.

Regina students honour residential school victims

Two hundred and sixty one small, colourful tiles lined the tables of St. Bernadette School on Thursday.

Their designs were different, but many of them shared similar themes. A number of hearts could be seen — some full, others broken. Many crosses were also displayed to mark a gravesite. Also noticeable were the messages of love.

By creating these tiles, the elementary students from Regina were honouring aboriginal children who died in residential schools.

“The tiles themselves represent the life of a child that was lost. The residential school we’re commemorating is Sturgeon Landing,External Hemroids are those that occur below the dentate line. which was in northern Saskatchewan,” said Karen Goodon, Grade 5 teacher. “Sturgeon Landing, which was also known as Guy Hill Residential School, burnt down in 1952,A key component of the system is Ekahau crystal mosaic Controller location engine server. so the children from that school were then relocated.

“During the time that the school was open, there was a 75-per-cent death rate of the children that didn’t go home.”

This year, students at St. Bernadette have been taking part in Project of Heart, a national artistic endeavour aiming to commemorate the lives of aboriginal children who died as a result of treatment in a residential school. Goodon estimates several other schools in Saskatchewan are taking part in this program.

Along with making artwork, students learn about the history of aboriginal people in Canada, starting from pre-contact and progressing to the present-day relationship with aboriginal people.

Grade 8 student Eric McLeod, who put the finishing touches on his tile on Thursday — a picture of a turtle carrying the world on its back — has been immersed in the past.

“I’ve learned how cruel the residential schools were to the Metis and First Nation people,” McLeod said. “It’s kind of a scary.”

Mike Pinay, an elder on Peepeekisis First Nation, was present during Thursday’s ceremony. He and other members of his family have suffered through residential schools. Pinay went to Lebret Indian Residential School from the age of six until he was 16.

“When your culture is taken away, your language is taken away, your forced to be away from family ...Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market! You talk about the Holocaust that happened, well we’ve had our own Holocaust in Canada,Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET.” Pinay said.

“I believe that we need to know the true history of Canada. I think it’s a good project.”

Near the end of the ceremony, Pinay smudged the tiles, which will soon be sent to Winnipeg’s Museum of Social Justice to create a large pictorial mosaic.

For St. Bernadette School, however,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. the work will not stop. The school will be supporting Shannen’s Dream. The project is about promoting adequate education for aboriginals, modelled after the ideas of Shannen Koostachin of Attawapiskat First Nation, who passed away at the age of 15.

“Until all of the residential schools in Canada are commemorated with a project like this, the project isn’t finished,” Goodon said.

Outrageous construction law cases

People involved in litigation rarely find it amusing. Few are detached enough to find it even interesting.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET. Most find it at best a necessary evil and at worst an unmitigated disaster.

Lawyers worth their salt feel their clients’ pain and try to avoid the expense and risks of litigation.Aeroscout stone mosaic provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. When litigation does result, they try to accomplish their clients’ objectives without a full-scale death march to the bitter end.

With that said, one of the fascinating things about practicing law, and construction law in particular, is the myriad ways that disputes arise. The human condition provides an endless supply of the unexpected, the fascinating and even the bizarre. Unlike colleagues in some practice areas, construction lawyers rarely have a dull moment.

Last year, an architectural firm sued the city of Sunland Park, N.M.Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market!, claiming it was owed $1 million for work performed under nine contracts. The city’s principal defense was that the mayor signed the contracts after several hours of drinking at a restaurant with the architects and was too drunk to know what he was signing.

The mayor acknowledged in his deposition that it was “not exactly the best time to review legal documents” and testified that he was so drunk that his sister had to drive him home. Another city councilor testified at his deposition that he, too, was at the restaurant and was inebriated.

The architects denied that the contracts were the result of excessive “client development,” but were actually signed at City Hall by a sober mayor – perhaps as sober as the judge who will decide whether the mayor had all his faculties when he signed.

Contractors are always concerned about the imposition of liquidated damages if a project is delivered late. A simple assessment of liquidated damages might look pretty good to Matty Moroun, billionaire owner of Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge.

Earlier this year,The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking. Moroun appealed a trial court ruling sending him to jail for missing deadlines on a construction project. Michigan’s Department of Transportation sued Moroun’s company,A key component of the system is Ekahau crystal mosaic Controller location engine server. alleging that it had failed to fulfill its contract to improve freeway connections.

In November 2011, the trial judge found that the company failed to meet the court-ordered deadlines, found that Moroun and another company official were in contempt and ordered them jailed.

Design professionals worry about their liability for design errors and often seek limitations of liability. Although the facts of the case are particularly egregious, the recent arrest of an architect for manslaughter because of a faulty fireplace design might send a shiver up the spine of feckless designers.

Gerard Baker was arrested for the death of a Los Angeles fireman who was killed while fighting a fire in an $11 million Hollywood Hills mansion that building officials described as a death trap. Among other things, building inspectors determined that the mansion’s fireplaces were built of wood framing and lined with combustible drywall featuring ceramic tile or slate glued on. One of the gas fireplaces even vented into the house’s interior.

Baker told investigators that he considered the fireplaces to be merely decorative, although all were operational. The LA police chief said that it was the only case he was aware of in which building defects resulted in a manslaughter charge.

