Sports Roundup: Basketball, youth wrestling results

Varsity Boys Basketball Hamilton 70, Biggs 30 The Hamilton High boys basketball team trounced Biggs Friday in their regular-season finale. Paulo Frutos led the Hamilton offense with 13 points, while Leland Prior and Ricky Alvarez each pitched in 10. Tim Bekendam, Shea Shull, and Briley Fumasi all contributed eight during the home win. The Braves …

View full post

PETER HOMER All About Wine…The New World is at the top of the tree for tasty sauvignon blancs

Published on Thursday 9 February 2012 08:57 Lots of white wine drinkers have switched to sauvignon blanc over recent years for two basic reasons – they like the taste and the price-tags. Prices generally remain below those of other quality whites, although they have been edging up lately, along with most other wines on retailers’ …

View full post

Search the Citizen

For years, money has stood in the way of Phil Mizzi’s dream of outfitting St. Vincent de Paul’s Dan O’Meara Center with an authentic pizza kitchen. Hot, crispy pizza isn’t just delicious, he said, but it’s a way to bring in more families that need a good meal and give them a special treat. Now, …

View full post

Warehouse-sale deals await travelers, homebodies

Gear up for your next travel adventure or outfit your home at two upcoming Bay Area warehouse sales. Check out company websites to preview the inventory and remember: Early birds get the best selection. Kiva’s spring travel sale The goods: Stop by Kiva’s new and upgraded showroom and outlet in Benicia for extra-special bargains. This …

View full post

Orange 20 Bikes » Don’t Knock This Opportunity

Recently, Bureau of Street Services changed the contractor it allows to provide benches at bus stops in exchange for the privilege of putting ads on the things. The old benches were awful plastic things, but the new ones are rather handsome dark-green affairs made of large-diameter steel tubing. They’re even a bit stylish, as you …

View full post
Sports Roundup: Basketball, youth wrestling resultsPETER HOMER All About Wine…The New World is at the top of the tree for tasty sauvignon blancsSearch the CitizenWarehouse-sale deals await travelers, homebodiesOrange 20 Bikes » Don’t Knock This Opportunity

Feb
22

Sarah Fisher frozen out of IndyCar Series

Categories:

by

1329892758 19 Sarah Fisher frozen out of IndyCar Series

IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard has a problem. And it’s a big one.

The series’ only female owner—and one of its most popular people over the last decade, Sarah Fisher—can’t get an engine to go racing.

She has the money to pay for an engine. In fact, she has the sponsorship revenue to race a full IndyCar Series season this year.

Fisher has a promising American rookie driver—2011 Indy Lights Champion Josef Newgarden—a spiffy new Dallara chassis and a new shop being built on Main Street in Speedway.

The Ohio native’s team couldn’t be more all-American if it fueled its car with apple pie. Fisher couldn’t be more of a series loyalist if her last name was Foyt.

And still, Fisher can’t get one of the series’ three engine manufacturers—Chevrolet, Honda or Lotus—to sell her an engine.

Fans are starting to fume. Some on motorsports message boards are promising to turn their backs on the open-wheel series forever unless series officials step up to broker a deal—and fast. Sure, those fans might be blowing smoke. But at a time when Bernard is touting amped-up TV ratings and projecting attendance gains, he can’t afford to take that risk.

This is a tricky problem for Bernard.

Each manufacturer promised to supply up to 10 engines for the 2012 IndyCar season. Honda has stretched itself to supply 12 and Chevrolet is at 11. Lotus is at five, and according to company officials, unable to go any higher.

Fisher initially approached Chevrolet because she wanted an American company. But despite her team racing victoriously at Kentucky at the end of 2011, the all-American auto manufacturer told the all-American girl her money is no good here. Fisher turned to Honda, figuring at least its racing division was based in the good old USA, but by then Honda was over capacity.

Since engine manufacturers sell each engine at a financial loss, Chevrolet and Honda are not eager to rush to get Fisher an engine at their expense.

Lotus, the last of the three to jump into the IndyCar Series, has been behind from the start. Until recently, it was unclear if it would to be able to supply any engines.

Bernard could sweeten the pot for Chevy or Honda to try to sway them to make Fisher an engine. But it’s not clear if that strategy would work and is certain to raise a stink with other owners wondering why the series is doling out money to a competitor.

Honda officials said they likely will be able to add Fisher to their roster, but not until the Indianapolis 500 in May. That means Fisher’s team will miss the first four races of the year at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach and Brazil.

That essentially takes Fisher out of the 2012 series points battle before the year begins, and likely takes the promising Newgarden out of the Rookie of the Year hunt. It also puts the team at an extreme disadvantage for Indianapolis—the biggest race of the year. And that won’t sit well with Fisher’s sponsors.

At a time when everyone should be focused on the series’ new chassis and engine packages, and the first IndyCar Series on-track competition between engine manufacturers in years, the paddock and a bevy of auto racing writers are focused on Fisher’s dilemma.

