A 42-year-old warehouse worker was arrested Monday and charged with attempting to arrange sexual encounters with children over the Internet, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said.The suspect, Dewayne Stewart, was arrested at a tile store on Route 46 in Totowa, where he is an employee, Berdnik said.
The sheriff said the arrest followed an undercover investigation that began late last year after the sheriff’s department received two separate complaints of an adult trying to meet children on the Internet. Stewart was caught in a sting operation in which an undercover detective posed as a 14-year-old girl, Berdnik said.Stewart, using the screen name BobbyBrown58, engaged in sexually explicit chats and attempted to arrange meetings to have sex, Berdnik said.
He was originally tracked to an address in Clifton, but was believed to have moved or to have stayed at as many as three different addresses in Passaic County during the course of the investigation, the sheriff said. Stewart’s last known permanent address is in Wayne, Berdnik said.Stewart was charged with attempted sexual assault of a minor, attempted endangering the porcelain tiles of a minor, attempted sexual contact of a minor and attempted luring and enticing a minor. He was being held on $100,000 bail at the Passaic County Jail in Paterson pending an initial court appearance.
I keep waiting for the news that the Peace House mural is being torn down. It could happen any day now, since Peace House has officially moved into its new home. The organization is going to be in a much better building that fits its needs, and in the space where the rather dilapidated building stands now, there will be nice new affordable housing units, so all in all, everybody’s happy—except maybe the people, including me, who love that mural.
I pass Angela Carlson Talle’s glittering mosaic several times a week. When the sun is setting, it sparkles with color and light. It makes me happy. I’m going to be really sad when it’s gone.After returning to the Twin Cities from Philadelphia, Talle decided that the raggedy looking building “needed some love,” and after getting permission and input from Peace House, raised the money herself, getting tile donations from local glass and tile shops. She knew there was a possibility of a new development there, but she went and made the mosaic anyway. And of course it was worth it, even if the mural can’t be preserved, because it gave us—anyone who took joy in it—a piece of beauty for the short time that it has existed.
As someone with a background in theater, I should know this. Theater exists in the ephemeral. Theater companies spend weeks, months, even years (well, in Europe anyway) creating a performance, which is over in an instant. Even a show has a long run is unique each night. No two performances are ever exactly the same. Does that mean that it’s not worth doing? Of course not. It’s worth it to create something beautiful, to create something that inspires, that moves, that haunts people, even if just for a moment.
Muralists and graffiti artists understand this. Last month, street artist CAW made a mural for the Greenway Glow, a fundraiser for the Midtown Greenway Coalition, and a Hennepin County crew painted over the mural because the artists hadn’t secured a permit. (The artists had permission from the owner of the adjoining building, but the wall itself is in the county's jurisdiction, and the cleaning crew was unaware of the mural's origin and purpose.) The obscuring was only partly accomplished, with some of the mural left intact, so CAW transformed the mural into a long-necked dragon creature complete with website address.
I think at heart, artists share a drive to always create, and if the product doesn’t last forever? Well, we wish that we could preserve as much of the good stuff as we can. But sometimes, you have to just appreciate a beautiful thing for what it is for as long as you have it.As for me, I’ve been taking deep breaths each time I pass the Peace House mural, soaking it in, holding onto the memory for when it’s gone. I’ve resisted the urge to jump the fence and grab some of the tiles, as others have. I think the tiles belong with the people who spent time at the Peace House.
“ProColor Plus is the first of several new grout lines planned for the ProSpec ProColor brand and is part of a focused effort to broaden our line of tile and stone setting products,” said Paul Henning, Chief Operating Officer for ProSpec. “ProColor Plus offers many of the features we have heard contractors need in a high-performance grout such as color consistency, efflorescence-free and a quick return to service.”
The new grout is offered in 20 of the most popular colors found in the ProSpec ProColor Grout line. It incorporates proprietary ProSpec technologies, Rapid Cure Technology for high strength and Glossy floor tile, and Expansion Stabilization Technology for improved crack and shrink resistance.
Its rapid-setting formula can be opened to foot traffic within three to four hours, shower use within 24 hours and water immersion within seven days. Its low absorptivity will provide increased stain resistance compared to a portland cement grout. It can be used both indoors and outdoors and in residential, light commercial and heavy-duty commercial installations due to its durability.
Now, I forget which it is: are we, as a culture, at the point where we’re past the whole “zed” thing thanks to a glut of undead-themed artistry, or was it that we’re past the whole “being past the whole ‘zed’ thing” thing thanks to a glut of critics railing against an assumed glut of undead-themed artistry? Brain… hurt…
Point being, the base Zombies digital game is identical to the cardboard one, mechanically speaking. Players are survivors rushing towards a helicopter escape via the rotted streets of some Smalltown, Anywhere. The twist is that those streets aren’t laid out from the start: each turn a player draws a tile and chooses where to place it, and the very last tile is the helipad. The map is built as the game progresses and, barring some probabilistic fluke or unimaginative friends, is never the same.
This is big. While Zombies has other mechanics that pull the appropriate genre-conscious strings–players can scavenge health and bullets which help in fights with deadies, and every turn affords the opportunity to play some gruesome trick out of a hand of event cards–it’s the evolving, unpredictable map that really evokes the surreal panic of a zombie apocalypse. You can run, but where to? Will your pal put the hospital down next to you, with all it’s life saving medicine? Or will he block off your road with, ugh, the friggin’ gardening shop.
There’s opportunities for dickery with the events cards, too, specials you can play once per turn. Some are just location specific bonuses to combat, or allow for extra moves in a turn. Others let you swarm a player’s location with zeds or prevent said player from moving, the latter being deadly effective in a game where movement and scavenging are key to survival. The coveted “Alternative Food Source” stops all combat until your next turn, great for making a run at the helipad, or for delaying another player’s attempt at a combat victory.
2013年7月22日星期一
2013年7月11日星期四
Whitney converts to luxury apartments
With the assistance of Estates Management Company, Seven Hundred Woodrow, LLC has purchased The Whitney Hotel in Columbia to convert it into luxury residences for lease beginning August 2013.
“We are rebranding The Whitney to 700 Woodrow-A Devine Address to reflect the fact that residents will be able to extend their quality of life beyond their home,” said Matt Mundy, an associate of Estates Management Company that will manage the development. “It is an alluring, pedestrian-friendly property. Residents will be within walking distance of downtown Columbia’s premier shopping and dining district. We are excited about the opportunity to develop a community we believe will enhance the lives of our residents, the local economy, and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Located at the corner of Woodrow and Devine Streets, 700 Woodrow, which is seven stories, is situated in one of the most sought after, upscale neighborhoods in Columbia.The 75-unit apartment community will feature 14 one-bedroom, onebath homes and 61 twobedroom, two-bath homes. Each unit will include ninefoot ceilings, Ceramic tile, and a private balcony to enjoy views of downtown and beautiful Columbia sunsets.
All residences will be renovated to include gourmet kitchens with stainless steel-energy star appliances, built-in microwaves, tiled kitchen backsplashes, and granite countertops with dine-in casual bar tops and wood cabinetry with decorative hardware.
Living areas will also have designer lighting including ceiling fans; simulated hardwood flooring; brushed nickel faucets, curved shower rods, and ceramic tile in bathrooms; oversized mud/laundry rooms with washer/dryer connections and linen closets and wiring for cable and Internet access.
The upgraded apartments will include a concierge desk that will be staffed with a full-time employee and a contemporary club that will include a social lounge with coffee bar and a gathering area with televisions and comfortable seating. Residents will also have access to an outdoor entertainment area featuring garden/ yard games, abundant seating, a dining area and gas grill. Parking will be available in front of and around the building.
“Young and mature professionals seeking an eclectic, urban living experience will be attracted to 700 Woodrow,” Mundy said. “They will be able to walk or ride their bikes to local boutique retailers and places like Devine Foods, Cantina 76, Burger Tavern 77, Half- Moon Outfitters, Britton’s, and Earth Fare. Plus they will only be a mile away from great places like Whole Foods, Ulta, Charleston Cooks!, Taziki’s, and Basil Thai Restaurant.”
Founded in 1988, Estates Management Company is committed to delivering exceptional living experiences by providing unique living communities that residents are proud to call home. Estates Management has experienced phenomenal growth in real estate development and property management, including multifamily communities, office, retail, and luxury condominium residences.
A musician in his younger days, a flooring company owner since 1985, Larry Bally says there are similarities between the two pursuits.The skills a musician masters on one instrument carry over to others that he picks up. In the same vein, Bally has expanded from his original product — hardwood flooring — to include concrete polishing and other flooring choices.
"I just say that the greatest asset I own is my reputation," Bally, owner of Great American Hardwood Flooring, said. "I've spent 30 years building a reputation."
Actually a little longer than that. Bally had been running a paint contracting business under the "Great American" name for a decade when a hardwood floor installer messed up one of his jobs in 1985. Bally says he asked the general contractor in charge why he'd hire such incompetent help.Bally did, and after struggling for a few years, was able to give up painting and concentrate on flooring in 1992.
"It's very hard work but you get more respect and a chance to make more money in this trade," he said. "The margins are better."Bally opened his first showroom, on South Laura, in 1995 and moved to his current location on South Washington in 2006.Great American installs, repairs and refinishes hardwood floors. Much of its work can be seen around Old Town in buildings like River City Brewery and the Player Piano Lofts.
In the early 2000s, Great American also worked "coast to coast" for restaurant chains such as Ted's Montana Grill. The recession put a stop to that and also shut down much residential work, but Bally found a new market installing gymnasium floors in high schools and colleges around the state. Residential work has started to pick up again in the past year, he said.
Great American employs about four office workers and from 10 to 20 workers in the field. Bally added concrete polishing to its service line in 2009. "Next thing you know, it exploded," he said.
Bally's son, Jeff, heads up residential work while another son, Tim, is the estimator for gymnasium jobs and supervises concrete polishing. In June his wife, Pam, joined the business to help start Great American Floors and Decor, offering carpets, laminate, vinyl, ceramic tile and area rugs, along with a decorating service."It was just a natural," Bally said. "She (Pam) has a really strong background in retail and decorating."
Bally, who used to play drums for the divekings and other local bands, doesn't play much anymore but allows a heavy metal band to practice in part of the building. He's busy running the biggest hardwood flooring company of its kind in Wichita and the largest gym floor installer in Kansas, a development he attributes to one simple rule: "We do what we promise."
Click on their website www.tilees.com.
“We are rebranding The Whitney to 700 Woodrow-A Devine Address to reflect the fact that residents will be able to extend their quality of life beyond their home,” said Matt Mundy, an associate of Estates Management Company that will manage the development. “It is an alluring, pedestrian-friendly property. Residents will be within walking distance of downtown Columbia’s premier shopping and dining district. We are excited about the opportunity to develop a community we believe will enhance the lives of our residents, the local economy, and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Located at the corner of Woodrow and Devine Streets, 700 Woodrow, which is seven stories, is situated in one of the most sought after, upscale neighborhoods in Columbia.The 75-unit apartment community will feature 14 one-bedroom, onebath homes and 61 twobedroom, two-bath homes. Each unit will include ninefoot ceilings, Ceramic tile, and a private balcony to enjoy views of downtown and beautiful Columbia sunsets.
All residences will be renovated to include gourmet kitchens with stainless steel-energy star appliances, built-in microwaves, tiled kitchen backsplashes, and granite countertops with dine-in casual bar tops and wood cabinetry with decorative hardware.
Living areas will also have designer lighting including ceiling fans; simulated hardwood flooring; brushed nickel faucets, curved shower rods, and ceramic tile in bathrooms; oversized mud/laundry rooms with washer/dryer connections and linen closets and wiring for cable and Internet access.
The upgraded apartments will include a concierge desk that will be staffed with a full-time employee and a contemporary club that will include a social lounge with coffee bar and a gathering area with televisions and comfortable seating. Residents will also have access to an outdoor entertainment area featuring garden/ yard games, abundant seating, a dining area and gas grill. Parking will be available in front of and around the building.
“Young and mature professionals seeking an eclectic, urban living experience will be attracted to 700 Woodrow,” Mundy said. “They will be able to walk or ride their bikes to local boutique retailers and places like Devine Foods, Cantina 76, Burger Tavern 77, Half- Moon Outfitters, Britton’s, and Earth Fare. Plus they will only be a mile away from great places like Whole Foods, Ulta, Charleston Cooks!, Taziki’s, and Basil Thai Restaurant.”
Founded in 1988, Estates Management Company is committed to delivering exceptional living experiences by providing unique living communities that residents are proud to call home. Estates Management has experienced phenomenal growth in real estate development and property management, including multifamily communities, office, retail, and luxury condominium residences.
A musician in his younger days, a flooring company owner since 1985, Larry Bally says there are similarities between the two pursuits.The skills a musician masters on one instrument carry over to others that he picks up. In the same vein, Bally has expanded from his original product — hardwood flooring — to include concrete polishing and other flooring choices.
"I just say that the greatest asset I own is my reputation," Bally, owner of Great American Hardwood Flooring, said. "I've spent 30 years building a reputation."
Actually a little longer than that. Bally had been running a paint contracting business under the "Great American" name for a decade when a hardwood floor installer messed up one of his jobs in 1985. Bally says he asked the general contractor in charge why he'd hire such incompetent help.Bally did, and after struggling for a few years, was able to give up painting and concentrate on flooring in 1992.
"It's very hard work but you get more respect and a chance to make more money in this trade," he said. "The margins are better."Bally opened his first showroom, on South Laura, in 1995 and moved to his current location on South Washington in 2006.Great American installs, repairs and refinishes hardwood floors. Much of its work can be seen around Old Town in buildings like River City Brewery and the Player Piano Lofts.
In the early 2000s, Great American also worked "coast to coast" for restaurant chains such as Ted's Montana Grill. The recession put a stop to that and also shut down much residential work, but Bally found a new market installing gymnasium floors in high schools and colleges around the state. Residential work has started to pick up again in the past year, he said.
Great American employs about four office workers and from 10 to 20 workers in the field. Bally added concrete polishing to its service line in 2009. "Next thing you know, it exploded," he said.
Bally's son, Jeff, heads up residential work while another son, Tim, is the estimator for gymnasium jobs and supervises concrete polishing. In June his wife, Pam, joined the business to help start Great American Floors and Decor, offering carpets, laminate, vinyl, ceramic tile and area rugs, along with a decorating service."It was just a natural," Bally said. "She (Pam) has a really strong background in retail and decorating."
Bally, who used to play drums for the divekings and other local bands, doesn't play much anymore but allows a heavy metal band to practice in part of the building. He's busy running the biggest hardwood flooring company of its kind in Wichita and the largest gym floor installer in Kansas, a development he attributes to one simple rule: "We do what we promise."
Click on their website www.tilees.com.
2013年6月20日星期四
Adobe Photoshop CC review
Creative Cloud changes everything. Well, maybe not everything: Adobe Photoshop CC looks nearly identical to its CS6 predecessor, but it packs several powerful new features, including a revolutionary photo motion blur corrector, more effective image upscaling (capable of getting those low-def images looking good on a Retina display), new photo geometry corrections, and multiple shape and path selections.
Since it's part of the cloud subscription, as long as you pay ￡17.58 a month for Photoshop alone, or ￡46.88 for the full creative suite (￡27.34 for upgraders from CS3 or later, ￡15.88 for the Student and Teacher edition), you'll always have access to any new features that come along. That sounds more palatable to me than the old ￡650 or ￡950 up front, though I realise that some long-time users have expressed displeasure at having to continue paying to use the software. However, with the subscription, it would take you at least 3 years to spend the previous up front money, and by then, you'd probably want to upgrade anyway.
Another way that Creative Cloud affects new Photoshop users is that they'll now get all the Photoshop tools, including features that used to be available only in the Photoshop Extended edition, such as 3D modelling and image analysis. Extended costs ￡950, so this is quite a perk, not to mention the fact that it simplifies your product choice.
You should only consider installing Photoshop on a fairly powerful PC or Mac. You also need to sign in with your Adobe ID before the installer will let you start. I installed it on a Windows 8 PC (Photoshop CC runs on Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, but not on earlier Windows OS versions) with a 3.4GHz quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It took about 20 minutes, and, right off the bat, I got a message saying that 3D editing wouldn't be available because of my video card or its driver. Mac users will need OS X 10.7 or 10.8.
The Photoshop UI remains largely unchanged from that of Photoshop CS6, which was a big advance over CS5. All your left-side tools and right-side panels are still available, in a choice of workspaces suited to standard image editing, 3D, motion, painting, photography, and typography. It's incredibly customisable, and you can save presets for all your customisations. The new cloud connectivity also means that you can log into a copy of Photoshop at a different location and have all your interface customisation show up.
Another helpful aspect of the interface is that, for most updated features, you can check a "Use legacy" box to get the old tool you're used to. Plenty of other little conveniences (which Adobe likes to call JDIs, for "just do it") have been added to the world's premiere photo editing software. For example, you can now nudge a path with the spacebar. Actions can now be conditional, using if/then expressions.
Behance
Behance is a social network for creative professionals, offering online portfolios and connections. It will be built into all the Creative Cloud applications, and will let users post projects for feedback from colleagues and clients. Users can post their files directly from Photoshop CC via a one-click share button at the lower left. They can share their work from within Behance, and discuss the work and even connect with potential and existing clients and freelancers.
