Ballmer goes out punching at last Microsoft employee meeting

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer took his farewell bow before thousands of applauding employees on Thursday with a typically loud and emotional performance at his last companywide meeting, talking up the software giant's prospects and taking swipes at rivals.The CEO, whose screeching and dancing at company events is the stuff of YouTube legend,Probably it does not take incorrect dealing with way for the particular bearings like the, SKF deep groove basketball bearing plus SKF 6215 deep groove ball bearings from China.Dining tables Scissor lift tables, also called scissor lifts, platform pulls and lift tables have a simple use - to raise or reduce the platform. stormed the stage to "Can't Hold Us" by Seattle rap/producer duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and kept up his usual high tempo, according to several people present at the employee-only meeting.He departed to the strains of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," the song played at Microsoft's first employee meeting in 1983, followed by "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from the finale of "Dirty Dancing," getting a standing ovation from the 13,000 or so Microsoft tire changer full-time employees in attendance."We have unbelievable potential in front of us, we have an unbelievable destiny," said a visibly moved Ballmer, reusing a quote from the 1983 meeting. "Only our company and a handful of others are poised to write the future," he continued. "We're going to think big, we're going to bet big."Ballmer, who announced his plan to retire within 12 months in August, was the last act of the all-day event at Seattle's KeyArena, former home of the city's SuperSonics basketball team.

Thousands of full-time Microsoft employees showed up, most of them bussed in from Microsoft's campus on the east side of Lake Washington - while an estimated 25,000 more tuned in via webcast.The event is an annual traffic nightmare for Seattle, with 220 buses making the 15-mile journey from Microsoft's campus in Redmond to the center of the city.crystal light on your windows can block the sun's harmful rays, protect your furniture from fading and even lower your energy bills.During his time on stage, Ballmer talked about telling his parents about deciding to drop out of Stanford's business school to join Microsoft on 1980, recalling that his father - a long-time Ford Motor Co executive - asked him what a personal computer was.Most double sided tapes have good tack,High Quality High temperature resistance Polyimide tape Products From China yet allow for positioning within a short time of application.He dwelled on his new plan to transform the company from a software-centric operation into a more innovative devices and services company, which he said would make it "fundamentally more powerful."He also took a swipe at rivals, declaring that Apple is about being "fashionable," Amazon.com is about being "cheap," Google is about "knowing more," but Microsoft is about "doing more."Microsoft has a bright future, Ballmer said, echoing his theme from last week's meeting with Wall Street analysts."I believe in you, I believe in the mission,The salvage piece that most strikes the midpoint between practicality and beauty is the vintage bathtubs, a salvage dealers most reliable customer draw.Antique tubs" he told employees, choking up slightly. "We've been a great company for years. We will be a great company for many more years."

Nike Profit Tops Estimates as North American Sales Gain

Net income in the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose 38 percent to $780 million from $567 million a year earlier, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said today in a statement. Earnings per share from continuing operations were 86 cents. The average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg was 78 cents.A window display advertises Nike shoes at the House Of Hoops by Foot Locker retail store at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.A thin Lamp shade that will prevent fingerprints and scratching with the option of our glare reducing film.Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker has been introducing products, including updates to the Flyknit line of shoes, to capture a great share of the market for running gear. Flyknit shoes, which feature upper portions woven from a single thread, sell for $150 or more, helping Nike maintain profitability in the face of higher labor costs.“A number of things are firing on all cylinders,” Paul Swinand, a Morningstar Inc. (MORN) analyst in Chicago, said in an interview. “Almost everything across the board is strong.”Nike rose as much as 6.4 percent to $74.87 in trading after the close in New York. The shares had gained 36 percent this year through the close, compared with a 19 percent increase for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Sales rose 7.7 percent to $6.97 billion,SKF deep groove ball bearings have deep, uninterrupted raceway grooves.SKF 6211 deep groove ball bearings from China These raceway grooves have a close osculation with the balls. topping analysts’ $6.96 billion average estimate. Sales in North America, Nike’s largest market, rose 9.4 percent to $3.14 billion.Orders for the Nike brand from September to January, excluding the effects of currency exchange-rate fluctuations, rose 10 percent. The average estimate of six analysts was a 7.7 percent gain.Nike’s gross margin, the percentage of sales left after subtracting the cost of goods sold,This might seem clueless but is there a protective film already applied to the phone as shipped? I can't tell if what I feel on the edges of the.Chandelier widened to 44.Uline stocks a wide selection of 3M Double Sided Tape, High Quality Anti-static protective film Products From China 3M and 3M Two Sided Tape.9 percent from 43.7 percent, on falling prices for raw materials and less discounting. Analysts estimated 43.8 percent,3M High Quality Anti-scratch protective film Products From Chinacomes with self-sticking adhesive on both sides for mounting, sealing, gift wrapping, decorating and crafts. on average. The increase was the third straight after nine consecutive declines caused mostly by rising labor costs.In China, which had been one of Nike’s fastest-growing markets, sales excluding currency fluctuations fell 3 percent to $574 million for a fourth straight decline. Orders in China on that basis rose 2 percent, compared with analysts projecting a gain of 0.5 percent.“I’m not sure if the problems in China are behind them,” Swinand said. “It’s not getting worse.”

AT&T wants to get into the wireless broadcast video biz

The company is working on technology that would enable it to broadcast video directly to its customers via its cellular network, CEO Randall Stephenson said during an investor conference on Tuesday. He said the service could come in the next three years.If the service sounds familiar, that's because Qualcomm attempted to do the same thing with its ill-fated MediaFlo service.wheel aligner Qualcomm used a thin layer of spectrum to create a broadcast video service with multiple live channels that could be picked up with compatible phones. The broadcasters are attempting to do the same with local television channels through its Dyle service.Dyle requires you to plug in an adapter to pick up a handful of broadcast channels. It hasn't been successful.High Quality Double sided red tape Products From ChinaMediaFlo was an embarrassing failure for Qualcomm. There has been little to no adoption of the Dyle service, suggesting little interest in live, broadcast video. So it's curious that Stephenson would tease such a service.But Stephenson said that video is driving traffic, and he believes that in some cases, there will be a need to broadcast video to a wide number of people, rather than have individuals access the same live video multiple times. By broadcasting it in one channel, it removes the traffic caused by multiple simultaneous requests for that video."There's certain content a large number of people want," Stephenson said. "We're developing a broadcast channel to remove congestion.thermos bottle"History will repeat itself in a way. AT&T intends to use the same thin layer of 700MHz spectrum that Qualcomm employed in its MediaFlo service.Video was a key theme of Stephenson's chat at the Goldman Sachs conference. He referenced Google Fiber and the Internet giant's push to build fiber-optic networks around the country to deliver faster Internet and video services. He noted that a few years ago,High Quality Lamplo Cotton Mushroom Floor Lamp Shade LS30014 AT&T used to go around to cities asking for permission to build out fiber-optic networks. Now,composite resin cities are asking companies like Google. AT&T wants to get in on the same action."We'll take one of those too," he said in reference to the attractive terms Austin, Texas, laid out for Google in its request for a fiber network. He added that AT&T would connect more cities to fiber.On the wireless end, Stephenson reiterated the competitive nature of the industry and noted that the company was facing pressure on the lower end. That was the incentive to do the Leap Wireless acquisition."You can assume we will be very aggressive on that end of the market using (Leap's) Cricket brand," he said. "I can't wait to launch the Cricket brand nationwide."He reiterated that he expects the Leap deal to close in the first quarter. Leap's Cricket arm gives AT&T a prepaid business that helps it better compete against Sprint's twin prepaid businesses, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, as well as T-Mobile's no-contract plans and MetroPCS prepaid arm.

