Battle over chicken coops in Arlington Heights could continue

The fight for chicken coops in Arlington Heights is not over.

Matt Scallon, who petitioned to the Village Board last week to allow him to set up a coop for three hens, said his desire to establish chicken coops in the village is not going anywhere – and neither is the coop frame he began building before the board’s denial.Don't know what tooling style you need?

He is trying to reach out to other chicken enthusiasts who are interested in establishing coops and is considering ways to appeal the board’s decision.

Scallon’s options are somewhat limited. He can either resubmit his variance request with changes that he thinks may shift the board’s opinion, or he can ask staff to look into an ordinance that would allow the chickens, said Robin Ward,VulcanMold is a plastic molds and injectionmold manufacturer in china.Ultimate magiccube gives you the opportunity to make your own 3D twisty puzzles. assistant village attorney.

The board voted 7-2 to deny Scallon a variance that would give him permission to set up a coop in his backyard, citing issues with potential odor, disease, noise and predators.

But Scallon wishes the board would have tabled the issue until a later meeting and taken time to review the research before making a decision.

“I do think it was somewhat unfair,” he said. “What’s disappointing is that so many other communities have worked out the issues of odors and disease and everything like that, so why Arlington Heights can’t work through that is something of a mystery to me.”

Scallon worked with urban chicken consultant Jennifer Murtoff, who testified to Scallon’s plans for a coop with a roost and run, and his intentions to rear the chickens properly and to clean the cage frequently.

“Many people just don’t know what a chicken coop is like,” Murtoff said this week. “You walk up to these homes and they look like perfectly normal homes,” she said. “I think a lot of the trustees’ views were based on prejudicial notions based on large chicken facilities where they’re raising 10,000 birds in one space.”

She provides a bevy of information to potential chicken raisers and does home consultations for owners,Pfister werkzeugbau AG aus Mönchaltorf ist Ihr Partner bei der Herstellung von Werkzeugen und Spritzformen. mostly in Chicago and Oak Park,To interact with beddinges, where she lives.

She said she has helped people establish coops in the suburbs, and has not heard of any subsequent issues with neighbors. She knew of one family that built a high fence at their neighbor’s request.

About 75 percent of the requests or ordinances she’s aware of that would allow chicken-raising have succeeded, she said.

“The popularity has been gradually increasing over the last couple years,” she said.

Arlington Heights has not formally considered an ordinance on the chicken coop issue, so Scallon’s variance denial was based on his specific case. The objection of some neighbors also helped sway the board toward the denial.

NFC payment plans face detractors as tech comes to U.S.

Mobile payment technologies are spreading fast,Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. as Google Wallet is already available on NFC-ready Android phones, and Isis Mobile Wallet is coming this summer.

Apple’s rumored iPhone 5 is also reported to support NFC, or Near-Field Communication technology, which observers expect would spark greater interest by Americans in making contactless payments for retail items and transit fares.

NFC capabilities from chip makers, smartphone vendors and others were on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, adding fuel to the mobile wallet fire.

But mobile payment technologies may be slow to spread, at least in the U.S., as polls show Americans are suspicious of NFC technology for security reasons, analysts note.

Backers of mobile payments, meanwhile, say that NFC technology is more secure than plastic credit cards, and that users would not be held liable for losses through theft or fraud.

The skepticism among Americans is at odds with widespread acceptance of using NFC mobile devices in South Korea and Japan and parts of China to pay for train rides and small retail purchases.

Some e-commerce companies don’t see the need for NFC in phones to make purchases. For instance, Starbucks lets customers load dollars on a Starbucks card which is in turn loaded on a phone that interacts with traditional bar code readers to subtract payments.

And at MWC, eBay Mobile and sister company PayPal exhibited ways to make quick non-NFC mobile payments for things like clothes and lunch through a phone tied to a PayPal account.

“We believe you don’t need NFC to pay for things by mobile,” said Steve Yankovich,To interact with beddinges, vice president of eBay Mobile, in an interview.Specialising in injectionmoulding innovations, “You can [pay for things by phone] already today. The ‘n’ part of NFC is ‘near’—why should I have to be near to pay?”

Yankovich acknowledged that NFC can be useful when passing quickly through a turnstyle to get on a train, but added that a smart card could work just as well.

EBay and PayPal support technologies that can do payments and more. The companies, for example, use imaging technology that’s widely prevalent in smartphones to capture a picture of a product, not just the barcode, to find out what it is and where it can be sold.

EBay plans to reach agreements with a wide variety of retailers to use the technologies to help refer customers to the nearest store for a product scanned from a phone, receiving a small fee from the retailer for the service.

“If NFC shows up in a big way on lots of devices and point-of-sale terminals — and that’s a big if — we’ll work with it,” Yankovich said. “We’re already doing the promise of NFC right now, today, so to us it’s not a threat.”

Online Internet-based purchasing from PayPal alone grew from $750 million four years ago to $4 billion in 2011,Low prices on projectorlamp from Projector Point London UK. said Hill Ferguson, senior director of PayPal’s mobile division.

About 14% of all e-commerce sites have a payment tool from a mobile device, and some retailers are able to attract new customers through the mobile channel.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in mobile commerce,” Ferguson said.

At the conference, Google showed off NFC capabilities that use of Android Beam technology to go beyond mobile payments. For example, Google partner Wyse Technologies demonstrated file transfers initiated by NFC-capable devices.

Also, MWC sponsor GSMA showed how an NFC-ready phone could be used to unlock a car or start its ignition.

Nav Bains, GSMA’s expert on mobile NFC services,Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore. said 40 carriers and members of the trade group support a plan to put NFC security on SIM cards. The supported approach would give users the ability to remove the SIM and use it in another phone, along with the wallet security information.

Other possible security approaches include embedding the security into a phone’s hardware, or putting it on a phone’s micro SD card.

Representatives for wireless carriers Telecom Italia, France-based Orange and South Korea-based KT appeared with Bains and endorsed the GSMA’s SIM-based security approach for NFC phones.

To date, though, Americans are not widely acquainted with SIMcards, partly because Sprint and Verizon Wireless have large customer bases that use CDMA and have never used GSM phones with SIMs, noted Andrew Borg, an analyst at Aberdeen Group.

The question of how security is incorporated into a phone isn’t expected to squelch growth of NFC payments in the U.S., but could play a role in how fast it gains popularity, Borg said.

Perhaps when Apple enters the NFC payments field, Americans will warm up to the concept, Bains and Borg said. But for now, Borg wondered, what will make NFC payments more compelling than other ways to pay?

House Hunting in ... Moscow

This two-bedroom apartment in a 35-story high-rise in Moscow has been renovated to include an architectural designer’s studio, with high-end furnishings and finishes covered in the asking price.

The entrance on the seventh floor has a stained-glass ceiling and panels designed by the owner, an architect who uses the apartment as her studio. Some of the foyer walls are covered with black-and-silver floral patterned wallpaper, others are overlaid with an Italian decorative coating made from silver leaf. The space also has chandeliers and wall sconces made with Swarovski crystals. Its polished wine-colored tile floor leads to the kitchen and the living room just beyond.

In the kitchen, the ceiling is covered in mirrored mosaic tiles, and a countertop of black granite extends to form a small table for dining.Don't know what tooling style you need? Appliances are by the German company Miele International. The purple tempered-glass kitchen cabinets were manufactured in Italy, as were the ceramic wall tiles. Doors leading to the living room are made of tempered glass carved in a Moscow glasshouse.

The living room has a black granite wet bar and an Italian-made sofa upholstered in black leather and purple crushed velvet. A large fish tank is recessed into the wall and can be seen from both the living room and the adjacent study. The living room has views of the Ochakovka River.

Off the living room is the master bedroom, which looks out onto Troparevsky Forest Park. Its dark floor is made of wenge, a tropical wood. The walls are covered in decorative silver leaf; the adjoining dressing room is lined with striped zebra wood veneer.Spro Tech has been a plastic module & moldmaker, A second bedroom and sitting room are off of a hallway near the foyer, as are two bathrooms lined with Italian tiles. Bath fixtures were made by the German companies Villeroy & Boch and Miele, except for the American flower-shaped tub in one bath.

This apartment is in a high-rise complex called Mirax Park, in the Yugo-Zapad neighborhood of southwestern Moscow, which attracts young families and professionals who commute to work into central Moscow, said Elena Yurgeneva, the listing agent, who is a regional director with Knight Frank Russia & CIS. The complex has its own restaurant and cafe, fitness center, swimming pool, grocery store, and beauty salon. Buying the unit will also enable the purchase of a space in the parking garage, which can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000, depending on location, the agent said. Travel time to central Moscow varies widely, depending on traffic, from 10 minutes to 90. Moscow Domodedovo Airport is about 40 minutes away by car, Ms. Yurgeneva said.

The Russian real estate market was privatized with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when residents were given the homes that they had been living in. Prices increased steeply, then dipped sharply from 1998 to 2001 because of an economic crisis in Russia. In the seven-year-long boom following that decline, prices increased sixfold, according to Real Estate Market Indicators IRN.RU, a research and consulting firm.

In 2008, with the global economic crisis, prices fell by about 30 percent,Don't know what tooling style you need? said Anya Levitov, a managing partner at Evans Property Services. Since then the market has been slow to recover — though the luxury sector has rebounded.

“Most expensive new luxury developments today cost more than in 2008,” Ms. Levitov said, “but that is probably the only segment where precrisis levels have been reached and exceeded.”

