Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

September 21, 2014 - 7:09 pm

I painted my house with the help of a few friends (and my ex-boyfriend at the time) years ago. The paint has withstood the test of time give or take seven years. i know, I should really change the paint right now but I dont like painting very much.

Of course, through the years, there will be nicks here and nicks there, chip here and chip there. I am trying to match the paint so I dont have to paint it right now. I will probably paint it again before I sell the house if I sell it soon. I have already patched the holes, spackled and sanded it. The only thing missing is the paint.

i looked at the Appstore for an app that would help me match the paint and I did find an app for it but its specific to Behr paints. I dont think I used Behr for when I painted so Im a bit unsure. I did try the app. You can take a photo of the wall and try to match the paint swatches. Even with that, I was kind of doubtful because it all depends on lighting and stuff.

I went to Lowes to find out if I can get swatches that would provide me some clue of what the color was that I chose back then. I picked up a few of the shades that I thought resembled the pain but when I took it home, none of them matched. I did speak to the guy behind the paint counter and I was told that they could match the paint if I bring in a sample (a piece from my wall) and take it to the store. Hmmm. That would mean I would have to scrape a piece of my wall to hand it to them for matching. Since I will be going away next week, I thought of putting it off for now. I will wait until I get back from my trip to do that.

If they fail to provide me the exact match, I may have to hire someone to paint my whole house. Usually there are college kids around who are looking for some cash and that usually is less expensive than an actual contractor. But, as they say, you get what you pay for. They dont have a bond or insurance should something happen, and who can guarantee that they will do good work?

This means that I may have to find a contractor. If I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, I would probably be able to find one easily by using painting contractors Phoenix AZ just as it would be easy for me to find a contractor where I actually live. But whos to know that the contractor I find is good? They normally have websites but there are no guarantees. I should be able to find a website that would provide customer feedback to show history of their work right?

Anyway, it will be a long shot before I find out if Lowes can actually match the paint on my wall. The good thing about it is that I am not having a party anytime soon. I was going to throw a Goodbye Summer party but decided to nix it. It would have been a simple barbecue and gathering with friends. Instead, we opted for the European style dining called Dining Under the Stars. Its reminiscent of the pop-up restaurants in Paris and Venice. Theres a town here in Pennsylvania where they hold an event like that all summer long. A bunch of us are going to a French-Thai restaurant and its outdoors. They close the street down and restaurants will serve you food outdoors way into the evening. Hence, the name.

If you guys have any recommendations for painters, let me know. LOL! I may have to get a contractor soon.

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Ugh! I hate painting.

Dallas Landscape Lighting Houston Outdoor Lighting Free Nighttime Demo
Cody Gilcrease with The Perfect Light helps prospective customers understand how The Perfect Light walks home owners through the process of adding new landsc...

By: The Perfect Light of Dallas - Landscape and Christmas Lighting

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Dallas Landscape Lighting Houston Outdoor Lighting Free Nighttime Demo - Video

The future may soon be brighter for developers seeking Longmont's permission for the higher levels of lighting typically installed at service stations' gas pumps and banks' outdoor drive-through customer lanes.

On Tuesday night, the Longmont City Council is to consider amending the 12-year-old Land Development Code's limits on outdoor lighting levels for fueling areas, drive-up windows, ATMs, car wash bays, and business' loading and service areas.

If You Go

What: Longmont City Council will consider preliminary approval of an ordinance amending the city code's regulations about outdoor lighting.

When:

7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: City Council chambers, Longmont Civic Center, 350 Kimbark St.

Further information: If the ordinance gains initial approval Tuesday, a public hearing and final consideration is expected to be set for Oct. 14.

The code, which applies to new developments and redevelopment projects, now restricts the intensity of outdoor lighting to an average of 5 foot-candles.

One foot-candle is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a unit of illuminance on a surface one foot from the source of light from one candle, equal to one lumen per square foot.

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Longmont council to consider updates to outdoor lighting regs

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Following an embarrassing security breach at the White House, one of the most closely protected buildings in the world, the Secret Service is said to be considering establishing new checkpoints to screen tourists in public areas near the presidential mansion.

Meanwhile, the man accused of scaling a security fence and getting into the president's home carrying a knife is scheduled to have his initial appearance Monday in federal court.

Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, is facing charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. The Army says Gonzalez served from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability.

The Secret Service tightened its guard outside the White House after Friday's security breach. Gonzalez is accused of scaling the White House perimeter fence, sprinting across the lawn and entering the building before agents could stop him.