Lenovo benefits from overseas market through flexible strategy

Despite the global PC market shrinking year by year, Lenovo has kept on making progress and gaining revenue from overseas markets through a series of flexible and compatible strategies,Andreas Mayer, Lenovo's Executive Director and General Manager Benelux, told Xinhua in a recent interview.The executive director, who is in charge of Lenovo's business of Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and fag bearingLuxemburg), illustrated an encouraging picture for the company's future."Our development is dynamic with double-digit growth and making further progress," Mayer said.Mayer's confidence comes from Lenovo's dual strategy. "We protect market segments where we are traditionally strong like in SMB and corporate accounts, in parallel we invest in relatively weak areas in our region like the consumer space."This strategy has helped Lenovo gain much revenue and become a leading purveyor in the global PC market.Lenovo Group recently reported earning results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2013, with quarterly revenue of 8.8 billion U.S. dollars, a 10-percent increase year-on-year.Lenovo's PC shipments for the first fiscal quarter were 12.6 million units, the 17th quarter in a row that Lenovo outperformed the industry as a whole,cc composite which was down 11 percent year-over-year.Lenovo's business is in remarkably good shape, while the global PC market continues to shrink. The global PC shipment plummeted 10.9 percent to 76 million, compared to the same period in 2012, representing the fifth consecutive quarter with declines, Gartner's figures indicate.Mayer said, "Lenovo managed to grow share by expanding into the 'PC plus' area, including tablets and smartphones."According to Lenovo's latest earning report,glass refill during the first fiscal quarter, Lenovo's laptop computers were the largest contributor to the company's revenue worldwide, generating about 52 percent of Lenovo's total revenue.According to Mayer's estimate, Lenovo still has room to lift its sale in Benelux area. "Compared to competitors, we have a stronghold traditionally in the commercial space, and we are now focus on increasing our foothold in the consumer space.""We have been making good progress as more and more consumers in Europe recognize and appreciate Lenovo's products and brand compared to 3 or 4 years ago when only few had heard of us," Mayer said, "During the recent consumer electronics fair IFA in Berlin we have noticed a great increase in interest in Lenovo's products."Moreover, Lenovo's managing localization style paves a good way for sustainable growth.Mayer said that unlike traditional multi-national companies from the United States and Germany, for example, Lenovo is good at bridging the culture gap by hiring local people in the executive team.High Quality Lamplo Bell Silk Lamp Shade LS30003Mayer, who has worked in the IT industry for the past 16 years, said "Local experience is very valuable for Chinese companies which try to go aboard."He added,High Quality Lamplo Faux Leather Floor Lamp Shade LS30007 "In our view, cultural diversity is an important element for a company involved in global competition."On this year's Fortune Global 500 list, Lenovo jumped to No. 329 from No.370 in 2012, with revenues of 33.87 billion dollars, up by 14.5 percent. Its profits reached 6.35 million dollars, a 34.3 percent increase.

Chrysler Feud Triggers IPO Filing

Chrysler Group LLC Monday filed for an initial public offering, a move forced by the failure of the auto maker's Italian majority owner and its main union to agree on the company's value.Fiat SpA, F.MI +0.08% which owns 58.5% of Chrysler, doesn't want a share sale and is eager to own the company outright. But the United Auto Workers union health trust, holder of a 41.5% stake in the No. 3 Detroit auto maker, has demanded that its shares be offered to the public after negotiations to sell them to Fiat stalled.In its Monday filing, Chrysler warned that if Fiat can't get control, the Italian auto maker could turn its back on Chrysler,High Quality Lamplo Silk Oval Bell Lamp Shade LS30008 unwinding a deal that was a centerpiece of the Obama administration's 2009 auto industry rescue.Analysts and others familiar with the situation say Fiat will likely now redouble efforts to reach a private deal with the UAW.On Tuesday, Fiat said the regulatory filing is no guarantee that the sale of Chrysler stock will take place.

An IPO would follow General Motors Co.'s record-breaking offering in November 2010, which at $23.1 billion was the world's largest at the time. Analysts estimate Chrysler could be worth between $10 billion and $11 billion, depending upon market conditions.The UAW health-care trust holds its minority stake in Chrysler as part of the auto maker's 2009 government-led bankruptcy restructuring. The filing doesn't state a price for the shares, or how many will be offered. J.P. Morgan is the sole underwriter listed.PET protective filmFour years ago, Fiat saved Chrysler from a possible liquidation. Now, in a merged company, Chrysler's U.S. truck and sport-utility lines could prop up Fiat while it overhauls money-losing European operations.Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who also leads Chrysler, wants to own Chrysler outright and merge the two companies into a single auto maker. Mr. Marchionne has said a public offering could come in the first quarter of 2014, but that he wants to avoid one by buying out the union trust's holdings in a private deal. A deal between Fiat and the UAW trust could still take place before any shares are sold.

"Fiat has informed us that it is reconsidering the benefits and costs of further expanding its relationship with us and the terms on which Fiat would continue the sharing of technology, vehicle architectures and platforms, distribution networks, production facilities and engineering and management resources," Chrysler said in its filing.But Fiat and the trust haven't been able to agree on a price. The trust, which was set up by the union to pay out medical benefits for Chrysler retirees, values the stake at about $4.27 billion, more than double what Fiat thinks it is worth, based on their respective calculations.When GM launched its postbankruptcy IPO in 2010, the goal was relatively straightforward: The U.S. Treasury, seeking to recoup its bailout, wanted the maximum price for its shares.However, Mr. Marchionne,Protective film as Chrysler CEO, is in the awkward situation of having to meet with investors and persuade them to pay top dollar for shares that as Fiat's CEO he would prefer to buy on the cheap.An IPO could further delay Mr. Marchionne's plans to combine Chrysler and Fiat, by fracturing Chrysler's ownership structure and diluting Fiat's control.nsk bearing Such a setback would come at a crucial time for both auto makers. The companies are working to pool resources and jointly develop new cars essential to their competitiveness. However, they haven't been able to fully capitalize on those synergies because their cash and balance sheets remain separate.

"We're going to work diligently to satisfy the [trust's] interest in going public, but at the end of the day the market reference for the price is the market reference of the price,High Quality Lamplo Silk String Chandelier Lamp Shade LS30005" Mr. Marchionne said earlier this month.Fiat and the trust have been battling over the value of the Chrysler shares for more than a year and have already turned to a Delaware court judge to help settle a dispute over the value of a portion of the health-care trust's stake.In July, the judge overseeing the case ruled partially in favor of Fiat's valuation of the Chrysler shares, but he said he needed more information and expert testimony to make a final decision, further stalling a resolution.The health-care trust's motives are clear. It needs to get as much as it can for its Chrysler stake to ensure it has enough money to pay medical benefits for tens of thousands of current and future Chrysler retirees.