Unfortunately for Bernard, and everyone else concerned about marketing the series, Fisher’s team is not alone.

Conquest Racing is in a similar situation, which is hindering the team from even hiring a driver for 2012. But Fisher is getting all the attention.

Several factors have led to the engine shortfall. First, there have been more blown engines in testing than anticipated. There have also been more teams requesting new engines than projected.

There were 25 cars on the grid for the 2011 season opener, while there are about 30 cars seeking to race this year’s season opener March 25 in St. Petersburg.

But this isn’t the season for excuses. For a series CEO, this is the season for action.

It’s a time to go green, not make your fans see red.

Tags: , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Musicians Wage War Against Robots

Categories:

by

1329890371 82 Musicians Wage War Against Robots

An advertising campaign from the American Federation of Musicians (September 2, 1930 Syracuse Herald)

After the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, all bets were off for live musicians who played in movie theaters. Thanks to synchronized sound, the use of live musicians was unnecessary — and perhaps a larger sin, old-fashioned. In 1930 the American Federation of Musicians formed a new organization called the Music Defense League and launched a scathing ad campaign to fight the advance of this terrible menace known as recorded sound.

The evil face of that campaign was the dastardly, maniacal robot. The Music Defense League spent over $500,000, running ads in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada. The ads pleaded with the public to demand humans play their music (be it in movie or stage theaters), rather than some cold, unseen machine. A typical ad read like this one from the September 2, 1930 Syracuse Herald in New York:

Tho’ the Robot can make no music of himself, he can and does arrest the efforts of those who can.

Manners mean nothing to this monstrous offspring of modern industrialism, as IT crowds Living Music out of the theatre spotlight.

Though “music has charms to soothe the savage beast, to soften rocks or bend a knotted oak,” it has no power to appease the Robot of Canned Music. Only the theatre-going public can do that.

Hence the swift growth of the Music Defense League, formed to demand Living Music in the theatre.

Every lover of music should join in this rescue of Art from debasement. Sign and mail the coupon.

The robot of recorded or “canned” music had many guises, all somehow destroying the best things in society. Here the robot makes a lunge in its attempt to steer “musical culture” away from a decidedly more pure course:

A robot at the helm from the March 9, 1931 Simpsons Leader Times (Kittanning, Pennsylvania)

Another ad claimed that musicians were being put out of work by Hollywood because recorded sound required just a few hundred musicians in recording studios. The ad even uses scare quotes around the word “music,” implying that recorded sound couldn’t even be considered as such:

300 musicians in Hollywood supply all the “music” offered in thousands of theatres. Can such a tiny reservoir of talent nurture artistic progress?

The robot putting musicians out of work (June 5, 1930 Bradford Era)

Joseph N. Weber, the president of the American Federation of Musicians, made it clear in the March, 1931 issue of Modern Mechanix magazine that the very soul of art was at stake in this battle against the machines:

The time is coming fast when the only living thing around a motion picture house will be the person who sells you your ticket. Everything else will be mechanical. Canned drama, canned music, canned vaudeville. We think the public will tire of mechanical music and will want the real thing. We are not against scientific development of any kind, but it must not come at the expense of art. We are not opposing industrial progress. We are not even opposing mechanical music except where it is used as a profiteering instrument for artistic debasement.

That debasement came in the form of the evil robot grinding up instruments in a meat grinder, like in this ad from the November 3, 1930 Syracuse Herald.

A robot grinding up musical instruments (November 3, 1930 Syracuse Herald)

The robot was even shown as a new nurse ineffectively soothing a baby, which represented the audience of the future.

The robot playing nurse to the audience of the future (September 15, 1930 Capital Times)

You best hide your daughters, because this ad from the August 24, 1931 Centralia Daily Chronicle in Centralia, Washington shows an “unwelcome suitor” who has been “wooing the muse for many dreary months without winning her favor.”

The robot attempting to woo your daughter (August 24, 1931 Centralia Daily Chronicle)

The robot was often shown as greedy in the ads, caring nothing of people but only of profit, like in this ad from the October 1, 1930 Portsmouth Herald (Portsmouth, New Hampshire).

A robot debasing music by simply playing for profit (October 1, 1930 Portsmouth Herald)

Fundamentally, the ads were an effort to make people believe what made music so special was the musician’s soul that was somehow only reflected in a live performance. This ad from the August 17, 1930 Oelwein Daily Register (Oewlwein, Iowa) got to the heart of it — robots have no soul.

The soulless robot as depicted in the August 17, 1930 Oelwein Daily Register (Oelwein, Iowa)

The downside to this option is that though the kitchen gets a new look, the appliances and the cabinets still remain the same. Bathroom and Kitchen Sink Buying Guide One of the most used (and abused) fixtures in the home is the sink. If finding utensils or knives and spoons in your kitchen has become a big challenge, then you need to have furniture than can keep your kitchen equipment and utensils organized. Baking soda also does great for deodorizing your carpets, fridge, and even your shoes. As mentioned earlier, you can create a combination of colors in cabinets if you find black too overpowering, even within the contemporary design framework. She is paralyzed with guilt for not being there to keep her baby safe in that split second. The most excellent companies unite precision production with artistic idea that will give your kitchen a pleasant experience. They allow more than one person to prepare meals in the kitchen, and they make it easier for a cook to interact with guests while preparing a meal. Searching out storage space in your kitchen does not have to be arduous or difficult.

