High gas prices this summer will cause many families to travel less in order to save money. If you’re staying close to home, summertime is a great time to re-floor with Tuftwick Carpet!
Check out all of the deals they have going on right now in their showroom at 4602 34th St. There you’ll find their usual wide selection of flooring, plus new wood, ceramic and carpet samples that have just arrived!
If what you’re looking for is not in stock, Tuftwick will gladly order it for you.
Looking for something small? Tuftwick’s entire inventory of remnants is on sale! Add warmth and color to a dorm room or apartment with a stylish remnant or use a remnant as an area rug on hardwood floors. Remnants start at just $5 per yard!
If you have rental property, you can freshen up the interior with affordable flooring before new tenants move in. Consider new carpet for the living area and vinyl for the kitchen or bathroom. Also available for the kitchen or bathroom is a new line of backsplash tile.
With more than a half a century of experience, Tuftwick Carpet can help you make the right choice for your flooring needs. Recently, they’ve added a new salesperson to their staff. Jeff Cumby has more than 15 years of industry experience, and would love to talk to you about any of today’s popular flooring options.
Tuftwick also carries the latest flooring trend – Arko ceramic tile that mimics the look and feel of hardwood.
Also available is vinyl wood plank flooring. There are numerous advantages to installing vinyl wood plank floors. The cost savings makes it an affordable choice, and manufacturers are capable of producing realistic looking wood floors out of vinyl material, so you get a lot of style for a lower price. Another important aspect of vinyl wood flooring that makes it attractive is the ease of maintenance. A damp mop with an all-purpose cleaner is all it takes to clean these floors.
For maintaining carpet’s original beauty, there’s nothing better than the Capture Carpet Cleaning System. Tuftwick is one of the few places in town where the Capture system is still available. It deep cleans and deodorizes dirty carpets with powder instead of shampooing or steaming – in just 30 minutes!
Come by and ask the staff at Tuftwick Carpet about 12 months, no interest, no payment financing on all Shaw products!
From sales to installation and even after the work is finished, the crew at Tuftwick Carpet will make sure you are happy. Remember, everything is backed by a warranty, including installation. Tuftwick’s installers have been with the store for 20 years, and their work speaks volumes about the store’s high standards.
2012年3月26日星期一
Floor It!
Whether you’re looking to update your foyer or kitchen, or are building a new bathroom from the ground up, tiling still reigns supreme. But before you start laying the grout, you should consider a few things first.
Neutral colours are always in. For instance, consider a shade of white, beige, taupe or grey. The best thing about a neutral-coloured tile is that you won’t easily grow tired of it.
After establishing a colour, you can then begin thinking about the print or pattern. Unpolished stone looks great in the foyer and adds a rustic element to your home. Meanwhile textured finishes and wood-grain patterns are popular and perfect for the bathroom because they typically have non-slip surfaces. Wood-grain patterns are also great if you prefer an earthy, natural look and feel in your home. Not to mention they add a certain organic, serene and spa-like atmosphere in your bathroom.
Looking to really indulge? Consider underfloor heating to warm you up after you step out of the shower. Though you may not be able to take a daily trip to the spa, you can bring the experience home by giving your bathroom the spa treatment with a brand new remodel.
When considering print and pattern in the kitchen, ceramic works best because it is easy to clean and is a durable material.
Sometimes a neutral colour can look too sterile in the home. So to liven up your home and make it look and feel more cozy, consider adding a pop of colour. Pantone Color Institute — the leader in colour trends — named Tangerine Tango the colour of year. The bright orange shade works great in small doses. Whether it’s the colour of the stand mixer in your kitchen, a throw pillow or blanket on your living room couch, or as a shower curtain in the bathroom, the bright orange will be sure to energize your surroundings.
Because home decor trends are forever changing, your best bet is to stick with a neutral colour and incorporate accent pieces by the season. Switching it up will freshen up any space and keep it lively. But if you’re particularly drawn to Tangerine Tango or another colour, don’t be afraid to commit to it either. By using different shades of one colour, you can create an interesting gradient mosaic pattern to cover the shower walls or to create a great focal wall in your foyer or living room. Or you can use your favourite colour in thin, border tiles to accent the neutral-coloured tiles.
Whether you have an idea of what you want your room to look like, or are still trying to gather ideas, you can head over to a tile showroom to experience the look and feel of the different tiles.
Neutral colours are always in. For instance, consider a shade of white, beige, taupe or grey. The best thing about a neutral-coloured tile is that you won’t easily grow tired of it.
After establishing a colour, you can then begin thinking about the print or pattern. Unpolished stone looks great in the foyer and adds a rustic element to your home. Meanwhile textured finishes and wood-grain patterns are popular and perfect for the bathroom because they typically have non-slip surfaces. Wood-grain patterns are also great if you prefer an earthy, natural look and feel in your home. Not to mention they add a certain organic, serene and spa-like atmosphere in your bathroom.
Looking to really indulge? Consider underfloor heating to warm you up after you step out of the shower. Though you may not be able to take a daily trip to the spa, you can bring the experience home by giving your bathroom the spa treatment with a brand new remodel.
When considering print and pattern in the kitchen, ceramic works best because it is easy to clean and is a durable material.
Sometimes a neutral colour can look too sterile in the home. So to liven up your home and make it look and feel more cozy, consider adding a pop of colour. Pantone Color Institute — the leader in colour trends — named Tangerine Tango the colour of year. The bright orange shade works great in small doses. Whether it’s the colour of the stand mixer in your kitchen, a throw pillow or blanket on your living room couch, or as a shower curtain in the bathroom, the bright orange will be sure to energize your surroundings.
Because home decor trends are forever changing, your best bet is to stick with a neutral colour and incorporate accent pieces by the season. Switching it up will freshen up any space and keep it lively. But if you’re particularly drawn to Tangerine Tango or another colour, don’t be afraid to commit to it either. By using different shades of one colour, you can create an interesting gradient mosaic pattern to cover the shower walls or to create a great focal wall in your foyer or living room. Or you can use your favourite colour in thin, border tiles to accent the neutral-coloured tiles.
Whether you have an idea of what you want your room to look like, or are still trying to gather ideas, you can head over to a tile showroom to experience the look and feel of the different tiles.
2012年3月22日星期四
On the Brink, Senior Center Fights for Survival
It’s just past 10 a.m. and the Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center is teeming with activity. The new facility, anchored by a sprawling auditorium that features plenty of natural light, plywood floors and a large painted piece of blueberry pie emblazoned on a leaf-colored wall, opened earlier this year.
The adult center is the newest crown jewel of Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park, long a destination for young t-ballers and older residents looking for a pastime. Today, however, operations at the adult center are in danger of slowing to a halt.
Unless they can raise $70,000 in contributions, leaders of the facility fear they may not be able to pay staff members who operate the center, which provides vital health check ups, a regular supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, tax preparation services and, of course, bingo three days a week.
Today, the auditorium is packed for Wednesday bingo. Some may consider the game a welcome diversion; Helene Gluck says it literally saved her life.
Blind and a breast cancer survivor, Helene celebrated her 76th birthday recently. Like many of the center’s regular guests, she relies heavily on the adult center for a number of services. The most important, she says, is her physical health. When Helene was 17, doctors diagnosed her with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that slowly – in her case 47 years - leads to incurable blindness.
But Helene carried on, graduated from Berkeley at 20 and saw the world before marrying at 26. Years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Morbid and depressed, Helene found solace in food.
“I figured I was gonna die, so I might as well eat,” she said. But her weight ballooned north of 200 pounds and doctors warned that if she did not eat healthier, diabetes would consume her body – a fate her brother was not able to escape when he died at 62.
For the past five years, she’s been a regular at the center and says without the nutrition it provides and the volunteers and staff who dole out equal helpings of health and love, she does not know where she’d be.
While Helene, now diabetes free, and others derive tangible health benefits from the services the center provides, it’s the array of intangibles that keeps guests coming back.
“The currency of our enterprise is love,” said former Executive Director Sherry Revord, who helped run the center for more than three years, from its old North Hollywood campus to its current state-of-the-art location in Sherman Oaks.
For more than three decades the East Valley Multi-Purpose Senior Center was housed within the Faith Presbyterian Church as part of the Valley Interfaith Council, with which it’s still affiliated. While the aging building had its share of plumbing issues and heating problems it was the high rent that eventually led city officials to look for a new home.
Officials settled on the northwest corner of Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park, where an aging building stood ripe for a replacement. An $11.3 million investment of federal, state and local funds was used to build a new 16,000 square foot facility, which includes the auditorium, green spaces outside and plenty of activities. Construction started in 2009 and the center was completed and opened in 2011.
“This has been a long journey, and you can see the end of that journey is this magnificent facility," said Councilmember Paul Krekorian at the grand opening.
Though the luster of the new building remains, the center’s bare bones staff and an economic downturn that has frozen once flourishing levels of funding have made continued operations difficult.
On Feb. 9, the adult center kicked off a $70,000 fundraising drive, more than twice the amount they’ve ever asked for during semi-regular pledge drives. The money collected will be used to increase the center’s ability to continue paying for a part-time nutrition coordinator and a dining coordinator who each ensure donated food is picked up, and doled out and that each guest is cared for. It’s not unusual for Krystyna, the dining coordinator, to work full time though she’s paid for just half that.
“These are my babies,” Krystyna said. “You definitely do get caught up in the emotion.”
While Revord, Krystyna and Irma Allen, the nutrition coordinator, make certain operations run smoothly, it is the center’s dozen volunteers who fill in the gaps, doing everything from tax preparation, handling the food and operational tasks.
With diminished staff time, though, Revord was pulled in too many directions to supervise all the volunteers, forcing staff members to concentrate on providing core services.
“It’s about preserving the standard of service we have now,” Revord said.
The cut in staffing is complicating an already difficult economic period for many of the seniors. Many have lost their financial stability, along with their ability to purchase even basic necessities.
The adult center is the newest crown jewel of Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park, long a destination for young t-ballers and older residents looking for a pastime. Today, however, operations at the adult center are in danger of slowing to a halt.
Unless they can raise $70,000 in contributions, leaders of the facility fear they may not be able to pay staff members who operate the center, which provides vital health check ups, a regular supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, tax preparation services and, of course, bingo three days a week.
Today, the auditorium is packed for Wednesday bingo. Some may consider the game a welcome diversion; Helene Gluck says it literally saved her life.
Blind and a breast cancer survivor, Helene celebrated her 76th birthday recently. Like many of the center’s regular guests, she relies heavily on the adult center for a number of services. The most important, she says, is her physical health. When Helene was 17, doctors diagnosed her with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that slowly – in her case 47 years - leads to incurable blindness.
But Helene carried on, graduated from Berkeley at 20 and saw the world before marrying at 26. Years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Morbid and depressed, Helene found solace in food.
“I figured I was gonna die, so I might as well eat,” she said. But her weight ballooned north of 200 pounds and doctors warned that if she did not eat healthier, diabetes would consume her body – a fate her brother was not able to escape when he died at 62.
For the past five years, she’s been a regular at the center and says without the nutrition it provides and the volunteers and staff who dole out equal helpings of health and love, she does not know where she’d be.
While Helene, now diabetes free, and others derive tangible health benefits from the services the center provides, it’s the array of intangibles that keeps guests coming back.
“The currency of our enterprise is love,” said former Executive Director Sherry Revord, who helped run the center for more than three years, from its old North Hollywood campus to its current state-of-the-art location in Sherman Oaks.
For more than three decades the East Valley Multi-Purpose Senior Center was housed within the Faith Presbyterian Church as part of the Valley Interfaith Council, with which it’s still affiliated. While the aging building had its share of plumbing issues and heating problems it was the high rent that eventually led city officials to look for a new home.
Officials settled on the northwest corner of Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park, where an aging building stood ripe for a replacement. An $11.3 million investment of federal, state and local funds was used to build a new 16,000 square foot facility, which includes the auditorium, green spaces outside and plenty of activities. Construction started in 2009 and the center was completed and opened in 2011.