Concern about employee welfare and workers’ compensation experience ratings has caused safety to become a paramount concern on construction projects these days. Safety meetings are regular occurrences to drive home the importance of being careful.

Imagine how pleased one of my clients was when a reportable accident occurred during a safety meeting. While attending a safety lunch, an employee tried to pry open a lid with a fork and stabbed himself in the eye. The irony, not the humor, of the situation was recognized.

Inventor seeks support

Kingsley Offiong Ekpe is used to taking long walks. Ever since he left school abruptly 18 months ago, there has been nothing but boredom. To kill time, he takes to the roads most of the time, patrolling the neighbourhood like a politician on the stump but without the obligatory backslaps and glad-handing.

There isn’t much to look at in Tedi community, Lagos State where he lives with a cousin, Charles Otum. Apart from the countless commercial motorcyclists meandering here and there, goats and sheep lying indolently on the mostly sandy Tedi roads, there isn’t much to draw your attention. But that is for ordinary folks. Though a drop-out,Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market! Kingsley seems to have a keen sense for the unusual.

In his daily rounds around Tedi and nearby communities, the 26-year-old saw what seemed obvious to others, which they had always taken for granted anyway. As is the practice, most houses have their PHCN bills pasted on their walls or fences so that when officials of the electric firm come calling, they know at a glance who has paid and who is defaulting.

Kingsley noticed that some of the bills were in various stages of disintegration; some were glued to fences with cellotape; some washed off completely by torrential downpours or bleached to an indelible blur by the scorching sun. Some houses had no bills at all – a source of constant bickering between residents and PHCN officials who threaten to disconnect users if bills are not properly accounted for.

"An idea immediately came to me that such rift between consumers and PHCN officials can be avoided if you have something like a protective plastic cover cut slightly more than the size of PHCN bills where they could be attached to walls or fences," Kingsley said.

Though not a design student, Kingsley immediately set to work. Days after, he had what he thought he wanted, a drawing of a slide that you can screw to walls or fences where bills will fit in snugly. Also not an engineer, somebody had to bring Kingsley’s design to life,How is TMJ pain treated? or make it real. He found one, at Yaba. But there was still a hurdle to cross – cash to pay the engineer for a prototype.

"He wanted N3,800 for the design to be made real for me," says the school drop-out.Ekahau glass mosaic deployment in the Eastern Savo Region Hospital District. "Of course, I had no money." Kingsley approached his cousin, who turned him down because "he distrusted me, thinking I was up to some pranks."

Convinced more than ever about his device, he next approached his cousin’s wife. "I took time to explain to her the purpose for which it was meant and begged her to support my invention."

She acquisced and finally gave Kingsley N3,000, with which he paid for the prototype. Now, the device – still nameless – is in his possession, but then, there is a bigger hurdle; in fact, the biggest hurdle since he left school almost two years ago.

Kingsley was not one of those who lived in monkish seclusion as a student of Accounting in the University of Calabar. From his first year in 2008, he had always shown promise, either in course work or social occasions. He admits he was a wee bit stubborn, too. By the time he got to 300 level, he easily won the nomination for Director of Socials in the Student Union Government.Aeroscout stone mosaic provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.

The second of four children (the first is a female, Nya, and a graduate of Cross River State Polytechnic) born to a busniessman father, Chief Offiong Ekpe, dealing in medical equipment which he buys from the United States of America and sells in Nigeria. The father also lives part-time in Texas.

One day, before the SUG election, Kingsley told his father he wanted to use one of the family cars to run his campaign in school. His father refused, because of a nightmare he had the previous day in which his son had a fatal accident.

But stubborn as ever, Kingsley took the car anyway and promptly ran into the school gate. That was the end of his education. "My father froze my student account after he paid the bills incurred during the accident. He was also very angry with me that I disobeyed him."

Apart from the psychological trauma all of that caused him, Kingsley insists he could not pay his tuition, boarding or buy books, and much else. The consequence was his coming to Lagos to live with his cousin. And then, the long walk!

Today, the drop-out insists he owns the franchise to the as-yet-unnamed device. Sure of his product, he went to a Chinese company to see if they could do a mould for mass production. "They agreed to do three different moulds, which will cost approximately N3 million," says Kingsley. Of course, he hadn’t that kind of money,The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking. especially for somebody still dependent on relations even for feeding.

Also, he approached a PHCN staff to see what the energy company can do to help out, either by buying off the device or a kind of joint effort. The PHCN staff told him his device was great but it didn’t go beyond that.

In a tidy yellow T-shirt and spectacled (he started wearing medicated glasses after the accident because it affected his sight), Kingsley’s English is good, better than the average undergraduate you find in most Nigerian univeristies today. He looks focused, too, with the wide-awake visage you sometimes find in more-than-average students.

Kingsley’s headstrong nature is perhaps most discernible in his protruding temples, as if the content within is forever disagreeing with the cranium. The glasses gives him a headmaster-ish look. Asked why he has not approached his father – a wealthy man by every standard – to fund mass production of his device, he says he has not spoken with him since he left school. Besides, Chief Ekpe is always in and out of the country on one business trip or the other.