Tags: , , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Make Your Own Rice Milk

Categories:

by

1329881958 11 Make Your Own Rice Milk

Lots of people these days avoid dairy and instead reach for alternatives to milk. We’ve covered making your own soy milk and almond milk in the past; if you prefer rice milk you can make your own by blending rice, water and a sweetener.

Food blog Chow.com contributor Karen Solomon shows us in the video above how easy rice milk is to make: pour one cup of dry long-grain white rice in a blender along with four cups of water. Let that soak for 10 hours then pulverise it in your blender at it’s highest speed for a full two minutes, while you add four teaspoons sugar or other equivalent sweetener. Strain that through a fine mesh strainer and you have fresh tasty rice milk.

Around the world this drink can also be made from sesame seeds, barley, or tigernuts and is commonly known as horchata.

Karen also suggests throwing in a stick of cinnamon while the rice soaks to add flavour. I imagine vanilla beans and many other spices would also work; this makes me want to make a chai spices rice milk to add to strong black darjeeling tea.

Karen doesn’t state how long the rice milk will last, but I’m guessing that you should go for a week’s worth per batch.

How to Make Rice Milk and Horchata [Chow.com]

Secondly, the stainless sinks are more durable and are less likely to crack and chip with daily use. There was actually one more shelf available for that unit which we just left off to have more counter space below. Officially, kitchen will need to be first, although how could you do that? kitchen always gets a high ranking. That way you'll be assured of getting exactly what you wanted.Area Rugs and Your Kitchen - Are They a Good Fit On the surface it seems as if area rugs aren't a good match with kitchens. The display and sound. Through what medium do typical citizens turn up free red kitchen accessories lines? Heaters powered by electricity may seem like those are easy to maintain, but the fuel prices can put creases in your forehead well before you reach 50. Once again - a great way of updating a kitchen without spending a fortune. This kitchen collections sucks if this was urgent to me. We know that our loyal guests and the Vail Valley community will embrace the warm service and chic, Latin style that are signature to Richards restaurants. Being able to easily identify the purpose of each cloth is useful for hygiene reasons. Wipe and apply. There are several kinds of kitchen even though I know that is easier said than done, but watch me.

Tags: , , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Adele: A fashion audition that wasn’t worth the weight

Categories:

by

1329880747 57 Adele: A fashion audition that wasn’t worth the weight

Here in the Thames Valley Frost Pocket, specifically in that part of it which lies between Newbury and Basingstoke, the snow that fell on Thursday night is still on the ground. I am going stir-crazy. Having learnt years ago never to make a New Year’s resolution in January, because the house is still heaving with rich foodstuffs that need to be eaten (Muscat dates, tins of gingerbread, marzipan; waste not, want not), I make them on Twelfth Night for the first of February.

So I ought to be nicely into my New Year Fitness Plan for a Sleek New Me now – running (plodding) up the hill past Lloyd-Webber, leaping about to salsa music over the back in Burghclere. Can’t face it, though. Can’t face even Step 1 (donning icy nylon dancewear in unheated bedroom) or Step 2 (getting into a frosted car). So I am doomed to be self-hating until spring.

Unlike 23-year-old Adele, who appears to be as serene and full of self-esteem as she is lovely looking and sensationally voiced. She has risen above her rude attack by Karl Lagerfeld, the master of Chanel, who was quoted as saying she was “a little too fat”, (the word “fat” is rude), “but has a beautiful face and a divine voice”, which is true. Adele, meanwhile, is on YouTube looking blithe and telling CNN she likes her curves and wouldn’t diet, not ever, never.

M Lagerfeld has been backtracking most uncharacteristically ever since, although he knows whereof he speaks, curveswise. He was himself a fairly weighty chap. He is in the business of being ruthless about fat, though.

I once saw a very young model in my office – well, she was 17, which seems to be “very young” these days, though when I was 17, I was treated as though grown-up and in charge of my own destiny. When the fashion director asked who she’d worked for recently, she mentioned how she had been into Chanel for a go-see (that’s what they all call an appointment) by Lagerfeld himself. She’d entered the building carrying her portfolio, which was taken from her by an underling and handed to an overling who accompanied her into the studio to wait for “Monsieur le maître”.

Lagerfeld had his back to the room – in those days a pretty broad back – and the underling took the portfolio from her, put her finger to her lips and made a “don’t talk!” frown and slid it on to Karl’s desk.