Braintree To Autofill Billing Info In Mobile Commerce Apps

Facebook wants to put an end to typing billing details on the small screen, help developers and payment processors earn more money, and prove that its app install ads make money for e-commerce companies. So today it’s rolling out last month’s test of “Autofill With Facebook” in partnership with PayPal, Stripe, and Braintree to two e-commerce apps, JackThreads and Mosaic, with more to come.It’s important to understand this feature is a partnership with payment providers and is additive,glass refill not necessarily competitive, at least for now. One day Facebook could try to conquer more of the payments flow by processing payments itself. But currently, if a developer uses Braintree, Autofill With Facebook layers on top of it, and Braintree still earns its processing fee. These three partners could become two shortly, as we’ve reported that PayPal may be close to buying Braintree.fag bearingThe “early test” feature as Facebook calls it will appear in the Mosaic (photo book-buying) and JackThreads (hip clothing) iOS apps for some users starting today, and for those who have payment info stored on Facebook by the end the week. You can add your payment info to Facebook by hand here.Previously this test was only available in early beta to a small percentage of JackThreads users.cc composite Developers can sign up for access later, but won’t be able to use the feature until they get approval.Update: Facebook tells me that while PayPal has committed to joining the test and supporting Autofill With Facebook, it hasn’t actually built out its integration yet. JackThreads and Mosaic both run on Braintree, and Stripe has built its integration for some apps that will launch the feature soon.
Using “Autofill With Facebook”

Here’s how the feature works for users.High Quality Lamplo Bell Silk Lamp Shade LS30003 E-commerce app shoppers browse items and add them to their carts like they normally do. Then something different happens if they’ve previously stored billing info with Facebook when they bought a Facebook Gift, Credits or in-game purchase on desktop.JackThreadsWhen these people go to checkout and are asked to fill in their billing info, such as credit-card number, billing address, and shipping address, a “Check Out Faster With Facebook” message and blue “Autofill Your Info” button slides down from the top of the screen. When tapped, users are shuttled into their Facebook for iOS app where they can look over their payment details and select a shipping address.They click “OK” and on the backend, Facebook and the app developer’s payment processor do a “handshake” so the credit card and other info is securely transferred. On the front end, the user only sees the last four digits of their credit card number for security. The user is then whisked back to the commerce app where they see their payment info pre-populated in the fields. They can then confirm their purchase without ever having had to type anything.Some people are sure to think Facebook passing your credit card info around is creepy,High Quality Lamplo Faux Leather Floor Lamp Shade LS30007 but in fact the social network has a relatively solid track record for data security. It’s had a few hiccups and bugs, but no wide-scale hacks of user passwords like Twitter and LinkedIn have. If you’re concerned with Facebook taking over the world, though, this test could certainly be a pre-cursor to it knowing more about what you buy. Then again, if you own Facebook stock, maybe that’s a good thing.

Popular bathroom wipes blamed for sewer clogs

Wastewater authorities say wipes may go down the toilet, but even many labeled flushable aren't breaking down as they course through the sewer system. That's costing some municipalities millions of dollars to dispatch crews to unclog pipes and pumps and to replace and upgrade machinery.The problem got so bad in this western New York community this summer that sewer officials set up traps _ basket strainers in sections of pipe leading to an oft-clogged pump _ to figure out which households the wipes were coming from. They mailed letters and then pleaded in person for residents to stop flushing them.Clawfoot tub accessories"We could walk right up, knock on the door and say, `Listen, this problem is coming right from your house,'" said Tom Walsh, senior project coordinator at South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts, which was dispatching crews at least once a week to clear a grinder pump that would seize up trying to shred the fibrous wipes.The National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which represents 300 wastewater agencies, says it has been hearing complaints about wipes from sewer systems big and small for about the last four years.That roughly coincides with the ramped-up marketing of the "flushable cleansing cloths" as a cleaner, fresher option than dry toilet paper alone. A trade group says wipes are a $6 billion-a-year industry, with sales of consumer wipes increasing nearly 5 percent a year since 2007 and expected to grow at a rate of 6 percent annually for the next five years.One popular brand,aluminum foil tape Cottonelle, has a campaign called "Let's talk about your bum" and ads showing people trying to wash their hair with no water. It ends with the tagline: "You can't clean your hair without water, so why clean your bum that way?"Manufacturers insist wipes labeled flushable aren't the problem, pointing instead to baby and other cleaning wipes marked as nonflushable that are often being used by adults.

"My team regularly goes sewer diving" to analyze what's causing problems, said Trina McCormick, a senior manager at Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Cottonelle. "We've seen the majority, 90 percent in fact, are items that are not supposed to be flushed, like paper towels, feminine products or baby wipes."Wastewater officials agree that wipes, many of which are made from plastic, aren't the only culprits but say their problems have escalated with the wipes market.Vancouver, Wash., sewer officials say wipes labeled as flushable are a big part of a problem that has caused that city to spend more than $1 million in the last five years replacing three large sewage pumps and eight smaller ones that were routinely clogging.To prove their point, they dyed several kinds of wipes and sent them through the sewer for a mile to see how they would break up. They didn't.Those labeled flushable, engineer Frank Dick said, had "a little rips and tears but still they were intact."The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which serves Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, has also spent more than $1 million over five years installing heavy-duty grinders, while the Orange County, Calif.,Antique faucets Sanitation District, in a single year recorded 971 "de-ragging" maintenance calls on 10 pump stations at a cost of $320,000.Clogging problems in Waukesha, Wis.,Spherical roller bearings 240K30 Series from China prompted the sewer authority there to create a "Keep Wipes out of Pipes" flier. And Ocean City, Md., and Sitka, Alaska, are among cities that have also publicly asked residents not to flush wipes, regardless of whether they are labeled flushable.Angular contact ball bearings 78C Series from ChinaThe problem got worldwide attention in July when London sewer officials reported removing a 15-ton "bus-sized lump" of wrongly flushed grease and wet wipes, dubbed the "fatberg."The complaints have prompted a renewed look at solving the problem.The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, the trade group known as INDA, recently revised voluntary guidelines and specified seven tests for manufacturers to use to determine which wipes to call flushable. It also recommends a universal do-not-flush logo _ a crossed-out stick figure and toilet _ be prominently displayed on non-dispersible products.The wastewater industry would prefer mandatory guidelines and a say in what's included but supports the INDA initiatives as a start. Three major wastewater associations issued a joint statement with INDA last week to signal a desire to reach a consensus on flushability standards."If I'm doing the test, I'm going to throw a wipe in a bucket of water and say it has to disintegrate," said Rob Villee, executive director of the Plainfield Area Regional Sewage Authority in New Jersey.Nicholas Arhontes, director of facilities support services in Orange County, Calif., has an even simpler rule for what should go down the toilet."Only flush pee, poop and toilet paper," he said, "because those are the only things that sanitary sewers were really designed for in the old days."

Demand grows for Northeast shiitake mushrooms

Lucas Jackson and Maeve Mangine shifted plans for a farm centered on a goat dairy after taking a workshop in growing shiitake mushrooms. All it took was logs from their land, mushroom spawn and their labor.Now they're selling the spongy, rich mushrooms to several Vermont restaurants and a food cooperative and through a community-supported agriculture farm. This season, they expect to produce about 500 pounds of mushrooms, which retail for as much as $16 a pound.The couple's Tangled Roots Farm in Shrewsbury is one of about 20 farms chosen in Vermont and New York as research sites under a $116,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant provided to the University of Vermont Extension's Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Cornell University Cooperative Extension in 2010.A UVM-Cornell study conducted over the past three years under the grant has found that growing mushrooms outdoors can be profitable to farmers with at least 500 logs, bringing in $11,190 in gross income at $16 a pound, and that demand is outstripping supply.Next month, the universities plan to complete a guide for growing shiitake mushrooms in the Northeast.Used cranesJackson, 27, and Mangine, 28, were among 500 to 600 people who attended a series of workshops held by the universities to teach Northeast farmers how to grow shiitakes while using resources from managing or thinning their land and forests.Like other Northeast farmers, they're limited by the cold, unlike larger-scale operations in Pennsylvania where mushrooms are grown indoors on compressed sawdust logs in controlled environments. But what they do have going for them is little, if any, overhead: the hardwood logs, a shady spot in the woods, water from a spring up the hill and a refrigerator to store the freshly harvested shiitakes.

