Thursday 22 June 2017

John Deere Landscapes Unveils New Name as SiteOne Landscape Supply

ALPHARETTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--John Deere Landscapes today unveiled its new name and logo as SiteOne

Landscape Supply, effective http://bermudagrasslawns.com/ October 19. The new brand represents the

next step for SiteOne as an independent company after its acquisition by

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in December 2013. With over 460 locations in

the U.S. and Canada, SiteOne is the largest wholesale distributor of

landscape supplies for green industry professionals in North America,

including irrigation supplies, fertilizer and control products,

landscape accessories, nursery goods, hardscapes, and outdoor lighting,

along with Sprinkler System a broad array of services designed to help green industry

professionals operate and grow their businesses. SiteOne will formally

introduce customers to the new brand a t the GIE+EXPO in Louisville,

Kentucky.

"As a market leader, our vision is to make our customers the most

successful landscaping professionals in the green industry--and that's

what our new brand represents," said Doug Black, SiteOne's chief

executive officer. "We have over 2,500 passionate and knowledgeable

associates across North America, all focused on the success of our

customers. The new brand reflects our unique position as the only

national full-line provider of landscaping products which, along with

the deep knowledge and state-of-the-art solutions that we offer, will

form our foundation for future growth."

SiteOne's tagline, "Stronger Together" defines its partnerships with

customers, associates, suppliers and communities, and its commitment to

excellence in product offerings and service delivery. "By working

together with our suppliers Sprinkler System Installation Fort Worth and customers we can achieve great things

for all stakeholders," said Black.





The rebranding effort began shortly after the purchase of John Deere

Landscapes by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. SiteOne performed an extensive

18-month branding process, which included gathering input from

associates, suppliers, customers and key stakeholders. The brand roll

out will be completed by December. "We have an exciting new look, with

the same exceptional associates who will continue to deliver the high

quality products and services our customers know and trust," Black said.

About SiteOne Landscape Supply LLC

SiteOne Landscape Supply

(formerly John Deere Landscapes) is North America's leading wholesale

distributor of landscape supplies for green industry professionals

including irrigation supplies, fertilizer and control products,

landscape accessories, nursery goods, hardscapes, and outdoor lighting,

along with a broad array of services designed to help green industry

professionals operate and grow their businesses. With over 460 locations

in the U.S. and Canada, the broadest product and service offerings, and

over 2,500 knowledgeable associates, SiteOne is committed to making its

customers the most successful landscape professionals in the green

industry.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150814005051/en/John-Deere-Landscapes-Unveils-SiteOne-Landscape-Supply

Wednesday 21 June 2017

Remodel: Great Home Makeovers from Connecticut to California.

Remodel: Great Home Makeovers from Connecticut to California

Matthew Schoenherr with Linda Mason Hunter & Wendy Jordan



Taunton Press



Box 5507, Newton, CT 06470-5507



9781561589241, $21.95 www.taunton.com



In hardcover REMODEL was titled HOUSE TRANSFORMED: this paperback

edition represents the fourth in a series of books produced in

conjunction with the American Institute of Architects and Taunton, and

provides homeowners with over two hundred Best Home Improvement color photos to accompany

seven basic tips on successfully remodeling, from understanding regional

and property site pros and cons to designing with compatibility and

safety in mind, and Home Improvement in College Station budgeting. From lifestyle assessments to picking the

optimum remodel plans, REMODEL is http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/topics/remodeling for any who would undertake a project,

and selects 18 houses across the country that have been remodeled by

America's leading residential architects.



COPYRIGHT 2007 Midwest Book Review



No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.

Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved.





https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Remodel:GreatHomeMakeoversfromConnecticuttoCalifornia.-a0167509079

Monday 19 June 2017

Landscape winner - 2016 Sony World Photography Awards - Pictures



The world's largest photography competition, the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards announced its Grand Prize winners.

Iranian photographer Asghar Khamseh, who works for the Mehr News Agency, won the "Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year and the $25,000 prize for a powerful series of portraits of acid http://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoors-Garden-Center-Watering-Irrigation-Sprinkler-Systems/N-5yc1vZc63n attack victims, "Fire of Hatred."

Here are the winners and finalists, chosen from a record-breaking 230,103 entries, in 14 documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbW3ayDWVQ and fine art professional categories -- each judged on a body of work. They winners were selected from a shortlist, announced in February 2016. Winners and shortlisted work will be on exhibit at Somerset https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbW3ayDWVQ House, London from April 22-May 8, 2016.