Behance's ProSites are customisable online portfolios which Creative Cloud subscribers can use with their own URLs. I found Behance's presentation elegant, clean, and it incorporated all the essential social features du jour. I especially like the fact that it offers statistics of your page activity. You can also export photos in Zoomify format – a cool viewer that lets viewers zoom deep into large images – but I'd like to see more sharing options, like built-in email and Flickr sharing. Of course, you can do all this from Photoshop's ancillary Bridge image organiser app.
The hottest, most anticipated new feature of Photoshop CC is the modestly named Camera Shake Reduction. This was first shown by Adobe two years ago at its Max conference, and it was met with a very positive reaction. The tool analyses a photo to find the path of shake motion, and then aligns the shifted pixels. It sounds simple enough, but it's harder to get right than it may seem. This is because the path won't be the same everywhere in the photo unless you shook it exactly along a single plane – highly unlikely. You can use the tool's best guess, or select a region (or regions) where you want the blur trace to be estimated.
You can also adjust Blur Trace Bounds, Smoothing, and Artifact Suppression – the last two let me create a less "sharpened" looking result. I'd love to see a simple "effect strength" adjustment like that you get with Smart Sharpen (which, by the way, with this release gets a new Reduce Noise slider). Shake Reduction is not a panacea, but it's definitely a finer effect than even the Smart Sharpen tool. If the subject is simply out of focus, it won't help you; a simply blurry subject won't be fixed.
Photoshop CC also benefits from several new Camera Raw capabilities, some of which we've already seen in the Lightroom 5 beta. The latter includes a new geometry correction tool, Upright (see the above image). This lets you fix parallel vertical and horizontal lines. Its Auto setting attempts to fix perspective, but you can choose only to align verticals or only horizontals, or mess with the perspective to taste with transforming sliders for pincushion/barrel distortion, vertical, horizontal, and aspect ratio.
A couple more new capabilities designers will be thrilled to take advantage of are rounded rectangles and the ability to select multiple paths and shapes when applying effects. You can now save formatting of type as styles that can be easily applied to other text later. Type can also now be viewed in a way that previews system antialiasing used in web browsers. For web designers, Photoshop CC now can generate CSS code that produces the exact look designed in the software. Going in the other direction, they can also now import colour from a website's HTML or CSS code.
Read the full story at www.tilees.com!
Since it's part of the cloud subscription, as long as you pay ￡17.58 a month for Photoshop alone, or ￡46.88 for the full creative suite (￡27.34 for upgraders from CS3 or later, ￡15.88 for the Student and Teacher edition), you'll always have access to any new features that come along. That sounds more palatable to me than the old ￡650 or ￡950 up front, though I realise that some long-time users have expressed displeasure at having to continue paying to use the software. However, with the subscription, it would take you at least 3 years to spend the previous up front money, and by then, you'd probably want to upgrade anyway.
Another way that Creative Cloud affects new Photoshop users is that they'll now get all the Photoshop tools, including features that used to be available only in the Photoshop Extended edition, such as 3D modelling and image analysis. Extended costs ￡950, so this is quite a perk, not to mention the fact that it simplifies your product choice.
You should only consider installing Photoshop on a fairly powerful PC or Mac. You also need to sign in with your Adobe ID before the installer will let you start. I installed it on a Windows 8 PC (Photoshop CC runs on Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, but not on earlier Windows OS versions) with a 3.4GHz quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It took about 20 minutes, and, right off the bat, I got a message saying that 3D editing wouldn't be available because of my video card or its driver. Mac users will need OS X 10.7 or 10.8.
The Photoshop UI remains largely unchanged from that of Photoshop CS6, which was a big advance over CS5. All your left-side tools and right-side panels are still available, in a choice of workspaces suited to standard image editing, 3D, motion, painting, photography, and typography. It's incredibly customisable, and you can save presets for all your customisations. The new cloud connectivity also means that you can log into a copy of Photoshop at a different location and have all your interface customisation show up.
Another helpful aspect of the interface is that, for most updated features, you can check a "Use legacy" box to get the old tool you're used to. Plenty of other little conveniences (which Adobe likes to call JDIs, for "just do it") have been added to the world's premiere photo editing software. For example, you can now nudge a path with the spacebar. Actions can now be conditional, using if/then expressions.
Behance
Behance is a social network for creative professionals, offering online portfolios and connections. It will be built into all the Creative Cloud applications, and will let users post projects for feedback from colleagues and clients. Users can post their files directly from Photoshop CC via a one-click share button at the lower left. They can share their work from within Behance, and discuss the work and even connect with potential and existing clients and freelancers.
Behance's ProSites are customisable online portfolios which Creative Cloud subscribers can use with their own URLs. I found Behance's presentation elegant, clean, and it incorporated all the essential social features du jour. I especially like the fact that it offers statistics of your page activity. You can also export photos in Zoomify format – a cool viewer that lets viewers zoom deep into large images – but I'd like to see more sharing options, like built-in email and Flickr sharing. Of course, you can do all this from Photoshop's ancillary Bridge image organiser app.
The hottest, most anticipated new feature of Photoshop CC is the modestly named Camera Shake Reduction. This was first shown by Adobe two years ago at its Max conference, and it was met with a very positive reaction. The tool analyses a photo to find the path of shake motion, and then aligns the shifted pixels. It sounds simple enough, but it's harder to get right than it may seem. This is because the path won't be the same everywhere in the photo unless you shook it exactly along a single plane – highly unlikely. You can use the tool's best guess, or select a region (or regions) where you want the blur trace to be estimated.
You can also adjust Blur Trace Bounds, Smoothing, and Artifact Suppression – the last two let me create a less "sharpened" looking result. I'd love to see a simple "effect strength" adjustment like that you get with Smart Sharpen (which, by the way, with this release gets a new Reduce Noise slider). Shake Reduction is not a panacea, but it's definitely a finer effect than even the Smart Sharpen tool. If the subject is simply out of focus, it won't help you; a simply blurry subject won't be fixed.
Photoshop CC also benefits from several new Camera Raw capabilities, some of which we've already seen in the Lightroom 5 beta. The latter includes a new geometry correction tool, Upright (see the above image). This lets you fix parallel vertical and horizontal lines. Its Auto setting attempts to fix perspective, but you can choose only to align verticals or only horizontals, or mess with the perspective to taste with transforming sliders for pincushion/barrel distortion, vertical, horizontal, and aspect ratio.
A couple more new capabilities designers will be thrilled to take advantage of are rounded rectangles and the ability to select multiple paths and shapes when applying effects. You can now save formatting of type as styles that can be easily applied to other text later. Type can also now be viewed in a way that previews system antialiasing used in web browsers. For web designers, Photoshop CC now can generate CSS code that produces the exact look designed in the software. Going in the other direction, they can also now import colour from a website's HTML or CSS code.
Read the full story at www.tilees.com!
2013年5月23日星期四
Cash beats plastic in Middle East
Cash transactions in the region accounted for 93 per cent of total consumer payments in volume terms in 2012, while transactions that involved cards represented only 5 per cent, indicating the “continued importance of cash in the region,” according to Euromonitor International.
“Cash transactions are expected to remain the leading consumer payment method, with volume growth projected at seven per cent over the next five years,” Maii Abdul Rahman, research analyst at Euromonitor International, told Gulf News.
The main driver for paper-based payments is the large unbanked population in the region that may take some time to enter the financial mainstream. There is also a limited consumer adoption of electronic payments due to security concerns and cultural reasons.
The Middle East and Africa’s consumer payments market hit a value of $1.2 billion in 2012 and is expected to expand by 32 per cent in 2017 to reach $1.5 billion. In terms of total payments, cash constitutes the largest share at 68 per cent, while cards represent only 18 per cent.
Abdul Rahman said most people use cash in transactions involving remittances, transportation, delivery services, fuel and groceries. “With a significant share of expatriate population, the GCC is the largest source of remittances to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Egypt and Lebanon, making remittances the leading driver of cash transactions in the Ceramic tile,” Abdul Rahman said.
When it comes to shopping for clothes and shoes, paying for food and beverage, as well as other discretionary expenses, most consumers prefer to pay with plastic money.
“Sectors such as food and beverage, clothing and footwear, and leisure and recreation top the list of credit card transactions, with a combined share of 50 per cent. Looking at debit cards, food and beverages remain the sector most spent on, followed by household goods and services and transport,” said Abdul Rahman.
Cash may still be king, but with the continued push from the government, card-based transactions will become widespread in the near term.
Transactions involving cards are expected to post the highest growth, increasing by 12 per cent over the next five years, according to Euromonitor International.
“Increasing government initiatives across the region to push electronic payments and drive financial inclusion are one of the key growth drivers going forward,” said Maii Abdul Rahman, research analyst at Euromonitor International.
Abdul Rahman noted that in Nigeria, the government has recently launched 13 million national ID smart cards that can be used for electronic payments. In the UAE, the Wage Protection System (WPS) is currently facilitating salary payments for around 2 million labourers.
“These initiatives, coupled with an improved financial infrastructure, a young tech-savvy population and continued innovation with the rise of mobile commerce and NFCs (near field communications) are expected to strongly push card payment transactions in the future,” said Abdul Rahman.
“With the growth of smart phones and tablets and an increasing number of suppliers offering payment through mobile, m-commerce is gaining momentum in the region. And as disposable incomes and spending rise and the youth population is more inclined to embrace new payment methods, such as via mobile phones, this region is an ideal target market for financial institutions,” said Fulya Berksoy, regional consultant at Euromonitor International.
Square, which allows anyone with a smartphone to take credit-card payments, is now doing business in Japan. It is the third country, after the United States and Canada, where the company has made its industry-disrupting payments service available, and the popularity of the iPhone there could create fertile grounds for expansion.
It’s no surprise that the company would want to get into one of the world’s biggest, most sophisticated markets. It recently hired the top US trade negotiator, who helped bring Japan into a new round of regional free-trade talks, as its international government-relations guy, and a Google executive with significant global experience as its business lead. But the question for Square is whether businesses in Japan will adopt its little plastic card-swiper with the enthusiasm they have in the US, where the firm is on track to process $15 billion in payments this year.
There is already plenty of competition for mobile payments in Japan. PayPal is getting into the market, alongside a robust domestic sector dominated by mobile providers like NTT Docomo. But the bigger problem, or perhaps opportunity, might be in Japan’s way of doing business.
“They’re telling you that if they lost on all of them—which, by the way, no one ever does—it would have no effect on their tax expense,” Bobek Schmitt says. “But if they won on any of them, it would lower their tax rate.”
Like most companies, Apple doesn’t say which tax benefits it expects to flame out. Chances are good that many of them involve transfer pricing, Bobek Schmitt says—essentially, the fees that one Apple subsidiary charges another for services or the use of patents and other intellectual property, which is a common point of contention with tax authorities. (Bloomberg News has a more detailed look at various ways of measuring Apple’s tax bill.)
Apple is far from the only big company booking these unrecognized tax benefits. Google reported $2.07 billion of them as of the end of March, including $1.89 billion that could alter the company’s effective tax rate, which was 7.9%. General Electric reported $5.58 billion, of which $4.19 billion could alter its effective tax rate (12.4% as of March 31).
“Cash transactions are expected to remain the leading consumer payment method, with volume growth projected at seven per cent over the next five years,” Maii Abdul Rahman, research analyst at Euromonitor International, told Gulf News.
The main driver for paper-based payments is the large unbanked population in the region that may take some time to enter the financial mainstream. There is also a limited consumer adoption of electronic payments due to security concerns and cultural reasons.
The Middle East and Africa’s consumer payments market hit a value of $1.2 billion in 2012 and is expected to expand by 32 per cent in 2017 to reach $1.5 billion. In terms of total payments, cash constitutes the largest share at 68 per cent, while cards represent only 18 per cent.
Abdul Rahman said most people use cash in transactions involving remittances, transportation, delivery services, fuel and groceries. “With a significant share of expatriate population, the GCC is the largest source of remittances to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Egypt and Lebanon, making remittances the leading driver of cash transactions in the Ceramic tile,” Abdul Rahman said.
When it comes to shopping for clothes and shoes, paying for food and beverage, as well as other discretionary expenses, most consumers prefer to pay with plastic money.
“Sectors such as food and beverage, clothing and footwear, and leisure and recreation top the list of credit card transactions, with a combined share of 50 per cent. Looking at debit cards, food and beverages remain the sector most spent on, followed by household goods and services and transport,” said Abdul Rahman.
Cash may still be king, but with the continued push from the government, card-based transactions will become widespread in the near term.
Transactions involving cards are expected to post the highest growth, increasing by 12 per cent over the next five years, according to Euromonitor International.
“Increasing government initiatives across the region to push electronic payments and drive financial inclusion are one of the key growth drivers going forward,” said Maii Abdul Rahman, research analyst at Euromonitor International.
Abdul Rahman noted that in Nigeria, the government has recently launched 13 million national ID smart cards that can be used for electronic payments. In the UAE, the Wage Protection System (WPS) is currently facilitating salary payments for around 2 million labourers.
“These initiatives, coupled with an improved financial infrastructure, a young tech-savvy population and continued innovation with the rise of mobile commerce and NFCs (near field communications) are expected to strongly push card payment transactions in the future,” said Abdul Rahman.
“With the growth of smart phones and tablets and an increasing number of suppliers offering payment through mobile, m-commerce is gaining momentum in the region. And as disposable incomes and spending rise and the youth population is more inclined to embrace new payment methods, such as via mobile phones, this region is an ideal target market for financial institutions,” said Fulya Berksoy, regional consultant at Euromonitor International.
Square, which allows anyone with a smartphone to take credit-card payments, is now doing business in Japan. It is the third country, after the United States and Canada, where the company has made its industry-disrupting payments service available, and the popularity of the iPhone there could create fertile grounds for expansion.
It’s no surprise that the company would want to get into one of the world’s biggest, most sophisticated markets. It recently hired the top US trade negotiator, who helped bring Japan into a new round of regional free-trade talks, as its international government-relations guy, and a Google executive with significant global experience as its business lead. But the question for Square is whether businesses in Japan will adopt its little plastic card-swiper with the enthusiasm they have in the US, where the firm is on track to process $15 billion in payments this year.
There is already plenty of competition for mobile payments in Japan. PayPal is getting into the market, alongside a robust domestic sector dominated by mobile providers like NTT Docomo. But the bigger problem, or perhaps opportunity, might be in Japan’s way of doing business.
“They’re telling you that if they lost on all of them—which, by the way, no one ever does—it would have no effect on their tax expense,” Bobek Schmitt says. “But if they won on any of them, it would lower their tax rate.”
Like most companies, Apple doesn’t say which tax benefits it expects to flame out. Chances are good that many of them involve transfer pricing, Bobek Schmitt says—essentially, the fees that one Apple subsidiary charges another for services or the use of patents and other intellectual property, which is a common point of contention with tax authorities. (Bloomberg News has a more detailed look at various ways of measuring Apple’s tax bill.)
Apple is far from the only big company booking these unrecognized tax benefits. Google reported $2.07 billion of them as of the end of March, including $1.89 billion that could alter the company’s effective tax rate, which was 7.9%. General Electric reported $5.58 billion, of which $4.19 billion could alter its effective tax rate (12.4% as of March 31).
2013年2月20日星期三
Tiny House Infographic project meets Kickstarter goal
I’ve switched focus as of late to cleverly designed urban sardine cans geared toward young professionals who are willing to forgo full kitchens and make do with Murphy beds, but the tiny house movement is going strong as ever.
Case in point: Diminutive dwelling demigod Jay Shafer is now cooking up an entire tiny house village dubbed the Napoleon Complex in Sonoma County, Calif. (AKA Land of the Tiny House People). Zoned as an RV park with about 40 to 70 petite residences and loosely based on the cohousing model, the intent of the community is to “create a contagious model for responsible, affordable, desirable housing.” With a proposed opening date of 2015, I'm thinking that it will be the perfect place for Austin Hay to settle down in after he graduates from college!
And then there’s Ryan Mitchell, a Charlotte, N.C.-based tiny house devotee and editor/founder of "tiny lifestyle" website The Tiny Life. A few weeks back, Mitchell launched a Kickstarter campaign that would enable him to create an infographic that tells the story of tiny houses and the people who decided to live in homes of reduced square footage.
A Kickstarter campaign for an infographic? Yep. After embarking on a survey in which more than 2,300 tiny house people responded in under 48 hours, Mitchell knew that he had to share the massive amount of data he had collected in a visually appealing yet informative manner and, well, talented graphic designers cost money. With that, he launched the Kickstarter campaign with the goal of $1,000 to help pay for a designer and bring the infographic to life.
That said, Mitchell has already met his goal. But with a few days left until the campaign expires, tiny house lovers can still contribute and receive one — or a few — of the perks associated with backing the project: bumper stickers, an early release of the infographic, a 12-by-8-inch print of the campaign’s nifty promotional graphic, and a pre-release of Tiny Life’s upcoming ebook “Cracking the Code.” Big spenders will even receive a one-hour phone chat with a tiny house guru.
Walking or driving along Montreal Road through Vanier during the past year, it has been impossible not to notice the dramatic curving walls rising from the ground at the corner of Bradley Avenue.