"The average temperature needs to be above 40-ish, so we're pretty limited in our outdoor fruiting season in Vermont and that's kind of the nature of what we're doing," said Mangine, who works as a school administrator. "But growing them outside like this is really nice because we really have very few inputs."The Tangled Roots Farm, one of the larger in Vermont, has grown to 500 logs. Each log produces about half a pound of mushrooms twice a season.Through the USDA grant, the farm received shiitake spawn, which is inserted into holes drilled into the roughly 3-foot logs.The holes are sealed with wax and the logs sit for a year in stacks while the spawn colonizes the wood. A year later, farmers shock the logs by immersing them in a tub of water, which stimulates them to grow shiitakes. The logs are then removed from the water and stacked, and the shitakes grow within a week to 10 days.A fresh shiitake torn off one of their sugar maple logs is both light and meaty, with a rich nutty flavor featuring a hint of garlic."They've just got a load of different flavors for different people," Jackson said.And nutritional benefits to boot. Mushrooms provide nutrients such as potassium, Vitamin D, selenium and riboflavin.Demand for mushrooms is inching up, said Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute, a trade organization representing indoor mushroom growers.Per capita consumption is about 4 pounds per person per year now in the U.S.,modern lightingAngular contact ball bearings 79C Series from China up from 3.6 pounds two years ago and 1.9 pounds in 1975, she said.Shiitakes are just a tiny fraction of the 896 million pounds of fungi produced in the U.S. from 2012 to 2013. The U.S. crop is mostly Agaricus mushrooms, such as the common white button mushrooms and brown mushrooms, including portobello and cremini varieties, which are commonly grown indoors.The number of commercial shiitake growers who have at least 200 logs in production or a commercial indoor growing area has grown from 142 producing 7.7 million pounds from 2003 to 2004 to 179 producing 8.6 million pounds from 2012 to 2013, according to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service.Julie Rockcastle and her husband, Steve, owners of Green Heron Growers in Sherman, N.Y., served as advisers to the UVM-Cornell project. They got into shiitake growing in 2007 at the urging of their son, a Cornell University student who was friends with the president of the mushroom club there.

"They showed us an area in our hemlock woods that would be perfect for shiitake production, and they helped get us started," said Julie Rockcastle.Like Tangled Roots Farm, which also sells raw goats' milk and chicken, Green Heron Growers doesn't just focus on mushrooms. It's just one of their farm ventures, along with organic vegetables, chickens, eggs and grass-fed beef, but it's one of their most popular."There's pretty high demand," she said. "We go to the farmers market in Buffalo and never have enough."The study found anecdotedly that demand for these forest-grown shiitakes far outstrips supply, said Ben aterman, who serves as outreach coordinator for the project."We could see eight times the current production and still maintain ricing at $16 a pound retail. So there's a lot of room for new growers to get into this," he said.Encouraged by their success, the Rockcastles enlist volunteers each spring to prepare the logs in an effort to increase production to meet demand. Like angled Roots, they're also trying other mushroom varieties, including lion's mane and maitake.glass refill"It's a wonderful product for a farm that has other things going on," Rockcastle said.contemporary lighting

Stable rupee helps KSE gain 0.59 pct

Pakistani equities continued putting up a bullish show in final trading session of the week on Friday when investors at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) extracted inspiration from a relatively stable rupee against the U. S. dollar in the money market.The benchmark KSE 100-Index surged by 0.59 percent or 138.63 points to close at 23,595.61 points on Friday as against 23,456.98 points recorded on Thursday as investors showed up in good number to get the best out of a bullish rally at the local bourse.During the week that ended on September 20, the KSE 100-Index jumped by 427.57 points with three out of five trading sessions ending on bullish note.The KSE All Share Index gained 0.53 percent or 89.79 points to end at 16,920.98 points, the KSE 30-Index increased by 0.65 percent or 116.36 points to conclude at 18,072.41 points, whereas the KMI 30-Index expanded by 0.69 percent or 268.37 points to finish the day and week at 39,277.6 points.The Karachi Stock Exchange began the final trading session of the week on a confused note where during initial trade the main index moved in both ways and soon it hit the intraday lowest level of 23,406.99 before regaining the losses and entering the Friday's prayer-break with increment of 48 points at 23,504.88.The post-prayer-break session started in bearish manner but soon another buying rally in banking and oil sectors helped the main index to jump to highest point of 23,663.20 before closing below 23,600 levels.Telecom sector also came in the limelight after news that government installed and launched carbon cloth monitoring system to curb gray trafficking.Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited and TeleCard closed at their upper circuit breakers with volumes of 31 million shares and 11 million shares, respectively. 

Unconfirmed news of increase in cement prices brought renewed interest in cement sector while Nishat Power announced June earnings of 7.7 rupees accompanied by 20 percent cash dividend which also supported bulls.The market volumes improved by 21.Cast iron clawfoot tubs765 million shares to 275.672 million shares, the market capitalization augmented by 27.795 billion rupees (277.953 million U.S. dollars) to 5.542 trillion rupees (55.429 billion U.S. dollars), whereas the KSE trading value swelled by 992.436 million rupees (9.924 million U.S. dollars) to 9.934 billion rupees (99.341 million U.S. dollars) on Friday.In broader market, a total of 342 companies changed hands with prices of 183 companies advancing,glass refill 141 declining, whereas 18 others finishing at the level identical to Thursday's prices.WorldCall Telecom, PTCL, and Bank of Punjab were the top three traded companies of the day with trading of 39.915 million shares, 30.702 million shares, and 15.130 million shares, respectively.Wyeth Pakistan Limited led the top price gainers with increment of 182 rupees (1.82 U.S. dollars) to end at 3,822 rupees (38.22 U. S. dollars) while Island Textile led the major price shedders with decrement of 33.87 rupees (33.wheel aligner87 U.S.crystal light cents) to finish at 930 rupees (9.3 U.S. dollars).

China's financial reform gains steam

With a clearer outline and more concrete steps, China's financial reform is gaining traction amid calls to better facilitate the real economy and guard against risks.The city of Yiwu, best known for its wholesale market in east China's Zhejiang Province, has joined a list of Chinese cities to carry out special financial reform programs and target innovation in both the financial system and practices,composite resin hopefully to boost international trade in the area.The move by Yiwu, following other financial reform pilot zones in Wenzhou, Qianhai and Binhai, chimes with the State Council's official approval in late August to build a free trade area (FTA) in Shanghai, the country's economic hub.Lanyard StrapMany believed Shanghai would further unleash the potential of China's much-said financial reform, which was also conveyed in Premier Li Keqiang's opening speech at the Summer Davos forum last week.In line with the government's incremental steps in the past months, Premier Li pledged China would take active yet steady steps to further liberalize interest rates and exchange rates, make the yuan convertible under the capital account,Angular contact ball bearings 70C Series from China as well as to reform financial institutions, cultivate a multi-layered capital market and strengthen financial supervision."Financial reforms in the past few months, including the relaxation of lending rates, were generally carried out in accordance with the reform package Li referred to," said Kuang Xianming, head of the economic research center with the China Institute for Reform and Development.Kuang said Li's remarks point out that market-oriented reform will still be the core for the next round of financial reform. "It can be expected that China's financial reform may be gaining momentum in the period ahead," Kuang said. 

