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.Dimensional Mailing magiccubes for Promotional Advertising,

So I stood there confused. I reached over with my other hand and touched it with a tentative finger.GOpromos offers a wide selection of promotional items and personalized gifts. 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.Choose from our large selection of cableties, 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, 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. 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. 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,Learn all about solarpanel. 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,Find the cheapest chickencoop online through and buy the best hen houses and chook pens in Australia. 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.

Taiwan media fight highlights concern over big media, China ties

A Taiwanese tycoon with big business interests in China is causing alarm as he tries to expand his media empire on the democratic island.

Want Want Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng is trying to purchase a cable TV network system in a $2.4 billion deal that would significantly bolster his influence in Taiwan. But regulators have held up approval for almost 18 months amid concerns that Want Want’s China Times subsidiary is becoming too powerful.

Tsai purchased the China Times stable of media outlets for $650 million in 2008. It includes the flagship China Times daily newspaper, China TV, and the CTI cable news station.

Adding to the deal’s controversy, a rival media mogul is attacking Tsai over his close ties to China. Jimmy Lai,Proxense's advanced handsfreeaccess technology. publisher of the Apple Daily newspaper, says Want Want’s China business interests — the company’s fortune originated with food sales on the mainland — and his pronounced pro-Beijing views should scuttle his application to acquire Taiwan’s China Network Systems. The broadcaster provides cable service to 1.There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle,18 million TV households,Buy high quality bedding and bed linen from Yorkshire Linen.Broken chinamosaic Table. or a quarter of the island’s total.

Lai is not the only one with doubts. Many Taiwanese fear that China is using big Taiwanese business interests to advance its agenda of bringing the island back under its control. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing continues to regard democratic Taiwan as part of its territory. During the four year administration of recently re-elected President Ma Ying-jeou, China leveraged billions of dollars in Taiwanese imports and substantial Chinese tourist spending to substantially increase its economic sway here.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China.

Journalism professor Kuang Chung-hsiang of National Chung Cheng University in southern Taiwan said that media purchases on the island tend to be made more for reasons of personal influence than for profit, because of the relatively small size of the market, and that seems the case with the CNS deal too.

“Tsai apparently hopes that his influence in Taiwan will bolster his stature in China to aid his mainland business,” he said.

Tsai raised hackles earlier this year when he told a Washington Post reporter that China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square didn’t produce anywhere near the number of casualties attributed to it by international media reports, including those from Taiwan.

He also said that Taiwan’s unification with the mainland was inevitable, a position that no political party on the island — including President Ma’s China-friendly Nationalists — publicly accepts.

Lai, whose anti-China views have made him a pariah in Beijing, is pillorying the proposed China Network Systems acquisition in the pages of Apple Daily. A recent headline declared: “Taiwan cannot afford to have only the sole voice of Want Want left.” It was accompanied by a caricature of a smiling Tsai sitting next to a pile of outsized gold coins, representing his various media outlets.

Other Apple attacks have included accusations that the China Times newspaper has given undue coverage to Chinese purchasing missions in Taiwan, and has allowed itself to be used as a platform for Chinese advertising that presents itself as news, recently ruled illegal by Taiwanese regulators.

Educator takes kids on voyages of discovery

On the wall hangs a traffic light that Pisani pulled out of a trash bin and he wired back to life. There’s a lawn mower that has been brought in for repair and a good-sized wooden playhouse in the corner.

From the ceiling hang student crafted miniature hot air balloons, the vessels that will live in the student’s imagination the entire year as they go on a pretend journey around the world. Along the walls are ancient Greek inspired paper mache jars, a didgeridoo and mosaic art created by students.

On an afternoon during spring break,The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good ， three boys leaned over a chest board pondering the next move, a girl sat in a pillow-filled claw-foot bathtub reading a book and a group of girls dipped candles into melted wax.

In such an environment, it’s no wonder that Virgie Alexander’s grandchildren turn down time at her house so they can attend Pisani’s after-school program.

“He makes it a place where they want to be,” said Virgie Alexander,Aeroscout stone mosaic provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. whose two grandchild loved Pisani’s after-school program. “My grandson would rather go to Hilltop because he says ‘we are doing such and such’ and he doesn’t want to miss it.”

Since 1995 Pisani has been the lead teacher for Hilltop’s Jayhawk Room. It’s a job that requires Pisani to juggle the interest and intellectual levels of first through fifth graders for several hours everyday after school and all day during the summer.

“Every day is different.Overview description of rapid tooling processes. Every day is fun. It’s just a great job to have,” Pisani said.

For Alexander, what makes Pisani’s classroom so exceptional is that it is basically a one-room school house. Older students are asked to be leaders and helpers for the younger ones as they all learn together.

To keep student’s interested year after year, Pisani will devise an imaginary trip. Some years, the class travels through space. Other times it’s driving an RV across the United States or a sailing ship adventure. He has even devised a machine to travel back in time.

Those trips intertwine woodworking, cooking, sewing, social studies, science and history lessons.

“We try to teach some of the things that can’t be taught in elementary schools anymore,” Pisani said.

When not leading around the world adventures, Pisani does maintenance work at Hilltop and drives a van that picks up the students from their schools.

Pisani never planned to get into childhood education. He attended Hilltop as a child while his mother worked toward a master degree in early childhood education.

As a KU student looking for work, Pisani heard about a part-time aide position at Hilltop. He’d work with kids in the past as a soccer coach and volunteered at childcare summer programs.

He applied for the job and never left. In 1993, Pisani became the assistant teacher in the Jayhawk Room and took over as the lead teacher in 1995.

Pisani earned a degree from KU in anthropology, which didn’t offer much training in child care, but did provide plenty of ideas on ways to ignite the imagination of elementary school children.

This year, the class is on the Jules Verne-inspired “Around the World in 80 Days” adventure. Each week, the class travels to a new place.

A few weeks ago, the class visited Asia,Find beautiful goose jackets here.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. where they learned how to make sushi, Japanese fans, Nepalese prayer flags and models of Chinese terracotta warriors. Before spring break they went to Australia, where they crafted didgeridoos and bullroares. Pisani was in the process of planning a journey to the Pacific Islands, where students would learned about the Easter Islands, South Pacific food and how to make ships in a bottle.

Pisani spends a good deal of time watching educational shows on the History Channel or National Geographic, which inspire many of the projects he introduces in the classroom.

“I would say the most fun part is that I get to take part in all the activities,” Pisani said. “I don’t have any kids myself, so it is sort of like having kids.”

Having different themes each year helps Pisani make sure he keeps the class fresh. Until this year, the after-school program was opened to first- through sixth-graders.

“It is kind of hard with a class of first- through (sixth-) graders, you can’t repeat anything for six years. You have to have six year’s worth of activities,” he said.

Delicious mushrooms get even better when stuffed

Mushrooms, like politics, can be polarizing. Supporters praise their flavor as fragrant, earthy. They love the meaty texture of portobello, the woodsy taste of shiitake. They point to an illustrious history: The Pharaohs prized mushrooms as a delicacy; the Greeks believed mushrooms gave them strength; the Romans considered mushrooms a gift from God; the Chinese used them as medicine.

The anti-mushroom factioWelcome to projectorlamp.n slams this ancient fungi for one reason alone: taste. To naysayers, mushrooms taste like rubber tires, or worse, like mold.

"The response to mushrooms does get a little visceral. People seem to love them, or not," said Justin Davis of Betty's Nosh, a Glendale eatery with a mushroom bar. According to research, "lovers" are gaining momentum,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. with U.S. sales of mushrooms increasing over the past three years by about 4 to 6 percent per year, reports FreshLook Marketing.

The reasons are many. First, mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium. At the same time, they provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin D. New research shows mushrooms also may help protect against some cancers.

Their appeal extends beyond health to the kitchen, as well.Offers Art Reproductions Fine Art oilpaintings Reproduction, Mushrooms hold up well to multiple cooking methods, including stir-frying, sauteing, grilling and roasting. Mushrooms are routinely tossed into soups, salads, omelets and sandwiches.

And, of course, some of the best mushrooms come stuffed.Find rubberhose companies from India. From tequila shrimp in portobello to a vegetarian black bean in a white button, stuffed mushrooms move easily from the cocktail tray to the dinner table.

"Stuffed mushrooms never go out of style and can be an appetizer or a complete meal," said chef Ray Romero, who stuffs mushrooms at Betty's Nosh with chicken and capers, crab meat and Alfredo sauce, sausage and marinara, tuna and Swiss.Learn all about solarpanel.