“This has been a long journey, and you can see the end of that journey is this magnificent facility," said Councilmember Paul Krekorian at the grand opening.
Though the luster of the new building remains, the center’s bare bones staff and an economic downturn that has frozen once flourishing levels of funding have made continued operations difficult.
On Feb. 9, the adult center kicked off a $70,000 fundraising drive, more than twice the amount they’ve ever asked for during semi-regular pledge drives. The money collected will be used to increase the center’s ability to continue paying for a part-time nutrition coordinator and a dining coordinator who each ensure donated food is picked up, and doled out and that each guest is cared for. It’s not unusual for Krystyna, the dining coordinator, to work full time though she’s paid for just half that.
“These are my babies,” Krystyna said. “You definitely do get caught up in the emotion.”
While Revord, Krystyna and Irma Allen, the nutrition coordinator, make certain operations run smoothly, it is the center’s dozen volunteers who fill in the gaps, doing everything from tax preparation, handling the food and operational tasks.
With diminished staff time, though, Revord was pulled in too many directions to supervise all the volunteers, forcing staff members to concentrate on providing core services.
“It’s about preserving the standard of service we have now,” Revord said.
The cut in staffing is complicating an already difficult economic period for many of the seniors. Many have lost their financial stability, along with their ability to purchase even basic necessities.
2012年3月15日星期四
Last townhouses complete Milton project
Builder Heathwood Homes has gone to great pains to provide lush parkland, meandering walking trails, stone gates, a cobbled entrance and grand boulevards at its Traditions development in Milton.
But apart from those structural elements, Heathwood has made an added effort to create a true community feeling by organizing numerous family-friendly activities.
“We don’t often get the opportunity to create this sense of community that we have at Traditions,” says president Hugh Heron. “We’ve had a total of 26 classes here that we’ve carried out over the last five years, such as babysitting courses, book clubs and a two-week summer camp.”
Adults are encouraged to attend dog grooming seminars and tai chi and belly-dancing classes or make it a family affair at barbecues, movie nights and Christmas house tours.
“It’s for the whole community,” adds Mr. Heron. “I can’t stress enough the sense of community out there at Traditions. It’s really exciting and wonderful.”
The latest collection of 25 townhouses, called the Village at Traditions, will mark the final phase of the master-planned community of 600 upscale townhouses, semi-detached and detached houses. “This is the last piece of land available for development within the Traditions land-owned by Heathwood,” says Mr. Heron. “We’ve got a whole mix of people moving into their first home and people buying down. We also have some people buying in there whose parents or family had bought in previous phases.”
These freehold townhouses will be situated at the northeast corner of the site, just south of Main Street and west of Bronte Street.
“These townhouses are a two-minute walk to the sidewalk that will take you right to Main Street,” says Mr. Heron. “So it’s very close to downtown Milton.”
With the town nestled at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, the site is also within a short distance from hiking and biking trails, golf courses, conservation areas and the Glen Eden ski area.
“It’s a super place to live, right by the Escarpment and downtown,” says Mr. Heron, who also cites the proximity of hospitals and highways. “Everything you need it right there, right now.”
To represent the two-storey designs available, there are two model homes on site designed by Bryon Patton and Associates.
There is more than 1,600 square feet of space in the larger Robindale model, which features a traditional look with French Country-inspired appointments.
To the side of the garage, a front porch welcomes guests into a two-storey foyer leading into an open eat-in kitchen with an island and a breakfast bar overlooking a wide room with large windows and a rear walkout.
Up one floor, there is a computer niche and three bedrooms, including a master suite with a walk-in closet and spa-inspired bathroom. Meanwhile, the 563-square-foot basement offers extra finished living space.
Nine-foot ceilings, oak hardwood floors, granite counters and ceramic tile backsplashes will appear in each house, which will also be built to Energy Star standards. That means, these townhouses will be 30 to 40 per cent more energy-efficient than homes built to minimum code.
“In the future when people are looking at resale homes, they’ll be asking not only about the square footage and taxes and so forth, but they’ll be asking about the heating costs in their homes,” says Mr. Heron. “And it complements the attention to detail we’ve put into the interiors of these units as well.”
But apart from those structural elements, Heathwood has made an added effort to create a true community feeling by organizing numerous family-friendly activities.
“We don’t often get the opportunity to create this sense of community that we have at Traditions,” says president Hugh Heron. “We’ve had a total of 26 classes here that we’ve carried out over the last five years, such as babysitting courses, book clubs and a two-week summer camp.”
Adults are encouraged to attend dog grooming seminars and tai chi and belly-dancing classes or make it a family affair at barbecues, movie nights and Christmas house tours.
“It’s for the whole community,” adds Mr. Heron. “I can’t stress enough the sense of community out there at Traditions. It’s really exciting and wonderful.”
The latest collection of 25 townhouses, called the Village at Traditions, will mark the final phase of the master-planned community of 600 upscale townhouses, semi-detached and detached houses. “This is the last piece of land available for development within the Traditions land-owned by Heathwood,” says Mr. Heron. “We’ve got a whole mix of people moving into their first home and people buying down. We also have some people buying in there whose parents or family had bought in previous phases.”
These freehold townhouses will be situated at the northeast corner of the site, just south of Main Street and west of Bronte Street.
“These townhouses are a two-minute walk to the sidewalk that will take you right to Main Street,” says Mr. Heron. “So it’s very close to downtown Milton.”
With the town nestled at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, the site is also within a short distance from hiking and biking trails, golf courses, conservation areas and the Glen Eden ski area.
“It’s a super place to live, right by the Escarpment and downtown,” says Mr. Heron, who also cites the proximity of hospitals and highways. “Everything you need it right there, right now.”
To represent the two-storey designs available, there are two model homes on site designed by Bryon Patton and Associates.
There is more than 1,600 square feet of space in the larger Robindale model, which features a traditional look with French Country-inspired appointments.
To the side of the garage, a front porch welcomes guests into a two-storey foyer leading into an open eat-in kitchen with an island and a breakfast bar overlooking a wide room with large windows and a rear walkout.
Up one floor, there is a computer niche and three bedrooms, including a master suite with a walk-in closet and spa-inspired bathroom. Meanwhile, the 563-square-foot basement offers extra finished living space.
Nine-foot ceilings, oak hardwood floors, granite counters and ceramic tile backsplashes will appear in each house, which will also be built to Energy Star standards. That means, these townhouses will be 30 to 40 per cent more energy-efficient than homes built to minimum code.
“In the future when people are looking at resale homes, they’ll be asking not only about the square footage and taxes and so forth, but they’ll be asking about the heating costs in their homes,” says Mr. Heron. “And it complements the attention to detail we’ve put into the interiors of these units as well.”
2012年3月13日星期二
Is the Home Improvement Programme really necessary?
My precinct recently polled to have the Home Improvement Programme .
The free package includes the repair of cracked ceilings and a change of pipes, sink, etc. The toilet floor must pass the leak test or it will be hacked together with the wall tiling.
I feel that government monies could be spent more prudently, as some households have already had their homes renovated, possibly in a certain decor, with their sinks and tiles still in good condition.
These must be replaced by standard decor if at least 75 per cent votes in favour of the HIP for a block. What a waste of resources.
The toilet leak test is redundant. The neighbour below would make a report if a toilet above is leaking and the Housing and Development Board does co-share part of these repair costs where appropriate, with both neighbours splitting the cost.
Toilet floors should not be hacked unless there is a leak or the owner wants the renovation. If the main pipes leak, the town council already takes responsibility.
The HIP also causes inconvenience. Residents would need to take leave for the renovation and clean up the dust each day for two weeks. Asthmatics would still suffer.
We would also need to go downstairs to use a toilet, a real stress for those with renal problems. A temporary toilet could be installed in the flat, but this depends on feasibility.
Moreover, some of the HIP works may not be done properly due to mass production in a short span of time. If an owner sells his flat in time and the buyer does not like the HIP decor, renovations are done again.
Finally, some poll officers are not impartial and would like us to vote "yes". Some illiterate residents do so, when they had wanted to vote "no".
Given the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme, if the HDB feels that some blocks are too old, it could relocate the residents and, thereafter, fully renovate the old blocks and resell them in the market.
Surely the public would buy flats in mature estates and which they could move into without doing much renovation.
Alternatively, HIP works could be offered without polling. Residents could approach the HDB or their town council when repair needs arise. We should not choose to renovate just because it is free.
The free package includes the repair of cracked ceilings and a change of pipes, sink, etc. The toilet floor must pass the leak test or it will be hacked together with the wall tiling.
I feel that government monies could be spent more prudently, as some households have already had their homes renovated, possibly in a certain decor, with their sinks and tiles still in good condition.
These must be replaced by standard decor if at least 75 per cent votes in favour of the HIP for a block. What a waste of resources.
The toilet leak test is redundant. The neighbour below would make a report if a toilet above is leaking and the Housing and Development Board does co-share part of these repair costs where appropriate, with both neighbours splitting the cost.
Toilet floors should not be hacked unless there is a leak or the owner wants the renovation. If the main pipes leak, the town council already takes responsibility.
The HIP also causes inconvenience. Residents would need to take leave for the renovation and clean up the dust each day for two weeks. Asthmatics would still suffer.
We would also need to go downstairs to use a toilet, a real stress for those with renal problems. A temporary toilet could be installed in the flat, but this depends on feasibility.
Moreover, some of the HIP works may not be done properly due to mass production in a short span of time. If an owner sells his flat in time and the buyer does not like the HIP decor, renovations are done again.
Finally, some poll officers are not impartial and would like us to vote "yes". Some illiterate residents do so, when they had wanted to vote "no".
Given the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme, if the HDB feels that some blocks are too old, it could relocate the residents and, thereafter, fully renovate the old blocks and resell them in the market.
Surely the public would buy flats in mature estates and which they could move into without doing much renovation.
Alternatively, HIP works could be offered without polling. Residents could approach the HDB or their town council when repair needs arise. We should not choose to renovate just because it is free.
2012年3月5日星期一
New designs for the old
Considering that old age is inevitable, it is strange that so little thought is given to making living spaces elderly-friendly. Failing eyesight, slower reflexes, weaker bones and tentative grip are issues that we all succumb to with advancing years. So making houses barrier-free, accident-proof and easy-to-access make more sense than unsightly and ad hoc additions to the building as the years go by.
Subtle is beautiful. Right from floor plans to storage spaces, creating friendly spaces for the aged is possible without using overt and patronising fixtures. “Ideally, this should be incorporated into the design,” says architect Anuradha Naresh Rao, Aprobuild Architects.
“Right from the point of entry at the gate, have a gentle ramp leading up to the house,” suggests architect Sriram Ganapathi, KSM Consultants.
Try to accomodate the bedroom of the elderly person in a quiet spot of the house, with a view of the street. “At the same time, this room must be well-connected with the rest of the house so that the person can see and hear what is going on. On the other hand, a cry for help should also not go unheard,” says architect Pradeep Varma of Varsha and Pradeep Architects.
Along walkways, grip support in the form of pillars, seats and other structures can be installed rather than plain railings. Consider the grip bar that Aprobuild designed: a granite fence post embedded horizontally on the walls, which blends with the décor. Coating the granite grip bar with a layer of resin can help keep it moss-free, informs Anuradha. Provide grip supports in all spaces, especially the kitchen, washroom, and by the water closets and basins. Placing a cuddapah or granite seat under the shower would also facilitate a comfortable, seated shower or bath. “It is good to have hand railings along both edges of the stairway. When you have to stand aside and give way, this will provide a support to hold on to,” says Pradeep.
The shiny, smooth vitrified tiles that have become so popular now, are unnerving for most elders.
Moreover, if you walk for long on it, it hurts your knee or back, because you have to strain your body to retain grip when walking on the smooth surface. “Anti-skid, matt finish are advisable,” says Sumitra Vasudevan, Aprobuild. Also, maintain the same flooring material throughout the house.
