The Separation of Church and Parking

The story in most U.S. cities goes that on the seventh day, even parking enforcement officers rest. But thanks to slashed municipal budgets and seemingly never-ending congestion on the roads, that’s quickly and likely irrevocably changing.

Earlier this month, San Francisco became the latest city to announce it will begin enforcing parking meters on Sundays. For now, municipal traffic cops are merely leaving warnings on windshields to let motorists know about the upcoming policy change. But on February 2, meters will start ticking on Sundays at noon and require payment until 6 p.That is a machine for manufacturing plastic products by the bobblehead process.m.

The San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority argues the change will encourage turnover, relieve the bottlenecking that comes from drivers’ endless circling in hopes of nabbing an open space, and in theory, draw more visitors to the city with the promise of easier parking. Predictably, it’s also caused quite a stir among Bay Area residents who think Sunday churchgoers are being unfairly targeted and that local residents are being priced out of their own neighborhoods.

Of course, San Francisco’s Sunday parking woes aren’t remarkable. Both Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, have charged for Sunday metered parking for several years. Chicago officials angered churchgoers forced to pay to pray when the Windy City also began enforcing Sunday meters in 2010. And San Francisco itself has, at a smaller scale, been doing the same for a while now, with meters running seven days a week amid the throng of tourists along Fisherman’s Wharf. The city also tries to take full advantage of Giants fans’ fat wallets, with meters in Mission Bay near AT&T Park operating until 10 p.m.

But it’s the citywide Sunday meter fee ordinance that’s incited the fiercest debate about the intersection of public parking, faith, and community service. San Francisco Interfaith Council Executive Director Michael Pappas says that he and many of the city’s religious and spiritual leaders were blindsided by SFMTA, which put together a stakeholder group without consulting anyone in the city’s faith community—something Pappas calls "a real infraction of due process."

Because SFMTA is an independent organization, no elected official can line item veto any part of its budget. Short of creating and passing new legislation, there isn’t much to be done about the change. That's unacceptable to people like Pappas, who see the new law as directly targeting urban communities of faith. "Penalizing people who just want to come and worship is more than significant," he argues, acknowledging that the debate may seem to favor Christian denominations but also impacts local temples that conduct Sunday classes. He cautions that the law will reach believers in every type of faith community, disrupting routine services and even funerals, if meters are enforced past 10 p.m. or 24-hours.

A quick overview for anyone without intimate knowledge of the Bay Area’s religious topography: San Francisco alone has more than 800 congregations, some of which existed long before cars were even invented. Moreover, the city’s communities of faith are an integral part of the social services safety net. S.F. has one of the nation’s highest homelessness rates, and churches and foundations in the downtown area, like Glide Memorial Church and the St. Anthony Foundation, are among the many non-profit organizations that serve thousands of free meals every day to the city’s destitute and homeless. (In the interest of full disclosure, I live near Glide and occasionally volunteer for meal service.) Leaders like Pappas who are opposed to Sunday meters immediately seized on not just the supposed injustice to people of faith, but also the burden put upon volunteers who drive downtown to serve the city’s poorest residents.

City officials contend that meters can be paid for up to four hours in advance, easing the burden on everyone.Want to find cableties? But Pappas counters the notion that believers should just pre-pay meters comes with myriad assumptions: that services will start and end on schedule, that time for uninterrupted fellowship should be secondary to plugging the meter, that churchgoers can afford to pay for parking, and that congregations won’t lose money thanks to lowered attendance rates. Many churches also earn supplementary income by renting out space to recovery program meetings or health and fitness instruction.Do you know any polishedtiles wholesale supplier? Pappas wonders whether, in addition to discouraging congregants from attending Sunday services, ever-increasing meter fees lead to fewer participants in after-hours activities and an all-around revenue loss. He notes that Glide, the renowned community-oriented church best known as the safe haven for Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) in the film The Pursuit of Happyness, could be forced to dip into its annual budget to hire additional parking attendants to handle traffic.We offers custom moulds parts in as fast as 1 day.

Maybe these questions seem overwrought and invasive. But Milo Hanke, past president and current board member of neighborhood advocacy group San Francisco Beautiful, says government agencies invite criticism and scrutiny when they act without a mandate. The S.F. Municipal Railway (Muni), the city’s trolley and bus system which is overseen by the SFMTA, has recently been under fire for negligent use of funds following reports that some mechanics worked enough overtime in 2012 to effectively earn triple their normal salary. The Sunday meter fees are projected to bring in an extra $2 million dollars in 2013—a lot, relatively speaking, but only a slight increase above the $47 million meters already bring in annually. Two million dollars is even less when you consider that the MTA’s annual budget tops out over $700 million.

For all the hand wringing about how to boost Muni’s budget while saving churchgoers a few dollars, city officials can’t legally offer a churchgoer exemption and privilege certain private entities over others. According to the Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, believers can’t demand special treatment, no matter how unfair a measure seems. “If a community can agree upon a measure and it happens to benefit churches, it’s thereby legal for a secular purpose with a collateral purpose for churches,” he says. In other words, if citizens can make a secular case for abolishing meter fees—that Sunday enforcement will diminish tourism or somehow hamper the rhythm of city life—congregations can reap the rewards as well.Don't make another silicone mold without these invaluable stonemosaic supplies and accessories! Otherwise, no one gets a free pass to pray.

No more free parking in Media City

Carol is not alone. Hundreds of people working and studying in Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the Dubai Knowledge Village started paying parking fees this week,We offers custom moulds parts in as fast as 1 day. owing to a new move by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to relieve parking congestion in these areas.

Huda, a Moroccan student at Eton University in Knowledge Village, said she will have to start shelling out Dh16 a day to park her four-wheel drive near the college. “Apart from the cost, we have to remember to pay the fees even when we are studying, otherwise we risk being fined. ”

Aiken Geovic Fonseca, 20, a second year Advertising, Public Relations and Media student at Middlesex University, said students must get subsidised rates as parents are already paying heavily for college fees.

Officegoers in Internet City and Media City have also started to feel the burden of this additional cost. They also fear that paying for parking will not guarantee them a slot close to their offices since there is a massive demand for parking in these areas.

Ahmad, another journalist working in Media City and living in The Gardens, has decided to commute to work by the Metro. “Apart from the fact that I will have to shell out a considerable amount every day for parking, there is no guarantee that I will get it or if I will get it close to my office. Until summer sets in I plan to use the Metro. After that I will eventually have to cough up the additional expenses.”

Clearly the RTA’s move has not gone down well with office goers. But the RTA is certain it will relieve the congestion at peak hours.

“The new parking move has been done to provide a solution to the growing demand for parking in the areas. It follows legitimate concerns raised by a number of our valued business partners about the availability of parking in areas allocated for their companies and employees.Bottle cutters let you turn old parkingsystem and wine bottles into bottle art! The implementation of the new parking management system will provide priority to business partners in Tecom buildings when trying to access the facilities made specifically available to them,” RTA’s circular says.

Meanwhile, the RTA has already started placing flyers on vehicles parked in the Media City,We have many different types of earcap. Internet City and Knowledge Village areas.

Companies have been asked to contact Tecom offices to ascertain the parking spaces allotted to them. Season parking cards A and B will not be valid in the areas. The multi-level parking buildings in these areas will also be paid-parking.

While the ground and first floor levels will be charged, the upper floors have been designated for Tecom Investments permit holders.

The spokesperson added that the project, located in Sector 11 East between Al Falah Street and Baniyas Street near the Ministry of Finance, Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council and the Department of Economic Development (DED), was set to be completed by the third quarter of next year.

The new Dh120 million structure will provide additional parking to cater to the needs of the capital’s growing population and urban expansion.

The new project will add three storeys of underground parking in addition to surface parking. Through this project, the DoT aims to increase the capacity and number of parking spaces in Abu Dhabi, while providing multiple services within the facility in accordance with the highest standards in safety and comfort for the public.

The parking facility will have three elevators equipped with a high-tech security system, CCTV and round-the-clock security surveillance, while Mawaqif inspectors will supervise the parking area. The facility will also have a dedicated parking section next to the entrance of the building to accommodate people with special needs. The parking has been designed in a rectangular shape to facilitate movement into and out of the building. In addition, the facility will also offer energy efficiency through the use of environment-friendly technologies.Creative glass tile and ceramictile tile for your distinctive kitchen and bath.

A parking guide system will be in place to simplify the search for a parking space through the use of green and red lights.

The parking complex will also feature recreational facilities, including a park for families with a children’s playarea and a basketball court as part of surface parking. Future plans also may include a mosque.

Residents in Abu Dhabi say finding a parking space is still a frustrating exercise, particularly in areas like Tourist Club and Khalidiya.

“Finding a parking space poses a problem daily and [is] a frustrating exercise despite being a subscriber to the paid parking scheme,” Mahmoud Ali, a teacher who lives in Tourist Club Area, said.

The Abu Dhabi Executive Council (Adec) has approved the construction of five multi-storey parking facilities in the capital. The approval was given at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board at Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture, and member of the Executive Council, on January 23.

The parking facilities will be constructed in densely populated neighbourhoods and areas that experience heavy traffic such as the Corniche, Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, Khalid Bin Al Waleed-Al Nasr Road junction and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Street-Al Najda Street junction. The parking facilities can be dismantled and used for multiple purposes.The lanyard series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos.

You're license plate's on ALPR camera

You could call it passive policing, but a new tool on one of the Cornelius Police Department's cruisers could be the ultimate multi-tasking tool.

While officers go about their regular patrols, a special camera array photographs up to 1,800 license tags per minute, scanning local, state and even national data bases to determine if the plates belong to cars or tags reported stolen. In use since mid-November of last year, the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) unit has already reunited two stolen vehicles with their owners, the most recent found about two weeks ago parked in the Heritage Green neighborhood.