For China's middle-classes, there's no middle

In China, a trip to Starbucks isn’t just about grabbing a tall latte in a cardboard cup. Most American products are priced higher in China than in the US, which gives the Seattle company’s shops a patina of luxury and self-indulgence that they don’t have back home.

Many Chinese consumers go to Starbucks with friends, family, or business partners for the lifestyle experience,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. rather than to drink the coffee.

Starbucks has understood how to tap into the demand for premium experiences by tweaking its marketing to go upscale in China, rather than transferring the same mass-market image it has in America. The formula is working: The company’s Asia-Pacific boss, John Culver, on April 1 told Bloomberg News about plans to triple the number of Chinese outlets to 1,500 by 2015,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. making China Starbucks’s largest market outside of the United States.

Starbucks is just one of many Western consumer-products companies taking aim at China. Brands from the Gap to Weight Watchers to American Eagle have also announced plans to target the emerging Chinese middle class as a major driver of growth.

In November, David Zoba, Gap’s senior vice president for global real estate, announced aggressive growth plans for China. He said the San Francisco-based apparel retailer plans to open 45 stores there by the end of 2012—up from eight at that time—with the goal of hitting $1 billion in revenue there during the next three to four years by targeting the country’s growing middle class.

These companies need to be wary, though. China’s middle class does not really exist, at least by the American definition. Many analysts define the 350 million Chinese who live in households that earn between $6,000 and $15,000 a year as middle class. However, Chinese consumers with this socio-economic background do not exhibit the same hopes, aspirations, and shopping habits of middle-class Americans. As a result, brands that emphasise a middling position will not appeal to consumers there.

To understand what these consumers want, China Market Research Group has talked with thousands of Chinese in 15 cities in the past year. Our research suggests that most “middle class” Chinese consumers consider themselves on their way to riches,The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking.FIRMAR is a Malaysia Injection Moulding Manufacturer. despite the slowing economy. Their salaries have been rising in double digits or more for the past decade. Everyone knows someone who was tilling farms 15 years ago who now is a multimillionaire, driving a Mercedes, and living in a posh villa. Many of the Chinese we spoke to think they, too, can get seriously rich.

Consumers are likely to either save up to buy high-priced brands such as Louis Vuitton or Tiffany to show off status and sophistication—or trade down to discount brands.

Companies that position themselves in the middle place themselves in no-man’s land and are unlikely to gain much traction.

Consider the Gap, which sells jeans for between $50 and $200.If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses. Time after time, female consumers told us they would prefer to buy jeans from brands like Japanese retailer Uniqlo at a fraction of the cost or save up to buy premium and luxury brands such as Armani jeans.

One 27-year-old Shanghai woman making $300 a month told me she skipped lunch for five months to save enough to buy an Armani jean jacket. For her, the status associated with Armani proffered better value than multiple pieces from Gap.

Busted by the Crafts Cops

Etsy Inc. has tapped into the consumer craze for all things local, artisanal and authentic since its founding six years ago. The online crafts fair, where anyone can set up shop and sell handmade or vintage goods, has grown to 15 million members, up from 3.8 million in 2009, according to Etsy.

Yet a problem is hitting the site, which promises shoppers handmade items: Factory-made goods lurk on the site amid the hand-knit cupcake pin cushions, purses constructed of birch bark, and floral cotton iPad covers.

To try to keep its offerings true to its mission, Etsy is increasing the number of young detectives the company uses to police its website, sort of a CSI: Etsy team. (Etsy's CSI-related products include a "Future CSI" baby bib for $7.The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking.) The company calls the investigators the Marketplace Integrity and Trust & Safety teams. They spend their days scouring Etsy's site to uphold its rules: No factory-made goods, items that violate copyright, or offensive material. They shut down sellers' shops that break its rules. Newly developed software is also used to police the site.Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions.

Tania Ginoza says she shops for items like vintage glassware, jewelry, art and letter press stationery about once a month from Etsy. "It's a really good feeling to support someone who may just be starting out with crafting and jewelry making," says the 43-year-old financial comptroller in Maui, Hawaii. "When you correspond with a seller a lot of times you are talking directly to an artist,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent." she says. "That's pretty cool because you can develop a relationship with an artist."

About 230 employees work in the company's Brooklyn, N.Y., headquarters, which features a 10-foot-tall cardboard owl in its entryway, a huge bicycle parking area and colorful murals on the walls. A small section of the exposed duct work is wrapped with a sort of decorative duct tea cozy knit by an artist who sells on the site.

As Etsy grows, policing the site becomes more important, says Chad Dickerson, who replaced one of Etsy's co-founders as chief executive last summer. Consumers want "a sense of authenticity and buying from people who they know," he says.

Without the handmade shopping experience, "Etsy loses its core," says Mr. Dickerson.

Online sales of "handicrafts" like sewing, woodworking and making jewelry are expected to reach $2.2 billion in 2016, up from $1.4 billion in 2011, growing faster than the approximately $30 billion handicraft industry overall, says a report on Etsy by GreenCrest Capital Management LLC, a firm that analyzes private companies.

