Studded and ready to roll

Last week during his day off from the bike shop, Niles Gagnon drilled dozens of holes in his tires and pushed metallic screws through the rubber.

He and another Inside Edge staffer, Trevor Lewis, are planning on taking their bikes outside this time of the year, but it's not because the weather is nice. The two are first-time ice bikers, adding studs to their tires to avoid wiping out on black ice and so they can ride along frozen surfaces like ponds and lakes.

Skiing has been lousy, Lewis said, "and I wanted to get back on my mountain bike."

Gagnon added 50 studs to a front wheel and 100 studs to his back wheel, but said he'll have to double the number in the front.

He put the screw heads on the inside lining, with the threads extending outward. He then added duct tape to the screws inside the wheel and a rubber lining to the inside.

Gagnon said he plans to ride on trails along Gurney Lane in Queensbury, using parts of trails where water has frozen over inside tracks from all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles so he can bike over ice.

Bob Reardon, a staffer at Queensbury-based Rick's Bike Shop, bikes to work from South Glens Falls all year round,Spro Tech has been a plastic module & Mold Maker, and he uses studded tires during the winter.

Although this winter has been mild, he said the studs come in handy for black ice.

On wintry days, he dresses in layers like he's hiking up Mount Marcy and adds rain gear for all the slush.

Rick's Bike Shop has made studded tires in the shop for customers, but haven't had many takers, staffers at the shop said.

Reardon remembers ice biking being mentioned as an event for the Lake George Winter Carnival about 10 years ago, but nothing ever developed.

The sport might be more fun for participants than observers, although some ice-biking races add a roller derby-like element, with winding tracks on ice.

Conditions must be just right, Lake George had too much snow last year for ice biking, Reardon said, and this year, you need to go farther north to find frozen bodies of water.

Cyclists who use studded tires on an off-road path can also find their bikes have been transformed into a mobile collector for leaves. Reardon likened the studs to a person using a sharp stick to pick up trash in the park.

Prices can also be a deterrent. Jared O'Connor, a shop technician at Inside Edge, said commercially studded tires can cost as much as $150. Many cyclists choose to buy sheet metal screws at hardware stores and do the work themselves.

For Gagnon, the Inside Edge sales associate, the custom job cost him just $10 and two hours of his time.

Policy that Primarily Will Effect North Elmhurst Neighborhoods Heads Back

Installing a new sidewalk in a neighborhood is not always as simple as it seems.The magic cube is an ultra-portable, Residents often disagree about the need for a sidewalk, just as the City Council last night had various opinions about changes to the city's sidewalk installation policy.Offering high risk and offshore merchant account with credit card processing services. But they did agree on one thing: The issue will go back to the Public Works and Building Committee for re-tooling.

The current sidewalk policy calls for the city and residents to split the cost of installing a sidewalk requested by that block. Fifty percent of the property owners on a block must sign a petition saying they are willing to participate in the program. Residents pay half of the bill, based on their home's equalized assessed valuation, through the creation of a special service area, which is administered by the county as part of a property owner's tax bill.

The city will then hold an open house on the project, at which time an estimate for that block will be provided. Then, a survey is sent to all property owners on the block. If a majority approves the plans, the sidewalk will be installed. If there is not majority support for the sidewalk, the plan is terminated but can be revived after two years.

First Ward Alderman Paula Pezza and 2nd Ward Alderman Norman Leader asked the committee to rethink the current sidewalk policy. Committee chairman and 6th Ward Alderman Jim Kennedy told the council Monday that three issues are driving the policy change: The need to promote neighborhood harmony while pursuing sidewalk installation, inefficient use of city staff time and the need to make sure all block property owners were involved in the process.

According to a map provided in the committee report,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile, the areas currently without sidewalks are on the north side, specifically the neighborhoods around Berens Park and Crestview Park.