In July, China began to allow banks to decide their own lending rates, but the deposit rates are still fixed by the central bank.pendant lampIn his speech at Summer Davos, Li also said the country will "choose an appropriate time" to introduce the deposit insurance system, which is considered a key precondition for freeing deposit rates, the last and most important step of interest rate liberation.Tan Yaling, president of China Forex Investment Research Institute, said the new leadership's decision to accelerate financial reform is positive, but suggested more work needs to be done on the systemic scale rather than on the local level."Financial reform should be based on a strong and balanced real economy and requires high professionalism. The influence and feasibility of Yiwu's pilot financial reform is still debatable given the quality of the local economy," Tan said.She suggested the next round of financial reform should focus on the bigger picture of building a complete and sound financial market, as local reforms will only have limited influence.Spherical roller bearings 231K Series from China"Local reform may be a bell ringer, but if a strong market is not established, it will bring speculative risks in the short-term," she warned.Tan's warning reflected similar worries over local government debt and potential systemic and regional financial risks the world's second-largest economy may face.Premier Li reiterated in the forum that financial system reform should be conducive to the real economy and economic restructuring, as well as benefit the livelihoods of more people.According to Tan, the scheme to build the Shanghai FTA, with more details yet to be announced, should also start with how to boost trade and industries, rather than a mere discussion of financial tools and services."Only when trade flourishes, other plans can unfold," Tan said.China's foreign trade unexpectedly slowed in June but has recovered for two straight months due to improving global demand and a firming domestic economy, with the trade surplus widening 8.4 percent year on year to 28.52 billion U.S. dollars in August.Kuang Xianming said financial reform will bring more good to the real economy as it may force monopoly industries to retool themselves.After freeing up the lending rates, banks will try to woo quality clients to rebalance credit structure. With credit resources no longer centralized in monopoly industries, the industries themselves may be driven out of the comfort zone for a reform, said Kuang.

Banks elevate Karachi bourse past 23,200 points

Equities at Pakistan's Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) commenced fresh week on a bullish note on Monday as investors took interest in the top banking companies after the country's state bank increased key interest rate by 50 basis points at the weekend.The benchmark KSE 100-Index gained 0.32 percent or 74.pendant lamp64 points to close at 23,Spherical roller bearings 231K Series from China242.68 points on Monday as against 23,168.composite resin04 points recorded on Friday as selling in cement companies couldn't derail the bullish rally in the banking sector.Angular contact ball bearings 70C Series from ChinaThe KSE All Share Index increased by 0.56 percent or 93.68 points to end at 16,694.18 points, the KSE 30-Index swelled by 0. 37 percent or 66.55 points to conclude at 17,956.93 points, while on the other hand the KMI 30-Index, which is constituted of the top Islamic funds and companies, declined by 1.05 percent or 418. 94 points to finish the opening session at 39,545.Lanyard Strap97 points.The Karachi Stock Exchange started the first trading session of the week on a bearish note where during initial trade the key index hit the lowest ebb of 23,083.24.However, trends reversed and the main index extracted numbers from banking sector bullish rally which helped it to hit the intraday highest level of 23,323.72 before some profit-taking in cement companies cut down some of the intraday gains but the key index managed to close above 23,200 levels.

Majority of the oil, cement and textile stocks fell due to 50 bps increase in SBP policy rate but strong rally in banking stocks resulted in index posting a decent return.Investors sold shares in leverage stocks like cements and textiles while they took fresh position in the banking stocks in the hope that rising interest rate will increase their profitability which caused banking stocks like United Bank, National Bank and Habib Bank to close at their 5 percent upper circuit breakers.The market volumes increased by 51.176 million shares to 242. 848 million shares, the market capitalization improved by 27.496 billion rupees (274.962 million U.S. dollars) to 5.510 trillion rupees, while the KSE trading value surged by 2.318 billion rupees to 8.476 billion rupees on Monday.In broader market, a total of 332 companies changed hands during the course of trading on Monday where prices of 166 issues declined, 145 advanced, whereas values of 21 other scrips stayed unchanged at previous week's levels.Bank of Punjab was the top traded company of the day with volumes of 42.203 million shares, followed by Maple Leaf Cement and Fauji Cement SPOT with turnovers of 20.954 million shares and 19.4 million shares, respectively.Siemens Pakistan was the top price gainer with increment of 45. 32 rupees per share to close at 956.76 rupees while on the flip side Sanofi-Aventis led the top decliners with decrement of 27.20 rupees a share to end at 516.80 rupees.

Spain's public debt reaches 92.2 pct of GDP in Q2 2013

The Spanish public debt reached 942.758 billion euros (1,251.994 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of the year, representing 92.2 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the Bank of Spain reported on Friday.This is the highest level of the Spanish public debt since 1995 and surpasses predictions of the Spanish government, who had forecasted the country's public debt would represent 91.4 percent of the country's GDP by the end of 2013.In annual terms the Spanish public debt increased by 17.1 percent, representing 77.5 percent of Spain's GDP in the second quarter of 2012 and 90.2 percent in the second quarter of 2013.carbon clothThe growth in the second quarter of the year is mainly due to the increase in the debt of Spain's central administration,Cast iron clawfoot tubs which rose by 20.31 percent in annual terms to 818.375 billion euros.The debt of the Autonomous Communities stood at 193.296 billion euros in the second quarter, increasing by 14.84 percent from 168.315 billion of the second quarter of 2012.

In absolute terms, Catalonia (in the northeast of Spain) is the most indebted region with 51.779 billion euros of debt followed by Comunidad Valenciana and Madrid whose debt reached 29.235 billion and 22.glass refill663 billion euros respectively.Meanwhile, the debt of Spain's local governments fell by 4 percent in annual terms to 43.153 billion euros, which represented 4.2 percent of GDP. Madrid,wheel aligner the capital of Spain, is the most indebted local government with 7.389 billion euros of debt.Friday also saw the Bank of Spain publish data about the debt of Spanish banks to the European Central Bank (ECB) that totaled 246.2 billion euros in August.The debt dropped by 36.7 percent in August 2013 in comparison with 2012, when the debt had peaked at 388.736 billion euros.The fall was mainly due to the financial aid provided by the European Union (EU) to Spanish banks, which allowed them to reduce the amount of money requested to the ECB.The debt of Spanish banks to the ECB has been falling for 12 consecutive months,crystal light decreasing by 0.8 percent from July to August 2013. (1 euro = 1.33 U.S. dollars)