Etsy seller Jaime Core says the company sent her an email with a "long" survey asking about her items, specifically a soy strawberry candle. The survey requested the names and ages of anyone working with her in her candle-making business and for step-by-step photos of her production process. "I was flipping out," says Ms. Core, 26, from Orlando, Fla. About two hours after she sent in the photos and answers, Etsy responded by email: "Thanks for being part of the Etsy community," she says. It didn't close her shop. She says she doesn't know why her candles were flagged. Julian Wong, a manager of the Etsy integrity and safety teams, says, "We open up dialogues with sellers and most instances (well over 80%) result in outcomes like Jaime's."

Enforcing the rules is "sort of a crazy part of our business," says Dan Christofferson, marketing director of Etsy rival Big Cartel, a website in Salt Lake City, Utah., that helps artists and crafters create online shops.

Some cases are clear-cut. A shop of Nazi-themed T-shirts will be taken down instantly, says Mr. Christofferson. But when employees found a seller listing "molds of their naked body," company employees debated if the shop should be closed, says Mr. Christofferson.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Molding manufacturer in china. They decided it wasn't "real pornography," which violates the site's rules, he says.

In the last year, Etsy, by far the largest global online crafts retailer, almost doubled the size of its policing staff to 16 people. Most of its hires are experts in a specific area—say, handbag making or vintage goods—so they can "help us ask the right questions,If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses." of potential problem sellers, says Kruti Patel Goyal, director of Etsy's policing groups.

"Our team is now reviewing seven times more accounts overall each week" versus the same week last year, said Ms. Patel Goyal, in a February blog post on Etsy's company blog. Etsy declined to specify the number of accounts.

What Would You Do If You Got Superpowers?

When I was a young boy, I yearned for super powers. After watching The Adventures of Superman on TV, starring George Reeves as the Man of Steel, I would put on my t-shirt with a big ‘S’ on the front, tie a towel around my neck as a cape, and make every effort to fly around the house. On more than one occasion, I actually prayed and asked God to give me super powers. I promised to use them I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile.to help people. But, mostly, I just wanted to fly. Thankfully, I did not have the privilege of watching shows like Jackass, which might have encouraged me to try flying off the roof. No, I was stuck with my mortal powers . . . still am, as a matter of fact.

But, I wonder what I would do if I got superpowers. What if I could fly? What if I could leap tall buildings in a single bound? What if I could crawl up walls like a spider or stretch myself as if made of miraculous rubber? What would I do? What would I be?

According to the recent spate of superhero movies, chances are I would become a paragon of virtue, wisdom, and courage. I would be willing to sacrifice my life to save others. And this would be true, regardless of how self-centered and amoral I had been before my miraculous transformation.

Consider the case of the Green Lantern in the recent movie called, sensibly enough, Green Lantern. I won’t be spoiling much by telling you that this movie tells the story of Hal Jordan, a self-centered and obnoxious fighter pilot who is chosen by a magic ring to become a Green Lantern, a guardian of justice and harmony in the universe. Right before our very eyes, a man who might best be described as a jerk becomes a virtuous, wise, selfless hero who is willing to die for the sake of others. Yet,Find a Plastic moulds Manufacturer and Supplier. the movie gives us very little reason to believe that this should have happened. It seems more plausible to believe that a man was endowed with astronomical superpowers than that he instantly changed his entire character and value system. My son, the one of boyhood Superman fame, warned me that Green Lantern wasn’t a good film. I should have heeded his warning.

Some movies try to provide a rationale for their superhero’s exemplary character. Spider-Man, for example, tells the story of a young man who was raised in a loving, moral family. When, after receiving his arachnid-like powers, he uses them for selfish purposes, he pays a high price in the death of his beloved uncle, a death he could have prevented with less self-absorption. Plus, Uncle Ben left Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man with sage advice, “Remember, with great power. comes great responsibility.”

The 2011 film, Captain America, tries in a different way to explain the moral fiber of its superhero. In this case, Steve Rogers, who becomes Captain America through he wonders of science, is chosen precisely because of his ethical standards. He is courageous, with a strong sense of justice, and a lack of desire to kill people, even the bad guys. Thus, the willingness of Captain America to give up his own life for others makes sense.

The recent movie, Chronicle, tells a different story altogether.The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking. When three high-school aged boys gain superpowers, at first they continue to be more or less the same boys.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china.If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses. Their personalities don’t change. Nor do their values. They do not envision using their powers to help others. Rather, they simply want to enjoy their superhuman endowments and, if possible, become more popular with their peers, especially girls. But in one of the boys, the one whose family is painfully dysfunctional, superpowers simply magnify his own moral confusion. He is not miraculously transformed into a superhuman do-gooder. Rather, he becomes dangerous, a genuine mortal threat.

Left turned banned on Davenport Street

There was a rare split vote at Monday’s Somerville borough council meeting over whether to prohibit left turns onto Main St. from vehicles heading south on Davenport St.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the measure which is designed to ease potential accidents at the intersection until the state installs a traffic light later this year. When the light is installed,If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses. left turns will be allowed again.

Council member Thompson Mitchell thought the borough’s Traffic and Parking Committee should make a recommendation to the council before any action was taken. Mitchell made a motion to table the proposal and it was seconded by Dennis Sullivan before the motion was defeated 3-2.Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold.