If there are level differences in the floor, highlight it with colour or textural changes, so that an elderly person does not miss noticing the step. “Introduce a textural change just before it too, which alerts the elderly person of the step, because they may not be able to see as well as they can feel. Inputs from the two senses can work better than input from just one,” suggests Sriram. “Don't settle for a one-step level difference. If there are two or three steps, the level difference is difficult to miss,” mentions Pradeep.
Provide for good ventilation and natural lighting within the house, as elders are not going to get adequate exposure of the outdoors. If space permits, an open courtyard within the house can be a blessing, allowing housebound elders to experience the outdoors.
“A track of (low energy consuming) LED lights at a height of one and half feet from the floor level, can help light the way during elders' nightly walks to the washroom or other places,” suggests Anuradha. Ironically, toilets, the space most often associated with slips and falls get allotted dim bulbs. Have adequate lighting in the washrooms.
Doors should open into the room, rather than into the bathroom. “It is difficult to manoeuvre a wheel chair within the bathroom, to create space to swing the door shut. And from a wheelchair, it is easier to pull than to push,” says Sriram. For windows, sliding doors are easier to handle than pull-push doors.
Storage spaces such as shelves and drawers shouldn't be below the counter, because bending to take out things gets difficult with age. Having drawers is a better option. Remarks Sriram, “It is very trendy to have low-slung furniture, as it generates a sense of space; but when you sit on it, the knee bend is above the hip level, and aging knees find it a tough proposition to lift their own weight from a lower level.”
Subtle is beautiful. Right from floor plans to storage spaces, creating friendly spaces for the aged is possible without using overt and patronising fixtures. “Ideally, this should be incorporated into the design,” says architect Anuradha Naresh Rao, Aprobuild Architects.
“Right from the point of entry at the gate, have a gentle ramp leading up to the house,” suggests architect Sriram Ganapathi, KSM Consultants.
Try to accomodate the bedroom of the elderly person in a quiet spot of the house, with a view of the street. “At the same time, this room must be well-connected with the rest of the house so that the person can see and hear what is going on. On the other hand, a cry for help should also not go unheard,” says architect Pradeep Varma of Varsha and Pradeep Architects.
Along walkways, grip support in the form of pillars, seats and other structures can be installed rather than plain railings. Consider the grip bar that Aprobuild designed: a granite fence post embedded horizontally on the walls, which blends with the décor. Coating the granite grip bar with a layer of resin can help keep it moss-free, informs Anuradha. Provide grip supports in all spaces, especially the kitchen, washroom, and by the water closets and basins. Placing a cuddapah or granite seat under the shower would also facilitate a comfortable, seated shower or bath. “It is good to have hand railings along both edges of the stairway. When you have to stand aside and give way, this will provide a support to hold on to,” says Pradeep.
The shiny, smooth vitrified tiles that have become so popular now, are unnerving for most elders.
Moreover, if you walk for long on it, it hurts your knee or back, because you have to strain your body to retain grip when walking on the smooth surface. “Anti-skid, matt finish are advisable,” says Sumitra Vasudevan, Aprobuild. Also, maintain the same flooring material throughout the house.
If there are level differences in the floor, highlight it with colour or textural changes, so that an elderly person does not miss noticing the step. “Introduce a textural change just before it too, which alerts the elderly person of the step, because they may not be able to see as well as they can feel. Inputs from the two senses can work better than input from just one,” suggests Sriram. “Don't settle for a one-step level difference. If there are two or three steps, the level difference is difficult to miss,” mentions Pradeep.
Provide for good ventilation and natural lighting within the house, as elders are not going to get adequate exposure of the outdoors. If space permits, an open courtyard within the house can be a blessing, allowing housebound elders to experience the outdoors.
“A track of (low energy consuming) LED lights at a height of one and half feet from the floor level, can help light the way during elders' nightly walks to the washroom or other places,” suggests Anuradha. Ironically, toilets, the space most often associated with slips and falls get allotted dim bulbs. Have adequate lighting in the washrooms.
Doors should open into the room, rather than into the bathroom. “It is difficult to manoeuvre a wheel chair within the bathroom, to create space to swing the door shut. And from a wheelchair, it is easier to pull than to push,” says Sriram. For windows, sliding doors are easier to handle than pull-push doors.
Storage spaces such as shelves and drawers shouldn't be below the counter, because bending to take out things gets difficult with age. Having drawers is a better option. Remarks Sriram, “It is very trendy to have low-slung furniture, as it generates a sense of space; but when you sit on it, the knee bend is above the hip level, and aging knees find it a tough proposition to lift their own weight from a lower level.”
2012年2月20日星期一
Quadra Shareholders to Decide on Bid Giving KGHM Global Reach
Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. shareholders will meet to decide on a C$2.87 billion offer by KGHM Polska Miedz SA, in the nation’s biggest bid abroad designed to deepen the Polish copper producer’s global reach.
The proposal by the Lubin, Poland-based company, with Europe’s largest mine output, is “attractive,” Quadra Chief Executive Officer Paul Blythe told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita on Feb. 16. Institutional Shareholder Services, which advises pension and mutual funds on proposals in shareholder meetings, backed the bid, Quadra said on Feb. 6. The shareholders meet today in Vancouver after Warsaw markets close.
“This is the first spectacular takeover deal by a Polish company and it’s being noticed,” said Leszek Iwaszko, a Warsaw- based analyst at Societe Generale SA. “KGHM still has a long way to go to join the world’s premier league, but this purchase will help it become a global player.”
Companies from Poland, the biggest post-communist country in the European Union, have stepped up expansion plans in the last decade, fighting for supremacy in central Europe. PKN Orlen SA bought Czech and Lithuanian refiners, Asseco Poland SA acquired software developers in most countries in the region, while Rovese SA, Poland’s largest ceramic tile producer, expanded into Romania, Ukraine and Russia.
Quadra is KGHM’s second Canadian transaction since 2010 after the company bought a stake in a joint venture with Abacus Mining & Exploration Corp. for $37 million. KGHM, which is buying miners outside Poland to cut production costs and raise output, will pay for Quadra with its own cash as it is set to report a record 11.2 billion zloty in net income for 2011.
KGHM shares climbed 1.7 percent at 1:11 p.m. in Warsaw, extending their advance to 5.4 percent since Quadra’s deal was announced on Dec. 6 and valuing the Polish company at 28 billion zloty.
“It’s a huge deal for KGHM,” Tomasz Krukowski, a Warsaw- based analyst at Deutsche Bank AG said by phone. “We won’t probably see more transactions of this size as KGHM now needs to focus on efficient management of its purchased assets.”
KGHM may seek further purchases outside Poland, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Wirth told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna on Dec. 27. It is looking for companies in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana and does not rule out the purchase of copper reserves in Canada, the newspaper reported.
Quadra was created in 2010 when Quadra Mining Ltd. acquired FNX Mining Co. for about C$1 billion. The company owns the Robinson mine in Nevada, Carlota in Arizona, Franke in Chile and the Morrison and Podolsky operations in Canada’s Sudbury basin.
Its purchase will help KGHM raise annual copper output from its own deposits by 50 percent to 635,000 tons by 2018. KGHM estimates it will have 37.4 million tons of copper in deposits, more than BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, or Anglo American Plc after the acquisition, according to a presentation on its website.
The proposal by the Lubin, Poland-based company, with Europe’s largest mine output, is “attractive,” Quadra Chief Executive Officer Paul Blythe told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita on Feb. 16. Institutional Shareholder Services, which advises pension and mutual funds on proposals in shareholder meetings, backed the bid, Quadra said on Feb. 6. The shareholders meet today in Vancouver after Warsaw markets close.
“This is the first spectacular takeover deal by a Polish company and it’s being noticed,” said Leszek Iwaszko, a Warsaw- based analyst at Societe Generale SA. “KGHM still has a long way to go to join the world’s premier league, but this purchase will help it become a global player.”
Companies from Poland, the biggest post-communist country in the European Union, have stepped up expansion plans in the last decade, fighting for supremacy in central Europe. PKN Orlen SA bought Czech and Lithuanian refiners, Asseco Poland SA acquired software developers in most countries in the region, while Rovese SA, Poland’s largest ceramic tile producer, expanded into Romania, Ukraine and Russia.
Quadra is KGHM’s second Canadian transaction since 2010 after the company bought a stake in a joint venture with Abacus Mining & Exploration Corp. for $37 million. KGHM, which is buying miners outside Poland to cut production costs and raise output, will pay for Quadra with its own cash as it is set to report a record 11.2 billion zloty in net income for 2011.
KGHM shares climbed 1.7 percent at 1:11 p.m. in Warsaw, extending their advance to 5.4 percent since Quadra’s deal was announced on Dec. 6 and valuing the Polish company at 28 billion zloty.
“It’s a huge deal for KGHM,” Tomasz Krukowski, a Warsaw- based analyst at Deutsche Bank AG said by phone. “We won’t probably see more transactions of this size as KGHM now needs to focus on efficient management of its purchased assets.”
KGHM may seek further purchases outside Poland, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Wirth told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna on Dec. 27. It is looking for companies in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana and does not rule out the purchase of copper reserves in Canada, the newspaper reported.
Quadra was created in 2010 when Quadra Mining Ltd. acquired FNX Mining Co. for about C$1 billion. The company owns the Robinson mine in Nevada, Carlota in Arizona, Franke in Chile and the Morrison and Podolsky operations in Canada’s Sudbury basin.
Its purchase will help KGHM raise annual copper output from its own deposits by 50 percent to 635,000 tons by 2018. KGHM estimates it will have 37.4 million tons of copper in deposits, more than BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, or Anglo American Plc after the acquisition, according to a presentation on its website.
2012年2月6日星期一
Regency imports ceramic tiles to sustain brand equity
Hyderabad-based Regency Ceramics Limited has started importing ceramic tile products, besides sourcing in part from
Indian manufacturers to ensure continuity in terms of market share and its brand name in the aftermath of the closure
of its factory at Yanam in Puducherry.
The company has declared lockout of the manufacturing facility, along with ancillary units, after it was subjected to
large-scale vandalism on January 27.
“We are importing the products from countries like Italy as well as sourcing them from domestic manufacturers to
sell under our brand name. We have built our brand in the marketplace by putting in a lot of efforts, commitment
towards quality and money over the decades. We cannot afford to lose any of these, including our market share,” GN
Naidu, chairman of Regency Ceramics, told reporters here on Monday.
While the company maintains that the lockout was a temporary measure to facilitate the ongoing police investigation
into the attack and destruction of factory premises, assessment of the damage done to plant and machinery apart from
allowing the situation to get back to normalcy, it is yet to get a clear picture on how much time will it require for
a possible revival of operations at Yanam.
“We have no clue as to whether the machinery can be brought back to original shape and the conditions prevailed in
Yanam are far from normal even today. We are bringing technical experts from Europe to evaluate the status of the
assets at Yanam as the equipment and machinery in the plant were imported from countries like Italy and Spain,”
Naidu said.
Responding to a question, he said the government of Puducherry had not approached the company with any concrete
proposal for facilitating the revival of the plant.
Stating that the hand of outsiders in the attack on the factory and even the killing of the company president
(operations) KC Chandrasekhar on the fateful night was established beyond any doubt, the collusion of a section of
the factory employees in this destruction was also needed to be investigated before restarting the operations,
according to the company chairman.
While reiterating his demand for a CBI probe into the incident, he said that some of the workers were recruited
without their antecedents being thoroughly verified and this had to be rectified. He alleged that the attack was
planned one year ahead.
Though the company initially said that the loss would be about Rs 150 crore, a detailed assessment of damage for
claiming insurance has still been under way.
The production came to a halt ever since about 1,200-odd workers joined the tool-down strike on December 5. Efforts
to arriving at a negotiated settlement under the supervision of Yanam collector fell through on January 3, leading to
a complete stalemate between the management and the workers on demands such as announcement of an interim increment
culminating into large-scale violence on January 27, according to the company management.
The company is suffering Rs 8-10 crore net loss a month due to loss of production, Naidu said. The factory was
running at 60 per cent of its installed capacity of 44,000 square metre a day on account of natural gas shortage
during the past couple of years.
