The magic of technology

My husband Tommy commented to me the other day that no one prints out photos anymore; they keep them hidden away in their telephone and/or their computer.

Rarely do we take time out to print photos of trips, family and friends, which is a pity because that’s what photos are for – to help you remember good times and to share them with others.When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction,

There was a time when I went through a “scrap booking” phase.

I collected all the albums, scissors, stickers and tools to take my photos to a better place.

Sadly those tools are still in their original plastic shoebox, and I don’t see them making an appearance any time soon.

When granddaughter Jeanne was born I did make what I thought was a charming video.

I’ve taken classes on the Macintosh computer for three years at the Apple Store in Nashville and made a slideshow set to music (Elton John’s “Little Jeanne”) of her first fews days.

I published it on my webpage, but haven’t posted photos there in over a year and a half.

All are still hovering up there somewhere in cyberspace.

I also made a tiny photo book of her first year, but she’s already two and a half and although I’ve made a rough outline of what I want to include on the second one, I haven’t started it yet.By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts.

Perhaps if I entrust the task to a “to do” list it will get done.

I find that if I make a written commitment to something, the chances of following through are greater and making a second year scrapbook certainly is a worthy goal.

Except for die hard scrap bookers (whom I so admire) most of us just flash photos of our children or grandchild on our telephones – or on Facebook.

Personally I don’t want to share all my photos on Facebook ..Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs..Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. but let notice be served – unless you want to spend 15 minutes watching videos and a myriad of photos of his grandchild and her aunts and uncles, don’t ask Tommy Bragg if he has any pictures.

While I try to be fairly discreet about “bragging,” Tommy does not and will show you photos and a slideshow for as long as you’ll pay attention.

After my last camera bit the bullet a few months ago, I found the camera on my telephone did such a great job that I didn’t replace my digital one.

I’ve also learned that it is comes in handy in other ways.

Recently I used my cell phone camera to take a photo of a bottle of wine I enjoyed at a restaurant.

I “googled” it when I got home to get an idea of the cost (they mark them up so much in restaurants it’s hard to have an idea of the price range) and it was easy to show to a wine vendor to see if he carried it.

I tend to handwrite my grocery lists instead of using my phone’s “Notes” app, but if it’s particularly important that I don’t forget anything on the list – say, if I’m having a dinner party that night and need those mushrooms or parsley – I take a photo of the list in case I lose it.

I have a proclivity for losing lists but tend to hold on very tightly to my phone, and if I really, really don’t want to make one more trip to the store I’ll save it under “photos.”

I was in a smocking class at Stitchers Playhouse on Tuesday and two fellow students had driven from Hartsville.

One grandmother wanted to make her grandchild another dress but didn’t know what fabric her daughter would like best so she sent a photo of three selections and let her daughter pick the one she liked best.

Recently John wanted a particular UT ball cap for his birthday and there were many to choose from.

Verification via cellphone that I had found the one he really wanted kept returns and frustrations to a minimum.

I recently used my cell camera to photocopy a recipe from a friend’s recipe card because I didn’t want to hand copy it and Tommy used his to take photos when he was on the roof of our home to show hail damage to the insurance adjuster.

‘These are my people’

In 1981, Yosaif Cohain set out to tell the visual story of the Jewish people in their homeland celebrating Succot. He asked God to grant him 15 years for the massive undertaking. That plan didn’t quite pan out, as 30 years later Cohain’s project is still going strong. He continues nearly every year to spend the intermediate days of Succot photographing citizens from every corner and walk of life celebrating the holiday.

Cohain, a senior photography lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, has captured thousands of angles of the Jewish people; playful neighborhood children in Netivot in 1990, a proud mother in Gush Katif standing steadfast beside her family’s succa in 2004, soldiers on reserve duty – all with the backdrop of Succot.

As Cohain, a New York native who made aliya in 1971 with his family, walks me through his upcoming exhibition “Identity of a Nation,” which opens October 16 at Jerusalem’s Mayanot Gallery, he describes his subjects and their landscape with remarkably deep love and respect, as cherished beings, as he would his own family. And that’s because they’re not just subjects to him.