Mushrooms can impart their own flavor or take on the flavor of other ingredients. And, as with all fresh foods, quality matters. Buy firm, plump mushrooms free of spots and slime. Refrigerate mushrooms in their original container or a paper bag for up to a week.

Mushrooms contain about 89 to 90 percent water, so wash only just before preparing or risk soggy mushrooms.

When stuffing mushrooms, bigger is better. Water-logged mushrooms shrink when cooked, so regular-size white mushrooms can be too small for stuffing. Opt for portobello, large white button or cremini mushrooms.

Mushrooms - whether boiled, grilled or baked - must be cooked before being stuffed. To bake, place mushroom shells on an oiled baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees until they begin releasing some of their liquid. Remove mushrooms and pat dry with paper towels before stuffing. Always cook meats, chicken or fish before stuffing and heating.

There's no shortage of stuffed-mushroom recipes, but they are easy to make off the cuff with a few favorite ingredients. Love enchiladas? Add fillings to mushrooms instead of wrapping in tortillas.

At the mushroom bar, Romero constantly creates new combinations of stuffing.

"I like to give our mushroom eaters lots of different choices," he said, "and try and change the minds of those who say they don't. There's just something about a stuffed mushroom that's hard to beat."

Agoura High Solar Panels Voted Down

A plan for solar carports to be installed at the faculty parking lot at Agoura High School and the western end of Calabasas High will never see the light of day.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District Board voted unanimously in opposition to the plan Wednesday, which would have committed the school district to a 20-year agreement with Borrego Solar Systems Inc.

A handful of Old Agoura residents took to the podium in opposition to the plan, citing mostly aesthetic concerns.

“We were told we would own this equipment in 20 years, but we all know it will be obsolete in half that time,” said Larry Brown, longtime Agoura Hills resident, to the board. “… The real people who have bothered to educate themselves on this project I think want you to reject it because it’s not financially, practically or aesthetically justified.”

Borrego Solar would have installed the carports for free and sold electricity back to the schools at a fixed rate of 19 cents a kilowatt. Combined together, the solar carports from each of the two schools would have saved the district around $33,000 a year based on estimates on the rising cost of energy, provided by district staff.Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. The Agoura Hills carport would have required the cutting down of several large trees.

It’s obvious that whoever presented the list of pros and cons at the community meeting at Agoura High was in favor of this plan, said June Slayton, Agoura Hills resident.

“If this happens, it would be offensive to the neighborhood and impossible to live with,” said Slayton to the board.Ekahau timelocationsystem is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network.

Slayton said unlike solar panels used in Taft High School,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.Kitchen floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. the panels at Agoura High would be in a residential and rural area. The community would be impacted both aesthetically and from the lights the solar carports would produce.

“In Old Agoura and Calabasas—these are residential and rural areas. I am sensitive to the aesthetic.There is no de facto standard for an indoor positioning system. ...I think the visual impact is out of place in these areas,” said Lesli Stein, school board vice president.

Adding these plans at a time when residents are concerned over the building of a performance center is not fair to the community based on the minimum savings of the proposal, said Stein.

Performance arts centers are currently being constructed at both schools, and the one at Calabasas High is near completion.

“We need to be good neighbors…. I will be voting down this project,” she said.

The majority of the school board voiced opposition to the plan also, citing the long term commitment, the small return on investment and “community upset.”

If built and installed for 30 years, the panels would have created the equivalent effect of removing 146 passenger vehicles from the road and planting 324 acres of trees in the area, according to a study presented at previous town hall meetings.

Igloo sees boost from innovation

After being purchased by a private equity firm 31/2 years ago, Katy-headquartered Igloo Products Corp. has invested $18 million in its local plant,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. raised salaries and hired new full-time staff.

It also has expanded into tents, camp chairs and other new products and revamped its core lineup of coolers by adding sizes, colors and features designed to make life easier on athletic fields and more fashionable at the grocery store. It's jumped, too, into the burgeoning segment of high-priced, high-performance chests.

Company executives say aggressive innovation in hard- and soft-sided products has boosted sales by upward of 40 percent since 2008, including a 100 percent jump internationally. Its share of the U.S. cooler market has grown to 45 percent, up from 38 percent two years ago.

“This is a really interesting company,” said Jeffrey Cartwright, who arrived in December as president and chief operations officer.

Executives of the privately run company declined to put a dollar figure on sales and profits, but they are clearly pleased with the results.

Igloo was founded on the prairie west of Houston in 1947 and began manufacturing metal water cans for oil field hands and other outdoor workers. Its first rectangular ice chests — metal, with plastic linings — came out in 1960. Within a few years, the outer shells were plastic, too.

Over the following decades, Igloo would become one of those companies,Find the cheapest chickencoop online through and buy the best hen houses and chook pens in Australia. like Kleenex and Xerox, that sees its name become synonymous with its product. Besides being a powerful brand, it made something that just about everybody purchases at some point.Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete?

Its biggest customer today is the retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, and Igloo is carried exclusively in some 41,000 storefronts.

But Gary Kiedaisch, chairman and CEO of Igloo, says by 2008 coolers had become just another commodity and Igloo was complacent.

That October, he said, it was an attractive acquisition for the New England-based J.H. Whitney & Co.

Kiedaisch, a former CEO of Coleman, brought in David Thornhill, whom he had worked with while there, to jump-start product development. Soon Igloo's familiar red-and-white and blue-and-white chests were available in myriad colors and designs; a model emblazoned with a U.S.Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. flag became a bestseller.

There were ergonomic changes and new features, as well. Five-gallon barrel-shaped coolers got wheels and telescoping handles and plastic risers on the bottom so they don't sit directly on the hot ground. Half-gallon beverage coolers now are available with hooks so they can hang on chain-link fences at the Little League field.

Paul Busch, a veteran marketing professor at Texas A&M University,A wireless indoortracking system is described in this paper. said that kind of thoughtful product development is challenging — “innovation is very difficult,” he said — but critical to meeting the demands of retailers and consumers.

He cited as a successful example the decision to put wheels on coolers, which Igloo did in 1994.

“Now,” Busch said, “it's pretty ubiquitous.”

In its most recent push, Igloo has moved aggressively into soft-sided coolers. By expanding styles and sizes and adding colors and designs, it boosted soft-sided sales by 150 percent — and not just in lunch bags for the back-to-school set.

For example, the new Duo totes and insulated bags, some made of canvas with leather accents, are designed for fashion-conscious women to sling over their shoulders en route to the gym, the beach or the grocery store.

Also new for 2012 is a line of tents and chairs for camping. Kiedaisch said the extension makes sense.

“We looked at every activity that happens within 50 feet of a cooler,” he said.

The high end

This spring, 65-year- old Igloo is paying attention to an ambitious Austin-based company called Yeti that since its founding in 2006 has built a devoted following selling high-endurance, premium-priced coolers to serious hunters and anglers.

By Igloo's own figures, Yeti is the only other player in the cooler market to increase its share since 2010.

Kiedaisch commended Yeti for proving there is demand for coolers that cost hundreds of dollars. He also applauded the company's successful “guerrilla marketing.”

All about Apple's new iPad

With a quad-core graphics processor and 1GB RAM, games and movies play smoothly on the new tablet, and the retina display with very high resolution adds to the experience.

The new iPad lands in stores on April 27, and all those who haven’t got an iPad or a tablet PC yet, but are considering to buy the device, could go and try the third-generation model that goes on sale on Friday. Like every other Apple device, the new iPad is anything but cheap. The new iPad Wi-Fi models, available in black or white, start at Rs 30,500 (including VAT) for the 16GB,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? Rs 36,500 for the 32GB and Rs 42,500 for the 64GB. Mind you, these are Wi-FI models, which means you need to have a Wi-Fi connection around you at all times to be able to put this tablet to good use. The iPad Wi-Fi & 4G iPad cost Rs 38,900 for 16GB, Rs 44,900 for the 32GB and Rs 50,900 for the 64GB.

The new tablet is practically indistinguishable from its predecessor, the iPad 2. There’s the 9.7-inch display, home button and camera on the front, a 30-pin connector at the bottom, power and headphone jack on top, orientation lock switch and volume rocker on the right and an aluminum back, speaker port and camera on the rear. The new model weighs about 50 grammes more than iPad 2 and yet it is the slickest tablets out there.

There are some very practical reasons why Apple has added to iPad’s weight. First, there’s a 70 per cent larger battery inside the new iPad (42.5-watt-hour versus 25-watt-hour in the iPad 2) which gives 10 hours of battery life while surfing the web on Wi-Fi and an estimated 9 hours of runtime on a cellular data network.