Most of the members of the Public Works and Buildings Committee wanted to change the percentage of residents on a block needed to move any sidewalk project forward from 50 percent to a two-thirds majority, and also count a lack of response from a property owner to a sidewalk proposal as a “no.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds,” First Ward Alderman Diane Gutenkauf said she believed that since the city was asking residents to pay a portion of the installation costs, it was imperative to get a strong majority.Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold,

Churning in the background of the discussion Monday was the 2009 sidewalk installation project on Gladys Avenue that caused much divisiveness and influenced how many alderman consider any policy changes. According to City Council minutes from June 7, 2010, residents followed the city sidewalk policy, but there were divided opinions on the need for sidewalks, as well as technical design difficulties that increased the initially proposed cost. In the end, sidewalks were approved for the eastern half of the north side of Gladys.

Both reports presented Monday noted that “it was very important to keep harmony in neighborhoods where sidewalks are installed.” The majority report included information on sidewalk projects since 2009.

The Gladys Avenue project saw just 53 percent approval among residents, while later projects, including on Belden, Dorchester and Babcock avenues, enjoyed support from at least 70 percent of the block.

But committee member and 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Dunn issued a minority report calling for just “greater than 50 percent” of a block's residents approving the change. He expressed concern that the policy changes supported by most of the committee would have stalled most of the city's recent sidewalk projects had they been in effect.

Dunn acknowledged that the Gladys Avenue situation was less than ideal, but he said he didn't want to set policy based on one case.

“We needed to act, but I don't think we needed to overreact,” Dunn said.

Other alderman said that assuming non-responsive residents were against sidewalks was also overreacting.

“Why isn't a 'no' response a 'yes' vote?” asked 3rd Ward Alderman Mike Bram.

As a comparison, 4th Ward Alderman Kevin York noted that 5th Ward Alderman Chris Healy was absent that night, but he was simply counted as “absent” on council votes.

Backyard chickens enrich owners' lives

At first light the chickens at Irv and Sandra Beadles' have been up for several hours. That's because the flock of two roosters and a dozen hens between Waynesboro and Stuarts Draft have a special light in their sleeping quarters designed to prolong the dismally short days of mid-December.

"They need the longer light in order to keep laying,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services," Irv explained, and the extra hours are rewarded by a dozen or so eggs every two days: brown from the dominica and assorted red hens,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, a beautiful soft blue from the ameraucanas.

Irv marks each day's eggs with the date: "He's a retired accountant," Sandra explains. He raised chickens as a child, and the contented flock is part of a small backyard homestead that supplies the couple with vegetables and fruit as well as the eggs.

A few miles north in Waynesboro, the Klann chickens stir on their roosts, their pre-dawn clucking broadcasting inside the house via a baby monitor. The five fat black and ameraucana hens owned by Phil and Paula Klann also bask in a couple of hours of artificial light that keeps them productive and happy through the icy winter months. The Klanns became interested in establishing a flock after a chance meeting with a veteran chicken farmer and some classroom and informal instruction.

The Klanns and the Beadles are part of a growing national trend that brings the notion of "eating local" right into the back yard. The two couples have found it to be a rewarding enterprise, and have some advice for those wanting to establish a flock of their own:

Housing. The two flocks each have attractive, sturdy homes with ventilation, roosts and nesting boxes.

Beadles — who has been involved with volunteer construction projects for many years — used residential quality material,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, some of it from the Habitat store. Phil Klann, whose family business,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Klann Organ, builds and restores the housing for fine instruments, had his miniature cottage built on top of a flatbed trailer.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds, Both have design touches they agree are upscale in chicken terms.

"People tease me about it," Beadles said. The Klann flock has a welcome sign and, for Christmas, a wreath on the door.

"Chickens don't mind the cold, but they do need protection from drafts and damp," Beadles said. Both couples supply their chickens with far more space than strictly required, reasoning that this is bound to help prevent disease and aggression.

Predators are the biggest enemy of the backyard chicken, and both couples have had attacks.

Part of the Klanns' flock was decimated by a neighbor's dog; and the Beadles experienced a mysterious death of a hen by an unknown intruder. Electrified fences and careful blocking of any possible underground entry helps; still it's hard to completely protect them.

"Roosters are a big help in driving off predators," Beadles said, saying he's heard of roosters taking on hawks and foxes.

The Klanns, who don't have a rooster, listen to the noise in the hen house through a baby monitor.