Landscape winner - "Land of Nothingness"



Maroesjka Lavigne, Belgium

A country named after a desert. One of the least densely populated places on earth, Namibia's landscape draws you in, through a vast brown plain of scorched earth, and steers you over the white surface of a salt pan to finally arrive in the gold tones of the sand dunes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/2016-sony-world-photography-awards-winners/

Saturday 17 June 2017

It's farmer versus oil companies in case of alleged water contamination

SAN FRANCISCO -- Every day, oil companies in California dump millions of gallons of wastewater underground. Most of it is getting injected deep under the Central Valley, which also happens to be the state's agricultural heartland.

CBS San Francisco reports that some farmers, like Mike Hopkins, suspect that wastewater might be what's killing their crops, and impacting our food supply.

The problem began about eight years ago when the leaves of his newly planted cherry orchard started turning brown, Hopkins said. Soon the almond trees followed.

"We started doing water tests, soil tests, tissue tests, digging holes, trying to find out where the problem was," he said.

The water tests provided a clue.

"It had more contaminants in it, chlorides, boron, not at toxic levels, but levels that were harmful to the trees," Hopkins said.

His irrigation water contained the very same salty compounds found in the wastewater produced by dozens of nearby oil wel ls. On average, 10 barrels of wastewater come up with each barrel of oil and most of it is injected back into the ground.

State regulators told Hopkins the wastewater injection well right across the street from his farm couldn't be to blame, because it was abandoned years ago. But it turns out abandoned wells may still be a problem.

"That acts as essentially a chimney," attorney Patricia Oliver, who is suing the oil companies involved on Hopkins' behalf, said.

According to the lawsuit, abandoned injection wells reach into the same area deep underground where dozens of other active wells are injecting wastewater. When pressure builds in the injection zone the wastewater can push up through an abandoned well if it's not properly sealed and leak into the fresh water zone above it.

"Nobody is testing the water wells nearby, even though the Division of Oil and Gas knows there are multiple farmers complaining," Oliver said.

In an email to CBS San Francisco, one of the oil companies involved, San Joaquin Facilities Management, blamed the drought and Big Ag irrigation practices for the problem: "There is no evidence that San Joaquin's injected water Sprinkler System escaped the zone into which it was injected."

Three other oil companies said they can't comment because of pending litigation.

The Division of Oil and Gasthat oversees the drilling, operation and abandonment of oil wells and injection wells in California also turned down an interview request, sending CBS San Francisco instead to theState Water Resources Control Board.



Jonathan Bishop, the department's chief deputy director, is assisting the Division of Oil and Gas in a federally mandated review of hundreds of injection wells that the U.S. Environmental Prote ction Agency has determined could potentially be contaminating California's drinking water supplies.

"We did a first cut review and identified a number of wells that needed further study," Bishop said.

Dozens of injection wells were found in violation. The well near Hopkins' farm was not on the list, but DOGGR confirms it was never capped.

"There is a theoretical potential that an abandoned well that perforates down into the oilfield might have some cross connection with a water zone," Bishop said.

He says so far no wells used for irrigation or drinking have been found to be contaminated. But the review process, scheduled to be completed this month, is way behind target. And all the geological and mechanical surveys to make sure the injection wells are safe are being done by the oil companies.



Back at the farm, attorney Patricia Oliver predicted things are just going to get worse. She said that with no help from the state, or from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, her client had no choice but to sue.

"We all know what we face with the current administration trying to take away any power the EPA has," she said.

Meanwhile Mike Hopkins has planted pistachios on the field where his cherry trees once blossomed. They're sturdier plants, but he doesn't hold out much hope they'll survive either. He said that once his almond trees Sprinkler System stop producing, he'll pull those too.

"This is a small orchard but we have neig hbors who are much larger that are going through the same problem. Once we get to a point where everybody is complaining, it's probably going to be too late," Hopkins said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmers-versus-oil-companies-in-case-of-alleged-water-contamination/

Wednesday 14 June 2017

How to generate Electricity | hubpages

Fossil Fuels

In a coal or oil fired power station, the fuel is burned (converting its chemical energy into heat) and the heat used to convert water into steam at very high temperature and pressure. This then drives a steam turbine, a device which harnesses the energy in the steam (heat and pressure) to produce rotational movement (mechanical energy). The rotating shaft of the steam turbine is coupled to the armature of the alternator, so the final result is electricity.

Wind Power

Windmills have been around for centuries and all have harnessed the energy of moving air (wind!) through rotating sails or fan blades. Traditionally, the mechanical energy was used directly, to turn a mill wheel. A modern wind turbine simply couples the rotating shaft to an alternator armature. The last link in the chain is always the same - electricity from mechanical rotation.

