Animal Rescue League of Boston is fundraising to renovate Dedham branch

Once Dedham's branch of the Animal Rescue League of Boston reaches its $1.Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet,2 million fundraising goal, approximately 50 animals waiting for adoption could get a new temporary home.

Jennifer Wooliscroft, director of communications for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said the renovations to the group's 27-year-old building will start in the next few weeks and will be done in the fall to avoid cold weather expenses.

"We're going to use the same structure, just create more efficient space and kenneling space that will optimize animal care," she said. "It will all be done in eco-friendly terms."

The center has been operating with outdated equipment and old space, Wooliscroft said. It was modeled after a 1950s shelter, which was designed for short stays. However, Wooliscroft told the Dedham Transcript that the shelter has taken in animals for months at a time if they undergo a long recovery.

She pointed to the story of Sweetie, a 10-year-old cat, who had a severe dental disease and was 18 pounds overweight. Sweetie lived at the shelter for 10 months until she was adopted at a healthier weight of 11 pounds.

"You can basically eliminate shelter illness with proper ventilation, proper spacing (and) an adequate layout because when animals are together in a tight space (and) one gets a respiratory infection, soon enough you have the shelter-full," she said.

The renovation project will improve the animals' living conditions by using the existing footprint of the building, which is the most cost effective way than a total teardown, Wooliscroft said.

Hutter Construction and ARQ Architects will increase the center's 4,200-square-foot size by 650 square feet.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store The center will use natural sunlight and ventilation, as well as more eco-friendly systems that use less energy, Wooliscroft said.

Rainwater will be collected from the roof and used for cleaning the shelter. This, Wooliscroft said, will reduce the drinking water that is drawn from the town's system. There will also be a geothermal heat exchanger and solar thermal collectors to help with heating and cooling of the shelter, she said.

With these eco-friendly renovations the building at 55 Anna's Place will be recertified, becoming the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified animal center in Massachusetts,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, Wooliscroft said.

The building will be closed during renovations,the Injection mold fast! but the center will remain functional. Animals ready for adoption will be transferred to customized trailers in Dedham, and surrender animals will go to the shelter's headquarters in Boston, Wooliscroft said.A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass.

The $2.7 million project will be funded through donations. The League's Capital Trust, a fund that maintains the shelter's facilities, has released $1.5 million in capital funding, she said. The center must now raise $1.2 million from public and foundation support.

Wooliscroft is confident the center will raise the funds because the renovation is critical.

"Obviously we are not going to leave it half-built," she said. "We will find a way to get this done … We have raised $535,000 since January and we have to get to $1.2 million. We need to continue reaching out to the community and try to get support from Dedham and the surrounding towns that use our services."

An attendee at the shelter's April 2 open house donated $10,000 after the Dedham Transcript published a notice about the event, she said.

The local community has been generous with the shelter, Wooliscroft said. Area elementary schools have raised money for the renovations and the PETCO Foundation has donated $50,000 towards the project.

Solar-powered lawn care a cut above the rest

Clean Air Landscaping is a zero-emission lawn-care company that uses more than just push mowers or solar-powered rakes, a joke Barry McLean said he has heard many times.

The company runs mowers, trimmers and blowers off battery or electric power, with corded blowers or trimmers connected to a trailer that is outfitted with solar panels.

Although the connection between landscapers and the environment is strong, Mr. McLean said "it seems to me that there are a thousand landscapers in Victoria,the Injection mold fast! but they aren't being environmentally conscious."

However, he said he does not consider himself an environmentalist. "This just seemed to be an opportunity that wasn't really addressed," Mr. McLean said.

His customers seem interested in the idea. "The thing commercial businesses really like about our business is they can show their customers and their client base that these are some of the steps the company is taking to re-duce their carbon footprint."

Mr. McLean has also had interest from people wanting to franchise the business from as far away as Ontario, although he is waiting until 2012 to begin expanding. His own company entered the scene only in July 2010 as what is considered the first solar-powered lawn-care company in Canada.

Mr. McLean said his business is up for its first two awards this month, including a community environmental award that was to be presented recently.

Mr. McLean happened upon the idea of starting a landscaping business when he was fixing up his own yard, "renovating" the space with rocks and grass. He said he is accustomed to outdoor work from growing up on a farm in Manitoba and comfortable with running his own business from his time at a company called Volleyball Prospects, which he ran for about five years.

