Beautiful lawn
By Stephanie SchupskaUniversity ofGeorgiaMost lawns still lay sleeping, waiting for the sporadic weatherto turn warm and stay there. But when those first few shoots pokeout of the ground, homeowners across Georgia will be hunting forthe easiest route to the perfect lawn.For research-based information, they can turn to University ofGeorgia turfgrass experts for solutions to their problems — fromthe best grass for a lawn makeover to ground cover under an oaktree. When a client called a UGA Cooperative Extension office recentlyabout problems with thinning grass in an increasingly shady lawn,state turfgrass specialist Clint Waltz had to think about hisanswer for a moment. Georgia covers three plant hardiness zones,making it impossible to pick one grass that would work for thewhole state.”The best grass for their lawn would depend on where they live inGeorgia,” he said. “If you live south of Macon, St.Augustinegrass would be the best. Our most shade tolerantwarm-season turfgrass is St. Augustinegrass. If you live nearAtlanta, tall fescue would be an option, and possibly St.Augustinegrass, depending on the cultivar.””Sometimes as landscapes grow up, you may want to think aboutremoving tree limbs to let sun in,” said Extension specialist TimMurphy.Before planting any new grass, though, the best starting pointwould be to submit a soil sample to a local Extension agent fortesting. This allows the homeowner to properly fertilize and limethe lawn, without the usual guesswork.”If your yard has bare spots because of nutrient imbalance orshade, you’re going to need to do something besides seed or addnew sod or grass plugs,” Waltz said. “If the problem is soilcompaction, you need to aerate the ground to make it conducivefor growth.”Before laying grass seed or sod, Murphy said to prepare the baresoil by lightly tilling it. Then prepare a smooth seed-bed andseed or sod it.Sometimes a homeowner may consider overseeding a sparse lawn.This tactic can be beneficial or harmful, depending on the typeof underlying grass.”If it’s a warm-season grass like centipedegrass, zoysiagrass orSt. Augustinegrass, or even bermudagrass, my suggestion would benot to overseed,” Waltz said. “If it is summer and tall fescue,which is a cool-season grass, that’s to be expected. If it’ssparse in spring and fall, then you can overseed.”The best time to seed and establish cool-season grasses like tallfescue is between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. It can be established inthe spring, but summer’s heat can put extra stress on tallfescue, making it hard for the grass to survive.Survival will not happen, though, if the grass does not getenough light. “Not all situations are conducive for grass,” Waltz said. “Underan oak tree, for example, you may want to consider mulch oranother shade tolerant vegetative cover. Grass will not growunder an oak tree because of the low light environment. Thatwinds up being the prevailing reason. All grasses need some kindof light.”He suggests using a shade-tolerant ground cover instead of tryingto get grass to grow right up to the tree’s base.(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University ofGeorgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
By Dialogo January 25, 2011 Dr. Emmitt L. Brown, the scientist from the movie “Back to the Future,” had things fairly well devised several years ago, feeding trash to the “flux capacitor” to power his time machine. The U.S. Army is now furthering its goal to empower, unburden and protect the warfighter by developing “green” technology that converts waste into fuel. Importing fuel and exporting garbage to and from the battlefield is an expensive and dangerous process for the Army. Doing so requires convoys that put Soldiers in danger and the disposal of the garbage is both an environmental and security issue. “What you end up with is a public health problem, a public relations problem and a security problem,” said James Valdes, scientific advisor for biotechnology for Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, an element of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. The Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery is a hybrid technology that alleviates these burdens by converting a broad spectrum of waste into a usable power source. The TGER metabolizes waste into ethanol and compresses undigested waste into pellets which are then converted into a composite gas. The ethanol, composite gas and a 10 percent diesel drip are injected into a diesel generator that produces electricity. “A 500-man unit generates about 2,500 pounds of trash per day. We figured if we could convert the trash into power, we could cut down on the need to haul fuel into the operating base and cut down on the need to haul garbage out,” Valdes said. The TGER has a zero carbon footprint and gives a 30-to-one reduction in the volume of trash. For every 30 cubic yards of trash processed through TGER, one cubic yard of ash is produced. “We had the ash tested by the Environmental Protection Agency and it was determined that it is a benign soil additive. You could take the ash and use it on your roses,” Valdes explained. Army scientists and engineers tested TGER at an operating base in Iraq for three months. They wanted to use it in an unforgiving environment to stress the system. “Any technology works perfect in a laboratory setting. We wanted to test TGER in