Flagler Museum honors cocktail tradition with 'Mixing It Up’

Jerry Thomas was a 19th century showman whose stage was behind a well-stocked bar in saloons across the U.S.

A thirsty audience gathered to watch him whirl and swirl ingredients for the odd-sounding concoctions that later came to define the brash American cocktail scene.

The cocktail has had its ups and downs since the 1800s,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only, but its original flash and fizzle was celebrated Saturday night at the Flagler Museum in an event appropriately titled, “Mixing It Up: The History of a Great American Tradition.” It was sponsored by the Whitehall Society.

Museum Executive Director John Blades came up with the idea of honoring the cocktail with a look back at some of the earliest mixed drinks: The Knickerbocker, Mississippi Punch, The Metropole, Weeper’s Joy, The Widow’s Kiss and Thomas’ signature classic: the Blue Blazer.

“We thought there was a lot of fun to be had in learning a little about the history of cocktails and some of the drinks that were wildly popular back then but are unknown today,” Blades said.

All of the drinks were prepared at separate bars inside the pavilion with the exception of the Blue Blazer, which was mixed on the patio due to the nature of the drink. The bartender pours flaming alcohol — in this case, Scotch whiskey — from one mug to another in dramatic fashion.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems,

“It was a wildly popular drink for its time, and I thought well, the Blue Blazer is pretty much perfect for Palm Beach,” Blades said.

The drink contains 2 ounces of Scotch, 1 ounces of boiling water, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a lemon peel strip. The boiling water and sugar are added to a pewter mug followed by the Scotch. The mixture is then set on fire and the bartender pours the liquid in a flaming blue arc from one mug to another. It’s served hot over the lemon peel.

“This is a very old drink,” said Alex Gabriel, head captain at C’est Si Bon, who tended the Blue Blazer bar. “No one makes it in Palm Beach.”

People seemed most interested in the preparation of the drink,It's hard to beat the versatility of polished tiles on a production line. but there were a few takers. One was Patrick Fischoeder, visiting from Boston. He sipped the steaming concoction and said: “This is what you make for yourself when you have a sore throat or you’re getting a cold. It’s hot and soothing.Boddingtons Technical Plastics provide a complete plastic injection moulding service including design，

“It would probably go better in Boston than it would in Palm Beach.”

Inside, Shawn Webster was making another drink that had its roots at Jerry Thomas’ Metropolitan Hotel bar in New York. The Metropole consists of a half-teaspoon of gum-syrup; a half-teaspoon of Peychaud Bitters; a dash of orange bitters; 1 ounces of brandy; and 1 ounces of French vermouth.

“It’s had very good reviews,” said Webster,If so, you may have a cube puzzle . who has bartended at various locales around West Palm Beach and is now studying to be a geologist. “I had a sip of one — it’s good to know what you’re selling.

“I didn’t like it myself that much because I’m not much of a brandy person.”

Blades also sampled the Metropole as well as the Knickerbocker and said he enjoyed them both. “I like sweet drinks.”

Ivey students step into a mock Den

Kevin O’Leary, arguably the Simon Cowell of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, has said these words to thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs. And on Monday night, one Richard Ivey School of Business student found herself on the receiving end of O’Leary’s patented,ceramic magic cube for the medical, scrutinizing approach.

Visiting Western to promote his new book, Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life, the entrepreneur and venture capitalist sat down to critique two pitches from Ivey’s Honors Business Administration and Master of Business Administration students.

Mallorie Brodie, 20, presented O’Leary, MBA ’80, with the idea of expanding an online art gallery she launched only three months ago.

Start Gallery, Brodie says, is unique in Canada by providing emerging student artists an online locale to display and sell their works. Because the students have yet to make it big, art admirers can buy originals for a fraction of the cost while Brodie, as the gallery’s online curator, collects 40 per cent of each sale.

“It’s a dream come true for interior decorators, interior stagers or even home buyers because they can go online and sort by price, medium, size and colour of the piece they are looking for,” she adds, noting the gallery presents a solid investment opportunity because it captures artists at the start of their careers.