President Barack Obama and his family were away at the time. Obama says he still has confidence in the troubled agency's ability to protect him and his family.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has ordered increased surveillance and more officer patrols, and has begun an investigation into what went wrong.

The Secret Service is conducting preliminary discussions about setting up security screening checkpoints near public areas around the White House, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Sunday. The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations by name. The official said the measures had been discussed previously, but the talks have taken on added urgency.

The breach triggered a rare evacuation of much of the White House. Secret Service agents drew their weapons as they hurried White House staffers and journalists out of the West Wing through a side door.

Officials first said the fact that Gonzalez appeared to be unarmed may have been a factor in why agents at the scene didn't shoot or have their dogs pursue him before he made it inside. But a criminal complaint issued late Friday revealed Gonzalez had a small folding knife with a 3-inch serrated blade with him at the time of his arrest.

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Accused White House intruder to appear in court - NBC40.net

By BETSY BLANEY and JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) - An Iraq war veteran accused of scaling a fence and making it into the White House before the Secret Service stopped him posed no threat to anyone and needs counseling instead of prosecution, members of his family said Sunday.

Omar Gonzalez, 42, was arrested Friday and is expected in federal court Monday to face charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon - a small folding knife in this case.

Jerry Murphy, whose mother was married to Gonzalez for several years, said Gonzalez suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and that he needs treatment. He said Gonzalez has been driving around the country and living out of his truck for the past couple of years, and that he always carries his knife.

"I know he's got heavy artillery, you know?" Murphy added. "He's got all kinds of weapons and he was trained to use them. I believe if he wanted to make a scene or cause problems, he very well could have. But it's clear that he didn't."

The Secret Service has come under heavy criticism since the embarrassing security breach, which happened when the first family wasn't at the White House. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered increased surveillance and more officer patrols at the White House, as the agency investigates what went wrong.

The Army said Gonzalez enlisted in July 1997 and remained until completing his service obligation in September 2003. He reenlisted in July 2005 and served until his retirement in late 2012, serving in Iraq from October 2006 to January 2008.

The military does not provide details about a soldier's disability due to privacy considerations. But Samantha Bell, who is Gonzalez's ex-wife and Murphy's mother, said Gonzalez was honorably discharged for medical reasons and suffered from plantar fasciitis on his feet, on which he had had some surgeries. She said he also suffered from PTSD, for which he had been prescribed several medications.

Bell said she and Gonzalez married in 2006 and lived together in Copperas Cove, near Fort Hood, until she split up with him in 2010 because of his worsening mental condition. After his second tour in Iraq, Gonzalez began carrying a .45 on his hip at all times and kept three or four rifles and shotguns behind the doors in their home, said Bell, who remarried and now lives in southern Indiana.

She said Gonzalez kept the blinds drawn and would repeatedly go downstairs during the night to make sure the doors were locked and the oven was off. She said she once woke up in the middle of the night to find Gonzalez standing at the foot of the bed and staring at her. She said he told her he was simply watching her sleep.

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Relatives: Vet arrested at White House needs help - NBC40.net

Ben Roethlisberger threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers used a key play on special teams to ward off the Carolina Panthers 37-19 Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium.

All three of the quarterback's touchdown passes this season went to Brown.

Both teams are 2-1.

The Panthers' eight-game regular-season home winning streak ended, with hundreds of towel-waving Steelers fans in the crowd dominating the scene in the waning minutes.

Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for 147 yards on 21 carries. Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount scored the last touchdown on an 8-yard run, and he finished with 118 yards on 10 attempts.

Roethlisberger completed 22 of 30 passes for 196 yards with no interceptions. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was 24-for-35 for 250 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He didn't play the last series.

A third-quarter turnover set up the game's first touchdown and helped Pittsburgh pull away.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones' sack of Newton dislodged the ball, and linebacker Jason Worilds recovered at the Carolina 17.

The Steelers appeared to be headed toward their fourth field goal, but the Panthers jumped offside. On the next play, Roethlisberger hit Brown with a 7-yard touchdown toss.

Roethlisberger and Brown connected on another 7-yard touchdown play with 2:22 to go in the third quarter. That came after Bell's 81-yard dash on a second-and-22 play altered the landscape.

The rest is here:
Roethlisberger, Steelers roll past Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ben Roethlisberger threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers used a key play on special teams to ward off the Carolina Panthers 37-19 Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium.