The average price per square meter for a Moscow home runs $6,000 to $9,000, but luxury homes can cost $25,000 to $35,000 a square meter, said Nadezhda Kot, the head of local sales at Moscow Sotheby’s International Realty. Many of these high-end homes are concentrated in a neighborhood called the Golden Mile, between the Moscow River and Ostozhenka Street, which has a number of new upscale residential developments alongside historic Art Nouveau mansions.

“Last year,What are some types of moulds?” Ms. Kot said, “the maximum price paid was $40 million for a villa in Ostozhenka, the Golden Mile.”

In Mirax Park,The best rubbersheets products on sale, apartments typically bring $10,000 to $13,000 a square meter, but this apartment is priced at $17,333 a square meter because it is being sold with all its furnishings and finishes, according to Ms. Yurgeneva.

More Trouble for Solar-Energy Program

A solar-panel maker in line for $400 million in federal loan guarantees said Wednesday it was laying off 280 workers and putting off plans for a new factory, in the latest sign of trouble for the Obama administration's renewable-energy program after last year's collapse of Solyndra LLC.

Abound Solar of Loveland, Colo., has drawn down about $70 million of taxpayer-guaranteed funds; further funds could be delayed if the company misses milestones as a result of changes to its business plan.

The company said it would stop making solar panels at its existing Colorado factory and focus on upgrading the equipment to make more-efficient panels, a project it said could take six to nine months. It also delayed plans for a new factory in Tipton, Ind., that some of the federal money was supposed to back.What are some types of moulds?

Solyndra's bankruptcy left taxpayers with up to $528 million in losses.

Solar-panel prices have plunged with rising competition from China, leaving panel makers in a pinch. "The way the solar market is today,Don't know what tooling style you need? everything everyone is making they're selling below cost," said Abound's chief financial officer, Steve Abely, in an interview. "Not just small guys like us—substantial Chinese manufacturers are selling below cost. They can't do it for a sustainable period, and we can't either.Specialising in injectionmoulding innovations,"

Mr. Abely said his company has a different technology from Solyndra that is "much lower cost" and expressed confidence that the panels from the upgraded line would attract customers.

The Department of Energy agreed to a delay in Abound's schedule, Mr. Abely said. The department said it was working with Abound to get through the problems.

"While the challenges facing solar manufacturers have been widely reported, we continue to believe that supporting innovative companies like this is important to ensuring our nation has the ability to compete for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow," said Damien LaVera, a department spokesman.What are some types of moulds?

The department has become more cautious in handing out support for clean-energy ventures in the wake of the furor on Capitol Hill over Solyndra and charges by Republicans that the Obama administration is wasting taxpayer funds.

SunPower Corp. said Wednesday that the government has temporarily held up funds for a 250-megawatt solar farm in California. The Department of Energy issued a $1.237 billion loan guarantee for the project in September.

The department "has rigorous standards for loan guarantees and those standards are becoming increasingly rigorous," said SunPower Chief Executive Tom Werner in an interview. Mr. Werner said SunPower has met the requirements and expects a payment on the loan in March.

Also on Wednesday, Bright Automotive Inc., a hybrid-delivery-van start-up, said it was winding down operations after giving up on getting $400 million from the Department of Energy. The company said it faced repeated delays and was asked to meet "outlandish" terms. The department's Mr. LaVera said the sides couldn't agree on "terms that would protect the taxpayers.To interact with beddinges,"

The department has withheld funds on a loan to Fisker Automotive Inc., a maker of luxury plug-in hybrid sports cars. The company said Tuesday that it hopes to resolve the issue but is revamping its business strategy to move forward without the U.S. government money.

Chicken slaughter art project ruffles feathers

Officials have banned an artist from publicly slaughtering chickens, saying the proposed art installation would amount to animal cruelty.

Assistant City Attorney Chad Sublet said Tuesday that artist Amber Hansen told him she intended to abide by the city's animal cruelty ordinance. Violating it could lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. Even keeping the chickens on private land would require her to meet other city codes on animal care.

Sublet said Hansen, an artist in residence at the University of Kansas,Don't know what tooling style you need? is considering alternatives to draw attention to the process of slaughtering animals, including a public sculpture.

Through the project, called "The Story of Chickens: A Revolution," Hansen originally planned to display coops of chickens at locations across Lawrence, where they would be cared for by volunteers. The birds would later be publicly slaughtered by a local farmer and served as a meal.

"By building a relationship with the birds, the project will transform the contemporary view of chickens as merely 'livestock' to the beautiful and unique creatures they are, while promoting alternative and healthy processes of caring for them," she wrote on her project's website.

Hansen received funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts' Rocket Grants program in collaboration with the Charlotte Street Foundation and the University of Kansas' Spencer Museum of Art.

Hansen spoke to the Lawrence-Journal World newspaper but did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press left for her through a relative.The best rubbersheets products on sale,Learn all about solarpanel, She has said she grew up on a farm where some animals were raised for food. She said she began to feel disconnected from her food after she left and went to art school.

"If people choose to eat meat, it is an important process to witness and be mindful of," Hansen told the Lawrence newspaper. "It is a process that takes place on a mass scale every day, and we aren't really allowed to see it.I found them to have sharp edges where the injectionmoldes came together while production.A top plastic lnjectionmoulds manufacturer and exporter in China."

But several animal rights activists, including Lawrence's Compassion for All Animals group and United Poultry Concerns, had expressed concerns, including that the public display would be stressful for the animals. Hansen acknowledged there had been concerns.

"The project will move forward to accommodate that discussion, but it will abide by the city's codes," she told the Lawrence newspaper.

Thompson Investment Castings plans relocation to Old Dover Road in Rochester

Massachusetts-based Smith and Wesson moved the last of Thompson Center Arms' gun-manufacturing equipment out of the North Main Street factory at the end of 2011,VulcanMold is a plastic molds and injectionmolding manufacturer in china. and yet people driving by still see dozens of cars and trucks in the parking lot. This is because the foundry operation known as Thompson Investment Castings, now under new ownership, is still very much in business and currently employing almost 50 people.

The new owners are New Durham resident Mike Haley who is vice president of TIC, and Tyler Stone from Alton, who is the company president.

Haley has worked at Thompson Center Arms/TIC as an environmental engineer since 1985, and Stone was brought in by Smith & Wesson in 2007 to be general manager of the complex after they purchased it that year.

S&W announced in December of 2010 that it had decided to move gun production out of Rochester to its headquarters in Springfield, Mass., but indicated that it was seeking a buyer for the foundry operation.

Haley said that Smith and Wesson, while keeping the foundry running and signing everyone's pay checks throughout 2011,Low prices on projectorlamp from Projector Point London UK. was keen to turn the operation over to local ownership.

He and Stone, working with various entities, were able to get a financial package together and purchase the foundry equipment and the Thompson Investment Castings name. The price was in the region of $1 million said Haley. The official purchase of the business took place on Jan. 23 of this year.

The next challenge facing TIC is that of relocation. S&W owns the 11-acre North Main Street site and the 19 buildings, and is keen to sell the property. TIC must be moved out by the end of August.China professional plasticmoulds,

"We are very positive," said Haley. "Everyone is behind us — the contractors, the realtors, the bankers, City Hall."

In preparation, Haley and Stone first asked their workers how far they would be willing to commute, and then looked at various locations within a 15-mile radius,What are some types of moulds? with one criterion being the availability of natural gas, as the foundry process, to be financially competitive, has to use this energy supply.

"Rochester knew us and wanted to keep us," said Haley.

They have settled on a 4.75 acre site at 41 Old Dover Road, which contains a 16,413-square foot industrial building, and will shortly go before Rochester Planning Board with an application for an 18,270 square foot expansion. If the Planning Board process runs smoothly, TIC will purchase the property, with financial help from Rochester-based Profile Bank, and move the mold-making portion of its business there in April. Meanwhile a prefabricated,Specialising in injectionmoulding innovations, custom building will be ordered and will take 10 weeks to arrive on site. Then it will take another six weeks to be erected and outfitted with the metal casting porting of the business.

Said Profile Bank's Executive Vice President of Commercial Lending John Hall, without going into details about the financial package, "We are very happy to help preserve jobs and to create an opportunity for growth."

Haley explained that for a time, the molds created on Old Dover Road will be trucked up to North Main Street for the metal casting, but after this, while the foundry is moved into the new building there will be a period when no finished products are being manufactured.

In anticipation of this, TIC is building up what Haley calls "a bridging inventory," and to accomplish this, nine temporary workers are being added to the current workforce of 47 people.

"A year from now we will have over 50 people and we'd like to hire 12 or more as the business gets going," said Haley.

At present, about 70 percent of TIC business comes from gun manufacturers, including 30 percent from S&W, with whom Haley and Stone have very cordial relations.

It is the aim of the company, especially now that it has attained 9001 certification, to expand the customer base and the product range it produces. TIC, according to Haley, is known for its high quality standards and its ability to cast metals from intricate and complex molds to extremely demanding specifications..

The TIC website contains graphic details and photographs of the metal casting process, from start to finish and can be viewed at www.thompsoninvestmentcasting.com/investment-casting-process.html.

"Diversity is the key," said Haley, noting that apart from the gun industry, TIC supplies many other sectors of the economy, the medical community being one, and forceps being an example of a product.