a harsh environment to see what was going to break. We now know what works on site and we’ve designed it to fit the soldier’s needs,” said Valdes. The technology behind the TGER has applications beyond the Army. It potentially could be used as relief for an area hit by natural disaster. “Often in a natural disaster area the power is out and trash is everywhere. TGER fits in a six-by-six-by-twelve-foot box that can be flown into the area hit by the natural disaster. It could be used to help eliminate trash and produce electricity,” Valdes said. The ECBC scientist explained the futuristic technology at RDECOM’s Army Tech Zone within the Army Strong Zone at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl this weekend. The Army Tech Zone featured several emerging technologies developed by the Army’s science and technology community. Secretary of the Army John McHugh visited the Tech Zone and expressed great interest in the TGER. “We have money for that,” he said, addressing further development of the TGER, as he left the exhibit area. “It’s rare that a scientist gets to see something he helps develop actually go into the field in an operational situation and see it work. That’s a real nice thing,” Valdes said.
By Dialogo May 04, 2016 Solidarity is always important, and much more so in disasters such as in our brother country Ecuador. This is an example of how the world is capable of opting for peace and getting rid of wars. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador on April 16th caused an estimated $3 billion in infrastructure damage as it devastated a nation that had not felt the effects of such a natural disaster since 1949. Within hours, various nations provided support . Colombia and Peru sent military planes and naval vessels with humanitarian aid, and Mexico sent specialized rescue workers. The United States, among other things, installed a mobile air traffic control tower in Manta. Other help came from Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Brazil, Canada, France, and Spain, and countries like South Korea, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands announced that they would be sending funds to help with the Ecuadorian emergency. But the challenge of delivering aid is far from over. Numerous institutions are assessing long-term requirements for shelter and how to solve imminent challenges in the country’s hardest-hit areas. Ecuador will need assistance from aid agencies and neighboring countries for a considerable amount of time. While Ecuadorean engineering experts continue to determine if the buildings that are still standing are structurally sound, the Ecuadorean military has deployed more than 10,000 of its personnel to oversee the ongoing aid delivery efforts in the field, providing pivotal assistance to the current humanitarian crisis the country faces. Lieutenant Colonel Cristhian Regalado works in the Central Command of the Ecuadorean Armed Forces and has been following the ongoing process of humanitarian aid. He shared his thoughts with Diálogo on the current challenges facing the Armed Forces as they respond to the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades. Diálogo: How has international cooperation helped in the assisting victims, and what kind of help came from abroad? Lt. Col. Regalado: International aid was immediate and timely, with huge amounts of food, food supplies, medicine, as well as specialized personnel, especially rescue workers, doctors, technicians, and firefighters [being delivered]. In addition, several countries provided aircraft to join the airlift, as well as mobile hospitals, electricity-generating plants, and water purification. Brotherhood among people, especially nations in the continent, was reflected in the aid received. The military is grateful for these gestures of solidarity and generosity. This cooperation among nations and military entities has been traditional in the region on the basis of bilateral and multilateral agreements that have enabled mutual support during times of natural disasters such as the one Ecuador experienced on April 16th. Diálogo: Tell us about the aid delivery process and the type of aid is being provided by the Ecuadorean Army to the affected population. Lt. Col. Regalado: Army airplanes and helicopters are working nonstop to transport the wounded, the homeless, and the staff members of public and private institutions that have been mobilized to support the disaster areas, and also to move donations from collection centers to people in remote areas. Command posts located mainly in Manabí and Esmeraldas are coordinating the activities of military units from all over the country in support of state institutions, and are managing the collection and delivery of donations, implementing shelters and logistics [by land and air], installing sanitary facilities and using tankers to supply water, just to name a few of the endless tasks. They also coordinate military support to the National Police to ensure the safety of the cities affected by the earthquake. Diálogo: Describe the deployment. Lt. Col. Regalado: Just one part of the overall effort is conducted by the Corps of Army Engineers, who have deployed all its heavy machinery for the removal of debris, road maintenance, construction of platforms, demolition of structures, and the inspection of roads and bridges. This is all coordinated by an extensive team of