Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A majestic oak that stands outside Jack London's cottage in Glen Ellen has been given a reprieve now that further lab tests reveal the tree is healthier than once thought.

In this season of joy, what a gift! Tjiska Van Wyk, executive director of Jack London Park Partners, wrote in an email.

Officials were planning to cut the tree down in November amid concerns that one of its branches could fall and damage London's cottage or possibly injure someone. Three arborists had determined that the tree, which is more than 300 years old, is infected with a pathogenic fungi and is dying.

A subsequent test confirmed that the tree has significant decay. However, park officials believe it can remain standing for awhile longer.

The iconic tree has for centuries provided sustenance for Coast Miwok Indians and later nurtured the famous author's artistic spirit.

The oak was what London saw when he looked out the window of his office. When the weather was good, he sat in the shade of the tree's massive branches, notebook in hand, and wrote.

In December 2012, a large branch that faced away from the cottage crashed down during a storm. More limbs that faced the building subsequently were trimmed off.

The park hosted several events this year as a way of saying good-bye to the tree. Those included a Native American blessing and schoolchildren harvesting acorns from the tree for re-planting in the area.

The latest analysis of the tree was conducted by Matteo Garbelotto, a UC Berkeley professor and principal investigator for the Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab. He told park officials that the tree likely will have to come down sometime in the next decade, if not sooner.

Park officials are taking further measures to reduce the risk of the tree causing injury or property damage. They include new parking restrictions near the tree, pruning and close monitoring of the tree's condition.

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Jack London oak saved from the ax

CalFire has asked the developers of the Enchanted Resorts project, now known as Calistoga Hills, for more details about its tree removal plans.

In a Dec. 19 letter, Meghan Reeves of CalFire said the developers Timber Harvesting Plan needs to be resubmitted with more information about the plans environmental impacts.

She listed 52 required changes, including additional analysis of the plans use of herbicides, greenhouse gas emissions, and effects on recreational use and sensitive bird and plant species. Reeves said a botanical survey was performed at the wrong time of year, and that the plan needed to include more analysis of slope stability.

Timber Harvesting Plans are reviewed by CalFire and other state agencies. Tree removals cant start until CalFire approves the plan.

Developer Aaron Harkin said back-and-forth over the plan is a pretty standard procedure.

We just have to check all the boxes, he said.

Trees are slated to be removed on 38 acres of the 88-acre property, according to Eric Sutera, the registered professional forester who filed the plan on behalf of the developers. Not all of the trees on the 38 acres will be removed.

Harkin said the permit is needed because the affected land is being converted to residential and commercial use. He said the developers also need to apply for a separate tree removal permit from the city.

A lot of the trees are dead or drying, and have to be removed for to preserve the vitality of the forest and reduce fire risk, he said. The tree removal plans contained in the Timber Harvesting Plan were already included in the plans environmental impact report, he said.

Voters approved the project by passing Measure C in 2012. The 110-room luxury hotel will include a spa, more than 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, two pools, a restaurant and lounge, 20 private homes and 13 custom estates.

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CalFire seeks details about resort's timber harvesting plan

Heres a word on mistletoe, for your holiday reading pleasure, from science humorist Alex Reshavov. This post was originally published in 2011. Enjoy!

The quaint holiday decoration you invited into your home and hung over your doorways is a vicious parasite that leeches nutrients from innocent host trees. It is riddled with cytotoxins, and its seeds are dispersed via bird crap. Merry Christmas.

Pretty parasite

Makes for a far nicer centerpiece than a jar of tapeworms. Image Credit: Kenraiz.

Not all parasites are creepy-crawly worms or protozoans. Some are cheerful-looking shrubs with dainty white berries. Viscum album is one species of mistletoe*, a group of parasitic flowering plants in the order Santalales. It is an obligate hemiparasite. This means that while it does not derive all of its sustenance from a host plant, it does need some interaction with the host to reach its mature state. As a hemiparasite, mistletoe need only steal from its host trees xylem, the transport tissue that handles water and water-soluble nutrients. It is gracious enough to eschew the hosts phloem, which transports sugars. This renders it less of a pathogen, as the host loses water but not food to the parasite.

Gracious host

Viscin has worked it magic. Image Credit: Christer Johansson.

Mistletoe bears a fruit that some birds find delicious. The seeds of these berries are covered in a gluey substance called viscin. Birds eat the berries and then fly off to another tree where they eventually expel the digested remains of the fruit, its viscin coating still adhering to the seeds. The sticky seeds cling to the new branch and begin to grow. As it enlarges, the plant forms a peg that drills through the host branch and eventually reaches the xylem. Now the parasite develops its haustorium, a root-like appendage that allows it to siphon nutrients from the host.