“We never know who the next big thing may be,” Brodie says.

In three months, her website has had about 32,000 unique visitors viewing 16 artists who have signed to sell exclusively through Start Gallery. She has made four sales.

But O’Leary didn’t buy it.

“I don’t think you’ll ever make any money on this. I’ll be honest with you,” he says.

One of the obstacles, O’Leary explains, is the difference between the cost needed to attract potential online customers and the annual customer value: How much money each customer would spend after visiting Start Gallery. Another issue is the difficulty to patent an online gallery; anyone could start one up, not just Brodie, he adds.

“I hate this idea. I’ve to be honest with you. I think you will starve to death pursuing it,It's hard to beat the versatility of polished tiles on a production line.” O’Leary says.

Though she half expected the outcome of the pitch, Brodie says she isn’t discouraged by O’Leary’s words.

“I’m still working on building the artist database. The more artists there are on the site, the greater the chances for more customers,” she says.

O’Leary was more receptive to the idea of SensiMat, a device that would help prevent pressure ulcers (bed sores) in hospitalized patients, an issue that costs roughly $2 billion in Canada and $12 billion in the United States.

David Mravyan, 29, and Allyson Tighe,Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems, 31, paired their respective engineering and science backgrounds to develop a patentable feedback system that would alert medical professionals of changes in pressure points of patients in hospital beds.Polycore oil paintings for sale are manufactured as a single sheet, The medical practitioner could, from a remote location,Boddingtons Technical Plastics provide a complete plastic injection moulding service including design， monitor and prioritize attention to multiple patients at a time.

Though the project is still in pilot stages, Tighe and Mravyan say the cost of manufacturing one unit would be $400, and every retrofitted hospital bed would save roughly $3,600 a year. They need $100,000 to get the pilot project of the ground.

O’Leary was intrigued, noting that the key to success would be selling the SensiMat to hospitals through a hardware distribution company.

Rainbow Acres strikes gold with dairy calf facility near Swanville

Dave VanHeel wanted to bring the farm's calves, which were custom raised on other farms,Welcome to the official Facebook Page about Ripcurl. home to the dairy operation, but he needed a building to house them.

The Swanville dairy farmer found his answer in a shuttered 400-foot chicken layer barn he purchased in July 2008. VanHeel gutted the building and remodeled it into a calf facility. The environment controlled barn is now home to 300 calves. The barn has tube ventilation, a nursery, computer-fed pens, weaning pens and a milk pasteurizer.

VanHeel's calf barn was one of five farm stops on the recent Minnesota Milk Producers' Summer Bus Tour.The same Air purifier, cover removed.

"This facility was just sitting empty," he said. "We bought it and completely gutted it."

He knew ventilation would be an issue in the quonset-style building. He installed tube ventilation and fans to improve air flow. Additional fans will be installed this summer to handle dead air spaces where he's also noticed more respiratory issues with the calves.

Before he brought the calves back to the farm, VanHeel considered other calf housing options. He also talked to the University of Minnesota Extension Service and Land O'Lakes.

VanHeel considered automatic feeders, individual pens for newborn calves and pasteurized milk. He was able to incorporate all three in his calf facility's design.

MMPA noted the barn's success in a profile of the facility. The barn has a good ventilation system, clean calving environment and good dry cow and calf vaccination programs,This page list rubber hose products with details & specifications. the profile noted. The pens are clean with good bedding and the farm also stresses good management to identify and treat sick calves.

Rainbow Acres Dairy's calf facility has a continuous flow pastuerizer. It takes cold milk out of a tank and quickly warms it up, said calf facility manager Ashley Gonquist.The name "magic cube" is not unique.

Two tanks store and pasteurize the milk. Automatic feeders are used.

They rarely treat scours, said Gonquist.

The calves are in individual pens in the nursery for seven to 10 days and are then moved into group pens, she said. The individual pens allow VanHeel and workers to pay close attention.

There are six milk pens and four wean pens in the facility. The nursery has 56 pens.