At a cost of $18,000 per unit, CPD has deployed only one ALPR in the field. But it's the first step in an aggressive plan by Police Chief Bence Hoyle to bring more automated policing tools to the town, including fixed ALPRs and other cameras installed at some of the town's busiest intersections and thoroughfares.

Major Kevin Black of the CPD says the cruiser with the ALPR stays parked at police headquarters when not in use and is driven by different officers every day. While on routine patrol, the plate reader is always whirring away, feeding license plate numbers into the database and waiting for matches. Black says officers focus their attention on apartment complexes, hotel parking lots and particular areas known for stolen vehicles.

The system includes three cameras — one that scans behind the cruiser, one that scans in front of it and one that captures plates of passing cars.Researchers at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed an indoortracking. Black says that the system's only purpose is to search for stolen cars and plates ... for now. It could eventually locate tags or vehicles associated with missing persons, Amber Alerts (for missing children) and Silver Alerts (for missing adults, particularly seniors with dementia or other forms of mental disabilities).

For the officers, all they have to do is drive after priming the system prior to the day's patrol.

"When the officers get in the car, they have to download a file from the North Carolina (Department of Motor Vehicles) that contains all vehicles and tag numbers listed as stolen at that moment," says Black. "While on patrol, if it detects one of the tags it sounds a warning that a tag number is listed as stolen and it can even show a picture of the vehicle and tag number so they know exactly what they are looking for."

Just this week, an officer using the system located a stolen plate on a car whose owner wasn't aware someone had taken his plate and, in its place, affixed the stolen tag. The owner wasn't even aware of how long the stolen plate had been on his car. The CPD is currently investigating that incident. Within days of implementing the CPD's first ALPR system, Black says it assisted in the recovery of a stolen vehicle from Hickory. The system, Black says, allows officers to focus on other aspects of policing rather than actively looking for stolen vehicles or plates. This is especially useful when they happen upon a vehicle they don't even know is stolen, particularly from another jurisdiction.

"The thing about stolen cars and tags is we have officers on the road every day, but you don't run every tag you see, so the only time you run a tag is when you know a car is stolen," says Black. "We just encourage our guys to hit the major parking lots and apartment complexes where there are a lot of cars and any areas where we've found some stolen cars before.High quality glassbottles tiles."

An eventual expanded network of fixed ALPR's, Black says, would allow police to quickly track the route of a suspicious vehicle.

"With a network of fixed ALPR cameras, you could search the database and track that tag if it hit multiple cameras where that car went. I know a lot of bigger cities that have multiple ALPR units and they will go back and search the database and track where the car has been showing up at night. There is a lot that can be done with it."

The latest example of banks' reluctance to pass on the benefits of rate cuts was illustrated by State Bank of India's move to cut its base rate by a paltry 5 basis points, which is unlikely to result in any gain to retail or corporate borrowers (100 basis points equal a percentage point). Since January 2012, RBI has reduced the repo rate by 75 basis points, which includes Tuesday's 25-bps cut. Repo is the rate at which RBI lends to banks.

The central bank has also reduced the statutory liquidity ratio, or the proportion of deposits that banks have to invest in government bonds, which has been pared by a percentage point to 23%, releasing funds in the banking system that can be used for lending. But, banks have SLR holdings of around 30% as executives say there is little demand for loans. Further, RBI has reduced the cash reserve ratio, or the proportion of cash holdings kept with the central bank, by 200 basis points,This frameless rectangle features a silk screened fused glass replica in a rtls tile and floral motif. releasing nearly Rs 1.4 lakh crore into the system. Apart from making more cash available for lending, RBI has also helped banks earn interest on the money as CRR funds do not fetch any interest for the banks. "Now, we can earn 8-8.5% by simply parking it as SLR which would not have been possible if CRR was not cut," acknowledged a bank chief.

But RBI's weekly data shows that since last January, despite the series of steps, banks have only pared their base rate from 10-10.75% to 9.75-10.5% now — which translates into a 25 bps reduction for borrowers. Although RBI has flagged the lack of monetary transmission as an area of concern, it has done little to ensure that consumers benefit from the steps taken by it. Even the finance ministry, which has trained its gun on RBI to cut rates, has also failed to convince state-run banks to ease rates and help borrowers access cheaper loans.

Obviously, banks have their own reasoning. For instance, they say that the repo rate cut is only a signal as most of them make only limited use of RBI's overnight borrowing window. "What really makes a difference is the CRR," said SBI chairman Pratip Chuadhuri, adding that his bank had passed on the entire benefit of the CRR cuts to borrowers.

In case of SBI,Product information for Avery Dennison customkeychain products. the latest CRR cut will help it earn 7.5% interest on around Rs 3,000 crore that was earlier parked with RBI,A collection of natural parkingsensor offering polished or tumbled finishes and a choice of sizes. resulting in a benefit of around Rs 225 crore. Similarly, it will gain around Rs 50 crore from the repo cut. Chaudhuri said based on his bank's balance sheet of Rs 6 lakh crore, the impact of the 5 bps reduction will be Rs 300 crore.

A Satisfying Experience

The other reason being that pretty much everyone I knew understood who Steve Jobs was, what he had done in his life, and had heard about and/or was impacted by his death in late 2011. Not too long ago after Jobs’ death, I had finished Walter Isaacsons’ Steve Jobs — a remarkable detailed journey of his entire life,Wholesale various Glass Mosaic Tiles from handsfreeaccess Tiles Suppliers. dictated by Jobs himself.

I felt I had a pretty good grip on who exactly Steve Jobs was, what his personality was like, and what Apple was all about. As a child I had been fascinated with computers and jumped into that technological world. I worked mostly on PC’s up until I was 17. Heading into the world of graphic arts, I had bought my first Mac Pro in 2006 and never looked back. From a designers’ standpoint, Apple blew me away, from their marketing to their polished machines.

So with that type of influence over the years, and a large dosage of Steve Jobs from interviews, articles, and keynotes — I was, needless to say, very excited for this film. Would they accurately portray the startup of Apple? Could Ashton Kutcher get Jobs’ candor down, how insensitive he could sometimes be, but also his brilliance? I awaited in earnest.

It was now 8:30AM and our line was ushered in. My girlfriend was with me, and being 8th in line, we got to some pretty fantastic seats. The presenter for the film came out and introduced what we were about to embark on; they mentioned that the director would be present for a Q&A after the film. The lights were dimmed, and finally.

The opening scene was set in an Apple meeting, an older Steve Jobs walks leisurely to a podium. The camera follows from directly behind his head so you only see the peripheral. There is an applause, and obviously this is an important meeting. The crowd watches intently as Steve Jobs starts to talk. At this point we see his face, and I internally gasped as we get to see Ashton Kutcher donning a mid-40′s look, beard, and a spitting image of the late Steve Jobs. He congratulates Apple on their recent success and then talks about creating something new… the iPod. The camera zooms into his eyes slowly as there is applause and cheer in the background. We are slowly swept into Jobs’ college years; 1976.

As I watched, I was acutely aware of Ashton Kutcher the actor. The beginning parts of this film were in 1976, and Kutcher is well-known for his part in That 70′s Show. Yet as the film moved forward and we are introduced to other key parts of the cast, most notably Josh Gad playing Steve Wozniak, I began to see Steve Jobs and not Ashton Kutcher. I was immediately aware of the idiosyncrasies that I had seen the real Jobs have in keynotes and that they were suddenly being sucked into Kutchers’ performance. Within minutes I had forgotten I was watching an actor. He even got Jobs’ lanky, lurching walk down to a science. Kutcher nailed his character, and I realised this as he looked more and more like Jobs, and less like himself.

jOBS had a cheery retro feel to it. It covered key scenes of Jobs being a college drop-out and of his time in India. I was nervous they might skip this, as India and its impact on Jobs was integral to how he saw life.

The film also had a pretty decent soundtrack, often donning Jobs most worshipped musician; Bob Dylan. It flowed with energy and kept the film lively during transitional scenes. We also got to see a whole number of late 70′s vehicles, for instance, the Ford Pinto – and later on, his beloved black Porsche.

There were pleasant comedic scenes involving Wozniak and Jobs, during their younger years — just before Apple Computers would become realised. As soon as Jobs understood that Wozniak had a natural talent for creating incredible “personal” computers, the idea is planted, and Jobs takes the reigns; everything is set into motion.

I don’t think they left anyone out in jOBS,Our extensive range of werkzeugbaus is supplied to all sorts of industries across Australia and overseas. sans Bill Gates (there was a scene of an enraged Jobs screaming on the phone at Gates), but all the key players were there; Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney), Arthur Rock (J.K. Simmons), and of course, John Sculley (Matthew Modine). I was impressed. Whoever did the casting for this film deserves an award. All the actors looked like their parts, and I would later learn that the director had each one passionately go over their characters’ history.

The cinematography was crisp, clean and often had shoulder-level shots of Jobs traipsing through hallways and meetings. Late 70′s and early 80′s haircuts were all in place. Everything had a warm glow to it. Many close-ups were used and surprisingly for their budget, several helicopter shots of Jobs driving down the highway and even of the Apple campus.

If you know the history of Steve Jobs,We have many different types of parkingsystem. you already know how this story will be told. Jobs is a college drop-out; he starts Apple with a small band of friends in his parents garage (filmed at the original location!). He ends up having issues with his girlfriend at the time, and his soon-to-be-daughter, Lisa is mentioned (Lisa is briefly shown, played by Annika Bertea). Jobs rises and then is ousted by his board of directors, as the CEO Gil Amelio (played by Kevin Dunn) betrays him. NEXT Computers is created and suddenly Apple is wanting Jobs back in the game. I was glad Stern decided to keep some of NEXT in the film, because it was an integral part to Jobs life story.