Construction on the new $14.2-million Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health is expected to be completed in March. An official opening is set for May 9, though executive-director Allison Fisher promises an open house the last week of March for the neighbourhood.
"I think a building like this always brings possibility, especially in a place like Vanier," says Fisher. "That something as beautiful as this, as important as this, is going up brings possibility to everybody who is engaged and everybody who lives around it."
Designed by Ottawa architect Douglas Cardinal and his son Bret, the new building is clad in a golden, rough-cut stone that contrasts with the polished transparency of blue-green glass flowing across it. The materials evoke cliffs, water and sky.
It's the same Minnesota limestone used in Cardinal's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. In Ottawa, he is best-known for the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.
Since 1998, Wabano has provided health, social services, counselling and cultural programs for Ottawa's 35,000 people of aboriginal origin. Crowded and busy, it has a waiting list of 200 families, shared offices, and lack of quiet space for activities such as after-school tutoring.
Carlie Chase, Wabano's director of initiatives, observes that there is no direct translation of the word "health" in Ojibway. The closest is "Mino Biimaudziwin" which means living a good life.
The architecture of the building is part of the idea. "If our way of being in the world is creating the good life, if that is how health is defined, then you must create space that reflects that," says Fisher.
"If you think of the one thing we should be creating beautiful it should be the things we go in when we're not well," she says. "When you are at your worst is when you are sick. If you come into a space that is beautiful and you belong in it, then you get better."
The new three-storey structure wraps around Wabano's original two-storey building, combining it into one facility, both functionally and es-thetically, and adding 25,000 square feet. The old building, with 15,000 square feet, has been renovated to meet contemporary building codes. Parking is underground.
"You'll see there are curves everywhere," says Fisher. "This is not a square building." Light streams in through large windows. "It's much brighter."
Conspicuous from the street is a new domed gathering space that can accommodate up to 500 people, bringing inside a larger public. It will be rented for events, conferences and celebrations and used by Wabano for educational purposes. Every Wednesday night there will be opportunities to learn about aboriginal culture, open to all.
"We're very invisible in this city," says Fisher. "One aspect for us was to become visible people with value, and to be proud to show who we are."
Wabano - which means new beginnings in Ojibway - will become Canada's first national centre of excellence for aboriginal health care. It will house a maternal and child wellness centre, expand programs in chronic disease, women's health and mental health, and introduce a social enterprise program to develop job skills. The expansion will enable Wabano to double the number of clients from 10,000 to 20,000 a year.
Case in point: Diminutive dwelling demigod Jay Shafer is now cooking up an entire tiny house village dubbed the Napoleon Complex in Sonoma County, Calif. (AKA Land of the Tiny House People). Zoned as an RV park with about 40 to 70 petite residences and loosely based on the cohousing model, the intent of the community is to “create a contagious model for responsible, affordable, desirable housing.” With a proposed opening date of 2015, I'm thinking that it will be the perfect place for Austin Hay to settle down in after he graduates from college!
And then there’s Ryan Mitchell, a Charlotte, N.C.-based tiny house devotee and editor/founder of "tiny lifestyle" website The Tiny Life. A few weeks back, Mitchell launched a Kickstarter campaign that would enable him to create an infographic that tells the story of tiny houses and the people who decided to live in homes of reduced square footage.
A Kickstarter campaign for an infographic? Yep. After embarking on a survey in which more than 2,300 tiny house people responded in under 48 hours, Mitchell knew that he had to share the massive amount of data he had collected in a visually appealing yet informative manner and, well, talented graphic designers cost money. With that, he launched the Kickstarter campaign with the goal of $1,000 to help pay for a designer and bring the infographic to life.
That said, Mitchell has already met his goal. But with a few days left until the campaign expires, tiny house lovers can still contribute and receive one — or a few — of the perks associated with backing the project: bumper stickers, an early release of the infographic, a 12-by-8-inch print of the campaign’s nifty promotional graphic, and a pre-release of Tiny Life’s upcoming ebook “Cracking the Code.” Big spenders will even receive a one-hour phone chat with a tiny house guru.
Walking or driving along Montreal Road through Vanier during the past year, it has been impossible not to notice the dramatic curving walls rising from the ground at the corner of Bradley Avenue.
Construction on the new $14.2-million Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health is expected to be completed in March. An official opening is set for May 9, though executive-director Allison Fisher promises an open house the last week of March for the neighbourhood.
"I think a building like this always brings possibility, especially in a place like Vanier," says Fisher. "That something as beautiful as this, as important as this, is going up brings possibility to everybody who is engaged and everybody who lives around it."
Designed by Ottawa architect Douglas Cardinal and his son Bret, the new building is clad in a golden, rough-cut stone that contrasts with the polished transparency of blue-green glass flowing across it. The materials evoke cliffs, water and sky.
It's the same Minnesota limestone used in Cardinal's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. In Ottawa, he is best-known for the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.
Since 1998, Wabano has provided health, social services, counselling and cultural programs for Ottawa's 35,000 people of aboriginal origin. Crowded and busy, it has a waiting list of 200 families, shared offices, and lack of quiet space for activities such as after-school tutoring.
Carlie Chase, Wabano's director of initiatives, observes that there is no direct translation of the word "health" in Ojibway. The closest is "Mino Biimaudziwin" which means living a good life.
The architecture of the building is part of the idea. "If our way of being in the world is creating the good life, if that is how health is defined, then you must create space that reflects that," says Fisher.
"If you think of the one thing we should be creating beautiful it should be the things we go in when we're not well," she says. "When you are at your worst is when you are sick. If you come into a space that is beautiful and you belong in it, then you get better."
The new three-storey structure wraps around Wabano's original two-storey building, combining it into one facility, both functionally and es-thetically, and adding 25,000 square feet. The old building, with 15,000 square feet, has been renovated to meet contemporary building codes. Parking is underground.
"You'll see there are curves everywhere," says Fisher. "This is not a square building." Light streams in through large windows. "It's much brighter."
Conspicuous from the street is a new domed gathering space that can accommodate up to 500 people, bringing inside a larger public. It will be rented for events, conferences and celebrations and used by Wabano for educational purposes. Every Wednesday night there will be opportunities to learn about aboriginal culture, open to all.
"We're very invisible in this city," says Fisher. "One aspect for us was to become visible people with value, and to be proud to show who we are."
Wabano - which means new beginnings in Ojibway - will become Canada's first national centre of excellence for aboriginal health care. It will house a maternal and child wellness centre, expand programs in chronic disease, women's health and mental health, and introduce a social enterprise program to develop job skills. The expansion will enable Wabano to double the number of clients from 10,000 to 20,000 a year.
2013年2月17日星期日
The dirt on duct cleaning
John Santos of Los Angeles wants his home to be a healthy gathering place for family and friends, some of whom are recovering from major illness. As part of his effort, he recently had his home's ductwork professionally cleaned.
"I wanted to make certain the air that they were breathing was as clean as it possibly could be," says Santos, 54, a high school technology teacher, "Especially living in a city like Los Angeles, where the air quality can really be poor and cleaning the air systems can provide value."
Although many homeowners consider duct cleaning a way to make their indoor air cleaner, research on whether it can really create a healthier home is in the early stages.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends looking into duct cleaning after fires, floods, pest infestations and in hazardous waste situations, or if you can see particles coming out of your ducts. Otherwise, the agency says it's not necessary for the average household.
Tom Keys, president of Atlantic Duct Cleaning in Sterling, Va., says his company has done more than 80,000 duct-cleaning jobs, and that many customers report back that they have better air quality, a cleaner home and lower energy costs. Customers often are surprised at how much debris collected in their ductwork over the years, he says.
"Most of the people who do it, do it for peace of mind," Keys says. His company has found all sorts of items in ductwork beyond dirt and grime, including class rings, rare baseball cards and construction debris from when the home was built.
Keys encourages homeowners to ask duct-cleaning technicians for evidence that there is dirt in the ducts that should be removed.
Jodi Araujo, executive director of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association, says homeowners can tell when ducts are dirty by simply removing a register cover, inserting a camera and clicking a photo.
On the other hand, contractor John DeSilvia doesn't generally recommend duct cleaning to homeowners. It's normal for dirt to accumulate and stick to the sides of air ducts, he says. But visible mould growth is a problem.
If you do have ductwork cleaned, he advises getting a few estimates and ensuring that the service you hire uses high-powered equipment to capture what they dislodge. Otherwise the effort could backfire.
"Any dust and dirt not collected will be distributed throughout your home, causing a bigger problem," DeSilvia says.
If you decide to get your home's ductwork cleaned, expect to pay between $400 and $800 if there's one HVAC - heating, ventilation and air conditioning - system. If you have more than one zone, you could pay more. That's because duct cleaners don't just clean the ducts - they also clean the furnace and air handler for each unit, which could extend the life of your appliances.
In addition, they can identify any places where a duct has become unsealed, torn or flattened, preventing good airflow. Many professional duct cleaners recommend having a system cleaned every five to eight years.
Patrons who wish to light up while visiting the facility will now have to venture over to a spot by the main soccer field, council decided this week.
Staff had looked at numerous places around the Civic Centre that would meet the requirements for a Designated Smoking Area (DSA). The draft bylaw calls for a DSA to situated 30 metres from doorways, vents, operable windows, ventilation ducts and entryways to community centres, municipal offices and other town-owned buildings.
While staff reviewed potential DSAs north of the arena, that proved problematic due to the amount of equipment and amenities in the area. Secondly, access to the north side would have to be through the fire doors.
Parks and recreation manager Kelly Williams told council that option raised concerns over security and public access to the dressing room corridor. Additional facility retrofits and the installation of a close circuit television system would have to be considered. The soccer field location would fall short of the 30-metre buffer but meets the intent of the regulation, he added.
"I wanted to make certain the air that they were breathing was as clean as it possibly could be," says Santos, 54, a high school technology teacher, "Especially living in a city like Los Angeles, where the air quality can really be poor and cleaning the air systems can provide value."
Although many homeowners consider duct cleaning a way to make their indoor air cleaner, research on whether it can really create a healthier home is in the early stages.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends looking into duct cleaning after fires, floods, pest infestations and in hazardous waste situations, or if you can see particles coming out of your ducts. Otherwise, the agency says it's not necessary for the average household.
Tom Keys, president of Atlantic Duct Cleaning in Sterling, Va., says his company has done more than 80,000 duct-cleaning jobs, and that many customers report back that they have better air quality, a cleaner home and lower energy costs. Customers often are surprised at how much debris collected in their ductwork over the years, he says.
"Most of the people who do it, do it for peace of mind," Keys says. His company has found all sorts of items in ductwork beyond dirt and grime, including class rings, rare baseball cards and construction debris from when the home was built.
Keys encourages homeowners to ask duct-cleaning technicians for evidence that there is dirt in the ducts that should be removed.
Jodi Araujo, executive director of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association, says homeowners can tell when ducts are dirty by simply removing a register cover, inserting a camera and clicking a photo.
On the other hand, contractor John DeSilvia doesn't generally recommend duct cleaning to homeowners. It's normal for dirt to accumulate and stick to the sides of air ducts, he says. But visible mould growth is a problem.
If you do have ductwork cleaned, he advises getting a few estimates and ensuring that the service you hire uses high-powered equipment to capture what they dislodge. Otherwise the effort could backfire.
"Any dust and dirt not collected will be distributed throughout your home, causing a bigger problem," DeSilvia says.
If you decide to get your home's ductwork cleaned, expect to pay between $400 and $800 if there's one HVAC - heating, ventilation and air conditioning - system. If you have more than one zone, you could pay more. That's because duct cleaners don't just clean the ducts - they also clean the furnace and air handler for each unit, which could extend the life of your appliances.
In addition, they can identify any places where a duct has become unsealed, torn or flattened, preventing good airflow. Many professional duct cleaners recommend having a system cleaned every five to eight years.
Patrons who wish to light up while visiting the facility will now have to venture over to a spot by the main soccer field, council decided this week.
Staff had looked at numerous places around the Civic Centre that would meet the requirements for a Designated Smoking Area (DSA). The draft bylaw calls for a DSA to situated 30 metres from doorways, vents, operable windows, ventilation ducts and entryways to community centres, municipal offices and other town-owned buildings.
While staff reviewed potential DSAs north of the arena, that proved problematic due to the amount of equipment and amenities in the area. Secondly, access to the north side would have to be through the fire doors.
Parks and recreation manager Kelly Williams told council that option raised concerns over security and public access to the dressing room corridor. Additional facility retrofits and the installation of a close circuit television system would have to be considered. The soccer field location would fall short of the 30-metre buffer but meets the intent of the regulation, he added.
2013年2月6日星期三
Supacoustic custom slotted panels by Supawood
With major shopping complex redevelopment projects like The Willows, lead times are absolutely critical to maintain normal trading in existing retail areas while the work is being completed. The client also expects rapid completion to maximise a prompt return on their capital investment.
By choosing Supawood products architects are guaranteed a superior product together with reliable lead times to meet very tight project programmes. Supawood are able to support this due to their extensive experience in shopping centre developments throughout Australia.
Supawood’s inspiring range of products ensures a superior interior finish within the project’s budget to give superb quality, real value for money and the utmost benefit to the investment.
Hames Sharley Architects, the design team for The Willows Shopping Centre at Townsville, needed to integrate air ventilation into the interior design without interrupting the actual airflow or taking away from the overall look they wanted to achieve. An adaptable panel system was required and Supawood’s Supacoustic Custom slotted panels proved the perfect solution.
At the Willows Shopping Centre the Supacoustic panels have been used on both the ceilings and bulkheads. The bulkhead panels are open backed and form part of the air ventilation system. The panels have been custom manufactured with extra wide slots to accomplish even air flow into the malls of the shopping centre. The matching ceiling panels form featured areas and have Supawood’s IAT acoustic backing to help with noise reduction.
Supacoustic Custom panels can be supplied in a range of standard patterns as well as in custom permutations aimed at achieving a specific result. This gave the design team the flexibility to achieve the look and function they wanted. As Supacoustic Custom panels are available in a large range of durable finishes, it was also possible to match exactly the colour required. The panels used here are in Supafinish White.
This project emphasises the versatility of Supacoustic Custom panels. This panelling system can be fully customised to a designers exact needs, create the look they want while achieving excellent acoustics and smart access to utilities. And, as Supacoustic Custom comes complete with its own fixing system, the product is quick and extremely economical to install.
During the refueling outage, workers replaced the steam dryer. In a boiling water reactor, the steam dryer, a large metal component with no moving parts, rests above the nuclear core inside the reactor vessel. The steam created when water is heated to the boiling point while flowing through the core passes through another large metal component with no moving parts called the steam separator. Water droplets carried upward by the steam flow are removed as they pass through the steam separator and steam dryer. The dryer’s vertical panels have holes in them not unlike a cheese grater. Steam navigates its way through this metal maze while heavier water droplets tend to get snagged and left behind. The result is steam containing very few water droplets, also called clean or dry steam, which leaves the reactor vessel via four pipes to the turbine. The water removed from the steam drains by gravity down to re-enter the nuclear core for another chance of becoming steam.
Steam dryers were originally expected to last the entire 40-year operating lifetime of the reactor. As owners sought and obtained 20-year extensions to reactor operating licenses and also obtained permission to operate reactors at up to 20 percent higher power levels, more and more steam dryers needed replacement to allow reactors to operate longer at higher power levels.
On November 12, 2012, workers prepared the steam dryer for shipment to a waste site. The refueling floor’s overhead crane lifted the steam dryer and began moving it laterally towards the equipment hatch. The equipment hatch is a vertical opening extending from the refueling floor down to the first floor of the reactor building. The plan was to lower the steam dryer through the equipment hatch onto a vehicle for transport from the plant site.
That plan was carried out, but not without a bump along the way. En route to the equipment hatch, the radiation emitted from the large metal component that had resided near an operating nuclear reactor for nearly 40 years set off radiation monitors on the refueling floor. The purpose of these radiation monitors is to detect a fuel handling accident (e.g., a spent fuel bundle that is dropped onto other spent fuel bundles in the spent fuel pool breaking some fuel rods and releasing radioactive gases and particles into the water). When the monitors detect high levels of radiation from a fuel handling accident, or irradiated steam dryer, they cause a number of safety actions to automatically occur. For example, the ventilation system for the control room switched from its normal mode to a mode that protects the operators from radioactivity in the air. In addition, the ventilation system for the reactor building was shut down and an emergency ventilation system, called the standby gas treatment system, started. The standby gas treatment system maintains the reactor building at a slightly lower pressure to the outside atmosphere, forcing clean air to leak into the building instead of potentially contaminated air from leaking out.
By choosing Supawood products architects are guaranteed a superior product together with reliable lead times to meet very tight project programmes. Supawood are able to support this due to their extensive experience in shopping centre developments throughout Australia.
Supawood’s inspiring range of products ensures a superior interior finish within the project’s budget to give superb quality, real value for money and the utmost benefit to the investment.
Hames Sharley Architects, the design team for The Willows Shopping Centre at Townsville, needed to integrate air ventilation into the interior design without interrupting the actual airflow or taking away from the overall look they wanted to achieve. An adaptable panel system was required and Supawood’s Supacoustic Custom slotted panels proved the perfect solution.