technical specialists. The Army Engineers also installed three water treatment plants in the affected areas that are being operated by military personnel. In addition, we have soldiers of the elite Special Forces Brigade to provide security for the food convoys to the disaster areas, as well as through specialist K9 search teams to assist in the rescue of people trapped in the rubble. We have deployed a contingent of military doctors and nurses who are providing medical care to the residents of the affected areas, and are also making the delivery of medicine to the population. In addition, the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital moved to Chone – a city in the Manabí province – a strategic location from which immediate trauma care can be provided. Diálogo: What are the Army’s medium- and long-term plans? Lt. Col. Regalado: After the search and rescue phase, reconstruction will begin, a task that involves the coordinated participation of many state institutions and where we also have the support of national and international organizations. The deployment of the Armed Forces is indefinite: We are here to support our homeland for as long as it takes.
Again, he was celebrating democracy—and pointing to the legitimacy of his lead by way of a warning to those who hope to overturn the vote, be they official Republican partisans or federal judges (or justices) acting as partisans. “Every vote must be counted,” he emphasized, at a moment when his opponent is trying to prevent exactly that from happening.“We the people will not be silenced. We the people will not be bullied. We the people will not surrender,” Biden concluded. “My friends, I am confident we will emerge victorious. But this will not be my victory alone or our victory alone. It will be a victory for the American people, for our democracy, for America. There will be no blue states and red states when we win. Just the United States of America.” – Advertisement – Unlike Trump, Biden was careful to stick to the facts, saying “I’m not here to declare that we have won. But I’m here to report, when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.” He went on to point out that his winning margin in Wisconsin is “virtually the same” as Trump’s 2016 margin in the state, while his current—and presumed to be still growing—lead in Michigan is “substantially bigger” than Trump’s 2016 margin. Biden also said he feels “very good” about Pennsylvania, and cited flips in Arizona and the second district of Nebraska.“Of special significance to me is that we’ve won the majority of the American people and every indication is that that majority will grow,” Biden continued, pointing to a popular vote lead of three million and growing. “Indeed, Sen. Harris and I are on track to win more votes than any ticket in the history of this country.”- Advertisement –
The Mermaid Beach apartment at 4/255 Hedges Ave sold under the hammer.A BEACHFRONT apartment on Millionaires’ Row was the weekend’s star auction performer, fetching almost $2 million under the hammer.Up to 25 people gathered at the Mermaid Beach residence last Saturday ahead of the auction with multiple buyers registering to bid.Marketing agent Tolemy Stevens, of Harcourts Coastal, said bidding started at $1.6 million before the hammer came down at $1.8 million. The buyers plan to use it as a holiday home. A Brisbane buyer snapped up the property for $1.8 million.“After a little bit of back and fourth … a successful agreement was reached,” he said.More from news02:37International architect Desmond Brooks selling luxury beach villa10 hours ago02:37Gold Coast property: Sovereign Islands mega mansion hits market with $16m price tag1 day ago“The buyers are from Brisbane and there’re looking forward to enjoying some beachfront holidays with friends and family.”The full-floor Hedges Ave apartment on level four has three bedrooms, an open kitchen, living and dining area and multiple balconies.Mr Stevens said prospective buyers were drawn to the property’s location in a quiet and boutique building with ocean views.“There were over 50 inspections throughout the three week marketing and advertising campaign,” Mr Stevens said. MORE NEWS: Holiday home to the stars snapped up in double deal Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayNext playlist itemMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:29Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -0:29 Playback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedQuality Levels720p720pHD540p540p360p360p270p270pAutoA, selectedAudio Tracken (Main), selectedFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.PlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 Playback Rate1xFullscreenWays to get into the property market for less00:29 MORE NEWS: Imagine having a theme park in your backyard About 25 people attended the auction. There’s only six entire floor apartments on the monster site.“It’s a perfect holiday home and I think that’s why the response was so good.”Despite being in the middle of winter, which is traditionally a quieter period for the Gold Coast real estate market, Mr Stevens said properties were changing hands at an unusually rapid rate.“The demand at the moment from astute buyers … is currently outstripping supply,” he said.“The market is looking very encouraging at the moment, it’s certainly bucking the trend.“It’s going to be an interesting summer.”