Being a designer I perked up during some of the scenes with the art department of Apple. There were several scenes with Jonathan Ive, played by a much thinner actor. They did a brief yet respectful task of showing some of Jobs beginning friendship with Ive and how he always wanted Ive to be brutally honest. Jobs trusted him with the progression of Apples products.

But not all was cheery for the film. Many scenes featured an incredibly energetic Jobs; prideful and hurt – even to the point of outrage. Some scenes showed him crying and even screaming. If they hadn’t of had this I would have been pretty disappointed. The real Steve Jobs had a reputation for being rash, emotional,Cheaper For bulk buying stonemosaic prices. and even childish. Kutcher handled the intensity so well,Make your house a home with Border and luggagetag Tiles. you could feel the stillness in the theatre after he would yell at a subordinate.

Near the end of jOBS, I could feel the film starting to come to a close. The budget was estimated to be $US8,500,000 and I already felt it was a much better film that held its own, compared to 1999′s Pirates of Silicon Valley. It felt like a cohesive story about who Steve Jobs was as a human being. It told a story of a man who braved to be himself, not get pushed around and yet push others around to get exactly what he wanted. Kutcher’s performance was uncanny and yet I felt, not all perfect. A crying scene had me seeing Kutcher acting rather than truly crying. However, Gad’s performance as Wozniak was touching and softened the aggressive behaviour by Jobs. We were told by the director afterward that he believed the story was about Jobs, yet Wozniak was the heart of the film. The cast was a mix of well-known and not well-known actors and actresses. The cinematography was great, with only a few slow motion scenes that I didn’t feel were needed. The typefaces used for the credits were simple and to the point. The score was well created and not overly distracting. By the wrap-up, I not only felt satisfied, but apparently the audience did as well; clapping up a storm and eager to ask questions.

All in all jOBS was the experience I wanted. I wasn’t sure exactly what I would get, but was proved that I could enjoy Ashton Kutcher’s acting as Silicon Valley’s most prized CEO. Although his performance wasn’t perfect, it certainly was excellent. We were told by the director that Kutcher didn’t stop being Jobs on set – and was in character the entire shooting of the film. Josh Gad deserves to be awarded for his part in playing Steve Wozniak – and the rest of the cast was just as important, although playing much smaller roles.

I highly recommend you see jOBS if you are wanting a well-made independent film about a man that changed the world and influenced generations to come. I left the film with a satisfied audience and felt proud of the experience we had. Overall, I give the film a 4 out of 5 stars. Go see this film!

Gulfshore Homes' Jasmine model at Torino

Grey Oaks Realty announced that Gulfshore Homes' Jasmine villa model in the Torino neighborhood within Grey Oaks Country Club is under contract. The 3,187-square-foot under air, one-story floor plan includes three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a two-car garage and a golf cart storage area. The list price for the fully-furnished Jasmine model with optional features was $1.395 million. The residence will remain available for viewing through May.

The Jasmine's interior was designed and executed by the team of Sherri DuPont and Jody Keene of Collins & DuPont Interior Design Inc. Their transitional design style conveys a unique, eclectic sense of fun driven by a color palette that includes pale mushroom, whites, emeralds, teals and daffodil daisy tones that play against white trim and light flooring with a running pattern. An interesting and visually captivating applied molding lattice treatment is repeated in the ceiling details throughout the home. Wall mirrors and furnishings with mirrored finishes combine with silver,When I first started creating broken buymosaic. chrome and nickel accessories and lighting fixtures.

Tall rectangular mirrors, accessories and a chandelier welcome visitors in the foyer. Columns define the entry to the great room space where three niches are set on the feature wall. A circular mirror is hung in the center niche above a credenza with deep Java trim and cerise wood insets. Polished nickel demilune consoles bedecked by crisp white urns and silver lamps are set in the niches flanking the credenza. Other furnishings in the great room include an off-white sofa that plays against accessories with strong pops of color, including textured emerald and aqua glass pieces placed on a mirrored coffee table and daffodil yellow accent pillows. Palm Beach style bamboo side chairs with green cushions, bronze metal end tables with lightly stained wood tops and glass lamps banded with bronze metal complete the look.

In keeping with the Jasmine's great room design, DuPont and Keene created a kitchen that flows into the living space. Rather than incorporating the typical raised island bar, they chose to create a gathering space at a bar area made of dark, bronze-like finished wood that resembles a parson's table. Three bubble type bar stools have open circular backs and a memory function that automatically returns the chairs to their original position. The granite in the kitchen is a subtle white, taupe and gray mix that is carried in the backsplash behind a Viking gas cook top. Emerald and teal color striping separates the granite from the light tile backsplash above the perimeter counter tops. The island includes a Blanco sink with satin nickel fixtures, including a gooseneck faucet.Navigating the world of customkeychain and RFID requires a keen insight into the trends that are shaping the industry. Two vertical cabinets have glass fronts with window pane mullions.

Collins & DuPont maintained a sense of geometry throughout the kitchen, including in the ceiling and in the six square art pieces displayed above the upper cabinetry. An adjacent built-in end-cap breakfast area features a contemporary table with an unusual base. The breakfast area opens to an outdoor living space with a fireplace, sitting area and outdoor kitchen.

A formal dining room off the Jasmine's primary hallway is defined by square columns and a dropped, lattice work ceiling detail. The dark tone of the rectangular dining table is offset by six transitional chairs done in light upholstery. A side board with mirrored insets is set in a niche under a piece of art.Add depth and style to your home with these large format glassmosaic. The side board is a combination of wood and metal.We specialize in iphoneheadset. The flooring in the dining room is a warm wood stained in a taupe-gray finish. The entire setting is enhanced by a platinum-finished chandelier with silk shades and flame finials.

A bar serves both the bar and master suite. The bar area has dark stained cabinetry, a granite counter top with a square sink and an under counter refrigerator. The bar is flanked by a pair of niches finished with glass tiles and geometric, contemporary platinum-colored lamps with Lucite bulb dishes. The adjacent study features a book case, credenza and desk, all in a dark finish. The navy leather desk chair, dark hardwood floor, beamed ceiling, linen colored recliner and navy and saffron accents complete a very warm look.

DuPont and Keene divided a found geometric screen and then hung the sections to serve as sentries when entering the master bedroom. The room's light taupe and linen mix is accented with grayish blues that show up in pillows set against a framed upholstered headboard and footboard. A period map of Paris has been divided into eight pieces that serve as the focal art work for the space.

The master bath's neutral palette includes granite counter tops,All our rtls are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. a marble floor with a small taupe colored banded marble inset and a glass mosaic pattern in the shower. The walnut toned vanity cabinetry plays against the neutral tones and the large rectangular mirrors mounted over each of the sinks.

Torino is an enclave that will include 55 luxury villas at build-out. One- and two-story residences line brick-paved cul-de-sac streets. Thirty-four homesites remain available for purchase in Torino.

M&M said that since the formation of the venture in 2009, with M&M holding 74 per cent stake and the rest with BAE Systems, both stakeholders recognise that `significant evolution has occurred in the Indian Land Systems market’.

The developments in the industry environment and in customer procurement frameworks and acquisition strategies had led them to `institute a strategic review of the business’. The review would assess changes required to address the evolving market and to meet emerging customer needs. The statement clarified however that `no decision has yet been taken on the way forward’.

After the formation of the JV, it was said that DLSI will be headquartered in New Delhi with manufacturing at a `purpose built facility South of Faridabad’ near Delhi. In a release issued by the Mahindra group then, it was stated that the JV was focused on the `manufacture of up-armoured light vehicles, specialist military vehicles, mine protected vehicles, artillery systems and other selected land system weapons, support and upgrades’. The intention was to become a `centre of excellence for artillery systems’.

However it is not clear what impact the latest decision with regard to the tie up between M&M and BAE Systems would have on the overall plans of M&M in the defence sector. This was because it was only recently that another defence foray of M&M with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems was rejected by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) after the Ministry of Home Affairs declined to give security clearance to the JV which was to produce naval defence products.

In a communication to the stock exchanges on Dec 27, M&M said that FIPB which rejected the JV proposal between M& M and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd of Israel did not assign any reason for its rejection. The application for the JV was made by both companies to the FIPB in March 2012 for the development and production of naval system products.

The statement said `both Mahindra and Rafael are surprised and disappointed at this decision’ as both were reputed companies which have `extensive engagement with the Govt of India on projects related to Defence and Homeland Security’. The statement said that Mahindra and Rafael would `continue exploring ways’ towards forming a JV.

Mahindra said it chose Rafael as a JV partner because both the Indian and Israeli governments were `cooperating extensively’ in the defence sector. Rafael was involved in several defence projects including the Long Range Surface to Air Missile and Armouring Technologies with the DRDO at the government to government level, M&M said.

Miami, once known only for Cuban food

Miami doesn’t come to mind as a foodcentric city in my book. At least, that’s how I graded this city known for Cuban sandwiches, lechon asado and black beans when I visited years ago.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Cuban food for its similarity to Filipino cuisine. However, there’s got to be more than Cuban food and South Beach to this metro area of 2.5 million people.

I returned to Miami last month and discovered a much different metropolis. There is real estate development resurgence in every open space in the landscape, spurred by an influx of South American and Chinese investments. I panned my surroundings atop my highfloor window at the swanky JW Marriott Marquis hotel and stood in awe of the new buildings that filled the skyline and the mega yachts and powerboats that paraded the channel across from the hotel.