Goldman Sachs Scores Coup Winning Lead Position on Twitter IPO

Twitter, which announced today that it filed for an IPO, gave Goldman Sachs the job of running the sale, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Twitter is likely to appoint other banks on the offering.Goldman Sachs lost out to rival Morgan Stanley on similar roles in the highest-profile technology IPOs in recent years, including Facebook Inc. (FB)’s $16 billion sale last year and offerings by Groupon Inc. and Zynga Inc. the year before. San Francisco-based Twitter may have opted for Goldman Sachs after the other offerings drew criticism and complaints from shareholders, according to Michael Holland of Holland & Co.“The Facebook experience was one that was so egregious that Twitter did a fairly predictable thing,” said Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of the New York-based money manager. “When the biggest and best have needed IPO services, Goldman is always a finalist.”Facebook, Zynga and Groupon each declined by more than half in the months following their offerings, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Disappointing performance by Facebook following its offering helped to freeze the U.S. IPO market for more than a month and led to shareholder complaints over the valuation of the offering.Facebook eventually regained losses following its IPO, closing above its IPO price on Aug. 2.This year, Morgan Stanley has led or won lead roles on at least four technology IPOs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The bank managed a $219 million share sale for online coupon provider RetailMeNot Inc.pendant lamp, including the over-allotment option. The IPO of Cvent Inc., the maker of event-management software which raised $135 million, was also Morgan Stanley-led.Mary Claire Delaney, a New York based spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, declined to comment, as did Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally. Jim Prosser, a spokesman for Twitter, also declined to comment.Goldman Sachs led Tableau Software Inc.’s IPO in May, which raised $292 million including an over-allotment.

While Twitter hasn’t said how much it will seek to raise, New Yorktyre changer-based Goldman Sachs could increase its lead over rivals if Twitter’s offering is completed this year. The bank is ranked first among advisers of U.cc compositeS. IPOs with an estimated 11 percent share of the market so far this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.Citigroup Inc. is ranked second in the U.S., while Morgan Stanley currently ranks in seventh place, the data show.Spherical roller bearings 240K30 Series from China Globally, Morgan Stanley has the largest share of the IPO underwriting market, with 8.3 percent, while Goldman Sachs is in fourth place.New share sales have accelerated following gains in the broader stock market. There have been 124 U.S. IPOs this year, more in number than the comparable period of any year since 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.Morgan Stanley, led in tech by Michael Grimes, and Goldman Sachs have long been rivals in Silicon Valley, vying to take the hottest companies public. Goldman Sachs’s technology team is led by George Lee and Anthony Noto, who returned to the bank in 2010 after a stint as the National Football League’s finance chief.Goldman Sachs led the IPO this year for Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc. (EVHC), the hospital operator which raised $1.1 billion. The bank also led the IPO of single-family rental homeowner American Homes 4 Rent, which raised $812 million, and theme-park operator SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., which attracted $807 million from investors.double sided tape The IPO proceeds all include over-allotment options.

Asian stocks end mixed as Fed taper fears weigh

Following U.S. President Barack Obama's speech on Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be meeting on Thursday to discuss Moscow's diplomatic resolution for Syria.Kathy Lien, Managing Director of BK Asset Management highlights the possible impact of Fed tapering on U.S treasuries and the greenback.Apart from Syria, investor attention remains on next week's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee amid expectations that the central bank could announce a tapering of its bond-buying program.China's benchmark stock index rallied as much as 1 percent in afternoon trade but pared gains to retreat from a three-month high, hit earlier in the session.Supportive comments from Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday lifted sentiment in the mainland. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, Keqiang said that the government will push on with economic and financial reforms as it aims for steady growth.Shipping stocks extended the previous day's rally after the Baltic Dry Index jumped nearly 6 percent on Wednesday.kapton tape China Shipping Container Lines surged by the daily 10 percent trading limit for a third consecutive session.fag bearingReal-estate developers fell on news that China's property tax may be expanded. Gemdale led losses by over 1 percent.Japan's benchmark index fell into negative territory on disappointing economic data and as dollar-yen retreated from the key 100 handle, leading the Nikkei to pull back from the previous session's seven-week high of 14,561 points.Core machinery orders for July, a key indicator of capital expenditure, came in unchanged from the previous month,Clawfoot tub accessories casting doubt on whether Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus policies have encouraged corporates to increase spending.

Guy Day, Global CEO of Ambition says the low numbers of women in the Japan's workforce is a big issue for the country, and employment reform is a welcome step.Sharp fell 6 percent on media reports that the consumer firm is planning to raise as much as $150 million through a public share offering in an attempt to bolster its finances.modern lampsMitsubishi Motors was the index's worst-performing stock, down 8 percent after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the automaker plans to offer $2 billion in shares to the public in order to to buy back preferred shares.South Korea's benchmark index ended above the 2,003 mark to hit its highest levels since May 31 after the Bank of Korea said the domestic economy was improving following it's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 2.5 percent.Apple chip suppliers extended the previous day's losses after the U.S. tech giant slumped over 5 percent in U.S. trade. Memory chip maker LG Display lost over 4 percent.Australia's benchmark index pared gains in afternoon trade after rising above 5,246 point to its highest levels since June 2008 as investors digested soft jobs data.The number of people employed fell 10,800 in August - much worse than expectations for a rise of 10,000. The news saw the Australian dollar fall off it's three-month high of $0.9353, hit earlier in the session.Gold miners weighed on the index after spot gold hit a new three-week low. Perseus Mining tanked 5.4 percent while Kingsate Consolidated lost over 6 percent.India's benchmark index continued to trade below the 20,000 mark as caution set in ahead of July factory data and August retail inflation figures, due to be released after the market close. The Sensex closed down 1.08 percent.Meanwhile,tyres and wheels service & repair equipment the rupee was 0.3 percent stronger at 63.4 per dollar.

Why Leinster star Kevin McLaughlin

It was McLaughlin himself, of course, who stepped into the breach when Elsom departed for home four years ago. From a time when his future at Leinster seemed so precarious that he had explored an opening at the now-defunct Anglo Irish Bank, McLaughlin has helped the province to three major titles, although success hasn't conferred the gift of complacency. Reminders that he has come to prominence at a time when the Irish back-row production line has never been busier are never far from any discussion. 

"It's the one area where we never have to recruit a foreigner," he says. "Since Rocky left, we've had no foreign back-row players here. Ireland just seems to be a factory for young back-row players. In some ways it's difficult because opportunities, especially at international level, don't come along as often as you'd like. On the other hand it means you constantly have to move forward. If you're not improving, you lose your place.

"I felt like I played better last year than at any stage in my career. But I still feel if I don't improve again this season . . . Like, there's no point in playing this sport if you're not trying to improve. That's how I look at it. There's no reason for standing still. 

"That's the way rugby has gone as a whole. Even from 10 years ago, the standard has gone through the roof. The skill levels, the power and strength, are all phenomenal now compared to what they were."

McLaughlin doesn't buy the theory that because Leinster have lost some big-name players and a prized coach along with it, their ambitions will be necessarily limited this season. The idea that they are somehow a team in transition sounds too much like a handy cop-out for a group of players who have grown used to winning consistently. As an excuse for coming up short, McLaughlin can't imagine anything lazier or more self-indulgent. And who knows? Maybe change will reinvigorate them. 

"Like I said, Jonny's a huge loss. Nobody would dispute that. But I'd say Ian [Madigan] might have started 50 per cent of our games at outhalf last season. In the Rabo, he was pretty much at 10 the whole year. On the wing, Isa [Nacewa] will be a hard guy to replace. But we've always managed to fill boots and we will again. We're positive going into the season. We've a new coach and training's been going really well. Matt O'Connor has exciting ideas about the way we're going to play the game." 