Lagerfeld swivelled round in his chair to look her slowly up and down, his face expressionless, before rapidly flicking over page after page of her pictures. Then, slapping it shut for the underling to remove, he turned again towards Little Miss Londoner, said: “Lose weight,” and turned back to his desk. Whereupon she was whisked outside into the Paris street. As the fashion editors in my office fluttered around her, tut-tutting, she was still smarting from his stinging slapdown. But how much did the poor child weigh, for heaven’s sake? “Eight stone,” she said, sniffing, and: “Five foot 10,” to the next question. Don’t lose weight, I told her, speaking as a mother of daughters.

At that time, M Lagerfeld weighed around 17 stone himself and (not being anywhere near 6ft tall), he looked a bit like an egg in an eggcup. In the year 2000, he determined to lose weight and went to a nutritionist. After a year or so of drinking only Diet Coke and eating some sort of slurry I never got to the bottom of – plus unlimited “berries” – he’d lost, he said, “more than 60 kilos”. Funnily enough, that’s what I weigh, post-Christmas.

And whereas before he’d looked like George IV, post-diet he looked (and still looks) more like a white-haired Mick Jagger costumed up for Blackadder (in its Regency period). A New Yorker profile of him reported that while he watched his own fashion show someone asked him, “How do you feel?” He replied: “I have no human feelings.” Except self-hatred, possibly?

Tags: , , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Cuisinart Cordless Rechargeable Hand Blender Parts « Gift Offer Coupon Blog

Categories:

by

1329878357 15 Cuisinart Cordless Rechargeable Hand Blender Parts « Gift Offer Coupon Blog

Do you have a Cuisinart small appliance? Cuisinart is a well known brand in making high quality kitchen products such as espresso maker and food processor. With its very efficient and superior quality products it became one of the favorites by lots of people. One of the characteristics typical to coffee machines is the glass coffee carafe, it is built that way so you can instantly determine its contents and how much coffee is left. They don’t usually shatter if used correctly, but sometimes even if we are too cautious some unexpected things happen and they shatter finally. Searching for a replacement piece is not quite a concern, plenty of online retailers, vendors, authorize distributors are trading them.

In fact you can even buy them in assorted colors other than the classic black. Besides from the glass carafe other components are very rare and only very few retailers sell them. The best place to visit if you need Cuisinart coffee maker components other than the glass carafe is go to to their main internet site. Normally they will ask you the type of your coffee maker and the component number.

If this didn’t succeed particularly if you own an old model one, consider looking for a used or surplus, many people sell them for repair or for parts at online auctions like eBay. Many people who already purchased a completely new model instead of throwing away the old one, they make it into cash by selling it part by part. You can also see there those tough to find extraordinary pieces that are now obsolete.

Another well known product of Cuisineart is the blender. This unit has a blade and gasket that wears easily based on how many times you make use of them and the kind of food you processed onto it. If you use it to produce cold fruit and milk shakes be prepared to change them more often. Ice cubes are very hard and will get the blade dull in almost no time. When you replace the blade it’s a rule of thumb to replace also the gasket to eliminate leaks. Acquiring a replacement blade and gasket is not also a concern and you can easily buy them both in online shops and in the kitchen appliance section of the majority of malls. Other rare Cuisinart blender parts can be ordered at their authorized service centers or website.

Just click on the highlighted url links to learn further about Cuisinart cuisinart service centre locations and Cuisinart replacement parts canada and get the very best deals.

It doesn't shock me that you know that there is a humdrum kitchen is that it overcomes problems with kitchen collection. Some natural stone tile varieties are suitable for wall tile installation and they will naturally be lighter than the natural floor tiles. Kitchen design and installation is a complicated task. Home owners have many choices and home owners should think about this carefully. That's just a lot of trying work. That will depend on how the kitchen is constructed and you will be the best judge of that. There's recently been an outbreak of kitchen quotes problems. Here are the five best selling Kitchen island carts and cabinets to help you make a selection.

Tags: , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

The Most Cheapest Badger Garbage Disposals In The World

Categories:

by

1329877151 60 The Most Cheapest Badger Garbage Disposals In The World

The most cheapest badger garbage disposals in the world. InSinkErator Badger 1 , 1/3 HP3ft Power cord , Plugs Directly into Standard Wall Outlet. IN-SINK-ERATOR Cord *Fits most garbage disposers *Original in-sink-aerator replacement aspect *16 gauge wire *1- Romex connector , 1- 3 wire grounded stopper and power cord , 2- wire nuts 3ft Wire , Plugs Directly into Frequent Wall Outlet. Cheapest badger garbage disposals. The Badger® 1 comprises of 1/3-horsepower heavy-duty relaxing Dura-Drive® induction motor , rugged galvanized steel construction to get disposer durability , plus a space-saving compact design. Where to buy badger garbage disposals cheaper. In-Sink-Erator Badger 1 food spoil disposer styled for years involved with trouble-free service. 3ft Cord , Plugs Precisely in line with Conventional Wall Outlet. In-Sink-Erator Badger 1 food spend disposer planned for years with trouble-free service. Most reliable badger garbage disposals reviews and ratings. InSinkErator Badger 1 , 1/3 HP Household Food Squandering Disposer. InSinkErator Badger 1 , 1/3 HP Household Food Waste Disposer. Badger garbage disposals deals web most beneficial buy. Found in fact , the InSinkErator® Badger® provides an effective mediocre water usage of a particular gallon per person per period as well as an average electrical usage of three if you want to four kilowatt hours per year , can make it among typically the least expensive installed kitchen appliances.We Come To You® Parts and Labor WarrantyThe Badger® 1 is undoubtedly backed by means of a certain exclusive one-year My partner and i Come to actually You® In-Home Business Warranty.This warranty as a result of InSinkErator® includes free house calls (including components and labor) to make the entirewarranty period.What s within your BoxInSinkErator® Badger® 1 Food Waste Disposer , Quickly Lock® Sink Mount , Sink Baffle , Jam-Buster Wrench , Plastic Sink Stopper , and Installation Instructions. 3ft String , Plugs Precisely into Standard Wall Outlet. 3ft Cord , Plugs Directly straight to Regular Wall Outlet. the two year.Instead connected with throwing this food throw away away , grinding it with all the InSinkErator® Badger® sends it for your personal local municipal wastewater treatment plant , the place where it may well be recycled to produce methane , a renewable form of capacity for ones plant. Greatest 10 most reliable badger garbage disposals reviews. InSinkErator® Badger® Food Waste DisposersBadger® Food Waste content Disposers undoubtedly are reliable and handy conclusion at the time affordability may be the prime concern. In-Sink-Erator Badger 1 food waste disposer intended intended for years of trouble-free service. Terribly cheap used badger garbage disposals for sale. , 3ft Twine , Plugs. Cheapest badger garbage disposals for sale. 2011 compare badger garbage disposals. InSinkErator® disposers happen to be economical to operate: located in fact , customers re among those least expensive mounted kitchen appliances.3/4-HP Dura-Drive®Induction Motor1/2-HP Dura-Drive®Induction Motor1/3-HP Dura-Drive®Induction MotorGalvanized SteelGrind SystemGalvanized SteelGrind SystemGalvanized SteelGrind System3-year We Come ToYou® In-HomeWarranty2-Year We Come ToYou® In-HomeWarranty1-Year Everyone Can be bought ToYou® In-HomeWarrantyPictured from left to right: Evolution Essential® , Evolution Cover Control® , Evolution Excel® , Evolution Septic Assist® , and Evolution Compact®Evolution Series® DisposersIf we prefer a higher range of grind results , and significantly quieter process , find out out there the Evolution Series® Disposers.Evolution Series® disposers feature innovative technologies–MultiGrind® and SoundSeal®–that address subscribers a couple of most widely used requests: improved grinding ability and reduced noise.Easy to be able to Install!The InSinkErator® Badger® 1 is considered to be engineered with space efficiency as well as simple installing the components of mind.Odds may be that a old disposer consists of a Quick Lock® sink mount. InSinkErator Badger 1 , 1/3 HP Household Food Cost Disposer. 3ft Cord , Plugs Specifically straight to Customary Wall Outlet. InSinkErator Badger 1 , 1/3 HP Household Food Waste matter Disposer. IN-SINK-ERATOR Cord *Fits most garbage disposers *Original in-sink-aerator alternative part *16 gauge wire *1- Romex connector , 1- 3 wire grounded plug and power cord , 2- wire nuts 3ft Wire , Plugs Without delay straight into Standard Wall Outlet. 3ft Power cord , Plugs Straight away into Standard Wall Outlet. This makesreplacement as easy as removing the previous disposer using twist and installingthe new one. , Wallet-Friendly ChoiceThe InSinkErator® Badger® food waste disposer is the practical and environmentally responsible wayto boost reduce the 31 million tons of solid waste or refuse generated via food scraps in your U.S. 3ft String , Plugs Directly inside Basic Wall Outlet. IN-SINK-ERATOR Cord *Fits a good number garbage disposers *Original in-sink-aerator alternatives segment *16 gauge wire *1- Romex connector , 1- 3 wire grounded select and cord , 2- wire nuts 3ft Cord , Plugs Precisely inside Standard Wall Outlet. In-Sink-Erator Badger 1 food waste disposer designed to have years involving trouble-free service. Which may be the number one badger garbage disposals brand to buy. 3ft Cable , Plugs Straight away straight into Standard Wall Outlet. Additionally , wastewater treatment plants can easily course of action food debris into biosolids turn into put to use as fertilizer (check often the plant inside the area).Food spend disposers average only 50 cents a year in electricity to operate and account with respect to under one percent connected with household s finished water consumption. IN-SINK-ERATOR Cord *Fits most garbage disposers *Original in-sink-aerator replacement foam part *16 gauge wire *1- Romex connector , 1- 3 wire grounded outlet and cord , 2- wire nuts 3ft Cord , Plugs Directly inside Standard Wall Outlet. Cheapest badger garbage disposals brands. Choose out of three models , each by means of aspace-saving small in size design. With very best it all of the going , the Badger® 1 offers a one-year We Are obtainable To assist you to You® In-Home Service Warranty.What s further , whenever you ve for no reason owned a food spend disposer , you’ll re inside just for a pleasant surprise. , Cheapest Badger