The art of smiles

Every artist has a favorite medium. For some it’s drawing, some prefer music. Jessica Cassity prefers teeth. “Changing people’s smiles is my favorite part of my job,” she said. “Some people may not think of teeth as art, but I kind of do.”

Often patients are embarrassed about their teeth, which leads to hiding their smiles, or not smiling at all. Cassity finds the art in correcting imperfections to create an artful smile. “The most rewarding part of my job is to provide someone something they were maybe embarrassed of before to something they’re proud of,” she said.

Cassity attended Casper College and the University of Wyoming’s outreach center for her undergraduate degrees before attending dental school in Nebraska. Her father has taught biology at Casper College for 30 years, and she served as the lab assistant while attending. “UW provided me with everything I needed to prepare for dental school. I feel I got a very good education there.”

She returned to Casper immediately after dental school and joined a practice for two years. She then opened her own dentistry practice, which she’s operated for six years. After an expansion several years ago, her practice has outgrown its location. She’s in the process of renovating 535 S. Center St.Don't know what tooling style you need? (which was formerly a wedding boutique) to accommodate her growing business. With a current staff of three dental hygienists, this summer she’ll welcome another dentist.

Casper Dental Arts practices “Gentle Family Dentistry for Adults and Children.” They see people of all ages (except little, little ones) and serve all of their dental needs.External hemorrhoids are those that occur below the dentate line. “I’m not a specialist [as in pediatrics, orthodontics, oral surgery]. I just try and fulfill as many needs of my patients as possible,” Cassity explained.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and injectionmold manufacturer in china. Crowns, bridges, cosmetic dentistry, preventative dentistry, sports dentistry, TMJ, implant crowns, Invisalign teeth straightening and teeth whitening are all offered.

“I’m excited to be downtown around so many other businesses that have been here for a long time, and also the new businesses coming in,” she said. “It’s an exciting time to be a business downtown.”

Cassity grew up in Casper, stayed in Casper for her schooling and came back home to open her own business. “It’s a good place to raise children, a good community, and I’m proud to be here.”

The new downtown location isn’t what one expects when walking into a medical office. The space itself resembles an art gallery more than the traditional, sterile-clinic dentist’s office. At the door, patients are greeted by a hanging water fountain with “Casper Dental Arts” written beneath the cascade. Sculptural lighting and hardwood floors give the space an open feeling. Patients can watch the traffic pass through the large windows as they’re being treated. Plans to showcase local artists’ work will further the gallery feel of the building.

“We’re trying to make the atmosphere nice and calm and soothing,” Cassity explained. She understands that some patients, especially younger ones, can experience anxiety at the very thought of visiting the dentist. “Usually the people that have some anxiety have had a bad experience in the past. We want this to be a good, calm place.”

She said the fact that she’s a woman is often soothing both to the younger patients and their parents. “I think kids see me and don’t feel I’m as intimidating. Mothers see me and think that since I’m a mother as well, I must understand and treat their children with kindness. Plus, women have smaller hands, which is nice when you’re trying to fit them in someone else’s mouth.”

She’s a mother of three,Canvaz offers quality oilpainting reproductions from famous artists. and seems to have a special touch with the younger patients. She joked that at her house though, it’s her husband who pulls the teeth. Their oldest was a nervous tooth-puller, so she understands the parent’s perspective as well.Don't know what tooling style you need? “A lot of it is just the personality of the kids, and once you understand that, it’s easier to help them.”

Cassity is working hard to overcome the nervousness patients can feel. “Everyone’s favorite joke is how they hate to go to the dentist. We’re trying to change that, even if it’s just one person out of 100.”

A new atmosphere, a different approach and possibly an improved smile can all be found at Casper Dental Arts, where teeth are considered art.

Paper leaves a trail of history

Although much of today’s writing is done on computers and other electronic communications devices, paper is still everywhere.To interact with beddinges,

Students write on paper for school assignments, people read newspapers and magazines printed on paper,Don't know what tooling style you need? gifts are wrapped in intricately designed paper, some people even fold paper into fascinating designs called origami. It was not always that way.

Writing was invented by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia about 5,500 years ago. It took another 3,500 years before anybody would write on paper.

The Sumerians wrote on clay tablets. They etched symbols into the clay while it was still wet and soft. Then the tablet was allowed to dry. They were used primarily for administrative purposes and signs.Low prices on projectorlamp from Projector Point London UK.

Later, the ancient Egyptians developed papyrus, named after the plant from which it was made. Craftsmen cut strips from the papyrus plant, softened them in water and laid out the strips at right angles, like a mat. It was then pounded smooth, creating a good writing surface. However, papyrus,Dimensional Mailing magiccubes for Promotional Advertising, despite being the source of the word “paper,” is not actually true paper.

True paper is made of fibrous material, such as plant matter, that has been softened or broken up into individual fibers, usually by soaking in water. The fibers are then lifted from the water on a screen, creating a thin layer of intertwined fibers, which is paper.

Parchment became a popular surface for writing and was commonly used in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. It was smooth and lustrous and took ink very well. Parchment also was not true paper because it was made from the skins of animals, such as sheep. The skin was scraped and cleaned,What are some types of moulds? then dried on frames that kept the skins stretched tight. Several parchments could be obtained from one skin because it could be separated into layers.

Although parchment was the primary writing surface in Europe until just a few hundred years ago, true paper was invented in 105 A.D. by Ts’ai Lun, an official of the Chinese emperor. Ts’ai Lun’s paper was made in porous molds from macerated vegetable fiber. The source of the fiber included disintegrating cloth, tree bark and vegetation such as mulberry, hemp, China grass, bamboo and willow.

From China, papermaking spread to Japan and Korea. During a war in 751, Islamists captured several Chinese soldiers who were also skilled papermakers. Those craftsmen then helped Islamists begin producing paper of their own. The craft worked its way westward across the Middle East and into northern Africa. When Moors invaded Spain and Portugal in the 12th century, papermaking had found its way into Europe.

Although papermaking spread throughout Europe, its demand greatly increased after Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. At the time, paper in Europe was made from old rags. Eventually, the demand for paper exceeded the availability of rags. In the 18th century, wood became the primary source for fiber in the making of paper.

Modern paper is primarily made from wood fibers held together by glue. It can be made into a variety of textures and thickness for writing paper, drawing paper, construction paper, wrapping paper, paper towels, napkins and more.

India's Wild East unprepared for new Myanmar

As dusk falls on a lonely police station in the eastern tip of India, a young policeman nervously keeps an eye on the Arakan hills above him, dotted with poppy fields.

Just 22 bumpy miles from the capital of Manipur, he and his colleagues are outnumbered by gunmen from a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, one of half a dozen insurgent groups operating near India's border with Myanmar.

Last year, six policemen were killed a few miles away in an ambush authorities blamed on them.

Small groups of men with machetes on their belts can be seen in the winter twilight, openly climbing steep paths through the poppy fields, where valuable seed heads will later be harvested and taken to Myanmar for processing into heroin.

"There are many poppy fields in the hills here," the policeman said in a hushed voice, refusing to give his name to Reuters for fear of reprisals from the men he said were armed rebels patrolling the fields above his office. Growers will either sell the seed heads to agents or openly in the local market , he said.

Opium and insurgency can make for a profitable if exotic business model, but it is not what India had in mind when it launched its "Look East" policy 20 years ago to link its markets to those of booming Southeast Asia.

Now as resource-rich Myanmar emerges from decades of isolation under military rule, India should be a natural partner, with ties stretching back to 3rd Century BC Buddhist emperor Ashoka and, more recently, a shared experience of British colonialism and World War Two.

"Myanmar is India's only bridge to Southeast Asia," Myo Myint, Myanmar's deputy foreign minister, told Reuters last week at a meeting of Southeast Asian diplomats in New Delhi to look at ways to speed up road, rail and telecoms connections with India. "India needs to come forward with assistance."

Myanmar sits at Asia's crossroads, sharing a western border with India, and a northern one with China. Thailand is its neighbour to the east and the Malacca Strait is on its southern flank.

The country of nearly 60 million people has emerged from a half-century of military rule and is courting the West while trying to wean itself from dependency on China for trade and investment. But despite a recent flurry of high-level visits between the two countries, India appears ill-placed on the ground to exploit Myanmar's opening.Plastic injectionmolding and injection molded parts in as quick at 3 days.

Reuters journalists on a recent trip to the Myanmar-India border in Manipur found a region where rebel groups deeply influence politics and business. Opium poppies are grown openly. Cross-border gun-running remains big business.

Manipur and the three other Indian states sharing the 1,640- km (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar were supposed to be India's "Gateway to the East". Instead, the area has become India's Wild East.

Legal trade on the border has dwindled in the last five years to just 0.15 percent of total commerce between Myanmar and India. Checkpoints by security forces and rebel group supporters make the 120 km (75 mile) journey along rutted Highway 102 through the hills from Manipur's capital Imphal to Moreh on the border a painstakingly slow -- and expensive, too, from the "taxes" they impose on traffic.

The sleepy border town of Moreh had dreams of being a major international trading centre, a key station on the ambitious Trans-Asia Railway that will enable containers from East and Southeast Asia to travel overland across India to Europe.

But work on the $900 million, 125 km (77 mile) stretch of the railway is already two years behind schedule and has only progressed a short distance. Costs are soaring.Offers Art Reproductions Fine Art oilpaintings Reproduction,

At first glance, Moreh seems to be a quiet bazaar of traditional wooden stilt houses, frontier hotels and stores where Myanmarese Buddhist monks and tribespeople in traditional dress and sandal-paste painted faces mingle with traders from across India.