* First, commercial surrogacy can be exploitative because the contracting parties are not always free and equal. Some surrogates are poor and uneducated. Many come from developing countries. Often enough, the future parents come from wealthy nations, and are wealthy even by the standards of their home country. An intermediary, or ”baby finder”, who seeks to make a profit from the exchange, completes the recipe for exploitation. A poor woman grows attached to the child during gestation. Then, she is intimidated by a profiteer into selling her infant. A fair society would not support and uphold such a transaction. (average price for US surrogate is $80,000)* Second, by allowing commercial surrogacy, we step closer to commodifying pregnancy, motherhood and babies, leading to a potential change in how we perceive and treat the people involved. Babies and pregnancy are seen by society as sacrosanct. Through commercial surrogacy, they are given a price, and sold and exchanged much like other goods and services. If we allow babies to be bought, why not a two-year-old child? Should we allow babies to be sold at auction?* Thirdly, what about* the rights of the child to have relationships with surrogate parents and vice versa;* who is responsible for surrogate children born with severe disabilities;* what to do when the surrogate mother has multiple birthsAll these remain largely unsettled in ethics and in law.From Miranda Devine (Aust) in 2011The growing trend of surrogate babies for celebrities severely devalues the role of modern parents and their children alike.When Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban announced the surprise birth of their new baby this week, they made special mention of “our gestational carrier”. To have carried a baby in your womb, shared a blood supply, felt its little feet kick against your abdomen, heard its little heart beat, sensed it growing bigger and stronger, while it changes your metabolism, and the way you sleep, breathe and eat, and then to have given birth to a living, breathing human child you have been longing to cuddle is not a trivial act. So to have it described in such clinical, remote terms is insensitive and thoughtless, to say the least.A few of the recent celebrity womb rentals have included Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick – twin girls; Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka – fraternal twins, a girl and boy; and Kelsey Grammer and estranged wife Camille – a boy and a girl. On Christmas Day, just three days before the latest Urban addition, Elton John and his partner David Furnish became “proud fathers” of a baby boy born to a surrogate mother in California, the product of a donor egg from another anonymous woman fertilised with the sperm of one or other of the men.Then there is the story of the Melbourne couple who aborted twin boys, conceived though IVF, because they already have three sons and wanted a daughter instead. The father told the Herald Sun it was “our right” to decide the gender of their future child.The Wall Street Journal last month ran a story about the new global industry of baby manufacturing, with baby “concierges” co-ordinating the coming together of egg, sperm, womb and parents from all corners of the earth. One of the most affordable packages featured was the “India bundle” from PlanetHospital, which gets you “one egg donor, four embryo transfers into four separate surrogate mothers, room and board for the surrogate, and a car and driver for the parents-to-be when they travel to India to pick up the baby.” Planet Hospital also specialises in “surrogaycy” for same-sex couples but doesn’t really seem to care much who the parents are. Chief executive Rudy Rupak told the Journal: “Our ethics are agnostic . . . How do you prevent a paedophile from having a baby? If they’re a paedophile then I will leave that to the US Government to decide, not me.”Are women easy-bake ovens?http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-marquardt/surrogate-motherhood-_b_2024435.html Women in India are being used as cheap surrogates for western couples, straight or gay, in some cases housed and monitored in dormitories and delivered by caesarean section for the convenience of the “commissioning” couple. In the U.S., many surrogates are military wives, supplementing their husband’s low pay by renting their wombs, with labor and delivery costs paid for by the U.S. taxpayer. Donated eggs are often involved in these cases. In addition to the identity issues such complex forms of parentage force upon the children, egg donation is a risky business, luring mostly college-aged women into rounds of hormone shots and surgical extractions that are a documented risk to their own health.
