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0 Comments | Evening Standard; London (UK), Jul 28, 2010 | by David Spittles
BRITAIN’S 30 million garden sheds are raising their bottom-of- the-garden status to take centre stage as space extensions. There is now a large and growing shed community out there: they even have their own website (shedworking.co.uk) for swapping shed experiences.
In these tough economic times it is cheaper to buy a shed than move to a bigger house. Sales have surged on the back of staying put. One supplier of cabins and pavilions claims to have made a sale every two minutes during the last four months, equivalent to 90,000 sq m of garden space.
Redundancy is forcing people to re-evaluate their lives — some are pursuing a long-held dream to start their own business, others are giving up the daily commute to work more from home.
A study of Google Earth images by manufacturer Screwfix reveals this figure of 30 million outbuildings in Britain, the first time the total has been more than the number of homes.
AlexJohnson, author of Shedworking: The Alternative Workplace Revolution, says a decent garden home office can be bought for about Pounds 5,000. Larger, bespoke structures cost from about Pounds 20,000 and can rise to more than Pounds 50,000. But bigger is not necessarily better. Ecospace (020 7703 4004), based in Kennington, has a custommade “WorkPod” model, clad in natural larch wood and measuring 3.1m by 2.5m, which costs from Pounds 10,000. It is double- glazed, has underfloor heating and a service wall with power sockets and phone points.
Timber remains popular in these green times but lighter, glass- and-steel and prefabricated structures are popular in urban gardens or on rooftops. Sheds can be liberating: they do not have to conform to the design of your existing living space. In an urban environment of uniform streets you can break out — create a folly, a sleek, minimalist showpiece or a hi-tech sanctuary.
There are even floating sheds for plots with a lake, pond or river. The garden office designed by Diarmuid Gavin at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show was one of the highlights — a futuristic- looking, two-wing glass pavilion with a mystical, spidery wraparound, a roof of red cedar and deck overlooking a pond.
Another plus is the relatively lenient planning rules, of which Boris Johnson famously fell foul: the capital’s Mayor was ordered to remove a wooden shed he’d had built on the balcony of his Islington home, following complaints from neighbours.
Sheds are said to be as vital to a man as a handbag is to a woman, but it is mums who lead the homeworking trend and helping to redefine shed life in creative ways, so that today you are just as likely to find an accountant working in their garden as a sculptor.
Kerri Sellens runs Creative Charlie, an arts and crafts project company, from her wooden studio in her east London garden. She produces activity kits for kids and organises workshops in schools and museums, encouraging children to become used to recyclable and renewable products.
“I needed more than the corner of my bedroom but couldn’t afford to move to somewhere bigger in the area. Our garden is only about 20ft long but there is still a patch of grass for the children to play on. I enjoy working on projects in the evenings with the baby monitor switched on.”
Jayne Tarasun, who runs Folly-Smith, specialises in bespoke modern follies and her prototype model is a shed tower, 10 feet tall and five feet square with a mezzanine level, ladder included. She describes her work as reviving a unique slice of British eccentricity, fusing it with contemporary design and sustainable materials, using cedar shingles, a chestnut frame and copper for the roof.
Creating extra space adds value to your property, and a tasteful retreat falls into this category, according to Hugo Tugman, of design consultancy Architect Your Home.
Sheds need planning permission only if your house is in a conservation area, is a listed building or if you want to build something with a footprint of more than 30 sq m, or which will occupy more than half your garden.
You can’t build more than four metres high (three metres if it’s a flat roof ) and you can’t use it for permanent sleeping accommodation or for permanent use by people not from the main house.
The shed must not be closer to the road than the house or less than a metre from from the boundary.
MY HALF-MINUTE DAILY COMMUTE IT TAKES Luca Colombi 30 seconds to commute to his office in Sunburyon-Thames — out the back door of his interwar, three-bedroom semi and along the garden path to a handsome, timber studio measuring five metres by four metres.
“I had been working from a room in the house but we had our first son at the end of last year and needed more space,” explains Luca, 41, who runs an IT consultancy called Acume.
Renting a high street office was an expensive extra cost for his small business. After exhaustive internet research, he opted for a studio by Ecospace.
The whole package, including installation, cost just under Pounds 30,000
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Business Wire, Sept 18, 2008
TORONTO — CLEARLY CANADIAN BRANDS (OTCBB:CCBEF) today announced that in the upcoming 4th quarter it will be launching its revamped line-up of Clearly Canadian sparkling flavored waters in 20 oz and 1 Liter PET, which will be produced under their new bottling agreement with Cott Corporation. With a focus on this new beverage launch and a mandate to be EBITDA profitable by the end of the 4th quarter of 2008, the Company has decided to hold off on new acquisitions for the balance of this year, including its previously announced letters of intent with Baldwin Street Kosher and Crofters Foods.