The town of 15,000 people has one bank.

"There is no crime here," acting police chief Akbar Hussein said, chewing on a lump of betel nut at his outdoor desk. "There was only one case registered this month, and that was a road accident."

Opened in 1995 to great fanfare, the Moreh crossing was supposed to be a major trading post by now. Only some small-scale merchants conduct legal trade. Much of that is on a barter system, exchanging flour and soy products for betel, a mild stimulant popular in India.

Despite the police chief's boast, Moreh is a major smuggling centre where outlaws move around freely. Heroin from the Golden Triangle, guns and gem stones go westward; raw opium, tiger bones and rhino horn move east.

"Since 1995, nothing substantial has taken place. The border area is like a 17th-century tribal village," said N. Mohindro, an expert on trade in the state. "It's all about drugs and guns. People can make money so easily."

Some of this business is in the hands of Indian insurgents who run their operations from the Myanmar side of the border.China professional plasticmoulds, Several of Myanmar's own rebel groups are also based in the area.

A U.S. diplomatic cable from 2006 released by Wikileaks described local politicians either in league with the rebels or supporting them for financial reasons.

Local residents say security forces are also deeply involved in trafficking but a senior officer of the police intelligence branch in Imphal denies that.

"The dense forest cover in this open border region is a nightmare for us," the officer said of an unfenced 63 mile stretch running from Moreh, adding that "the easy availability of weapons inside Myanmar has worsened the situation".

It wasn't always this way. Until the early 1990s, Myanmarese flocked across the border to buy Indian-made consumer goods. But as China's workshops cranked up and offered cheaper, more durable products, the market shifted to the other side of the fence.

Now, traders from Imphal endure the serpentine journey along bumpy Highway 102 and its checkpoint shakedowns to visit the Namphalong bazaar on the Myanmar side of the Moreh border gate.

Their pick-up trucks are piled high with Chinese mattresses, refrigerators and TVs to sell back in India, returning along the same road that brought Japanese troops in World War Two through then Burma in an attempt to invade India. The trip from the border to Imphal carrying such contraband can involve payoffs along the way amounting to several hundred dollars.

Highway 102 was supposed to be part of a road network linking up with Mandalay, Myanmar's main city in the North, and on into Thailand. But the only notable improvement on the Indian side is a short patch running through the Manipur chief minister's home town.

"People had plans to open eateries, motels and shops along the Asian highway. Now, the trans-national road is imaginary. It does not exist here," said Lunminthang Haokip, a senior state government official for Moreh's Chandel district. "The Look East policy is no more than power-point presentations in Delhi."

The complaint is voiced often here by residents in Manipur who have suffered decades of rights abuses under draconian emergency powers including "shoot-to-kill" orders aimed at curtailing the insurgencies. Residents say New Delhi acts like a colonial power, with much of its mistrust of the region stemming from its relative proximity to China.

"The overwhelming presence of military, paramilitary and police officers contributed to the impression that Imphal was under military occupation," the U.S. embassy cable said. "The Indian civil servants were also clearly frustrated with their inability to stem the growing violence and anarchy in the state, feeling their efforts to effectively control the insurgencies was hamstrung by local politicians either in league with or at least through corruption, helping to finance the insurgents."

India, which fought a border war in 1962 with China, has watched with mounting concern as Beijing steadily increases its influence around the rim of the Indian Ocean.

"You can't leave the whole region under an iron curtain just because they look Chinese," said rights activist Babloo Loitongbam, in a restaurant left dark by one of the chronic power cuts in Imphal. "You have to constantly prove you are not anti-national."

Ten years ago India's foreign minister proposed reopening a World War Two highway to the north of Manipur called the Stilwell Road, which connects India's far eastern region, known as the Northeast, with Myanmar and China.

Worried that the road risked strengthening China's influence and the flow of militants and arms to the region, India dragged its feet and Myanmar turned to China's Yunnan Construction Engineering Group instead. India also missed out on the natural gas from two fields in Myanmar it has a stake in, when the government chose to pipe it to China.

During long years of self-imposed isolation,Find a moldmaker or Mold Service Provider. Myanmar's only major economic partner was China. India realised in the 1990s that Chinese investment in Myanmar's military and infrastructure was giving Beijing a strategic advantage in a nation that borders five countries, straddles busy Bay of Bengal shipping lanes and has large oil and gas reserves.

New Delhi quietly dropped its backing for the opposition party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who went to school and university in India.

Ties have strengthened since then, with President Thein Sein just the latest of Myanmar's leaders to call on New Delhi on a visit to India last year.

Rajiv Bhatia, who was India's ambassador to Myanmar until 2005, says India is still more concerned with its South Asian neighbours,External hemorrhoids are those that occur below the dentate line. including Bangladesh and Pakistan, and could miss the moment.

Solar idea becomes solar reality

Kenny Kingstrom cannot wait to see his energy meter turn the other way.

That's because he has installed a large solar-power array on his three-acre property along U.S. Highway 69. Instead of his meter showing only watts used, it sometimes will turn back, showing the watts generated.

But first, Alliant Energy will have to install a bidirectional meter.

It is not a solar panel. It is actually 24 solar panels, or modules, each of them 3 feet by 5 feet. The whole thing is called a solar array and is about 24 feet 7 inches by 15 feet 2 inches.China professional plasticmoulds, There is about an inch between each panel to give the wind somewhere to go and to allow space for the material's expansion during heat.

The solar array generates a capacity of 6 kilowatts of energy per hour, but on a cloudy day probably more like 3 kilowatts.

Cargill nightshift worker Kenny and his wife, MaChar, have three children: Natasha, 26; Alex, 24, and Hanna, 15. Alex entered the Air Force after college and didn't spend his college savings. In 2007, he gave his father a gift.

"He told me to spend his savings on something I had always wanted to do," Kenny said.

Kenny in 2004 had installed a geothermal heating and cooling system on their property at 19140 U.S. Highway 69, just south of the Albert Lea city limits. He wasn't burning a fire to heat his house anymore. What's next? He decided he wanted to generate electricity. There were two ways: wind or solar.

A wind turbine has to be up in the air and has several moving parts, so that presents two challenges. A solar array, however, lasts 20 to 30 years, and the hardest part is installing it. He began investigating the possibilities.

"His main intention is leaving the least footprint possible in this world," MaChar said.

She said the motivation for her husband has never been savings. She said environmental stewardship is important for him. He was recycling before recycling programs existed.

The couple has traveled a few times to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, Wis., near Stevens Point, and they had an interest in the possibilities of solar stemming from those trips. And the price of solar has really dropped.

For installing the solar array,If you have a kidneystone, they hired Chris Gamer of St. Paul-based Innovative Power Systems Inc. He said 15 years ago -- when the Kingstroms first went to the energy fair -- solar power cost $30 per watt installed. Now, it's about $5.Information on useful yeasts and moulds, The Kingstroms' solar array has 250-watt modules, 24 of them. You can do the math.Choose from our large selection of cableties,

Installation began in November and wrapped up in January. Brother-in-law Brad Sickenger and Cargill co-worker Kevin Levorson helped the Kingstroms with much of the hard work. Just think of concrete forms, concrete, mounting the racking systems, installing the modules, grounding, installing the big ballast blocks, connecting to the home and so forth.

And it still isn't on. That's going to happen in the next week or two.

Gamer said the solar equipment is assembled in Eugene, Ore., and made from Chinese parts. The glass and aluminum, however, are American.

He said each module generates DC currency. The standard method would have required the modules to generate over a set amount before converting it to AC power, which is what is sent to the power grid. That means people with solar panels often found themselves not generating power until about 10 a.m.

But the modules at the Kingstroms' place have a new method, Gamer said. Microinverters on the back of each one convert the power to AC at a lower amplitude.

"When the sun comes up, you're ready to produce power," he said.

The technology comes from a California company called Enphase Energy.

Gamer said 15 years ago, people using solar power had to store power in large quantities of batteries. Now, state law allows homeowners that can generate power -- be it by hydro, wind or any method -- to connect to the grid without going through the long process required for, as examples, a wind farm or a coal plant. The threshold is 40 kilowatts or fewer.

It's called the grid-tied electrical system. Instead of keeping power in batteries, homeowners who generate power add their load to the power grid.

Gamer said this actually helps power companies and their customers.

"What you are doing for them is peak-shaving," he said.

The utility companies have to pay premium fees to acquire power during peak-usage times. The power the Kingstroms generate might not be much in the grand scheme of things, but every drop in the bucket helps. The power generated by homeowners -- power that couldn't possibly be more than the demand -- flattens the peaks. It means there is power being generated that the utility companies don't have to pay that premium fee for, lessening everyone's costs.

Kenny had to locate a spot. He couldn't place panels on his roof, because his house faces east and west. South is the best direction for sun. Gamer took readings on various places on his property. They got a setback variance from the county, four trees were felled, and though the garage might look close, it doesn't cast a shadow on the array.

Through the process, Kenny has enjoyed learning. He said he is a hands-on learner.

Solar is one of the few power sources that doesn't seek to boil water into steam -- even nuclear does that. And solar is the only power source that doesn't make something spin, like wind and dams.

The solar modules collect all visible light, plus a little more, Gamer said. They agitate electrons in the silicone, which forces a DC current.