Coming to America

Viscum album is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is the original Christmas mistletoe, a leafy green shrub adorned with white berries. It has a wide host range, infecting over 450 tree species, including both hardwood and coniferous varieties. So, yes, hypothetically your Christmas mistletoe could attack your Christmas tree (were it still planted in the ground, of course).

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Mistletoe’s parasitic kiss

Microsofts version of Facebook for Windows Phone significantly improved on Monday, with the addition of secondary Live Tile support for monitoring Facebook Chat or specific posts.

Oh, and theres stickers now, too.

The new secondary Live Tiles within Facebook for Windows Phone.

Microsofts own dev team released version 5.2.1 of Windows Phone on Monday morning, with the new improvements. Microsofts Michael Stroh, a social media manager for Microsoft,revealed that the top requested feature from users was better notifications, which is what Microsoft prioritized.

Unfortunately, a Android/iOS-style notification center for Windows Phone isn't (reportedly)due until next year, with the release of Windows Phone 8.1. So Microsoft instead turned to its mosaic of Live Tiles, allowing those boxes to serve as bulletin boards when new activity occurs on the Facebook feed.

The redesigned Live Tile apps allow users to see what others have posted on their Wall. And the secondary notifications allow much more: For the first time, you can pin Facebook chat, events, groups, pages, and photo albums to Live Tiles, Microsoft said, to specifically see who commented on a photo, what they wrote, and which photo they commented on. IfWindows Phone 8.1 does roll out as expected, however, theres a fair chance that the Live Tile-centric notifications will go away.

The app now supports all languagescurrently supportedby Windows Phone, Microsoft added, for a total of 50.

Microsoft has been hard at work trying to add as many apps as the company can to Windows Phone; at the end of last week, the company added forever-running game Temple Run 2. Or you can pay 99 cents for ubiquitous fictional pitchman Ron Burgundy to browbeat you with his cel-shaded awesomeness.

A week ago, Microsoft said it had surpassed the 200,000-app mark within the Windows Phone Storeand we asked Microsoft to make those apps better. Microsoft may not have taken our words to heart, but it looks like its responding nevertheless.

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Facebook for Windows Phone gains secondary Live Tiles

This Tree in the backyard that sheds more than a golden retriever
Slow motion is cool.

By: KENT Y.

Original post:
This Tree in the backyard that sheds more than a golden retriever - Video

Mother of THREE with Hypothyroidism Sheds 12% Body Fat!
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By: Micah Lacerte

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Mother of THREE with Hypothyroidism Sheds 12% Body Fat! - Video

The wholesale vegetable market at Gnanapuram has remained closed for the second day on Monday following the objection raised by merchants against construction of four sheds on the premises.

According to Wholesale Vegetable Merchants Association, four sheds were constructed on Wednesday by a trader as he was given site in lieu of shops lost at Ramnagar.

Association secretary K. Veerraju said with police presence the four sheds were constructed in a few hours and eight persons were taken into preventive custody for protesting and released later.

He told reporters that the space near the main gate on which the new sheds were constructed was being used for parking. With 30 to 40 lorries bringing vegetables from various parts of the State and other States it would be difficult to take up unloading without that space.

The very functioning of the market that had 64 shops and supported a thousand persons including hamalis, drivers etc., would be affected, Mr. Veerraju said. The market observed a bandh on Saturday and continued it on Monday and it would affect supplies to Navy, Defence, big hotels and to the 12 Rytu Bazaars, he said. He alleged the construction was also not justified as the issue was in court. The issue was taken to the notice of municipal officials.

Mr. Veerraju said the shops could be constructed at the other places available in the yard but not where it would affect so many people.

Labour Union secretary S. N. Raju said hamalis were prepared to pull down a rest room abutting the new sheds but would not return to work even if traders opened shop unless the new sheds were removed.

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Vegetable market at Gnanapuram remains closed for second day

Mumbai, Dec 24:

Snapping two-day gain, the benchmark Sensex shed 68 points led largely by bank and metal stocks. The index opened marginally up at 21,128 against the previous close of 21,101. It touched a high of 21,157 and low of 21,011 before closing at 21,033, with a loss of 68 points. The total turnover on BSE was almost flat at Rs 2036 crore against Rs 2044 crore recorded on Monday.

On NSE, Nifty was down 16 points at 6,268.