The proposal was introduced at the last council meeting and Mitchell said he thought the measure wouldn’t be adopted until after the Traffic and Parking Committee studied the problem.

Mayor Brian Gallagher made a plea to the council to not wait since a hazard exists for motorists and pedestrians. He urged the council to pass it now before the Friday night old cars resumed cruising the street and an accident happens.

Sullivan said the problem can be fixed by closing the street to southbound traffic on Friday nights. “This is no different than a lot of other left-hand turns,” said Sullivan. “Why have an ordinance if it is only addressing a four-hour time period?”

“I’m at a loss as to why there is this much conversation about this,” said Gallagher. “I can tell you I’ve already seen a number of accidents there.”

“I might very well be voting to support this two weeks from tonight after Parking and Traffic has reviewed it,” said Mitchell, “But I feel it is premature to jump the gun on this.”

“It’s not just Friday nights we have this issue,” said Gallagher. “It’s a problem.”

The ordinance was passed with Mitchell and Sullivan voting no. Councilman Robert Wilson wasn’t present.

Also during the meeting, the council was given an update on the Division St. project by Colin Driver, director of Economic Development for the borough. Driver said the work is up to four or fives days behind schedule, mainly due to custom molds that will put patterns in the sidewalks. They were to be delivered Monday but now they should be delivered next Monday.Plastic Injection moulds as well as other dies. He said the contractor thinks they should still make the deadline to have the street ready for the Arts on Division event in May.

“The last thing we want to do is to push them once they start pouring concrete,” said Driver. “This thing is going to last a long time and we want to do it right.”

Mayor Gallagher briefed the council on the county’s proposal for consolidated police force. He said he wants to put together a committee to study the proposal and make a recommendation to the council. He said the committee proceedings should be done in the open and invited VilleTV to tape the meetings.

Pay stations are being installed in parking lots #4 and #6.We specialize in providing offshore merchant account and third party merchant account payment solutions to international businesses. A pay station will also be installed on the north end of Division St. The stations in parking lot #4, which is between Main St. and Veterans Memorial Drive and close to Division St., will serve parkers on Division St.The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking.

After the meeting, borough clerk/administrator Kevin Sluka said Westfield is using the same company for pay stations and they are doing a pilot program where people can pay for parking through a smartphone app. It would eliminate the need for people to go to a pay station that might not be in the direction they are walking.

Al-Shater's economic policies may attract US support

While it remains unclear how well last minute contenders Omar Suleiman and Khairat Al-Shater will do in the presidential election, experts argue that the US is leaning towards the latter for his economic policies.

In post-Mubarak Egypt, the US administration was forced to engage in dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood which dominated the parliamentary elections and emerged as a front-runner for the presidential polls.There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System.

Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, explains that there are clearly some candidates who are viewed as far more challenging to US-Egyptian relations. He cited ultraconservative Hazem Abu Ismail, if he stays on the ballot.

“But the US does not have a favorite candidate.Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. It does want to see further economic liberalization in Egypt; there are fears that populism would be unsustainable,” Brown said.

“Here it is Al-Shater's policy positions, not his wealth, that the US finds reassuring. The Freedom and Justice Party – perhaps because of Al-Shater's leading role – has begun to sketch out some detailed policy positions in economics,” he explained.

The US however has kept a low profile and remains tight-lipped about the candidacy of both Al-Shater and Suleiman, drawing uncertainty over who it will support.

“Suleiman's candidacy is a surprise; his victory would plunge Egypt back into a pre-revolutionary position and might be bad for the country's stability,” Brown added. “I see no evidence that the US is backing him.”

Earlier this week, Al-Shater made his first official media appearance in a press conference, throwing his campaign’s weight over the economic developments he is set to achieve if elected.

“It’s very important that, within the current gap we’re facing now, to depend on local, Arab and foreign investments in development programs,” Shater said. “Some people with ideological agendas might ask, ‘Engineer Khairat supports privatization and private sector?’ I say there is no other choice for Egyptians except to focus on financing a great deal of development projects outside the state budget.”

According to a former Brotherhood member Haitham Abou Khalil, who has close ties inside the movement, a number of closed meetings took place between Al-Shater and officials from the US administration including Senator John McCain last February.

Khalil explains that during the meeting with McCain, Al-Shater assured the US administration that if he is to win the election,We are professional Plastic Mould. he would ensure a growth of foreign and private investments in Egypt.
Earlier this month, a US congressional delegation met with Al-Shater, underlining that their talks were “interesting and enlightening.”

The five-member delegation, headed primarily by representatives from the Democratic Party, however downplayed the meeting, saying they had pre-scheduled the meeting with Al-Shater before his nomination for Egypt’s top post.

“As far as Al-Shater goes, he certainly has given reassuring signals to the US in two areas: economic policy and Camp David. On the first, he seems to be leading the Brotherhood in a liberal direction. On the second, he also seems to be part of the Brotherhood’s efforts – however reluctant – to insist that the treaty will be honored (though renegotiated),” Brown explained.

“That is enough to make him seem less threatening to the US. But I certainly don't see him, or anyone else, as America's candidate.”

Local newspaper Al-Shorouk’s deputy editor Wael Gamal echoed Abou Khalil’s claim of a meeting between Al-Shater and McCain,Find beautiful landscape oil paintings here. however, he said that the Brotherhood later denied this discussion.