It’s easy to forget all about the extra weight on the new iPad and focus on its big positive — the big graphical improvements. Apple takes screen quality to a new high with the Retina display (as on iPhone 4). By Apple’s calculations, the new iPad offers four times the resolution of its predecessor (iPad 2 has 1024x768 pixel resolution). That’s why the new iPad requires a significant boost in horsepower (read CPU) to maintain that pixel density and a bigger battery.

So, Apple has got a new A5X processor. Argubaly, it is essentially identical to the older A5 in iPad 2, with dual core ARM Cortex A9s running at 1GHz. But,A Hybrid indoorpositioningsystem for First Responders. while iPad 2 utilises a dual core GPU, new iPad gets a quad core rendition. With a quad-core graphics processor and 1GB of RAM, games and movies fly on the new iPad.

All this simply translates into much sharper and clearer text and images. Another area where the Retina display shines is video playback. When playing the same video on an iPad 2 and a new iPad, the image on new iPad was brighter, more colorful and more detailed. The photographic experience on the iPad has been turned up too. Apple has junked the iPad 2’s primitive rear-facing camera in favor of a new five-megapixel sensor, plus optics and features borrowed from the iPhone 4S that include image stabilization and ability to shoot full high-definition video. Frills like dictation support may please some. The new iPad has a microphone icon on its virtual keyboard that can be pressed to dictate emails or other notes on the device. This feature requires user to speak slowly to get the dictation right and needs an internet connection.This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus;Proxense's advanced handsfreeaccess technology.Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete?

Last year was big for Android tablets, but the iPad commands its own sweet spot in tablet market and in 2012 the battle is not just between iOS & Android tablets but also with tablets on Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform. Until then, the new iPad gets our thumbs up.

First quarter was a swell quarter for deals

After a sluggish last half of 2011, investment bankers in Minnesota and around the country delivered nearly 3,A culture af Mizukabi molds.000 mergers and acquisitions in January,This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus; February and March, the most quarterly deals since the recession took hold in 2008.

Helped by surging equity markets and increased consumer confidence,Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. more companies also were able to raise capital in public stock offerings in the quarter.

"There's more appetite for risk than the fourth quarter of last year, when everybody thought the world was ending," said Rick Hartfiel,Overview description of rapid tooling processes. chief of investment banking at Craig-Hallum Capital.

The recent private sale by Spell Capital of Arctic Fox, a Delano-based manufacturer heating equipment that tripled operating profits in five years of ownership under the Minneapolis-based private equity firm. Arctic Fox makes equipment used in the booming oil industry from North Dakota to Russia.

Bill Spell, founder and president of Spell Capital, said prices are rising for quality companies with good prospects.

"Private equity firms have a lot of money to invest, and they don't want that money to go stale or to have to give it back to investors," Spell said. "It's becoming a little more challenging to find good manufacturing businesses at a reasonable price."

Spell said he's about to close on two deals for which he will pay about five times the annual cash flow generated by each company, which he considers a reasonable price.

Private equity buyers typically buy all or a controlling share of companies that need expansion or restructuring capital and some expertise. Private equity owners believe they can improve their target's performance and peddle them for a higher price in three to five years.Welcome to polishedtiles.

Meanwhile, the investment banking group at Piper Jaffray & Co. was busy in the first quarter helping to underwrite eight IPOs including Proto Labs. Piper also participated in nine follow-on offerings including the $1.2 billion offering for Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., the Hong Kong-based men's and women's luxury lifestyle brand.

Hartfiel, of Craig-Hallum Capital, recalled that 2011 also got off to a good start for deals, but capital markets stalled in the second half over fears of a slowing economy, the European debt crisis and gridlock in Washington, D.C., on reducing the deficit. This year feels different, he said.

"The market is not frothy yet. But the window is open and the financing environment feels a lot better than in the third and fourth quarters of last year,'' he said. He predicted more companies will go to the markets to raise capital.

"You'll see companies raising money after reporting good first-quarter earnings this month," he said. "This is a good environment, and investors are willing to take a look at new companies and lot of existing companies are trading around 52-week highs. And that's when companies want to finance."

Of the 39 initial public offerings that priced in the first quarter, 33 had positive returns, including Proto Labs.

As of March 31, there were 164 IPOs registered to go public on U.S. exchanges seeking more than $32 billion, according to Ernst & Young.

About 70 percent of IPOs in the first quarter raised less than $250 million. Ernst & Young said that reflects two trends: strong interest from private equity and venture capital firms in rolling out their holdings of small-capitalization companies; and renewed investor appetite for growth companies -- especially in the United States.

How Should Christians Approach Amendment One?

It is troubling that fellow Christians are contemplating a change to our state constitution that would limit civil rights.

Please consider Christ's living and loving example when you decide on May 8. Jesus gave us the greatest Commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.Ekahau timelocationsystem is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network." This is the first and greatest Commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the law and the prophets hang on these two Commandments.

Jesus reinterpreted the Old Testament, giving us a fuller and deeper understanding, an understanding that can only come through the perspective of love. He challenged those with a too-literal interpretation. The Ten Commandments were not given us to shield God's eyes from wrong behavior and protect us from divine wrath; they were given out of love so that people could live happier, more fulfilling lives.

God loves us. In the parable of the prodigal son,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? the father did not wait for an apology or inflict punishment. He ran to his returning son, embraced him and celebrated.

When the older brother became angry at what he perceived to be a lack of justice, the father told him the importance of his joy at being reunited with the lost brother.

If the father in this parable represents a loving God, to whom punishment is unimportant, we should follow that example and embrace and accept our fellow men and women for what they are, not what we might prefer them to be.

When Jesus was confronted by the scribes and Pharisees with a woman caught in the act of adultery, they reiterated Mosaic Law and its proscription that she be stoned.

Jesus dispersed the crowd by saying, "He that is without sin among you,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, let him first cast a stone at her." Then he said to her, "Neither do I condemn thee: Go, and sin no more."

Being a Christian is not about punishment; it is about doing the right thing and leading by example.

We may fall victim to our human vices again and again. What is important is that we do not give up, that we keep trying to follow the light as it has been given to us.

Jesus did not have to die to save us from the wrath of God. Why would God want to inflict pain and death upon the one he loved most?

How would that satisfy an almost unquenchable anger with the people he created,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? knowing that they had imperfections capable of generating the sort of behavior he later could not abide?

Jesus' Gospel of love revolutionizes our understanding of the Old Testament. Before Jesus, fear was necessary to keep people in line, and God's wrath to explain why his chosen people could suffer defeat and exile.

Jesus' death proves that God's love for us transcends even the human desire for life. It is a demonstration that life is fleeting, but the soul isn't and how we live our life is what allows us to become one with God, or can estrange us from him, which is the real punishment.

Science has amply demonstrated that homosexuality is primarily not a choice, but a natural condition some of us are born with. Some brains are wired differently. It is not a sin to be as God created us.

We have to understand the ancient culture and the reasons why society repressed homosexuality. Whatever our beliefs,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, times have changed. Knowledge and understanding have advanced. We must let others do what we may not choose to do ourselves, especially when not forced upon anyone.

Our own morality and minds should be strong enough that we can live and let live without being diminished in the slightest or demoralized in any way.

I understand feelings that our culture has in some ways degenerated and that a healthy dose of individual morality would be beneficial.

The better answer is not repression but dialogue across cultural lines, and agreement upon practical and effective ways to provide a pathway for those who wish to lift themselves up.

Let us not be hypocrites like the scribes and Pharisees, imposing the letter of an archaic law above the spirit of love that originally inspired it.

If God can create and love those among us who are different, we should not misuse state power to oppress and impinge upon the liberty of those who are living the life they were created to live and becoming the fullest divine creation they can be.

That includes the right to marry another adult, if one is blessed to find loving commitment with another, regardless of gender.

Spool-molder Mossberg expanding Indiana plant

Mossberg Industries a maker of plastic spools and reels, is expanding its headquarters plant in Garrett,Proxense's advanced handsfreeaccess technology. Ind., after the city council approved tax abatements April 17.A Hybrid indoorpositioningsystem for First Responders.

Mossberg will expand its 85,000-square-foot building by another 45,000 square feet, said Jim Khorshid, vice president.

“Our main goal is to improve product flow through the building. We’re going to be moving all our existing machinery lines in the new building, which will immensely help our product flow,” he said.

The addition will have a higher ceiling and an overhead crane.

Mossberg extrudes the cores for its spools, and injection molds the ends, called the flange. The company also molds pails.

Garrett City Council approved a $1.9 million tax abatement on construction improvements and a $250,000 abatement for equipment.