Sesa Sterlite shares were down two per cent at Rs 199 on reports that Central Bureau of Investigation has started a probe into possible irregularities in its stake buy in Hindustan Zinc.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up one per cent at Rs 1,076 while L&T Finance Holdings rose three per cent at Rs 74. L&T said that the company has completed sale of 1.71 crore shares aggregating to one per cent in L&T Finance Holdings on Monday to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirement. L&T's total shareholding in L&T Finance Holdings now stands at 81.5 per cent.

Power Grid Corporation was down one per cent at Rs 99. The company said during market hours that the board of directors of the company at its meeting has approved the investment approval for 'Eastern Region Strengthening Scheme-X (ERSS-X)' at an estimated cost of Rs 144 crore, with commissioning schedule of 24 months from the date of investment approval.

Metal and mining stocks that edged lower include Hindalco Industries (-1.21%), JSW Steel (-0.3%), SAIL (-0.63%), NMDC (-0.61%), National Aluminum Company (-1.04%), Jindal Steel & Power (-1.44%), Bhushan Steel (-0.08%) and Tata Steel (-1.35%).

Major gainers were Gitanjali Gems (17%), Century Textile (13%), Apollo Tyres (8%), Aurobindo Pharma (4%), ING Vysya Bank (4%), Future Retail (4%), Bosch (4%) and Mphasis (4%).

Losers include J&K Bank (-4%), Tata Power (-3%), Hindustan Zinc (-2%), Wipro (2%) and Strides Arco (-2%).

(This article was published on December 24, 2013)

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Sensex sheds 68 points; Metal, bank stocks major losers

This article is about private rooms for personal hygiene. If you have been redirected here from a search on the word "crapper", see also Thomas Crapper. For a room containing a toilet and possibly also a sink, see toilet (room). For a public toilet, see public toilet.

A bathroom is a room for personal hygiene, generally containing a bathtub or a shower, and possibly also a bidet. In North America and some other regions, it characteristically contains a toilet and a sink; hence in North American English the word "bathroom" is commonly used to mean any room containing a toilet, even a public toilet (although in the United States this is more commonly called a restroom). In other countries, including the UK, Australia, France and Japan, homes may have a separate toilet. In Iran almost all homes have two distinct rooms for bathroom and toilet room.

The first records for the use of baths date back as far as 3000 B.C. At this time water had a strong religious value, being seen as a purifying element for both body and soul, and so it was not uncommon for people to be required to cleanse themselves before entering a sacred area. Baths are recorded as part of a village or town life throughout this period, with a split between steam baths in Europe and America and cold baths in Asia. Communal baths were erected in a distinctly separate area to the living quarters of the village, with a view to preventing evil spirits from entering the domestic quarters of a commune.

According to Teresi et al. (2002):[1]

The third millennium B.C. was the "Age of Cleanliness." Toilets and sewers were invented in several parts of the world, and Mohenjo-Daro circa 2800 B.C. had some of the most advanced, with lavatories built into the outer walls of houses. These were "Western-style" toilets made from bricks with wooden seats on top. They had vertical chutes, through which waste fell into street drains or cesspits. Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the director general of archaeology in India from 1944 to 1948, wrote, "The high quality of the sanitary arrangements could well be envied in many parts of the world today."

Nearly all of the hundreds of houses excavated had their own bathing rooms. Generally located on the ground floor, the bath was made of brick, sometimes with a surrounding curb to sit on. The water drained away through a hole in the floor, down chutes or pottery pipes in the walls, into the municipal drainage system. Even the fastidious Egyptians rarely had special bathrooms.

Not all ancient baths were in the style of the large pools that often come to mind when one imagines the Roman baths; the earliest surviving bathtub dates back to 1700 B.C, and hails from the Palace of Knossos in Crete. What is remarkable about this tub is not only the similarity with the baths of today, but also the way in which the plumbing works surrounding it differ so little from modern models. A more advanced prehistoric (15th century BC and before) system of baths and plumbing is to be found in the excavated town of Akrotiri, on the Aegean island of Thera. There, alabaster tubs and other bath fittings were found, along with a sophisticated twin plumbing system to transport hot and cold water separately. This was probably because of easy access to geothermic hot springs on this volcanic island. Both the Greeks and the Romans recognised the value of bathing as an important part of their lifestyles. Writers such as Homer had their heroes bathe in warm water so as to regain their strength; it is perhaps notable that the mother of Achilles bathed him in order to gain his invincibility. Palaces have been uncovered throughout Greece with areas that are dedicated to bathing, spaces with ceramic bathtubs, as well as sophisticated drainage systems. Homer uses the word , loetr, "baths", later , loutr, from the verb , loein, to bathe. The same root finds an even earlier attestation on Linear B tablets, in the name of the River Lousios ("bathing" [river]), in Arcadia. Public baths are mentioned by the comedian Aristophanes as , balanea (Sing.: , balaneon, Latinized as balneum, a "balneary").

