Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Imagine: Sitting before you is a scale model of the Rogers Centre, roughly the size of a round roasting pan. Your challenge: to put a real baseball field in the stadium natural grass with a dirt infield by opening day 2018.

Your research has been thorough. Experts at the University of Guelph have determined the ideal species of grass. They have it growing on an Ontario sod farm. They say it will flourish indoors with the roof closed.

Under the right conditions, that is. Your job is to create those conditions.

So open the roof, reach in and toss out that artificial turf, which was new for the 2015 season. Haul out your jackhammer. Rip up the concrete. Install plumbing for irrigation and drainage. Dig some more to accommodate the sod and the dirt infield.

Close the roof. Strip that shiny skin from the four mammoth roof panels. Its the original PVC membrane, circa 1989, and its worn out. While youre at it, you might figure out a way to replace it with a material that lets in the light. Grass likes natural light, and right now, the closed dome shuts it out.

The scientists at Guelph say the grass will grow without natural light, but youll need lots of artificial light enormous banks of mobile grow lights that sit about 10 feet off the ground and nourish the sod when the field is not in use. Youll roll them around between games to focus on the worn spots, even after games played with the roof open.

One more thing. Grass sweats. (Scientists call it transpiration.). Water from the roots vaporizes from the leaf surface into the air. All of that grass will create a lot of humidity, and youve got to figure out a way to get rid of that sticky air or the Rogers Centre will become a sweatbox with the roof closed. So youll need a dehumidifier. Forget Home Depot; you need a really big one.

Now youre ready to install the grass.

Assuming, of course, that your engineers surmounted all of those challenges and you have the budget to make it happen.

Read more:
Real grass at Torontos Rogers Centre poses major challenges

Wild elephant grass, also know as Napier grass, is one of those wonder plants that needs little water and few nutrients to produce copious crops on fallow lands. Since it can be used for grazing, it has allowed farmers from Africa to Asia to amp up food supplies for their cattle herds.

But Philippine farmers in Bacolor, Pampanga, just north of the capital Manila, have now gone a step further. They are using the grass to produce renewable electricity for their meat factory. Everything we need is on-hand, says Bacolor Mayor Jomar Hizon.

The town has plenty of land to graze cattle and grow grass, but its processed meat factory, Pampangas Best, needs electricity. Hizon says that that the grass-powered power plant is like a three-point shot.

The sod growing in Pampanga is the so-called Super Napier grass, which is packed with energy. It can produce several crops per year and local experts estimate that an area smaller than a fifth of New Yorks Central Park, or about 150 acres, could yield 1 megawatt in grass power. The Philippines is a very appropriate place for a project such as this, where we have farmers in one community, and a power plant a few kilometers away that can provide up to perhaps 10 megawatts, says West Stewart, managing director of Advanced Energy Technologies, which builds distributed power plants across southeast Asia. Stewart says that the elephant grass power plant could help power towns and villages facing electricity shortages and lacking links to the electric grid.

The farmers, of course, are not burning the grass itself. That would be too inefficient. They gassify the cellulose in the grass blades by exposing it to very high heat, and break it down into energy-rich synthetic gas, or syngas, which contains methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. They use the syngas as fuel for massive Jenbacher gas engines, which GE manufactures in Austria. This can be replicated in other areas in the country, says John Alcordo, GEs regional general manager for Distributed Power in ASEAN. We believe that in an island grid such as [in Bacolor], and in a land where feedstock for biomass gasification can grow well, the opportunities will be significant.

The shift to distributed power is the latest trend in energy generation and distribution, akin to going from landlines to cell phones, a move that revolutionized telecommunications two decades ago. It gives people and businesses predictable and reliable access to electricity, regardless of whether the grid is working or whether it reaches their town.

GEs Distributed Power business, the companys newest unit, has already rolled out dozens of similar Jenbacher applications around the world. The gas engines are munching on everything from cheese whey and whisky mash to discarded school lunches and rice hulls.

For more stories like this, visit GE Reports.

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Philippine Farmers Harvest Power From Grass By The Acre

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THE year 2015 or the year of the Wooden Sheep will have businesses keep their momentum of businesses, according to Feng Shui enthusiast Edgar Hao.