At the Willows Shopping Centre the Supacoustic panels have been used on both the ceilings and bulkheads. The bulkhead panels are open backed and form part of the air ventilation system. The panels have been custom manufactured with extra wide slots to accomplish even air flow into the malls of the shopping centre. The matching ceiling panels form featured areas and have Supawood’s IAT acoustic backing to help with noise reduction.
Supacoustic Custom panels can be supplied in a range of standard patterns as well as in custom permutations aimed at achieving a specific result. This gave the design team the flexibility to achieve the look and function they wanted. As Supacoustic Custom panels are available in a large range of durable finishes, it was also possible to match exactly the colour required. The panels used here are in Supafinish White.
This project emphasises the versatility of Supacoustic Custom panels. This panelling system can be fully customised to a designers exact needs, create the look they want while achieving excellent acoustics and smart access to utilities. And, as Supacoustic Custom comes complete with its own fixing system, the product is quick and extremely economical to install.
During the refueling outage, workers replaced the steam dryer. In a boiling water reactor, the steam dryer, a large metal component with no moving parts, rests above the nuclear core inside the reactor vessel. The steam created when water is heated to the boiling point while flowing through the core passes through another large metal component with no moving parts called the steam separator. Water droplets carried upward by the steam flow are removed as they pass through the steam separator and steam dryer. The dryer’s vertical panels have holes in them not unlike a cheese grater. Steam navigates its way through this metal maze while heavier water droplets tend to get snagged and left behind. The result is steam containing very few water droplets, also called clean or dry steam, which leaves the reactor vessel via four pipes to the turbine. The water removed from the steam drains by gravity down to re-enter the nuclear core for another chance of becoming steam.
Steam dryers were originally expected to last the entire 40-year operating lifetime of the reactor. As owners sought and obtained 20-year extensions to reactor operating licenses and also obtained permission to operate reactors at up to 20 percent higher power levels, more and more steam dryers needed replacement to allow reactors to operate longer at higher power levels.
On November 12, 2012, workers prepared the steam dryer for shipment to a waste site. The refueling floor’s overhead crane lifted the steam dryer and began moving it laterally towards the equipment hatch. The equipment hatch is a vertical opening extending from the refueling floor down to the first floor of the reactor building. The plan was to lower the steam dryer through the equipment hatch onto a vehicle for transport from the plant site.
That plan was carried out, but not without a bump along the way. En route to the equipment hatch, the radiation emitted from the large metal component that had resided near an operating nuclear reactor for nearly 40 years set off radiation monitors on the refueling floor. The purpose of these radiation monitors is to detect a fuel handling accident (e.g., a spent fuel bundle that is dropped onto other spent fuel bundles in the spent fuel pool breaking some fuel rods and releasing radioactive gases and particles into the water). When the monitors detect high levels of radiation from a fuel handling accident, or irradiated steam dryer, they cause a number of safety actions to automatically occur. For example, the ventilation system for the control room switched from its normal mode to a mode that protects the operators from radioactivity in the air. In addition, the ventilation system for the reactor building was shut down and an emergency ventilation system, called the standby gas treatment system, started. The standby gas treatment system maintains the reactor building at a slightly lower pressure to the outside atmosphere, forcing clean air to leak into the building instead of potentially contaminated air from leaking out.
2012年11月12日星期一
Korea’s Namdaemun rises from the ashes
Five years ago, as he watched TV images of South Korea’s foremost historical treasure being engulfed in flames lit by a lone arsonist, Hong Chang-Won remembers having to turn his head away.
“It was too heartbreaking to see such beautiful architecture being destroyed like that,” said Hong, a registered master craftsman who specializes in traditional Korean ornamental painting.
Seoul’s 600-year-old Namdaemun (South Gate), listed as “National Treasure Number One” and a source of immense cultural pride, was burned pretty much to the ground on February 10, 2008.
The largely wooden structure that had managed to survive the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War was reduced to ashes by a disgruntled 69-year-old man with some paint thinner and a cigarette lighter.
Nearly five years later, following one of the longest, most expensive restoration projects ever undertaken in South Korea that involved scores of highly-skilled artisans like Hong, Namdaemun is ready to return.
The restored landmark is set to be unveiled, on schedule, in late December.
From the outset of the 25 billion won ($22.7 million) project, the Cultural Heritage Administration had decided that the reconstruction work should be carried out as faithfully to the original as possible.
“It has been extremely difficult, but given that it’s Korea’s landmark, we put traditional methods and materials as our highest priority,” said the head of the administration’s restoration team, Cho Kyu-Hyung.
“The building holds not only a historical significance, but also a great symbolic meaning for all Koreans,” Cho told AFP during a preview tour.
Historians and master craftsmen using traditional construction techniques were invited to review documents dating back centuries, as well as a blueprint drawn up in 1963 when the government dismantled the gate for repair work.
“The only modern ‘tools’ that we used were trucks to deliver the stone and timber. Otherwise everything was done using original technologies,” Cho said.
Molten steel was poured into special moulds to fashion traditional-style nails, while all 22,000 roof tiles were handmade. Hundreds of pieces of pine timber had all been cut and allowed to dry out naturally -- a process that takes several years -- and the stonework was cut and crafted with traditional tools.
Decorative paints, however, had to be imported from Japan, since the art of making them in the traditional fashion, without chemicals, had been lost among Korean specialists.
Six master craftsmen specializing in stonecraft, woodcraft, roof tiles and ornamental painting were invited onto the project, said Cho, with each craftsman assisted by as many as 40 licensed apprentices.
As the expert in charge of the painting, Hong’s team was the last to work on the project and he watched carefully as the apprentices followed his outlines of lotus flowers and leaf patterns drawn on the giant timbers.
“We tried hard to restore the colors and styles of the time when it was actually built,” Hong said.
“At first glance, the newer Namdaemun might look less colorful and rather toned down, but it will look much more serene and graceful,” he added.
The dominant colors were of light blue and dark green, with more vivid tones of orange and red used only as highlights. The patterns were copied from temples built around the same time, as well as pictures taken from the early 1900s.
“And since some pillars remained intact even after the fire, we also took them into account,” Hong said.
The pagoda-style, two-storey gate located in the centre of downtown Seoul was first constructed in 1398, then rebuilt in 1447 and renovated several times after that.
The structure that burned down in 2008 had still contained some 600-year-old timber. The fire took out the entire roof, most of the upper floor and some of the lower floor.
Proposals to give the restored version a fire-resistant coat was rejected, Cho said, because it would have caused some discoloration of the paintwork.
“We did research and tests and came to conclusion that the best solution was to take every possible precautionary measure, such as installing thermal sensors around the building,” Cho said.
The destruction of Namdaemun sent shock waves through the country, with sorrowful Seoul residents swarming around the charred ruin, laying flowers and writing grieving messages.
“It was too heartbreaking to see such beautiful architecture being destroyed like that,” said Hong, a registered master craftsman who specializes in traditional Korean ornamental painting.
Seoul’s 600-year-old Namdaemun (South Gate), listed as “National Treasure Number One” and a source of immense cultural pride, was burned pretty much to the ground on February 10, 2008.
The largely wooden structure that had managed to survive the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War was reduced to ashes by a disgruntled 69-year-old man with some paint thinner and a cigarette lighter.
Nearly five years later, following one of the longest, most expensive restoration projects ever undertaken in South Korea that involved scores of highly-skilled artisans like Hong, Namdaemun is ready to return.
The restored landmark is set to be unveiled, on schedule, in late December.
From the outset of the 25 billion won ($22.7 million) project, the Cultural Heritage Administration had decided that the reconstruction work should be carried out as faithfully to the original as possible.
“It has been extremely difficult, but given that it’s Korea’s landmark, we put traditional methods and materials as our highest priority,” said the head of the administration’s restoration team, Cho Kyu-Hyung.
“The building holds not only a historical significance, but also a great symbolic meaning for all Koreans,” Cho told AFP during a preview tour.
Historians and master craftsmen using traditional construction techniques were invited to review documents dating back centuries, as well as a blueprint drawn up in 1963 when the government dismantled the gate for repair work.
“The only modern ‘tools’ that we used were trucks to deliver the stone and timber. Otherwise everything was done using original technologies,” Cho said.
Molten steel was poured into special moulds to fashion traditional-style nails, while all 22,000 roof tiles were handmade. Hundreds of pieces of pine timber had all been cut and allowed to dry out naturally -- a process that takes several years -- and the stonework was cut and crafted with traditional tools.
Decorative paints, however, had to be imported from Japan, since the art of making them in the traditional fashion, without chemicals, had been lost among Korean specialists.
Six master craftsmen specializing in stonecraft, woodcraft, roof tiles and ornamental painting were invited onto the project, said Cho, with each craftsman assisted by as many as 40 licensed apprentices.
As the expert in charge of the painting, Hong’s team was the last to work on the project and he watched carefully as the apprentices followed his outlines of lotus flowers and leaf patterns drawn on the giant timbers.
“We tried hard to restore the colors and styles of the time when it was actually built,” Hong said.
“At first glance, the newer Namdaemun might look less colorful and rather toned down, but it will look much more serene and graceful,” he added.
The dominant colors were of light blue and dark green, with more vivid tones of orange and red used only as highlights. The patterns were copied from temples built around the same time, as well as pictures taken from the early 1900s.
“And since some pillars remained intact even after the fire, we also took them into account,” Hong said.
The pagoda-style, two-storey gate located in the centre of downtown Seoul was first constructed in 1398, then rebuilt in 1447 and renovated several times after that.
The structure that burned down in 2008 had still contained some 600-year-old timber. The fire took out the entire roof, most of the upper floor and some of the lower floor.
Proposals to give the restored version a fire-resistant coat was rejected, Cho said, because it would have caused some discoloration of the paintwork.
“We did research and tests and came to conclusion that the best solution was to take every possible precautionary measure, such as installing thermal sensors around the building,” Cho said.
The destruction of Namdaemun sent shock waves through the country, with sorrowful Seoul residents swarming around the charred ruin, laying flowers and writing grieving messages.
2012年10月29日星期一
Waterfront ‘Le Sabot’ built a century ago
The exclusive 1.6-hectare Morgan Estate, located along the shores of Lake of Two Mountains in the West Island community of Senneville, is being offered for sale for $8.5 million. Built in 1912 and referred to as “Le Sabot” (the boot), this waterfront property is considered to be one of Canada’s finest examples of the Arts and Craft residential style of architecture.
It was built for cultural philanthropist and department store owner F. Cleveland Morgan, who was the great-nephew of the founder of the Henry Morgan and Co. department stores, locally referred to as Morgan’s.
David Shennan, a well-respected Scottish architect of the time, designed the Morgan estate and was also responsible for putting to paper the design for Manoir Richelieu, the Hotel Tadoussac and the Thousand Islands Club. He also had a hand in the design of the castle-like Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.
With 27 rooms, including 12 bedrooms and nine bathrooms, the romantic, stone-turreted manor is having its 100th anniversary this year. Four generations of Morgans have lived in the home and still do.
This gated property is set back from Senneville Rd. by sweeping lawns, mature hardwood trees and formal English gardens — complete with a huge, rectangular lily pool. Le Sabot harkens back to a period in our history when architectural form was trying to break free from the bounds of Victorian-era stuffiness and conformity. It was a new age of opulence, opportunity and fodder for dreamers. The year the estate was built was also the year that the world’s fastest passenger liner, HMS Titanic, went down off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage, claiming 1,517 lives.
These were the times that Cleveland Morgan lived in, and this is why this estate was such a pleasure to visit — a pearl among the numerous rocks of the modernly mundane.
The exterior of the building was designed in a Georgian-Normandy-style, with its steep slate roof and two fieldstone turrets that face visitors as they first glimpse the manor. There is a circular stone dovecote (a structure for housing pigeons) on the grand lawn facing the home, a throwback to a time when many well-off country gentlemen bred the birds for racing and show.
The property at 264 Senneville Rd. encompasses two bedroom wings with six bedrooms, four bathrooms and three marble fireplaces in the main home. There is also a separate servants’ quarters and a large four-bedroom guest annex with a towering two-storey stone fireplace and two-car garage.
There is a very large heated outdoor swimming pool overlooking the Lake of Two Mountains and Oka Village in the distance, a private tennis court, a large and impressive 14-metre-long solarium and continual waterfront views along the length of the property.
Other features include rich oak panelling, balcony views, fieldstone walls, clay floor tiles that were made in Oka of local red clay, Brazilian flooring, a library, hand-painted motifs and a lived-in ambience that wraps you in its warm shroud as soon as you enter the home.
The front entranceway has that typical Georgian-style flavour, with a wide wooden door flanked by long, rectangular glass windows, greystone steps and trim, and topped with ornamental forged iron on its mantle.
You enter the home through the grand entrance hall with rich oak furnishings and panelling, and a beautiful antique spiral staircase leading to the second storey of the three-storey domicile. The staircase was originally found in the former governor’s residence at the Chateau de Ramezay, but after the building was partially gutted by fire, the staircase was acquired and restored by Morgan for his home. The red clay tiling is the main type of flooring found on the ground floor.
Corniced cove ceilings with fleur-de-lis and poisson motifs are found throughout the main floor. The home is built in the Central Cross-Hall plan, with living and dining rooms on each side.
The living room is well lit by numerous windows and French doors, most looking out over the lake. A handsome and classic open-hearth limestone fireplace seems to be an invitation to brew a pot of tea over its blaze. Incorporated into the space where the turret is situated is an alcove that uses the recess to show off the 19th-century grandfather clock that resides there and to let in natural sunlight from the long, rectangular windows that flank the alcove.
The dining area is a large room with a formal fireplace, panelled walls, built-in china cabinets and fine trim borders along the ceiling, doorways and baseboards.
Both the dining and living rooms open up into the northwest-facing solarium, which has incredible views of the lake and surrounding country. The solarium leads to a large terrace, English gardens and the heated in-ground pool — complete with diving board.
The land slopes downward to the shoreline of the lake and its menagerie of wildlife that find this location as attractive as Morgan would have when he first began laying out his country retreat. His principal residence was on Peel St., in the heart of downtown.
Wide oak plank floors are found throughout the two bedroom wings, on the second storey. The bedrooms are very well kept, original, and attractive and comfy. Canopied beds featuring hand-carved posts and frames blend well with the matching furnishings.
The third floor is largely occupied by Morgan’s collection of artifacts, ranging from a mummified cranium to sea shells, plant pressings and numerous other curiosities that he collected during his decades of world travelling.
For 46 years, F. Cleveland Morgan was the curator of decorative arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, a voluntary position he loved and dedicated his life to. He acquired thousands of specimens from around the world for the museum to demonstrate the history of art.
His Senneville home is full of many examples of art and artifacts, some dating back thousands of years. Some of the art work he collected was sold at Morgan’s.
There are also the hundreds of window panes that bear the names of visitors to the house — etched with a diamond-tipped pen, each made by the visitor. Some of the names include humorist Stephen Leacock, artist Clarence Gagnon and Sir John Abbott. It must have seen some great parties in its past.
In the 1960s, the Morgan family donated land to McGill University for the creation of the 240-hectare Morgan Arboretum.
With the sale of this estate, another window into the history of Montreal will be closed, but not locked to those who wish to seek it.
Cleveland Morgan’s legacy is still alive and well with every dog walker or bird watcher that visits the Arboretum, or every visitor to the fine arts museum, the McCord Museum or the Redpath, among others. His was a life well lived, and his beloved “Le Sabot” heralds this life.
It was built for cultural philanthropist and department store owner F. Cleveland Morgan, who was the great-nephew of the founder of the Henry Morgan and Co. department stores, locally referred to as Morgan’s.
David Shennan, a well-respected Scottish architect of the time, designed the Morgan estate and was also responsible for putting to paper the design for Manoir Richelieu, the Hotel Tadoussac and the Thousand Islands Club. He also had a hand in the design of the castle-like Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.
With 27 rooms, including 12 bedrooms and nine bathrooms, the romantic, stone-turreted manor is having its 100th anniversary this year. Four generations of Morgans have lived in the home and still do.
This gated property is set back from Senneville Rd. by sweeping lawns, mature hardwood trees and formal English gardens — complete with a huge, rectangular lily pool. Le Sabot harkens back to a period in our history when architectural form was trying to break free from the bounds of Victorian-era stuffiness and conformity. It was a new age of opulence, opportunity and fodder for dreamers. The year the estate was built was also the year that the world’s fastest passenger liner, HMS Titanic, went down off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage, claiming 1,517 lives.
These were the times that Cleveland Morgan lived in, and this is why this estate was such a pleasure to visit — a pearl among the numerous rocks of the modernly mundane.
The exterior of the building was designed in a Georgian-Normandy-style, with its steep slate roof and two fieldstone turrets that face visitors as they first glimpse the manor. There is a circular stone dovecote (a structure for housing pigeons) on the grand lawn facing the home, a throwback to a time when many well-off country gentlemen bred the birds for racing and show.
The property at 264 Senneville Rd. encompasses two bedroom wings with six bedrooms, four bathrooms and three marble fireplaces in the main home. There is also a separate servants’ quarters and a large four-bedroom guest annex with a towering two-storey stone fireplace and two-car garage.