Indian manufacturers to ensure continuity in terms of market share and its brand name in the aftermath of the closure
of its factory at Yanam in Puducherry.
The company has declared lockout of the manufacturing facility, along with ancillary units, after it was subjected to
large-scale vandalism on January 27.
“We are importing the products from countries like Italy as well as sourcing them from domestic manufacturers to
sell under our brand name. We have built our brand in the marketplace by putting in a lot of efforts, commitment
towards quality and money over the decades. We cannot afford to lose any of these, including our market share,” GN
Naidu, chairman of Regency Ceramics, told reporters here on Monday.
While the company maintains that the lockout was a temporary measure to facilitate the ongoing police investigation
into the attack and destruction of factory premises, assessment of the damage done to plant and machinery apart from
allowing the situation to get back to normalcy, it is yet to get a clear picture on how much time will it require for
a possible revival of operations at Yanam.
“We have no clue as to whether the machinery can be brought back to original shape and the conditions prevailed in
Yanam are far from normal even today. We are bringing technical experts from Europe to evaluate the status of the
assets at Yanam as the equipment and machinery in the plant were imported from countries like Italy and Spain,”
Naidu said.
Responding to a question, he said the government of Puducherry had not approached the company with any concrete
proposal for facilitating the revival of the plant.
Stating that the hand of outsiders in the attack on the factory and even the killing of the company president
(operations) KC Chandrasekhar on the fateful night was established beyond any doubt, the collusion of a section of
the factory employees in this destruction was also needed to be investigated before restarting the operations,
according to the company chairman.
While reiterating his demand for a CBI probe into the incident, he said that some of the workers were recruited
without their antecedents being thoroughly verified and this had to be rectified. He alleged that the attack was
planned one year ahead.
Though the company initially said that the loss would be about Rs 150 crore, a detailed assessment of damage for
claiming insurance has still been under way.
The production came to a halt ever since about 1,200-odd workers joined the tool-down strike on December 5. Efforts
to arriving at a negotiated settlement under the supervision of Yanam collector fell through on January 3, leading to
a complete stalemate between the management and the workers on demands such as announcement of an interim increment
culminating into large-scale violence on January 27, according to the company management.
The company is suffering Rs 8-10 crore net loss a month due to loss of production, Naidu said. The factory was
running at 60 per cent of its installed capacity of 44,000 square metre a day on account of natural gas shortage
during the past couple of years.
2012年1月29日星期日
Comments sought on proposals for signature piece
To the casual observer, the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden seems to be a plot of land at Third Street and Midland Avenue noted only by an occasional fleet of brightly colored flags or a lighted Christmas tree.
Beginning Feb. 10, all of us will get to help decide which signature piece of art will define that space. Artists from Lexington, Ohio, California and New York have submitted scaled models of pieces they hope will be chosen as the magnet to draw visitors to the area to explore Murphy's life and those of other black jockeys who aren't prominent in history books.
Those five works will be on display at Land of Tomorrow Gallery for two weeks to allow us to view and comment on them. Community comments will be taken into consideration when the selection is made.
David Cozart, president of the memorial park board, said the group wanted something different, something personal, at the park.
"We know we want to be unique and not like any other place," he said. "But we won't risk integrity."
The nine-member board joined with LexArts to solicit pieces from artists nationwide. The park, which has been stalled for several years, is intended to be an entryway to the East End, a historic African-American neighborhood, and to honor Murphy, who rode the winner in three Kentucky Derbys.
The call for art went out in October, and the works came in last week.
The five proposals "are all really different," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Bluegrass Community Foundation. "Each tells a story of the Thoroughbred industry."
A part of the Legacy Trail project, which is overseen by the Bluegrass Community Foundation and stretches from the Kentucky Horse Park to Third Street and Midland Avenue, the park now has enough money for construction and to seed the art pieces, Cozart said.
"We are really beginning to put this all together," Austin said.
The artists who submitted proposals — Garry R. Bibbs of Lexington; Neal and Tiffany Bociek of San Diego; Willis "Bing" Davis of Dayton, Ohio; Stacey Farley of Garrison, N.Y.; and LaVon Williams of Lexington —visited the site of the park and learned about the East End community, the Legacy Trail and Lexington before creating their pieces.
Bibbs, an associate art professor at the University of Kentucky, said he was inspired by the juxtaposition of Murphy and the era in which he lived.
"This man is winning his first race after Reconstruction, 40 years after the Civil War," Bibbs said. "I wanted to take into consideration the impact of a winning jockey maneuvering through the major racial issues of the times.
"He is racing two races all the time," he said, "and also has two victories at the same time."
The sculpture, A Race to the Finish, is displayed along a curved wall and uses three metals. "I want to make good art, but I want it to contain the truth," Bibb said.
The husband-and-wife team of Neal and Tiffany Bociek are using Murphy's image in their work, My Home Is a Horse and a Track.
"Because there is an interest in knowing who and what Isaac Murphy was, I didn't want to do something abstract," Neal Bociek said. "You will know who he is immediately."
Their proposed piece features a silhouetted image of Murphy racing on a horse that intersects with another, to contrast Murphy's gentleness with the power of a race horse. Rising above the horses is a circular disc bearing Murphy's image that can spin 360 degrees.
The piece is meant to show Murphy looking over his property and the nearby community that once included the Kentucky Association Racetrack, Neal Bociek said.
"It is not just about the art, but it is really about the community," Tiffany Bociek said. "We were inspired by a whole lot of YouTube videos about the Legacy Trail. We were really inspired by that energy those videos gave off. We kind of felt like it was a great place to be."
William "Bing" Davis got that same vibe when he walked the land, and visited African Cemetery No. 2 on East Seventh Street and the Kentucky Horse Park.
"I became familiar with Lexington and watched some of the dig at the park and put my hands in the dirt," Davis said. "It just filled me up and totally changed my idea from what I had envisioned."
Davis submitted a sleek sculpture in which rider and horse appear to be one. The piece will be made of a composite material that is light, he said, but as strong as steel. Portions of two bridges in Dayton are made of the composite.
The finished piece, covered with three to five coats of a synthetic fiberglass and painted with ultraviolet auto-body paint, would be 5 feet by 3 feet and sit atop a pedestal.
Davis named the piece, which he describes as an abstract of a horse and rider working as a unit to become winners, Jah Aswon which stands for "jockey and horse as won."
Stacey Farley's works are installed at train stations, museums, gardens and parks in the form of ceramic tiles. She has been working with tiles for 25 years.
Farley's proposal includes transferring an image of Murphy onto a giant tile that will be the backdrop for a three-sided shelter containing a bench.
"You can see it from far away, but when you get closer you will learn more information," she said. "You can see him in the context of U.S. history."
On one short wall, there will be a time line that features Murphy's Derby wins, constitutional amendments and the Civil War, she said. On the other short wall there will be a poem by Frank X Walker.
"I am interested in people who are anonymous or who got lost along the way," Farley said. "Here is a very important person who disappeared from the history books. It is right up my alley to tell that story. I was drawn to it."
Whether she wins or not, Farley said, she enjoyed doing the research. "It was a great ride."
Noted woodcarver and former UK basketball player LaVon Williams first heard of Murphy from his father, a schoolteacher who taught young people about little known men and women in black history, he said.
"Murphy was my father's hero," said Williams, who grew up in Florida.
Although his principle medium is wood, Williams said he would sculpt the Murphy piece in metal so it would withstand the elements.
The three pieces he created are meant to cover the back and sides of a bench that would be in the park.
One side, Lucy, would acknowledge Murphy's love for his wife, Lucy, to whom he would give a rose or flower every day. Another, Race Man, is a tribute to Murphy as a jockey with innate skills, winning without using a whip. And the last, American Style, depicts his original riding style, which was straighter, and how Murphy learned other styles, using whichever best suited his mount.
"It is a piece that welcomes everybody," said Williams, a member of the 1978 UK team that won a national championship . "Murphy brought people together. He was gracious and kind."
Construction of the park should start in early spring and include a range of art created by children, said Austin. Construction of the signature piece will begin when the artist is available.
Also on display at with the proposed works will be artifacts uncovered during a recent archeological dig and historic markers about Murphy and the East End that will be placed in the park.
Beginning Feb. 10, all of us will get to help decide which signature piece of art will define that space. Artists from Lexington, Ohio, California and New York have submitted scaled models of pieces they hope will be chosen as the magnet to draw visitors to the area to explore Murphy's life and those of other black jockeys who aren't prominent in history books.
Those five works will be on display at Land of Tomorrow Gallery for two weeks to allow us to view and comment on them. Community comments will be taken into consideration when the selection is made.
David Cozart, president of the memorial park board, said the group wanted something different, something personal, at the park.
"We know we want to be unique and not like any other place," he said. "But we won't risk integrity."
The nine-member board joined with LexArts to solicit pieces from artists nationwide. The park, which has been stalled for several years, is intended to be an entryway to the East End, a historic African-American neighborhood, and to honor Murphy, who rode the winner in three Kentucky Derbys.
The call for art went out in October, and the works came in last week.
The five proposals "are all really different," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Bluegrass Community Foundation. "Each tells a story of the Thoroughbred industry."
A part of the Legacy Trail project, which is overseen by the Bluegrass Community Foundation and stretches from the Kentucky Horse Park to Third Street and Midland Avenue, the park now has enough money for construction and to seed the art pieces, Cozart said.
"We are really beginning to put this all together," Austin said.
The artists who submitted proposals — Garry R. Bibbs of Lexington; Neal and Tiffany Bociek of San Diego; Willis "Bing" Davis of Dayton, Ohio; Stacey Farley of Garrison, N.Y.; and LaVon Williams of Lexington —visited the site of the park and learned about the East End community, the Legacy Trail and Lexington before creating their pieces.
Bibbs, an associate art professor at the University of Kentucky, said he was inspired by the juxtaposition of Murphy and the era in which he lived.
"This man is winning his first race after Reconstruction, 40 years after the Civil War," Bibbs said. "I wanted to take into consideration the impact of a winning jockey maneuvering through the major racial issues of the times.
"He is racing two races all the time," he said, "and also has two victories at the same time."
The sculpture, A Race to the Finish, is displayed along a curved wall and uses three metals. "I want to make good art, but I want it to contain the truth," Bibb said.
The husband-and-wife team of Neal and Tiffany Bociek are using Murphy's image in their work, My Home Is a Horse and a Track.
"Because there is an interest in knowing who and what Isaac Murphy was, I didn't want to do something abstract," Neal Bociek said. "You will know who he is immediately."
Their proposed piece features a silhouetted image of Murphy racing on a horse that intersects with another, to contrast Murphy's gentleness with the power of a race horse. Rising above the horses is a circular disc bearing Murphy's image that can spin 360 degrees.
The piece is meant to show Murphy looking over his property and the nearby community that once included the Kentucky Association Racetrack, Neal Bociek said.
"It is not just about the art, but it is really about the community," Tiffany Bociek said. "We were inspired by a whole lot of YouTube videos about the Legacy Trail. We were really inspired by that energy those videos gave off. We kind of felt like it was a great place to be."
William "Bing" Davis got that same vibe when he walked the land, and visited African Cemetery No. 2 on East Seventh Street and the Kentucky Horse Park.
"I became familiar with Lexington and watched some of the dig at the park and put my hands in the dirt," Davis said. "It just filled me up and totally changed my idea from what I had envisioned."
Davis submitted a sleek sculpture in which rider and horse appear to be one. The piece will be made of a composite material that is light, he said, but as strong as steel. Portions of two bridges in Dayton are made of the composite.
The finished piece, covered with three to five coats of a synthetic fiberglass and painted with ultraviolet auto-body paint, would be 5 feet by 3 feet and sit atop a pedestal.
Davis named the piece, which he describes as an abstract of a horse and rider working as a unit to become winners, Jah Aswon which stands for "jockey and horse as won."
Stacey Farley's works are installed at train stations, museums, gardens and parks in the form of ceramic tiles. She has been working with tiles for 25 years.