The year of the Sheep will be better than last year. This is a year good for business and opportunities, Hao said in an interview on Tuesday.

The year of the Wooden Sheep which will officially kick in on Feb. 19, has the sense of balance as all the five elements including wood, water, metal, fire and earth will be found in this years Feng Shui chart, which serves as their guide in making predictions.

There is momentum. The balanced astronomical signs signify a year of prosperity and a year of opportunities. The presence of fire element, for instance, will continue to push opportunities especially in business, said Hao, who has been practicing practical Feng Shui for 15 years.

2 elements

The year of the sheep is symbolized by two elements with yin wood sitting on top of earth.

Although this signals disharmony as the wood conquers earth on the destructive cycle, such conflicts, according to Hao, may be more easily resolved with compromise and concessions in 2015 as the nature of the yin wood is a flower which is easy to adjust directions and is much more flexible.

Yin wood symbolizes the small branches of tree which is not stubborn and can easily adjust to changing circumstances. With such character, expect 2015 will be comparatively less violent than 2014, said Hao.

In 2015, the flexible and more moderate character of yin wood represents compromising attitude and makes it easier to reach agreement between conflicting interests. As such, it will be easier to arrive at solutions and make treaties to resolve conflicts and struggles, he said.

The traits of the sheep harmless, calm, innocent, gentle and spiritual will influence 2015.

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Businesses to keep momentum in Year of Wooden Sheep

BINTULU: It was a lucky day for Yong Jin Hui of Bintulu when she won Naim Land Sdn Bhds Discover and Win Facebook contest recently.

The prize presentation was held during Naim Bintulus special feng shui talk entitled Chinese Feng Shui Guide 2015 recently.

The Facebook contest, which ran from mid Nov to Dec 31, 2014 was held in conjunction with the Groups 20th Anniversary Countdown Celebrations and the launch of its Super Deals! mega property promotion.

It was also a gesture of appreciation to the community supporting its Bintulu Paragon integrated development.

Participants were required to share the Super Deals! Facebook ad on their Timeline, take their photos in Bintulu Paragons show units and share them on their Facebook Page. Participants with the most number of likes would win the contest.

Excited with her win of an iPad Mini, Yong thanked Naim for organising the contest.

It was an easy and fun contest offering great prizes. By visiting Bintulu Paragons Facebook Page, I had the opportunity to know more about the development and benefit it brings not only to buyers but the community as a whole.

I also visited the Peak condo and Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO) show units. I like the Peak Duplex show unit the most as it was tastefully designed, she said, adding that she looked forward to more contests by Naim.

Naim Bintulus senior manager of operations Gerald Sim said the Facebook contest was a fun way to connect with the community, and for it to know more about Bintulu Paragons offerings.

As the largest integrated development in Sarawak with exciting development components such as Street Mall, Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO) and Sarawaks tallest condo tower known as The Peak, Bintulu Paragon offers exciting opportunities for owners and investors alike. We invite all to be a part of this prestigious development, Sim said.

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by Antonia Chiam, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on January 14, 2015, Wednesday

KUCHING: The beginning of Spring or Li Chun falls on Feb 4 this year, meaning the Year of the Sheep starts on Feb 4 although Chinese New Year is on Feb 19.

Many Chinese seek to enhance their New Year luck through feng shui practices. A common feng shui chart used as an annual guide is the Flying Star chart.

According to crystals shop Silver Point proprietor YS Tan, the Flying Star chart maps out the ways energy is distributed in nine areas of a location, especially in ones home.

The nine areas in the Flying Star chart represent different things, good or bad. They are each marked by a number and a corresponding direction. The position of these things change every year, he told The Borneo Post in an exclusive interview yesterday.

Tan said people can use crystals or other feng shui-related items to enhance positive energy and repel negative energy.

This year, East corresponds with the auspicious number 1, which represents position or relationship. Those born in the Year of the Rabbit should tap into this auspicious energy using crystals such as rose quartz, amazonite or rainbow tourmaline.

The negative number 2 falls in the south-east area this year, representing sickness. Those affected are those born in the Dragon and Snake years. They can consider using black obsidian, black rutile or tektite to lessen the effect of this inauspicious star.