Khorshid said the equipment abatement includes more work to update an extrusion line, buy molds and possibly add an injection molding machine in the future.

Mossberg needs more capacity, and the addition gives company officials flexibility to add at least 10 more injection presses, if needed.

“We’re hoping to grow through time and we’d be able to meet any of our customers’ needs because we’ll have the space,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete?” Khorshid said.

Mossberg also runs a small plant in Ontario, Calif.This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus;

Mossberg used to make reels and spools out of steel and wood. Nearly a century ago, leading wire producers approached Eber Hubbard of the Chicago Manufacturing & Welding Co. He formed Hubbard Spool Co., to produce steel spools for packaging copper wire.

In 1970, Hubbard Spool joined with Mossberg Industries to design and manufacture reels and spools for makers of wire and cable products, rope, fiber optics,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? hose, tubing and other linear products.

About 40 years ago, Mossberg switched to making plastic reels exclusively. The company can design customized products.

Khorshid said Mossberg recently developed the Reel-Turnable system of reels that knock down and can be easily returned, saving freight costs. The company also takes back reels and uses the regrind to make new ones.

Dentist in Toronto Uses Advanced Orthodontics to Treat Sleep Concerns and Jaw Pain

or Sandra, a patient of Toronto dentist Dr. Susie Ang, what started as a simple cosmetic procedure ended up producing life-changing results.Overview description of rapid tooling processes. Yellowed dental crowns and a black line around her gums from gingival recession brought her to Dr. Ang's office in search of a brighter, more confident smile. Following consultation with Dr. Ang, who has been practicing general and cosmetic dentistry in Toronto for over 20 years, Sandra says she settled on an orthodontic procedure in addition to her new crowns to help improve her smile and correct an overbite that has troubled her confidence in her appearance.

She also suffered from difficulty breathing from partially blocked airway and stuffiness in her ear. Dr. Ang says her practice offers orthodontic treatment in Toronto using oral appliances that open the airways allowing patients to breathe more easily. When the jaw bone and teeth are in the right position in relationship to a patient's facial muscles, she says the entire facial structure will be more properly supported and relaxed, resulting in a clearer breathing passage as well as a fuller, more enhanced look.

"Very often, correcting the underdeveloped upper jaw not only gives the patients a better look, it also makes them healthier by improving the airway and allowing them to breathe better," says Dr.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. Ang.

Although her newly discussed treatment plan would be more intensive and longer, Sandra says the choice to take a more complete approach to her dental improvements was obvious: "My orthodontic treatment with Dr. Ang has made such an improvement in my breathing, all of my symptoms have disappeared. Aesthetically, my jawline looks better, my smile is less gummy and I feel and look better without the puffiness and dark circles around my eyes. I was told previously that my gummy smile can only be corrected surgically by having my jaw broken. My bite has also improved so much that my teeth are not sensitive anymore."

Using an Advanced Light Wire appliance and incorporating an osteopathic approach, Dr. Ang says she was able to expand Sandra's upper arch and broaden her smile.Welcome to polishedtiles. After the installation of the oral appliance, Sandra says she noticed easier breathing and more restful sleep, in addition to relief from her ear problem.

"The treatment from Dr. Ang cleared up the congestion in my head. It feels great to be able to breathe clearly though my nose. My sleep quality is better. I used to have nasal blockages that prevented me from breathing through my nose. My eyes were puffy and I had dark circles around my eyes. My ears were plugged, itchy and I had frequent ear infections that I had to get my ears flushed from time to time by my doctor. When someone has lived with these problems all of their life, they don't know what they are missing and accept the problems as a normal part of life," says Sandra.

While traditional methods and techniques used in dentistry have always been effective, Dr. Ang says modern dentistry has begun to place an increasing emphasis on holistic solutions such as breathing problems and TMJ treatment in Toronto for patients like Sandra who have multiple levels to their dental needs.This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus; She says patients can now experience the benefits of both cosmetic procedures and comprehensive treatment, all under the same roof.

"Holistic and healing dentistry means improving the overall health and beauty of a person rather than just the individual parts. In this case,A culture af Mizukabi molds. we are improving the structure to allow our body to function optimally. Beauty and health are the result of functional harmony within the individual, and I am happy to facilitate it for each and every one of my patients," says Dr. Ang.

Regardless of their goals, Dr. Ang says she urges patients to seek the consultation of an experienced cosmetic dentist before undergoing any procedure. Through proper treatment and an individualized approach, she adds that patients can achieve a more comfortable and confident daily life.

Intelligent Design

It’s time again to honor the brightest and best among Acadiana’s considerable constellation of architects, interior designers and the array of professionals who support their creative efforts to make our offices like homes and our homes like heaven, and who ensure that our unique architectural history is both preserved and celebrated even as it evolves.

The 2012 INDesign Awards raise a glass to an eclectic assortment of projects that share the most important aspect of award-winning design: excellence in form and function. From the jaw-dropping make-over of Lafayette General Medical Center, the ingenious layout and use of transitions for Manuel Builders’ new design center, the faithful-to-history restoration of Chrétien Point or the eco-friendly brilliance of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Center, the winners of this year’s awards — Gold, Silver,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? Bronze and Honorable Mention — raise the bar for creativity and passion among some of the coolest entrepreneurs and artists in this very Cool Town.

The mission: Transform a small, “awkward” bathroom and adjacent storage space into a luxurious spa-like master bath. Charles Seale’s work on John and Dr. Rhonda Pucheu’s master bathroom at their Eunice home has landed Seale with another Gold INDesign Award for residential interior design, marking consecutive years of Gold-level wins for the Eunice interior designer.

Seale’s design was chosen for his art deco inspiration, which he took from the home’s art deco architectural stylings dating back to the 1930s.Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete?

Art deco incorporates geometric shapes with modern elegance and practicality, as seen by the black granite floor he selected to contrast the pewter tub he installed, also adding “a sense of luxury” to the concept.

Included in the Pucheus’ bathroom work orders were two vanities, a large tub with a separate shower, a sit-down vanity with mirrored wings (one that resembles her mother’s dressing table), a separate room for the toilet and a walk-in closet with ample storage space.

The window shades, which consist of sheer and opaque stripes,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, serve a two-fold purpose: “When the stripes are aligned the room has privacy, but when they are alternated the desired light comes into the room,” Seale explains.

Imagine the overwhelming task: a nearly 50-year-old hospital last renovated in 1983 asks to be transformed into a modern facility capable of delivering 21st century health care. But it’s not going to be torn down,Ekahau timelocationsystem is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. so it has to be business as usual — which means very sick people being cared for 24-7 — while construction takes place. That was the challenge for WHLC Architecture of Baton Rouge and contractor Lemoine Company of Lafayette.

One wing at a time, the project — a $70 million renovation of a 10-story acute-care hospital — took flight. Originally constructed in the early 1960s, the hospital did not even have bathing facilities in all of its rooms, which were small, had single-pane windows with aluminum frames and suffered from a very loud HVAC system.

As one might imagine, demolition and construction had to be carefully phased in to minimize noise and disturbance to patients and staff, while Lemoine Company erected dust partitions separating each construction phase from patient care areas. Throughout construction, air quality was continually monitored.

The architects and builders were able to keep the existing steel and concrete from the original structure. “Fortunately, the original hospital was constructed with deep concrete overhangs across the entire length of the three wings of the patient tower,” says Rick Lipscomb, a principal in WHLC Architecture. “After extensive structural analysis, it was determined that these overhangs would indeed support a floor load. We designed a plan to demolish the existing exterior wall and locate a new curtain wall system at the end of the overhangs.” By doing this, 3.5 feet of depth was added to every patient room, expanding each by about 54 square feet.

But that steel and concrete are the only remnants of the old LGMC. The hospital today, which wins an INDesign Gold Award for Commercial Architecture, in no way resembles its former self. The building has been expanded on all sides,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, and all plumbing, electrical, mechanical and finishes are new. The well-lit, redesigned rooms have bathrooms with showers.

After generating computer models and fly-overs, the decision was made to paint the brick on what is now a building that welcomes an abundance of natural light. That freshening was a final step in a total redefinition of this Oil Center icon.

Material defects part of factors causing MRT breakdown

A "rare confluence of factors" led to the major MRT disruptions on Dec 15 and 17 last year and this included critical material defects, train operator SMRT Trains told the Committee of Inquiry (COI) yesterday.

In its opening statement presented by Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, SMRT said that the immediate cause of the two incidents, where stalled trains affected 210,000 commuters over two days, was the rail claws dislodging. The claws secure the electrified third rail, which supplies power to the trains and are part of the third rail support assembly that includes a fastener and insulator.