I was there for the food, and I enlisted my good friend, food and wine aficionado Ryan Schmied, hotel manager at the Beaux Arts hotel,You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth streetlight truck Descriptions. to guide me through his city’s latest gastronomic finds.

We headed straight to Sakaya Kitchen. It took me a split second to fall in love with this food truck turned brick-and-mortar casual Asian fusion joint in the middle of bustling downtown Miami. The open space restaurant with communal tables featured a giant board that listed the mouthwatering menu: Korean housemade kimchi egg rolls, Filipino lumpia shrimp and pork spring rolls, dirty South Korean sliders, KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), honey orange baby back ribs, “Kdog” with kimchi slaw and Asian tater tots and steamed tofu with BBQ sauce, buttered cauliflower, ginger bok choy and brown rice.

I was abuzz with excitement, and I hadn’t even placed my order. We devoured the fluffy mini bao buns — one made with “Banh mi” sous vide kurobuta pork belly and the other with eight-hour roast pork with tangy chili sauce. There also was savory “Dae ji” spicy pork tenderloin with buttered broccoli and Thai jasmine rice that satisfied my inner Asian soul. However, the ultimate prize at Sakaya Kitchen is its signature ginger Brussels sprouts, with assertive ginger flavors and crunchy texture that seduces the senses to submission and ecstasy.

There is a revival of the neighborhood restaurant in every pocket of Miami that is a welcome departure from the snobby A-list-only restaurants of the past decade. Locals are the new A-listers; with restaurants reserving walk-in slots for their most valu ed customers who venture into these restaurants.

A prime example is Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in Miami Beach, where Ryan took me to sample nouveau Southern cuisine that blows your mind the moment you bite into the Llewellyn’s Fine Fried Chicken served with spicy Tabasco sauce. There is an amber glow inside this cozy joint, where the aroma of Mama’s Chicken Biscuits fills the air. The crowd is as diverse in color as in attire. There are dudes in Heat caps, artsy types with black-rimmed glasses and slim pants and older couples who happened to stop in for a quick kale salad on their walk home.

Yardbird serves tasty dishes without the intrusion of sauce smears and over-decorating on plates. The biscuits are served in a simple basket kept warm by a white dishcloth. The piquant “Fried Green Tomatoes” BLT with Heritage Acre Farm pork belly, greens, tomato jam and housemade pimento cheese simply is centered on a white plate. We enjoyed the molasses-grilled duck breast with the pumpkin puree and grilled cabbage as if we were eating at our kitchen table at home. The chilled watermelon with a dose of pepper, lemon and herbs was a refreshing side dish that was especially tasty after I added a pinch of salt.

There is no doubt the kings of the rebirth of Miami neighborhood dining are behind the Pubbelly mini-empire. Andreas Schreiner, Jose Mendin and Sergio Navarro are industry alums who have risen to the top of the pecking order with their unpretentious concepts centered around savory small plates, raw bar and tasty side dishes, all in a place where locals can feel at home — e ven if Dwayne Wade is seated at the same communal table.The crystalmosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos.

Pubbbelly was the catalyst, but PB Sushi, Barceloneta (two locations) and Macchialina followed. Most recently, PB Steak opened to make it t he sixth location since the company’s inception in 2010.

Pubbelly is Miami Beach’s neighborhood tavern inspired by Asian ingredients, European cooking techniques and American cuisine. Pubbelly is the real deal. It has glamorized simple ingredients for the local foodie craving for more. Ryan and I were left speechless,Our aim is to supply indoortracking which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. and when we thought we’d had the ultimate best dish, the kitchen whipped out another that blew the last out of the water.

Pubbelly specialize s i n delivering intensified dumplings such as the shortrib and corn with black truffles and the duck and pumpkin that Ryan described as nirvana in a bowl. Then, there was the foie gras creme brulee with blueberry marmalade, sea salt and served with Hawaiian rolls.

I can’t forget how the cochinillo arrived at our table like our last feast — suckling pig topped with a mountain of Brussels sprouts, sour apple puree, cinnamon and soy jus.Beautiful plasticcard in a wide range of colors & sold at factory direct prices.

The last stop on our Miami culinary escapade brought us to The Federal Food, Drink & Provisions, or Fed, located in a dull strip mall on Biscayne Boulevard. The anomaly of a terrific restaurant in a strip mall is probably what’s endearing about this modern twist on the neighborhood tavern.

Owners Aniece Mienhold, Cesar Zapata and Alejandro Ortiz created a space filled with wood accents. The Fed’s food can hold its own with the rest of our tour restaurants, adding touches of modern American cuisine to every dish. Imagine the jar o’ duck terrine with candied sweet potato or the burrata and figs accompanied with dried figs, blackberry compote and sage “biskit” crumbs. I couldn’t resist the buffalo-style pig wing, styled with blue cheese mousse and pickled carrots. It wasn’t as spicy as I wanted, yet, it was intriguing. The char-grilled octopus with farro was my favorite — perfectly chewy to the bite with hints of sweetness from the dried cranberries.All molds comes with 5 Years Local Agent Warranty !

Security fears dim Benghazi’s dream of economic revival

At a construction site on Benghazi’s waterfront, engineer Seraj Bushada proudly points to a giant hole in the ground that will make way for a 48-floor office tower that city officials hope will help transform part of this port city into a modern business district.

Construction of the $300-million (U.S.) Three Towers project, which will include two smaller blocks housing luxury apartments and a hotel, was delayed due to the uprising against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which began here nearly two years ago.

The project is now due for completion in 2015 and is being promoted in Benghazi’s bid to regain its former status as the country’s business capital and end what residents see as decades of marginalization under Gaddafi.

Only last week a car bomb killed a Benghazi police officer, the second such attack in as many days and the government is considering imposing a night time curfew on the city.

Many Benghazans, however, are calling for the country’s new constitution – due to be drafted in coming months – to give the city powers to manage its own affairs and a share of the eastern region’s resources.

While the revolution succeeded in overthrowing Gaddafi, they argue, it has failed to spread wealth more evenly in Libya. Benghazi is the main city in eastern Libya, which provides around 80 per cent of the country’s oil wealth, yet the city is still dependent on the government in Tripoli for funding.

Some residents and officials are calling for the constitution to officially restore Benghazi as Libya’s business capital, a status it held under King Idris until his overthrow by Gaddafi in a coup in 1969. With an estimated population of nearly one million, it is roughly half the size of Tripoli.

“Everything was here before, Benghazi is the best place to be the economic capital,” said businessman Kais el-Bakshishi of the “Benghazi Economic Capital” campaign, which counts about 700 members including local businessmen, activists and academics.

“The main reasons are its strategic location – a gateway to Africa and Egypt and historically the people of Benghazi are traders. A lot of businessmen in Tripoli are from Benghazi.”

“We are trying to restore Benghazi to what it once was,” he said, sitting in the council’s new offices – where posters claiming “Together we will build our city” hang next to signs banning weapons.

The NOC was formerly the Libyan General Petroleum Company,You can buy mosaic Moon yarns and fibers right here as instock. which was founded in Benghazi in 1968. After the NOC was established in 1970 it relocated to Tripoli.

“The objection is that it is like before – everything is controlled by Tripoli; this is not why the revolution took place,” said Tahani Mohammed Ben Ali,All our plastic moulds are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. head of the Benghazi workers’ union at Libya’s biggest oil firm Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco).

“There are infrastructure, health, education needs here.”

With the country still volatile, Libya’s new rulers – led by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan’s cabinet and the general national congress – know they have to strike a careful balance to appease regional rivalries.

That plays in Benghazi’s favour and the oil ministry has proposed splitting the NOC into an exploration and production company based in Tripoli and a refining and petrochemicals company in Benghazi. Residents in eastern Libya as well as activists and oil workers vehemently oppose the plan, however, and say the whole company should relocate to Benghazi.

South Korean company Nemo Partners is building a temporary passenger terminal at the airport. But progress on expanding the airport has been slow as the central government is reviewing previous foreign investment deals in the country before it approves new ones.

Benghazi officials are also considering building a free trade zone and have proposed public works projects to provide jobs, namely for the former rebel fighters who have yet to lay down their weapons.

“We want to look after the factories around Benghazi, we need to boost manufacturing,” Mr. Elhadad said. “We have an industrial area of around 1,000 hectares,We can supply howo truck products as below. we want to have a real industry here, we want to build more hotels.”

Mr. Elhadad wants Benghazi to be twinned with cities like Istanbul or Marseille to promote ties and plans to write to the mayor of New York, seeking to attract U.S.For the world leader in injection molds base services and plastic injection products. interest.

Industry in the area focuses on cement, and cable and steel pipe factories, as well as oil services, but badly needed foreign investment is only trickling in.

The International Monetary Fund forecast Libya’s economy shrank 60 per cent in 2011 due to the conflict but expected it to expand by 122 per cent in 2012 and 17 per cent this year.

Benghazi still faces many of the same problems as the rest of Libya. Rubbish is piled up on its streets and beaches; jobs are in short supply; and weapons are everywhere as the government has failed to control rival armed factions since the end of the uprising.

However, it has seen more commercial activity in the past year and dozens of new clothing, food and consumer goods shops have sprung up.

“Things are getting better, lots of new businesses were established after the revolution,” an Egyptian worker at a supermarket in the city, said. “And people are spending.”

One local businessman said retail business in Benghazi had tripled since before the war, but did not cite a source for the figure: “The former fighters have money so they are spending.”

At a conference this week,Our extensive range of rubber hose is supplied to all sorts of industries across Australia and overseas. businessmen and campaigners laid out plans for Benghazi’s economic revival, but many acknowledged security remains a priority.