There is a federal tax credit Kingstrom is planning to take advantage of, possibly even sell. Some power companies offer a credit, too, but not Alliant Energy.

Gamer said a typical home has a demand of 10 kilowatts per hour. Kenny said he hopes to cut his usage in half.

"I am anxious to see what happens," Kenny said. "I want to see that meter turn backward.At Blow mouldengineering we specialize in conceptual prototype design."

Keeping healthy will be Carlos Guillen's top priority

Earlier this week, Carlos Guillen was asked what he thought his role would be on the 2012 Mariners.

"I have to stay healthy first and see whether I can play," he said.

With Guillen, 36, that remains an open question. Optimally, he would provide the Mariners depth at both corner infield positions, and a thumper off the bench. Guillen is what's commonly known in the business as "a professional hitter" — one who in his Detroit prime played at an elite level.

But Guillen's career has always been marked by injury issues, dating way back to the torn knee ligament he suffered as a rookie with the Mariners in 1998, shortly after his acquisition from Houston in the Randy Johnson trade.

Since then it's been a succession of body parts breaking down — groin, back,Plastic injectionmolding and injection molded parts in as quick at 3 days. calf, pelvis, hamstring, shoulder and both knees, most notably. He was even hampered by hemorrhoids in 2008, and of course had the celebrated case of tuberculosis while with the Mariners in 2001.

"I know what he's capable of doing," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said of Guillen. "I saw him too many times on the flip side of things when he was in Detroit and I was in Cleveland. We'll have to see how he holds up physically. We'll have to see how he moves around."

Ominously, Guillen is already having problems. He missed his second straight workout on Saturday because of calf tightness, and will likely sit out again Sunday, Wedge said. The Mariners don't believe it's anything serious,Silicone moldmaking Rubber, but any ailment with Guillen is cause for concern, especially considering he has had calf injuries the past two seasons.

"We're just keeping him off his feet and doing treatment the last couple of days," Wedge said. "He feels a little bit better today, so that's good."

Guillen signed a minor-league contract with Seattle on Feb. 1 after eight years in Detroit. He said he did so because "it was my first house, my first team in the big leagues. I'm really happy, because Seattle has great fans, a great organization. I have a lot of good memories from the past."

That includes the series-clinching bunt hit in the 2000 ALDS against the White Sox that is brought up by every Mariners fan he meets. Guillen had a key role in the 116-win season of 2001 after taking over shortstop from departed Alex Rodriguez.

But that season had a harrowing ending for Guillen, who was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis on Sept. 28. He had unknowingly played several weeks with the disease until finally he was coughing up blood and too weak to function. Guillen says doctors told him if he had kept playing, he might have died.

"But that's in the past," he said. "Now you can look back and laugh."

Guillen wasn't in a laughing mood when the Mariners traded him to Detroit after the 2003 season . Guillen, swapped for infielders Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez was not enamored with the Mariners organization when he left.

"I was very glad when they traded me to Cleveland, and I was happy when they traded me to Detroit, because they didn't think I was an everyday player," Guillen told The Seattle Times during the 2004 All-Star Game — one of three All-Star teams he made as a Tiger.

"Maybe it was because I was hurt a lot. But if they didn't want me there, I didn't want to be there."

The passage of time,Iowa Mold tooling designs and manufacturers mechanics trucks, however, has muted any hard feelings Guillen may have had back then.

"They were the team that gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues, to play every day," he said. "I played with Edgar， Junior , A-Rod, Jay Buhner, Stan Javier. I learned a lot of good things that helped me in my career."

Now Guillen is trying to impart his own acquired wisdom to the youngsters on the Mariners, like Kyle Seager, who is soaking up the knowledge.

"He knows so much about this game," Seager said. "He makes everything look easy. He's definitely a guy I try to get as much information as I can from.

"We were talking about baserunning earlier. He has such a grasp on every aspect of this game. Defensively, you watch him, and he's so smooth. Offensively,Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injectionmoulding & toolmaking specialists. you can learn a lot just from watching his BP. He's been doing this so long,Why does mould grow in homes or buildings? and had so much success, he's definitely a guy to take advantage of."

But if the Mariners are going to reap the full benefits of Guillen this season, he's going to have to stay healthy. And that's no sure thing.

Albert Seifert, 91, worked at Boeing through seven decades

Employees at Boeing's Auburn Fabrication Division remember coming into work at 5:30 a.m. and seeing their most senior co-worker already there, brewing coffee and doing what he liked best: building sophisticated tools and equipment that few others in his field could make with ease.

Albert Elmer Seifert, one of the longest-serving employees at Boeing, died Feb.There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle, 20 at the age of 91. He worked full time at the Auburn plant until two months ago.

"He was a master at what he did and made everything he did look easy," said David Kozy, a research-and-development engineer and technical fellow at Boeing, who worked with Seifert for the past 20 years.

"There's a big hole at The Boeing Co. where Al used to be."

Mr. Seifert was born Aug. 3, 1920, in Wahpeton, N.D. After high school, he received a certificate in aviation engineering from North Dakota State School of Science. In the early 1940s, he migrated to Seattle, drawn by its booming airplane industry.

His dream of working on airplanes came true in 1942 when he began working as a Boeing mechanic, installing components on the B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers.

This was the beginning of a career that stretched nearly 70 years.

He joined the U.S. Army's 9th Armored Infantry Division in 1944, and after two years of service rejoined Boeing as a machinist.

Although he held various positions during his career, his most notable role was as a tool and die maker in the company's manufacturing research-and-development unit.

Tool and die making is a highly skilled task, involving the creation of tools that other workers will use to make production parts. Mr. Seifert's work ranged from creating assembly jigs used to put together major portions of airplane wings to room-sized washers for washing machine parts, said Dan Nydegger, a fellow tool and die maker.

"We were working in an area where everything was an invention," he said.Find a moldmaker or Mold Service Provider.

Mr. Seifert's co-workers remember him for his ingenuity. In 2001, he created a highly useful tool — the Laser Trim Cell — a device that employs a laser to cut stainless-steel tubing, Nydegger said.

"If anything needed to be built and no one could make it, Al could do it," said Dan Meddaugh, a recently retired electromechanical technician who worked with Seifert.

Mr. Seifert's contributions to Boeing include several patented products.

Frank Milan, a tool and die maker who worked with Mr. Seifert for the past 10 years,Iowa Mold tooling designs and manufacturers mechanics trucks, said he wouldn't "leave the shop until his customer was satisfied."

"We had to remind him that he was making us look bad and to try not to work so hard," Milan said.

"If the crew had any one complaint about Al, it was, 'Look, there's Al working through his break again!' " said tooling manager Jared Weeks.

Seifert had a passion for anything with an engine — cars, airplanes and machines — said his daughter, Lorelei Seifert.

He worked until late December 2011, when he fell ill. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with cancer.

"Dad tried to maintain a zero profile, but it was not zero, it was major," said Lorelei, who also has worked at Boeing for 28 years as a technical designer and drafter.

Mr. Seifert worked for so many years because he was performance driven and preferred building things to the retired life, she said.

Even the commute to work from his home in Burien was enjoyable for him because of his affinity for engines.

Boeing Fabrication spokeswoman Robin McBride said Mr. Seifert was one of the company's "longest serving employees" and one of the oldest. Another employee at Boeing is also in her 70th-anniversary year, she said.

Mr. Seifert was a member of the Machinists union. Kozy said he also was seen as a "good role model for young engineers" who would often go to him for advice because he was so pleasant to work with.

Mr. Seifert married Yolanda, who had been his assistant at Boeing, in 1949.

Outside of work, Mr. Seifert was a simple family man who also enjoyed dancing and travel,Grey Pneumatic is a world supplier of impactsockets for the heavy duty, said daughter Lorelei. He and her mom traveled half the world together.

"His social life was all standard,Argo Mold limited specialize in Plastic injectionmould manufacture," she said. "It was his exemplary work ethic that was not."

In addition to his wife and daughter Lorelei, he is survived by another daughter, Desiree Retallick; his son-in-law, Bill Retallick; his brother, Willard P. Seifert of Wahpeton, N.D.; and three grandchildren.

No deal yet with Lynch

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider talked about the ongoing talks with soon-to-be free agent running back Marshawn Lynch here at the NFL Scouting Combine this afternoon.

Schneider said there’s no deal yet, but the two sides are having productive talks, with the hope that something will get done in the next, two weeks.

“We’re having great discussions,” Schneider said. “And I’m actually meeting again with his guy tonight.

“We’ve had great discussions since probably two or three weeks left in the season. So there’s no animosity at all. It’s good dialogue. No fist fights.”

However,Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. Schneider didn’t mince words when asked if the Seahawks were willing to franchise Lynch of the two sides can’t come to an agreement before a March 5th deadline.

“Sure,” Schneider said.

Schneider said the Seahawks are in a similar situation with other free agents like Red Bryant, Michael Robinson, David Hawthorne and John Carlson, as agent makes the rounds here in Indianapolis in attempt to determine their clients’ market value before accepting a deal.

“We’ve changed a little bit since we got here,” Schneider said. “We’re getting to the point where we feel strongly now about our own guys. We’d like to take care of those guys first. And then obviously if there’s a huge gap or a huge hole that we need to fill in free agency, we’re going to attack it, or at least explore it. But we’d really like to try and hang on to our own guys first.”