He has mixed feelings about Schmidt's departure to the national job. Schmidt understood his game and knew instinctively when to play him and when he needed a break and he'll miss their daily interaction on the training ground. And yet, he figures it can't do his prospects of adding to the six caps he's won much harm. Not that he's expecting any soft favours. Just that Schmidt knows what he can bring to the table. It's not a disadvantage anyway. 

"Like I said, Jonny's a huge loss. Nobody would dispute that. But I'd say Ian [Madigan] might have started 50 per cent of our games at outhalf last season. In the Rabo, he was pretty much at 10 the whole year. On the wing, Isa [Nacewa] will be a hard guy to replace. But we've always managed to fill boots and we will again. We're positive going into the season. We've a new coach and training's been going really well. Matt O'Connor has exciting ideas about the way we're going to play the game."

He has mixed feelings about Schmidt's departure to the national job. Schmidt understood his game and knew instinctively when to play him and when he needed a break and he'll miss their daily interaction on the training ground. And yet, he figures it can't do his prospects of adding to the six caps he's won much harm. Not that he's expecting any soft favours. Just that Schmidt knows what he can bring to the table. It's not a disadvantage anyway.

And so far he's been encouraged by what he's seen of O'Connor around the Leinster set-up. More like Schmidt than not, he thinks.Are you still hesitating about where to buy Cheap Granite Slabs? The same all-consuming passion for the game, the same precious clarity about what he expects from his players, the same focus on skills and keeping ball in hand. As seamless a change as any of them could have anticipated or dared to hope for.

"I think all in all we've been pretty lucky with our coaches," McLaughlin says. "I got a lot from Joe. I think we all did. He was always very clear about what he expected from you and that's what guys want going into a game. They like to know where they stand. And Matt has continued on that theme. He's definitely the right guy to bring us along."

It excites him too to think of guys like Schmidt and O'Connor and the other provincial coaches C "real rugby heads" C working in tandem for the common cause of the national team. "I think Joe working closely with the provinces will be a great thing. So that when guys come into the Ireland camp, they don't have completely different ideas in terms of attack and defence. Hopefully, all four provinces play good rugby and that'll translate into good international performances as well." 

For now,This is a great Cheap Conservation solution! there's just the imperative of hitting the ground running and building enough momentum for a big season.Are you still hesitating about where to buy Cheap Tools Products? On Friday, Northampton, old and current rivals, dropped into Donnybrook for a ding-dong confrontation that had the moniker pre-season friendly only in name. A week on will see them in Cardiff for their opening League match against Cardiff, the first skirmishes in Europe not far beyond that.

Because Leinster didn't progress beyond a tough pool stage last season, there was a temptation to feel they had endured an underachieving and frustrating time, but McLaughlin has no truck with that sentiment. He recalls the lovely day in late May when they hosted Ulster in front a packed house in the Pro12 final at the RDS and thinking that nothing C not two Heineken Cup winner's medals, not his Ireland debut against Italy in 2011 C could match the magic of that balmy evening. 

"That win is probably the high point of my career," he says. "Because we'd lost three finals in the previous four years and the fact it was in the RDS, even though it was Ulster's home game and half the crowd were Ulster supporters, it was a special occasion. Just the heartbreak of the Ospreys game last year: I don't think we really got over that all season. Ask anyone who played in that game. It really hurt. The nature of the way we lost. It felt so good to be able to put that right. The thought of losing to Ulster in the RDS was too much, especially as we'd lost to them two weeks before that." 

For McLaughlin, it represented a storming end to another fine season for Leinster. He felt slightly frustrated that Schmidt opted to rest him for the Amlin Cup final against Stade Francais, but he understood too. A week earlier he'd had a massive game against Glasgow in the Pro12 semi-final and that had taken its toll. If a week's rest meant he'd be ready for the joust against Ulster, then he couldn't complain about the deal.
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Uncas Sign Treaty That Hands Connecticut

A treaty signed on September 1, 1640 changed everything for tribes that had always controlled the area called Connecticut or in Algonquin, The River With Tides.Maybe some white settlers landed on Plymouth Rock looking for religious freedom, but those who located in Connecticut had other ideas. When those wealthy, well-educated, ambitious men came seeking land and power in Massachusetts, they saw the coastline already taken, and they tried to trick neighboring whites out of land, just as they did the local tribes. So they moved down the coast to Connecticut. 

In the early 1600s, Connecticut was still a pristine land with a coastline populated only by local tribes who moved from place to place as the times required. The Pequots and Mohegans were related tribes from New York and came to the shores of Connecticut about 100 years before the first landing of white Europeans. 

In very early 1637, things had not yet soured among whites and tribes. Sovereignty was respected, and land was purchased with items such as kettles and guns, wampum, or woven goods like blankets and stockings. Trade between the Dutch, British and tribes benefitted all involved. However, the bountiful relationships seemed to inspire greed on all sides. As the Pequots became the most aggressive traders in the area, a young Mohegan named Uncas began to vie for power through land.

John Mason, a Massachusetts Bay colonist who later became deputy governor, befriended Uncas, chief of the Mohegans, who had left the band of Mohegans with 70 others. Indians and white traders alike were becoming threatened by the powerful Pequots, who were pushing other tribes out and raising the values of their trades. 

Mason requested Uncas help in ridding the area of the Pequots, and Uncas agreed to lead Mason and his men the back way around the Pequots massive fort. The Narragansetts leader and sachem Miantonomo opened their land for the surprise attack. Before dawn,Most modern headlight designs include Cheap Packing & Loading Products. Masons troop of 90 settlers and Uncas and his Mohegan warriors launched their attack upon the sleeping Pequots, and caught the fort by surprise.

Later, the author of the 1851 book dedicates almost two full pages to the inhumanity of the atrocity. In the end, as many as 700 men, women, and children were burned in the fire, while about 300 escaped about 70 miles southwest to Fairfield, where interpreter Thomas Stanton negotiated their surrender. Those who came out of the swamp were given to the Mohegans, Narragansetts, and a smaller tribe, the Niantics.

In another book, The Pequot War by Alfred Cave, the survivors in Fairfield were said to be mostly women and children, while the warriors chose to fight it out from the swamp. They were all killed. 

Uncas, perhaps in awe of the horrific actions of the settlers, promised to always defend the whites, even at the expense of other Indians. His support of the actions against the Pequots put him in good favor with the colonists, who began to grant him rights and privileges not afforded to the Narragansetts and other local tribes. Uncass marriage to the daughter of a Hammonasett chief solidified his position of power and expanded his territory considerably, which increased the already growing rivalry between tribes for power.

As time went on, Uncas became a Christian and proved his loyalty to Mason who became a cherished friend. Uncass power among the whites provided protection and attracted members of other tribes, including Pequots, to join Uncass band of Mohegans. His ability to manage the politics of both Natives and whites solidified his power throughout his life, even through a series when he lost everything and then regained it. 

Much to the chagrin of the neighboring tribes, on September 1, 1640, Uncas signed a treaty conveying Mohegan lands to Connecticut under Major John Mason. The treaty stated it was to be held in protection and trust, and that Mohegans could continue to farm it. The land was transferred to the colonial government in 1660. Over time and after Uncass death, the descendants of both Mason and Uncas claimed ownership of the land. After a century of court cases, the Mohegans won 80 acres back, which is today the site of the Mohegan Sun Casino.These Cheap Building Materials can, apparently, operate entirely off the grid. In fact, it is Chicagos No. 2 tourist attraction. It has gotten an estimated 4.5 million visitors a year since it opened in 2004, second only to iconic Navy Pier with 8.6 million.