Farley's proposal includes transferring an image of Murphy onto a giant tile that will be the backdrop for a three-sided shelter containing a bench.
"You can see it from far away, but when you get closer you will learn more information," she said. "You can see him in the context of U.S. history."
On one short wall, there will be a time line that features Murphy's Derby wins, constitutional amendments and the Civil War, she said. On the other short wall there will be a poem by Frank X Walker.
"I am interested in people who are anonymous or who got lost along the way," Farley said. "Here is a very important person who disappeared from the history books. It is right up my alley to tell that story. I was drawn to it."
Whether she wins or not, Farley said, she enjoyed doing the research. "It was a great ride."
Noted woodcarver and former UK basketball player LaVon Williams first heard of Murphy from his father, a schoolteacher who taught young people about little known men and women in black history, he said.
"Murphy was my father's hero," said Williams, who grew up in Florida.
Although his principle medium is wood, Williams said he would sculpt the Murphy piece in metal so it would withstand the elements.
The three pieces he created are meant to cover the back and sides of a bench that would be in the park.
One side, Lucy, would acknowledge Murphy's love for his wife, Lucy, to whom he would give a rose or flower every day. Another, Race Man, is a tribute to Murphy as a jockey with innate skills, winning without using a whip. And the last, American Style, depicts his original riding style, which was straighter, and how Murphy learned other styles, using whichever best suited his mount.
"It is a piece that welcomes everybody," said Williams, a member of the 1978 UK team that won a national championship . "Murphy brought people together. He was gracious and kind."
Construction of the park should start in early spring and include a range of art created by children, said Austin. Construction of the signature piece will begin when the artist is available.
Also on display at with the proposed works will be artifacts uncovered during a recent archeological dig and historic markers about Murphy and the East End that will be placed in the park.
2012年1月19日星期四
Loo Trilogy
Sometimes the thrill of the hunt is the best part about doing a home renovation.
Take one homeowner whose 1,700-square-foot house in northwest Calgary recently underwent a major renovation that saw its three bathrooms refurbished.
Laura (who asked her last name not be published) bought the home seven years ago, but immediately realized it needed improvements.
“This house is about 60 years old, and there was an expansion done in the 1980s,” says the mother of two teens. “The only completely usable bathroom we had was the main bathroom in the (original) portion of the house.”
In fact, downstairs bathroom wasn’t used once in the time the family has lived in the home. “It was a tiny 30-by-30-(foot) shower and when you stepped on the shower floor, it moved,” Laura explained.
Coupled with that, the bathroom in the back 1980s section “was so ugly and awful, we never used it either.”
Laura says she enjoys DIY projects and renovated her kitchen herself. But when it came to redoing her bathrooms, she went shopping for a contractor who shared her vision. She soon discovered bathroom renovations can get awfully pricey, depending on whom you call.
“There were people I called, I’d have had to have taken another mortgage on my house (to pay for the reno),” she exclaimed. “They had their own view what a bathroom reno would look like.”
The homeowner eventually chose Lozier Contracting, based on the experience of her significant other, who had had the company owner Wayne Lozier do some work on his house.
“And he’s an engineer, so he tends to be very particular how people do the work,” says Laura. “The estimate wasn’t the lowest, but I thought it was fair for the work I needed to get done.”
Laura’s renovation was unusual, as she supplied the vanities, floor tiling and other items herself, says Lozier.
“When it comes to plumbing fixtures we usually prefer to purchase them from the wholesalers,” he says. “That way we can put in a warranty so, if a fixture fails, we can swap it out.”
Lozier provided the bathtub and shower fixtures, and installed Toto Drake low-flow toilets in two of the three bathrooms on Laura’s recommendation and previous experience with the product — she had installed one such toilet in the main bathroom a few years ago.
Laura, meanwhile, went shopping for vanities, mirrors and even tiling, hitting major retailers such as Home Depot, Rona and Totem, as well as picking up accessories like mirrors from shops such as HomeSense that she found for as little as $35.
Each bathroom presented its own challenges, and Laura arranged for the work to be done in stages so there would always be one functioning bathroom at all times.
The home’s large downstairs bathroom is the size of a small utility room and had been used to store the ironing board, with one wall covered in mirrors.
“The previous owner must have had a couple of teenagers,” Laura jokes.
The renovation duo had a surprise in store when the room’s tiny shower was ripped out, though.
“They found a false wall,” recalls Laura. “Nobody knew about it. It cost me more to get the custom shower done as a result, but that was fine — they were able to expand it quite a bit.”
Lozier says it was the first time he’d encountered a false wall, “but it allowed us to make the shower a lot bigger. We also had to replace some of the plumbing in the floor drains.”
A long vanity was cut in half and a utility closet installed. Laura considered in-floor heating, but decided it was an unnecessary expense.
Laura had purchased black-brown ceramic tile for a previous upstairs reno, but when she decided to use hardwood for that job, she held on to the tile and used it in the basement bathroom.
This presented some challenges as she wanted the same colour scheme for her other two bathrooms, but dark tile was hard to come by. She eventually got tile from several different retailers, giving each bathroom similar colour scheme, but a unique pattern and style.
She also favoured dark wood in the cabinets she purchased for each bathroom – the downstairs from Totem, the back bathroom from Rona, and the main bathroom from a cabinet store.
For the ceramic countertop in the downstairs bath, “they asked me to pick out an arborite I liked,” says Laura. “I bought a mirror for $50 at HomeSense and picked up some lights at Home Depot.”
Laura didn’t need in-floor heating for the main upstairs bathroom, either – Lozier installed a floor-level wall radiator with a lever that allows her to direct heat towards the floor or upwards.
The dark tile for the main bathroom came from Totem. “They didn’t have the longer tile like I used downstairs in the dark colour, but it was really inexpensive,” says Laura. “The mirror, the lights — all come from different home stores.”
Although Lozier was in charge of installing the Fiberglas acrylic Hytec bathtub, one innovation Laura insisted on was curved shower rods, giving more space in the tub and also in the shower in the back bath where this was also used.
“The shower tiles were bought at Totem, and were a happy surprise,” says Laura, noting that under the shower head the tiles don’t lie flat, creating a 3-D weaving pattern.
Laura describes the back bathroom as her “bling” bathroom, with a few esthetic touches giving it extra pizzazz, such as gemstone-patterned shower wall tiles from Totem, and crystal-accented paper-roll holder and towel rack from HomeSense.
“I really enjoy home renovations — it’s fun to see the effect at the end,” she says. “I wish I’d taken before-and-after pictures — you wouldn’t believe they were the same bathrooms.”
Lozier advises homeowners get at least three estimates before choosing a contractor, and do homework to check Better Business Bureau ratings and whether they’re licensed.
Laura’s main advice: “Know and understand your budget. I estimated I could get the work done for between $7,500 and $10,000 per bathroom. I had a total budget of $30,000, and I stuck to it.
“Think about where you want to spend your money. Getting a custom shower built was important for me. I also wanted higher-quality, low-flush toilets. If you’re looking for places to save money, focus on the cosmetic things and don’t scrimp on fundamentals like plumbing and electrical.”
Take one homeowner whose 1,700-square-foot house in northwest Calgary recently underwent a major renovation that saw its three bathrooms refurbished.
Laura (who asked her last name not be published) bought the home seven years ago, but immediately realized it needed improvements.
“This house is about 60 years old, and there was an expansion done in the 1980s,” says the mother of two teens. “The only completely usable bathroom we had was the main bathroom in the (original) portion of the house.”
In fact, downstairs bathroom wasn’t used once in the time the family has lived in the home. “It was a tiny 30-by-30-(foot) shower and when you stepped on the shower floor, it moved,” Laura explained.
Coupled with that, the bathroom in the back 1980s section “was so ugly and awful, we never used it either.”
Laura says she enjoys DIY projects and renovated her kitchen herself. But when it came to redoing her bathrooms, she went shopping for a contractor who shared her vision. She soon discovered bathroom renovations can get awfully pricey, depending on whom you call.
“There were people I called, I’d have had to have taken another mortgage on my house (to pay for the reno),” she exclaimed. “They had their own view what a bathroom reno would look like.”
The homeowner eventually chose Lozier Contracting, based on the experience of her significant other, who had had the company owner Wayne Lozier do some work on his house.
“And he’s an engineer, so he tends to be very particular how people do the work,” says Laura. “The estimate wasn’t the lowest, but I thought it was fair for the work I needed to get done.”
Laura’s renovation was unusual, as she supplied the vanities, floor tiling and other items herself, says Lozier.
“When it comes to plumbing fixtures we usually prefer to purchase them from the wholesalers,” he says. “That way we can put in a warranty so, if a fixture fails, we can swap it out.”
Lozier provided the bathtub and shower fixtures, and installed Toto Drake low-flow toilets in two of the three bathrooms on Laura’s recommendation and previous experience with the product — she had installed one such toilet in the main bathroom a few years ago.
Laura, meanwhile, went shopping for vanities, mirrors and even tiling, hitting major retailers such as Home Depot, Rona and Totem, as well as picking up accessories like mirrors from shops such as HomeSense that she found for as little as $35.
Each bathroom presented its own challenges, and Laura arranged for the work to be done in stages so there would always be one functioning bathroom at all times.
The home’s large downstairs bathroom is the size of a small utility room and had been used to store the ironing board, with one wall covered in mirrors.
“The previous owner must have had a couple of teenagers,” Laura jokes.
The renovation duo had a surprise in store when the room’s tiny shower was ripped out, though.
“They found a false wall,” recalls Laura. “Nobody knew about it. It cost me more to get the custom shower done as a result, but that was fine — they were able to expand it quite a bit.”
Lozier says it was the first time he’d encountered a false wall, “but it allowed us to make the shower a lot bigger. We also had to replace some of the plumbing in the floor drains.”
A long vanity was cut in half and a utility closet installed. Laura considered in-floor heating, but decided it was an unnecessary expense.
Laura had purchased black-brown ceramic tile for a previous upstairs reno, but when she decided to use hardwood for that job, she held on to the tile and used it in the basement bathroom.
This presented some challenges as she wanted the same colour scheme for her other two bathrooms, but dark tile was hard to come by. She eventually got tile from several different retailers, giving each bathroom similar colour scheme, but a unique pattern and style.
She also favoured dark wood in the cabinets she purchased for each bathroom – the downstairs from Totem, the back bathroom from Rona, and the main bathroom from a cabinet store.
For the ceramic countertop in the downstairs bath, “they asked me to pick out an arborite I liked,” says Laura. “I bought a mirror for $50 at HomeSense and picked up some lights at Home Depot.”
Laura didn’t need in-floor heating for the main upstairs bathroom, either – Lozier installed a floor-level wall radiator with a lever that allows her to direct heat towards the floor or upwards.
The dark tile for the main bathroom came from Totem. “They didn’t have the longer tile like I used downstairs in the dark colour, but it was really inexpensive,” says Laura. “The mirror, the lights — all come from different home stores.”
Although Lozier was in charge of installing the Fiberglas acrylic Hytec bathtub, one innovation Laura insisted on was curved shower rods, giving more space in the tub and also in the shower in the back bath where this was also used.
“The shower tiles were bought at Totem, and were a happy surprise,” says Laura, noting that under the shower head the tiles don’t lie flat, creating a 3-D weaving pattern.
Laura describes the back bathroom as her “bling” bathroom, with a few esthetic touches giving it extra pizzazz, such as gemstone-patterned shower wall tiles from Totem, and crystal-accented paper-roll holder and towel rack from HomeSense.
“I really enjoy home renovations — it’s fun to see the effect at the end,” she says. “I wish I’d taken before-and-after pictures — you wouldn’t believe they were the same bathrooms.”
Lozier advises homeowners get at least three estimates before choosing a contractor, and do homework to check Better Business Bureau ratings and whether they’re licensed.
Laura’s main advice: “Know and understand your budget. I estimated I could get the work done for between $7,500 and $10,000 per bathroom. I had a total budget of $30,000, and I stuck to it.
