Outlast Let #39;s Play #6 [Never Check Facebook]
The Cat Slasher attempts to set off the sprinkler system while periodically checking Facebook in an insane asylum. Also The Cat Slasher just barely survives ...

By: TheCat Slasher

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Outlast Let's Play #6 [Never Check Facebook] - Video

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - A fire, and the sprinkler system that subsequently put it out,caused some damageto a Knoxville apartment complex unit.

According to the Knoxville Fire Department, crewsresponded to reports of a fire at a Summit Tower apartment unitaround 4:20 a.m. on Saturday.

Firefighters say they saw flames on the sixth floor from outside the building. Once they made it to the floor, crews say the hallway had become filled with smoke, but that the fire had been mostly extinguished by a sprinkler system.

Officials say no one was found inside the unit.

Firefighters say they began venting the smoke, stopping the water flow, and pushing the water that had made its way from the apartment floor to the complex's hallway.

A few apartments below the floor reported minimal water damage.

Officials say they were informed by the complex's manager that are searching for an empty apartment to temporarily lodge the displaced resident.

If none are available, the American Red Cross of Knoxville will assist with a place to stay.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire, causes some water damage

Portable storage sheds at OriginalShelters.com

By: Tom Storage

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Portable storage sheds at OriginalShelters.com - Video

By Nick Cunningham for OilPrice.com

The oil industry may be in the midst of entering a new phase of high costs and slower growth. New oil discoveries are harder to come by, and the scramble to replace depleting production is costing more and more. The days of the large discovery that is easy to tap into are gone. Now, the industry has to go to the ends of the earth to get more oil. And for years, the majors were happy to do so capital expenditures rose significantly over the last decade for most of the largest oil companies. But the main problem? Production for many of them has not increased in a corresponding fashion.

Now, instead of blowing evermore cash on boosting booked reserves, several oil companies are pulling back in order to shore up profitability. That means passing on huge projects, divesting from underperforming ones, and focusing on core assets. Much of the cash raised will then be returned to shareholders in buybacks or dividends to prop up their stock prices. This shift to a conservative approach was evident in the most recent earnings season.

Shell (RDS-A) made the most headlines by scrapping its Arctic program (for 2014 at least), selling off a $1.1 billion stake in the Wheatstone LNG project in Australia, and selling $1 billion of assets in an offshore oil project in Brazil. Last year it wrote down $2 billion for a gas-to-liquids facility in Louisiana. Most recently, Shell informed Canadian regulators that it will stop work on a proposed oil sands mine in Alberta as it reevaluates the timing of various asset developments with a focus on maintaining a competitive business and successful delivery of near-term growth projects. It also announced plans to sell off assets in the North Sea. All told, Shell plans on divesting $15 billion over the next two years. This is because production slipped 5% over the last year despite huge spending.

Chevron (CVX) is also divesting some assets to improve its balance sheet, although not to the degree of Shell. Its oil production declined 3.5% in 2013 compared to the year before, and it posted negative free cash flow for the year. Its cutting its spending by 5% to reduce cash flow pressure. CEO John Watson said that 2014 will be its peak year for its LNG spending after two major Australian projects near completion. But, despite the trouble, Chevron is still investing $40 billion in 2014 in an effort to increase oil and gas production by 25% by 2017.

BP (BP) wrapped up a massive divestiture plan last year, to the tune of $38 billion. Its situation is unique in that its overwhelming motivation was to pay for the historic Macondo well blow out in 2010 and all the legal mess that followed. Yet, BP may continue shedding assets to raise cash and cut costs. Fuel Fix reports that BP may sell an additional $10 billion in assets by 2015. The asset sales cut production for the oil giant, which fell 1.9% in 2013. BP also expects production in 2014 to continue to fall. It posted a 30% decline in fourth quarter profit, although BPs CEO thinks its remaining assets are in good shape.

In this new era of difficult oil, major oil companies are selling assets in order to operate leaner and smarter. This makes sense. Throwing billions of dollars at projects that fail to live up to their billing is not a recipe for success. The flip side is that the failure to find and book new reserves means that many oil companies face an uncertain future as their current production levels slowly decline and they decline to invest in new fields.

Read the original article at OilPrice.com.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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Big Oil Sheds Assets to Fix Balance Sheets

Ford Motor Co.s new F-150 pickup sheds 700 pounds from its body and chassis, but to get there, the Dearborn automaker needed help from about a dozen hefty men.

In an effort to improve the durability of its leather-wrapped truck seats, Ford hired a firm to enlist the help of men of a certain size specifically, those weighing at least 265 pounds. Dressed in dirty jeans, their mission was to climb up into the drivers seat, get down and climb up again at least 10,000 times per truck.

The result of that punishment-testing is a pair of front seats made of higher-strength steel and tougher leather that weigh a combined 30 pounds less than the current seats, but are able to withstand consistent beating from the beefiest and grimiest truck drivers.

Even though our seats met our internal standards, we were getting a few customers, especially with our leather seats, where the leather was cracking and not living up to expectations, said Tim Dunn, Fords North American seat complete engineer manager, in an interview. Ford eventually found a contributing factor in addition to weight: dirt. Most seat durability testing is done by robot, but engineers were wary of how dirt could mess with robots and never tried the combination.