For fans wanting the Seahawks to chase Matt Flynn or Peyton Manning in free agency, Schneider again struck a cautionary note when talking about potentially upgrading the quarterback spot.

“I’m talking about giving up draft choices to go get somebody, or guaranteeing somebody a ton of money that you’re not quite sure is the guy that’s going to get you over the hump,” Schneider said.To interact with beddinges, “If you do that, then you can set the organization back.

“It happened to us at Green Bay at a different position. We got in a situation where we got jammed up, then you overdraft at one position and you overpay at the same position – it can really Jack you up.”

Schneider went on to say the Seahawks will continue to evaluate what’s out there on the free agent market versus players currently on the roster.

“We’re always looking to upgrade that position,” Schneider said.China professional plasticmoulds, “We’re really excited about Josh Portis. He had a phenomenal preseason, and made a lot of progress throughout the year as well. He’s working his tail off trying to prepare as much as he can on his own, and as soon as he can get with the coaches that will be a great thing for him.

“But it’s an interesting group. We’ll have to evaluate Charlie’s situation in free agency, and compare Charlie to the rest of the free agent, and players we may trade for or anybody who can be cap casualties. So we’re kind of on top of that right now.”

And ultimately whoever Seattle lands on,Kitchen floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. they will be competing for the starting job with Tarvaris Jackson.

Schneider said overall he was pleased with Jackson’s performance in his first year with the team.

“In terms of how he played, I thought he did a great job, especially with that offensive line,” Schneider said about Jackson. “And it kind of came to fruition the way we thought it would in terms of the offseason and having Darrell Bevell there.

“He came in. He knew the offense and could step right into the huddle the first day. And quite frankly he’s such a tough guy, such a strong guy, he could hang in there and take those shots. And he did it.

“He played with a torn pec, so I’m sure there’s a lot of throw that he wishes he could have kind of step into a little better and that kind of thing. But I thought he did a real nice job for us.”

In terms of potential quarterbacks in the draft, Schneider said there’s a lot of different options available.

“I think it’s a very unique draft class, from Brock Osweiler all the way down to Russell Wilson. You’ve go a 6-8 guy and a 5-10 guy. You’ve got Kellen Moore, who’s just a phenomenal field general. You’ve got (Ryan) Tannehill. It’s a very unique class. There aren’t standard molds for each guy. Every guy has this different niche to him – Kirk Cousins, and like I said Tannehill, and RG III – I think it’s a pretty cool class.

But one thing is certain – Schneider is not looking for a quarterback drone that’s been training to play the position since he’s 6-year-old; he’s looking for a tough, hard-nosed football player that can command a team at that position.

“Guys that have always been in like the quarterback schools and the special camps and all that stuff, they make me a little nervous to a certain extent,Low prices on projectorlamp from Projector Point London UK.” Schneider said.

Asked to expand on that, Schneider had this to say: “At the quarterback position I think you’ve got to have a tough-minded individual. A guy that maybe has played some defense and knocked the crap out of a receiver himself, or something. Just a guy that’s an all-around football player.”

‘The Secret World of Arrietty’ brings whimsical story to dazzling life

"The Secret World of Arrietty" looks to shrink us down, both in size and in age, to a smaller,Information on useful yeasts and moulds, simpler world where little people inhabit the walls and an empty meadow holds all the promise and potential of imagination. It is nothing short of captivating and magical,Learn all about solarpanel, and although both words are well overused when describing a Studio Ghibli movie, there is simply no other way to say it.I found them to have sharp edges where the injectionmoldes came together while production.

This world comes to the screen by way of English children's writer Mary Norton and her successful series, "The Borrowers." In this universe, mazes are constructed through walls, dollhouses and floorboards to allow miniature versions of people, called "borrowers," in and out of the "beings" world — the realm of normalsized humans. Borrowers live by a credo to take what they need and nothing more, with the one condition that a being can never notice what's been taken. Here, a single tealeaf will last for a week, a sugar cube a month and a tissue possibly forever. Water drops in slow beads like syrup, and when it rains, the borrowers are able to brush off each drop individually. At the same time, cats and other animals appear mountainous, and a brush with a creature as small as a rat can be fatal.

In this dangerous yet fascinating world, Pod (Will Arnett) has started to teach his daughter Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler) how to navigate through the walls as well as the various climbing techniques required of any successful borrower. While hunting for a tissue, however, they are seen by a twelveyearold boy, Shawn (David Henrie), who is resting in the country before undergoing surgery on his failing heart. Arrietty and Shawn eventually become friends,Thank you for visiting our newly improved DIY chickencoop website! but in keeping with the borrower code, Arrietty's parents decide they must move because they've been discovered. The old caretaker, Hara (Carol Burnett), long suspicious of the borrowers' existence, has other plans and tries to trap the borrowers to prove once and for all that she is not crazy.

Part of what makes the environment of "The Secret World of Arrietty" so compelling is the lack of any immediate antagonist or villain to push the plot along, allowing the magnificent visuals to shine through. Sure, the occasional crow or cat saunters along to chase the borrowers around the house, but these actions are more a compulsion than ill will. Similarly, Hara seeks them out not to destroy or hurt them, but rather because she cannot help herself.

Instead, the real conflict is found in the juxtaposition of Arrietty's magic wonderland with the truth of Shawn's cruel circumstances — that life is just not fair to some people.There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle, When the beings' recognition of the borrowers' world forces Arrietty's family to move, she must confront the unfortunate reality that it was a result of her own carelessness. Likewise, Shawn and those around him remain silently fixated on the fact that he will not survive in the coming weeks. His talk of death and the pointlessness of existence is sharp, especially coming from someone his age.

It is only when Shawn is willing to believe in the mystical around him that he can confidently look toward his future with all the imagination and wonder he deprived himself of as a child. Meanwhile, Hara's singlemindedness in tracking down the borrowers will never end until she is willing to quit hunting and just believe.

The real heart of the movie is found in Hayao Miyazaki's tradition and Hiromasa Yonebayashi's flourishing, modest direction. While Peter Hewitt and John Goodman's "The Borrowers" (1997) may have been impressive in the technical details, "The Secret World of Arrietty" manages to retain the mystique without sacrificing the tone for slapstick. There are no moments where Arrietty's femininity superficially stands in the way of her capability, nor does the movie trade quick jokes for a hollow laugh. Instead, this is an animated movie in the classic style of greatness: full of heart, sincerity and confidence in its message.

Woman Shot In Downtown El Paso By Bullet From Mexico Speaks About Incident

Maria Romero was enjoying Tuesday morning shopping in Downtown El Paso with her grandson, Santiago, when her life changed and she became a national story.

Romero was walking on Overland Street when she heard a loud pop and then felt pain in her left leg. That pain was from a gunshot wound from a bullet El Paso Police believe came from a shootout at the same time in Juarez.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday,Find rubberhose companies from India. Maria arrived at her Lower Valley home. She exited the vehicle on crutches.

"There really isn't anyone to blame," Maria said in Spanish about what happened.

Bryan Romero, Romero's son, said she was pushing her 1-year-old grandson in a baby carriage,This page provides information about 'werkzeugbaus; shopping for molds because she bakes cakes and sells them. Santiago was not injured.

"Thank God hit me and not the baby," said Maria Romero.Iowa Mold tooling designs and manufacturers mechanics trucks,

Romero said she screamed when she heard a loud pop and saw blood running down her leg. "I never imagined something like this would happen in the United States," said Romero.

Romero moved to El Paso from Ciudad Juarez about five years ago and now lives about a block away from the border fence. She said the incident has not made her feel unsafe, but she is still shaken by the experience.

"Now I feel fortunate and with a greater will to live," said Romero.

El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said Tuesday afternoon that a bullet that punctured Maria's calf in Downtown El Paso Tuesday morning is believed to have come from Mexico.

Romero said police told her if the bullet had been fired from a close proximity, her leg would have been shattered due to the calibur of the bullet.

"We do take this extremely seriously," El Paso Mayor John Cook said on Tuesday. "This is another difficulty for El Paso and the border region when we're trying to highlight how safe our community is. This is still a great place to live."

El Paso Sheriff's Office Commander Gomecindo Lopez called the shooting "highly disturbing."

Guillen Middle School, Aoy Elementary and Hart Elementary were put on lockdown from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.To interact with beddinges, following the shooting Tuesday.

This is not the first time that a bullet from Mexico has been fired into El Paso.

A bullet struck Bell Hall on the UTEP campus on the evening of Aug. 21, 2010. Nobody was injured and UTEP Police believe the bullet may have been related to a shootout in Juarez, Mexico that occurred at the same time. The shooting resulted in the temporary closure of Paisano Drive from Executive Center to Santa Fe Street in El Paso. One person was killed in the shootout in Juarez. There were no reported injures in El Paso.

At about 5 p.m. June 29, 2010 a bullet traveled from a shootout in Juarez through a ninth floor window of El Paso City Hall, then through an interior wall, before striking a picture frame and stopping. Further investigation revealed that the north and south stucco walls of City Hall were struck by an additional six rounds at varying heights on the walls. El Paso City Hall did not appear to be the specific target of the rounds. City employees were inside City Hall during the incident.Great Prices from Topps tile. There were no reported injuries in El Paso from the incident.

Get some cash for those unused gift cards

If you're like 28-year-old Staci Jeffrey of Omaha and millions of other Americans, you're still sitting on a gift card or two that you received for your birthday or during the holidays.