Stated Bobby Genovese, CEO of Clearly Canadian Brands, “We are very focused on the success of all our current divisions. Our healthy snack divisions and our organic baby food divisions are growing and we are incredibly excited about the launch of the new Clearly Canadian sparkling flavoured waters. We expect to gain significant market share over the next few years, and feel our resources are currently better used towards the expansion of this now very profitable product line. Through the building of our existing businesses and the move to profitability, we feel we will then be in a superior position as market and credit conditions improve to bring new acquisitions into our fold.”
About Clearly Canadian
Based in Toronto, Clearly Canadian Brands markets premium alternative beverages, including Clearly Canadian(R) sparkling flavored waters and Clearly Canadian dailyEnergy, dailyVitamin and dailyHydration Natural Enhanced Waters which are distributed in the United States, Canada and various other countries. Clearly Canadian’s recent acquisition of DMR Food Corporation and My Organic Baby Inc. marks the Company’s debut into organic and natural products with a full line of organic baby and toddler foods under the brand names My Organic Baby and My Organic Toddler and a wide range of dried fruit and nut snacks offerings from SunRidge Farms, Naturalife, Sweet Selections, Simply by Nature and Glengrove Organics brands. To find out more about Clearly Canadian Brands (OTCBB: CCBEF), visit our website at www.clearly.ca.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “may”, “could”, “should”, “anticipates”, “likely”, “believes”, “estimates”, “potential”, “predicts”, “continue” and words of similar import also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current facts and analysis and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determined and assumptions of management, including but not limited to, the belief in the opportunities which can exist for our products and the revenue growth for the Company. These assumptions are subject to many risks, and actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated. These risks include, by way of example and not in limitation, general economic conditions, changing beverage consumption trends of consumers, the Company’s ability to generate sufficient cash flows to support general operating activities and capital expansion plans, competition, pricing and availability of raw materials, the Company’s ability to maintain the current and future retail listings for its beverage products and to maintain favorable supply, production and distribution arrangements, laws and regulations and changes thereto that may affect the way the Company’s products are manufactured, distributed and sold and other factors beyond the reasonable control of the Company
sparkling water flavor
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WEBSITE OF THE WEEK treatmentsyou cantrust.co.uk; HEALTH NOTES
0 Comments | Mail on Sunday (London, England), The, July 25, 2010
Byline: SARAH STACEY
A growing number of disasters with injectable cosmetic treatments, notably Botox and other dermal fillers, prompted the Government to back this new register where consumers can find practitioners who are healthcare professionals (doctors, registered nurses and dentists) accredited with the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services.
E-mail Sarah at s.stacey@you.co.uk Sarah reads all your e-mails but regrets that she cannot answer them all personally
All products mentioned, unless otherwise specified, are available by mail order from Victoria Health, tel: 0800 3898 195; victoriahealth.com
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Nuts and bolts
0 Comments | Daily Post; Liverpool (UK), Apr 1, 2009 | by Anonymous
IT’S 30 years since Suzuki launched the first Alto car – and the seventh-generation Alto, now on sale, is one of the greenest petrol city cars around. Priced from just pounds 6,795, the 996cc, threecylinder Alto produces emissions of only 103g/km, and has a combined-cycle fuel economy of 64.2 mpg.
A STUDY by women’s car insurer Diamond reveals that 84% of motorists spend up to 80 minutes a day commuting to and from work – so they have compiled a work-out to help pass the time when stuck in traffic. Most are simply common sense – while others involve doing modest stretching, fingercurling and bum-clenching moves to stay fit and destress while in a jam..
07.29
Workshop for women
0 Comments | Gloucestershire Echo, The, Apr 27, 2010
BETTER profits are the goal of a special sales and marketing workshop for women next month.
Topics covered will include how to find new target markets and write an effective press release, along with understanding a simple but powerful process that leads to a successful sale.
The workshop, organised by the not-for-profit organisation Stroud Businesswomen’s Network (SBN), is due to take place at Egypt Mill Hotel in Nailsworth on Wednesday, May 5, from 9.30am to 2pm.
Lynda McGill, chair of SBN, said: “This is a great opportunity for businesswomen to concentrate on building up their business. And since many of our members are working mums, we’ve timed the workshop to fit into the school day.”
Tickets for the workshop cost only Pounds 35. For more information or to book a place, visit www.stroudbusinesswomen.
org.uk or call Lynda on 01453 872759.
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Business Wire, July 28, 2010
CHICAGO — Summer jobs are a rite of passage for teens. But this summer, Christian
Johnson, 18, isnt scooping ice cream or catching a tan as a lifeguard.