Gamal added that it’s a common knowledge that the Brotherhood still maintains close relationships with the Mubarak-era businessmen, inviting them to official events.

“What we cannot ignore is that the Brotherhood is using the same economic policies that the people rose against,” Gamal said. “They don’t want to create a conflict with corrupt businessman. Whatever Al-Shater had to say during his press conference is a guarantee to all businessmen in the country that ‘we will not come near you’.”

Magda Kandil, director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, explained that Egypt’s economic problems can be attributed to privatization in addition to the deterioration of the public sector.

She explained further that if the Brotherhood is serious about addressing unemployment and the current economic situation they have to follow the right model which is not only privatizing companies but also creating a balance between the need to reform the public-private institutions in Egypt’s economy.

“Al-Shater is known to have a good network of business relations around the globe which then might help the economy with investments,” Kandil said. “Yet to say whether the US supports him for this [economic strategy] is very difficult to say, it may be that they are trying to capitalize on his potential business network.”

On the other hand, Marina Ottaway, a Carnegie Endowment senior associate, says that the US administration does not favor the candidacy of Al-Shater, given his affiliation to the Brotherhood.

“The US is worried about the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood,” she said, “because it recognizes that it is a rising power that can no longer be ignored, but that does not mean that it is happy about the situation. The rumors that the United States supports Al-Shater are based on a deep misunderstanding of the US position.”

Abu Khalil agrees with Ottaway, describing the US as the “snake” that only aims to reach its target,First Impressions sells silicone molds. explaining that the US administration cannot limit its ties with Egypt through the rulers only but molds itself to whatever the Egyptian people prefer.

Range Rover Evoke excels in design

Range Rover caused a stir by unveiling its LRX concept SUV in early 2008,There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. but automotive journalists know all too well that the lust-at-first-sight is often tempered by engineering and production line realities. Safety standards and tooling costs can conspire to dilute the purity of the designer’s vision, resulting in a disappointing compromise by the time the vehicle is on the market.

Thankfully, there are occasions when the process is so well thought out that the transition from design concept to dealership showroom delivers a vehicle true to itself. Range Rover has produced one of the finest examples of this: the 2012 Evoque.This could be possible with the assistance of offshore merchant account.

“The all-new Range Rover Evoque has received an overwhelming reception following its public debuts in Paris and Los Angeles,” Land Rover’s global brand director John Edwards said in a press release. “Many prospective buyers are customers who have not considered Land Rover before, and yet are excited by the unique design, premium technologies and compact size that the Evoque offers.”

Conceived as a stylish fuel-efficient SUV, the Evoque comes in two body styles: a five-door hatch and a two-door coupe.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? (I tested the latter.) Evoques are available in Pure, Prestige (five-door only) or Dynamic design themes, Pure being the base model and closest to the LRX. The Prestige version focuses on additional luxury, while the Dynamic iteration achieves higher performance levels.

The Evoque simply excels in its sense of design. The exterior shape is so close to the LRX concept that the Evoque cannot help but turn heads wherever it goes.

The bold front end features few Range Rover styling cues other than the chrome letters across the leading edge of the hood. Multi-element,FIRMAR is a Malaysia Injection Moulding Manufacturer. adaptive HID headlights with automatic high beam assist squint from under the edge of the hood and frame the blacked-out grille.

Large LED driving lamps are a very nice feature, floating in the middle of gaping air vents. A secondary grille lies between the massive bumper and a silver-toned lower valance, giving the Evoque a wee bit of a British bulldog look.

The side profile reveals a dramatic profile thanks to the combination of a rising beltline and a very low roofline. The Evoque sits quite high over its 20-inch alloy wheels (Sparkle finish $2,150) which gives a hint of the SUV’s off-road capabilities. The test vehicle had the optional Santorini Black contrast panoramic roof ($730) which comes with black pillars and door frames. With the darkly tinted side windows and brilliant white pearl paint on the body, the Evoque exuded black-tie class.

The rear end naturally has a high kick-up thanks to the short rear window, high beltline and a lower rear valance in the same silver tone as the front. The rear LED tail lights are surprisingly restrained in size compared to many SUVs today, but they perfectly suit the Evoque’s proportions.

The interior design is what you would expect given the exterior styling – bold, sporty and luxurious. Low roofline notwithstanding, the panoramic glass roof admits plenty of ambient light and dispels any fears of claustrophobia. The high window sill does pose a challenge, however, when paying tolls or reaching out for a coffee at a Tim Horton’s drive-through window.

The instruments are logically placed and, thankfully, not concept-car weird. The central eight-inch touch display screen relays all additional information while the 825-watt Surround Sound Audio System by Meridian uses no less than 17 speakers to soothe your soul. There is an additional five-inch TFT colour Driver Information Screen behind the leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Range Rover sourced the Evoque’s power plant from Ford, placing their 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood. With a six-speed automatic transmission and the Si4 all-wheel drive delivering 240 horsepower, the Evoque is adequately quick but not as exciting to drive as the bodywork might suggest. With Drive Select, an advanced rotary gearshift, a large knob rises up from the console when the engine is switched on; gears are selected by turning the knob. Rally-style paddle shifters enable the driver to be proactive in the gear-shifting.