Hydro Electric Power

Here, the sourc e energy (there always has to be one!) is gravitational potential energy. A mountain stream is dammed in a high place, to create an artificial lake or reservoir. Farther down the mountain, the power station is equipped with water turbines. These are simply highly efficient versions of the old fashioned water-wheel; effectively they harness the kinetic energy of a carefully channelled waterfall to produce mechanical rotation. The rest you know.

Tidal Power and Wave Power

These new technologies extract energy from the long-term bulk movement of water in a tidal estuary and from the short-term wave motion of the surface. The principle remains the same, to harness the 'free' natural energy in moving water to drive a mechanical turbine.

Solar Power - local

In a sense. all energy on Earth is solar energy, as even fossil fuels are chemical 'memories' of ancient sunshine. But we're talking here about generating electricity from solar energy, and strangely enough, it's not very easy. The problem is that you can't easily convert sunshine into mechanical rotation to drive alternators on a commercial scale. Solar panels have no moving parts, and so the electricity they produce is 'DC' or direct current. This is like the electricity from a battery. It's great for local use, e.g. running a small irrigation pump, but the big problem with DC is that it is hard to distribute. (No time to explain that now - maybe another hub!)

Solar Power - commercial

Photovoltaic units, as described above, are best suited to localised applications like space or water heating. However, commercial-scale solar power plants, though still expensive to build, are becoming viable, the more so as the price of fossil fuels increases.

No single design for commercial solar power has yet won through, but all are based on the same idea - a large array of reflectors to collect the sun's rays and focus them onto a receiver which is effectively pipe-work contai ning a heat-absorbing fluid. Technologies are already well developed to store the collected energy as heat and to convert it to electricity using steam or gas turbines at a steady rate, night and day. The biggest problem is that the sun moves (OK, the Earth rotates!) and so ingenious tracking mechanisms are needed to make the reflectors follow the sun through the daylight hours.



Ironically, the part of the world best suited for deploying this technology is the part that least needs it - the oil rich deserts of the Middle East.

Geothermal Energy

This is another underdeveloped source. If you drill down into the Earth's crust, at first the temperature drops, because the sun's warmth can't penetrate. But deeper, the temperature rises. Volcanoes are evidence of this - molten lava is pretty hot! That well of energy is there to be tapped. As always, the final conversion process is the familiar steam turbine. And, like solar energy, it is environmentally friendly, provided you don't accidentally trigger a local volcano! But it is not as simple as it https://www.ratedpeople.com/local/electricians seems. The process of taking heat from a hot rock cools the rock locally. There's plenty more heat surrounding it, but can it flow quickly enough to your collectors? Again, it's another technology whose time will come, but not a panacaea.



Nuclear Ene rgy

This is the controversial one. Nuclear fission is a process in which unstable (radioactive) atomic nuclei break down, releasing energy in the form of radiation (escaping particles). By concentrating these nuclei together, a controlled chain recation is produced releasing huge amounts of energy which is used to convert water into steam. The process of generating electricity in a nuclear power plant is simply by steam turbine, exactly the same as in a fossil fuel plant. The public fear of nuclear power is twofold: the risk of meltdown - an uncontrolled nuclear reactor is not very different from an 'atomic' bomb; also the by-product, radioactive nuclear waste, is none too pleasant.

As an aside - Nuclear energy does not obey the classical Physics law of conservation of Energy. It does however obey the Modern Physics law of conservation of Mass-Energy which allows for interconversion of matter and energy according to Einstein's famous equation E=mc This fundamental dif ference Best Electrician Service in College Station means that Nuclear Energy is potentially the most fruitful source of all. It is important that proper scientific research & development into nuclear energy, and Nuclear Fusion in particular, should be allowed to continue.