There is a very large heated outdoor swimming pool overlooking the Lake of Two Mountains and Oka Village in the distance, a private tennis court, a large and impressive 14-metre-long solarium and continual waterfront views along the length of the property.
Other features include rich oak panelling, balcony views, fieldstone walls, clay floor tiles that were made in Oka of local red clay, Brazilian flooring, a library, hand-painted motifs and a lived-in ambience that wraps you in its warm shroud as soon as you enter the home.
The front entranceway has that typical Georgian-style flavour, with a wide wooden door flanked by long, rectangular glass windows, greystone steps and trim, and topped with ornamental forged iron on its mantle.
You enter the home through the grand entrance hall with rich oak furnishings and panelling, and a beautiful antique spiral staircase leading to the second storey of the three-storey domicile. The staircase was originally found in the former governor’s residence at the Chateau de Ramezay, but after the building was partially gutted by fire, the staircase was acquired and restored by Morgan for his home. The red clay tiling is the main type of flooring found on the ground floor.
Corniced cove ceilings with fleur-de-lis and poisson motifs are found throughout the main floor. The home is built in the Central Cross-Hall plan, with living and dining rooms on each side.
The living room is well lit by numerous windows and French doors, most looking out over the lake. A handsome and classic open-hearth limestone fireplace seems to be an invitation to brew a pot of tea over its blaze. Incorporated into the space where the turret is situated is an alcove that uses the recess to show off the 19th-century grandfather clock that resides there and to let in natural sunlight from the long, rectangular windows that flank the alcove.
The dining area is a large room with a formal fireplace, panelled walls, built-in china cabinets and fine trim borders along the ceiling, doorways and baseboards.
Both the dining and living rooms open up into the northwest-facing solarium, which has incredible views of the lake and surrounding country. The solarium leads to a large terrace, English gardens and the heated in-ground pool — complete with diving board.
The land slopes downward to the shoreline of the lake and its menagerie of wildlife that find this location as attractive as Morgan would have when he first began laying out his country retreat. His principal residence was on Peel St., in the heart of downtown.
Wide oak plank floors are found throughout the two bedroom wings, on the second storey. The bedrooms are very well kept, original, and attractive and comfy. Canopied beds featuring hand-carved posts and frames blend well with the matching furnishings.
The third floor is largely occupied by Morgan’s collection of artifacts, ranging from a mummified cranium to sea shells, plant pressings and numerous other curiosities that he collected during his decades of world travelling.
For 46 years, F. Cleveland Morgan was the curator of decorative arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, a voluntary position he loved and dedicated his life to. He acquired thousands of specimens from around the world for the museum to demonstrate the history of art.
His Senneville home is full of many examples of art and artifacts, some dating back thousands of years. Some of the art work he collected was sold at Morgan’s.
There are also the hundreds of window panes that bear the names of visitors to the house — etched with a diamond-tipped pen, each made by the visitor. Some of the names include humorist Stephen Leacock, artist Clarence Gagnon and Sir John Abbott. It must have seen some great parties in its past.
In the 1960s, the Morgan family donated land to McGill University for the creation of the 240-hectare Morgan Arboretum.
With the sale of this estate, another window into the history of Montreal will be closed, but not locked to those who wish to seek it.
Cleveland Morgan’s legacy is still alive and well with every dog walker or bird watcher that visits the Arboretum, or every visitor to the fine arts museum, the McCord Museum or the Redpath, among others. His was a life well lived, and his beloved “Le Sabot” heralds this life.
2012年10月25日星期四
A new dawn for Microsoft?
As Apple was announcing its new, smaller iPad in San Jose, Microsoft was preparing for its biggest
announcement in a generation on the other side of America. Only a hardened cynic would suggest that the
first announcement was timed to spoil the second. And only a realist would believe that Apple is right to
– for once – be worried by Microsoft.
That’s because the multi-layered news from the Windows maker, to be announced on Thursday in New York,
includes the formal unveiling of a tablet that is, by common consensus, the most extraordinary piece of
hardware to be released since, well, the iPad.
Microsoft’s Surface computer is the first PC the company has ever made itself, and it is designed to
provide the best platform available for the controversial new Windows 8 operating system. It features an
extraordinary, slim keyboard that also makes it the first device to genuinely, completely blur the line
between a tablet and a laptop. And because it runs Windows, it ought to offer all the capabilities that
users are accustomed to on fully fledged computers.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, there are two reasons why it doesn’t. The first is that Windows 8 itself is
a huge gamble for the company that runs 90 per cent of the world’s PCs, but it’s also one that it has
been forced to take by Apple. By some measures, while Windows still accounts for those nine out of ten
working computers, it accounts for just three in ten new sales, thanks mainly to devices such as Apple’s
iPad and other tablets running Google’s Android operating system. Where previously it would have been
unfair to compare a computer to a tablet, now users are able to do similar things with a range of
different devices. The changing nature of computing is a nettle that Microsoft has been slow to grasp and
now, as Chief executive Steve Ballmer has put it, they’re betting the company on getting it right.
The resulting software is designed, therefore, to work on both conventional desktop computers, tablets,
laptops and mobile phones too. While there is much to like about it, the current compromise combines a
version of the familiar Windows with a new interface that, while elegant, will provide a huge shock to
many users. It offers a patchwork of ‘live tiles’ which when tapped open up programmes and on their own
act as a sort of dashboard. So as on a mobile phone, say, your newest emails appear immediately on screen.
As a new strategy, the idea is really impressive. But in reviews it has often seemed rough around the
edges, and even as it is polished it is way behind the library of apps that are offered by rival systems
from Google and Apple.
Secondly, although the Surface tablet is a lovely piece of design, it runs a cut-down version of Windows
called RT. Although a full version is coming on a fractionally larger tablet in January, the overall
effect is the feeling that Microsoft has made a beautiful thing and yet been forced to rush it out in
order to stay competitive. It would be mean to point out that the last company that rushed out a tablet is
BlackBerry, whose fortunes have declined precipitously since.
For all that, however, Microsoft has accurately identified its own weaknesses, and it has belatedly seen
that it must reinvent itself for a new era. On Monday, it will launch the mobile phones that will
integrate seamlessly with the new Windows that runs computers and tablets. Like Apple, it will finally
offer an ‘ecosystem’ that users and software makers can really sign up to.
Making that work will be a huge challenge for a company that lost what cool it had some time ago – but
Apple is now itself vast and Microsoft the underdog. With the new hardware going on sale at midnight, and
shops opening early to sell it, Microsoft’s chances of recovery are better than ever.
announcement in a generation on the other side of America. Only a hardened cynic would suggest that the
first announcement was timed to spoil the second. And only a realist would believe that Apple is right to
– for once – be worried by Microsoft.
That’s because the multi-layered news from the Windows maker, to be announced on Thursday in New York,
includes the formal unveiling of a tablet that is, by common consensus, the most extraordinary piece of
hardware to be released since, well, the iPad.
Microsoft’s Surface computer is the first PC the company has ever made itself, and it is designed to
provide the best platform available for the controversial new Windows 8 operating system. It features an
extraordinary, slim keyboard that also makes it the first device to genuinely, completely blur the line
between a tablet and a laptop. And because it runs Windows, it ought to offer all the capabilities that
users are accustomed to on fully fledged computers.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, there are two reasons why it doesn’t. The first is that Windows 8 itself is
a huge gamble for the company that runs 90 per cent of the world’s PCs, but it’s also one that it has
been forced to take by Apple. By some measures, while Windows still accounts for those nine out of ten
working computers, it accounts for just three in ten new sales, thanks mainly to devices such as Apple’s
iPad and other tablets running Google’s Android operating system. Where previously it would have been
unfair to compare a computer to a tablet, now users are able to do similar things with a range of
different devices. The changing nature of computing is a nettle that Microsoft has been slow to grasp and
now, as Chief executive Steve Ballmer has put it, they’re betting the company on getting it right.
The resulting software is designed, therefore, to work on both conventional desktop computers, tablets,
laptops and mobile phones too. While there is much to like about it, the current compromise combines a
version of the familiar Windows with a new interface that, while elegant, will provide a huge shock to
many users. It offers a patchwork of ‘live tiles’ which when tapped open up programmes and on their own
act as a sort of dashboard. So as on a mobile phone, say, your newest emails appear immediately on screen.
As a new strategy, the idea is really impressive. But in reviews it has often seemed rough around the
edges, and even as it is polished it is way behind the library of apps that are offered by rival systems
from Google and Apple.
Secondly, although the Surface tablet is a lovely piece of design, it runs a cut-down version of Windows
called RT. Although a full version is coming on a fractionally larger tablet in January, the overall
effect is the feeling that Microsoft has made a beautiful thing and yet been forced to rush it out in
order to stay competitive. It would be mean to point out that the last company that rushed out a tablet is
BlackBerry, whose fortunes have declined precipitously since.
For all that, however, Microsoft has accurately identified its own weaknesses, and it has belatedly seen
that it must reinvent itself for a new era. On Monday, it will launch the mobile phones that will
integrate seamlessly with the new Windows that runs computers and tablets. Like Apple, it will finally
offer an ‘ecosystem’ that users and software makers can really sign up to.
Making that work will be a huge challenge for a company that lost what cool it had some time ago – but
Apple is now itself vast and Microsoft the underdog. With the new hardware going on sale at midnight, and
shops opening early to sell it, Microsoft’s chances of recovery are better than ever.
2012年10月21日星期日
Ficarra Design Associates contemporary interior
With its distinctive Dutch Caribbean architectural style and Gulf Shore Boulevard North address, Naples Casamore is for those captivated by a luxurious, fully amenitized European village lifestyle.
Twelve, three-story, single-family residences designed by Stofft Cooney Architects and built by BCB Homes stand as a unique achievement that offers open, free-flowing floor plans with high ceilings and tall windows that capture Southwest Florida's natural light.
Naples-based Ficarra Design Associates is creating and executing a contemporary interior design for one of the four-bedroom Casamore residences that is as unique as the building itself. Bold design features and interior details, lighting treatments that accentuate the visual impact of an assortment of extraordinary finishes, and a color palette that includes gray, taupe and eggplant tones all contribute to a style with a level of clean-lined sophistication.
"The uniqueness of the Casamore residence's architectural style offers an ideal venue for the execution of a bold, contemporary interior design," said Ficarra Design Associates Founder and President Lisa Ficarra. "The owners of the residence recognized the possibilities early on, articulated their vision and then provided us the freedom to create this type of style. It is an exciting project that will ultimately contribute to the overall one-of-a-kind ambiance that has already established Casamore as Naples' newest landmark location."
Ficarra's emphasis on unique, high visual impact finishes is apparent upon arrival at the home's ground level entry. The flooring is predominantly a textured white ceramic tile with elements that sparkle.
Ficarra has taken the flooring a step further with the creation of a rectangular Calcutta marble tile accent that has a circular stainless steel inlay. The inlay plays against a stairway that features steel posts with cable railings. Each step is accented by a geometric stainless steel inlaid border. Cove lighting at the uppermost reaches of the three-story stairwell casts a soft glow.
Driftwood toned hardwood flooring throughout the second level introduces Ficarra's color palette. A powder room near the top of the staircase features the same ceramic flooring found in the entry. The white wall tile is done in a wave pattern that is accented by soffit lighting mounted directly overhead. A floating vanity cabinet with an onyx countertop lit from underneath and a mirror suspended on wires extending from the ceiling provide additional memory points. The vanity is separated from the toilet area by a frosted glass half-wall with a stone top.
In addition to its tall windows that offer a view of Casamore's environs, the residence's living room features a fireplace in a combination of shell stone and wood veneer. A series of wood-stained beams with cross pieces are used to create a ceiling treatment with a contemporary feeling that plays against furnishings with espresso wood accents. The espresso tone is continued in the adjacent club room's contemporary built-in wall unit. The club room space also features a deep coffered ceiling with beams and Lutron window shades that vanish into an indiscernible soffit when raised.
An additional space on the second level serves as both a guest bedroom and his-and-her office. The room has a full bath and a zoom bed that can be stored in the wall.
Ficarra's contemporary design is on full display in the kitchen. The upper perimeter cabinetry is a polished chrome with glass fronts while the lower cabinets have horizontal grained, gray-washed wooden door fronts, a look that is continued on the front of an island base that is framed with espresso toned trim. A metallic shadow Pompeii quartz counter top and backsplash on the perimeter play against the island's green, gray and eggplant toned top. The designer's penchant for making visual statements with lighting is evident again in the island's step-up counter that is done in espresso finished wood with three Cristallo white glass inserts that are lit from underneath. A tiered, multilevel Plexiglas table in the breakfast nook was designed by Ficarra Design Associates' Alexandra Hutchinson.
The driftwood toned hardwood flooring continues in the third level vestibule and hallways. The entry to the master suite includes a walk-in morning kitchen that features a stepped-coffer ceiling and cabinetry with a dramatic curvilinear molding design in espresso brown over a white background. The cabinetry plays against a Calcutta stone counter and backsplash and a gray, silver, bronze and dark brown stainless steel horizontal inlay in the hardwood floor.
In the master bedroom, a vaulted ceiling contributes to the volume of the space. A chunky frame detail on the headboard wall and suspended lighting fixtures over matching night stands continue Ficarra's contemporary twists and visual surprises. The master suite includes his-and-her baths. Her bath has a fantasy white marble floor with diamond shaped taupe bubble glass insets. The bubbles run up the shower wall and are also used as the flooring under a free-standing tub that is centered on a window. His bath reprises the stainless steel accents in the morning kitchen's floor, this time in the bath's cream-toned marble floor and shower. A free-standing dark espresso vanity provides a perfect contrast to the lighter toned marble.
Ficarra continues her attention to ceiling treatments in the guest bedrooms on the third level. One of the bedrooms has a unique beamed ceiling design while the other has a stepped coffer.
Twelve, three-story, single-family residences designed by Stofft Cooney Architects and built by BCB Homes stand as a unique achievement that offers open, free-flowing floor plans with high ceilings and tall windows that capture Southwest Florida's natural light.
Naples-based Ficarra Design Associates is creating and executing a contemporary interior design for one of the four-bedroom Casamore residences that is as unique as the building itself. Bold design features and interior details, lighting treatments that accentuate the visual impact of an assortment of extraordinary finishes, and a color palette that includes gray, taupe and eggplant tones all contribute to a style with a level of clean-lined sophistication.
"The uniqueness of the Casamore residence's architectural style offers an ideal venue for the execution of a bold, contemporary interior design," said Ficarra Design Associates Founder and President Lisa Ficarra. "The owners of the residence recognized the possibilities early on, articulated their vision and then provided us the freedom to create this type of style. It is an exciting project that will ultimately contribute to the overall one-of-a-kind ambiance that has already established Casamore as Naples' newest landmark location."
Ficarra's emphasis on unique, high visual impact finishes is apparent upon arrival at the home's ground level entry. The flooring is predominantly a textured white ceramic tile with elements that sparkle.
Ficarra has taken the flooring a step further with the creation of a rectangular Calcutta marble tile accent that has a circular stainless steel inlay. The inlay plays against a stairway that features steel posts with cable railings. Each step is accented by a geometric stainless steel inlaid border. Cove lighting at the uppermost reaches of the three-story stairwell casts a soft glow.
Driftwood toned hardwood flooring throughout the second level introduces Ficarra's color palette. A powder room near the top of the staircase features the same ceramic flooring found in the entry. The white wall tile is done in a wave pattern that is accented by soffit lighting mounted directly overhead. A floating vanity cabinet with an onyx countertop lit from underneath and a mirror suspended on wires extending from the ceiling provide additional memory points. The vanity is separated from the toilet area by a frosted glass half-wall with a stone top.
In addition to its tall windows that offer a view of Casamore's environs, the residence's living room features a fireplace in a combination of shell stone and wood veneer. A series of wood-stained beams with cross pieces are used to create a ceiling treatment with a contemporary feeling that plays against furnishings with espresso wood accents. The espresso tone is continued in the adjacent club room's contemporary built-in wall unit. The club room space also features a deep coffered ceiling with beams and Lutron window shades that vanish into an indiscernible soffit when raised.
An additional space on the second level serves as both a guest bedroom and his-and-her office. The room has a full bath and a zoom bed that can be stored in the wall.
Ficarra's contemporary design is on full display in the kitchen. The upper perimeter cabinetry is a polished chrome with glass fronts while the lower cabinets have horizontal grained, gray-washed wooden door fronts, a look that is continued on the front of an island base that is framed with espresso toned trim. A metallic shadow Pompeii quartz counter top and backsplash on the perimeter play against the island's green, gray and eggplant toned top. The designer's penchant for making visual statements with lighting is evident again in the island's step-up counter that is done in espresso finished wood with three Cristallo white glass inserts that are lit from underneath. A tiered, multilevel Plexiglas table in the breakfast nook was designed by Ficarra Design Associates' Alexandra Hutchinson.
The driftwood toned hardwood flooring continues in the third level vestibule and hallways. The entry to the master suite includes a walk-in morning kitchen that features a stepped-coffer ceiling and cabinetry with a dramatic curvilinear molding design in espresso brown over a white background. The cabinetry plays against a Calcutta stone counter and backsplash and a gray, silver, bronze and dark brown stainless steel horizontal inlay in the hardwood floor.
