Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

What you probably didn't know about Monday's Bowl Championship Series championship is that it will be played on an entirely fresh field, placed directly atop the one you saw Wednesday at the Rose Bowl. Like a blanket over another blanket.

Senseless, right?

By all accounts, that Rose Bowl field was still nearly flawless after Wednesday's game, but that didn't stop groundskeepers. Foolish perfectionism is a Pasadena birthright and one I don't condone. Yet that's exactly what is behind this all-new grass, which requires a Herculean effort on a frazzled five-day time frame.

Sure, they have modified forklifts that unspool the sod in giant swatches. But in the end, laying a new field requires nearly 75 groundskeepers to push the puzzle together, starting work as soon as the Rose Bowl ends, blowing away the confetti, marking the sprinkler heads, then as midnight approaches then passes, then sunup comes laying down this magic carpet, by many estimates the finest playing field in the country.

Add six pockets and you've got yourself a very nice pool table.

As is my nature, I pitched in on this transformation. It really began a month ago. Soon as the last UCLA game ended Nov. 23, I joined Rose Bowl groundskeepers as they scraped out the old field and began to put in a new one.

I was there from the beginning, digging out clumps of old sod, thick and stubborn, like thatches of Einstein's hair. Wouldn't budge, most of it, till you got your mitts into it good clawing, pulling and twisting.

When that didn't work, I'd attack the stubborn turf with a shovel, chased with a couple of Tylenol.

A shovel, by the way, is this giant spoon you use to move dirt and sand. Many of you have never touched one. More of you prefer not to.

But I did. Just to take you inside the ultimate L.A. makeover. A blanket over another blanket. A Rembrandt over a Vermeer.

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Rose Bowl's grass act: A new field in time for BCS title game

Borough officials are moving forward with a plan to install artificial turf on a local athletic field using open space funds and grant money.

Resolution 2013-335, passed unanimously by the council during its Dec. 17 meeting, authorizes Borough Clerk Kelley Rohde and Borough Manager Scott Heck to apply for funds from the 2014 Passaic County Open Space Farmland Preservation Trust Grant program in order to cover the cost of bringing turf to the borough.

Both Heck and Rohde expressed the importance of passing the resolution before 2014 to meet the grant application deadline.

"We have to hold public hearings to start this process," said Heck.

"It's a short timeline," Rohde said. "The entire thing has to be submitted before March 14."

In order to meet the March 14 deadline, she said, it would be necessary to schedule a public hearing on the turf project at the scheduled Jan. 21 council meeting. That would leave just enough time to approve minutes from that session at a February council meeting, notify nearby property owners of the borough's intention to build a turf field, and obtain letters of support for the project from various borough entities, including the Open Space Advisory Committee and the Recreation Commission.

Once all those steps are completed, Rohde said, "The council will have to pass another resolution in February," authorizing the submission of the final application to Passaic County.

Heck said he has already let county officials know of the borough's intention to apply for grant money to fund the venture, which is being called the Redevelopment and Rehabilitation for Ringwood Turf Field Project.

The public hearing is scheduled for the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.

"Kelley (Rohde) and I will be really busy in January to get this ready," Heck said, "but we're going to do everything we can."

Continued here:
Ringwood moving ahead with plan to install faux turf using grant money

Dear Neil: We have an aerobic septic system, and we've had trouble with roots growing into it. There were three yaupon hollies about 5 feet from it, and I had them removed. I also have two mountain laurels on the other side, about 3 feet from it. Do you think their roots will cause a problem, and if so, can I move them to another location? I've had them about 10 years.

A. You might want to discuss this with the company that did the original installation or the person who services the system each year. There should be a way to install a root barrier between plants and the system. Better yet, there may be a way to open the tank enough to remove any roots that have penetrated it. Your problem is unusual. There may be a problem within the system itself or the connecting pipes that is allowing this to happen. You need the help of a professional in that field. Hopefully you can find a way to solve the problem without having to move large mountain laurels. That would be a laborious task.

Dear Neil: My 419 bermuda lawn has suffered serious trampling from the neighborhood kids. They now play in a park nearby, and I want to replace my lawn with new turf and build up the thin underlying soil while I'm at it. When should I do it, and what type of soil should I spread? Do I have to remove the old grass first?