Mr Bull said that other factors include the location of the incidents, the type of claws at the incident sectors, higher vibration levels and higher upward forces on the current collector devices (CCDs), which include the current collector shoes of the trains that make contact with the bottom of the third rail.

"The convergence of these factors triggered a chain of consecutive dislodgment of claws holding the third rail," he explained.

At the start of the COI, the Attorney-General's Chambers said that dropped claws were not unusual as SMRT had reported such accounts between 2006 and 2011. What was unusual, said Second Solicitor-General Lionel Yee in his opening statement, was the multiple claw and incident failure.

SMRT's investigations by its vibration experts and its Internal Investigation Team - whom Mr Bull emphasised consisted of many who were independent of SMRT management - showed that the dislodgment of two adjacent claws at each incident site caused the third rail to sag towards the track bed.Learn all about solarpanel.

"The sagging was then aggravated by the next passing train," he said. When the CCD shoes of this next train encountered the sag, "it was as if it hit an obstacle".

"This horizontal force caused the CCD assembly casing to crack diagonally,Find the cheapest chickencoop online through and buy the best hen houses and chook pens in Australia." said Mr Bull, adding that other factors could have contributed to the dislodgment of further claws. These were vibration caused by the trains travelling at almost full speed of 80 km/h, and a sagged third rail that had become flexible, as it was no longer supported by its full complement of claws.

In addition, a report by experts from TUV SUD states that the main cause of the Dec 15 incident was a defective fastener and defective insulators on the claw assembly.

"The crack on the fastener was a result of its non-uniform structure, casting defects and residual stresses inside the material," said Mr Bull, adding that thermal plastic contamination of the insulator's raw material caused the cracking. "It appears that these material defects pointed out by TUV SUD may be manufacturing defects," he said.We offer the best ventilationsystem,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking.

LTA does not dispute that the sagging of the power conductor rail damaged the CCD and caused the breakdown in train services, said Senior Counsel Andrew Yeo of Allen & Gledhill. The authority's review of SMRT's maintenance regime has also found it "generally comprehensive and satisfactory".

"Nevertheless, a select number of areas have been identified as requiring improvement and/or further review, in the interests of minimising the risk of further disruptions," said Mr Yeo.

In SMRT's opening statement, the point was made that the LTA is in charge of the design of the infrastructure, while SMRT merely operates the trains.

Mr Bull emphasised "SMRT's intent is not to shirk its responsibilities" but the LTA is the owner of the rail infrastructure as well as the regulator, while SMRT has to comply with maintenance,If you have a kidneystone, replacement and renewal standards set by LTA.

Mr Bull stressed the distinction between the two parties' responsibilities even as Mr Yee called the inquiry a "fact-finding COI" aimed at problem-solving, with no determination of guilt or liability.

Burger review: Whiskey Cake in Plano

After several ventures into the darkest bars Dallas has to offer, it was time for a change for the crew at Burger Breakdown. It was time for a burger that hadn’t been cooked on a grill that may or may not have been cleaned in the last year, and it was time for a place where you could actually see who was sitting across the table. It was time to visit somewhere where it was okay to be sober past noon.Choose from our large selection of cableties, It was time for a visit to Plano, and time for a visit to Whiskey Cake.

The change couldn’t have been bigger. Plano and Whiskey Cake feel like a world away from the Lakewood dive bar scene. Brightly lit and overflowing with exceedingly friendly waiters and waitresses, the restaurant offers a homey,Grey Pneumatic is a world supplier of impactsockets for the heavy duty, small-town feeling that you don’t often find in Dallas area eateries. And even though it’s packed to the gills with eager patrons rushing through their lunch breaks, there is hardly any wait at all for a table. The restaurant, the brainchild of restaurateur Randy DeWitt and design consulting group Plan B, is set up like an old warehouse, with hanging light fixtures and exposed brick throughout. And while the walls and hanging lights may look ancient, the polished, hardwood floor and beautiful oversized windows look brand new. But pretty ornamentation isn’t the only reason to visit. The main reason to visit Whiskey Cake – and it’s obvious because they’re on almost every table in the place – are the burgers.

The Basic burger ($11) may be just that, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s plain. Chef TJ Legnick’s creation is served on a small brown ceramic piece of tile covered with a bit of butcher paper and a small skewer holding the burger together, on top of which is a large pickle that manages to drip all over the top of the bun. While some may think this small inconvenience would dampen the meal, it really only adds to it. And don’t make the mistake of thinking basic means small, either,Broken chinamosaic Table. because it does not. Half of this burger is enough to please a normal man. Served on a slightly toasted/buttered challah bun, the brisket patty is grilled medium with little to no pink in the middle. Charred well, but not at all burned, the meat, topped with thick slices of Swiss and American cheese, was moist and meaty,Welcome to projectorlamp. benefiting from accompanying bacon, veggies, and mustard.

The Basic is stuffed with tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and strips of red onions, which all tasted like they had just been harvested that day. The bacon is crispy, and the crunch goes well with softness of the bun and patty. However, the mustard is the star of the burger. It blends well with the cheeses and meat and adds just the right amount of bite.

And then there is the OMG Burger ($12). The thing is a mess – a delicious mess – but still a mess. It comes to the table with a giant steak knife plunged through the middle to hold it all together. The second the knife is removed the whole thing collapses on itself and all that’s left is a pile of soggy challah bun, roasted crimini mushrooms, a giant onion ring and a brisket patty all smothered in Port Salut cheese. Honestly, it’s best to just attack this thing with a fork. To compare the OMG and the basic is pretty simple; it has the same bun, same patty,Get information on airpurifier from the unbiased, independent experts. same veggies and slightly fancier mustard (a grain mustard, but the taste is similar to the mustard on the basic. The main differences are the onion ring and the mushrooms. The onion ring could be a meal in itself. It’s massive. Stacked under the bun and on top of the patty, it’s impossible to get at all of the items in one bite. What really kicks the flavor in the pants is the mushrooms. Creamy and moist, the roasted crimini mushrooms make the whole burger. The combination of the Port Salut, brisket patty, and mushrooms is a pleasant surprise.,

It may be far away or too bright and fancy for the dive bar burger aficionado, but Whiskey Cake offers amazing burgers at reasonable prices. Yes, it’s a burger that sounds like it belongs in a preteen girl’s text message, but it’s well worth the drive.

Nordale Elementary School students celebrate seasons with mosaic project

The season of breakup is more beautiful than most imagine at Nordale Elementary School.

Nordale’s version of the season includes tiny bits of glass and glue arranged into a pattern of the sun shining down on a happy-looking house and a boy riding his scooter.

Students at Nordale are creating masterpieces with bits of glass tile. Artist in Residence Sara Tabbert is teaching students how to make mosaic murals for the school.

“We’re doing the four seasons,” Tabbert explained Monday.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. In January, kindergarten through sixth-grade students completed three 3-foot-by-5-foot murals — one of fall, one of winter and one with both seasons. This month, students are working on three more murals in the same pattern but using spring and summer.

“I had everybody do a couple drawings,” Tabbert said. “I took them home, and I got really sad I could only use a couple of them.”

Tabbert projected a few of the pictures on to the larger mosaic background and was able to capture the students’ drawings. At school, Tabbert has students fill in her outlines with glue and the colorful tiles.

Some fifth-grade students on Monday morning explained their favorite part of the project.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China.

“I just like putting these down — it’s fun,” said Korie Edwards-Sanford as she stuck glass pieces in glue.

Jaeda Logan likes “that we don’t have to do math,” she said,The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good ， to much agreement from her peers.

Lily Brechan,3rd minigame series of magiccube! 11, explained why she enjoys spring as she worked on that season’s mural.

“I like it because you get to splash in puddles a lot,” she said.

The fifth-graders worked quietly and constructively, breaking bits of tile into smaller parts, sorting different colors and placing the bits on the mosaic. Eventually, when their time was up for the day, they gave a collective groan, reluctant to head to their next classes.

Sara Tabbert said the mosaic projects with children are rewarding.

“The project kind of generates its own excitement as it starts to come together,” Tabbert said.

She said the students really enjoy getting out of the classroom and playing with something so hands-on and tactile.Credit Card Processing and Merchant Services from merchantaccountes.

Making the machines that make solar cells

The machine looks like a square spaceship with a round hatch or a giant oven with a convection fan. Its designer jokingly calls the contraption the “world’s most expensive bug zapper.”

In fact it’s a wafer tool, developed by San Jose startup Twin Creeks Technologies as a better, cheaper way to make solar cells.