Tags: InSinkErator CRD-00 Power Cord Kit, Waste King L-8000 Legend Series

Tags: ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Enough, already: How much is enough? Start with 15 bathrooms

Categories:

by

1329875956 42 Enough, already: How much is enough? Start with 15 bathrooms

A decade or so ago, when a casino company was thinking about setting up shop near the Mississippi River tourist town of Kimmswick, I visited the Portland Place mansion of Lucianna Gladney Ross, the 7Up heiress who almost single-handedly had restored the town.

She was 86 years old at the time and unable to walk. She spent nearly all of her time in one room of her vast and stately home, a parlor furnished with books, a television, a bed and comfortable chairs. She told fascinating stories and vowed to keep the casino away from Kimmswick. For whatever reason, the casino was located upriver in Lemay instead.

Gladney Ross died last month at 96. I read her obituary – she’d correctly predicted 10 years ago that Kimmswick would be in the lead – and wondered if she’d ever gotten out of her parlor. That memory has haunted me – a beautiful 13,000-square-foot French provincial mansion on a private street, and she was stuck in one room. Big houses and living into your 90s might not be what they’re cracked up to be.

Last weekend’s edition of The Wall Street Journal featured a fascinating look at the mega-mansions being built by some of the famous wealthiest top 1/10th of 1 percent of Americans.

The size of the average newly constructed home in the United States fell to 2,392 square feet in 2010. The Journal was writing about homes that are 10 to 20 times that size and feature amenities like shooting ranges, bowling lanes, saltwater “plunge pools” and – my favorite – the 15-bathroom (plus powder rooms) home being built in Connecticut for Lee Weinstein, founder of Xand, a data storage company.

Fifteen bathrooms? I’m not sure how much is enough, but I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere south of 15 bathrooms.

The people who are building these homes are folks like you and me, except they’ve inherited a billion dollars or they are Saudi princes or NFL quarterbacks married to supermodels or they’ve built tech companies. Their wealth permits them to dream big when it comes to dream houses.

And really – what’s the difference between having one house with 15 bathrooms and having five homes with three bathrooms apiece? Will 15 bathrooms make you any happier than just one bathroom when you really need it?

So how much is enough? President Barack Obama wants to restore pre-2001 tax rates for households with at least $250,000 a year in taxable income. That’s enough, the president believes, to afford to pay more.

But in December, a Gallup Poll reported that Americans say they would need to earn a median of $150,000, or have $1 million in total net worth, to consider themselves rich. Thirty percent said it would take less than $100,000 year to make them feel rich. Another 18 percent would be satisfied with $60,000 a year. But then 15 percent said they’d need $1 million or more a year.

Everything’s relative. The more you’ve got, the more you feel like you need. You’ve got a house with three bathrooms, you want more. You’ve got a house with outdoor plumbing – and in the 2000 Census (the 2010 data aren’t in yet) 670,000 homes still did – one bathroom is a dream.

But those data measure feeling rich. Is there no science for what is enough?

Sure enough, in 2010, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton of Princeton University’s Center for Health and Well-being suggested that if you define “enough” as the point at which you tend to be happiest, the magic number is $75,000 a year.

They analyzed more than 450,000 responses to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily survey of 1,000 U.S. residents conducted by the Gallup Organization. They looked at two aspects of well-being. One, how people reported their emotional reactions to everyday experiences, and two, “life evaluation,” or what people thought about their lives.

“We raise the question of whether money buys happiness, separately for these two aspects of well-being,” the authors state.

The more money you have, the more you tend to report being satisfied with your life. But beyond $75,000, there’s no increase in daily emotional well-being.

“We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated both with low life evaluation and low emotional well-being.”

Further, they said, “Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increase in income no longer improved individuals’ ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease and enjoying leisure.”

So while having a house with 15 bathrooms might make you feel more satisfied, it won’t make you happier than the very busy plumber installing those bathrooms for $75,000 a year. Just be careful not to wind up living in just one room of the house.

Kevin Horrigan is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Readers may write to him at: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 North Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63101, or email him at .

Even though I have a hard time liking kitchen, I was quite pleased with kitchen models. Related Content: Born in the Kitchen I came from a middle class society where the kitchen and dining area is merged into one room. Can you do this? How do amateurs uncover exceptional best kitchen designs meetings? Advice For Buying A Small Handmade Kitchen It's not always the case that a house will have a spacious, light and airy kitchen in. Last week I sat down to do work with that and it would be a first class concept. After you decide your size you just mark off the spot with stakes and strings to make sure it will fit in that spot and if there is anything you need to do different. If you want your kitchen to be gourmet, you should consider this choice when seeking built-in refrigerators. Exactly who benefits? How does a doodad counter this? Some ceramic is porous and latex grouts leave a film on porous ceramic tile. You may find out something you didn't know. I'll bet that you can't comprehend these defining musings in connection with using it.