It's one of the most requested gifts, but an estimated $2 billion in gift cards were not redeemed in 2011, according to CEB TowerGroup,Find a moldmaker or Mold Service Provider. a Boston-based financial research firm.

Since 2005, more than $41 billion in gift cards has gone unclaimed. And businesses — including some you might not expect — are taking advantage. United Airlines this month announced that it will trade frequent flier miles for unused gift cards from certain retailers and businesses, including Target and Starbucks.

Other businesses have set up systems to allow consumers to swap or cash in gift cards, sometimes at a steep discount.

The businesses' interest is not surprising, considering that gift card sales topped $100 billion in 2011, according to TowerGroup. The National Retail Federation estimated that consumers spent $27.8 billion on gift cards during the past holiday season, up from an estimated $24.78 billion in 2010.

Gift card spending has increased by an average of 6 percent a year since 2005, and it's expected to continue at that rate, according to TowerGroup.

Federal legislation passed in 2009 as the CARD Act was intended to protect consumers from hidden fees and expiration dates on gift cards. Since its passage, the amount that goes unspent on gift cards has been shrinking.

Still,Get information on airpurifier from the unbiased, independent experts. the average U.S. household has an estimated $300 in unredeemed gift cards, according to Plastic Jungle,Find a moldmaker or Mold Service Provider. an online marketplace where consumers sell, buy, exchange or donate gift cards.

Only an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of gift cards given during the holidays were redeemed in January, leaving "a long tail on redemption" from here on out, said Michael Niemira, vice president,Information on useful yeasts and moulds, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

For Jeffrey, who has four gift cards in her wallet, each about 2 years old and worth a total of $150, "It's a time thing."

"Even when I would have time,A top plastic lnjectionmoulds manufacturer and exporter in China. I would forget that I had them," she said.

She's not the only one. Heading into the 2011 holiday season, 25 percent of adults still had at least one unused gift card from the 2010 holiday season and 55 percent had two or more, according to a Consumer Reports survey.

Their reasons were similar to Jeffrey's. The majority said they didn't find anything they wanted to buy, they didn't have time to use the gift card or they forgot about it. Some of the other reasons cited were that the card expired, the store went out of business or the card was lost.

TowerGroup said another way gift cards go unspent is that consumers spend the majority of the card's value but leave a small amount on the card.

Ten states have made it easier for consumers to get the full value of their cards by having cash-back laws that allow gift cards to be redeemed for cash if the balance is below a certain amount. Oregon's law, which went into effect last month, requires all gift cards used at least once to be redeemable for cash if the balance is $4.99 or less.

"The fact is, a consumer should not be required to spend more than the balance of a gift card in order to receive the full benefit," said Judd Lillestrand, founder of ScripSmart, an online consumer resource on gift cards. "Because so few retailers offer a cash-back policy, you can expect to see more states enact similar legislation in the future."

Sensational spas of the Rockies

Having one of the world’s greatest outdoor playgrounds as your backyard can be exhilarating, but it’s less appealing when you’re not of the winter-warrior ilk.Pfister werkzeugbau AG aus Mönchaltorf ist Ihr Partner bei der Herstellung von Werkzeugen und Spritzformen. Skiing might get top billing, but the spas of the Alberta Rockies also tempt many to the mountains. Here are some tried and true favourites, plus a few new facilities that prove there’s more than one way to experience healthy living.

Located in the elegant surroundings of the Post Hotel, this spa,Johnson Tiles UK offer the largest range of porcelaintiles online, like the hotel, lives up to its eminent reputation. It’s the little things — like heated bath tiles, the thickest of towels and candlelit treatment rooms — that tantalize guests before their lavish treatments begin.

Stepping into the iridescent, airy change rooms, you’ll feel an energy shift; light reflects off the frothy, inviting hot tub, and rosemary, pine and peppermint, drift through the air from the steam room.

To ward off winter’s chill, go with the Temple Mountain Purifying Signature Experience.To interact with beddinges, Warming you to the core, it begins with a lemongrass body scrub, followed by a wasabi, sake mud mask. Said to absorb excess toxins while increasing blood flow, this is where things really heat up. The purifying ingredients of the mask penetrate your skin while you cocoon within tightly wrapped blankets.

After a rain-shower to rinse off the mask, it’s onto a Thai Stem Massage. Unsure what to expect?

“It’s like passively having yoga done for you,” says spa director Marina McCutcheon. Therapists use heated cotton orbs filled with lemongrass and lavender to stretch and compress muscles, helping improve flexibility and release tension. Instead of limping off the massage table, you’re apt to feel a foot taller.

There’s been a spa in this location for years, but only in the last year has it been run by Fairmont. Much like you’d expect from the brand, this intimate sanctuary doesn’t disappoint.

Decorated in comforting browns and mossy greens, the co-ed lounge invites guests to sink into deep leather chairs as they sipping fruit-infused water before treatment.

It’s a welcome respite from the ski hill, as stiff muscles are unwound with the therapeutic sports massage, a rubdown that gets deep into muscle fibres. A word of caution: this massage isn’t about relaxation. It’s a serious lactic acid moving procedure, not recommended for first-timers.

Or try an Alpine Foot Treatment, ideal at this time of year to smooth out rough, cracked skin. Think of a robust pedicure with extra massage time: feet are soaked, scrubbed and kneaded into oblivion before being revived with a frothy thermal mineral gel and toenails polished to perfection.

As you sink back into the pulsating massage chair, be sure to accept the offer of a heated neck pillow wafting the heady scent of cloves; plan time afterwards to satisfy tummy rumbles with afternoon tea overlooking the famous lake and Victoria Glacier.

Spa guests also have access to the eucalyptus steam room, hotel pool and gym. Salon services include waxing, hair and makeup application, ensuring you emerge not only blissful, but even more ravishing than before.

Hot springs have long been a source for rejuvenation in the Rockies, but there’s more than one pool for health and wellness at Banff Upper Hot Springs. Located in the same historic facility, Pleiades is a modest, independently owned spa that offers affordable options for treatments.

This is a spa for the people. Much like the curative facilities of Central Europe,Silicone moldmaking Rubber,Find a moldmaker or Mold Service Provider. where everyday folk take to the waters, it has a bit of an institutional feel, but that only adds to its charm. And really, what else could you expect from being housed in a government facility?

The no frills environment is what draws many people here, says Janet MacDonald, spa director. “We’re not flashy, but we do offer a sense of comfort and the convenience of the hot springs.”

Whether you’re after a massage, salt scrub, wrap or facial, only all-natural products made with local ingredients nourish your skin. Handmade by MacDonald, guests can purchase the intoxicating concoctions for use at home.

Arrive early to take advantage of all on-site options, starting with a steam to loosen up stiff muscles or a dip in the hot springs to soak away any residual tension. There’s a licensed cafe that serves up hot meals and discounted passes for the hot springs are available to spa guests.

The original Observer linotype printing machine

The O’Neils had news ink flowing in their veins. Jimmie’s dad and several brothers were publishers in Washington and in years to come Jimmie’s son Wayne, daughter-in-law Frances, daughter Carol, granddaughter Peggy, and grandson Dan all were key cogs in producing the Chinook Observer newspaper.

The Observer’s linotype machine prominently displayed in the Village Gallery of Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum (CPHM) is a Mergenthaler Linotype Co. model 5 #15131. It was the primary machine used for eight decades by the Chinook Observer.China professional plasticmoulds, In 1900, the Observer was started by George Hibbert and Frank Gaither in Chinook and in 1938 James O’Neil moved the Chinook Observer to Long Beach, where it kept the original name and where it has been ever since.

J.M. “Jimmie” O’Neil and co-worker Lee Marsh finally said goodbye to the linotype machine in the early 1970s and it has been on loan at CPHM since. In 1963, Wayne O’Neil took over as editor of the Observer and he and wife Frances worked there until 1983.

“We consider the newspaper public property. The plant (and linotype machine) is privately owned, but the newspaper belongs to the people. The editor’s obligation first, last and always is to see that this publication is handled for the best interests of the majority and may God help us all to live up that standard,” Jimmie O’Neil stated in the first Observer issue he put out.

Linotype users typically took information from rough drafts and proofreaders were expert at reading print in reverse. (Try reading a book in a mirror to see their dilemma.) “I used to read the pages upside down. It made reading the reverse type easier for me. After awhile you got used to it,” Frances O’Neil recollects.

Jimmie O’Neil’s early days of being the only newsman and on call around the clock meant that he was so short-handed he often had to exclude the copy writer and proofreader. He would do all the composing at the 90-character keyboard and put his work “to bed” himself. He did this until his first vacation in 1952, after 14 years at the linotype. “A whole week off!” he exclaimed.

O’Neil’s editorials were often to the point and met serious local concerns. He wrote in Aug. 14, 1953, “One bad accident averted at 101 - Peninsula Rd. intersection through the use of a blinker would be money well spent.” Two decades later his son, Wayne, would write a similar piece about a school child killed at the same intersection that now features a seeing-eye stop light.

“Sometimes we’d drop off the newspapers at the post office after midnight on Thursdays so they’d be ready to mail. The Observer office was our second home,Omega Plastics are a leading rapid tooling and plastic injectionmold company based in the UK,A top plastic lnjectionmoulds manufacturer and exporter in China.” Frances O’Neil related.