More than 20 Ansel Adams photographs

It's a rare glimpse into the KIA's collection of Adams' landscape photographs,Buy today and get your delivery for £25 on a range of ceramic tile for your home. donated by several sources, said Greg Waskowsky, associate curator of collections at the KIA.

Waskowsky said it's the first time these 23 photographs have been displayed since the early 1990s. Waskowsky said the pieces -- displayed mostly in frames ranging at 16-by-20 or 20-by-24 -- date as early as 1920 and as recently as 1963.

"You discover this whole other aspect of his work ... He has such a variety of approaches," Waskowsky said.

Adams was born in San Francisco, Calif., in 1902. He was the grandson of a wealthy timber baron and found comfort, even at a young age, with nature. He often hiked the Golden Gate area. In 1916, Adams first visited Yosemite and was "transfixed and transformed" by the region, according to his biography.

He used a Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie, a gift from his parents, to document the area he frequently hiked and explored. In 1919, Adams joined the Sierra Club, whThat is a machine for manufacturing plastic products by the injection mould process.ich was first to publish his photographs and writings in 1922.

Several photos in "Sight and Feeling" featured the Yosemite region, as well as Mount McKinley National Park in Alaska, Silverton, Colo. and Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colo.

Adams' career blossomed in the early 1930s and he soon became known for his voracious work ethic, technical wizardry and as a defender of nature, including the protection of national parks.

Ansel did "straight photography," not "pictorialism" a form popular at the time, Waskowsky said. Pictorialism was the technique of making photographs resemble paintings. Adams wished to let the power of the landscape, aided by his keen eye and remarkable talent, stand on its own, Waskowsky said.

"Adams said we're not going to use any of that soft focus stuff and take these images in sharp, distinctive focus, develop the total range possible in photography and bring out the inherit strengths of the medium," Waskowsky said.

A roadside Tyrannosaurus marks the traveler’s arrival in Vernal, Utah,Don't make another silicone mold without these invaluable mold making supplies and accessories! the biggest town to the west of the monument, which straddles Utah and Colorado. The creature, sporting a red-and-white bandanna as broad as a bedsheet, is an attention grabber for the farmer’s market at his feet. He holds a watermelon. His smile is hard to read. Is he offering the melon to passersby, or does he intend to drop it on them as they pass? As with any facsimile of a Jurassic behemoth—be it a skeletal casting in bronze or something more casual in rebar and chicken wire—it is almost impossible not to stop, tip the head back and gawp. Who can resist a dinosaur?

So it goes, all along Vernal’s main drag: seven roadside dinosaurs, from an old Sinclair “Brontosaurus” the size of a country sow to a three-story hot-pink theropod with eyelashes as big as your leg. Even the local museum—the Utah Field House of Natural History— beckons bored young backseaters with its outdoor “dinosaur garden” in plain view of the roadway. For parents, the allure of the giant showstopper lizards is that they are not only thrilling but educational: Dinosaurs are the gateway drug to geology and paleontology. But are they? Or do they charm young museumgoers so effectively that nothing else sinks in? How can the geological details of the Dinwoody Formation, for example, no matter how engaging the signage, compete with a replica of a five-ton Stegosaurus?

You catch sight of the Diplodocus skeleton in the Vernal museum’s rotunda—so tall that a man strides comfortably beneath its rib cage—and, whomp, everything you learned is obliterated. You’re as kitten-brained as the paleontologist in the Monty Python sketch. Do dinosaurs teach evolution, or do they inspire a simpler train of thought, more along the lines of what I overheard earlier, standing under the Diplodocus: “God was right out of his mind!”

Dinosaur National Monument is effective in its simplicity and its lack of distraction.howo spareparts Here are earth and bones. Geological strata are a language, and you learn to read it. Outside the quarry building is a three-quarter-mile-long Fossil Discovery Trail. You begin amid 163-million-year-old sand dunes. A two-minute walk fast-forwards you 25 million years and now you stand amid the sediment and fossilized shells of a vast inland sea that once covered Utah. Fast-forward again to the famous reptilian relics of a Jurassic Period riverbed, and from there to another great surge of inland sea. You end your walk through time at a petroglyph carved in the rock a mere 1,000 years ago by the earliest human residents of the basin. Whomp. You grasp the staggering age of this planet, of life.

When senior artist Maite Delteil was growing up in France, it was the beauty of the countryside that inspired her to become a painter. “The nature there, the birds and the flowers intrigued me. That is why they often find their way into my paintings,” she confesses. Born in 1933, Maite received her art education at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts, Academie de la Grand Chaumiere, Academic Julian and National School of Art.

This was followed by a fellowship from the Government of France to study in Spain and Greece. Delteil’s work has been exhibited widely in Europe, America and Japan. She has worked with renowned painter Roger Chapelain-Midy and engraver Robert Cami.Professionals with the job title mold maker are on LinkedIn. In 1956, she met Indian painter Sakti Burman and their love for painting helped them bond. Says Maite, “We were two painters and loved each others’ work. We soon started spending more time with each other and then love happened.” The couple got married in 1963 and have two children, Matthieu and Maya.

The images that comprise Delteil’s recent body of paintings may initially appear to express a preoccupation with the genres of still life and landscape. The paintings, however, are more like experiences that unfold in the borderland between memory and fantasy. “The colours that I use are those that give me happiness. Paintings need to appeal to you visually and using the right colours according to the sentiment of happiness is very important. Besides, my attention to detail is a form of my devotion,” says Maite.

Maite is currently holding her third solo exhibition till February 2 in Mumbai after the highly-acclaimed Gardens of Grace in 2004 and Fruits of Grace in 2007. She is showing in Mumbai after a gap of six years and the exhibition will showcase her recent body of works. In the past, the artist has also held exhibitions in Kolkata, Delhi and Baroda. Has she noticed a change in Indian art? “A lot has changed in India,” she says, adding, “There used to be a time when India’s economy was not very well-developed. Earlier, there used to be hardly any crowd at art exhibitions, forget people buying paintings. However, that has changed and the number of art lovers has grown immensely. I am really happy to see so much of enthusiasm.”

A hidden property empire grown with Mussolini’s millions

Few passing London tourists would ever guess that the premises of Bulgari, the upmarket jewellers in New Bond Street, had anything to do with the pope. Nor the nearby headquarters of the wealthy investment bank Altium Capital, on the corner of St James’s Square and Pall Mall.

But these office blocks in one of London’s most expensive districts are part of a surprising secret commercial property empire owned by the Vatican.We offers several ways of providing hands free access to car parks to authorised vehicles.

Behind a disguised offshore company structure, the church’s international portfolio has been built up over the years, using cash originally handed over by Mussolini in return for papal recognition of the Italian fascist regime in 1929.

Since then the international value of Mussolini’s nest egg has mounted until it now exceeds 500m. In 2006, at the height of the recent property bubble, the Vatican spent 15m of those funds to buy 30 St. James’s Square. Other U.K. properties are at 168 New Bond Street and in the city of Coventry. It also owns blocks of flats in Paris and Switzerland.

The surprising aspect for some will be the lengths to which the Vatican has gone to preserve secrecy about the Mussolini millions. The St. James’s Square office block was bought by a company called British Grolux Investments Ltd, which also holds the other U.K. properties. Published registers at Companies House do not disclose the company’s true ownership, nor make any mention of the Vatican.

Instead, they list two nominee shareholders, both prominent Catholic bankers: John Varley, recently chief executive of Barclays Bank, and Robin Herbert, formerly of the Leopold Joseph merchant bank. Letters were sent from The Guardian to each of them asking whom they act for. They went unanswered. British company law allows the true beneficial ownership of companies to be concealed behind nominees in this way.

The company secretary, John Jenkins, a Reading accountant, was equally uninformative. He told us the firm was owned by a trust but refused to identify it on grounds of confidentiality. He told us after taking instructions: “I confirm that I am not authorised by my client to provide any information.” Research in old archives, however, reveals more of the truth. Companies House files disclose that British Grolux Investments inherited its entire property portfolio after a reorganisation in 1999 from two predecessor companies called British Grolux Ltd and Cheylesmore Estates. The shares of those firms were in turn held by a company based at the address of the JP Morgan bank in New York. Ultimate control is recorded as being exercised by a Swiss company, Profima SA.

British wartime records from the National Archives in Kew complete the picture. They confirm Profima SA as the Vatican’s own holding company, accused at the time of “engaging in activities contrary to Allied interests.” Files from officials at Britain’s Ministry of Economic Warfare at the end of the war criticised the pope’s financier, Bernardino Nogara, who controlled the investment of more than 50m cash from the Mussolini windfall.

Nogara’s “shady activities” were detailed in intercepted 1945 cable traffic from the Vatican to a contact in Geneva,A Dessicant dry cabinet is an enclosure with a supply of desiccant which maintains an internal. according to the British, who discussed whether to blacklist Profima as a result. “Nogara, a Roman lawyer, is the Vatican financial agent and Profima SA in Lausanne is the Swiss holding company for certain Vatican interests.” They believed Nogara was trying to transfer shares of two Vatican-owned French property firms to the Swiss company, to prevent the French government blacklisting them as enemy assets.

Earlier in the war, in 1943, the British accused Nogara of similar “dirty work,” by shifting Italian bank shares into Profima’s hands in order to “whitewash” them and present the bank as being controlled by Swiss neutrals. This was described as “manipulation” of Vatican finances to serve “extraneous political ends.”