A. This is a big task that is best accomplished in April or May. You do need to remove the old grass first. The easiest way would be to spray with Round Up or one of the other glyphosate herbicides. They will kill the old bermuda without contaminating the soil. After two weeks you can rototill and rake out the old debris, then bring in your new loam topsoil. Your local nurseryman can suggest the best source, or you can work with a landscape contractor to do the entire job for you. They will know sources of "safe" soil, that is, soil that is free of nutsedge and other potential problems. After you get the new soil in place, tilled and raked smooth, you can plant your new sod. Let your local sod yard work with you on selecting the best type for your needs. In fact, it's probably a good idea to involve them in this entire process from the outset. If you decide to choose another type of bermuda, you must be completely sure that the remnants of the 419 have all been eliminated.

Dear Neil: How can I kill ajuga that has jumped from my beds into my St. Augustine without hurting the grass?

A. Apply a broadleafed weedkiller spray containing 2,4-d with a pump sprayer directly to the ajuga at a time when it is growing very actively. April or May would be ideal. Keep the spray away from groundcovers, low shrubs, flowers and other non-grassy (broadleafed) plants.

Dear Neil: I have a non-bearing grapevine. I grow it for its leaves, which I use in cooking. Most years I don't prune it, but now it's grown too tall and wild. When should it be pruned?

A. Grape pruning, whether to tidy your plant or to keep a fruiting type in peak production, is done in late January or early February. You may be surprised by the improved quality of the foliage you get after the pruning.

Dear Neil: We have a young pecan (I don't remember the variety name) with very good pecans. Could we graft a Burkett onto one side?

A. You probably could, but you shouldn't. Burkett is a very old variety (100 years old), and it is not nearly as dependable a pecan variety as many of the newer hybrids. What you have is probably better. Plus, you'd have a mismatch of the two halves of your tree. That could lead to problems.

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Best to keep track of roots in septic system

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Feng Shui Seminars with Roger Green

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ABC A cubby house and chook pen were destroyed in a deliberately lit fire at Mile End.

Police are investigating whether separate series of deliberately lit fires in brush fences in the past few days are the work of the same arsonist.

Eight brush fences and a tree were set alight in Semaphore and surrounding suburbs in Adelaide's west overnight.

It follows several similar incidents at Mile End the previous night and at Alberton and Cheltenham four nights ago.

Police say they spoke to a man early this morning but did not have any evidence to arrest him.

He is now considered a suspect and police are looking to track him down.

Ethelton resident Thelma Masters owns one of the homes that were attacked and says it was only the efforts of her neighbour that stopped the fire from spreading.

"There's a lot of timber work there on my pergola," she said.

"It just would've gone up straight into the unit. I'd have probably lost my unit."

Read more from the original source:
Police seek suspected arsonist after latest series of brush fence fires

Before Ma Bell came to town, and long before DSL, it was barbed wire, of all things, that brought rural communities together. A Sears telephone hooked up to barbed wiremiles of which were already conveniently strung along fencesconnected far-flung ranches in the recently settled American west. Thus an ingenious and unregulated telephone system sprung up a hundred years ago.

More than just physical wire differentiated these rural telephone systems and their more formal urban counterparts. Without switchboards, without individual lines, and without telephone fees, the barbed wire telephone system became its own social network. Today, we might see elements of "personalised ringtones, chat rooms and online music" in this telephone network, as Bob Holmes writes in a feature at New Scientist.

Since the system had no switchboard, every telephone along the fences would ring at the same time. Each house had its own distinctive ringtwo short one long, for exampleand it was considered impolite to listen in on another's call. Of course, when things got lonely out there on the ranch, there was no guarantee of privacy.

But to expect a network of private, secure connections was all wrong, even in those pre-NSA days. The communal line became a thing unto itself, according to historian Rob MacDougall:

Talk was free, and so people soon began to "hang out" on the phone, just as they do today in online social networks. "People would read the newspaper over the telephone," says MacDougall. "They'd have musical nights where someone would play their banjo, someone else would sing along, and others would listen." The shared line could even serve as a rudimentary broadcasting system. On many fence-phone networks, a single, very long ring would signal a "line call," an announcement of interest to everyone on the system. This might be a weather report, weekly livestock prices, word that the train would arrive late, or news of an emergency such as a prairie fire.