A young Ghanian entrepreneur is empowering people with disabilities through an innovative foot-wear business specializing in designing and making shoes from recycled materials.Co-Founder of Echo Shoes, Mabel Suglo has been named a finalist for the prestigious Anzisha Prize, which awards young African entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions to social challenges within their communities.
Rescue workers and volunteers at the command post Monday night.Update (June 10 @ 7:57 a.m.)The Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Paul Batta safely returned home this morning.Update (June 10 @ 7:20 a.m.)We’re learning this morning that a missing man has returned home safely.Paul Batta, 56, was reported missing after he disappeared from his home in the 10000 block of North Dearborn Road on Saturday.A neighbor called us to say he has in fact made it back home. Authorities are on the scene and have not confirmed the developing information.WRBI will relay any new information as it is received.First Report ( June 10 @ 12:12 a.m.)Emergency workers and volunteers will continue the search Tuesday for a missing Sunman man.Paul Batta, 56, was last seen on Saturday night leaving his North Dearborn Rd. home on a bicycle.Sunman firefighters set up a command post Monday morning on Lawrenceville Rd., near Gutaphel Rd., and actively explored the area until darkness forced officials to suspend search efforts.“We’ve been out here thirteen hours. Our guys did a good job searching unfortunately we didn’t find the individual,” said Sunman Fire Chief Bill Craig.“We’re going to try and regroup this evening at our station. Sit down, look at our resources and see what we can bring back out here tomorrow,” Craig added.Even local residents have volunteered their time during the search. Christina Stoneking is one of many volunteers working alongside emergency crews and family of the missing man on Monday.Paul Batta, 56, was last seen Saturday night leaving his home on North Dearborn Rd.“Everybody is a close knit family out here. When something like this happens everyone pulls together. I don’t know him personally but I know his family and cousins,” Stoneking said.“You got to do something. People got to stick together and do something. And the family is hurting, there is no word out and we definitely need more help,” she continued.Batta is described as a white male, 6’4” tall, weighing approximately 226 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, and has a beard which is trimmed. He was last seen wearing a gray or brown T-shirt and brown shorts.Anyone with information is urged to contact the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office at (812) 537-3431.We will update this story as soon as there is any information.
LOVELOCK, Nev. – A pair of $1,000 to win, Fast Shafts Allstar Invitational ballot qualifying features are on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 Frontier Day cards at Lovelock Speedway.Presenting the Nile Valley 40 lap features are the Nile Valley Race Club and Pershing County Rec Board. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Larry Shaw Racing Western Region, Allstar Performance State and local track points will be awarded for each show.Pit gates open at 4 p.m., the grandstand opens at 6:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7:30 p.m. both nights.Car and driver is $60 a day. Pit passes are $25.Grandstand admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, military personnel and students ages 11-15, and free for kids 10 and under. A family package (two adults and two children ages 11-15) is $30, with additional children admitted for half price.More information is available on the www.lovelockspeedway.com website or by calling 775 273-0812 or 775 273-7922.
Barcelona: Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets signed a contract extension with Barcelona that links him to the Catalan club until 2023, the La Liga defending champion announced on Thursday.The new contract increased the buyout clause from 200 million euro ($233.5 million) to 500 million euros ($583.8 million), reports Efe.”FC Barcelona and Sergio Busquets signed a contract renewal for the player on Thursday morning, an agreement that will keep Busquets at Barça through June 30, 2023,” Barcelona said in a statement.Since making his first appearance with Barcelona in the 2008-2009 season, the 30-year-old Busquets played 490 matches with the Catalan club.Over the last 11 seasons, Busquets won a total of 28 titles, including seven La Liga titles, six Spanish Cups, three UEFA Champions Leagues and three FIFA Club World Cups. IANS