All three of the quarterback's touchdown passes this season went to Brown.

Both teams are 2-1.

The Panthers' eight-game regular-season home winning streak ended, with hundreds of towel-waving Steelers fans in the crowd dominating the scene in the waning minutes.

Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for 147 yards on 21 carries. Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount scored the last touchdown on an 8-yard run, and he finished with 118 yards on 10 attempts.

Roethlisberger completed 22 of 30 passes for 196 yards with no interceptions. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was 24-for-35 for 250 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He didn't play the last series.

A third-quarter turnover set up the game's first touchdown and helped Pittsburgh pull away.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones' sack of Newton dislodged the ball, and linebacker Jason Worilds recovered at the Carolina 17.

The Steelers appeared to be headed toward their fourth field goal, but the Panthers jumped offside. On the next play, Roethlisberger hit Brown with a 7-yard touchdown toss.

Roethlisberger and Brown connected on another 7-yard touchdown play with 2:22 to go in the third quarter. That came after Bell's 81-yard dash on a second-and-22 play altered the landscape.

The rest is here:
Big Ben to Brown works again as Steelers put down Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -

Ben Roethlisberger threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers used a key play on special teams to ward off the Carolina Panthers 37-19 Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium.

All three of the quarterback's touchdown passes this season went to Brown.

Both teams are 2-1.

The Panthers' eight-game regular-season home winning streak ended, with hundreds of towel-waving Steelers fans in the crowd dominating the scene in the waning minutes.

Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for 147 yards on 21 carries. Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount scored the last touchdown on an 8-yard run, and he finished with 118 yards on 10 attempts.

Roethlisberger completed 22 of 30 passes for 196 yards with no interceptions. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was 24-for-35 for 250 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He didn't play the last series.

A third-quarter turnover set up the game's first touchdown and helped Pittsburgh pull away.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones' sack of Newton dislodged the ball, and linebacker Jason Worilds recovered at the Carolina 17.

The Steelers appeared to be headed toward their fourth field goal, but the Panthers jumped offside. On the next play, Roethlisberger hit Brown with a 7-yard touchdown toss.

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Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown catches two touchdowns

RIDING VILLAGE, South Sumatra: Illegal land clearing in Indonesia has been the primary cause of transboundary haze that has blanketed neighbouring countries Malaysia and Singapore.

However, farmers continue to use slash-and-burn techniques despite health and environmental hazards.

Sofi, a farmer and rubber plantation owner for 50 years, admitted to burning down the trees on his one-hectare rubber plantations every year to clear the land. He said: "I burn my land so it's easier for us to clear the cut tree branches. The small branches are the parts that are burnt. If we don't burn the land, it would be very difficult for us to replant it with cassavas and bananas."

It took only two hours to burn the land, compared to weeks if he were to remove the trees using machetes and shovels. But Sofi created firebreaks and monitored the fire closely to prevent it from spreading to nearby lands. He blamed the fires on peatland for the haze and said fires on normal ground die out faster.

Sofi, though, was not doing anything illegal. According to Environment Ministry laws that protect the traditional rights of small farmers, they are allowed to use the slash-and-burn technique for up to two hectares of land.

Instead, it is the plantation companies who have abused these laws. As they are banned from any amount of burning, commercial businesses are paying small individual farmers to use their land to grow crops before burning the land under the protection of the existing laws.

"We're working with the police to enforce the law, said Yusrizal Dinoto, head of the South Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency. Police on helicopters would patrol areas and take immediate measures to arrest suspects, whether it be farmers or plantation company workers who burn land."

Using excavators to clear the land is an alternative but it is also costly option that few independent farmers can afford.

"Burning to clear land is important for local farmers, said Iswadi, a Forestry Ministry firefighter. They need to clear land manually before they can replant rubber trees. They don't use sophisticated equipment so the only way is to burn land."

The small-scale farmers Channel NewsAsia spoke to say clearing land by burning has been a long-held local custom and they plan on continuing the practice until the government can offer them a better option.

See more here:
Plantation companies paying Indonesian farmers to burn land

Drafting Your Self Publishing Team with Charlotte Pierce
Unless you are Superman or Wonder Woman, self-publishing usually requires more than one person to produce a sell-able product. Some of the people that you may need include: Cover Designer...

By: Laura B Williams

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Drafting Your Self Publishing Team with Charlotte Pierce - Video