The Mussolini money was dramatically important to the Vatican’s finances. John Pollard, a Cambridge historian, says in Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: “The papacy was now financially secure. It would never be poor again.” From the outset,Do you know any howo spare parts wholesale supplier? Nogara was innovative in investing the cash. In 1931, records show he founded an offshore company in Luxembourg to hold the continental European property assets he was buying. It was called Groupement Financier Luxembourgeois, hence Grolux. Luxembourg was one of the first countries to set up tax-haven company structures in 1929. The U.K. end, called British Grolux, was incorporated the following year. When war broke out, with the prospect of a German invasion, the Luxembourg operation and ostensible control of the British Grolux operation were moved to the U.S. and to neutral Switzerland.

The Mussolini investments in Britain are currently controlled, along with its other European holdings and a currency trading arm, by a papal official in Rome, Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the pope’s merchant banker. Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA — Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica — which handles the so-called “patrimony of the Holy See.”

According to a report last year from the Council of Europe, which surveyed the Vatican’s financial controls, the assets of Mennini’s special unit now exceed €680m (570m).

While secrecy about the Fascist origins of the papacy’s wealth might have been understandable in wartime, what is less clear is why the Vatican continued to maintain secrecy about its holdings in Britain,Our team of consultants are skilled in project management and delivery of large scale rtls projects. even after its financial structure was reorganised in 1999.

The Guardian asked the Vatican’s representative in London, the papal nuncio, archbishop Antonio Mennini, why the papacy continued with such secrecy over the identity of its property investments in London. We also asked what the pope spent the income on. True to its tradition of silence on the subject,Want to find howo concrete mixer? the Roman Catholic church’s spokesman said that the nuncio had no comment.

Rocky Neck Cultural Center hosts ‘Expressive Painting

The plein-art tradition on Cape Ann has a storied tradition and a deservedly solid reputation. Abstract art does not. With a new exhibition currently on view at the Cultural Center on Rocky Neck, “Expressive Painting, 2013,” a modest show aims to establish the newly opened gallery space as a home for challenging non-figurative art.

With about two dozen works by seven different artists, “Expressive Painting, 2013” makes an impressive start. Curated by Ruth Mordecai, who also shows in the exhibition, the collection ranges from muted and introspective works by Susan Erony and Yhanna Coffin to bold and bright pieces by Laurel Hughes.

In between are works in acrylics, oils and collage on paper, impossible to categorize in one sentiment but nearly all repaying the viewer’s attention. A large piece by Hughes, “Grace on Water,” forms the visual centerpiece in the gallery. Atmospheric swirls of color might actually be water, but only during those times (known to everyone on Cape Ann) where the water’s surface has been radically transformed by natural light.

Deborah Lloyd Kaufman approaches “landscape” in an alternate way: her “Rainforest 2010,” a riot of yellow background and chalky verticals, seems to attempt to make sense of the lush overgrowth by breaking it into architectural quadrants.

Mordecai’s own work bears the strong influence of architecture. The largest of her works in the show, “Between Painting and Sculpture #3,” is aptly described. Mixed media on a vertical canvas, with rough outlines that create the sense of defined space, but are challenged by soft pastel interpellations, altering the mood within the work.Find Complete Details about howo tractor Truck.

Erony’s and Coffin’s work, linked only in that they are almost entirely black and white, are the most striking intellectually. Coffin’s mixed media “Grief” captures a mood with inexplicable directness. There is no mistaking the subject, even before the viewer reads the labeling.

Erony shows three works, two small pieces and the larger “Winter, 2010,” which blends acrylic on canvas with burnt paper. That piece vaguely references the popples visible along the beaches, but with a disturbing sky. The burnt paper border suggests not only some man-made force overtaking the natural scene, but the artist’s own abandon toward the piece.

The great attraction with any abstract work comes in the intimate dialogue created between viewer and object. A well-crafted creation of mysterious intention invites the viewer toward meaning without ever specifying it, creating an energy that continues to flow back-and-forth. “Expressive Painting, 2013,” the first in a year-long series at the Cultural Center, is a bold start for a gallery that promises to challenge the conversations of the Cape Ann art world.

“Mine and Clint’s parents, MT Joseph and Chinnamma Joseph, were friends. Clint’s father is a natural storyteller, who shared many tales about their son’s life. At such a young age and without formal training in the arts, his works were technically brilliant. Painters would agree it requires years of practice to produce such pieces.”

She added, “From chalks to crayons and watercolour, Clint used every possible medium to create drawings and paintings that depicted the world as he saw it, leaving art admirers and critics stunned by his maturity and convinced about his artistic genius.”

Nair spent several hours in Clint’s room with his works and noticed that nature was the key inspiration. His mother would take him for walks and tell him interesting stories about the butterflies, lakes and other things around him. He translated everything he saw and understood about nature, on paper. His paintings often describe, in a subtle way, the feeling of solitude and pain.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos.

Just before his death, he would ask questions like ‘how did human being comes into existence?’ And ‘why do people die?’

“A day before his actual death, he scared his parents by pretending to be dead. He would draw for hours at length and sometimes, as his mother massaged his right hand,We offers several ways of providing hands free access to car parks to authorised vehicles. he continued painting with his left. It was like he was on some mission, or had set a target to complete within a set time,” shared the author.

She quoted an excerpt from the book, where she described a competition in which Clint participated.

“It was at a children’s park near Kochi Lake. Competitions were in three categories — pencil, crayon and watercolour. Participants were allowed to choose one medium, being allowed just ninety minutes. Clint was unable to comply with the rules and insisted on joining all three categories.”

Nobody depicts dudes the way Green does, and making his way up from the nadir that was 2011's The Sitter, Green is back in fine and funny form with Prince Avalanche, a story about-- you guessed it-- two guys stuck together. This time they're on the verge of becoming brothers, with Alvin (Paul Rudd) in a relationship with the sister of Lance (Emile Hirsch), who's much younger and probably a lot dumber than the buttoned-up Alvin, who speaks in weirdly stiff language and is constantly encouraging Lance to make something of himself. Then again, Alvin's the guy who has taken a job painting yellow stripes on roads and installing signs, bringing Lance along with him for a summer of camping in a part of the Texas wilderness recently destroyed by wildfires.

Green adapted the film from the Icelandic effort Either Way, but the relationship between Alvin,Want to find howo concrete mixer? Lance and the ravaged landscape that surrounds them feels very American, as the two men act out the classic American impulse of taking to the Western wilderness to escape whatever is holding them back. Of course, these being Green characters, they're not all that successful, and even way out in the middle of nowhere Lance can't do anything but complain about not getting laid, and Alvin can't do anything but obsess about the girlfriend he misses. Only after one epic drunken night-- which is preceded by a fistfight-- do they come close to baring their hearts to each other, but that requires wrecking all the equipment for their job in the process.You can buy mosaic Moon yarns and fibers right here as instock.

Salzman examines paucity of safe drinking water in the world

"In developed countries, we do not think much about drinking water on a daily basis. It is plentiful, safe and easily available," writes James Salzman in his fine new book Drinking Water: A History. We don't think, he says, about the quality or quantity of our H2O. "We simply turn the tap or open a bottle of water.

"Most of us do not know the source … and do not particularly care to know. Water supply is seen as a government or corporate responsibility, not an individual concern."

Yet that lack of concern quickly disappears when we move a few thousand kilometres geographically, or a few dozen years in time. At that point or in that place, drinking water - life's most basic requirement - becomes a very big concern. Consider, for instance, what happened with Olde London's Broad Street pump.

In the 1850s, the pump's well, in Soho, was popular locally for its clear, tasty drinking water. The problem was, that water also carried deadly cholera. In one of many intriguing anecdotes, Salzman, a professor of law and the environment at Duke University, tells of how one John Snow, a London physician, tracked cholera deaths back to the pump, even for consumers who lived in far-off Islington and Hampstead and sent servants or family to fetch the water.

A now-famous "Ghost Map" came out of the report Snow wrote in 1855, showing a cholera cluster one-quarter mile around the pump. Armed with this evidence, the determined doctor persuaded Soho officials to remove the pump handle - in one fell swoop halting the spread of the disease and founding the modern field of epidemiology.

Snow's work, of course, hardly ended waterborne disease. Wells tainted by our forefathers' tendency to dump rubbish near water supplies and failure to prevent street run-off prompted historic epidemics: in 1832 cholera killed 900 people in Philadelphia and 3,500 in New York; yellow fever struck Philadelphia in 1793 and New York in 1795. More mundanely, water polluted with human waste simply made life unpleasant: 1858's "Great Stink of London" caused Parliament to adjourn. And in 1748 New York, a visitor was heard to quip that the water was so bad horses from out of town refused to drink it.

But, equine palates aside, "For most of human history, safe drinking water has been the exception, not the norm," Salzman soberly writes. "The greatest threat to human well-being in the world today is not climate change, Aids, or warfare. Unsafe drinking water is the single largest killer in the world."

Certainly,Ubisense RTLS solutions go beyond the traditional definition of a “real time location system” to a new class. many over the centuries have laboured to reverse this circumstance. The demand for safe water has been a constant, Salzman writes, but what has evolved is our relationship with water, along with societal conceptions of what threatens health and makes water unsafe. Snow, for example, fought the common belief in his day that disease spread through airborne mists containing poisonous "miasma"; he helped usher in germ theory.

Another example: communal drinking cups at school faucets and water barrels on trains were once the (dangerous) norm. Then, in 1909, the state of Kansas banned this practice and other states followed; the disposable paper Dixie Cup (1907) was born. Other turning points include the first filtration (through sand) of municipal water by Glasgow, Scotland, in 1827, and the realisation (Middelkerke, Belgium in 1902) that adding small amounts of chlorine to water kills microorganisms. A particularly horrific realisation occurred as recently as the 1990s in Bangladesh, where a massive World Health Organization initiative to sink "tubewells" into the aquifer "monstrously transformed into the worst case of mass poisoning in the world", Salzman writes.Get the best deal on solar panel in the UK and use our free tools.