In my time with the coupe, there was an undesirable hump of turbo lag that deadened the throttle response from a standing start and then a rush of power that made smooth driving in city traffic somewhat difficult.Creative stone mosaic for your distinctive kitchen and bath.

Chocolatier’s Chops Challenged on 'Sweet Genius'

Being among the select few chosen to compete on a national food network show alongside premier dessert chefs is most astonishing to Middletown’s newest chocolatier, who did exactly that.

Rob Tschudin Lucheme, owner of Tschudin Chocolates and Confections on Main Street,Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. says he’s not so far off from his days as an apprentice to this culinary trade.

“I’m only two and a half years into this and the fact that the Food Network even considered me and I made it through the first auditions is pretty much a miracle,” he says of appearing on tonight’s episode of “Sweet Genius.”

In a flash of humility, Lucheme wonders, “Why would you put somebody on who’s as inexperienced as I am?”

In fact, Lucheme hadn’t even seen the show when he received a call before Christmas from a casting agent scouting contestants — that’s because he’s often still working at 10 p.m. when it airs on the Food Network. The show, now in its second season, hosted by Ron Ben-Israel, chef-owner of the couture cake shop in New York City.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china. In fact, the Glastonbury resident doesn’t even own a television and will likely watch tonight’s show at a local bar or his daughter’s home.

Like Ben-Israel, a former professional modern dancer with art training and a military background, Lucheme is a Renaissance man — an immigration lawyer and former chef at the five-star Cavey’s Italian and French restaurant in Manchester and now a veritable culinary scientist.

He still practices law part-time in Glastonbury but most of his time is spent at Tschudin Chocolates on Main Street. “I’m 900 percent here and 10 percent there,” Lucheme says. For nearly three years, he’s run with employees who are more like apprentices — almost a dozen have graduated culinary schools like the CIA and French Culinary Institute in New York and Johnson and Wales’ College of Culinary Arts and have gotten jobs at major bakeries

He’s a tough boss. “In training, they have to put in a lot of effort,” Lucheme says. “Half of them wash out on the first day.” He’s patient but firm with his apprentices, who range from high school to college-age and are paid minimum wage, but Lucheme says, reap far higher benefits.

“There’s got to be something in it for them,” he explains. “They have access to my complete library of molecular gastronomy texts, they can read the books, study whatever they want to study and use the computer here.”

In fact, Lucheme considers “Sweet Genius” an opportunity for a business man with no advertising budget to speak of, a sort of guerilla marketing technique. “The idea is to get us on the map, to make sure these kids are in demand by increasing our reputation. It’s a counterbalance,” Lucheme says, to minimum wages.

He runs Tschudin Chocolates like an orchestra. In the small, cramped quarters of the shop, where hundreds of confectionery molds are stocked ceiling high, shelves of supplies are housed in see-through plastic tubs, a cooler and secondary refrigerator crouch near the entrance, three giant industrial chocolate tempering machines circulate dark, milk and white chocolate.

“Everybody keep an eye on the machine,” Lucheme tells his young employees,Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? who move easily around tight corners to plug in a stick blender here or snap on the gas burner there.Creative stone mosaic for your distinctive kitchen and bath. “Who has warm hands? I need someone to help with warming the butter.”

One girl helps a father select Easter chocolates for his 13-year-old daughter as another dries strawberries for dipping and a third wipes away fingerprints from the glass display cases then sweeps white chocolate bits from the floor.

“We had a very busy Easter,” Lucheme says.

The premise of “Sweet Genius,” is, according to the Food Network, four of America’s premier pastry chefs compete against one another through three rounds of challenges judged by Ben-Israel, along the way testing their creativity, ingenuity and imagination.

“The chefs are given surprise ingredients, an inspiration and a limited amount of time … to create a chocolate, candy and cake dessert.There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. The winners from each round will advance for a final test, with Ben-Israel crowning the remaining chef Sweet Genius and receiving a $10,000 cash prize.”

Naturally, Lucheme is sworn to secrecy on details of his experience and the outcome of the show. He did reveal the chocolate mousse cakes seemingly inspired by Damien Hirst’s spot paintings or Yayoi Kusama’s polka dots which are shown in the introduction to his episode. Lucheme has several of the decadent cakes ready for sale after customers see them on tonight’s show (see photo).

Lucheme and the three chef competitors are challenged to use pink lemonade in their flamingo-inspired chocolate desserts for the first test, in the episode titled “Puzzle Genius,” according to the Food Network. Three advance onto the next challenge where they tackle a favorite childhood puzzle for inspiration by creating candy from sweet fruit chews and goat’s milk. “With a royal palace as the inspiration for the final round, the remaining two chefs must make cakes with jackfruit and galangal.”

Jackfruit is a large fibrous tree fruit found in Asia, Brazil, East Africa and the Caribbean similar in taste to a tart banana and galangal is from the ginger family but has more of a peppery taste. Both are popular ingredients in Thai food.

St. John’s Wort Health Benefits: A Better State Of Mind

St. John’s Wort is a bushy plant native mainly to Europe and the western United States. It has been used as an herbal remedy since the Middle Ages. It was named after St. John the Baptist, and was originally believed to have magical powers to protect one from evil.