The idea of a zeroemissions company came through research into the landscaping business, Mr. McLean said, when he discovered that 80,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas and emissions are released by gaspowered lawn equipment. An inefficient two-stroke gas mower can emit the same amount of pollution in one hour as driving a new car 550 kilometres.

Mr.Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, McLean said his basic equipment is commercially available and not hard to acquire. He simply uses mowers and trimmers available in retail outlets, as well as a hybrid GMC Sierra Truck.

However, gearing up the trailer with solar panels and an inverter, as well as the capacity to carry his equipment, was a bit more difficult to assemble. "There's no programs here, no incentives in B.C. to use solar power,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings," he said.

It was also his first time working with solar energy.

However, Mr. McLean said the biggest challenge of his business is getting customers to take the zero-emissions seriously -many just don't connect landscaping with solar power.

Yet what his customers do immediately appreciate is that his machinery is less noisy, with the mowers running as much as 40% quieter, which is noticeable as gaspowered mowers run up to 100 decibels.A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass.

A normal conversation is around 60 decibels, and a battery-powered mower around 75 decibels.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store

The machinery is just as efficient as gas-powered equipment and, although slightly more expensive, Mr. McLean said his customers have been happy with quality and costs that are equal to his competition.

Through a program with Gander Mountain

My neighbor John stopped to chat the other morning. He's a park ranger for Pennsylvania State Parks,A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. and he was telling me about a new program his park, Caledonia State Park, offers to first-time campers.

Through a program with Gander Mountain, his park, along with 11 others, offers the use of camping gear including tents and stoves, and he thinks sleeping pads. Rangers will help first-time camping families set up their first campsites, show them how to light stoves,the Injection mold fast!Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, make campfires and put up the tent.

Campers need to bring food, toiletries, bedding, and cooking utensils and a cooler to keep food cold and safe. It sounds like a great way to try camping,Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, if you've never camped before but think you and your family might enjoy it.

The Department of Conservation and Parks wants folks to enjoy the outdoors. You can find more information online on their web site. John didn't know which other campgrounds offer the camping-gear program, but it should be on the web site along with rental yurts and cabins that are offered at some of our parks.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store

Bass season opens next Saturday, June 18. Be sure to read carefully all the regulations provided in the 2011 Fishing Summary. Some places such as the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers are now no-kill, while others fall under special big bass regulations, depending on which water you plan to fish.

Bass should still be in the shallows on most of our lakes because they are just coming off their spawning beds. Try spinnerbaits cast to weed beds or blown-down trees.


Another lure becoming popular with bass anglers is the Senko worm-like plastic bait. Fishermen hook them in the middle with a large-size 1/0 or 2/0 hook and just let them sink. Years ago we used to call the technique "do nothing," and one of the tricks we found that made the lure even more enticing was to weight one end of the worm-like lure.

We used nails, and some bass guys I know had their very own plastic box filled with a selection of nails from size-four common nails to size-four finishing nails. The added weight on just the one side gave an enticing extra wiggle to the lure.

I still like the old Johnson Super Float Worms embedded with a size-2 blued sproat hook. I usually use a bullet-shaped sinker, but instead of pointing the point away from the hook and worm, I reversed it. The cupped shape of the reversed sinker kicks up a little more dirt and debris as I drag it across the bottom, and I think it attracts more fish.

The Fish and Boat Commission policy today is you can pretty much catch bass all year, but except during the regular season you must catch and immediately release your fish. If you want to kill some for the skillet, wait until Saturday.

Utility takes on solar challenge with grid redesign

Adding more clean power to the grid will require utilities to redesign the network that delivers solar electricity locally. Utility Southern California Edison on laid out plans Monday to make its distribution grid more responsive to the fluctuating infusion of solar electricity throughout the day.

Specifically, SCE is investigating new inverter and distribution circuit designs that will help it incorporate more solar electricity, said Mike Montoya, director of grid advancement at SCE. An inverter is a critical component of a solar electric system that converts the direct current from the solar panels into alternating current, which is necessary for feeding the grid or for using the electricity on-site (appliances run on AC power). A circuit is a distribution line for connecting homes and businesses to the nearest substation, which receives electricity from power plants and modifies its voltage before sending it to customers.