The WHO quickly took action,Load the precious minerals into your mining truck and be careful not to drive too fast with your heavy foot.Buy Joan Rivers crystal mosaic Stretch Bracelet. painting the worst wells red. But rural people - mostly women - continued using them. They knew arsenic's dangers, but apparently preferred slow death by poison to the immediate torture of walking kilometres each day to water sources, balancing heavy jugs or jerry cans on their heads, losing critical time from paying work and schooling, and crippling their bodies.

Drinking water's collision with cultural and economic factors is so poignant, so thought-provoking, readers may wonder why Drinking Water wasn't written years ago. Why do we have piped water in the developed world? One influence was the Romans' engineering feat of moving water long distances via stone aqueducts. The clever Romans also introduced piped water to urban communal lacus, underwriting them by taxing those who piped the water directly to their homes. When did bottled water arrive on the scene? That would be the Middle Ages, when communities around holy wells created distinctive water bottles (ceramic, not plastic) so that pilgrims could take the precious stuff home and guarantee awestruck neighbours that this was the real thing.

New York's debacle in cleaning up its water is another fascinating tale. Following the yellow fever of 1795, the first US Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton persuaded state legislators to privatise, not publicly finance, water. Thus arose the Manhattan Company, whose broad powers to select any land and waters it desired, without obligation to repair streets torn up from pipes, provide water for fires, or open its books, enraged customers.

It wasn't water Assemblyman Aaron Burr (infamous for subsequent acts) cared about: What he wanted was to lead the new company, using its unlimited bank charter, which allowed the institution to devote barely 10 per cent of its $2 million funding toward waterworks. That's how it got away with laying just 23 miles of pipe, using local polluted water, and gouging customers.howo spareparts

"It is true the unpalatableness of this abominable fluid prevents almost every person from using it as a beverage at the table," one man wrote to a local newspaper. Eventually forced out of the water trade, the company landed on its feet as the powerful Chase Manhattan Bank (today JPMorgan Chase). A chastened New York then returned to public funding for water, building the enormous Croton Reservoir project, which now draws from watersheds 200km north of the city and transports 4.5 billion litres a day.

The government's cancellation of Cochabama's contract sent locals back to buying water from vendors - which was not necessarily a good thing. Water "is a gift from God", a privatisation opponent in Argentina once told the president of Veolia Environment, which supplies water to 100 million people worldwide. "Yes," the executive dryly replied, "but He forgot to lay the pipes."

Regardless of the economic questions involved, the human right to safe water remains major news. It can be seen in a legal ruling in India (where 17 per cent of people have no access to clean water) that forced municipalities there to improve water quality. It's present in Zambia, where a marketing campaign for a product called PUR (a sachet that purifies water) was a resounding success - because people put more stock in something they have to buy.

The right to clean water also reverberates in a US non-profit that raises millions to build wells in the developing world. It's there in new water treatment technologies, such as desalinisation (a major focus in the Middle East), large-scale distillation, the "LifeStraw" (for individual water purification), and even plans to mine water from asteroids.

The Wall Street Journal has said that water is the "21st century's equivalent of oil". And that sounds right. Foiled by the citizens of McCloud, Nestlé is working to open three other regional locations, to take what Mother Nature created from hydrogen and oxygen, then sell it in plastic bottles to willing buyers.

Ducted-fan AirMule to get new blades

Urban Aeronautics has manufactured new propeller blades that will be fitted to its unmanned AirMule ducted fan vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Using in-house capabilities, the company has manufactured 12 composite rotor blades for the two new six-bladed rotors that it plans to install on the aircraft next month. These will replace the four-bladed rotors that have been used since the beginning of 2010.

Company president Rafi Yoeli says the design of the blades and the construction of their associated tooling, rotor hubs, variable pitch mechanism, retention systems and other associated hardware have been carried out by Urban Aeronautics staff. The blade design complies with the loads specified for the US Federal Aviation Administration's FAR 35 standard for propellers, he adds.

The first test flight of a Turbomeca Arriel 1-engined AirMule equipped with the new rotor blades is scheduled for mid-February.Add depth and style to your home with these large format polished tiles.

Meanwhile,The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. Urban Aeronautics is also accelerating the assembly of a second AirMule prototype in preparation for a series of demonstration flights requested by potential customers. The aircraft is intended primarily as a reserve, to ensure uninterrupted flight testing once mission demonstrations to customers are underway: a milestone currently planned for mid-2014.

The first prototype of the AirMule internal rotor vehicle has recently been fitted with a double redundant hydraulic system to enable continued rotor pitch control in case of a failure in one of the pressure supply lines or any hydraulic control system hardware.

The Israeli company is planning to complete an automatic precision landing demonstration in the next few months, with a Controp-produced D-STAMP stabilised eletro-optical payload having already been installed.Panasonic ventilation system fans are energy efficient and whisper quiet. The sensor forms part of a system that will enable the aircraft to guide itself to touch down over any high contrast marker, or alternatively at a laser spot placed in a combat zone.

The company says the auto-landing feature will be the final step towards enabling fully autonomous take-off to landing flight paths using pre-programmed routes. Accurate positioning will be maintained en-route by an on-board inertial navigation system, used in conjunction with GPS or,All our plastic moulds are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. alternatively, a Doppler navigation unit.

After Sunday's NFL Conference Championship Games culminated in the "HarBowl", it got me thinking about things from a Bengals perspective. A range of emotions ensued when it came to pass that a divisional rival of the Bengals was once again headed to the Super Bowl, while the orange and black were sitting at home or on the golf course. There's a mixture of two emotions that usually come to the surface when thinking about the Ravens and Steelers: a strong dislike that is brought on mostly by envy.

Bengals fans have to be pleased with what they've seen from their own team over the past five years. They have a division title and two Wild Card berths in that timespan, but unfortunately, the team hasn't achieved any postseason wins. The 2011 rebuilding of the squad seems to be headed in the right direction with 19 wins the past two seasons and the breaking of 30-year-old curse of not making the postseason in back-to-back seasons.Our team of consultants are skilled in project management and delivery of large scale rtls projects. Still, it's that lack of postseason success which leaves a sour taste.

Additionally, things look solid again this offseason for Cincinnati. The Bengals were able to retain both of their quality coordinators who had gained interest for head coaching vacancies at various destinations, and they have an extra second round pick to help their roster. If they're able to do some good things in free agency, this team could once again be in the hunt for the playoffs. There's a strong feeling of consistency starting to brew in Cincinnati these days--something that hasn't been around these parts since the 1980s.

I had that familiar envious feeling while on Twitter Sunday night. Aside from hearing that the Harbaugh brothers outscored their opponents 35-0 in the second half in their respective Championship games, I made an observation about the success of the fellow AFC North powerhouses. With the Ravens' upcoming appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, it marks the third time in the last five Super Bowls that either the Ravens or Steelers have or will appear in the game. Those two AFC North teams have also participated in four of the last five AFC Championship games.

You could go back even further in recent history to the Steelers' victory in Super Bowl XL and the Ravens' victory after the 2000 season in Super Bowl XXXV to look deeper at the sustained success that both teams have had over the past decade or so. Sunday's result continued the dominance of the two AFC North bullies. The Ravens are going on 17 years old as a franchise and they are going to try and achieve their second Super Bowl Championship--which would be two more (should they win the big game) than the 44-year-old Bengals franchise has to their name.

Another fascinating aspect differentiating the Bengals from the Ravens and Steelers is the attitude of a "successful" and/or "disappointing season". The Steelers had themselves a "disappointing season" last year, by their own admission, and they were in the playoff hunt until the Week 16, barely missing out on the playoffs at 8-8. A "disappointing season" in Cincinnati is going 4-12 and have your then-franchise quarterback bail on the team.

There's an old adage that says "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Marvin Lewis is from the Pittsburgh area and coached in Baltimore--it's safe to say that he understands the culture of those respective franchises. He has preached the need for a strong running game and solid defense in order to win in the brutal AFC North and has been putting the pieces together for a winning formula. Heck, Lewis has come out and said that he wants to build the Bengals in the mold of the Steelers and Ravens. It's a lofty but wise goal.

Discovering a home of eccentrics

In the past, this hamlet was home to members of the Russian gentry and, later, the Soviet intelligentsia. These days, only eccentrics dwell here.

The place earned its name as the “Village of Eccentrics” some time ago, back when the founder of the community – nobleman Vladimir Brendel – was still alive.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. In 1927,We offers several ways of providing hands free access to car parks to authorised vehicles. Brendel, a biologist and a vet, was invited to stay by the leader of the republic, Nestor Lakoba. Abkhazia’s first vet built a big house on the seashore, and then other Russians started to settle next to him.

Brendel’s house operated on an open door policy that welcomed all manner of creative types: the owners hosted concerts and other events here; the man of the house played the piano and also spent his time painting and writing poetry. The house is currently occupied by his granddaughter, Olga Voitsekhovskaya-Brendel. She is working to keep the memory of her talented grandfather alive, along with the memory of her mother, a famous artist who was also named Olga.

The house’s walls are decorated with Abkhazia’s first mosaic; the interior is filled with paintings and large solid furniture. Olga (the younger) walks around the empty house in scruffy slippers and a blouse, listening to an old-fashioned radio – she says this is better than a TV. She has not been able to surpass her relatives in terms of artistic talent due to a disability (she was born with a withered arm), but she has carried the baton of what her grandfather started. Having studied the work of her own mother, she became an art historian.