Linotype is a spinoff of the words “line of type.Argo Mold limited specialize in Plastic injectionmould manufacture,” The keyboard had separate keys for lower case and capital letters, and for characters, punctuation and spaces. The linotype machine was invented in Baltimore by German immigrant Ottmar Mergenthaler. In 1891, the New York Tribune was among the first to use the linotype method for its books and daily newspaper. The machine was still in wide use into the 1970s for magazines, posters and newspapers.

The linotype assembled a row of matrices (brass letter and character molds), then cast the entire line of reverse text in a molten (about 600 degrees Fahrenheit) alloy of 85 percent lead, 11 percent antimony and 4 percent tin that produced one long line of type called a “slug.” This process was known as “hot metal” typesetting.

The slug cooled and was trimmed to the desired dimensions and then dropped into a galley tray, which held the text lines. When an entire page layout was complete, the filled galley tray then went to the proofreader and then to the printer. If there were spaces between the matrices,To interact with beddinges, the molten alloy could spurt through the gaps possibly injuring the operator. Thus blank matrices for spaces had to be added. The linotype machine gave off toxic fumes from the molten lead-based alloy so the area needed to be properly ventilated.

Union Mosaic closing in on stake in Royal

The company's president, Paweena Laowiwatwong, said the acquisition would help Union Mosaic develop a variety of products to support business growth. The move will help both companies jointly develop new products at a cost lower than what each would have incurred if it had gone about it on its own.

After negotiations,Low prices on projectorlamp from Projector Point London UK.Argo Mold limited specialize in Plastic injectionmould manufacture, Union Mosaic Industry has offered to buy between 94.28 million and 125.71 million shares from RCI's existing shareholders through a partial tender offer at Bt0.90 per share. The deal would require a budget of between Bt84.86 million and Bt113.14 million.

At present, Royal Ceramic Industry is engaged in the manufacture, import and sales of both floor and wall tiles. Products distributed by RCI are divided into three categories:

n Glazed wall tiles: These are ceramic units in the form of plain, monoporosa, and special-pattern or decorative tiles, made using a third-firing technique.

n Porcelain tiles: These are produced by using the best available technique with a firing temperature of 1,China professional plasticmoulds,200 degrees Celsius, thereby creating a tile that is stronger than natural stone and other types of tiles. Also, porcelain tile is beautiful like natural stone and has a low water-absorption rate, which is suitable for both floor and wall covering.

n Clay tiles: These are produced by using an extrusion technology that creates a highly durable tile,Iowa Mold tooling designs and manufacturers mechanics trucks, resulting from the density produced by a vacuum system. Clay tiles are produced in various shapes that can be used indoors and outdoors, including in a factory for heavy-duty work.

At present, RCI has registered capital of Bt620.61 million,Iowa Mold tooling designs and manufacturers mechanics trucks, comprising 620,612,296 ordinary shares at a par value of Bt1 per share, and paid-up capital of Bt314.28, comprising 314,285,710 ordinary shares at a par value of Bt1 per share.

The company recorded revenue of Bt800.16 million and net loss of Bt106.26 million in the first nine months of last year.

Paweena said that after this deal Union Mosaic Industry would also set aside an investment budget of Bt100 million to install new machinery for manufacture of ceramic tiles. This will improve the company's mechanisation and automation.

It will support its two new products - Rexury Tile and Duragres Full HD Tiles - that will be launched this year.

According to its investment plan this year, Paweena said the company targeted revenue of Bt2.7 billion, up 8 per cent from last year. The company reported revenue of Bt2.49 billion and net profit of Bt121 million for 2011.

Nipawin Christian Women's After 5 hosts presentation

On Valentine’s Day a presentation was put on by the Nipawin Christian Women’s After 5 group.

Two local ladies, Eve Temple from Choiceland and Candace Person from Nipawin, put on a presentation about decorating cakes and cupcakes using buttercream icing and fondant.

They showed examples on cupcakes and talked about the many different colors and tools available for people to get creative at home when it comes to decorating.

Tools include things like letters, florals, animals, and many other different cut outs and molds.Find rubberhose companies from India.Silicone moldmaking Rubber, There were also cutting tools,Johnson Tiles UK offer the largest range of porcelaintiles online, dust, rolling pins, presses, foams, fondant imprint mats and other accessories.

They talked about the ingredients needed to make buttercream and fondant icings and where you can purchase all these supplies.

The two girls designed a few different styles of cupcakes including a ladybug, roses, and bows.

Heidi Salmond and another young girl, both in their second year at the Nipawin Bible college sang “When you say nothing at all” and “The power of your love” and had the audiences attention the entire time with their beautiful voices and talented piano playing skills.

Germaine Dagenais from Vawn, Sk. talked about her life and her struggles coming from a big family.

She grew up in a home with 11 siblings and felt she was never good enough and was always lonely.

She felt she was never loved by her mother and family and once she had her own children, three by the time she was 19, she struggled passing on the message of love to her children.We are professional plasticmould,metal parts mould manufacturers and factory

She went through major struggles in her life from her 13 year old daughter becoming pregnant to losing her 17 year old son in an accident.

During these hardships, she looked for God and wanted answers. She wanted to know why her life was so terrible and why all these things were happening to her.

Death and sickness came to her house time and time again and once she had God in her life she knew that there would be a tomorrow and that everything would work itself out.

Once she had truly found God she finally felt loved and realized her life would be okay.

The event had many people interested and some even in tears after hearing Daganais's story.China professional plasticmoulds,

Colonial Machine Co. Celebrating 65 Successful Years in Kent

The company recently held its 65th Anniversary Banquet at the Rusty Nail for both current and former employees. In addition to handing out service awards, the company also distributed profit-sharing checks – continuing a Colonial tradition started in the 1950s.

Matt Metcalf, Colonial CEO, shared the company’s history:

In 1944 brothers Dr. Vic Yahner and Blaise Yahner, along with John Stehle, started a company known as the Kent Plastic Mold and Die Co. In the early days the company was a three-man operation that specialized in machining castings and bar stock items for local manufacturers.

The business operated in the basement of Dr. Yahner’s professional building located in downtown Kent on North Water Street between Star of the West Mill and Hometown Bank. If you drive by now, it will stand out as the storefront that is not quite parallel to the street, currently the home of the Franklin School of Dance.

While the machine shop operated out of the basement, the office activities were located above on the second floor, with the dental practice continuing on street level.

Going from the shop to or from the office was a quick and easy run up or down a fire escape. At least it was easy in the summer, as the first person to make the trip on winter days had to worry about the icicles that would form on the steps and sometimes block the door. A hammer was hung outside during the winter and the first to visit the office each day would have to knock some of the large icicles away just to get the door open.Specialized of injection mold, plasticmoulds,

On Jan. 15, 1947,Learn all about solarpanel, the company was incorporated and a year later the name was changed to Colonial Machine Co. The following month, Colonial purchased a Sidney lathe, a Racine Power Saw, a Hammond Grinder and a Delta Disc Sander that provided decades of service for the company. The machines paused only when Dr. Yahner was performing a delicate dental procedure upstairs and didn’t want the building to shake.

In the late 1940s Dr. Yahner’s neighbor, George Beckwith,You can find best china automotiveplasticmoulds manufacturers from here! became unhappy with his job at Gougler Industries and quit. Upon hearing this, Vic Yahner offered the job of running Colonial to Beckwith, who accepted and joined as a business partner.

Beckwith quickly became an asset to the company as he started charging many customers, whereas the overly kind Blaise Yahner liked to do many of the jobs as favors for local friends.

As the company grew, more space was needed so land was purchased at the corner of Mogadore Road and Cherry Street.The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good and affordable alternative to buying a new sofa that is run down. Ground was broken in 1951 and Colonial soon had a new home. The original building consisted of a small machine bay with a wooden roof, offices and a narrow engineering department above the offices.

It was during the 1950s that Vic Yahner had the idea of profit sharing and, when the year permitted, would issue bonus checks – a tradition that still is followed today.

The late 1960s brought more growth. In 1966 an assembly bay was added. In 1968, a machine bay and new offices were built. A year later, a larger engineering department was added above the new offices. In 1974, the additions were complete with the construction of a bay that holds Colonial’s EDM machines.

Over the years, employees Ken Wertz, Roy Metcalf and Jim Rankin became Colonial’s majority stockholders.

Wertz had started working for Colonial part-time while an undergraduate student at Kent State University in 1950. He retired in January 1993 after 43 years of service, including 31 years as president.

After Wertz’s retirement, Metcalf and Rankin bought the company, serving as CEO and president, respectively.

Both men retired with over 40 years of service, Rankin in 2002 and Metcalf in 2009. Their sons, Kent residents Mike Rankin and Matt Metcalf, assumed their father’s roles when each retired. Both had begun working for the company in the early 1990s.

Today, Colonial Machine is housed in a 30,000-square-foot building – still at the corner of Mogadore Road and Cherry Street. While the founding staff was just a handful of people, today Colonial boasts “a skilled group of 40 craftsmen and engineers.”

As a major supplier of molds for housewares, appliances, business machines, food handling, industrial products, pipe fittings, electrical fittings and automatic unscrewing items, Colonial has achieved “leading-edge efficiency” with its state-of-the-art CAD/CAM systems.

Manufacturing simple to complex single- and multi-cavity molds ranging in sizes up to 12 tons,Original oilpaintings by fine art artist Teresa Bernard. Free online art instruction and painting tips. the company reports it is committed to continually improving technology to meet the tight tolerances of its customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America.