Number 3 star is known to bring about arguments and misunderstandings. This year, it falls in the centre area, which is negative to everyone in the household. To lessen its effect, salt lamps are recommended. Salt lamps are natural Himalayan salt rocks made into lamps for their natural benefits, such as purifying the air and preventing radiation.

The auspicious number 4 in the north-west direction this year stands to benefit people born in the Dog and Boar years. Crystals to enhance include aventurine or tigers eye.

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OREM --The fences are up and the construction has begun on one of five new office buildings at University Place.

The new building is located just east of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant and south of the Macy's department store.

The construction signals the beginning of a busy year for the Woodbury Corporation and Ivory Homes partnership. The two groups will bring to the area a new mixed-used development including business offices, luxury apartment living, a hotel and a large public park.

NorthStar Alarm, currently housed at the Bank of American Fork building on the mall property's southeast corner, has announced its intention to be the anchor business for the new building. NorthStar has grown extensively since it was founded in 2000 and continues to annually expand at 25 percent or more. The company will occupy 30,000 square feet on the top floor of the new building that faces the intersection of State State and University Parkway.

In 2013, financial investment giants Goldman Sachs and The Beekman Group became financial partners with NorthStar and expanded its credit facility to $40 million. NorthStar has more than 44,000 customers in 28 states through a recent acquisition. It is the 18th largest residential security provider in the nation, according to SDM Magazine.

NorthStar Alarm was founded in 2000 when CEO Jason Christensen opened its first corporate office on the top floor of the Cougar Dental office in Provo on the south side of the Brigham Young University campus. NorthStar occupied about 500 square feet of space in the building, which had walls narrow enough to be touched if arms were outstretched.

Soon after NorthStar installed its first home security system in 2001, the companys growth accelerated and its original four corporate employees turned into several. To accommodate the growth, NorthStar moved up the street to its current corporate office in 2004.

We love our current location in Orem between two major universities. We have the luxury of being able to hire incredible people here in Utah County that share the core values of our company, Christensen said. I had been searching for some time for new space, and when this was presented we realized we would only have to move our offices across the parking lot 500 yards to the west."

Other tenants have signed contract agreements for the building, but the company names have not been released by Woodbury.

Orem Mayor Richard Brunst says he loves the fact the Woodburys are willing to reinvent the mall to bring new business and life to the city.

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First office building rising at University Place in Orem

HARTFORD, Conn. --

Court records obtained by The Associated Press show that the contractor, Michael Borcina, and his company settled Matthew Badger's lawsuit in Hartford Superior Court on Dec. 10. Badger's lawyer confirmed the settlement amount Tuesday.

The fire in Stamford killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger and their maternal grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson. The girls' mother, Madonna Badger, and Borcina were dating at the time and escaped the fire.

Authorities said the fire began after Borcina left a bag of fireplace ashes in a bin in a mudroom in the house. Borcina, who was renovating the $1.7 million Victorian home, was accused in the lawsuit of contributing with other defendants to make the house a "firetrap," including failing to install a smoke detection system during the construction.

A lawyer for Borcina didn't return a message Tuesday seeking comment. A phone listing for Borcina could not be found. Matthew Badger and Madonna Badger did not return messages seeking comment.

Richard Emery, a New York lawyer representing Matthew Badger, said the $5 million settlement is the first in the lawsuit, which remains pending against several other defendants.

"It is nowhere near reflective of the ultimate value of this case: three little girls' lives," Emery said. "No money could compensate for that."

Matthew Badger filed the lawsuit in July 2012 against Borcina, his company Tiberias Construction of New York City, the city of Stamford and others. Claims against the city and other defendants remain unresolved.

"The girls died before they could escape the home, which had become a firetrap as a result of months of substandard construction leading up to the fire," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also says city officials knew or should have known that Borcina served as the home's general contractor but didn't have a state home improvement contractor's license. Stamford officials previously denied any wrongdoing in connection with the fire. The city's corporation counsel, Kathryn Emmett, declined to comment Tuesday.

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Settlement reached in Stamford Christmas Day fire