Archive for September, 2009
Think Green – What can we do to help?
So what can we do?
Here are some tips on what you can do in your home to help conserve, recycle, reduce and reuse. Every little bit helps, so even if you don’t turn into a Mean GREEN Recycling Machine, at least throw your office paper into the recycling bin, instead of the regular trash.
Recycling Plastic BottlesThe bottled water fad seems to have exploded. You can pay upwards of $3 for a half liter bottle, water with vitamins added, water with flavors added (isn’t that just soda?), water that gives part of their proceeds to charity, there’s hooks and gimmicks all over the place but net net, water is water. The majority of bottled water is sourced from a municipal supply and further treated to remove any impurities that may be found in the source water. You will find some bottled water that is sourced from a Mountain Spring (FDA regulations stipulate that bottlers must reveal the source of the product on the label, if the label doesn’t say where its from, and you assume it is from a Spring, it probably isn’t). But, the only difference is not the purity of the product, but the mineral content (nothing to get alarmed about, it’s just that different minerals affect the taste in different ways).
The bottled water fad seems to have exploded. You can pay upwards of $3 for a half liter bottle, water with vitamins added, water with flavors added (isn’t that just soda?), water that gives part of their proceeds to charity, there’s hooks and gimmicks all over the place but net net, water is water. The majority of bottled water is sourced from a municipal supply and further treated to remove any impurities that may be found in the source water. You will find some bottled water that is sourced from a Mountain Spring (FDA regulations stipulate that bottlers must reveal the source of the product on the label, if the label doesn’t say where its from, and you assume it is from a Spring, it probably isn’t). But, the only difference is not the purity of the product, but the mineral content (nothing to get alarmed about, it’s just that different minerals affect the taste in different ways).
On average, Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. This number has escalated since the increase in sales of single serve bottled water. Sadly, the majority of these bottles do end up in landfills. Plastic bottles can be recycled but because they are made from petroleum, take between 50 and 100 years to decompose if added to a landfill. More than 45,000 tons of plastic trash is dumped into the world’s waterways every year, killing up to 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals annually.
If you want to show your green colors to the world here’s the license plate tin sign for you.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pipe major of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (date unknown)The Great Highland Bagpipe (Gaelic : A’ Phìob Mhòr, in English often abbreviated GHB) is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, which has achieved widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world.
The bagpipe is first attested in Scotland around 1400, having first appeared in European artwork in Spain in the 1200s. The earliest references to Scottish bagpipes are in a military context, and it is in that context that the Great Highland Bagpipe became established in the British military and achieved the widespread prominence it enjoys today, whereas other bagpipe traditions throughout Europe, ranging from Spain to Russia, almost universally went into decline by the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Though widely famous for its role in military and civilian pipe bands, the Great Highland Bagpipe is also used for a solo virtuosic style called piobaireachd or pibroch.
A custom of ours is a bagpiper and his wife wanted to get him a custom tin sign with a bagpiper on it. She can choose from parking tin sign, license plate tin sign, street sign, motorcycle or even bicyle tin sign.
Avid television viewers will undoubtedly be familiar with the Emmy-winning dramatic series “Mad Men.” Set in a New York City advertising agency during the 1960s, the show evokes a feeling of nostalgia even for those who weren’t yet born in those simpler times. Although the fashions of the time were fascinating in their own right, it’s the advertising campaigns that stand out as particularly memorable.
Vintage advertising signs capture the charm of a bygone era in a succinct, decorative way. They can be used to decorate an otherwise modern living area or added to a growing collection of antique marketing materials. These signs are notably prevalent in bars and restaurants, but they are just as suitable for enjoyment at home. Even if the products they advertise haven’t been available for years, there’s no denying their aesthetic charm.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boston Terrier is a breed of dog originating in the United States of America
The Boston Terrier breed originated around 1870, when Robert C. Hooper of Boston purchased a dog known as Hooper’s Judge, who was of a Bull and Terrier type lineage. Judge’s specific lineage is unknown, however, Hooper’s Judge is either directly related to the original Bull and Terrier breeds of the 1700s and early 1800s, or Judge is the result of modern English Bulldogs being crossed into terriers created in the 1860s for show purposes, like the White English Terrier.