“Think about where you want to spend your money. Getting a custom shower built was important for me. I also wanted higher-quality, low-flush toilets. If you’re looking for places to save money, focus on the cosmetic things and don’t scrimp on fundamentals like plumbing and electrical.”
2012年1月12日星期四
No amenity overlooked in Ellicott City estate
Whether your interest is in entertaining on a lavish scale; tinkering with cars in one of six heated garages; or enjoying your private sport court, swimming pool and cabana, the estate at 3885 Whitebrook Lane in Ellicott City, Md., has what you want.
This 20,000-square-foot home, which rests on more than 3 acres of landscaped grounds, provides a true private retreat to meet the highest standards of opulence. Part of the Preserve in Howard County, this manor home was built in 1997 and is on the market for $4,999,000.
The estate’s grounds include a gated circular drive that leads to the garages, which have space for 10 cars, and a brick motor court. A brick courtyard is surrounded by a heated swimming pool, a hot tub and a cabana, with an adjacent sports court.
Multiple patios, courtyards and a screened porch with a ceiling fan offer plenty of space for entertaining outdoors and admiring the perennial gardens. The corner site backs to trees for additional privacy.
Indoors, the custom-designed rooms include seven bedrooms, 10 full baths, two powder rooms and extraordinary detailing, such as custom millwork, six-piece crown molding, professional lighting, hardwood flooring and five fireplaces. The home also has an indoor swimming pool, saunas, waterfall baths with mosaic surrounds, and an elevator. The property has three kitchens.
The elegance of this home is apparent from the moment guests arrive in the circular driveway and step up to the front door. Each piece of glass was individually selected for the door surround and the windows in the entrance hall. The grand foyer features hardwood flooring, a spectacular chandelier and a curving double staircase to the upper level.
The main level includes a music conservatory with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, recessed lighting, up-lighting, a custom-designed ceiling medallion and hardwood flooring. Nearby, the formal dining room has hardwood flooring and a dramatic chandelier. In addition, this level has a formal living room with a fireplace, a library, a family room and a great-room bar.
The bar, designed to resemble an Old English pub, has mahogany-stained wood walls and an 11-foot copper-painted tin ceiling. This room includes an imported fireplace, and archways link the pub and the family room with the hallway.
The main-level kitchen includes state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances, including wine cabinets, warming drawers, an indoor grill and several dishwashers, ovens and stoves. The oversized center island includes an attached dining table for casual meals.
The adjacent morning room has floor-to-ceiling windows and an atrium door to a patio.
The master suite covers an entire wing of the home, with a hand-painted and stenciled bedroom with a gas fireplace and a separate sitting room overlooking the swimming pool. A private exercise room, a den, and a lavish master bath with a mosaic-tiled jetted tub, a sauna and a steam shower round out the suite.
Four additional bedrooms are on the upper level and two bedrooms are on the lower level. Every bath in the home has furniture-grade vanities, marble, ceramic tile or hardwood flooring, multiple sinks and unique features, such as carved or hand-painted ceilings and dramatic sconces.
The lower level has been designed for the ultimate in relaxation, with a game room, an exercise room, a playroom and a lap pool set in a spalike room with mirrors, lounge chairs, low lighting and a sauna.
A wine-tasting room has been designed for discerning visitors, and nearby is a full kitchen perfect for catered evenings. The lower-level great room has several stone walls with arched brick accents and a raised-hearth fireplace. Nearby is a theater room with tiered seating.
The home has a high-tech security system as well as entertainment, lighting and HVAC controls that can be operated by remote control, iPad, iPhone and a keypad.
This 20,000-square-foot home, which rests on more than 3 acres of landscaped grounds, provides a true private retreat to meet the highest standards of opulence. Part of the Preserve in Howard County, this manor home was built in 1997 and is on the market for $4,999,000.
The estate’s grounds include a gated circular drive that leads to the garages, which have space for 10 cars, and a brick motor court. A brick courtyard is surrounded by a heated swimming pool, a hot tub and a cabana, with an adjacent sports court.
Multiple patios, courtyards and a screened porch with a ceiling fan offer plenty of space for entertaining outdoors and admiring the perennial gardens. The corner site backs to trees for additional privacy.
Indoors, the custom-designed rooms include seven bedrooms, 10 full baths, two powder rooms and extraordinary detailing, such as custom millwork, six-piece crown molding, professional lighting, hardwood flooring and five fireplaces. The home also has an indoor swimming pool, saunas, waterfall baths with mosaic surrounds, and an elevator. The property has three kitchens.
The elegance of this home is apparent from the moment guests arrive in the circular driveway and step up to the front door. Each piece of glass was individually selected for the door surround and the windows in the entrance hall. The grand foyer features hardwood flooring, a spectacular chandelier and a curving double staircase to the upper level.
The main level includes a music conservatory with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, recessed lighting, up-lighting, a custom-designed ceiling medallion and hardwood flooring. Nearby, the formal dining room has hardwood flooring and a dramatic chandelier. In addition, this level has a formal living room with a fireplace, a library, a family room and a great-room bar.
The bar, designed to resemble an Old English pub, has mahogany-stained wood walls and an 11-foot copper-painted tin ceiling. This room includes an imported fireplace, and archways link the pub and the family room with the hallway.
The main-level kitchen includes state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances, including wine cabinets, warming drawers, an indoor grill and several dishwashers, ovens and stoves. The oversized center island includes an attached dining table for casual meals.
The adjacent morning room has floor-to-ceiling windows and an atrium door to a patio.
The master suite covers an entire wing of the home, with a hand-painted and stenciled bedroom with a gas fireplace and a separate sitting room overlooking the swimming pool. A private exercise room, a den, and a lavish master bath with a mosaic-tiled jetted tub, a sauna and a steam shower round out the suite.
Four additional bedrooms are on the upper level and two bedrooms are on the lower level. Every bath in the home has furniture-grade vanities, marble, ceramic tile or hardwood flooring, multiple sinks and unique features, such as carved or hand-painted ceilings and dramatic sconces.
The lower level has been designed for the ultimate in relaxation, with a game room, an exercise room, a playroom and a lap pool set in a spalike room with mirrors, lounge chairs, low lighting and a sauna.
A wine-tasting room has been designed for discerning visitors, and nearby is a full kitchen perfect for catered evenings. The lower-level great room has several stone walls with arched brick accents and a raised-hearth fireplace. Nearby is a theater room with tiered seating.
The home has a high-tech security system as well as entertainment, lighting and HVAC controls that can be operated by remote control, iPad, iPhone and a keypad.
2012年1月3日星期二
Antique inn
In the olden days, an inn was a gathering place for all types of martial art masters. It was not only a place to put up a night, a place to dine, but also a place for kungfu contests. The inn was meant for the knights to eat and stay, to get to know friends, to spy and snoop, to obtain contact signals or even develop a relationship.
The remarkable legend of the Dragon Inn remains very much cherished by people up to this day.
In Malaysia, there indeed is an inn that is reminiscent of the Dragon Inn. The 1881 Chong Tian Hotel in Ropewalk, Penang is the oldest inn in the country. The emergence of the new 1881 spreading over three shoplots in town could have spelled the resurgence of the inn culture in this part of the world. The inn offers 11 rooms, plus a relic hall, a meeting room, activity room, library and mezzanine bar.
Owner of the inn, Xie Guo Xing has intended to revive the styles of the Dragon Inn with a great deal of antiques on display throughout the inn. To Xie, 1881 is more than an inn, but also a chic Chinese boutique hotel.
Modern people who enjoy good food will see the inn as a fine hotel serving the best of Chinese and Western fares while backpackers willing to spend to enjoy the fine culture will most definitely not miss this opportunity to put up for a night at the inn.
There is a refined antique wooden bed at the rear hall with a pillow and teapot on top of it. It might look like a set up in a wealthy local family during the olden days, but was in actual fact an opium bed that allowed people to indulge in the process of inhaling and exhaling the drugs and slowly drift into sleep.
There are also a few chairs placed in front of the wooden bed for the people to indulge in their addiction in the company of some friends.
There is a pair of golden dragon and phoenix hung on the wall of the dining hall. These two auspicious creatures symbolise eternity and happiness apart from being an accessory used during traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies.
During the mid-autumn festival, another set of the golden shimmering accessories will be hung opposite the dragon and phoenix to ring in the festive season while announcing to the public that moon cakes are now available for sale at the hotel.
Looking around the furnishings and decorations, there are wooden ladders, bamboos at the patio and water tank with duckweeds that really arouse the nostalgic feelings of the guests. Above the patio are windows of the rooms with elaborate ceramic tile paintings adorning the walls below.
The remarkable legend of the Dragon Inn remains very much cherished by people up to this day.
In Malaysia, there indeed is an inn that is reminiscent of the Dragon Inn. The 1881 Chong Tian Hotel in Ropewalk, Penang is the oldest inn in the country. The emergence of the new 1881 spreading over three shoplots in town could have spelled the resurgence of the inn culture in this part of the world. The inn offers 11 rooms, plus a relic hall, a meeting room, activity room, library and mezzanine bar.
Owner of the inn, Xie Guo Xing has intended to revive the styles of the Dragon Inn with a great deal of antiques on display throughout the inn. To Xie, 1881 is more than an inn, but also a chic Chinese boutique hotel.
Modern people who enjoy good food will see the inn as a fine hotel serving the best of Chinese and Western fares while backpackers willing to spend to enjoy the fine culture will most definitely not miss this opportunity to put up for a night at the inn.
There is a refined antique wooden bed at the rear hall with a pillow and teapot on top of it. It might look like a set up in a wealthy local family during the olden days, but was in actual fact an opium bed that allowed people to indulge in the process of inhaling and exhaling the drugs and slowly drift into sleep.
There are also a few chairs placed in front of the wooden bed for the people to indulge in their addiction in the company of some friends.
There is a pair of golden dragon and phoenix hung on the wall of the dining hall. These two auspicious creatures symbolise eternity and happiness apart from being an accessory used during traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies.
During the mid-autumn festival, another set of the golden shimmering accessories will be hung opposite the dragon and phoenix to ring in the festive season while announcing to the public that moon cakes are now available for sale at the hotel.
Looking around the furnishings and decorations, there are wooden ladders, bamboos at the patio and water tank with duckweeds that really arouse the nostalgic feelings of the guests. Above the patio are windows of the rooms with elaborate ceramic tile paintings adorning the walls below.
2011年12月26日星期一
A view of Italy
Today we wrap up our discussion on balconies with a little construction strategy.
First, your balcony will consist of a cantilever-style structure, which, like the nose on your face, will simply protrude from the exterior wall.
Supporting a balcony via pillars or fibreglass columns from below would certainly be an easier strategy to follow, construction wise, and would certainly suit a home where the balcony was placed over the front entrance, however, pillar support is not quite the style we're shooting for.
Will our balcony not need some type of support system? Of course, if you're in the blueprint stage of your future new home, your architect will be able to modify the floor system so that the engineered joists extend past the exterior wall the desired number of feet, or that the joists be designed to accept some form of steel framework.
When adding a balcony to an existing home, whereby the use of columns underneath is not possible, or just not desired, then the manner of installation will have to be examined by a contractor and further okayed by an engineer, in order for you to get a permit.
A cantilever-style balcony isn't like any other deck, since the outer perimeter will seemingly be defying gravity. Realizing that nothing defies gravity, at least not for long, a support structure (as unintrusive as possible) will need to be installed underneath the balcony platform. This support structure should, no doubt, be made of steel, to ensure a long lasting, maintenance free quality.
If the steel's angled support structure isn't in line with the style or decor of the home, the beams could be easily covered with foam mouldings. These mouldings would, in turn, be coated with a stucco-type product that would duplicate the texture of stone or concrete.
Or, you could conceal the supports in true Italian fashion with the always classic statue of Zeus or Atlas, whereby the statue's form, usually starting at the waistline, protrudes from the wall.
The stylish effect of your platform resting on Atlas' shoulder, with arms raised in support, would be impressive indeed.