It is now a part of Rainbow Acres Dairy. VanHeel started the operation in 1991.The Leading zentai suits Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers. He had 30 cows and milked them in a tie-stall barn, he said. VanHeel added 20 cows every couple of years. By 1994, had grown the herd to 114 milking cows. Two years later he added a free-stall barn for 250 and by 2002 he built another free-stall barn for 250 with a slatted floor.

He put in a double-20 parlor in 2007 and in 2008 he constructed a compost barn and had 1,000 cows with 800 in milk.

He operates the farm with his wife, Karen, and their sons, Shawn, Michael and Daniel. Bret Butterfass is the dairy's herdsman. Rainbow Acres employs 15 full- and part-time people.

Bravery may not be enough to bring justice to Mexico

Marisela Morales arrived as Mexico's first female attorney general with high marks for bravery.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton honored Morales as one of this year's "International Women of Courage," lauding her as a fearless leader in the fight to bring to justice Mexico's most dangerous crimi

But it will take more than courage if Morales is to succeed as attorney general, one of the most important figures in the government's war against violent drug-trafficking groups, which has killed nearly 40,000 people. Just three months into the job, her efforts have been undermined by the botched prosecution of a high-profile case, highlighting the challenge she faces in a judicial system racked by corruption, inefficiency and inertia.

Morales, a 41-year-old career prosecutor who cut her teeth working gang slayings in Mexico City, is one of the few women of rank anywhere in Mexican law enforcement. The divorced mother had already blazed new paths when she was named the head of Mexico's organized-crime bureau in 2008.Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services.

Morales' supporters in Mexico describe a hands-on prosecutor, empathetic and straight as an arrow, and U.S.the Injection mold fast! drug agents here long have talked glowingly of Morales. A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from 2009 described her ties with American officials as "excellent," in contrast with other Mexican officials who were criticized harshly in the cables and taken to task for failing to wage the drug war effectively.

But Morales has plenty of critics who accuse her of using her legal powers to punish foes of President Felipe Calderon, a conservative.

"She's a puppet," said Leticia Quezada, a leftist congresswoman.

And despite the enthusiastic U.S. backing, Morales sits atop a dinosaur of an agency whose spotty courtroom record and reputation for lethargy make it a weak link in the 4 1/2-year-old drug war.

The agency has had trouble making cases stick. Of 106,320 arrests in 2010 for federal crimes of all types, fewer than 30% resulted in formal charges, according to government figures obtained by the daily Excelsior newspaper this year. The remaining cases were tossed out by judges for lack of evidence.

In the drug war, Mexican forces made more than 82,000 arrests for trafficking between late 2006 and last August, according to official numbers.

But the attorney general's office, known in Spanish as the PGR, does not provide details on how those cases end,we supply all kinds of oil painting reproduction, making it difficult to judge performance.Welcome to the official Facebook Page about Ripcurl. Part of the problem, analysts say, is that it lacks a modern system for reliably tracking cases and outcomes. Few cases are computerized, for example.

"We have an accountability problem," said Ernesto Lopez Portillo, an expert on Mexican law enforcement. He said the PGR suffers from many of the same problems it did when he was an advisor there in the early 1990s.

Moreover, many specialists agree,The newest Ipod nano 5th is incontrovertibly a step up from last year's model, the PGR has been weakened by a shuffling of investigative responsibilities as Calderon has focused attention and funds on strengthening the federal police, which has a lead role in the drug fight.

The federal police agency, whose budget is about triple that of the PGR, is led by Genaro Garcia Luna, a canny infighter known for his hyperkinetic pace. The result is an emphasis on arrests and police action, with prosecutions almost an afterthought.

"The PGR is certainly not today what it was 10 years ago," said David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego and an expert on Mexican justice. "It has languished."

Wilfrido Robledo, who quit as head of the PGR's investigative police after Morales took over, depicted deep weaknesses as he left. In a leaked report, Robledo, a navy admiral, complained of personnel cutbacks and sagging morale and lamented what he called a "lack of credibility in the institution" as organized crime grew stronger.

Morales and the PGR were humiliated last month when a federal judge threw out weapons charges against former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, citing lack of evidence.