Judge weighed over 29.7 pounds (13.5 kilos). Their offspring interbred with one or more French Bulldogs, providing the foundation for the Boston Terrier. Bred down in size from pit-fighting dogs of the Bull and Terrier types, the Boston Terrier originally weighed up to 44 pounds (20 kg.) (Olde Boston Bulldogge). The breed was first shown in Boston in 1870. By 1889 the breed had become sufficiently popular in Boston that fanciers formed the American Bull Terrier Club, but this proposed name for the breed was not well received by the Bull Terrier Fanciers; the breed’s nickname, “roundheads”, was similarly inappropriate. Shortly after, at the suggestion of James Watson (a noted writer and authority), the club changed its name to the Boston Terrier Club and in 1893 it was admitted to membership in the American Kennel Club, thus making it the first US breed to be recognized. It is one of a small number of breeds to have originated in the United States. The Boston Terrier was the first non-sporting dog bred in the US.
In the early years, the color and markings were not very important, but by the 1900s the breed’s distinctive markings and color were written into the standard, becoming an essential feature. Terrier only in name, the Boston Terrier has lost most of its ruthless desire for mayhem, preferring the company of humans, although some males will still challenge other dogs if they feel their territory is being invaded.
Boston Terriers were particularly popular during the 1920s in the US.
Appearance
The Boston Terrier is a lively, highly intelligent, smooth coated, short-headed, compactly built, short-tailed, well balanced dog, brindle, seal or black in color and evenly marked with white. The head is in proportion to the size of the dog and the expression indicates a high degree of intelligence.
The body is rather short and well knit, the limbs strong and neatly turned, the tail is short and no feature is so prominent that the dog appears badly proportioned. The dog conveys an impression of determination, strength and activity, with style of a high order; carriage easy and graceful. A proportionate combination of “Color and White Markings” is a particularly distinctive feature of a representative specimen.
“Balance, Expression, Color and White Markings” should be given particular consideration in determining the relative value of general appearance to other points.
Size
Boston Terriers are typically small, compactly built, well proportioned dogs with erect ears, short tails, and a short muzzle that should be free of wrinkles.They usually have a square sort of face. According to international breed standard, the dog should weigh no less than 10 pounds and no more than 25 pounds. Boston Terriers usually stand 15-17 inches at the withers.
Coat and color
Male Boston Terrier with typical black and white coatThe Boston Terrier is characteristically marked with white in proportion to either black, brindle, seal, or a combination of the three. Seal is a color specifically used to describe Boston Terriers and is defined as a black color with red highlights when viewed in the sun or bright light. If all other qualities are identical, brindle is the preferred color according to most breed standards.
Ideally, white should cover its chest, muzzle, band around the neck, half way up the forelegs, up to the hocks on the rear legs, and a white blaze between but not touching the eyes. For conformation showing, symmetrical markings are preferred. Due to the Boston Terrier’s markings resembling formal wear, in addition to its refined and pleasant personality, the breed is commonly referred to as the “American Gentleman.”
Temperament
Boston Terriers have strong, friendly personalities. Bostons can range in temperaments from those that are eager to please their master to those that are more stubborn. Both can be easily trained given a patient and assertive owner.
While originally bred for fighting, they were later down bred for companionship. The modern Boston Terrier can be gentle, alert, expressive, and well-mannered. It must be noted however, that they are not considered terriers by the American Kennel Club, but are part of the non-sporting group. Boston Terrier is something of a misnomer. They were originally a cross-breed between the Old English Bulldog and the English White Terrier.
Some Bostons enjoy having another one for companionship. Both females and males generally bark only when necessary. Having been bred as a companion dog, they enjoy being around people, and, if properly socialized, get along well with children, the elderly, other canines, and non-canine pets. Some Boston Terriers are very cuddly, while others are more independent.
Boston Terrier license plate tin sign will make a great gift for any Boston Terrier owner. We have two of them great dogs.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Without You” is a song written by Eric Silver along with Natalie Maines, lead singer of the American country group the Dixie Chicks, who recorded the song for their 1999 album Fly. It was released as the album’s fifth single in August 2000 and in January 2001, hit Number One on the U.S. country singles chart. It also reached number 31 on the U.S. pop singles chart.
Written by lead singer Natalie Maines and country songwriter Eric Silver, “Without You” is on the surface one of the Chicks’ more conventional efforts, lacking the “attitude” factor that distinguished them at the time. A ballad that directly speaks of lost love
I thought by now the time,
Would take away these lonely tears.
I hope you’re doing fine all alone,
But where do I go from here, ’cause —
Without you, I’m not okay
And without you, I’ve lost my way
My heart’s stuck in second place
Ooo - ooo
Without you …
it was accompanied by acoustic guitar and soft percussion at the start, adding drums on the chorus, pedal steel guitar into the bridge and a dramatic strings part out of the bridge and into the last chorus, before finishing as it started. The tender melody is sung by Maines without excessive ornamentation, and the harmonies from Emily Robison and Martie Seidel are unobtrusive.