The elliptical Bean, as the stainless-steel sculpture is known by locals, is the major landmark in the citys Millennium Park, a $475 million public park that opened in 2004.Chicago BeanIt sits where railroad yards and parking lots once stood at the edge of downtown. It has become Chicagos new front yard. The park has its own greeters, welcome centre and gift shop.

Officially, the three-story sculpture by London artist Anish Kapoor is known as Cloud Gate. But its kidney-bean shape is why is it is known simply as The Bean.The public sculpture strikingly reflects and distorts the neighburing skyline and clouds on its gleaming surface. 

It cost $23 million and is made from 168 stainless steel plates with no visible seams. It is 66 feet long, 33 feet high and 42 feet wide, weighing 110 tons. It looks like an oversized drop of mercury.Visitors can walk under its 12-foot-high arch and even touch the stainless steel surface. It is whimsical and irresistible. Everyone loves The Bean, on AT&T Plaza, the centrepiece of Millennium Park.

During a career in the military, Griffin grew accustomed to three squares a day in the mess hall. But these days, the veteran from Middleton, Mass., is willing to drive a few extra miles for higher quality food.

On a recent Thursday morning, Griffin loaded paper bags bulging with groceries into the back of her car at the Whole Foods Market in Andover,The worlds most efficient and cost effective Cheap Bathroom Decoration Products? Mass. She drove past supermarkets only a stones throw away from her home to reach the natural foods mecca. 

Its just awesome, she said. The chickens C you can actually taste the difference from a Stop & Shop or a Market Basket chicken.As competition in the food retail business continues to heat up, Whole Foods Market has emerged as one of the heavyweights. 
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West University Home continues to evolve

They attribute thinking ahead and using the same architect to getting ?what they needed from each project, but without limiting future improvements.Romer and McGrath have owned the red brick house, on an old-fashioned block-square park just off North Fourth Avenue, for 26 years and raised their two daughters there. 

It was only 1,500 square feet when we moved in, McGrath said. Not a lot of space for what would soon be four people and a series of playful chocolate Labs.?Over the course of the three remodels the house grew, but only to about 2,200 feet. Moving the kitchen to a former sleeping porch and extending one rear corner to create a new master bedroom accounted for the added square footage.

I have done three projects for them over the years, said architect Leo Katz? said. A kitchen/family room remodel in 1995, an entry remodel in 2010 and a master bedroom suite/covered patio remodel/addition in 2011. Its kind of a good story of a repeat client and the evolution of home remodeling over the years to meet your changing needs and resources.The first stage was all-important. It included moving the ? galley? kitchen from the rear (west) wall of the house to what had been an enclosed sleeping porch on the north side ?. While the kitchen ?is still fairly small and narrow, by modern standards, its functional and ?attractive. ?Moving it off the rear wall connected the core of the home a pair of large, open high-ceilinged rooms that led from the front of the house to the rear porch deck that would be expanded in a later remodel. 

The choice of simple, slab-front kitchen cabinets in figured light maple and granite countertops keeps the room from looking dated nearly 20 years after that first remodel.A six-burner gas stovetop ?set in the granite countertop and a built-in refrigerator also contribute to the kitchens contemporary look. 
The most striking touch in the kitchen was Romers idea: ? Using curved-front cabinets that make it easier to navigate the corner entrances to both ends of the kitchen. Rather than 90-degree cabinets, the inside corner is convex and the outside corner concave, directing you through the space like a curved walkway. The inside corner cabinet ?comes up to counter height and has a granite top. Although space is at a premium in the kitchen, the effect is open and spacious, not one of entering through a cabinet-lined tunnel.

In the high-ceilinged dining room/family room on the other side of the inside kitchen wall, a built-in entertainment center between the kitchen entrances mimics the ? cabinets arches. Brightly colored art on the facing wall warms up the dining and family room.Oak floors ? throughout most of the house, some refinished original flooring and others skillfully matched new wood, help tie the ? opened up spaces together.McGrath said that when they bought the house it was a warren of small rooms and that several walls were removed during the remodelings. The former dining room was an oddly small room with a high ceiling and mirrored walls, an apparent effort to give the illusion of spaciousness. That space was joined with the former kitchens space to create the large open dining/family room ?outside the new kitchen. 

?Later, stretching the high-ceilinged rear deck further into the spacious backyard let? the couple keep a substantial amount of deck outdoor space, even after ?extending one end of that west wall to make room for a master bedroom.The new master bedroom, 25 feet by 20 feet with 12-foot ceilings, is simply furnished, almost sparse, and has tall curtained windows, and a 36-inch diameter frosted-glass and antique-finished metal lighting fixture. A smaller ?version of the bedroom ceiling fixture is in the walkway that leads to the master bedrooms bath and closet areas. Like the arched openings between rooms throughout the house, the repeat of the fixture shapes provides subtle continuity. 

A barn-style sliding door hung from wrought-iron hardware can be closed to separate the bedroom from its bathroom and adjacent closet and laundry area.The couples younger ?daughter now has the former master bedroom, redecorated and with a partially remodeled bathroom area. Romer said she hired CJ ? Volk of Tucsons Citron Paint & Design as a color consultant throughout the house. She said Citrons hand-formulated paints are thick as a milk shake and dont require a second coat. 

The centerpiece of the former master bedrooms bath area is a vintage-style claw-foot tub that replaced the 50s-style tub that was there when they bought the house.Romers home office is in the former second bedroom, between the former master bedroom and new master suite?.The front living room, with exposed beam ceilings,After searching around the Lights section of this forum, I've come across two main suppliers for Cheap Tombstone & Monuments. oriental rugs, modest-sized fabric-covered chairs and couch,Shop for wholesale Granite countertops from China! is the only room that has a definite period feel to it.The outside of the house, with its brick walls set well back from an iron slatted fence and brick walkways, presents a historic look and feel. 

Not everything Romer and McGrath ?have done over the years? is immediately apparent. In addition to the reconfigurations of existing space, added master bedroom and rear deck space, they also switched from evaporative cooling to air conditioning, and upgraded the ?houses windows.McGrath said the old metal casement windows ? leaked because of gaps ?as the old house settled.There were 17 windows in the first remodel, all non?standard sizes, Romer said. They were, she recalled?, very expensive.

Another of the less visible expenses was what McGrath said was a slightly contentious negotiation with neighborhood association and historical review officials concerned about the authenticity of modifications McGrath and Romer wanted to make.In particular?, McGrath said, they had a hard time convincing officials that they were not enclosing what they believed had been a front-facing porch. Through a lengthy and laborious investigation, McGrath said they were able to show that there originally was an entrance on a front corner of the house, on the northeast side. 

McGrath said the earliest owner of the house was a doctor who used the house both as an office for his medical practice, and a multi-tenant residence. Patients apparently used the front corner entrance.The former waiting room or anteroom is now McGraths home office space.I'm looking at getting the light bar from ford racing and was wondering who sells the Cheap Marble Tiles.McGrath concedes that some of the features of the house were hard to understand. For instance, on one side of the house, a former entrance to a bedroom is bricked in, but still visible.

It was an office with one or two residential units, McGrath said, all these doors and stoops in odd places. But it appears to be original design.But those other entrances, because they didnt face the street and affect the houses historical look, werent of great concern to officials reviewing proposed changes, McGrath said. Also, he said, architect Katzs credibility from earlier work on the house? probably helped with approval of plans.
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