The Roman attitudes towards bathing are well documented; they built large purpose-built thermal baths, marking not only an important social development, but also providing a public source of relaxation and rejuvenation. Here was a place where people could meet to discuss the matters of the day and enjoy entertainment. During this period there was a distinction between private and public baths, with many wealthy families having their own thermal baths in their houses. Despite this they still made use of the public baths, showing the value that they had as a public institution. The strength of the Roman Empire was telling in this respect; imports from throughout the world allowed the Roman citizens to enjoy ointments, incense, combs, and mirrors.

Although some sources suggest that bathing declined following the collapse of the Roman Empire, this is not completely accurate. It was actually the Middle Ages that saw the beginning of soap production, proof that bathing was definitely not uncommon. It was only after the Renaissance that bathing declined; water was feared as a carrier of disease, and thus sweat baths and heavy perfumes were preferred.

In fact throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the use of public baths declined gradually in the west, and private spaces were favoured, thus laying the foundations for the bathroom, as it was to become, in the 20th century. However in Japan shared bathing in sento and onsen (spas) still exists; the latter being very popular.

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Bathroom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mark of a truly top-notch hotel is its service.

In addition to the room upgrades, attentive staff, and perks like champagne, the world's best hotels go above and beyond great service to cater to the every whim of their guests and anticipate every desire.

A recent Quora thread asked, "what are the best service touches you've ever received at a hotel"?The answers revealed some incredible services you probably never knew existed.

"I had overslept [at the Al Faisaliah in Riyadh] and needed to finish some work and checkout quickly so I could make my flight back home. The butler had brought in my breakfast (they have butler service) and saw that I was rushing. He asked if I needed anything and I sarcastically replied "Well unless you can pack my bags." All I heard was a "why of course" and then he proceeded to perfectly fold all my dress clothes into my bags in a few minutes." -- Saikat B.

"When I wanted to eat at the rooftop restaurant but lacked the appropriate attire, Ian [the floor butler] brought a rack of suits to my room. When I called Ian to see when the jet ski rental booth closed, he told me it closed at six but not to worry. I did not know what this meant at the time. A few moments later, Ian called back to inform me that the rental booth reopened so that I could be dragged around on a tube behind a motor boat for a half hour. The Burj al Arab's service was almost uncomfortable." -- Alan D.

"I'll never forget one time on a Disney cruise when my cousin said he wanted nothing for dessert, and they brought out a plate with the word nothing written in chocolate sauce. It was cute, clever, and nice because he didn't have to sit there with no plate in front of him while everyone else ate, and it put a smile on all our faces." -- Kristen B.

"I recently checked in [to The PennyHill Hotel in Surrey, UK] and requested a cot for my daughter. When I arrived they had put a cot in the room, put a couple of blankets in the cot but also left a champagne bucket on the side, a kettle, some still water, a few small soft towels and a teddy bear with a note saying 'we do not have a bottle warmer available however please feel free to use the champagne bucket as a substitute alongside hot water. We have also provided mineral water in case you have milk formula and a complimentary teddy bear for company, hopefully this will be the first of many happy nights here for your family, best regards'." -- Anthony S.

"I unintentionally booked a room with 2 queen beds, instead of 1 king. At check-in, when I realized this, I asked if there might be any king rooms available; the hotel was booked to capacity and there was nothing. I didn't raise too much of a fuss, though, and assured the front desk manager despite his constant apologies it was my fault for having booked the wrong room type, and appreciated their looking in to availability nonetheless."

"I dropped off everything at my room and left the hotel for a number of meetings I had in town that day. When I returned to the hotel in the evening, I found a note from the manager apologizing for my having gotten the wrong room type (even though it was my own fault!). More impressively, though, they had actually disassembled and removed the 2 queen beds that were in the room, and brought in a spare king bed and set that up; while they had no king rooms available, they did have some king beds and used one to turn my room in to what I wanted.

"What's more, they did all of that for just a single night as they upgraded me to a suite that had become available (with king bed) the next night until the end of my stay."--Brian D.

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Travelers Reveal The Best Service Perks They've Every Received At Hotels