Instead, the soon-to-be college freshman will investigate the use of
nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery along with scientists at BD
Technologies in North Carolinas Research Triangle Park.
Johnson, of Chapel Hill, N.C., is one of 12 students participating in an
eight-week internship arranged by the NanoBusiness Talent Program.
Learning from some of the nations premier researchers, teens ages 16 to
18 will work with multimillion dollar tools used in nanoscience,
including atomic force microscopy, e-beam lithography and scanning
electron microscopy. Theyll gain hands-on laboratory experience that
most students wont get until college or graduate school.
NanoBusiness Talent arranges paid internships for high school students
with nanotechnology companies in Illinois, North Carolina and Colorado.
Students selected for the program demonstrate the potential to make
outstanding contributions in engineering and science careers. Past
interns have gone on to some of the nations most elite universities,
including Harvard, Cal Tech and Duke University.
Funded through a grant by the Department of Energy, the NanoBusiness
Talent Programs mission supports President Obamas push to make U.S.
students more competitive globally in science, technology, engineering
and math.
NanoBusiness Talent was developed to nurture the talent of the next
generation of entrepreneurs by placing them in emerging technology
companies that may not otherwise host interns, says NanoBusiness Talent
Program Director Lesley Hamming, Ph.D. The technology is truly
groundbreaking in our partnering companies. The students get a
one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn directly from the entrepreneurs and
scientists leading the charge.
I would like to commend Lesley Hamming, Ph.D, for her enthusiasm and
passion in leading the NanoBusiness Talent Program for the past three
years, said Vincent Caprio, Executive Director, NanoBusiness Alliance.
We look forward to Lesleys vision for further growth in 2011.
Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter at the
nanoscale1/100,000 the width of a human hairto create new materials
and products with applications for medical treatments, energy
production, pollution reduction and access to clean water.
Participating companies include: Advanced Liquid Logic (Morrisville,
N.C.), Protochips (Raleigh, N.C.), Appealing Products (Raleigh N.C.), BD
Technologies (Research Triangle Park, N.C.), Questek (Evanston, Ill.),
Nanophase Technologies (Romeoville, Ill.), Ohmx (Evanston, Ill.),
NanoIntegris (Skokie, Ill.,), Nanosphere (Northbrook, Ill.), MemPro
Ceramics (Broomfield, Col.) and Zettacore (Englewood, Col.).
Prior to starting their internships in June, students attended a
three-day nanotechnology camp at the Center for Nanoscale Materials
(CNM) at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill. They conducted
laboratory experiments and listened to lectures by several of the
nations top scientists.
“NanoBusiness Talent is a great program for people with a strong
scientific background who want to further their understanding of modern
science and technology, says participant Katherine Hobbs, 18, of
Raleigh, N.C.
Interviews with participating students and scientists are available upon
request.
About The NanoBusiness Talent Program:
The NanoBusiness Talent Program connects future scientists and high-tech
companies by arranging summer internships for high school students at
nanotechnology companies. Students develop their scientific acumen while
working closely with scientists and entrepreneurs. Talent fellows are
chosen from among the top junior and senior high school students for
their passion for science and their potential to contribute
significantly to research and innovation in emerging technology as they
move forward in their careers. The NanoBusiness Talent Program was
founded in 2008 by members of the NanoBusiness Alliance. For more
information, please visit www.nanobusinesstalent.org.
About the NanoBusiness Alliance:
The NanoBusiness Alliance is the voice of the nation’s nanotechnology
business community
chicago jobs
07.29
Price of olive oil set to soar amid stockpiling in Greece
0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Jul 17, 2010
THE price of olive oil could soar because Greek producers are stockpiling their product, importers have warned.
Filippo Berio, the UK’s biggest olive oil brand, said prices were already 20% higher than they were a year ago due to factors such as growing demand worldwide.
Now Greek producers, worried about the state of the country’s economy, are reluctant to sell their oil, which could make the situation worse.
Walter Zanre, managing director of Filippo Berio, told the trade magazine The Grocer: “Greek growers consider stocks of olive oil in tanks to be a safer bet than cash in a Greek bank.
“Greece is a source of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and this is putting additional pressure on prices. At some point the oil will have to be sold, but in the short term it could cause a spike in prices.”
Greece is the world’s third-largest producer of olive oil, behind Spain and Italy.
There are concerns that Spanish producers will adopt a similar strategy as a result of the downgrading of Spain’s credit rating and increasing uncertainty over its public deficit and economy.
A spokeswoman for R H Amar, the company which distributes Bertolli olive oil, said: “The economic climate in Spain is unstable and if the growers decide they can afford to use their oil as cash in the bank, prices are likely to spike as a result.”