In its heyday, these independent telephone networks supposedly included 3 million people, more than the official Bell system. Sometimes the rural systems became more sophisticateda switchboard, for example, might operate out of someone's kitchenbut it worked remarkably well in its simplicity.

Insulators to improve the phone connection, especially during rain, were made of whatever cowboys could find, including leather straps, corn cobs, straps of tire. Glass is a particular good insulator, as you might expect:

Before Prohibition came in 1919 every town had at least one saloon and most had several. Saloons discarded bottlesbeer bottles, whiskey bottles, wine bottles. You name it, if it came in a bottle and could be consumed for pleasure, saloons stocked it and, when the bottles were empty, discarded them. Glass is one of the best electrical insulators there is. Bottles were collected from behind the saloons, the necks were broken off, wooden pegs were whittled to fit into the broken bottlenecks, holes were drilled in the pegs, and the "glass insulators" were nailed to fence posts.

By the 1920s, most of these fence line phones were replaced by formal company systems. Barbed wire fences still abound today at borders keeping people either in or out. For few decades there, though, barbed wired brought people not apart but together. [New ScientistTexas Hill Country]

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Barbed Wire Fences Were An Early DIY Telephone Network

ABC A cubby house and chook pen were destroyed in a deliberately lit fire at Mile End.

Police are investigating whether separate series of deliberately lit fires in brush fences in the past few days are the work of the same arsonist.

Eight brush fences and a tree were set alight in Semaphore and surrounding suburbs in Adelaide's west overnight.

It follows several similar incidents at Mile End the previous night and at Alberton and Cheltenham four nights ago.

Police say they spoke to a man early this morning but did not have any evidence to arrest him.

He is now considered a suspect and police are looking to track him down.

Ethelton resident Thelma Masters owns one of the homes that were attacked and says it was only the efforts of her neighbour that stopped the fire from spreading.

"There's a lot of timber work there on my pergola," she said.

"It just would've gone up straight into the unit. I'd have probably lost my unit."

Read the rest here:
Police seek suspected arsonist after another series of fence fires

The government will provide 50 per cent subsidy to farmers to put up solar fences on their farms, said Minister for Forests B. Ramanath Rai on Thursday, as an obstacle against entry of wild animals and to reduce man-animal conflict

During his visit to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office here, the Minister told presspersons that the department had put up elephant-proof trenches and installed solar-powered fences around some stretches of the reserve forests and national parks. This is part of the Karnataka Sustainable Forest Management and Bio-diversity Conservation Programme. However, if farmers want to get solar fences installed by private companies, we will grant them 50 per cent subsidy, he said.

The Minister said his department was not against development. However, only such projects that will directly benefit people will be permitted. People who submit applications for land in deemed and reserve forests should keep in mind the various rules governing forests in the State.

The Minister said the process of resolving the confusion over the C and D categories of land (degraded forest land) had commenced. According to the law, there is no provision to regularise encroachments on forest land after April 27, 1978. However, we have received over one lakh applications seeking regularisation of land. A Cabinet subcommittee has been formed to study the issue and take a decision, he said.

He said 700 posts in the department would be filled shortly. The department is also encouraging farmers to grow sandalwood. We are giving away saplings at Re. 1 and Rs. 2 each to farmers. These farmers will also get an incentive of Rs. 10, Rs. 15 and Rs. 20 for each sapling annually, in the first, second and third year respectively, to ensure its growth, the Minister said.

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Farmers to get 50 per cent subsidy for solar fencing