Now, if the likes of Zeus, Atlas, or any of the Greek or Roman gods, don't hold any great historical or ancestral significance to you, but you still like the statue idea, perhaps the likes of Big Joe Mufferaw, or Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, or Cornwall's legendary football great Moe Racine, would provide that statuesque, yet closer to home, desired effect.
The challenge, of course, would lie in finding a sculptor, a profession that really lost its market about 500 years ago.
Balcony framework?
I like the steel frame, poured concrete floor best.
Steel is forever, and so is the concrete, especially if it's coated with a porcelain or slate tile.
Railing systems?
Again, consider the maintenance free, everlasting quality of steel, aluminum or cast iron spindles.
What about glass?
Glass looks great, but may not suit your traditional or formal stone type home, and would definitely clash with your Moe Racine, dueling statue support system. However, for a contemporary home, glass panels are perfect.
First step to balcony success?
Contact your contractor and explain your vision. If this initial visit is positive, meet with your engineer, since the project will require some structural expertise.
If all goes as planned, you're well on your way to a very special home feature indeed.
First, your balcony will consist of a cantilever-style structure, which, like the nose on your face, will simply protrude from the exterior wall.
Supporting a balcony via pillars or fibreglass columns from below would certainly be an easier strategy to follow, construction wise, and would certainly suit a home where the balcony was placed over the front entrance, however, pillar support is not quite the style we're shooting for.
Will our balcony not need some type of support system? Of course, if you're in the blueprint stage of your future new home, your architect will be able to modify the floor system so that the engineered joists extend past the exterior wall the desired number of feet, or that the joists be designed to accept some form of steel framework.
When adding a balcony to an existing home, whereby the use of columns underneath is not possible, or just not desired, then the manner of installation will have to be examined by a contractor and further okayed by an engineer, in order for you to get a permit.
A cantilever-style balcony isn't like any other deck, since the outer perimeter will seemingly be defying gravity. Realizing that nothing defies gravity, at least not for long, a support structure (as unintrusive as possible) will need to be installed underneath the balcony platform. This support structure should, no doubt, be made of steel, to ensure a long lasting, maintenance free quality.
If the steel's angled support structure isn't in line with the style or decor of the home, the beams could be easily covered with foam mouldings. These mouldings would, in turn, be coated with a stucco-type product that would duplicate the texture of stone or concrete.
Or, you could conceal the supports in true Italian fashion with the always classic statue of Zeus or Atlas, whereby the statue's form, usually starting at the waistline, protrudes from the wall.
The stylish effect of your platform resting on Atlas' shoulder, with arms raised in support, would be impressive indeed.
Now, if the likes of Zeus, Atlas, or any of the Greek or Roman gods, don't hold any great historical or ancestral significance to you, but you still like the statue idea, perhaps the likes of Big Joe Mufferaw, or Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, or Cornwall's legendary football great Moe Racine, would provide that statuesque, yet closer to home, desired effect.
The challenge, of course, would lie in finding a sculptor, a profession that really lost its market about 500 years ago.
Balcony framework?
I like the steel frame, poured concrete floor best.
Steel is forever, and so is the concrete, especially if it's coated with a porcelain or slate tile.
Railing systems?
Again, consider the maintenance free, everlasting quality of steel, aluminum or cast iron spindles.
What about glass?
Glass looks great, but may not suit your traditional or formal stone type home, and would definitely clash with your Moe Racine, dueling statue support system. However, for a contemporary home, glass panels are perfect.
First step to balcony success?
Contact your contractor and explain your vision. If this initial visit is positive, meet with your engineer, since the project will require some structural expertise.
If all goes as planned, you're well on your way to a very special home feature indeed.
2011年10月24日星期一
A mind-altering run to defeat Alzheimer’s disease
Shortly after finishing his three-month, 3,312-mile run from the coast of Oregon to the Rhode Island shore, Glenn Caffery visited his physician and complained that his feet were numb.
“What’d you expect?” the doctor replied.
Caffery, a 49-year-old data management teacher at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, lives in Leyden, a small town in the Connecticut River Valley that borders Vermont. His cross-country pilgrimage was to raise awareness about the Alzheimer’s disease that killed his father at age 68.
“He was diagnosed at 55,” said Caffery, “but it was symptomatic at least two years prior to that.”
On May 19, Caffery stuck his foot into the Pacific Ocean and began his long, arduous journey across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota on toward the Northeast and into New England. On Aug. 17, surrounded by friends and family, he splashed into the Atlantic Ocean at Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island.
Along the way he had jogged through towns named Mud Butte and Faith and avoided roads with rumble strips that rattled the three-wheeled stroller he kept packed with supplies and camping gear. “It was kind of comfortable to have it with me. I never gave it a name. I’m glad it never came to that.”
His wife, Colleen, shipped Asics DS running shoes and multivitamins to designated truck stops every 350 miles. Truckers learned of his cause and gave him leeway on the highway. Railroad engineers leaned on train whistles for encouragement.
South Dakota was the most grueling part of the journey, a daunting 560-mile trek in 100-degree weather through desolate territory where the state mammal is the coyote.
“It got discouraging,” said Caffery. “There was no shelter. There were no trees. I was by myself and totally dependent on the people around me.”
He was grateful for people like the owners of the Ace Motel in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, who gave him a roof over his head and a fresh bar of soap in the shower stall. “Ceramic tile, toilet, shower … Compared to sleeping on the side of the highway, it couldn’t have been better.”
A nasty case of shin splints set him back a week, but his arthritic hip never barked and he was able to average 50 miles a day while burning 600 calories an hour.
“I was amazed with my body’s ability to bounce back every morning,” he said. “My left hip was pain free and my right arm wasn’t sore from pushing the stroller, but my left shoulder bothered me. It did nothing, but a person’s body responds to work.”
Most weight-conscious people try to maintain a caloric intake under 2,000, but Caffery needed 7,000 calories day to keep up his energy level.
“Food was the single hardest part of the trip,” he said. “The problem was, I had no appetite and the stuff I ate was high calorie and not particularly healthy. Mostly I got sick of things. They had really gross ice cream (in South Dakota) called Blue Bunny, and another problem was I was a vegetarian in one thousand miles of beef country. But I did eat a lot of eggs and drink a lot of chocolate milk.”
Jogging on thoroughfares built for fast-moving vehicles provided a shocking, near slow-motion perspective of death on the highway.
“Dead things were horrible, so many dead things in the road,” he said. “The stench was a constant companion. Cars are so disruptive, and I saw so much killing…. Two Canada geese crossing the road with their offspring and I thought how beautiful, and a car went smashing through them, just a swirl of feathers. The car never slowed. That was hard.”
At night in the West, snakes came to bask on the warm roads.
“I had to be careful. The really big snakes were the bull snakes and they camouflaged well on the road,” said Caffery. “When I saw my first prairie rattler I knew I had to keep getting fresh batteries for my head lamp.”
In Ohio his father-in-law died. He rented a car and drove to the memorial service in Easton, Pa., then returned to where he’d left off.
“It made me wonder whether my run was truly separate from my life or really just the same,” he said. “I don’t think it was as separate as it seemed.”
The country’s diverse geography didn’t affect him so much as the people he met.
“They have forever changed me,” he said. “I feel really blessed they brought me into their world. I came to learn that the U.S. is a big community and I’d never thought of it that way. I was given two flags along the way. I’ve never had a flag in front of my house but I cherish these two flags.”
Life has returned to normal for Caffery. He’s back teaching at UMass and on Oct. 18 he spoke at an Alzheimer’s symposium in Boston. Although he’s raised $25,000, he said, “Alzheimer’s been a part of my life but I don’t consider myself an activist, surprising as that sounds.”
His feet still hurt and his weight is down and he’s quick to admit, “I’m in pretty bad shape right now.”
Yet he’ll recover physically and keep the memory.
“What’d you expect?” the doctor replied.
Caffery, a 49-year-old data management teacher at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, lives in Leyden, a small town in the Connecticut River Valley that borders Vermont. His cross-country pilgrimage was to raise awareness about the Alzheimer’s disease that killed his father at age 68.
“He was diagnosed at 55,” said Caffery, “but it was symptomatic at least two years prior to that.”
On May 19, Caffery stuck his foot into the Pacific Ocean and began his long, arduous journey across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota on toward the Northeast and into New England. On Aug. 17, surrounded by friends and family, he splashed into the Atlantic Ocean at Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island.
Along the way he had jogged through towns named Mud Butte and Faith and avoided roads with rumble strips that rattled the three-wheeled stroller he kept packed with supplies and camping gear. “It was kind of comfortable to have it with me. I never gave it a name. I’m glad it never came to that.”
His wife, Colleen, shipped Asics DS running shoes and multivitamins to designated truck stops every 350 miles. Truckers learned of his cause and gave him leeway on the highway. Railroad engineers leaned on train whistles for encouragement.
South Dakota was the most grueling part of the journey, a daunting 560-mile trek in 100-degree weather through desolate territory where the state mammal is the coyote.
“It got discouraging,” said Caffery. “There was no shelter. There were no trees. I was by myself and totally dependent on the people around me.”
He was grateful for people like the owners of the Ace Motel in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, who gave him a roof over his head and a fresh bar of soap in the shower stall. “Ceramic tile, toilet, shower … Compared to sleeping on the side of the highway, it couldn’t have been better.”
A nasty case of shin splints set him back a week, but his arthritic hip never barked and he was able to average 50 miles a day while burning 600 calories an hour.
“I was amazed with my body’s ability to bounce back every morning,” he said. “My left hip was pain free and my right arm wasn’t sore from pushing the stroller, but my left shoulder bothered me. It did nothing, but a person’s body responds to work.”
Most weight-conscious people try to maintain a caloric intake under 2,000, but Caffery needed 7,000 calories day to keep up his energy level.
“Food was the single hardest part of the trip,” he said. “The problem was, I had no appetite and the stuff I ate was high calorie and not particularly healthy. Mostly I got sick of things. They had really gross ice cream (in South Dakota) called Blue Bunny, and another problem was I was a vegetarian in one thousand miles of beef country. But I did eat a lot of eggs and drink a lot of chocolate milk.”
Jogging on thoroughfares built for fast-moving vehicles provided a shocking, near slow-motion perspective of death on the highway.
“Dead things were horrible, so many dead things in the road,” he said. “The stench was a constant companion. Cars are so disruptive, and I saw so much killing…. Two Canada geese crossing the road with their offspring and I thought how beautiful, and a car went smashing through them, just a swirl of feathers. The car never slowed. That was hard.”
At night in the West, snakes came to bask on the warm roads.
“I had to be careful. The really big snakes were the bull snakes and they camouflaged well on the road,” said Caffery. “When I saw my first prairie rattler I knew I had to keep getting fresh batteries for my head lamp.”
In Ohio his father-in-law died. He rented a car and drove to the memorial service in Easton, Pa., then returned to where he’d left off.
“It made me wonder whether my run was truly separate from my life or really just the same,” he said. “I don’t think it was as separate as it seemed.”
The country’s diverse geography didn’t affect him so much as the people he met.
“They have forever changed me,” he said. “I feel really blessed they brought me into their world. I came to learn that the U.S. is a big community and I’d never thought of it that way. I was given two flags along the way. I’ve never had a flag in front of my house but I cherish these two flags.”
Life has returned to normal for Caffery. He’s back teaching at UMass and on Oct. 18 he spoke at an Alzheimer’s symposium in Boston. Although he’s raised $25,000, he said, “Alzheimer’s been a part of my life but I don’t consider myself an activist, surprising as that sounds.”
His feet still hurt and his weight is down and he’s quick to admit, “I’m in pretty bad shape right now.”
Yet he’ll recover physically and keep the memory.
2011年3月27日星期日
Crusaders beat Sharks in a glorious showcase for Super 15 quality
Adversity brings out the best in some people. It will take more than a decent 80 minutes of rugby to rebuild the ruins of central Christchurch but a spectacular win for the Crusaders achieved some important goals in the London sunshine. The occasion not only raised £175,000 in ticket revenue alone to help victims of last month's earthquake but will have done almost as much for the morale of those clearing up the mess.