Given the collapse in solar panel ASPs over the past year or so, reducing solar cell manufacturing costs is critical to competitiveness. It isn’t clear whether Western manufacturers can still compete with their Chinese rivals, which are believed to have leveraged ample government funding to shore up their business as they slashed prices and grabbed market share.

But Twin Creeks is betting there’s still a business in making the machines that make solar cells. By adding value in the manufacturing process, company executives claim, the third-generation Hyperion wafer tool could put the United States back in the solar business, or at least one segment of it.

Siva Sivaram, Twin Creeks’ voluble CEO, knows a lot about electronics manufacturing.3rd minigame series of magiccube! A 14-year veteran of Intel, where he oversaw the chip giant’s external manufacturing, Sivaram literally wrote the book on chemical vapor deposition; his 1995 text is still used in college engineering courses. Sivaram eventually joined his idol, Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, at the Sematech chip manufacturing consortium. While there, Sivaram worked on another key chip manufacturing technology, chemical-mechanical planarization.

After stints at Matrix Semiconductor (acquired by SanDisk in 2006) and on the board of Nanosolar, Sivaram founded Twin Creeks in 2008. The company kept a low profile until last month, when it introduced its third-generation Hyperion tool, the production version of its solar cell manufacturing technology.Welcome to projectorlamp. The machines are being made in Senatobia, Miss.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore., under terms of an economic development deal with the Magnolia State.

The arrangement keeps the manufacturing technology—and at least a few jobs—in the United States, Sivaram said in an interview. “The know-how stays in the U.S.,” he said.

The problem with current solar manufacturing, Sivaram said, is that “something comes in, something goes out, with no value” added. The company concluded that much thinner wafers could halve the cost of making solar cells. It applied the principles behind a technology called proton-induced exfoliation to develop the Hyperion tool. The technique slices wafers to produce efficient,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? flexible solar cells as thin as 20 microns.

“You remove the waste, you make the material more productive, you add more value in your factory instead of just taking [solar] materials and selling it for a few cents more,” Sivaram said in pitching his product. “The value here is in the ability to make those thin” wafers.

The Hyperion 3 can process more than 1.5 million thin wafers annually,Welcome to polishedtiles. or about 6 megawatts’ worth of solar cells. Given the competitive nature of the solar business, Sivaram said, Twin Creeks is already at work on a next-generation tool capable of producing 8 MW per year. “We need to keep improving,” the CEO said.

Portugal's Famed Quinta do Lago Enters Final Phase

Quinta do Lago, a world-class 54-hole golf resort community along Portugal's famed Algarve coast,TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. is celebrating its 40th anniversary with the launch of final phase of home sites.

The golf and leisure development recently released 23 exclusive plots in the beautiful San Lorenzo North enclave of the resort. With views over Ria Formosa National Park and San Lorenzo Golf Course and access to the resort's fully established facilities, these plots promise an unrivalled combination of seclusion and luxury at one of Europe's most successful real estate developments.

Made famous for its three world-class golf courses, one of which has just been named the No. 1 golf course in Portugal, Quinta do Lago has risen to fame over the last 40 years and is known as one of the Algarve's choice golfing and real estate developments. Now, following months of new investment and upgrading, the resort is reasserting itself as much more than merely a golfing mecca.

Throughout the year, residents and guests alike can indulge in a variety of on-resort pursuits including early morning al fresco Pilates, family tennis lessons, traditional Portuguese picnics, miles of golden sandy beach, lakeside water sports,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. endless hiking and biking trails as well as a variety of restaurants.

"San Lorenzo North, with its exceptional location and investment potential, proves to be an obvious attraction to investors looking for the ideal holiday destination," Quinta do Lago Director of Property Sales Joost Last said. "The first phase release, with 4 plots being made available, has generated incredible response particularly from the UK market as it is the latest and one of the very few remaining opportunities to purchase unconstructed land on one of the most sought after destinations in Europe."

Contrasting the existing architecture of the rest of the resort, the new homes in San Lorenzo North will be more contemporary in style and designed by Imaestri, specializing in modernist, cutting edge design. Sites range from 2,200 - 3,A Hybrid indoorpositioningsystem for First Responders.000 square meters and offer three purchase options; plot only, plot and project and turnkey.

Two plots from the first release have already sold; both to British buyers, one of which will be moving into his property this month. A show villa is currently under construction designed by Irish architects De Blacam and Meagher and will complete in June. All owners will have the opportunity to enter their properties into the rental pool and with occupancy rates on the resort nearing 100 percent during July and August. This potential for strong rental yields is a comforting factor for buyers, according to Quinta do Lago.

With a mild year round climate, variety of lifestyle pursuits, a sense of community, mixture of contemporary and classic architecture and just 15 minutes from Faro airport, Quinta do Lago's latest release is expected to do well.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles.

Plots in San Lorenzo North range from 2.3 million Euros to 3.5m million Euros. The turnkey show villa is for sale for 5.75 million Euros. All investors will also have the option to select architects from the Imaestri portfolio.

Cordoba Development Sells 73% of Lely Resort Neighborhood

Cordoba Development LLC has sold 73 percent of the lakefront homes in the Cordoba neighborhood at the private golf course community Lely Resort.

According to Cordoba Development managing partner Mark DiSabato, there are 15 lakefront homesites in the neighborhood and only four remain available for sale.

"The lakefront sites have extraordinary views and are enormously popular with buyers,Offers Art Reproductions Fine Art oilpaintings Reproduction," DiSabato said. "We have three available homesites and one inventory home available along the lake. "

The inventory home is The Barcelona, a two-story, great-room style home with 2,219 square feet under air and 2,780 total square feet. This four bedroom, three and a half bath home features granite countertops, premium wood cabinetry, oversized ceramic tile, Kitchen Aid stainless appliances and crown molding throughout most of the home.

This residence also features an intimate pool with a long view of the lake and golf course. The home's exterior elevation is Mission-inspired and features hand stained solid wood corbels and a private front courtyard with solid Mahogany front door. The energy-efficient home is now available for $597,900.

"We have a superb selection of single-story and two story homes available in Cordoba," said DiSabato. "Each of the homes offers unique courtyard options featuring a wide array of pools, spas, water walls, fountains, fire pits and more. These are uniquely designed "outdoor living rooms" that provide homeowners with an idyllic, tranquil oases just outside their door."

A glimpse at Lebanon through the eyes of Anthony Shadid

A few weeks ago, a video surfaced of a tired but smiling American journalist being interviewed by Syrian opposition activists in Idlib, a province along Syria’s border with Turkey. The camera is shaky, and his voice is barely audible over the wind. An interviewer asks him in Arabic if he thinks that the Assad regime will fall. “I think it will,” he replies in Arabic. “But I think it will take a long time.”

Anthony Shadid, the New York Times correspondent and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in the Middle East,Broken chinamosaic Table. had illegally entered into Syria for a second time in order to cover the uprising, and was now on his way home. The first time he entered, according to his Times colleague David Kirkpatrick, the Syrian government had broadcast his picture on the news and accused him of being an Israeli spy. Shadid returned, guided by smugglers, for a story he convinced his editors was too important to ignore. He was well aware of the risks at hand. Only last year, he had been arrested at gunpoint while covering the uprising in Libya,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. where he was also accused of being a spy.

Looking now at the video, one can’t help but notice details that might have otherwise appeared unremarkable: the American-accented Arabic of someone who had only learned the language as an adult; the black-and-white kaffiyeh around his neck that he later moved up, to no avail, to cover his mouth and nose; or the simple, affectionate farewell he calls out to his interviewer,Aeroscout rtls provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. referring to him as “habibi” “my beloved.”

Hours later Shadid, 43, was dead, killed not by gunfire but by a fatal allergic reaction to the horses his guides were using to find their way. He died as he had lived: both Arab and American, a Christian Lebanese who had grown up in Oklahoma and later attempted to make a home in the Middle East, a man who tried to navigate two very different worlds, who died trying to cross a border.

Two weeks later Shadid’s final book, “House of Stone: A Memoir of Home,Our porcelaintiles are perfect for entryways or bigger spaces and can also be used outside, Family, and a Lost Middle East” was released, a moving meditation on his gradual immersion into the Arabic world his ancestors left behind. More personal and revealing than his newspaper dispatches, the memoir takes us into a year Shadid spent in Marjayoun, his ancestral village in Lebanon, restoring his great-grandfather’s abandoned house. The largely Christian village had been ravaged by tragedy after tragedy: Once on the Ottoman trade route, along paths traveled by Muslims, Christians and Jews, the village was eventually cut off from both Jerusalem and Damascus after Syria and Palestine were divided between the great powers following World War I.