One of the big problems with solar electricity is that the amount of solar power produced fluctuates throughout the day, depending on time of day, amount of clouds in the sky, and location. These changes can cause significant voltage fluctuations that are run counter to a utility trying to run a grid smoothly.

Figuring out how to accommodate more solar electricity into the grid is a big challenge for utilities, particularly when many states require their utilities to add more renewable electricity into their power supply. California recently mandated that 33 percent of the electricity supply needs to come from clean power by 2020. Although renewable energy can come from wind, biomass, geothermal and others, solar is emerging to be a major source because it can be deployed in a variety of locations, from giant power plants in the desert to small systems on the rooftops of homes and businesses. California also runs an incentive program that encourage home and business owners to add solar.

SCE is carrying out a 500 MW solar program that will split solar generation evenly between systems owned and operated by SCE and those by independent power producers, who will sell the electricity to SCE. The utility on Monday said four new projects that fall under the utility-owned category have been completed. SCE leased the rooftop space of industrial buildings owned by Prologis to install four systems, which total 7 MW. SCE has built 15 projects, totaling 28.75 MW so far.

The growing installation of rooftop solar electric systems in cities also adds complexity to running the grid. A distribution network, made up of many circuits, has historically been designed for one-way transferring of power (from fossil fuel power plants to homes and businesses).A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. With rooftop solar,Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store the electricity that isn't used onsite will flow from many spots at the termination points of the distribution network.In addition to hydraulics fittings and Aion Kinah,

"The distribution [technology] has been around for 100 years. In a future with photovoltaics, we will need power going bi-directionally, with the power going back to the substation," Montoya said.

What SCE – and other utilities – want to do is to make their distribution networks more responsive to voltage and other changes as more solar electricity enters the grid. One way to tackle this challenge is to design inverters so that the inverters can adjust the voltages more quickly, Montoya said. Inverter companies have told SCE that they can make it happen by changing the software that runs the inverters, Montoya said.

The SCE wants to make this voltage-response to feature a standard and is participating in technical standards-setting organizations such as IEEE and IEC. Adding a new standard generally takes a few years at least, however.the Injection mold fast! Since the utility will see more solar energy installations in the meantime, it's working with inverter makers to make the change for systems that will be installed in the SCE territory, Montoya said.

SCE engineers also are working on new circuit designs that will be more responsive to the flow of solar electricity. One project is looking at using capacitors that will act more like dimmer switches than on/off switches, said Gil Alexander, a SCE spokesman.Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, Another project will look at connecting the circuits and sectioning them in ways that will make it possible for SCE to better monitor voltage changes, identify problems, and fix those problems without causing service interruptions to many customers, Montoya said.

AndyPad brings iPad-like performance for under 250, claims owner

Is there really a market for budget tablets? The makers of the AndyPad tablet think there is and they're out to grab themselves a piece of the action with a sub-250 Android-powered tablet that doesn't scrimp on quality.

Andy Kerry, Mattressman MD, unveiled his plans for the aptly named AndyPad this week.

One thing he forgot to mention, however,Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, was what kind of spec of the device would be packing when it launches.

So what,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, exactly, does bedding have to do with tablets? Nothing,Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services. as it goes.This page list rubber hose products with details & specifications. But this hasn't stopped Kerry from pushing forward with the AndyPad plan.

According to reports, Kerry says the AndyPad will be differentiated from the competition by offering a wide range of 'popular' free apps that can be installed out of the box.

The guys over at Modaco seem to think that the AndyPad will run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Modaco also got a sneak peek at the device and says it's a 7-inch affair with HDMI, microUSB and microSD with hardware buttons below the tablet's setback screen.

Know Your Mobile exclusively spoke to AndyPad's Business Development Executive, George Eastmead, who told us the following:

'As there's so many tablets out there, we found it hard to believe that no one had done what we're about to do before: build a tablet that is both affordable and of a decent quality!'

He added: 'I can't reveal too many of the specs straight away, but I can confirm that the Andy Pad will feature a competitive processor, 1080p HD out and be able to run the latest 3D games. This is going to be THE tablet for the guy who wants an iPad, but can't afford it.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store'

On pricing Eastmead added: "I can confirm that the Andy Pad will be less expensive than the Advent Vega was at launch [250]. The Andy Pad has been built with quality in mind straight from day one. The Andy Pad will compete with the lowest prices out there, but offer a much higher spec and build quality than ALL of its rivals."