In the master bedroom, a vaulted ceiling contributes to the volume of the space. A chunky frame detail on the headboard wall and suspended lighting fixtures over matching night stands continue Ficarra's contemporary twists and visual surprises. The master suite includes his-and-her baths. Her bath has a fantasy white marble floor with diamond shaped taupe bubble glass insets. The bubbles run up the shower wall and are also used as the flooring under a free-standing tub that is centered on a window. His bath reprises the stainless steel accents in the morning kitchen's floor, this time in the bath's cream-toned marble floor and shower. A free-standing dark espresso vanity provides a perfect contrast to the lighter toned marble.
Ficarra continues her attention to ceiling treatments in the guest bedrooms on the third level. One of the bedrooms has a unique beamed ceiling design while the other has a stepped coffer.
2012年10月7日星期日
Oneida Lake home has views from every room
Lakefront homes are usually built to maximize views. When Roger and Shirley Burdick sat down with their architect to talk about building on their 2.20-acre lot on Oneida Lake 20 years ago, they took it one step further.
They asked the architect to orient the four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom home so that nearly every room would have not only a view of Big Bay, but also views of the rest of the nearly 21-mile long lake, stretching to the east.
The Burdicks had a lot of other ideas -- mostly clipped from Architectural Digest and other home design publications-- about what they wanted in the 5,327-square-foot home they built at 5871 Bartel Circle.
The living room's 20-foot-high coffered ceiling, with recessed lighting, helps to frame the multi-tier paned windows and French doors overlooking the lake -- the first thing visitors see when they walk through the main entrance.
A fir bead board ceiling in the first-floor home office complements the room's American cherry judges paneling and built-in cabinets, book shelves and entertainment center.
And on the second floor, two bedrooms have vaulted ceilings and skylights.
The home has a doorbell intercom and a central vacuum as well as a four-zone, whole-house audio system with speakers and volume control in every room. The four amplifiers will stay in the house.
Two units with humidifiers and electronic air cleaners provide two-zone, natural gas-fueled heating and air conditioning. An energy management system allows temperatures to be set independently for each room. The same system also manages lighting and security throughout the house.
Because the Burdicks have allergies, they installed oak floors -- some inlaid with borders of oak and walnut -- throughout the house, except for the marble in the foyer, ceramic tile in the bathrooms and Berber carpet in the finished lower-level recreation room.
All three fireplaces -- the wide, brick-fronted one in the family room, with a firewood box that can be loaded from the back; the marble-fronted one in the living room; and the tile and oak-trimmed one in the rec room -- were originally wood burning, but have been converted to gas.
The two Burdick children are grown, but Shirley remembers making school lunches while enjoying the sunrise with "the big breadth of red sky over the lake," visible from the bay windows above the kitchen sink.
The kitchen has a breakfast nook, with its own bay windows overlooking the lake, and a center island with seating for three. Granite countertops complement the American cherry cabinets and built-in high-end side-by-side refrigerator. There is a 48-inch, four-burner gas range with a grill and griddle, a built-in convection oven, microwave and warming drawer. All appliances will stay in the house.
They asked the architect to orient the four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom home so that nearly every room would have not only a view of Big Bay, but also views of the rest of the nearly 21-mile long lake, stretching to the east.
The Burdicks had a lot of other ideas -- mostly clipped from Architectural Digest and other home design publications-- about what they wanted in the 5,327-square-foot home they built at 5871 Bartel Circle.
The living room's 20-foot-high coffered ceiling, with recessed lighting, helps to frame the multi-tier paned windows and French doors overlooking the lake -- the first thing visitors see when they walk through the main entrance.
A fir bead board ceiling in the first-floor home office complements the room's American cherry judges paneling and built-in cabinets, book shelves and entertainment center.
And on the second floor, two bedrooms have vaulted ceilings and skylights.
The home has a doorbell intercom and a central vacuum as well as a four-zone, whole-house audio system with speakers and volume control in every room. The four amplifiers will stay in the house.
Two units with humidifiers and electronic air cleaners provide two-zone, natural gas-fueled heating and air conditioning. An energy management system allows temperatures to be set independently for each room. The same system also manages lighting and security throughout the house.
Because the Burdicks have allergies, they installed oak floors -- some inlaid with borders of oak and walnut -- throughout the house, except for the marble in the foyer, ceramic tile in the bathrooms and Berber carpet in the finished lower-level recreation room.
All three fireplaces -- the wide, brick-fronted one in the family room, with a firewood box that can be loaded from the back; the marble-fronted one in the living room; and the tile and oak-trimmed one in the rec room -- were originally wood burning, but have been converted to gas.
The two Burdick children are grown, but Shirley remembers making school lunches while enjoying the sunrise with "the big breadth of red sky over the lake," visible from the bay windows above the kitchen sink.
The kitchen has a breakfast nook, with its own bay windows overlooking the lake, and a center island with seating for three. Granite countertops complement the American cherry cabinets and built-in high-end side-by-side refrigerator. There is a 48-inch, four-burner gas range with a grill and griddle, a built-in convection oven, microwave and warming drawer. All appliances will stay in the house.
2012年9月23日星期日
Artists embrace hexagon
Six hands join together, each grasping a neighbor’s wrist.
Peach, brown and pale yellow hues color this hexagon of disembodied appendages, some plain, some adorned with rings, others inked with flowery tattoos or the Chinese yin-yang symbol, representing the interconnectedness of opposing forces.
For Hannah Oustrich, the inspiration was simple: a photo of linked hands she saw somewhere on the Internet. Translating that image into the three-dimensional medium of glazed ceramic required the painstaking work of Oustrich’s own hands.
“It took quite a while,” art teacher Denis Yanashot said of Oustrich’s tile, describing how multiple firings and painstaking paint work was required to achieve the right effect.
That craftsmanship -- and the simple, powerful symbolism -- earned the Riverside High School student a first place award and the honor of seeing her colorful tile immortalized in print, as a featured image on the poster for this year’s Interdependence Day Hexagon Project exhibit. The showing, at the Library Express in the Mall at Steamtown, runs through Sept. 30.
Oustrich’s, whose work received a first place award for most effective piece of high school ceramics, was one of 25 Riverside students whose work appears in the exhibit, of whom more than half received awards. Exhibitors include several students who graduated earlier this year.
Interdependence Day was launched in Philadelphia on Sept. 12, 2003, the date chosen as a post 9/11 symbol of regeneration. Its goals include fostering greater harmony and tolerance throughout the world, emphasizing the interconnectedness of humankind and different cultures. Six-sided hexagons, which can so neatly nest with one another, serve as a metaphor for interconnectedness.
The Greater Scranton Interdependence Day Committee’s People’s Hexagon Project invited students in grades 5 through 12 to create hexagonal artworks interpreting the movement’s focus on global unity and tolerance. This is the art project’s six year, and organizers said more than 2,000 hexagons were submitted in the first five years. This year’s exhibit features hexagons from students worldwide, with Northeast Pennsylvania representation this year coming from Riverside, Abington Heights, Mountain View and Tunkhannock.
Riverside’s students were taught by Yanashot and Lisa Temples.
Temples said it can at first be challenging for students to represent some of the movement’s more complex issues, but that it has been rewarding “learning different ways to teach them how to express” the diverse themes.
Artistic expression and interconnectedness are themes for the Oustrich family. Hannah’s younger brother, Aaron, won a first place award for most effective piece of high school ceramics. His tile featured symbols of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths together with a yin-yang.
But ceramic wasn’t the sole medium in play. High school student Keisha Buttaro won a second place for most creative expression in the high school category for two-dimensional work, honoring a collage she made that incorporated a panda bear in an ecological theme.
Peach, brown and pale yellow hues color this hexagon of disembodied appendages, some plain, some adorned with rings, others inked with flowery tattoos or the Chinese yin-yang symbol, representing the interconnectedness of opposing forces.
For Hannah Oustrich, the inspiration was simple: a photo of linked hands she saw somewhere on the Internet. Translating that image into the three-dimensional medium of glazed ceramic required the painstaking work of Oustrich’s own hands.
“It took quite a while,” art teacher Denis Yanashot said of Oustrich’s tile, describing how multiple firings and painstaking paint work was required to achieve the right effect.
That craftsmanship -- and the simple, powerful symbolism -- earned the Riverside High School student a first place award and the honor of seeing her colorful tile immortalized in print, as a featured image on the poster for this year’s Interdependence Day Hexagon Project exhibit. The showing, at the Library Express in the Mall at Steamtown, runs through Sept. 30.
Oustrich’s, whose work received a first place award for most effective piece of high school ceramics, was one of 25 Riverside students whose work appears in the exhibit, of whom more than half received awards. Exhibitors include several students who graduated earlier this year.
Interdependence Day was launched in Philadelphia on Sept. 12, 2003, the date chosen as a post 9/11 symbol of regeneration. Its goals include fostering greater harmony and tolerance throughout the world, emphasizing the interconnectedness of humankind and different cultures. Six-sided hexagons, which can so neatly nest with one another, serve as a metaphor for interconnectedness.
The Greater Scranton Interdependence Day Committee’s People’s Hexagon Project invited students in grades 5 through 12 to create hexagonal artworks interpreting the movement’s focus on global unity and tolerance. This is the art project’s six year, and organizers said more than 2,000 hexagons were submitted in the first five years. This year’s exhibit features hexagons from students worldwide, with Northeast Pennsylvania representation this year coming from Riverside, Abington Heights, Mountain View and Tunkhannock.
Riverside’s students were taught by Yanashot and Lisa Temples.
Temples said it can at first be challenging for students to represent some of the movement’s more complex issues, but that it has been rewarding “learning different ways to teach them how to express” the diverse themes.
Artistic expression and interconnectedness are themes for the Oustrich family. Hannah’s younger brother, Aaron, won a first place award for most effective piece of high school ceramics. His tile featured symbols of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths together with a yin-yang.
But ceramic wasn’t the sole medium in play. High school student Keisha Buttaro won a second place for most creative expression in the high school category for two-dimensional work, honoring a collage she made that incorporated a panda bear in an ecological theme.
2012年9月2日星期日
A home, a playground
Film director Hanung Bramantyo used to bring his work home, but he changed this habit after the renovation of his house was completed last year.
Some Jakartans have customized their houses to become a part of their workplace, setting up a room to bring home work, or even working from home all or most of the time.
“I use my energy outside the house, so I recharge at home. Once my battery of energy is full, I will go out to work again,” Hanung told The Jakarta Post.
Located on Jl. Ampera in South Jakarta, the two-story house has simple and minimalist lines, with a slight feminine touch on its roof and windows. Hanung, who bought the house in 2010, said he initially felt reluctant to accept the idea of renovating the house. The idea to renovate came from his wife, actress Zaskia Adya Mecca.
After some heated discussions, Hanung eventually succumbed to his wife’s strong wish to beautify the house. He entrusted the whole design and renovation process to her, saying that she was more meticulous than him.
Hanung said he was lucky to be away early in the renovation process, because he was shooting a film, ?, in Semarang, Central Java.
The most important phase of the renovation was strengthening the construction of the corners of the house, because the couple wanted to expand the main room on the second floor. The construction was not complete when he returned home, so his little family had to remain in a small room.
“I felt like we were living in a rented room, which stressed me out. We later rented a house nearby in Kemang,” he said.
The heated discussions between him and his wife continued because Zaskia wanted to change the floor tiles to marble. Again, she won the debate. However, all the disputes became history once the renovation was completed. Hanung said he was impressed with the results.
When it came to designing the interior of the house, they both agreed to fill the house with film-related furniture and decorations, so that guests could promptly realize that the owner is a filmmaker. Their selections are a combination of contemporary and antique items.
Their couch and table were custom-made, and resemble the shape of a camera, with a table as the lens.
Besides decorating a wall with a funny telephone box, they also have some antique cameras on the table, while some more are put in small hollowed-out places in the floor, and covered with glass. The couple also turned their garage into a room with the ambience of a cafe.
He hunts for non-Hollywood DVDs when he travels to Bangkok and Singapore, because the stores there have more collections than those in Jakarta.
“My first destinations when I go abroad are bookstores and DVD stores. I barely shop for clothes or other things,” said the PlayStation maniac.
Hanung still maintains his working room, but he has removed his personal computer in order to avoid bringing work home.
He says he only uses the working room for light activities, such as reading books related to films and drawing storyboards.
He said Zaskia teaches him to treat their house as a place to relax with the family. While other people go to other towns and spend nights in a fancy hotel for a vacation, Hanung says going home is a vacation to him.
Some Jakartans have customized their houses to become a part of their workplace, setting up a room to bring home work, or even working from home all or most of the time.
“I use my energy outside the house, so I recharge at home. Once my battery of energy is full, I will go out to work again,” Hanung told The Jakarta Post.
Located on Jl. Ampera in South Jakarta, the two-story house has simple and minimalist lines, with a slight feminine touch on its roof and windows. Hanung, who bought the house in 2010, said he initially felt reluctant to accept the idea of renovating the house. The idea to renovate came from his wife, actress Zaskia Adya Mecca.
After some heated discussions, Hanung eventually succumbed to his wife’s strong wish to beautify the house. He entrusted the whole design and renovation process to her, saying that she was more meticulous than him.
Hanung said he was lucky to be away early in the renovation process, because he was shooting a film, ?, in Semarang, Central Java.
The most important phase of the renovation was strengthening the construction of the corners of the house, because the couple wanted to expand the main room on the second floor. The construction was not complete when he returned home, so his little family had to remain in a small room.
“I felt like we were living in a rented room, which stressed me out. We later rented a house nearby in Kemang,” he said.
The heated discussions between him and his wife continued because Zaskia wanted to change the floor tiles to marble. Again, she won the debate. However, all the disputes became history once the renovation was completed. Hanung said he was impressed with the results.
When it came to designing the interior of the house, they both agreed to fill the house with film-related furniture and decorations, so that guests could promptly realize that the owner is a filmmaker. Their selections are a combination of contemporary and antique items.
Their couch and table were custom-made, and resemble the shape of a camera, with a table as the lens.
Besides decorating a wall with a funny telephone box, they also have some antique cameras on the table, while some more are put in small hollowed-out places in the floor, and covered with glass. The couple also turned their garage into a room with the ambience of a cafe.
He hunts for non-Hollywood DVDs when he travels to Bangkok and Singapore, because the stores there have more collections than those in Jakarta.
“My first destinations when I go abroad are bookstores and DVD stores. I barely shop for clothes or other things,” said the PlayStation maniac.
Hanung still maintains his working room, but he has removed his personal computer in order to avoid bringing work home.
He says he only uses the working room for light activities, such as reading books related to films and drawing storyboards.
He said Zaskia teaches him to treat their house as a place to relax with the family. While other people go to other towns and spend nights in a fancy hotel for a vacation, Hanung says going home is a vacation to him.
2012年7月3日星期二
The Death's-Head of Wimbledon
The toilets at Wimbledon are spectacular. Like all American sports fans, I grew up alive sports-stadium bathrooms as sites of about doubtful analytic trauma, boiling accommodation awash with alingual, beefy men pissing berserk into troughs. Places whose decrepit and torn attic tiles exerted a viscous, coarse stickiness. Places area civilization, appropriately construed, did not exist. Well, I'm blessed to address that you can leave those preconceptions at the aperture if you book your admission to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Yes, sir. The accessible men's allowance alfresco my little, anachronistic annotation berth at Centre Court would not be ashamed to appearance its face at the United Nations, or in a restaurant that awash wine by the carafe.
I'm talking copse arrest doors that go all the way down to the floor. Burnished steel. Big, high-fauceted, mathematically hemispherical sinks. The array of anhydrate dispensers into which a bend of Jesus-is-this-actual-cloth keeps agriculture aback into itself as you cull beginning anhydrate downward. The blessed babble of guys with Ray-Ban Wayfarers propped on their active not getting traumatized at all. It occurred to me on one appointment that the mid-century dream of the airport accept to accept looked like this — all these modernist curves, amplitude and comfort, the vertices in the busline arrangement of the approaching in chrome and copse and glass. A little affection lighting to get you area you charge to go. I saw one guy, a tall, distinguished-looking admirer in a fleet blazer and ashamed linen pants, accord in to the actuation of abandon encouraged by this ambiance by accomplishing the abounding no-hands accepted at the urinal, fingers abstemious abaft his head, elbow-wings soaring, cautiously askew his hips, just luxuriantly whizzing, landing that aboriginal serve a hundred percent of the time.
I've acclimatized into a Wimbledon routine. Every morning, architecture babble at my auberge wakes me up about 8:07. I battery and get dressed. To avenue the hotel, I accept to acquisition my way through an ad-lib bewilderment of architecture barricades busy absolutely with architecture workers and baffled English ladies searching for the breakfast. The hallways all accept a band of abutment pillars active down their middles. The abutment pillars accept analogously been wallpapered with an abashing M.C. Escherish "London" pattern: aphotic awe-inspiring building and bridges folding into one another, casual blips of red in the anatomy of double-decker buses allegedly bedevilled to consistently bisect this hellscape. On afterpiece inspection, the double-decker buses are appear to be again iterations of the aforementioned double-decker bus, pasted in at a alarming angle. I can't even adjure a anecdotal to awning the array of post-apocalyptic tourist-board book that could explain the dystopian fate of this bus. I've amid a account so you can see how absolutely abashing it is, as wallpaper.