“These are my people. These are my heroes,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,” he says. “This is about the Jewish experience in the Land of Israel. This is why we’re here.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.”

Though Cohain has shown parts of his collection before at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, this is the first time he is exhibiting work of Succot in Gush Katif just before disengagement from the Gaza Strip. While Cohain says his photographs generally don’t have a political message,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, he admits these do.

“I didn’t want anyone to forget,” he says. “I want everyone to look at them, to see the faces they’ve forgotten… I wanted more than the succa; I wanted the place.”

In the Gush Katif photos, Cohain achieves a mournful, brave tone. In Standing next to the home and succa (Gush Katif, 2004), the mother stands with daughters on either side, barefoot, staring seriously into the camera, as the baby crawls nearby, his face hidden by a bright Israeli flag. The stunning white house behind them, which Cohain says they worked hard for, stands in contrast to the small wooden succa alongside it. When Cohain looks at the mother, she seems to say, “We’re going to go through this together and we’re proud of it.”

These are the faces he wants Israeli society to remember. “To these pictures, everyone brings a collective memory that you can’t blot out,” he says. Whether you’re Left or Right, against or supportive of disengagement, the subjects are demanding that we acknowledge they existed in a Jewish community, now gone, he says.

Cohain points out the minute yet ultra-meaningful details in his photographs – a plastic tablecloth spread over the succa’s table, dirt falling from a flowerpot, old Jerusalem floor tiles, a rag in the corner. “It tells a lot about who we are,” he says of the belongings. “If you don’t feel it and know it, it won’t mean something to you.”

These are the defining elements to the photographs that make the people in the pictures real and endearing. The succot constructed from wood, cardboard and even simpler materials are adorned with Israeli flags – like in Six Day War Motif photographed in Jerusalem in 1980 – political signs and paper chains.

The neighborhood apartment scenes of wriggling children next to their succot are energetic, filled with a natural movement and strong nostalgia for childhood. Cohain never directs people where to stand, but simply allows them to be wherever and however they wish. This is clear, especially in the photos of children. He emphasizes, “It’s not about me. It’s about them.” The photographs, he says, are “basically stimuli for the people to be able to express themselves.”

Cohain, who has lived in Alon Shvut since 1977, says he’s learned that everyone knows for themselves where they want to stand, pose, lean – none of it can be choreographed. His strategy is to listen, yield control and let the self-expression happen organically. “Someone’s giving you something precious.

Metro first line hinges on Andheri bridge

Although the civil construction work for Mumbai's metro rail is moving at a snail's pace at a few locations due to acquisition and right of way (ROW) issues, it appears to be inching closer to the finishing line. Acquisition and ROW issues normally create a roadblock in not just the structure of a project, but also the space required for the work.

All the 1,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.668 piles dug up to build 456 pillars along the 12-kilometre metro rail track are ready. Of the 456 pillars above these piles, only 54 are remaining . Pillar structures are considered crucial as once they are ready, placing of U-shaped girders atop them can be speeded up. Of the total 766 girders, 530 have been launched above the pillars and 121 are ready at the workshop. Similarly, more than 70% of the work on 12 stations is complete as most of the station structures have already come up to the platform level.

Sources at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA),It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. though, told TOI that six pillars between Navrang theatre and S V Road on J P Road are not yet complete. This is because the required space for construction is not available on the narrow stretch of the road, said officials. Girders here have, therefore, been redesigned by the Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) to pace up the work. Civil works for the viaduct and the stations as well as the D N Nagar depot are expected to be complete by May 2012.

On another large stretch of the line, between Asalpha and Jagruti Nagar stations, around 14 pillars are facing hurdles posed by underground utilities as well as lack of traffic permissions. Similarly,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, the three to four pillars needed to build the Asalpha station near Maheshwar temple are stuck as certain portion of the temple land is to be acquired.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, Construction of three to four pillars near Sarvoday Hospital in Ghatkopar, where the metro's last station will come up, too is faced with the acquisition row between the MMRDA and the property owners.

The MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said, "We are hopeful that all these works would be complete within the rescheduled deadline of August 2012, although they are being delayed due to some reason or the other. MMOPL teams and MMRDA are working hard to resolve the acquisition and ROW disputes with the concerned authorities and property owners.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, I am sure these issues will not delay the commissioning of the metro." Asthana added that the Asalpha station may not be ready in time.

It may be recalled that even the construction of cable-stay bridge above the Jog flyover on the Western Express Highway is critical due to the huge traffic. Pillars for this bridge along the flyover have already come up. Similarly, construction is on for a few pillars between WEH and Chakala stations besides a few towards the Saki Naka station. "We hope to complete this bridge and a few pillars within the set timeframe ," said MMRDA spokesman Dilip Kawathkar. According to Kawathkar, the viaduct and station construction works will meet the new deadline.

TCE causes cancer, other health problems, EPA says

The EPA's Final Health Assessment for trichloroethylene (TCE) characterizes the solvent, which was dumped into the ground by computer component manufacturers near North Whisman Road in the 1970s, as "carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure" and says that inhalation can cause "hepatic, renal, neurological, immunological, reproductive,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, and developmental effects."

A link long has been suspected between TCE exposure and a cluster of seniors with Parkinson's disease and brains tumors on and around Walker Drive near Whisman Road. The Voice reported in 2002 that six residents were found with Parkinson's on Walker Drive and four others were found nearby who had had brain tumors. They had all lived for decades next to an area that may have provided a steady supply of TCE vapors -- vapors that continue to be measurable in the outdoor air.

Activist and Whisman Road resident Jane Horton said the report's release was a small victory for the Walker Drive residents and many others who have been exposed to TCE nationwide.

"We can now say, 'Yes, this is a bad chemical and yes, it is proven,'" said Horton. "The fact this even happened, especially in this political climate, is a cause for celebration."

Some suspect that an air stripper used for years to treat TCE contaminated groundwater on the east side of Whisman Road near Walker Drive was partly to blame for the cases of Parkinson's, a degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system. Like a smokestack, the air stripper vented TCE to the atmosphere as contaminated groundwater was pumped to the surface.

"Everyone seems to think that there is something strange about this, everyone is concerned, especially the people who have Parkinson's," said resident Lori Hand in 2002. Hand said three had died and two others were in their 70s at the time. She said they had all lived there for over 40 years.

No evidence was found to make a link with the Parkinson's cluster. The air was never tested inside the homes of those with Parkinson's and Horton said the outdoor air wasn't tested until the air stripper was replaced with special filters that contained the vapors.

It was suspected that the TCE vapors, which have a half life of several days,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, were blowing into people's homes. "It's when it gets trapped in your home that it becomes a problem," Horton said.

Horton has some experience with that problem. Her Whisman Road home, which she purchased in 1975, was the only one in the area found to contain unacceptable levels of TCE vapors. The vapors were entering her basement from the large contaminated groundwater plume that computer component manufacturers left behind. A ventilation system now runs at all hours to keep the vapors out of the house,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. even in power outages, and her air is tested twice a year.

TCE vapors can still be measured in the outdoor air. Lenny Siegel,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, said it was at 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter last time he checked, which is well below EPA's standards for indoor air. It wasn't uncommon for it to be well over 1 microgram per cubic meter at such sites when TCE was in use, which is above current standards for indoor air.

The EPA says 761 superfund sites are contaminated with TCE nationwide. People have died "horrible deaths" from their exposure to TCE in other places, Horton said. When she testified about TCE to the National Academy of Sciences, Horton recalled several "heartbreaking stories", including one form a brother and sister who carried their father's ashes. He was one of many workers of a Mattel toy factory in Oregon who died after exposure to high levels of TCE.

"This has really been long and lonely battle for individuals all throughout the country,These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives!" Horton said.