https://hubpages.com/technology/generate-electricity

Monday 12 June 2017

definition of painting by The Free Dictionary

From fire to oil was a natural transition for burned fingers, and Amy fell to painting with undiminished ardor.With other men he lived in a box car and away they went from town to town painting the railroad property-switches, crossing gates, bridges, and stations.He greatly valued his possessions, chiefly because they were his, and derived genuine pleasure from contemplating a painting, a statuette, a rare lace curtain--no matter what--after he had bought it and placed it among his household gods.The smile reminded Thorndike of the smile on the face of a mother in a painting by Murillo he had lately presented to the chapel in the college he had given to his native town.Moving on, I at last came to a dim sort of light not far from the docks, and heard a forlorn creaking in the air; and looking up, saw a swinging sign over the door with a white painting upon it, faintly representing a tall straight http://t otallyhistory.com/art-history/famous-artists/ jet of misty spray, and these words underneath -- The Spouter-Inn: --Peter Coffin.She wears a white shirtwaist, which represents, perhaps, half a week's labor painting cans.We had had the best instructors in drawing and painting in Germany--Ha"mmerling, Vogel, Mu"ller, Dietz, and Schumann.I've learned decalcomania, and after I take up lustre painting I shall have it simply stiff with drapes and tidies and placques and sofa pillows, and make mo- ther let me have a fire, and receive my friends there evenings.She put it into her hands as she spoke; and when Elinor saw the painting, whatever other doubts her fear of a too hasty decision, or her wish of detecting falsehood might suffer to linger in her mind, she could have none of its being Edward's face.In this room, too, there was a cabinet piano, quite new and of superior tone; also an easel for painting and a pair of globes.I'd not exchange, for a thousand lives, my condition here, fo r Edgar Linton's at Thrushcross Grange - not if I might have the privilege of flinging Joseph off the highest gable, and painting the house- front with Hindley's bloodNoel Vanstone to take a private opportunity of looking at you; and I am going to give the lie direct to that she-devil Lecount by painting out your moles.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/painting



Friday 9 June 2017

Home builders beating back fire sprinkler laws

HARTFORD, Conn. - Nearly three dozen states have rejected the idea of requiring sprinkler systems in homes by enacting legislation or rules that prohibit mandatory installation.

Home builders, still reeling from the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdF7T-Gf6A recession, say requiring sprinklers would add to their costs. They have found allies in state legislatures and rule-making bodies that have turned aside arguments by fire safety officials that requiring sprinklers in homes save lives.

The National Association of Home Builders has not taken a position on state action banning mandatory fire sprinklers in homes, said program manager Steve Orlowski, but the group has argued that installing residential sprinklers should be up to homeowners.

Either through legislation or code, 34 states have prohibited mandatory residential fire sprinklers, Orlowski said. Only two states -- California and Maryland -- have a dopted codes requiring installation of home sprinklers, he said.

In other states, sprinkler legislation died or is pending until next year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Connecticut, for example, is deferring action until next year. A measure requiring automatic fire extinguishing systems in one- and two-family homes failed to make it to a vote in the Public Safety and Security Committee.

Sen. Anthony Guglielmo, the committee's ranking Republican senator, said legislators did not have enough information about the cost to builders and municipalities that would enforce the law. Legislators will take up the issue next year only after hearing the recommendations of officials and others brought together by the state Department of Public Safety, he said.

The International Code Council, an organization of building inspectors, fire officials and others who set building standards, recommended in 2009 that states and mu nicipalities adopt codes requiring sprinkler systems in homes and townhouses less than three stories high. The regulations took effect Jan. 1.

The National Fire Protection Association has said sprinklers will particularly help young children, the elderly and the disabled by giving them time to escape burning homes.

Opponents of requiring sprinklers cite their cost -- and subsequent impact on home prices -- and voters' dissatisfaction with government mandates.

In Missouri, lawmakers extended for eight years rules that require builders to offer sprinklers but do not mandate them.

"Our main concern, in this housing market, is that the requirement for mandatory fire sprinklers could cost $7,000 to $15,000 per home," said Missouri state Sen. Eric Schmitt, Republican chairman of the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee. "In this market, it's very difficult to justify."

In New Hampshire, Gov. John Lynch tried to vetoed legislation tha t prohibited local planning boards from requiring sprinkler systems in homes as a condition of approval for local permits. The decision about whether to require fire sprinklers should remain a local one, Lynch said.

Legislators overrode the veto.

Sen. John S. Barnes, Republican chairman of the Public Municipal Affairs Committee, said the override vote was not easy because he typically favors local control. But he does not believe any government body should be ordering homeowners to install fire sprinklers.

"If I buy or build a house, I think I should decide whether I put in a sprinkler system," he said.



John A. Viniello, president of the National Fire Sprinkler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdF7T-Gf6A Association, said the process by which codes are approved is flawed. Codes regulating wiring, construction and other facets of home construction are informed by expert advice from industry and others, he said.

But when legislatures have a role in the process, codes too often are modified or scuttled, he said.

"Once the politicians get involved, it's over," he said.



https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/ href='http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/29/home-builders-beating-back-fire-sprinkler-laws.html'>http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/29/home-builders-beating-back-fire-sprinkler-laws.html