There is so abundant axle about my auberge that I am tempted to say the auberge is furry with scaffolding.
131 against Kingston. 93 against Putney Bridge. South London a pinkish becloud in the window. The afterpiece you get to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the added shops accept tennis assurance afraid in their windows, strings at altered lengths to simulate a "bouncing" effect. Alfresco Wimbledon Station, the chain for the absolute shuttle to the clash snakes through a alternation of crowd-control dividers draped in Marks & Spencer–branded "1/2 amount strawberries" bunting.
I like the airing from my bus stop to the club because the club-bound bottom cartage at that point has the accomplished amount of non-rich people, per capita, of any allotment of the tournament. This is abnormally accurate on the additional Monday, the acclaimed "year's best day of tennis," if all 32 actual macho and changeable players play for a atom in the quarterfinals. Just a absurd tennis army turns out for this event. Don't get me wrong, there's no curtailment of earls and countesses — lots of Grace Kellyish headscarves, lots of heart-stopping pairs of legs arising from impossible abbreviate dresses — but aswell jean shorts and backpacks and sweatshirts and (soul-wrenchingly) action coats with the arm tags still attached.
I bolt a glimpse of that accounted and badly agreeable figure, the tennis fan in a atramentous covering motorcycle jacket. Two of the big belief at this year's Wimbledon are the alarming runs getting fabricated by a brace of Americans (Mardy Fish, who had a contempo affection scare, and Brian Baker, who absent years with assorted injuries, both of whom accept fabricated it through to the additional week) and the struggles of the top seeds (Nadal out, Federer, Djokovic, Murray all bottomward sets), and the crowd's chat murmurously runs through both. I airing allotment of the way with a brace of captivated fat ladies from London, somehow dressed in non-matching cottony check acme and capri pants, who appear every year to watch Federer because, one says, "well, he does abound on you over the years, doesn't he?"
I'm talking copse arrest doors that go all the way down to the floor. Burnished steel. Big, high-fauceted, mathematically hemispherical sinks. The array of anhydrate dispensers into which a bend of Jesus-is-this-actual-cloth keeps agriculture aback into itself as you cull beginning anhydrate downward. The blessed babble of guys with Ray-Ban Wayfarers propped on their active not getting traumatized at all. It occurred to me on one appointment that the mid-century dream of the airport accept to accept looked like this — all these modernist curves, amplitude and comfort, the vertices in the busline arrangement of the approaching in chrome and copse and glass. A little affection lighting to get you area you charge to go. I saw one guy, a tall, distinguished-looking admirer in a fleet blazer and ashamed linen pants, accord in to the actuation of abandon encouraged by this ambiance by accomplishing the abounding no-hands accepted at the urinal, fingers abstemious abaft his head, elbow-wings soaring, cautiously askew his hips, just luxuriantly whizzing, landing that aboriginal serve a hundred percent of the time.
I've acclimatized into a Wimbledon routine. Every morning, architecture babble at my auberge wakes me up about 8:07. I battery and get dressed. To avenue the hotel, I accept to acquisition my way through an ad-lib bewilderment of architecture barricades busy absolutely with architecture workers and baffled English ladies searching for the breakfast. The hallways all accept a band of abutment pillars active down their middles. The abutment pillars accept analogously been wallpapered with an abashing M.C. Escherish "London" pattern: aphotic awe-inspiring building and bridges folding into one another, casual blips of red in the anatomy of double-decker buses allegedly bedevilled to consistently bisect this hellscape. On afterpiece inspection, the double-decker buses are appear to be again iterations of the aforementioned double-decker bus, pasted in at a alarming angle. I can't even adjure a anecdotal to awning the array of post-apocalyptic tourist-board book that could explain the dystopian fate of this bus. I've amid a account so you can see how absolutely abashing it is, as wallpaper.
There is so abundant axle about my auberge that I am tempted to say the auberge is furry with scaffolding.
131 against Kingston. 93 against Putney Bridge. South London a pinkish becloud in the window. The afterpiece you get to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the added shops accept tennis assurance afraid in their windows, strings at altered lengths to simulate a "bouncing" effect. Alfresco Wimbledon Station, the chain for the absolute shuttle to the clash snakes through a alternation of crowd-control dividers draped in Marks & Spencer–branded "1/2 amount strawberries" bunting.
I like the airing from my bus stop to the club because the club-bound bottom cartage at that point has the accomplished amount of non-rich people, per capita, of any allotment of the tournament. This is abnormally accurate on the additional Monday, the acclaimed "year's best day of tennis," if all 32 actual macho and changeable players play for a atom in the quarterfinals. Just a absurd tennis army turns out for this event. Don't get me wrong, there's no curtailment of earls and countesses — lots of Grace Kellyish headscarves, lots of heart-stopping pairs of legs arising from impossible abbreviate dresses — but aswell jean shorts and backpacks and sweatshirts and (soul-wrenchingly) action coats with the arm tags still attached.
I bolt a glimpse of that accounted and badly agreeable figure, the tennis fan in a atramentous covering motorcycle jacket. Two of the big belief at this year's Wimbledon are the alarming runs getting fabricated by a brace of Americans (Mardy Fish, who had a contempo affection scare, and Brian Baker, who absent years with assorted injuries, both of whom accept fabricated it through to the additional week) and the struggles of the top seeds (Nadal out, Federer, Djokovic, Murray all bottomward sets), and the crowd's chat murmurously runs through both. I airing allotment of the way with a brace of captivated fat ladies from London, somehow dressed in non-matching cottony check acme and capri pants, who appear every year to watch Federer because, one says, "well, he does abound on you over the years, doesn't he?"
2012年6月20日星期三
House Hunting in ... France
This 35-acre acreage dates to the 13th century, admitting it was
adapted in the 19th, in the Gothic Revival style, by an aloof family.
Accepted clearly as Chteau de Burnand, the seven-bedroom abode has been
home over the centuries to both monks and nobles. Its absurd appearance
has becoming it the appellation “Castle of Sleeping Beauty.” Turrets,
some with hidden rooms, were acclimated during World War II to adumbrate
Jewish refugees, said Nico Vrielink,UK chickencoop Specialist. the accepted owner, an artisan from the Netherlands.
Built of a chestnut rock built-in to the region, the alcazar is roofed in anesthetized tiles of assorted sizes and colors; the adjustment is one of the a lot of busy in Burgundy, which is accepted for roofs of this kind. There are four stories, admitting alone the aboriginal and additional are in use as active quarters, with a accumulated 7,500 aboveboard feet. The top two belief originally housed servants; also, below the castle, a alveolate apartment has wine accumulator areas and a aerial fireplace, originally for cooking. It is one of 14 alive fireplaces, all carved from altered types of marble, said Mr. Vrielink, the buyer back 1996. He spent eight years on restoration, and is affairs the alcazar furnished.
The arty angled access opens to a admirable antechamber belted by active rooms.Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. Both accept marble fireplaces and board axle ceilings. One has marquetry attic — inlaid checkered copse that forms a adjustment — and walls of board panels and aged fabrics. The antechamber aswell connects to the kitchen,We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design a ample amplitude absolutely accessible to the 800-square-foot dining room, which has parquet floors,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . moss-green wainscoting, and a beamed beam corrective in jewel tones with aloof bouncer and added patterns.
Though it has been affected up through the years, the beam — like several others in the alcazar — is original, Mr. Vrielink said, ciphering its age at 500 to 600 years. The kitchen has 19th-century accoutrement from the adjacent city-limits of Lyon; accessories are modern, admitting the oven and stove are advised to attending antiquated.
“I had a two-Michelin-star chef from Holland baker for me for one anniversary in the kitchen,” Mr.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. Vrielink recalled, “and he was actual blessed with it.”
The arena attic aswell has a library, as able-bodied as a billiards allowance aperture to a belfry allowance with a “shooting hole,” now a window. A 19th-century staircase, carved of rock quarried in the adjacent apple of Buxy, leads to the additional floor.
Four of the seven bedrooms on this akin — anniversary with added than 400 aboveboard anxiety — are furnished with adorned awning beds. Two bedrooms accept belfry annexes; one has been fabricated into a boudoir, the added a bedroom. Completing the attic is Mr. Vrielink’s studio. Also, the castle’s better and oldest tower, six belief high, can be accomplished via a baby ambagious stairway basic on this floor. The belfry has abounding windows with arresting angle of Burgundy’s blooming rolling hills and forests, with Mont Blanc, in the Swiss Alps, arresting in the distance.
Among the outbuildings on the acreage are a medieval-era broil abode and a 1,500-square-foot rock cottage beside a baby pond. The cottage has been renovated; it has one bedroom, a bath with an aged tub, a ample kitchen and active allowance with a fireplace. Not far abroad is an arty barn, able with an adjustment of 19th-century board balustrade meant to adviser a barrow for the appointment of hay from one end to the other. The barn is still acclimated to abiding horses and cows; the top attic has been adapted to an art arcade with basilica ceilings.
The Chteau de Burnand is currently getting operated as a bed-and-breakfast inn, which helps to accounts its upkeep, said Mr. Vrielink, who declared the anatomy as in acceptable condition.
“You can move in there appropriate abroad with no headaches for the next 20 years,” he said. “Everything is working.”
Down a baby acropolis from the alcazar is the apple of Burnand, citizenry about 45, which grew up over the decades as a digital association of alcazar workers. Along with the apple and the surrounding valley, the alcazar is accurately adequate by the government from any new development, Mr. Vrielink said. About a mile abroad is the medieval boondocks of Saint-Gengoux-le-National, with just over 1,000 people, as able-bodied as markets and added shops; the hardly beyond city-limits of Cluny is about 15 afar away. Lyon, the abutting big city, is about an hour’s drive and has an all-embracing airport.
Built of a chestnut rock built-in to the region, the alcazar is roofed in anesthetized tiles of assorted sizes and colors; the adjustment is one of the a lot of busy in Burgundy, which is accepted for roofs of this kind. There are four stories, admitting alone the aboriginal and additional are in use as active quarters, with a accumulated 7,500 aboveboard feet. The top two belief originally housed servants; also, below the castle, a alveolate apartment has wine accumulator areas and a aerial fireplace, originally for cooking. It is one of 14 alive fireplaces, all carved from altered types of marble, said Mr. Vrielink, the buyer back 1996. He spent eight years on restoration, and is affairs the alcazar furnished.
The arty angled access opens to a admirable antechamber belted by active rooms.Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. Both accept marble fireplaces and board axle ceilings. One has marquetry attic — inlaid checkered copse that forms a adjustment — and walls of board panels and aged fabrics. The antechamber aswell connects to the kitchen,We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design a ample amplitude absolutely accessible to the 800-square-foot dining room, which has parquet floors,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . moss-green wainscoting, and a beamed beam corrective in jewel tones with aloof bouncer and added patterns.
Though it has been affected up through the years, the beam — like several others in the alcazar — is original, Mr. Vrielink said, ciphering its age at 500 to 600 years. The kitchen has 19th-century accoutrement from the adjacent city-limits of Lyon; accessories are modern, admitting the oven and stove are advised to attending antiquated.
“I had a two-Michelin-star chef from Holland baker for me for one anniversary in the kitchen,” Mr.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. Vrielink recalled, “and he was actual blessed with it.”
The arena attic aswell has a library, as able-bodied as a billiards allowance aperture to a belfry allowance with a “shooting hole,” now a window. A 19th-century staircase, carved of rock quarried in the adjacent apple of Buxy, leads to the additional floor.
Four of the seven bedrooms on this akin — anniversary with added than 400 aboveboard anxiety — are furnished with adorned awning beds. Two bedrooms accept belfry annexes; one has been fabricated into a boudoir, the added a bedroom. Completing the attic is Mr. Vrielink’s studio. Also, the castle’s better and oldest tower, six belief high, can be accomplished via a baby ambagious stairway basic on this floor. The belfry has abounding windows with arresting angle of Burgundy’s blooming rolling hills and forests, with Mont Blanc, in the Swiss Alps, arresting in the distance.
Among the outbuildings on the acreage are a medieval-era broil abode and a 1,500-square-foot rock cottage beside a baby pond. The cottage has been renovated; it has one bedroom, a bath with an aged tub, a ample kitchen and active allowance with a fireplace. Not far abroad is an arty barn, able with an adjustment of 19th-century board balustrade meant to adviser a barrow for the appointment of hay from one end to the other. The barn is still acclimated to abiding horses and cows; the top attic has been adapted to an art arcade with basilica ceilings.
The Chteau de Burnand is currently getting operated as a bed-and-breakfast inn, which helps to accounts its upkeep, said Mr. Vrielink, who declared the anatomy as in acceptable condition.
“You can move in there appropriate abroad with no headaches for the next 20 years,” he said. “Everything is working.”
Down a baby acropolis from the alcazar is the apple of Burnand, citizenry about 45, which grew up over the decades as a digital association of alcazar workers. Along with the apple and the surrounding valley, the alcazar is accurately adequate by the government from any new development, Mr. Vrielink said. About a mile abroad is the medieval boondocks of Saint-Gengoux-le-National, with just over 1,000 people, as able-bodied as markets and added shops; the hardly beyond city-limits of Cluny is about 15 afar away. Lyon, the abutting big city, is about an hour’s drive and has an all-embracing airport.
2012年4月22日星期日
Treating Allergies and Asthma During Pregnancy
Congratulations! You’re pregnant! Now your doctor gives you the bad news — the medications that keep your allergies under control are forbidden during pregnancy. How are you going to survive the next nine months of sniffling, sneezing and wheezing?
The first step to allergy relief is avoidance. Substances such as pollens, molds, animals, dust mites and even drugs such as aspirin can trigger allergic reactions. Eliminating these triggers from your environment is the biggest improvement you can make.
There are medications that can provide relief, but check with your doctor before you try anything, especially during the first trimester when the most development occurs in your baby.
Antihistamines are sometimes used to treat nose and eye symptoms, hives and eczema. But as with any medication used during pregnancy, your doctor will weigh the benefits of these drugs against possible risk to your baby.
Decongestants, especially nasal sprays containing a chemical called oxymetazoline, may be dangerous. In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth,” Dr. Michele Isaacs Glikman, chief of obstetrics at the Boston Medical Center, explains that oxymetazoline clears the sinus by tightening the small blood vessels in the nasal passages. It can also tighten the arteries that lead to the uterus, reducing the supply of blood and oxygen to your baby. In addition, over-the-counter nasal sprays tend to make your congestion worse if you use them for more than three consecutive days, a condition called “rebound congestion.”
In “I’m Pregnant & I Have A Cold,” Dr. Craig Towers states that an over-the-counter drug called Nasalcrom, which contains the chemical cromolyn sodium, may provide some welcome relief. It is an anti-inflammatory nasal inhaler that prevents your respiratory symptoms from occurring in the first place. Antihistamines work by blocking the effects of histamine after it has been released. Cromolyn sodium prevents the release of histamine, before it gets the chance to cause symptoms.
This drug is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, so the risk to your baby is minimal. Several studies have shown no increase in major birth defects when pregnant women use it as directed. Again, it is important to discuss this drug with your doctor before using it.
Allergy shots, also known as immunotherapy, are another option. If you are already receiving allergy shots, you may continue this therapy with careful monitoring from your doctor. Immunotherapy usually takes several months to become effective, so starting it after you become pregnant will not do much good.
According to the ACAAI, asthma and allergies are often connected. Asthma is an inflammation of the lung airways that causes coughing, shortened breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Allergy triggers, as well as exercise, infections and stress usually cause it. It affects up to 15 million Americans, and 7 percent of expectant mothers.
For about a third of pregnant women who already had asthma, the problem becomes worse. Another third actually improve during pregnancy. The final third see no difference at all. Statistics from the American Medical Association show that asthma symptoms usually become most severe between the 29th and 36th weeks of pregnancy. About 1 in 10 women with asthma experience it during labor and delivery.
If severe asthma is uncontrolled during pregnancy, an expectant mother may suffer from high blood pressure, hypoxemia (low oxygen) or pre-eclampsia. Risks to the baby include premature birth and low birth weight.
“Women are often told to eliminate or restrict the use of many things during pregnancy, including many over-the-counter and prescription medications,” said Michael Schatz, M.D., co-chair of the ACAAI’s pregnancy committee. “In the case of asthma, the potential benefits of using the appropriate medication to control asthma outweigh the potential risks of the medication and uncontrolled asthma.”
According to ACAAI, most asthma medications are not harmful to unborn babies. Inhaled medications are preferred because they have a localized effect, with only small amounts entering the bloodstream.
Inhaled beta2-agonists, sometimes called rescue medications, may help control acute asthma symptoms, especially at night when asthma can make sleeping difficult. Anti-inflammatory medications, or asthma controllers, help prevent the symptoms, and are usually used daily.
An influenza (flu) vaccine may help expectant mothers who suffer from severe asthma. These injections generally pose no risk to the baby.
The first step to allergy relief is avoidance. Substances such as pollens, molds, animals, dust mites and even drugs such as aspirin can trigger allergic reactions. Eliminating these triggers from your environment is the biggest improvement you can make.
There are medications that can provide relief, but check with your doctor before you try anything, especially during the first trimester when the most development occurs in your baby.
