Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

If the world needed a reminder of the sheer amount of stuff swirling around the planet, it received a spectacular one in mid-November. The European Space Agencys 1.2-ton GOCE satellite, which had studied the earths gravitational field, ran out of fuel in low orbit, reentered the earths atmosphere, burned up into a fiery mess, and dumped debris across the southern Atlantic just south of the Falkland Islands. The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committeea global space agency consortium that tracks space junkactivated surveillance facilities around the world to monitor the destruction of the bird.

Since the Soviets kicked off the Space Age by launching Sputnik1 in 1957, mankind has sent more than 7,100 spacecraft of some sort aloft. Along the way, an expanding miasma of refusemalfunctioning satellites, rocket motor effluents, metal fragments, equipment lost on space walks, and even tiny flecks of painthas spread in orbit. Computer simulations by NASA portray what looks like a cloud of fruit flies swarming around an appleonly these fruit flies travel at 17,000miles per hour. And at that speed even a particle can do serious damage to satellites or spacecrafta scenario dramatized in Alfonso Cuarns sci-fi thriller Gravity.

The space refuse problem is most troublesome in low orbits of about 500miles above the earths surface. There are 21,000 pieces of wreckage the size of grapefruit or biggerand that number grows to 500,000 if you include fragments the size of BB pellets and dust specks, according to NASA data. Some of this detritus is burned off during reentry to earth. But depending on the trajectory, other pieces can stay in orbit for decades, even centuries. Former astronaut Michael Bloomfield remembers watching debris burning up in the atmosphere below him during one U.S. shuttle mission. That gets your attention, he says. So did the time a fragment slammed into the window, leaving a pit mark.

Even so, engineers disagree about how urgent the risk really isand whether governments should spend billions on solutions that are years away from being ready. Thats practical, but maybe not the noblest way to look at the problem. The expense must be weighed against some kind of moral pressure to leave at least the final frontier unwrecked, if only to prove we can. That said, removing the refuse may be even more complicated than getting all that junk up there in the first place. Engineering hurdles aside, theres no international consensus or legal framework to organize and pay for a multidecade cleanup effort.

You might call it the tragedy of the space commons, a 21st century twist on American ecologist Garrett Hardins theory, advanced in the late 1960s, that shared resources like grazing lands and fishing zones can be depleted by individuals, acting independently and rationally, to the greater detriment of a larger group.

Coming to an international agreement about global warming has been tough enough. Its hard to imagine a power like Russia or China signing off on a plan by U.S. or European space agencies to operate the kind of orbiting trash collectors backed by some scientists and companies interested in government contracts. The really hard part is trying to convince other countries that your garbage truck in space will be used for the peaceful purposes statedand not to mess with other peoples satellites, says Dave Baiocchi, an engineering professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

There are three broad and evolving strategies to cope with space debris. One solution starts at blastoff: Theres been progress by commercial companies and space agencies to adopt smarter launch and design standards (limiting the use of explosive bolts, for example, normally used to separate rocket stages) to reduce the amount of space debris entering low earth orbits.

Governments are also investing in systems that can locate the junk. Raytheon (RTN) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) are in the hunt for a multibillion-dollar U.S. Air Force contract expected to be announced later this year that will fund a massive radar system to track stuff. Known as the space fence, it will be based in the Pacific or Australia and promises to give the U.S. the ability to identify more and smaller pieces of space debris with much greater accuracy than current systems.

In November the U.S. and Australia signed an agreement to move an advanced Space Surveillance Telescope developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from its current mountaintop position in New Mexico to Australia to better find debris in the higher geosynchronous orbits about 22,000 miles above the earths surface.

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Cleaning Up the Final Frontier

Walkway and Outdoor Step Designs

When you consider a walkway on your property, there are aspects of the design to consider. First, what is the walkway being used for? If you have a boat you may want your walkway to extend to your dock designed and built with landscaping that provides beautiful scenery along the way.

If you want your walkway to go through your grounds, you may want to go with a more natural landscape design that includes the occasional bench.

The geometry of your walkway can be straight or curved. This will be determined by the locations of the areas the walk will placed between. Curves have a more natural and wandering feeling, where straight paths have that directness. The width of the walk can create interest, as well as the choice of landscaping of course.

Whether you choose concrete with brick accents, or stepping stones, the selection of surrounding plants and flowers are a critical consideration as well as your walkway should blend with any structures nearby.