Disease and famine caused thousands to flee their homes in search of better lives, including Shadid’s own family, who moved to Oklahoma in 1920. The remaining Christians found themselves increasingly marginalized in a region that was largely Shi’ite Muslim. The creation of Israel and the later annexation of the Golan Heights made the village feel more isolated still, and in 1975 Marjayoun, along with the rest of the country, began its descent into 15 years of civil war.

By the time the book opens, just after the 2006 Second Lebanon War,Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles. Marjayoun is a village slowly bleeding to death. After covering that conflict, Shadid returns to his great-grandfather Isber’s empty home to find that a half-exploded Israeli rocket has crashed into the second story.

In a larger sense, it is not the house, but Shadid, who needs to be restored. Four years earlier, in 2002, a bullet from an Israeli sniper in Ramallah had grazed his spine and gravely wounded him. He recovered in time to cover the worst days of the war in Iraq, which he spent embedded not with American troops but among ordinary Iraqis. He survived, but his marriage did not.

At the beginning of “House of Stone,” Shadid finds himself newly divorced, separated from his young daughter and his former life in America, “a suitcase and a laptop drifting on a conveyor belt.” He decides to take a year off from his then-job at the Washington Post to rebuild his great-grandfather’s home, a house which does not technically belong to him and which stands in the middle of a dying village, plagued by recurring wars, that everyone else is trying to leave. It is “hajar bala bashar,” stones without people. To the neighbors, who universally oppose the idea, his plan seems so crazy that they believe he should be “locked in an insane asylum.”

Old Naples cottage renovated in 2012 coastal style

The Old Florida-style cottages found throughout Old Naples speak to the quality of life in a bygone era that served as a harbinger to the Naples we know today.Kitchen floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles.3rd minigame series of magiccube!

For the owners of those quaint homes, the desire for an up-to-date interior design with current features, finishes, materials and appliances can often pose a dilemma: what is the wiser course — renovating or tearing down?

Both long-time homeowners and those who have recently purchased a residence in the Old Naples area are choosing to renovate their cottage homes in greater numbers rather than tearing down and building new.

"Like owners of homes in other neighborhoods,Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? many residents in Old Naples want flowing, open interiors with the interesting architectural details and attractive finishes that are so popular today," said Lisa Ficarra Shepherd, founder and president of Ficarra Design Associates Inc. in Naples. "Many of them are finding their older homes can be renovated in ways that will provide that fresh, clean, open feeling that exudes both comfort and elegance without diminishing the old Florida cottage style. In fact, if planned and executed properly, the renovation can actually enhance that style."

A renovation project in Old Naples recently completed by Ficarra Design Associates is a case in point. The owner expressed a desire to have a more open, inviting interior done in a coastal design style. The three-bedroom home has approximately 3,800 square feet under air.

"This started as a relatively minor 'refresh the style' project," said Ficarra. "As the owner started seeing the possibilities for what could be done, it became a major renovation to the point that we knocked walls down. We redesigned the ceilings and to bring more flow to the space, we widened the openings from one room to the next. The coastal style she was seeking is established with whitewashed oak plank flooring throughout the home, a subtle, bluish-green color palette, the use of light airy fabrics, and ceilings that combine beams with mitered tongue-and-groove planks that are painted white. We also removed a wall above the fireplace and replaced it with tongue-and-groove planks placed above what is now a two-sided gas fireplace that looks into the family room. The look is fresh,Proxense's advanced handsfreeaccess technology. inviting, decidedly coastal and enhances the home's original charm."

Upon entry to the home, the eye is drawn immediately to the tall tongue-and-groove plank wall that soars above the living room fireplace. In keeping with the coastal style, there is a circular mirror above the fireplace made of upholstered linen accented with nickel studs. Furnishings in the living room include a coffee table with a driftwood base and an oval glass top, a sofa with an off white textured linen fabric,TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. two transitional rolled arm side chairs that bring in shades of blue and green in a checked pattern and a thick blue and white wool dhurrie area rug that brings in all of the colors. There is also a leather sofa table and matching turquoise-blue garden benches positioned on either side of the arm chairs. A very large and very colorful piece of impressionist art is on the wall to the right.

Two guest bedrooms are positioned on either side of the foyer. Columns define the entry into the living room and a grand spiral staircase to the left leads to a loft that overlooks the living room. There are two large sleeper chairs in the loft, a TV and built-in bookcases, all in white.

Warm winter weather plays a mean joke on gardeners, farmers

One theory behind the origin of celebrating the first day of the Gregorian calendar's fourth month as April Fools' Day has to do with Mother Nature's unpredictable behavior in early spring. Additional possibilities involve crows, Celtic deities and the Julian calendar. I choose to stand behind the weather explanation, and this year, the joke really is on us.

Plenty of people are pleased as punch over our mild winter, but I'm not one of them. It isn't that I'm a big fan of windchills and icy roadways; it's that when the seasonal rhythms that have rocked our world for hundreds of years start skipping beats, the consequences put thrilling to the fourth-warmest winter on record in question.

Experts don't agree on whether mild winter temperatures meant more of our least-favorite insects lived through the winter, but there is no disputing that it gives the little critters more time to mate and reproduce. I am beyond dismayed that fleas, chiggers, ticks and mosquitoes made first appearances here at Mole Hill in March. One of the pleasures of early spring gardening is that it's generally an insect-free activity.

On the flip side, the warm winter might have had an adverse effect on the lives of one of our favorite insects. A New Jersey report speculated that because of pleasant temperatures, bees there stayed active throughout the winter months and had gone through their reserve honey stores before spring actually arrived. A population decline is anticipated.

A March 28 report in the Los Angeles Times examining the impact of mild winter weather on wildlife from a sportsman's point of view cited details from a National Wildlife Federation report, "On Thin Ice: Warmer Winters Put America's Hunting and Fishing Heritage at Risk." The report noted that in Maine, New Hampshire and Minnesota, the warming trend has caused moose to die in record numbers — from ticks!

"A moose might ordinarily carry 30,000 ticks; normally, cold weather kills off or controls the parasites," author Dean Kuipers wrote. "A study cited in the report says that warm winters might increase that number to 160,000 ticks. Enough to kill even a moose."

Here in Missouri, sportsmen can expect increased deer and turkey populations because our non-winter meant increased food security for game animals. Of course, that also means there will be more whitetails to dine on the flowers and vegetables in our gardens and more Bambis crossing the road in front of our vehicles.

It doesn't require a weed expert to tell gardeners that winter weeds such as chickweed have flourished. I have spent long hours routing the insidious creeper out of my flower beds, where it threatened to smother emerging perennials. And summer annual weeds were appearing before spring officially arrived.I found them to have sharp edges where the injectionmoldes came together while production.

Farmers also are extremely plagued by weeds that have prospered in mild winter conditions,A Hybrid indoorpositioningsystem for First Responders. and although best practices might preclude an increase in the use of herbicides to control them, that might be exactly what occurs.

All fruit trees have a "chilling requirement," which regulates bud dormancy. Basically, it is the amount of cold weather — number of chilling hours — necessary for a particular tree to rest during dormancy, plus the temperature required to initiate growth. In general, the lower the chill requirement, the earlier a tree will bloom.

A lack of chilling hours can mean fruit trees will fail to produce fruit or produce lower numbers of poor-quality fruit. I could find no reference to a shortage of chilling hours here in Missouri, but apparently Georgia peach producers are worried about the impact of warm winter temperatures on their crop.

Pollens,Ekahau timelocationsystem is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. molds and mildews arrived early this year as well, and those with allergies, which seem like more of us with every passing year, began suffering weeks before they normally would.

Spring's first flowers came early to the party and didn't stay long in overly hot, windy weather.Find rubberhose companies from India. And things bloomed in an unnatural chorus.

My seeds were ordered and planted on a normal schedule, and although it is warm enough that I could probably go ahead and plant them in the garden,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? the seedlings are still a little small. That means gardeners who didn't know any better and bought and planted tomatoes on warm days in March actually are going to be harvesting long before me.

Competition for Boeing work isn't over yet

Do you hear that sound? That's the bell ringing, summoning us to the next round in the battle to keep aerospace jobs here in Snohomish County.

Yes, we just finished celebrating the Boeing Co.'s decision to build the 737 MAX in Renton -- a decision that secures the future of hundreds of jobs at Boeing's Everett plant, where workers will continue to assemble wiring and build interiors for 737s as long as the MAX flies. That decision also means that scores of Snohomish County aerospace companies that supply goods and services for 737s will continue to have that work for another decade or more.