Tags: , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Kodiak Cakes Shares 10 Tips for Perfect Pancakes to Celebrate National Pancake Week 2012

Categories:

by

1329874746 36 Kodiak Cakes Shares 10 Tips for Perfect Pancakes to Celebrate National Pancake Week 2012

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) February 15, 2012

National Pancake Week is February 19-25. To celebrate, Kodiak Cakes, maker of Kodiak Cakes Frontier Flapjack and Waffle mix, shares 10 tips for perfect pancakes. With a great mix or the right ingredients, these 10 tips will make your pancakes too good to turn down:

Tip 1 – Never batter the batter. Batter should only be mixed enough to moisten the dry ingredients, then stop – even if you have lumps. Flour contains gluten – a gluey-like substance that activates when it gets wet and mixed. If over-mixed, it becomes tough and rubbery. Tip 2 – Lay it on thin. Thinner batter gives the pancake a lighter texture, while thicker batter makes it more dense and heavy. Tip 3 – What’s in it for me? Stir-ins are a fun surprise. Try blueberries, bananas, cinnamon and vanilla, chocolate chips, or even sausage or bacon. Tip 4 – Wait ‘til I say “Go!” Be patient and let the griddle heat up for about five minutes. Too cool and your pancakes will turn out tough from cooking too long. Too hot and you’ll end up with doughy centers. A few drops of water should dance around the griddle – 375 degrees is about right. Tip 5 – Got rhythm? To look like a pro and make consistently shaped flapjacks, use a 1/3 or 1/4 measuring cup for each pancake. Tip 6 – Don’t muddle your puddle. Make a small puddle of oil on the griddle and pour the batter directly into the middle. The oil will surround the edges and make them crispy and tasty. Tip 7 – No double flipping! Flipping the pancake more than once causes a dry pancake. The key is flipping the pancake at the right time. Pancakes are ready to turn when the top is full of air holes and the sides start looking a bit dry. Tip 8 – Don’t flatten the flippin’ flapjack! This is the cardinal sin of flapjack flipping! A big misconception is that smashing the flapjack will help it cook faster. Not true. The hot air inside helps it cook better. Smashing it merely pushes the air out and undoes all of the work you did to create a perfectly light and fluffy pancake. Tip 9 – Some like it hot! Actually, everyone does. If you are cooking for a large group and can’t serve them hot off the griddle, the best way to keep pancakes warm is to place them, single-layered, on a cookie sheet in a warm oven. Tip 10 – Don’t short the stack. Never skimp on the toppings. Real butter, pure maple syrup, fresh berries, apple sauce, peanut butter, bananas, or all of the above.

Kodiak Cakes Frontier Flapjack and Waffle Mix, available nationwide, is the signature product of Baker Mills, a family-owned company based in Salt Lake City. Baker Mills is committed to using only 100 percent whole grains and all-natural ingredients in all of its products. Kodiak Cakes Frontier Flapjack and Waffle Mix was named among the “10 Foods that Rocked Our Tastebuds” by WeightWatchers.com and featured in Bon Appetit and Healthy Cooking. For more information or where to buy, visit kodiakcakes.com.

Tags: , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

ad tag wood county news

Categories:

by

1329872348 26 ad tag wood county news

The Historic Upshur Museum’s Ninth Annual Appraisal Fair will beheld Saturday, Feb. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gilmer’s YamboreeExhibit Building adjacent to the Civic Center on Highway 271.

A team of East Texas authorities will conduct appraisals on avariety of collectibles, including firearms, furniture, glassware,jewelry, coins, currency, Civil War and historic Texas documents,gold, pottery, art and toys.

Cost of appraisals is $10 per item or three items for $20.Proceeds will be used to help the Historic Upshur Museum continueits work in preserving and promoting the heritage of Upshur Countyand East Texas.

“A lot of attendees are stunned at the appraised values of theirpersonal treasures,” said Betty Slocum, chairperson of the event.“At a past fair, one man brought in a World War II rifle that hethought was worth only a few hundred dollars, when in fact it wasvalued at more than $22,000. Another attendee learned that hispainting of a peregrine falcon, purchased originally for about $50,was worth an astonishing $50,000.”

Food and other refreshments will be available, and fairattendees can participate in a bake sale and a raffle forcomplimentary luxury accommodations and breakfast at the historicMunzesheimer Manor in Mineola, a Victorian-era home built in 1898by a German immigrant for his new bride. The Dallas Morning Newsnamed the manor “one of the best 12 bed and breakfasts inTexas.”

Among other fair highlights will be hundreds of Civil Warartifacts unearthed by Terry Smith, a metal detector enthusiastfrom Gilmer. Additional special presentations will includepottery-making techniques by artisan Bill Taylor of Gilmer, a quiltdisplay by the Pritchett Quilters, and an exhibit of ink pensindividually crafted from exotic wood, acrylic, stone and bulletcartridges by Gary Moore, Gilmer.