Outdoor Steps

Outdoor steps can be designed and built in an array of different looks and styles.

Brick risers are commonly used with treads to match. There are also brick risers or bluestone treads. Treads can be one piece or cut into pieces depending on the size.

Garden stones or steppers are large irregular pieces of bluestone and combine very well with brick, giving you a very visually pleasing outcome.

Bluestone walkways or patios also go very well with the bluestone steppers.

Excerpt from:
Walkway, Path and Outdoor Step Designs | The Berryman Design Group

ACC Media Release

17 January 2014

Keep visiting rellies from going belly up these holidays

At this time of year, many of us have relatives and friends staying over so its a good time to take a few simple steps to reduce the risk of home injuries.

Injuries could happen simply because there are more people in the house, or because visitors are unfamiliar with your home, says ACC Programme Manager Vicky Upton.

So its a good idea to point out potential hazards that you may be familiar with, but which could trip up visitors, such as single steps between rooms, or uneven garden steps.

Having visitors staying can also mean theres more clutter lying around the home.Things such as luggage, bedding, shoes and other belongings can all provide a perfect recipe for slips, trips and falls.

To ensure your guests dont go belly up while staying with you, try to keep things as tidy as possible.Its especially important to clear toys and clutter from walkways.

The home is the most common scene of injuries inNew Zealand, and last year led to around 670,000 ACC claims.Thats more than a third of the roughly 1.7 million claims lodged overall.

Around 290,000 of the claims for home injuries resulted from falls.

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Keep visiting rellies from going belly up these holidays

At this time of year, many of us have relatives and friends staying over - so its a good time to take a few simple steps to reduce the risk of home injuries.

"Injuries could happen simply because there are more people in the house, or because visitors are unfamiliar with your home," says ACC Programme Manager Vicky Upton.

"So its a good idea to point out potential hazards that you may be familiar with, but which could trip up visitors, such as single steps between rooms, or uneven garden steps."

"Having visitors staying can also mean theres more clutter lying around the home. Things such as luggage, bedding, shoes and other belongings can all provide a perfect recipe for slips, trips and falls.

"To ensure your guests dont go belly up while staying with you, try to keep things as tidy as possible. Its especially important to clear toys and clutter from walkways."

The home is the most common scene of injuries in New Zealand, and last year led to around 670,000 ACC claims. Thats more than a third of the roughly 1.7 million claims lodged overall.

Around 290,000 of the claims for home injuries resulted from falls.

The total cost of home falls was around $260 million.

Its not just the very old and very young who are at risk of falling. Around 45 per cent of falls happen to working age people (aged 20-64 years).

Other tips to help you keep safe at home include:

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Keep visiting rellies from going belly up these holidays - ACC

Makowski 2014 Christmas tree removal

By: mac5bikes

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Makowski 2014 Christmas tree removal - Video

Gulfport Tree Removal with Aerial Crane: Taylor Tree Co.
Taylor Tree Co. used an aerial crane to remove a large old oak tree from a customer #39;s yard. The tree was very close to the house so the aerial crane helped a...

By: taylortreeco

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Gulfport Tree Removal with Aerial Crane: Taylor Tree Co. - Video

VAN ZANDT - Rick George feared the tilting, rotting tree that loomed over his Emily Drive home, south of Deming.

He said he had asked the Nooksack Tribe, which owns the land, to remove the tree. The process to hire a tree removal company was still in the works when a storm hit the area.

Wind gusts topped 40 mph early Saturday, Jan. 11. Rick George and his wife, Lania, awoke about 2 a.m. to the crash of the tree caving in the roof.

George pulled his wife under him as the tree barreled into their bedroom and onto the spot where she had been sleeping.

Family friend Melinda Mendez, who was staying in George's home the night of the storm, ran into the room right after the tree fell to see George protecting his wife.

"He definitely saved her life," Mendez said.

The tree scratched and cut George's torso, severely enough to require a hospital visit. It heavily damaged the manufactured home, and with much of its roof missing, the interior and family belongings were exposed to rain.

The Georges are staying with friends. People have pitched in to help him clear tree branches from the home. The Mt. Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross provided his children with food, clothes and shoes.

Still, it stings him that the tribe, of which he's a member, didn't act sooner. He had complained about the tree long before the storm. With it leaning toward the home, he couldn't just chop it down for fear it would land on the roof.