“I’ve been robbed five times. The thieves took holy icons and the 1902 three-volume sets of Brockhaus and Euphronius. But they left the paintings alone – there are too many of them to carry away,” said Olga.

The paintings are arranged in a converted studio on the roof of the house. The creative house is nestled in on a strip of land between the railway and the sea. The ocean is only 30 meters (about 100 feet) from the garden fence. At first, the tracks were laid on the ocean side of the house, but they were quickly washed away by the waves. Now the rails are on the other side of the house. Luckily for the building’s sake, trains only pass very rarely,Find Complete Details about howo tractor Truck. and the railway track is gradually being overgrown with brambles.

The other side of the house is the home of the composer Valery Chkadua – a man of 65 years, with a large hat and aquiline nose. He says that, as a music student in Moscow, sculptors were queuing up to mold his profile.

Valery studied under Shostakovich and Prokofiev. He wrote three ballets: “Ritsa” (the first in Abkhazia’s history), “Narta,” “The Call of the Revolution,” plus another 40 or so compositions.

In 1994, after the war for independence and at the personal request of President Ardzinba, he wrote Abkhazia’s national anthem, which included various folk motives. He had to write it in winter and the house was not heated at the time, which meant temperatures were below freezing inside the house. Valery refused to receive royalties for his work, so the president decided to give the composer “creative” housing as a thank you.

In part of the house the walls are plain, painted in blue paint. A mountain bike is propped up in the hall, and a Petrof piano stands proudly in a corner of the sitting room. Piles of music, a bust of Tchaikovsky, an icon of St. Pantaleon and a picture of the singing hare and wolf from the Russian cartoon “Nu, pogodi!” are all overhead.

“I’ve been robbed five times. The thieves took holy icons and the 1902 three-volume sets of Brockhaus and Euphronius. But they left the paintings alone – there are too many of them to carry away,” said Olga.

The paintings are arranged in a converted studio on the roof of the house. The creative house is nestled in on a strip of land between the railway and the sea. The ocean is only 30 meters (about 100 feet) from the garden fence. At first, the tracks were laid on the ocean side of the house, but they were quickly washed away by the waves. Now the rails are on the other side of the house. Luckily for the building’s sake, trains only pass very rarely, and the railway track is gradually being overgrown with brambles.

The other side of the house is the home of the composer Valery Chkadua – a man of 65 years, with a large hat and aquiline nose. He says that, as a music student in Moscow, sculptors were queuing up to mold his profile.

Valery studied under Shostakovich and Prokofiev. He wrote three ballets: “Ritsa” (the first in Abkhazia’s history), “Narta,” “The Call of the Revolution,” plus another 40 or so compositions.

In 1994, after the war for independence and at the personal request of President Ardzinba, he wrote Abkhazia’s national anthem, which included various folk motives. He had to write it in winter and the house was not heated at the time, which meant temperatures were below freezing inside the house. Valery refused to receive royalties for his work, so the president decided to give the composer “creative” housing as a thank you.

In part of the house the walls are plain, painted in blue paint. A mountain bike is propped up in the hall, and a Petrof piano stands proudly in a corner of the sitting room. Piles of music, a bust of Tchaikovsky, an icon of St. Pantaleon and a picture of the singing hare and wolf from the Russian cartoon “Nu, pogodi!” are all overhead.

His idyllic life did not last for long. In 1949, Orelkin was arrested for political agitation. He spent five years in labor camps before returning and painting a picture called “The Eclipse of the Sun.” The piece depicts rows of hunched prisoners and a cloud in front of the sun in the form of Stalin’s sideways profile.

Margarita grew up as a dissident. She helped her father paint the figures of the prisoners, posing with her hands behind her back. She graduated from Moscow State University as a journalist, but was subsequently thrown out of the Writer’s Union for reading Solzhenitsyn.

Now, having suffered a heart attack, she tends to keep to herself. Every fortnight she goes to town to do her shopping. She has three dogs and 14 cats.Want to find howo concrete mixer? Her neighbors think she is a little strange, but they still do not hesitate to send any homeless animals her way.

Since spring, Margarita has taken yet another lost soul under her wing – the 62-year-old pensioner Alexander Polezhaev. In the past, he was something of a vagabond with a taste for adventure; he is a former thrill-seeker who has now come to seek out a quiet life in the fresh sea air. He spends his time catching fish and finding mushrooms for the table, and he also helps out around the house.

Another neighbor in the Village of Eccentrics came to these shores about a year ago. Formerly a teacher in Krasnodar, Alexander Tyutchev (now 64) also came to Abkhazia in search of peace and solitude. Right on the seashore by the Kelasur River he sculpts strange figures: birds, deer and lizards. Hundreds of stones and pieces of driftwood that wash up on the shore are transformed into these strange and beautiful objects.

“Before there was a rubbish dump here,” Tyutchev says. “And now everyone keeps it neat and tidy. Women come here with their children, ask if they can sit here for a while,You can buy mosaic Moon yarns and fibers right here as instock. let the children play.”

Over the past year, Tyutchev has become a part of the local landscape and has certainly carried on the baton of the eccentric Kelasur community.

Is there a future for quirky, earthy places like this – a strange oasis in a world full of smartphones, black Lexus cars and Adidas tracksuits imported from Chinese sweatshops? These eccentrics are stronger than you think: they will stand their ground, come rain or high water. And they will continue to communicate with their muses – wherever these may be – blissfully free from worries about keeping up the Joneses.

Red Cross urges families to prepare for ice storm

As more inclement weather moves into the area, the Tennessee Volunteer Region of the American Red Cross is urging families to take appropriate actions to be prepared for hazardous conditions.

The majority of winter-related incidents are caused by events related to heavy snowfall, high winds and freezing rain.

People can become homebound without utilities or other services, motorists can become stranded in vehicles, and walking and driving conditions can become hazardous.Load the precious minerals into your mining truck and be careful not to drive too fast with your heavy foot.

The Red Cross recommends that families prepare for the possible negative effects of winter weather in a number of ways, such as avoiding travel when conditions include sleet, freezing rain or drizzle, snow or dense fog. If travel is necessary, keep a disaster supplies kit inside the vehicle.

Officials also urge residents to listen to a weather radio or other local news channels for critical information from the National Weather Service.

Residents should also remember to bring pets and companion animals inside during winter weather. Move other animals or livestock to sheltered areas, and make sure that their access to food and water is not blocked by snow drifts, ice or other obstacles.

Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals up out of the reach of children.

Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, residents may incur a higher heating bill. However, by keeping the temperature at a higher level, residents can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.

Turn off or disconnect any appliances, and equipment or electronics that were in use when the power went out. When power comes back on, surges or spikes can damage equipment.

Residents are also advised to keep one light on while the power is out so that they will know when power is restored.

And perhaps one of the most serious dangers residents face when power is lost is keeping people out of harm's way while using a generator, officials said.

Experts recommend people use an alternate heating and lighting source wisely in order to avoid a house fire, which includes making sure space heaters are not left unattended and kept far away from flammable objects.

Generators should never be operated indoors, including a basement, garage, carport or near any window.

The Red Cross also advises residents not to use candles. Instead, people should make sure they have working flashlights and extra batteries on hand for power outages.

Use a generator correctly -- follow directions carefully. Never operate a generator indoors, including a basement, garage, carport or near any open windows.

This inky-dark wine defies expectations in one important respect: It’s only 13.howo sparepartsBuy Joan Rivers crystal mosaic Stretch Bracelet.5 percent alcohol on the label. Most petite sirahs are at or over 15 percent; if you are accustomed to those, this wine might seem anemic at first sip. But with just a few minutes’ exposure to the air, the wine’s fruit emerges. The result is a jammy expression without the burning sensation at the back of the throat that follows so many high-octane wines.

Bacchus in the District and Maryland, Republic National in Virginia: Available in the District at Calvert Woodley,Get the best deal on solar panel in the UK and use our free tools. Pearson’s; on the list at Article One, DC Coast, Veritas Wine Bar. Available in Maryland at Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits and Eastport Liquors in Annapolis, Pine Orchard Wine in Ellicott City, Roundabout Fine Wine & Spirits in Laurel. Available in Virginia at Fern Street Gourmet in Alexandria, Norm’s Beer & Wine in Vienna; various Total Wine & More and Wegmans locations; the Wine Cabinet in Reston.

From a ripe vintage in France, this cabernet franc from the Loire Valley does not have the typical “Grandpop’s library” character of old leather books and tobacco smoke. Rather it is fruity and ripe, yet elegant, as though the winemaker took what the vintage gave him rather than seizing an opportunity to experiment. Good choice.

Elite: Available in the District at Calvert Woodley, Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Cork Market, MacArthur Beverage, Schneider’s of Capitol Hill,Ubisense RTLS solutions go beyond the traditional definition of a “real time location system” to a new class. Whole Foods Market (P Street, Tenleytown). Available in Virginia at Balducci’s (Alexandria), Out of Site Wines in Vienna; on the list at Bistro l’Hermitage in Woodbridge.

Each case would then be put before a panel including educational and child psychologists and social care workers who decide whether they are appropriate for the scheme.

Action for Children is employing four new therapists, who will each help between four and six families at a time.

The Department of Health and Department for Education will jointly provide ￡700,000 for the first two years of the scheme. The city council will pay the same amount for the next two years.

Councillor Martin Rawson, cabinet member for children and young people, said he believed the spending would lead to long-term savings for public organisations as fewer youngsters would go into care and commit crimes.

Where MST has been used before, research showed that the number of 12-to-17-year-olds being placed out of home reduces by between 47% and 64%. And the amount of offending from youngsters in families which take part goes down by 41%.