Floating Solar Panels at Winery

Far Niente winery is one of Napa's oldest winemakers. Operations began there in 1885. Now it holds another distinction, as one of the few wineries running almost entirely on solar power. Their unique installation of floating solar panels was implemented to conserve precious land for growing grapes.The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, What follows is an interview with Greg Allen, who is their Dolce winemaker.

There are 994 panels floating on the pond in our Martin Stelling Vineyard, with an additional 1302 land-mounted panels adjacent to the pond.They take the Aion Kinah to the local co-op market. There is no more room for additional panels, but there's no need, either, as our Floatovoltaic installation currently satisfies our goal of offsetting all of our electrical energy costs.

The biggest advantage was that we were able to use far less vineyard acreage for solar panels. By going over the water and not having to rip out nearly an acre of Cabernet Sauvignon vines, we spared the loss of approximately $150,000 of annual revenue from the wine we make from those vines. The area of land where we did pull out vines was a vineyard block that was not making the blend consistently, so it wasn't a hard decision to lose those vines.

Over the three years we've been live with our Floatovoltaic system, we've found that under certain conditions the panels mounted on water stay cooler. Since temperature impacts panel performance (generation), we expect these cooler, floating, panels to be more productive than the land-mounted panels on particularly hot,Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. windless days. We also suspect we're experiencing less evaporation of the pond water, although we haven't been able to measure it. This is important because the pond collects grey water from the winery, which we use for irrigation and frost protection in the vineyard.

This is difficult to generalize because our energy requirements are dependent on the size of our harvest and yields can vary wildly from year to year: in short, more grapes requires more energy! Instead of paying the normal monthly bill, every 12 months we balance the books with PG&E, measuring how much energy we produced and put on the grid, versus how much we pulled off of the grid. The last three years have shown that we've produced over 95% of our energy needs and offset 100% of our energy costs – a substantial and remarkable accomplishment.

No.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, We participated in California's Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP, since replaced with the slightly different California Solar Initiative incentive, CSI,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their chicken coop . program) which afforded both a cash rebate and non-cash incentives including a federal tax credit and accelerated depreciation. We negotiated a novel leasing program with Bank of America Leasing and Capital where we exchanged the non-cash incentives for a favorable lease rate and buyout option (coming soon) – they took the tax credit and passed the savings to us in the form of the lease rate.

Solyndra looked into Tulsa plant before bankruptcy

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated Dec. 18, 2009, indicated that Tulsa was the top location for construction of an additional solar panel fabrication facility.The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations,

Mayor Dewey Bartlett, who knew about the Fremont, Calif.-based company's pursuit of a Tulsa plant,Initially the banks didn't want our RUBBER SHEET . said the facility could have employed up to 1,000 people, nearly doubling the company's workforce.

"This would have been a huge economic shot in the arm to all of Tulsa," Bartlett told the Tulsa World on Monday.

The information was listed as part of Argonaut Credit Facility's agreement to purchase additional shares of preferred stock in Solyndra LLC. Argonaut Ventures, which eventually invested $340 million and accrued a 39 percent stake in the company by the time of its closing earlier this month, is the investment arm of the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation.

Bartlett said the company had actively scouted a plot totaling several hundred acres just west of Mohawk Park.

He said George Kaiser, chairman of Tulsa-based BOK Financial Corp., encouraged Solyndra to build in Tulsa but not just anywhere in the area.

"His desire was for it to be located in north Tulsa, in an area that could be of great economic benefit to an area of the Tulsa community that had been deficient in job creation for many years,As many processors back away from Cable Ties ," Bartlett said.

In a previous emailed statement to the Tulsa World, representatives of the Kaiser foundation said the investment was made independently by the foundation through Argonaut and that George Kaiser himself was not an investor in Solyndra.

The SEC filing stated that a third-party independent counseling firm would assist in the analysis of additional manufacturing locations for Solyndra, although Argonaut "will interact with the consultant to ensure that all relevant information with respect to Tulsa, Oklahoma's candidacy is made available."

While Solyndra's board of directors would have made the final decision,ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, the filing noted that if Tulsa was determined to be reasonably equivalent to the top-ranked location determined by the third-party firm, the management would recommend Tulsa as the location.