But within a year, Boeing will make critical decisions on the future of its next big airplane program -- the 777X, which will be an upgrade of the best-selling aircraft built here in Snohomish County. Once again, there are no guarantees that Boeing will keep the work here in Puget Sound.We offer the best ventilationsystem,

If we are to remain the home of the world's largest aerospace cluster, we as a state, region and county are going to have to earn it. Here at Economic Alliance Snohomish County, we've given this a lot of thought, and have outlined a plan we feel gives us the best chance of ensuring that the aerospace industry will remain the basis for our mutual success and prosperity for generations to come.

We're all familiar with the fact that Boeing is the largest aerospace company in the world, and that its largest manufacturing facility is right here in Snohomish County. As a result, our region is enriched with quality jobs,Welcome to polishedtiles. wealth and a strong base.

On the other hand, we often forget that Boeing is just one of 160 aerospace companies in the county. Combined, they provide direct employment for nearly 44,Learn all about solarpanel.000 people, with their paychecks accounting for 28 percent of all wages earned by Snohomish County workers. In 2011,Purelink's realtimelocationsystem simplify emergency evacuations. aerospace created more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs. To put that into perspective, that is more jobs than the county's next three largest industry sectors produced in the previous five years, combined.

Apart from Boeing, you will find companies performing maintenance repair and overhaul for the airlines' in-service fleet, machine shops, parts finishing, raw materials manufacturing, wire harness fabrication, interior components manufacturing, carpeting and draperies, tooling, electrical and electronic manufacturing, product development design, and engineering and interior redesign for the aftermarket. Large and small -- from the 1,400-strong Aviation Technical Services to Aero Mac Inc. with two employees -- you can find it here.Glass Tile and Glass Mosaics for less at the glassmosaic Outlet.

Economists estimate that each Boeing aircraft program at the Everett plant has a direct annual economic impact of $700 million in wages alone. That results in some $600 million worth of spending at local businesses for things like cars, meals, clothes, homes and financial services. Think of what Main Street in every Snohomish County town would be like if we didn't have this kind of economic engine to support our local stores, banks and restaurants.

Remembering Harry Crews

Harry Crews, who died last week,Where to buy or purchase plasticmoulds for precast and wetcast concrete? was one of my first literary mentors, starting with a 12-day summer workshop in 1970 at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in Middlebury, Vermont. We must have certainly seemed like an odd match: the grizzled and tattooed, already-iconic 34-year-old writer of crazily inventive Southern Gothic fiction and the 40-year-old late-blooming suburban Jewish woman with only a handful of domestically oriented short stories to her name. I’m sure there were as many freaks and misfits in Harry’s fiction as there were straying husbands and lonely housewives in mine. Yet I’d specifically asked to work with Harry Crews because I loved his novel The Gospel Singer. Although its violence and religious fervor were far removed from anything in my own experience, I still felt a shock of recognition when I read it, and heard the beating heart at the heart of it.

Harry didn’t seem to mind our differences,Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. either, or see them as something that might interfere with his job, which was to help me – even in that short span of time – improve as a writer. One of his responsibilities was to have a one-on-one conference with each of his assigned students. I can’t remember now how long our conference lasted, but I have total recall of sitting on the sun-warmed steps of Maple, the house where faculty resided for the conference, alongside this incredibly dynamic and sexy man who appeared to take my stories, with their landscape of supermarkets and schoolyards and frequent mention of Jello-O molds, seriously and consider them worthy of constructive criticism. He didn’t suggest I borrow a few of the several “midgets” in his own work for color or variety, or that I lose the Brooklyn accent in either my speaking or writing voice. His teaching method consisted of our looking at my heavily marked-up manuscript together, while he noted what worked, sentence by sentence, word by word, and what didn’t,Broken chinamosaic Table. and why.

But what I remember most from that encounter is the stuff we talked about that had nothing to do with my particular stories, and everything to do with what matters, in art and in life – the universal ache of being, the redemption of compassion and grace. Years later, reading his indelible memoir A Childhood, I learned of some of the tragedies of Harry’s hardscrabble early life: his father’s death before the son’s ability to know him, an abusive stepfather, a crippling bout with what must have been polio, an accident involving a cauldron of scalding water. And I saw the connections between those traumatic events and the only somewhat more surreal content of his novels.

That day in Vermont, he asked about my family, and I mentioned the serendipity that had allowed me to send my two young daughters off to 4-H camp for precisely the 12 days of Bread Loaf. I said that I had never had a room of my own before that summer, having left the bedroom I shared with my two sisters to marry at 22, without ever having gone to sleep-away camp or to college. He listened with fierce attention, like someone being read aloud to. And he told me about the drowning death of his little son Patrick in a neighbor’s pool soon after the birth of his and Sally’s second child, Byron – how it happened, and how Sally had sustained him during that horrific time. Sally walked by in the distance as we talked, and they waved to each other, and he remarked on her beauty. What he said, exactly, was “I lust after that woman.” That was the way he spoke,A Plastic injectionmoulding company, the way he wrote.

Bread Loaf was quickly over, but Harry’s tutelage was not.Learn all about solarpanel. He agreed, with extraordinary generosity, a couple of years later, to read the manuscripts of two novels in progress I’d been embarrassed to show to anyone else. I sent them to him, and he soon wrote back to say that one of them was viable and the other wasn’t. “You could probably publish that the way it is,” he said about the former. “But it needs some work.” The criticism he offered was as straightforward and honest as his approach to my stories. I still have his letter – a single-spaced, hand-signed typewritten page. He was right about both of my tentative attempts at writing a novel, especially about the “work” needed on the manuscript he deemed better. When a revised version of that novel came out, the dust jacket bore words of praise from Harry that still thrill me because he’d prefaced the comments in his letter by writing that “this is as good a place as any to say what I’m sure you already know: I never lie or bullshit about fiction.”

Lost in the piles and files

I was frantically looking for a document the other day so I could finish my taxes. I began in the master bedroom, moved to the kitchen where papers are sometimes piled up, and then went on to the home office. After cleaning off two desks and the top of a filing cabinet, I began to clean out a box. I didn’t find the document but I did discover three unopened envelopes that contained offering checks to our church—dated July 2011. Oops.

I then moved to the church office down the highway and began the same process there. After taking a couple of hours to go through piles of stuff on my desk and a box of more stuff I kept in the shower (Yeah, I know), I opened a desk drawer. There I saw it. No, not the sought after document. Rather,Grey Pneumatic is a world supplier of impactsockets for the heavy duty, I saw a file folder marked “Urgent.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore.” Behind it was a file folder marked “Important.Stone Source offers a variety of Natural stonemosaic Tiles.” The stuff in the “Urgent” file was dated 2005 and 2006. I guess it wasn’t that urgent after all. I couldn’t bear to look in the “Important” file. Who knows how long it had been in the drawer?

As embarrassing as this story is to tell, in the great scheme of life the misplaced and forgotten items were of little long-term significance. Everyone misplaces things, even important things. The tragedy is when we lose and misplace ourselves, intending—someday—to make things right.

As a pastor, I know scores of people who are “used-to-be’s.” That is, they are people who used to be committed,GOpromos offers a wide selection of promotional items and personalized gifts. faithful Christians. They used to be dependable church members. Perhaps they used to be Sunday School teachers, board members, youth workers, or children’s workers. I know people who used to be ministers, pastors, priests, and even bishops. Some of these people used to be tithers and generous givers. They used to be examples that inspired people. They used to pray. They used to read the Scriptures. They were people upon who the Church could depend. But no more.

Some are pale shadows of who they used to be while others are not who they used to be at all. Somewhere, somehow, they lost themselves in the boxes, and piles, and files of life. They have become, for all practical purposes, of no value. The checks that sat in my cardboard box in the basement office did no one any good. They had potential but not as long as they remained lost. There are those who were once useful, vibrant,The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good ， even powerful, but have sadly become “used-to-be’s.” You know who you are.

Easter is the highest, holiest day in the Church calendar. It is also the day that most commemorates and celebrates the return of hope to those who had become hopeless. It is a day of being “found.” It is a day where people who have lost themselves and have lost their way can return to God, to Church, and to usefulness.
Be found this Sunday. Hide from God and His purposes for your life no longer. Don’t stay lost in the piles of stuff that life heaps upon you. Go home to Church. If you don’t have one, find one. If you would like an invitation, come to my church—even if only for one Sunday. God will restore you and life will become good again—but you must want to be found. Your file really is marked “Urgent.” Don’t ignore it—please!