Dixie Chicks license plate tin sign would make a great gift for any fan.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Firefighters, or firemen, are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian
populations and property, to rescue people from car accidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations. The increasing complexity of modern industrialized life with an increase in the scale of hazards has stimulated both advances in firefighting technology and a broadening of the firefighter-rescuer’s remit. They sometimes provide emergency medical services. The fire service, or fire and rescue service also known in some countries as the fire brigade or fire department, are some of the emergency services. Firefighting and firefighters have become ubiquitous around the world, from wildland areas to urban areas, and on board ships.
This firefighter parking tin sign makes a great gift.
Team Chevy Introduces New Racing Engine by Katie Jones
The motorsport scene in the United States can be said as arguably one of the most competitive in the
world. Season after season, racing teams always come up with more and more improvements for their vehicles.
The NASCAR sanctioned races are the most competitive races in the United States and teams are always pursuing victories by improving their vehicles’ performance. Team Chevy is one of the teams going for the win on every race they participate in.
Recently, the team introduced the Impala SS race car at the NASCAR Nextel Cup. That development is now being followed by the announcement of a new engine that will be used on the Impala SS which comes in the form of the Chevrolet RO7 engine. The engine will make its debut at the Samsung 500 which will be held at the Texas Motor Speedway.
The RO7 is based on General Motors’ small-block V8 engines. It will be replacing the Small-Block/2nd Generation engine which the team has been using since 1998. The SB2 will be replaced completely by the RO7 eventually. For now, the RO7 is expected to provide better performance for the team’s cars.
Mark Kent, the director of GM Racing, outlined their objectives in the development of the new engine and the subsequent reaction after tests conducted on the engine in this statement: “The GM Racing engine development team had four key objectives in mind throughout the design and development of the Chevrolet R07 engine. Our goal was to create an engine that produces competitive power, delivers excellent reliability, enhances safety, and reduces costs for Chevrolet teams. Based on the feedback we have received from Chevy teams after extensive dynamometer and track testing, I believe we have achieved our objectives.”
The RO7 is the first engine that GM built solely for the purpose of NASCAR racing. According to Pat Suhy, the GM Racing Group Manager for the Oval Track, “The Chevrolet R07 is GM Racing’s first purpose-built NASCAR racing engine. NASCAR’s parameters for the new generation of engines provide a range of choices on key dimensions and design features. Our job was to make the critical decisions and carefully balance the tradeoffs that would enable the Chevrolet R07 to continue Chevy’s success in NASCAR. In the long run, the results will show whether we made the right choices.”
The major parts for the RO7 engine like the cylinder block, the cylinder head, and the intake manifold came from GM Racing. Other components supplied by GM Racing are the water pump assembly, rocker covers, and front cover. Other components like the Chevy fenders were provided by different manufacturers. Engine components are also supplied by different independent parts manufacturers.
Meanwhile, Jim Covey, the NASCAR engine development manager for GM Racing, has this to say how GM was able to create the newest engine for the Impala SS: “New manufacturers coming into NASCAR pushed the envelope with engines that had no links to production powerplants, while GM engines were based on the architecture of the first small-block V. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series director John Darby addressed this issue by developing a list of parameters that define the envelope for all manufacturers, thus giving Chevrolet an opportunity to develop the R07 engine. Now with the introduction of the Chevrolet R07, Chevy teams have an optimized engine design that reflects the advances in racing technology that have been made over the last 50 years.”
Major differences between the SB2 and the RO7 include the increased cylinder bore centers in the RO7 which improves coolant flow keeping the engine at its normal operating temperature. Another improvement of the RO7 over the SB2 is the time needed to assemble the engines. The RO7’s cast camshaft tunnel, integral piston squirter galleries and overhead oil feed galleries makes it faster to assemble than its predecessor. As far as safety is concerned, the designers of the new engine moved the fuel pump which eliminates external oil and coolant lines.
Team Chevy is no doubt counting on the combination of the Impala SS and the new RO7 engine achieve more wins. According to Mark Kent: “The introduction of the Chevrolet R07 this weekend marks the beginning of a new era for the GM small-block V-8 engine. The Chevrolet R07 is the heir to the winning tradition of GM production-based engines that have powered Chevy to more than 600 victories in NASCAR Cup competition. As we look to the future, we are confident that the Chevrolet R07 engine and the Impala SS race car will continue Team Chevy’s winning ways in NASCAR.”
This chevy parking tin sign makes a great gift.