The high price of olive oil is in sharp contrast with other edible oils.
The price of vegetable and seed oils has fallen significantly this year, following substantial hikes last year.
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Market Wire, July, 2010
Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer from Amsterdam, announced today the enhanced format and schedule for Amsterdam Live — one of the summer’s hottest music and entertainment concepts. Amsterdam Live will feature high-energy DJs and unique light shows as well as performances from some of today’s hottest bands. The lineup includes Fischerspooner, The Rapture, Shiny Toy Guns HybriDigital and many more.
Inspired by Melkweg, a renowned nightclub in Amsterdam, each Amsterdam Live event will immerse fans (21 years old and over) into Amstel’s Amsterdam through an eclectic mix of live musical performances, art and dance.
“Amsterdam Live will give adult consumers a taste of the spirit and energy of Amsterdam through the lens of Amstel Light,” said Amanda Hawk, Brand Director, Amstel Light. “We’re excited to host this unique mix of music, dance and high energy immersion into the culture of Amsterdam.”
Amsterdam Live kicks off in Minneapolis and will roll into Chicago, Boston and then New York for a final tour showcase. The Amstel Light “Beer Bike” will continue to make stops at each city on the tour to provide adult consumers with a taste of Amsterdam’s unique street performance culture prior to each Amsterdam Live event.
The complete tour schedule and artist lineup is as follows:
July 23: Minneapolis, MN — Cabooze — Shiny Toy Guns HybriDigital, Hey Champ, The Scumfrog, Gigamesh
July 30: Chicago, IL — Metro — Shiny Toy Guns HybriDigital, The Scumfrog
Aug 4: Boston, MA — Royale — The Rapture, The Scumfrog
Aug 12: NYC — Highline Ballroom — Fischerspooner
To showcase each “Dam Good” moment along the way, adult consumers attending the events may load their photographs from the event to the Amstel Light Facebook fan page. For more details about Amsterdam Live, including updated tour lineups and venue information, visit www.amstellight.com .
About Amstel Light
Amstel Light is a leading imported light beer brand in the U.S. The Amstel Brewery was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam, Holland by two businessmen, DePester and J.H. van Marwijk Kooy. By 1886, Amstel had become Amsterdam’s largest brewer of lager beer. In 1982, Amstel Light was born as an import to the U.S. Characteristic of this beer is a unique selection of raw materials and an intense fermenting process. The result is a premium imported light beer containing only 3.5% alcohol and approximately 35% fewer calories than regular lager beer. Amstel Light is imported by Heineken USA, headquartered in White Plains, New York, the nation’s premier beer importer. For more information, please visit www.amstellight.com .
About Heineken USA
Heineken USA Inc., the nation’s premier beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV, which is the world’s most international brewer. European brands imported into the U.S. include Heineken Lager, the world’s most international beer brand; Heineken Light; Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer brand; Newcastle Brown Ale, the leading imported ale in the United States; and Buckler non-alcoholic brew. Heineken USA is also the exclusive USA importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from Mexico. For a safe ride home, download the Heineken USA-sponsored Taxi Magic application from your smartphone at www.taximagic.heineken.com
digital live events
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Does it make you feel better to blame someone else? For example, you have a really bad haircut, and you decide it?s the hairstylist fault because she talked you into it. Ok, so now you?ve correctly affixed the blame — do you still have a bad haircut? So what did it accomplish? Nothing.
Instead, consider this: You have a bad haircut because you thought this was the style that you wanted, but now you see that it?s not for you. You still have the haircut, but since you?ve accepted your part in it, it empowers you ? instead of making you a victim to it.
Being a victim to a decision emasculates you. Being a participator in a decision empowers you.
To reduce anxiety for your decisions, keep this in mind:
1. Stop looking for a prediction of the future. There?s a difference in making a decision and looking for a prediction. There is likely to be a risk in most any decision more complicated than deciding on a type of dessert.
personal trainer
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Research shows that calcium products can play a role in reducing blood pressure. Look for low-fat varieties of certain dairy products, and experiment to find the foods or beverages you most enjoy. Try to get three servings of calcium-based foods each day. This could take the form of eight-ounce glasses of milk, a combination of yogurt and milk products, or even some foods that contain calcium, like broccoli.
2. Reduce your salt intake. Salt continues under investigation as a probable instigator of hypertension. Keep the saltshaker in the cupboard so you will be less tempted to use it. Don?t salt foods automatically while cooking them, and taste prepared food before adding salt as a seasoning. Beware of hidden salt in processed foods like lunchmeats or as a preservative in frozen foods, especially those that are precooked before freezing. Your body needs some salt, however; so don?t give it up altogether without your doctor?s knowledge.