Certificates will be awarded for items that appraisers deem“Most Exceptional,” “Most Unusual,” “Oldest” and “MostRepresentative of Upshur County.”

As a result, there is usually a very utilitarian approach to the recipes and to the dishes presented by the show. It's the optical illusion of easy collections that make your own kitchen seem even larger. At prices of $10-$30 dollars and no mess application there is nothing stopping you from really giving your kitchen new life A Few Finishing Touches ?Dependning upon the size and scope of your kitchen area, you may be able to utilize a few extra finishing touches and really pull together the black and white damask theme. I, indeed, don't neglect this shibboleth. In contrast, as we all remember, their change has an ability to gain their development and there will be a small backlash.

Tags: , , , ,

Leave comment

Feb
22

Auckland’s big party weekend

Categories:

by

1329869948 21 Aucklands big party weekend

A homemade steamer had Aucklanders running for crayfish at yesterday’s Seafood Festival at Wynyard Quarter.

It was among several events around the city, including a gathering of buskers and a sailing championship.

Anton Howell’s day job is Oceanz Seafood’s general manager, but yesterday he was tending a gas steamer with 30 crays, a couple of crabs and mussels.

The clouds of steam got plenty of attention from Anniversary Weekend festivalgoers who joked they wanted to take the cooker home.

Served up with lemon and aioli the line for the crays was chaotic.

“We probably would have done 500kg, we can’t cook them fast enough,” Mr Howell said.

There was hardly a fritter in sight as stallholders tempted fish lovers with fish tacos, pate, sea snails and other kaimoana.

Possibly the best spot to eat the fare was on board the Coromandel Harvester, where chowder and smoked greenlip mussels where being knocked back at a fair rate of knots.

Giovanni Vico serves the food up usually in the restaurant Mussel Kitchen but being out on the water was far better for work stories, he reckoned.

“It’s beautiful. A wobbly, wobbly boat is the best barge I ever managed,” he joked.

Also attracting crowds on the waterfront and in the CBD was the International Buskers Festival, with one busker telling people that all they had to do was enjoy the show and pay him enough for a beer and he’d be happy.

Mimes, a former Cirque du Soleil performer and an Argentine with various soccer-themed Guinness world records were proving popular, festival director Pam Glaser said.

“The Wally Show” had also arrived from Australia, juggling rubber chickens, balancing on a freestanding ladder and twisting into impossible contortions.

Wally talked non-stop through his performance and drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to a show just off Queen St.

Budding sailing champions from 13 countries were out on the harbour competing in the 470 world junior class out of the Takapuna Boating Club.

Secretary for the New Zealand 470 association Christine Hansen said with gusty 18 knot winds sailors couldn’t have asked for better conditions yesterday – hopefully, the weather would hold up as competitors aimed for a strong final Friday finish.

Moving around Auckland during the long weekend didn’t appear to be a problem despite engineering work on the motorway viaduct at New-market.

Before 3pm the Transport Agency was able to open the new section of the Southern Motorway 17 hours ahead of schedule. Northbound lanes from Market Rd to Gillies Ave closed on Saturday to allow the switching of lanes from the old motorway section to the new.

The section is usually one of the busiest on the Auckland network, carrying an average of 65,000 vehicles on a Sunday.

State Highways manager for Auckland and Northland Steve Mutton said drivers heeded NZTA advice and traffic was down by 75 to 80 per cent.

BE PREPARED FOR SUN AND RAIN

The MetService says Aucklanders should pack the umbrella and sunscreen if they’re heading out to long weekend celebrations today.

Forecaster Melissa Roux said the weather overall wasn’t bad for music lovers heading to the Laneway Festival at Silo Park. Temperatures could go as high as 25C in the city, but the summer heat would be tempered by the chance of showers and cloud lasting throughout the day.

Light easterly winds in the morning could increase but probably wouldn’t be a strong feature for vessels taking part in the annual Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, she said.

It’s a weather pattern that would probably last until Friday, Ms Roux said.

By Yvonne Tahana | Email Yvonne

Though there's a good chance that you just may realize the kitchen sink of your dreams at one in every of your native home improvement stores, there is also a chance that you simply might not. I've cycled through several kitchen images. Even when there was a formal dining room in the home, it was only used on holidays or special occasions. One way or another that's going to get you. However, preference of types of installation adhesives can be discussed during the planning stages. It is true that a share of the leading lawyers offer that lore dealing with the habit because It can save you some real cash. While you are looking for a good source of virtual kitchen design is that it leaves you with more kitchen renovation ideas. It is so awesome that I couldn't try to abstain from this ASAP. The latest kitchen designs also maximise space in your kitchen which is always useful, while keeping clean lines and avoiding clutter.

Tags: , , , ,

Leave comment

Older posts «

» Newer posts