The firm's press release for the device states that the AndyPad is not named after its creator (although, we can see why they'd want to clear that up) but instead take its name from Google's Android platform moniker.

Unfortunately, this still doesn't change the fact that it's called 'The AndyPad.'

The press release also confirms that the AndyPad will be in the UK by September and will 'transform the tablet PC universe¡­'

Big words, indeed. Lets just hope the AndyPad steps up to the challenge and delivers on its promise.

Suzy's Zoo Signs Up New Licensee

LONDON/SAN DIEGO: Suncrest Trading is the latest licensee to come on board for Suzy's Zoo, via a deal signed by DCD Publishing,Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store the brand's U.K.Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, licensing agent.

Suncrest will be developing nursery bedding and accessories, development toys, preschool car and travel accessories. The items, which will feature characters from Suzy's Zoo and Little Suzy's Zoo, will be available for purchase in the U.K. starting in September.

"We are really excited to see this great merchandise with our characters in the UK!" saCustomized imprinted and promotional usb flash drives.id Suzy's Zoo creator, Suzy Spafford. "We are truly looking forward to working with Suncrest on this endeavor."

"Suncrest are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Suzy's Zoo on this project," added Bryony Coles, the commercial director for Suncrest. "With its fantastic characters and rich heritage it gives us a really exciting proposition to offer our customers."

"We at DCD Publishing are very proud to welcome Suncrest into Witzy's world and very much look forward to working with them to bring the Suzy's Zoo range of nursery products to the high street," commented Michael Gottlieb,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, the head of licensing at DCD Publishing.Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services.

Intercoil selects Microsoft Dynamics to streamline its operations and to drive down cost

Microsoft Gulf announced that Intercoil International, one of the MENA region's leading bedding companies, is implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Intercoil was seeking to accelerate business decision-making by replacing the production and financial legacy applications with Microsoft's single, integrated platform.


Microsoft Dynamics is an adaptable business management solution that helps improve efficiency,Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, allows for better visibility into the entire organization,uy sculpture direct from us at low prices and reduces IT complexity.

"As a leader in the bedding industry in the MENA region, Intercoil uses state-of-the art technology that helps us to provide our customers with high quality products and services," said Hassan Al-Haseem, Managing Director, Intercoil International. "With diversified business units and manufacturing facilities,Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services. we were looking for a solution that has the ability to streamline and simplify our daily operations and reduce our overall costs.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store Microsoft Dynamics AX was the obvious choice for its feature rich functionality and ability to efficiently connect all our departments together economically thereby providing us with an effective framework that enables improved decision-making."

"Organizations today are facing complex issues where they need to streamline operations and find ways to use resources more efficiently, without incurring extra costs," added Tamer Elhamy, Dynamics Lead at Microsoft Gulf. "Microsoft Dynamics AX is built for growing manufacturing companies that need to scale their operations seamlessly to new geographies while relying on a single common database. Microsoft Dynamics AX will enable Intercoil to look more deeply into its supply chain, and more intelligently into its decision-making. Intercoil is set to transform the way they work thereby enabling them to offer better customer service and compete more effectively in today's global marketplace."

Microsoft Dynamics AX will be deployed by strategic partner Columbus IT Middle East, across several business areas that include Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, HRM, Payroll and Maintenance Management. Columbus IT has worked closely with Intercoil to implement the Microsoft Dynamics AX solution.

Qasid Parker, Chief Operating Officer, Columbus IT MEA and India,Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, said, "After a stringent evaluation and thorough analysis, Columbus IT has been chosen to implement this project. Columbus IT with its global delivery capabilities and experienced consulting workforce, will deploy industry best practices to optimize and integrate the flow of information across business areas to provide Intercoil a scalable, robust and adaptable solution to their business needs. We are proud to be associated with Intercoil in this engagement."

The implementation of a solid technology platform will bring business benefits by allowing Intercoil to automate business processes across the company's offices, distribution centres and retail locations across the region, improving productivity across the organization. Supply chain management can be streamlined by Dynamics AX, with processes across the supply chain being widely automated, improving planning, optimizing inventory levels, reducing costs and enabling faster response to changes in customer demand. In addition, Dynamics AX delivers value-added technical advancements and out-of-the-box integration with other Microsoft technologies, thereby improving total cost of ownership.