Last but by no means least this was the day when several fond, smug northern hemisphere assumptions were systematically torn apart. Yes, the weather was glorious and conditions perfect for running rugby. Yes, there were 22 internationals on the field at kick-off. Yes, a few tackles went astray. But long before the Crusaders wing Sean Maitland scored the decisive ninth try of a pulsating match it was equally clear that those who reckon the Super 15 has nothing to teach its European counterparts inhabit the myopic land of cloudy cuckoos.
It is not to denigrate the competitiveness of the Aviva Premiership to suggest the Crusaders, particularly in the first half, played rugby the like of which the English domestic game is not familiar. A more direct comparison is with a cross-border competition like the Heineken Cup but even Leinster, Toulouse, Leicester et al would have been suitably impressed. In terms of attacking running lines it was like being transported in from a distant galaxy.
Candyfloss? Hardly. The Sharks pack averaged almost 18 stone per man. Owen Franks, the All Blacks prop, smashed everything that moved and it was a minor miracle Ryan Kankowski played on after receiving a shoulder hit from Sonny Bill Williams which would have hospitalised most players. Just as striking was the scrummaging venom of the Crusaders' forwards as they splintered an all-Springbok front-row comprising John Smit and the Du Plesis brothers. In such circumstances, the Sharks did well to stay in the contest at all. It is doubtful whether even England's Six Nations winners on home turf would have lasted the pace.
From first to last it amounted to a crusade for positivity. Williams, the king of the offload, was even more impressive at times than he looked against England in November and the entire Crusaders backline buzzed with intent. Orchestrating it all was Dan Carter, who scored 22 points before limping off with a tweaked right hamstring. If British coaches want a microcosm of what a decent 10-12 axis looks like, they should simply watch the fly-half's 21st-minute try, a gloriously slick blur of motion which saw the big Williams give the perfect one-handed scoring pass to his quicksilver team-mate.
The precision-engineered interplay between Andrew Ellis and Robbie Fruean for Israel Dagg's subsequent score was almost as good, a far cry from the own-brand bashing which passes as backline sophistication in certain English clubs. Maybe it would have been a fairer comparison in less spring-like conditions but you suspect the Crusaders would still have adapted accordingly. The Sharks, who were 34-10 down at one stage, had few doubts about the quality heading their way. "That's the best side they've had for a while," said John Plumtree, the Sharks' Kiwi head coach. "They're the benchmark of the competition. Everyone's going to have to lift their game to get up to where they are."
The same, of course, applies to New Zealand's opponents at this autumn's World Cup. British administrators will also be wearing quizzical expressions this morning. This was supposed to be the weekend the Premiership and the Magners League wrested back the baton from their Six Nations counterparts. Nor does it take a genius to imagine more Super Rugby being staged in the north, with over 35,000 tickets sold in barely a fortnight. "Today had a little bit of everything," said the Crusaders' coach Todd Blackadder. "I'd like to think it could happen again. I thought it was just superb. It was just a wee taste of what our competition is like."
Just to rub it in, Blackadder said his team would be "disappointed with a lot of that second half", having seen the Sharks mount a stout fightback on the back of two tries in three minutes by Alistair Hargreaves and Odwa Ndungane. With 28 minutes left they trailed by just nine points at 37-28, finished off only when Zac Guildford's neat pass sent Maitland in for his second try.
Any other result would have been immensely harsh on the likes of Matt Todd, the Crusaders flanker who turned 23 over the weekend. Richie McCaw is a tough act to follow but Todd is already having a good stab at it. It is New Zealand rugby's speciality to produce barely heralded players who would walk into most Six Nations sides. Nor does it matter much what country they happen to be playing in. The next stop for the Crusaders is Timaru in a fortnight's time. Trust me, this is a travelling circus worth watching. They are welcome back in Britain any time.
Last but by no means least this was the day when several fond, smug northern hemisphere assumptions were systematically torn apart. Yes, the weather was glorious and conditions perfect for running rugby. Yes, there were 22 internationals on the field at kick-off. Yes, a few tackles went astray. But long before the Crusaders wing Sean Maitland scored the decisive ninth try of a pulsating match it was equally clear that those who reckon the Super 15 has nothing to teach its European counterparts inhabit the myopic land of cloudy cuckoos.
It is not to denigrate the competitiveness of the Aviva Premiership to suggest the Crusaders, particularly in the first half, played rugby the like of which the English domestic game is not familiar. A more direct comparison is with a cross-border competition like the Heineken Cup but even Leinster, Toulouse, Leicester et al would have been suitably impressed. In terms of attacking running lines it was like being transported in from a distant galaxy.
Candyfloss? Hardly. The Sharks pack averaged almost 18 stone per man. Owen Franks, the All Blacks prop, smashed everything that moved and it was a minor miracle Ryan Kankowski played on after receiving a shoulder hit from Sonny Bill Williams which would have hospitalised most players. Just as striking was the scrummaging venom of the Crusaders' forwards as they splintered an all-Springbok front-row comprising John Smit and the Du Plesis brothers. In such circumstances, the Sharks did well to stay in the contest at all. It is doubtful whether even England's Six Nations winners on home turf would have lasted the pace.
From first to last it amounted to a crusade for positivity. Williams, the king of the offload, was even more impressive at times than he looked against England in November and the entire Crusaders backline buzzed with intent. Orchestrating it all was Dan Carter, who scored 22 points before limping off with a tweaked right hamstring. If British coaches want a microcosm of what a decent 10-12 axis looks like, they should simply watch the fly-half's 21st-minute try, a gloriously slick blur of motion which saw the big Williams give the perfect one-handed scoring pass to his quicksilver team-mate.
The precision-engineered interplay between Andrew Ellis and Robbie Fruean for Israel Dagg's subsequent score was almost as good, a far cry from the own-brand bashing which passes as backline sophistication in certain English clubs. Maybe it would have been a fairer comparison in less spring-like conditions but you suspect the Crusaders would still have adapted accordingly. The Sharks, who were 34-10 down at one stage, had few doubts about the quality heading their way. "That's the best side they've had for a while," said John Plumtree, the Sharks' Kiwi head coach. "They're the benchmark of the competition. Everyone's going to have to lift their game to get up to where they are."
The same, of course, applies to New Zealand's opponents at this autumn's World Cup. British administrators will also be wearing quizzical expressions this morning. This was supposed to be the weekend the Premiership and the Magners League wrested back the baton from their Six Nations counterparts. Nor does it take a genius to imagine more Super Rugby being staged in the north, with over 35,000 tickets sold in barely a fortnight. "Today had a little bit of everything," said the Crusaders' coach Todd Blackadder. "I'd like to think it could happen again. I thought it was just superb. It was just a wee taste of what our competition is like."
Just to rub it in, Blackadder said his team would be "disappointed with a lot of that second half", having seen the Sharks mount a stout fightback on the back of two tries in three minutes by Alistair Hargreaves and Odwa Ndungane. With 28 minutes left they trailed by just nine points at 37-28, finished off only when Zac Guildford's neat pass sent Maitland in for his second try.
Any other result would have been immensely harsh on the likes of Matt Todd, the Crusaders flanker who turned 23 over the weekend. Richie McCaw is a tough act to follow but Todd is already having a good stab at it. It is New Zealand rugby's speciality to produce barely heralded players who would walk into most Six Nations sides. Nor does it matter much what country they happen to be playing in. The next stop for the Crusaders is Timaru in a fortnight's time. Trust me, this is a travelling circus worth watching. They are welcome back in Britain any time.
2011年3月7日星期一
Horror day at Quicksilver Pro
JOEL Parkinson was the remaining Gold Coast surfer left in the Quiksilver Pro after a
horror day which saw Mick Fanning and Josh Kerr eliminated.
The Snapper Rocks event is one locals have dominated in its 10-year history, with
Fanning, 29, and Parkinson, 29, having taken two each and Dean Morrison, 30, another.
With Fanning's frustrating round-three loss to Dusty Payne, then Kerr's close defeat
to Adrian Buchan, it was left to Parkinson to keep the Gold Coast flag flying and he
did just that, by defeating Kai Otton in the second-last heat of round three.
Twice world champion Fanning failed to catch a wave in the final 10 minutes of his
heat and was eliminated by less than a point, 11.77 to 11.
"I am the only one of the three local boys left now, so hopefully I'm the lone
standing at the end too," Parkinson said after his heat.
Fanning's was the first men's heat of the day and it certainly wasn't classic Snapper
Rocks conditions, especially in the early heats on high tide. With the dropping tide
barrels came on offer in 1.5 metre swell and Parkinson got plenty of them to beat
Otton 14.14 to 7.17.
South Africa's Jordy Smith, 23, put in the performance of the day, posting a 17.17
out of a possible 20 for an unmatched affinity with the barrel, massive turns and
aerials. The high-fi exhibition was enough to eliminate replacement surfer Cory Lopez
(USA), 33.
"I was pretty nervous going into my heat," Smith said. "Cory (Lopez), I know how well
he surfs and I didn't want to get stuck behind the rocks. Matt (Wilkinson) and those
guys psyched me up and it was fun out there surfing with one other guy."
Finishing runner-up at this event last season as well as in the hunt for the ASP
world title, the big South African is confident in his abilities and mind frame in
2011. "I'm feeling really good," Smith said. "I feel confident. I have nice boards
under my feet and am taking it one event at a time. I'm having fun with it."
Keeping Australian hopes alive are Matt Wilkinson, 22, Adrian Buchan, 28, and
defending champion Taj Burrow, 32.
Wilkinson put on an electric performance to beat Heitor Alves. The progressive goofy
-footer blasted away at the bowly righthanders, netting a 9.27 out of a possible 10
for one of the highest single-wave scores of the day.
The performance included a nearly-completed rodeo flip that had the thousands in
attendance on their feet.
Burrow beat world tour rookie Julian Wilson to advance.
horror day which saw Mick Fanning and Josh Kerr eliminated.
The Snapper Rocks event is one locals have dominated in its 10-year history, with
Fanning, 29, and Parkinson, 29, having taken two each and Dean Morrison, 30, another.
With Fanning's frustrating round-three loss to Dusty Payne, then Kerr's close defeat
to Adrian Buchan, it was left to Parkinson to keep the Gold Coast flag flying and he
did just that, by defeating Kai Otton in the second-last heat of round three.
Twice world champion Fanning failed to catch a wave in the final 10 minutes of his
heat and was eliminated by less than a point, 11.77 to 11.
"I am the only one of the three local boys left now, so hopefully I'm the lone
standing at the end too," Parkinson said after his heat.
Fanning's was the first men's heat of the day and it certainly wasn't classic Snapper
Rocks conditions, especially in the early heats on high tide. With the dropping tide
barrels came on offer in 1.5 metre swell and Parkinson got plenty of them to beat
Otton 14.14 to 7.17.
South Africa's Jordy Smith, 23, put in the performance of the day, posting a 17.17
out of a possible 20 for an unmatched affinity with the barrel, massive turns and
aerials. The high-fi exhibition was enough to eliminate replacement surfer Cory Lopez
(USA), 33.
"I was pretty nervous going into my heat," Smith said. "Cory (Lopez), I know how well
he surfs and I didn't want to get stuck behind the rocks. Matt (Wilkinson) and those
guys psyched me up and it was fun out there surfing with one other guy."
Finishing runner-up at this event last season as well as in the hunt for the ASP
world title, the big South African is confident in his abilities and mind frame in
2011. "I'm feeling really good," Smith said. "I feel confident. I have nice boards
under my feet and am taking it one event at a time. I'm having fun with it."
Keeping Australian hopes alive are Matt Wilkinson, 22, Adrian Buchan, 28, and
defending champion Taj Burrow, 32.
Wilkinson put on an electric performance to beat Heitor Alves. The progressive goofy
-footer blasted away at the bowly righthanders, netting a 9.27 out of a possible 10
for one of the highest single-wave scores of the day.
The performance included a nearly-completed rodeo flip that had the thousands in
attendance on their feet.
Burrow beat world tour rookie Julian Wilson to advance.
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