"The tribe promised to cut the tree down," Mendez said. "Rick couldn't do it himself."

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Nooksack man asked tribe to cut down tree before it fell on his house

Aurora Banner

A new tree protection bylaw is one step closer to reality.

The bylaw, which aims to set tree removal restrictions for heritage districts, residential and private properties and golf courses, will come in front of council for final approval next week.

Under the proposal, up to two trees with a trunk diameter between 20 and 70 centimetres can be removed from a property without a permit during a one-year period. Golf courses could remove 10 trees of that size within a one-year timeframe, however, a permit would be required to cut a tree larger than 70 centimetres in diameter.

Golf courses, conservation authorities and school boards are excused from the towns tree-cutting rules. This will change once the new bylaw is set into place, forcing each to abide by the new regulations.

Though guidelines will come as reassurance to those supporting the new bylaw, Councillor John Abel believes it is more of a political matter.

This all came about because of an issue with a golf course. Nothing really happened before this bylaw and he believes it will stay the same once the bylaw is passed, he said, adding it is clear a lot of people wish to see it in place.

There are no special protection measures in place for any trees along heritage sites. The new bylaw will ensure necessary removal will require a permit within the heritage district. Golf courses will also require a permit for the removal of 11 or more trees within a 12-month period and trees along residential or private property will require a permit for the removal of three or more trees in the same time period.

Council is being asked to approve the revised and recommended bylaw during the Jan. 21 council meeting.

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New tree protection bylaw nearing approval

WAFF 48 Investigates: Detecting foodborne pathogens WAFF 48 Investigates: Detecting foodborne pathogens

Updated: Thursday, January 16 2014 11:25 PM EST2014-01-17 04:25:49 GMT

Updated: Thursday, January 16 2014 11:19 PM EST2014-01-17 04:19:25 GMT

Updated: Thursday, January 16 2014 10:07 PM EST2014-01-17 03:07:29 GMT

Updated: Thursday, January 16 2014 9:57 PM EST2014-01-17 02:57:09 GMT

Updated: Thursday, January 16 2014 9:51 PM EST2014-01-17 02:51:44 GMT

The city of Athens announced that Lindsay Lane South will be closed for tree removal.

The closure will be from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Thursday.

City officials said the closure is for the removal of trees required by ATRIP. ATRIP is state funding the city received for road improvement projects.

Remember, when breaking news happens, we break it first online, by email, and by text. If you want to receive our breaking news alerts by text, pull out your phone right now and text NEWS to 44848. Message and data rates may apply. You can text STOP at any time to cancel your subscription, text HELP for more information, or call 877-571-0774 for support.

Continued here:
Portion of Lindsay Lane closed Thursday in Athens

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

More layout flexibility: Windows 8's "snap widgets" essentially serve the same function as old-school windows in desktop mode. Snap widgets make productivity easier on tablets, allowing users to go back and forth between windows. But there is a lot of room for refinement.

Being able to divide widgets into smaller tiles that could be arranged horizontally or vertically along a grid could help users go in and out of various apps much more seamlessly. And being able to quickly take an app into full screen mode and back would go a long way towards making the Windows layout feel less claustrophobic.

Desktop-only mode: Although the Windows 8 tile display is adequate on a standard laptop, it's still not optimal for productivity tasks, particularly on a desktop computer. There are also many apps that only work in desktop mode. The abrupt move between Windows 8's starkly contrasting tile and desktop environments has left a bad taste in the mouths of many users.

Related: Microsoft's Surface 2 still falls short

In Windows 9 -- or whatever the next big revision of Windows will be called -- users will be able to run those "Modern" apps in a window on the desktop, according to WinSuperSite's Paul Thurrott. If Microsoft also gave users the ability to lock their computers in desktop mode, that would help make the experience of using Windows on a laptop feel more consistent.

Microsoft shouldn't give up on the Start Screen, but some users just don't need it.

More consistent trackpad standards: Sometimes it seems like the trackpad on every single Windows 8 device feels different, making use of clicks and gestures in different ways.

For example, unlocking the homescreen requires a swipe on some trackpads, and a click on others.

At their best, exemplified by Logitech's standalone Windows 8 trackpad, gestures in Windows 8 are as quick and intuitive as touching a screen. At their worst, ironically exemplified by Microsoft's Surface tablet, gestures can be incredibly frustrating.

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5 things we want for Windows 9