Bartlett said that Solyndra's investigation of the Tulsa site was "serious," although officials kept their inquiries quiet.

"There weren't too many people that really knew about it very much," he said. "It wasn't well publicized, probably to prevent speculation to drive land prices up and to prevent false hope."

Bartlett said work into the potential Tulsa site lost steam over the months because of Solyndra's financial problems.

Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 6, laying off its entire work force of 1,100. Company officials say the Chinese solar panel industry, helped by subsidies from that nation's government, have undercut the market for U.S.-made solar products.

On Monday, creditors of the company asked U.S.Save on Bedding and fittings, Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath to delay an auction of the company's assets four weeks to the end of November, saying a quick sale could push down the price.

"Without sufficient opportunity to complete due diligence, a prospective buyer is likely to undervalue the assets," the committee of creditors said in court papers filed Friday in Wilmington, Del. The committee blamed a rush to sell the company on "forces outside the Chapter 11 process."

Solyndra is under investigation by Republicans in Congress, who have criticized the company's $535 million federal loan guarantee, as well as the FBI, whose agents searched its headquarters earlier this month.

Zesty little Honda is a fun and sporty ride

When the Honda Fit first came out in Canada in 2006, I had just purchased a car from the Japanese automaker.

But I remember re-visiting my salesperson to discuss the Fit and a few other things related to my first steps in the world of automotive journalism. I distinctly remember the salesperson telling me that he would never try to push a Fit on anyone, saying he would always try the hugely popular Civic instead.Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an oil paintings for sale , and not a metal,

As a former Civic owner at the time, I kind of understood what he meant, but I still felt the Fit would be a good, well, fit in the Quebec market, especially since the Fit and Civic are really not in the same price brackets.

I didn't get to confirm that belief for about five years, finally testing a 2011 Fit Sport - Magic Seat and all, one of the most innovative features the Fit introduced when it came to Canada.

That seat gives the Fit a ton of flexibility when it comes to cargo space, perhaps one of the biggest selling features.

The Quebec market has always been a bit different than the rest of the country, bucking the trend for bigger,I have never solved a Rubik's hydraulic hose . less fuel-efficient vehicles for smaller, more efficient vehicles.Prior to RUBBER SHEET I leaned toward the former, That is why the Fit appears to have been so well received in La Belle Province. It's small, economical, efficient and a nicely designed five-door hatchback.

The Fit comes in four trim levels, starting with the DX at $14,480. However, that model doesn't come with air conditioning, which is a must-have for many people.

For that, you have to upgrade to the DX-A at $15,780. The next step up is the LX at $16,880 and the Sport model I tested at 18,780.

The first thing you notice when you get inside the Fit is how bright the inside of the cabin is. That is thanks to a surprisingly large amount of glass in such a small car.

The added benefit of all that glass - including a large,Detailed information on the causes of Ceramic tile, sloped windshield and mini side panels that eliminate blind spots ahead of the side mirrors - is great sightlines.

From the outside, the Fit is pretty easy on the eyes, too.Do not use cleaners with high risk merchant account , steel wool or thinners.

It's got a short front end that is somewhat dominated by large headlight assemblies and a steep slope in the hood that continues on up the windshield and gives the Fit a swept-back look when eyed from the side.

The slope comes to an abrupt end at the back, which drops pretty much straight down. But a nice spoiler on the roof and a few curves along the hatch give the rear an interesting look.

The 16-inch aluminum wheels on the Sport model enhance the look as well, a vast improvement over the 15-inch standard wheels.

The Fit's interior is comfortable and fairly spacious for a car of this size. The seats were pretty comfortable and the armrest for the driver was a welcome touch, especially with a manual gearbox.

The centre stack is a very simple design, which is just fine by me. Three knobs to control the ventilation system make that a breeze, and the radio setup is pretty straightforward.

About the only thing that felt out of place in terms of controls was the lever used to allow for fresh air intake or to recycle the cabin air.

The back seat isn't overly spacious, but it is comfortable and very useful, which we'll get into later.