12:30 Southwell 12:40 Musselburgh 13:00 Southwell 13:10 Musselburgh 13:30 Southwell 13:40 Musselburgh 14:00 Southwell 14:10 Musselburgh 14:30 Southwell 14:40 Musselburgh 15:00 Southwell 15:10 Musselburgh 15:30 Southwell 15:40 Musselburgh 16:00 Wolverhampton 16:30 Wolverhampton 17:00 Wolverhampton 17:30 Wolverhampton 18:00 Wolverhampton 18:30 Wolverhampton 19:00 Wolverhampton 18:15 Dundalk 18:45 Dundalk 19:15 Dundalk 19:45 Dundalk 20:15 Dundalk 20:45 Dundalk 21:15 Dundalk 11:10 Deauville 11:40 Deauville 12:15 Deauville 12:50 Deauville 13:20 Deauville 13:50 Deauville 14:20 Deauville 14:55 Deauville 15:25 Deauville 10:30 Fairview 11:00 Fairview 11:30 Fairview 12:00 Fairview 12:45 Fairview 13:25 Fairview 14:05 Fairview 14:40 Fairview 15:10 Greyville 15:45 Greyville 16:25 Greyville 17:05 Greyville 17:40 Greyville 18:15 Greyville 18:50 Greyville 19:25 Greyville 17:25 Aqueduct 17:25 Tampa Bay Downs 17:54 Aqueduct 17:55 Tampa Bay Downs 18:23 Aqueduct 18:25 Tampa Bay Downs 18:52 Aqueduct 18:55 Tampa Bay Downs 19:15 Sunland Park 19:21 Aqueduct 19:25 Tampa Bay Downs 19:40 Turf Paradise 19:40 Sunland Park 19:50 Aqueduct 19:55 Tampa Bay Downs 20:05 Sunland Park 20:10 Turf Paradise 20:19 Aqueduct 20:20 Tampa Bay Downs 20:30 Sunland Park 20:40 Turf Paradise 20:48 Aqueduct 20:50 Tampa Bay Downs 20:55 Sunland Park 21:10 Turf Paradise 21:17 Aqueduct 21:20 Sunland Park 21:24 Tampa Bay Downs 21:41 Turf Paradise 21:46 Sunland Park 22:12 Sunland Park 22:12 Turf Paradise 22:38 Sunland Park 22:43 Turf Paradise 23:00 Penn National 23:04 Sunland Park 23:13 Turf Paradise 23:15 Turfway Park 23:27 Penn National 23:30 Sunland Park 23:44 Turfway Park 23:45 Delta Downs 23:54 Penn National 00:12 Delta Downs 00:13 Turfway Park 00:15 Charles Town 00:22 Penn National 00:40 Delta Downs 00:42 Turfway Park 00:43 Charles Town 00:49 Penn National 01:08 Delta Downs 01:10 Charles Town 01:11 Turfway Park 01:16 Penn National 01:36 Delta Downs 01:37 Charles Town 01:40 Turfway Park 01:43 Penn National 02:04 Charles Town 02:04 Delta Downs 02:09 Turfway Park 02:10 Penn National 02:31 Charles Town 02:32 Delta Downs 02:37 Penn National 02:38 Turfway Park 02:58 Charles Town 03:00 Delta Downs 03:07 Turfway Park 03:25 Charles Town 03:28 Delta Downs 03:52 Charles Town 03:55 Delta Downs Musselburgh Southwell Wolverhampton Dundalk Deauville Fairview Greyville Aqueduct Charles Town Delta Downs Penn National Sunland Park Tampa Bay Downs Turf Paradise Turfway Park Musselburgh Southwell Wolverhampton Dundalk Deauville Fairview Greyville Aqueduct Charles Town Delta Downs Penn National Sunland Park Tampa Bay Downs Turf Paradise Turfway Park

Grand National 2014 Antepost: Monbeg Dude 25/1

An outing over fences at some point in late February or early March would appear to be Scudamore's preference at the moment, although another start in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he was pulled up last year, is less favoured.

Last season's Welsh National winner struck for the first time since that occasion when taking a Grade Three at Cheltenham's December meeting.

It sparked Aintree dreams for his syndicate of owners, rugby players Mike Tindall, James Simpson-Daniel and Nicky Robinson, while Tindall's wife Zara Phillips has been coaching Monbeg Dude in the jumping department.

"He had a couple of weeks off but he's back cantering and is in great form," said Scudamore. "I think it's really all roads to the National, and I don't think he will run again until the weights come out.

"He's a novice over hurdles, so that's an option, but he jumped so well last time you might want to keep him over fences. There aren't a whole lot of options over fences in between, and I haven't spoken to the boys yet.

"I might put him in the Gold Cup, just in case he didn't take to schooling over the Aintree fences or something, but it would be very much an outside chance he'd go for it. He would have a lot to find on the ratings and it's just over three weeks away from the National."

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Gold Cup bid unlikely for Dude