St. John’s Wort is best known as a mood elevator, often used as a mild anti-depressant, and has no reported side effects that antidepressant prescription drugs tend to have. In addition to mild depression, St. John’s Wort has been shown to be effective in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is a kind of depression normally associated with the winter months where daylight is of limited duration. St. John’s Wort should not be used in combination with other antidepressant drugs.

St. John’s Wort also has antiviral and antibacterial properties,There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. so effective that it is being investigated as a treatment for AIDS.

St. John’s Wort is known to repair nerve damage and reduce pain and inflammation. It helps sooth the digestive system and is effective for relief of menstrual cramps, sciatica, and arthritis. It is also used to treat ulcers, gastritis, diarrhea and nausea, incontinence in adults, and bedwetting in children. St. John’s Wort can be used externally as a disinfectant for cuts, and applied to sprains, bruises, and varicose veins.

St. John’s Wort is a perennial shrub that is found around the world. The yellow flowers from the shrub are dried, then used as the herbal treatment St. John’s Wort is best known for. In Europe St. John’s Wort has been used for hundreds of years to treat wounds of the psyche and body.

Americans only began using St. John’s Wort during the past couple of decades.Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. In the United States St. John’s Wort is used primarily in the treatment of depression. In Germany, unlike America, St. John’s Wort is prescribed by physicians more often than drugs like Paxil or Zoloft because St. John’s Wort features much milder side effects.Find a Plastic moulds Manufacturer and Supplier.

Though numerous studies have been done on the effectiveness of St. John’s Wort in recent years, it is still not understood just how St. John’s Wort works. St. John’s Wort appears to raise the levels of serotonin in the human brain, a neurotransmitter that influences our feelings of well-being.

Although St. John’s Wort itself is regarded as a safe herbal treatment, taken with antidepressant medications like Prozac St. John’s Wort can bring on severe side effects. Despite being available over the counter,China Crystal Mosaic catalog and crystal mosaic manufacturer directory. it should not be taken in combination with other medicines, or by itself, without first consulting a physician.

Another possible negative interaction can occur when St. John’s Wort is taken along with oral contraceptives. Because St. John’s Wort may decrease the effectiveness of this form of birth control,Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold. sound medical advice is needed before taking St. John’s Wort with an oral contraceptive.

Side effects specific to St. John’s Wort may include upset stomach, fatigue, and dizziness. Most individuals, however, experience no negative side effects.

Center hall colonial close to Westport center

The location of the colonial house at 1 Chelsea Court in Westport makes it ideal for access to public amenities, retail shops and restaurants, transportation, entertainment and recreational facilities.

The five-bedroom house, which was built in 1960, has immediate proximity to Compo Road South via Park Lane.

That makes it within easy walking distance to downtown Westport and therefore to the library, town hall, the Westport Historical Society, Westport Country Playhouse, Winslow Park and any number of boutiques and other retail shops.

In the other direction, the house is only an easy bicycle ride to Longshore Club Park and Compo Beach.

Commuters take note as the house sits in a location that is about equidistant from the Merritt Parkway and I-95 and from the Saugatuck and Greens Farm Metro North train stations.

The beige, wood-shingle exterior of the house has white trim and dark green shutters.

The gabled roof house sits on a corner lot of 0.42 acres. The property has a combination of level and sloping areas. A portion of the yard is enclosed behind a natural wood fence,Master Arts specialises in oil painting reproduction. which has a gate.

On the rear of the house is a sizable wood deck that runs almost the entire length of the structure, the perfect spot for outdoor dining, entertaining or relaxing.

The paved driveway is lined in Belgian block and leads to the attached two-car garage which is topped with a sailboat weathervane, a nod to the water community of Westport. The front of the house is lined with rhododendron bushes.

Inside, there is 2,You can find best china Precision injection molds manufacturers from here!852 square feet of living space. It was originally built as a little colonial "that took on a whole new attitude with its new addition," the Realtor said. The addition doubled the square footage, adding the living and family rooms and two bedrooms above them.

This is a true center hall colonial. The front entrance leads into the foyer, which extends from the front door to the back of the house where there are sliding doors to the huge rear deck.

There are hardwood floors in many rooms. Others have wall-to-wall carpeting, and there are three fireplaces. The back-to-back living and family rooms share a double-sided fireplace.

The third one is in the second-floor master bedroom and that one has a polished marble hearth.

The large formal dining room has bead board on the lower walls and chair railing.

Pocket doors separate the dining room from the cook's kitchen, which has a ceramic tile floor, and an eat-in area.We are a dedicated cheapest Aion Kinah.

From the kitchen there is access to the laundry room,Johnson Tiles UK offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online. a half bath -- one of two on the first floor which is a great feature for entertaining -- and the garage.

The garage has a pull-down ladder to a loft storage space.

On the second floor, the master bath has a skylight, walk-in shower and an over-sized square spa tub.

The master bedroom has a cathedral ceiling,The indoor Tracking is based on Bluetooth technology. skylight and the fireplace is flanked by his-and-hers walk-in closets.

There are four more bedrooms on this floor. The one that is the smaller of the five would be a great office.