Suspicions of links to organized crime long swirled around Hank, and his release was seen by many as another failure by the attorney general's office. An editorial cartoon showed Morales, with feet where her hands should be, fumbling a fish bearing Hank's face.

Columnist Carlos Puig proposed scrapping the PGR and starting over, saying it would be "much simpler than trying to reform an abandoned, ill-treated, beaten institution."

We want to, first of all

A Jerusalem hotel launched the city's second annual waiters' race,you will need to get an offshore merchant account. mimicking a French tradition that has become a world attraction.

In full uniforms, about thirty waiters made thier way down a 200 metre race track balancing trays of food, a bottle and a full glass of red wine.Detailed information on the causes of Hemorrhoids,

'We want to, first of all, to check the professionally of all our waiters and second, it's a sportive way to promote the service at the hotel,Houston-based Quicksilver Resources said Friday it had reached pipeline deals' David Ashkenazi, CEO of Jerusalem's Grand Court hotel,dstti Replacement Projector Lamp and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. organisers of the contest, said.

Competitors raced through the hotel's carpark and nearby streets, attempting to finish the race as quickly as possible without spilling the wine glass. The one who spilt the least amount of wine out of the first three finishers, was declared the winner.

Bassel Halawani from the Wadi El Joz neighbourhood of East Jerusalem won the race for a second year running. Halawani finished in a time of 55 seconds, winning the opportunity to represent his workplace in the annual 'Garcons de Cafe' waiters' race held in Paris.

'I'm the first one from a year ago and now this is the same. I'm feeling very well, it's good for me to be all the time the first one and I hope to go to the championship, to get the first one in the world champion,What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies.' star-waiter Halawani told reporters after his victory.

The French version of the race, an eight kilometre run, has much stricter rules, demanding the tray will be held at shoulder level and supported with only one hand.

The location is stellar

All these conveniences will be found in its Allure 10-storey residence on Yonge Street, just north of Davisville Avenue.

"The location is stellar," says director of marketing, Susan Crangle. "It's right on the Yonge Street subway line between St. Clair and Eglinton, which are two really vibrant spots with so many shops, parks and green space.The Leading zentai suits Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers."

The infill project is just steps from restaurants, bars, supermarkets, movie theatres and the popular Kay Gardner Beltline trail.

New shops on Yonge Street will be added at the base of this brick, stone and pre-cast mid-rise, as well as a porte coch¨¨re and carriageway entrance on Glebe Road West, which is a dead-end street the builder will recreate with new sidewalks, trees, lights and a steel art installation.

"It'll be pretty and quiet, and people appreciate that," says Ms. Crangle. "[It] makes it a more luxury-type building."

Inside, there will be a lobby with 24-hour concierge, a party space, dining area, media lounge and games room, in addition to a second-floor fitness studio, cardio and weight rooms, and a spa-like relaxation area.What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies.

A rooftop deck will be outfitted with a fireplace and barbecues.

These facilities will be quickly accessible with three elevators to service the 197 suites on the floors above.

"It's a boutique building, so it's not a huge, tall tower," Ms. Crangle says. "The fact it has three elevators, for something that only has 10 storeys, is quite rare."

There will be open living spaces and a balcony or terrace in each model, which range from studios to two-bedroom plus den suites. "A lot of the one bedroom [units] have 1baths, which is a rarity," Ms. Crangle adds.

Luxury features will be standard,the Injection mold fast! such as nine- and 10-foot ceilings and hardwood, ceramic and porcelain flooring,What are the top Hemroids treatments? along with contemporary kitchen cabinetry, granite counters, and fully integrated appliances.

Upgraded versions of these finishes will be available for Signature series suites on the top floors.

To improve indoor air quality and reduce operating costs for owners, the mid-rise will be constructed to meet the city's green building standards.Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts, Some green features will include high-efficiency boilers, energy-efficient windows and water-saving bathroom fixtures, plus separately metered utilities.

For the first time, the builder will incorporate a unique water filtration treatment system.

"The advanced system delivers water certified 99.999 per cent microbiologically pure to every tap in the building," says Ms. Crangle. "So you don't have to use plastic bottled water."

Monthly maintenance fees will be about 50 cents per square foot.