Antihistamines are sometimes used to treat nose and eye symptoms, hives and eczema. But as with any medication used during pregnancy, your doctor will weigh the benefits of these drugs against possible risk to your baby.
Decongestants, especially nasal sprays containing a chemical called oxymetazoline, may be dangerous. In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth,” Dr. Michele Isaacs Glikman, chief of obstetrics at the Boston Medical Center, explains that oxymetazoline clears the sinus by tightening the small blood vessels in the nasal passages. It can also tighten the arteries that lead to the uterus, reducing the supply of blood and oxygen to your baby. In addition, over-the-counter nasal sprays tend to make your congestion worse if you use them for more than three consecutive days, a condition called “rebound congestion.”
In “I’m Pregnant & I Have A Cold,” Dr. Craig Towers states that an over-the-counter drug called Nasalcrom, which contains the chemical cromolyn sodium, may provide some welcome relief. It is an anti-inflammatory nasal inhaler that prevents your respiratory symptoms from occurring in the first place. Antihistamines work by blocking the effects of histamine after it has been released. Cromolyn sodium prevents the release of histamine, before it gets the chance to cause symptoms.
This drug is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, so the risk to your baby is minimal. Several studies have shown no increase in major birth defects when pregnant women use it as directed. Again, it is important to discuss this drug with your doctor before using it.
Allergy shots, also known as immunotherapy, are another option. If you are already receiving allergy shots, you may continue this therapy with careful monitoring from your doctor. Immunotherapy usually takes several months to become effective, so starting it after you become pregnant will not do much good.
According to the ACAAI, asthma and allergies are often connected. Asthma is an inflammation of the lung airways that causes coughing, shortened breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Allergy triggers, as well as exercise, infections and stress usually cause it. It affects up to 15 million Americans, and 7 percent of expectant mothers.
For about a third of pregnant women who already had asthma, the problem becomes worse. Another third actually improve during pregnancy. The final third see no difference at all. Statistics from the American Medical Association show that asthma symptoms usually become most severe between the 29th and 36th weeks of pregnancy. About 1 in 10 women with asthma experience it during labor and delivery.
If severe asthma is uncontrolled during pregnancy, an expectant mother may suffer from high blood pressure, hypoxemia (low oxygen) or pre-eclampsia. Risks to the baby include premature birth and low birth weight.
“Women are often told to eliminate or restrict the use of many things during pregnancy, including many over-the-counter and prescription medications,” said Michael Schatz, M.D., co-chair of the ACAAI’s pregnancy committee. “In the case of asthma, the potential benefits of using the appropriate medication to control asthma outweigh the potential risks of the medication and uncontrolled asthma.”
According to ACAAI, most asthma medications are not harmful to unborn babies. Inhaled medications are preferred because they have a localized effect, with only small amounts entering the bloodstream.
Inhaled beta2-agonists, sometimes called rescue medications, may help control acute asthma symptoms, especially at night when asthma can make sleeping difficult. Anti-inflammatory medications, or asthma controllers, help prevent the symptoms, and are usually used daily.
An influenza (flu) vaccine may help expectant mothers who suffer from severe asthma. These injections generally pose no risk to the baby.
2012年3月11日星期日
Bardane villa model opens in La Caille at Quail West
McGarvey Custom Homes' Bardane villa model is now open and available for immediate purchase in the La Caille neighborhood of Quail West, the 1,180-acre master-planned private golf course community in North Naples.
The two-story great room floor plan offers 3,788 square feet under air and includes an oval-shaped foyer, four bedrooms, a study, staircase that leads up to the loft, three-and-a-half baths, a gourmet kitchen, a free-form pool, spa and landscaped pool deck and a covered outdoor living area.
The model includes an optional outdoor kitchen and fireplace as well as an optional wine cooler in the kitchen. The master suite has a sitting area that opens to the outdoor living area and offers golf course and water views.
The Bardane's interior was designed and executed by Tina Margrander, ASID, NCIDQ of KVS Interior Design.
Margrander's classic-transitional design style features a color palette that includes light, creamy backgrounds with pops of chocolate browns and aqua blues as well as gold and white contrasts. Tropical style art selections, including a piece by Quail West resident Carol Weber, brings additional color to the setting. A combination of classic and cleanlined furnishings mixes wood tones with painted pieces.
Ceramic tile floors, crown molding, distinctive ceiling treatments and other elegant features and finishes are found throughout the Bardane. The kitchen includes raised panel wood cabinetry, granite countertops, under-cabinet accent lighting and a Bosch stainless steel appliance package. Granite countertops are also found in the master bath along with his-and-her vanities, a tiled walk-in shower, a separate tub and his-and-her walk-in closets with built-in cabinets. The two second-floor guest suites include separate private baths.
The fully-furnished Bardane residence is priced at $1.536 million. The unfurnished Bardane floor plan is base priced at $1.195 million.
The Bardane is one of six La Caille single family villa floor plans at Quail West. Two additional models are under construction and nearing completion.
The 3,546-square-foot under air Florencia model is a courtyard home that is ideal for Southwest Florida's outdoor lifestyle. The fully furnished Florencia villa model is priced at $1.516 million, with options. The unfurnished Florencia floor plan is currently base priced at $1.215 million,
A third villa model under construction, the Avarone, is the first model to be built in La Caille Phase II. The 3,237-square-foot under air floor plan features a tower entry over a grand foyer that opens to the great room. The fully-furnished model with optional features is priced at $1.341 million. The floor plan is base priced at $1.04 million.
McGarvey Custom Homes' six La Caille floor plans range from 2,700 to 3,600 square feet and are priced from $895,000 to $1.589 million. A variety of layouts include single-story residences, two-story homes with balconies and terraces, and a courtyard design with a outdoor living area and cabana.
"The La Caille villas are a perfect selection for luxury homebuyers who are seeking a modestly sized single-family home that provides a maintenance-free and prestigious country club lifestyle," said McGarvey Custom Homes' Jim Hamilton. "We have designed and executed our villa residences to meet the expectations of sophisticated luxury buyers. The villa sales we've experienced to date at Quail West are an excellent measure of the degree to which we have met those expectations."
Three additional fully-furnished La Caille villa models are currently available for viewing.
The recently completed Cadera model is a great room design with 2,702 square feet under air, three bedrooms, a den, three-and-a-half baths, a tower entry, wet bar and an outdoor living area with a free-form pool, spa, landscaped pool deck, fireplace and outdoor kitchen. The interior was designed and executed by Faith Fix, ASID of Freestyle Interiors. Stone floors, crown molding and other features and finishes are found throughout the home.
The Cadera model is priced at $1,139,500 fully-furnished. The unfurnished Cadera floor plan is base priced at $895,000.
The Cipriani villa model features 2,965 square feet under air, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and a study. A gated entry opens to the courtyard, a space that serves as an entrance and an outdoor living area. The tropical style interior was created by Edgar and Tiffany West The unfurnished Cipriani base floor plan is priced at $1.035 million.
The Domani villa model is a two-story residence with 3,612 square feet under air, three bedrooms, a study, three-and-a-half baths, an optional pool bath, two-and-a-half car garage, verandas on both levels and an outdoor living area. The interior was designed by KVS Interior Design's Kelli Sultan, ASID, NCIDQ. Her eclectic, traditional theme caters to comfort and ease as indicated by the see-through views of the pool, lake and golf course from the foyer. The unfurnished Domani floor plan is base priced at $1.23 million.
Quail West's featured builders include Castle Harbour Homes, Diamond Custom Homes, Florida Lifestyle Homes of Fort Myers, Imperial Homes of Southwest Florida, London Bay Homes, McGarvey Custom Homes, Robert D'Angelo Jr. Construction Company and Stock Construction.
In addition to the La Caille Villas, Quail West's mix of single-family luxury homes includes 4,500-square-foot and larger custom estate residences priced starting at $2 million and the Tamworth Collection, 24 floor plans and models ranging from 3,500 to 4,500 square feet.
The Club at Quail West is a member-controlled, debt-free club. The club's two 18-hole golf courses were designed by Arthur Hills. The club also offers a full-service spa and beauty salon, fitness center and a lagoon-style solarium pool. Tennis enthusiasts enjoy eight lighted red-clay, Hydro-Grid tennis courts. The Quail on the Beach Club provides right to use beach access and dining privileges at the facility. Quail West will be shared by 600 members.
The two-story great room floor plan offers 3,788 square feet under air and includes an oval-shaped foyer, four bedrooms, a study, staircase that leads up to the loft, three-and-a-half baths, a gourmet kitchen, a free-form pool, spa and landscaped pool deck and a covered outdoor living area.
The model includes an optional outdoor kitchen and fireplace as well as an optional wine cooler in the kitchen. The master suite has a sitting area that opens to the outdoor living area and offers golf course and water views.
The Bardane's interior was designed and executed by Tina Margrander, ASID, NCIDQ of KVS Interior Design.
Margrander's classic-transitional design style features a color palette that includes light, creamy backgrounds with pops of chocolate browns and aqua blues as well as gold and white contrasts. Tropical style art selections, including a piece by Quail West resident Carol Weber, brings additional color to the setting. A combination of classic and cleanlined furnishings mixes wood tones with painted pieces.
Ceramic tile floors, crown molding, distinctive ceiling treatments and other elegant features and finishes are found throughout the Bardane. The kitchen includes raised panel wood cabinetry, granite countertops, under-cabinet accent lighting and a Bosch stainless steel appliance package. Granite countertops are also found in the master bath along with his-and-her vanities, a tiled walk-in shower, a separate tub and his-and-her walk-in closets with built-in cabinets. The two second-floor guest suites include separate private baths.
The fully-furnished Bardane residence is priced at $1.536 million. The unfurnished Bardane floor plan is base priced at $1.195 million.
The Bardane is one of six La Caille single family villa floor plans at Quail West. Two additional models are under construction and nearing completion.
The 3,546-square-foot under air Florencia model is a courtyard home that is ideal for Southwest Florida's outdoor lifestyle. The fully furnished Florencia villa model is priced at $1.516 million, with options. The unfurnished Florencia floor plan is currently base priced at $1.215 million,
A third villa model under construction, the Avarone, is the first model to be built in La Caille Phase II. The 3,237-square-foot under air floor plan features a tower entry over a grand foyer that opens to the great room. The fully-furnished model with optional features is priced at $1.341 million. The floor plan is base priced at $1.04 million.
McGarvey Custom Homes' six La Caille floor plans range from 2,700 to 3,600 square feet and are priced from $895,000 to $1.589 million. A variety of layouts include single-story residences, two-story homes with balconies and terraces, and a courtyard design with a outdoor living area and cabana.
"The La Caille villas are a perfect selection for luxury homebuyers who are seeking a modestly sized single-family home that provides a maintenance-free and prestigious country club lifestyle," said McGarvey Custom Homes' Jim Hamilton. "We have designed and executed our villa residences to meet the expectations of sophisticated luxury buyers. The villa sales we've experienced to date at Quail West are an excellent measure of the degree to which we have met those expectations."
Three additional fully-furnished La Caille villa models are currently available for viewing.
The recently completed Cadera model is a great room design with 2,702 square feet under air, three bedrooms, a den, three-and-a-half baths, a tower entry, wet bar and an outdoor living area with a free-form pool, spa, landscaped pool deck, fireplace and outdoor kitchen. The interior was designed and executed by Faith Fix, ASID of Freestyle Interiors. Stone floors, crown molding and other features and finishes are found throughout the home.
The Cadera model is priced at $1,139,500 fully-furnished. The unfurnished Cadera floor plan is base priced at $895,000.
The Cipriani villa model features 2,965 square feet under air, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and a study. A gated entry opens to the courtyard, a space that serves as an entrance and an outdoor living area. The tropical style interior was created by Edgar and Tiffany West The unfurnished Cipriani base floor plan is priced at $1.035 million.
The Domani villa model is a two-story residence with 3,612 square feet under air, three bedrooms, a study, three-and-a-half baths, an optional pool bath, two-and-a-half car garage, verandas on both levels and an outdoor living area. The interior was designed by KVS Interior Design's Kelli Sultan, ASID, NCIDQ. Her eclectic, traditional theme caters to comfort and ease as indicated by the see-through views of the pool, lake and golf course from the foyer. The unfurnished Domani floor plan is base priced at $1.23 million.
Quail West's featured builders include Castle Harbour Homes, Diamond Custom Homes, Florida Lifestyle Homes of Fort Myers, Imperial Homes of Southwest Florida, London Bay Homes, McGarvey Custom Homes, Robert D'Angelo Jr. Construction Company and Stock Construction.
In addition to the La Caille Villas, Quail West's mix of single-family luxury homes includes 4,500-square-foot and larger custom estate residences priced starting at $2 million and the Tamworth Collection, 24 floor plans and models ranging from 3,500 to 4,500 square feet.
The Club at Quail West is a member-controlled, debt-free club. The club's two 18-hole golf courses were designed by Arthur Hills. The club also offers a full-service spa and beauty salon, fitness center and a lagoon-style solarium pool. Tennis enthusiasts enjoy eight lighted red-clay, Hydro-Grid tennis courts. The Quail on the Beach Club provides right to use beach access and dining privileges at the facility. Quail West will be shared by 600 members.
2011年6月1日星期三
Royal Danish Ballet review: Superb 'Sylphide'
Cal Performances kept a long-delayed date with living history Tuesday evening at Zellerbach Hall. The glorious Royal Danish Ballet, absent from local stages for a half century, returned with an engrossing production of August Bournonville's "La Sylphide," its culture's most familiar and venerable (1836) ballet, given here in an expansive 2003 staging by artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe and Anne Marie Vessel Schlüter.
This is one of the world's most distinctive and enduring classical dance traditions, one in which speed, airiness, softness and humanity dominate every gesture. Bournonville's only tragic work, a moral fable on the perils of pursuing fantasy at the cost of worldly contentment, encompasses an encyclopedia of emotions, translated throughout into an exhilarating pageant of linked steps and mime that epitomize this legendary choreographer's movement style and philosophy. With Bournonville, one cannot separate the two.
Every fresh staging of his works prompts a measure of consternation among Bournonville savants, who regard the loss of a traditional detail as a major crime. Not to worry here: this production sustains the narrative thread, highlights the iconic set pieces and finds particular pleasure in the ensembles of the wedding guests and 16 attendant sylphs. In Mads Blangstrup's James, the Danes have brought us a superb protagonist, an arrogant Scots fellow who engineers his dire destiny. In Blangstrup's buoyancy, smoothness in transitions and quicksilver emotional responses, one finds the best of the tradition. The Sylph of veteran (American-born) Caroline Cavallo maintains a lovely teasing quality and sustains the awesome balances, although at this stage of her career, her elevation seems circumscribed.
Nicolai Hansen dispatched the hapless Gurn with wondrous specificity of gesture; Camilla Ruelkkye Holst was the uncomprehending Effy. And Lis Jeppesen, in earlier decades a haunting Sylph, has transitioned to Madge, the witch whose ravaged beauty, sense of injustice and emotional yearning precipitate the tragedy; a brilliant portrayal. In the pit, Henrik Vagn Christensen conducted the Berkeley Symphony in a stout reading of the Lovenskiold score.
To open this long but infinitely rewarding evening, Hübbe revived former artistic director Flemming Flindt's "The Lesson," that eerie 1964 number about the homicidal dance master who cannot abide imperfection. Thomas Lund delivered a stunningly deranged characterization. Ida Praetorius' leggy, annoyingly pert student, made an ideal foil.
This is one of the world's most distinctive and enduring classical dance traditions, one in which speed, airiness, softness and humanity dominate every gesture. Bournonville's only tragic work, a moral fable on the perils of pursuing fantasy at the cost of worldly contentment, encompasses an encyclopedia of emotions, translated throughout into an exhilarating pageant of linked steps and mime that epitomize this legendary choreographer's movement style and philosophy. With Bournonville, one cannot separate the two.
Every fresh staging of his works prompts a measure of consternation among Bournonville savants, who regard the loss of a traditional detail as a major crime. Not to worry here: this production sustains the narrative thread, highlights the iconic set pieces and finds particular pleasure in the ensembles of the wedding guests and 16 attendant sylphs. In Mads Blangstrup's James, the Danes have brought us a superb protagonist, an arrogant Scots fellow who engineers his dire destiny. In Blangstrup's buoyancy, smoothness in transitions and quicksilver emotional responses, one finds the best of the tradition. The Sylph of veteran (American-born) Caroline Cavallo maintains a lovely teasing quality and sustains the awesome balances, although at this stage of her career, her elevation seems circumscribed.
Nicolai Hansen dispatched the hapless Gurn with wondrous specificity of gesture; Camilla Ruelkkye Holst was the uncomprehending Effy. And Lis Jeppesen, in earlier decades a haunting Sylph, has transitioned to Madge, the witch whose ravaged beauty, sense of injustice and emotional yearning precipitate the tragedy; a brilliant portrayal. In the pit, Henrik Vagn Christensen conducted the Berkeley Symphony in a stout reading of the Lovenskiold score.
To open this long but infinitely rewarding evening, Hübbe revived former artistic director Flemming Flindt's "The Lesson," that eerie 1964 number about the homicidal dance master who cannot abide imperfection. Thomas Lund delivered a stunningly deranged characterization. Ida Praetorius' leggy, annoyingly pert student, made an ideal foil.
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