Enter the seat testers. Clad in stiff new jeans, they worked as many as 10 hours each day for about a week in scorching heat last summer in Taylor. Oh, yeah: The participants had to wear the same jeans throughout the process to emulate long-term wear and tear. That got to be both sticky and uncomfortable as the combination of dirt a standardized test material known as Arizona dust which was patted onto truck seats every 500 sits and sweat began to cake on the denims bottoms and inseams.

Though it wasnt known exactly how much the seat testers were paid, it apparently wasnt enough: The firm had to increase the pay rate to avoid losing participants and having to start over, Dunn said.

A couple of them said it just wasnt worth it for what they were getting paid, making $60 to $70 a day, he said.

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Ford hires 265-pound men to test F-150 seats

Grounds for Problems

Dear Heloise: In a recent Washington Post article, you stated that leftover COFFEE GROUNDS should never be put down the garbage disposal. Why? Al S., via email

Al, you and many readers were curious, so heres the scoop. Its not that the disposal wont handle them; it does grind up all sorts of food. Its when they go down the drain and supposedly disappear into the sewer system. That black hole in the kitchen sink is attached to the plumbing, and thats where the problem might come up and, well, really stop things up!

Look under the kitchen sink, and you will see a P-trap (I say it looks like a bent elbow). If you dont run enough water (and most folks dont), the grounds can get stuck in there or in the plumbing farther down the line.

Then you add other foods scraped from plates, or you wash a pan that has grease or oil on it. Combine all of these factors, and you just might end up with a clogged drain. My mantra: Its better to prevent a problem than to have to deal with one.

When in doubt, throw it out! If you live in a house, the plumbing can run a long way to the sewer or septic system.

Hope this helps clear up the coffee-grounds question. Heloise

PET PAL

Dear Readers: Debra Amos in Moulton, Ala., sent a photo of her blue-eyed Lab puppy, Crystal Dynasty, sleeping wedged between furniture. She was named after her owners alma maters numerous national football championship titles. She is full of personality and has become the ambassador for a nonprofit organization that her owner runs. To see Crystals photo, go to http://www.Heloise.com and click on Pets. - Heloise

YEAR-ROUND LABELS

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Hints from Heloise 2/15/2014

Every room needs some drama, dont you think? Something powerful that singlehandedly escalates the space above the ordinary. My pick? A big, beautiful, wooden cabinet. Whether its a bookcase that spans the expanse of the wall or a hutch that kisses the ceiling, the visual impact of these large-scale chests is bigger than life and takes the look of interior spaces to the next level. Here are the top four reasons I include them in every interior design plan:

1. Big wood cabinets are at home everywhere.

I cant think of a room in the house where a big wood cabinet would not be a great addition. They somehow magically expand the walls of small rooms, making them seem spacious. Just as amazingly, they make big, cavernous rooms feel more intimate. They work in very formal spaces and in casual rooms, are great just for show but can also work hard, storing everything under the sun.

Here are the top places I like to place huge cabinets:

KITCHENS. Built-in cabinets are wonderful, but sometimes its fun to mix up the storage in a kitchen by adding a large, free-standing hutch in a contrasting style or color. Its unexpected and provocative.

BATHROOMS. Is it possible to have too much storage space in a bathroom, seriously? Of course, I have a historic home with tiny baths, so I am always hungry for a place to put towels, toiletries everything. Big cabinets do the trick. Fill them with fluffy white towels rolled up in beautiful swirls. Grab a silver tray and a variety of glass jars and decorate them with tableaus of toiletries. Heaven!

LAUNDRY ROOMS. I have the worlds scariest laundry room down in my creepy dungeon like basement. But in my dreams, I have a laundry room big enough for a fabulous cabinet that would make this workroom every bit as beautiful as any other room in the house. Filling the chest with decorative accents, adds an unexpected spark for a laundry room. But it could just as easily hold laundry essentials, like soaps in pretty jars or baskets hiding soiled stuff ready to dump in the machine.

PLAY ROOM. Have little kids or grandkids that have a gazillion toys? Place a big cabinet in their play room and fill it up with books, toys, games and music. When playtime is over and the toys are stored away, the room will look polished and stylish. (For safety, be sure to secure the cabinet to the wall.)

LIBRARY OR STUDY. There is nothing more lovely than a huge bookcase stuffed full of books. When youre married to an avid reader, like I am, its a necessity.

DINING ROOM. We dish addicts always need extra spots to store dishes. How about filling a wall in your dining room with a large cabinet to hold your serving pieces and extra sets?

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Style at Home: Add majesty to your room with a wood cabinet

HOLLYWOOD

For years, 94 untested rape kits were left sitting in an evidence room refrigerator at the Hollywood Police Department.

The kits, some dating back to 2005, are now in the spotlight as the department's top brass reviews what went wrong and why.

The kits were discovered shortly after Frank Fernandez, who took over as chief in August, ordered an audit of the entire department, including the property and evidence room where the rape kits were found.

Of the 162 rape kits discovered in the fridge, 94 were never taken to the Crime Lab at the Broward Sheriff's Office for testing, records show.

After being tagged as top priorities, 24 of the kits were sent to the lab and three are being tested right now, said Hollywood spokeswoman Raelin Storey.

"There are a small number of kits we believe should have been tested," Storey said. "We raced those to BSO right away."

Fernandez says the problem has since been corrected and won't happen again.

"I don't want people to think we have 94 rapists out there running around," Fernandez said. "This is an evolving process. We found the situation. It's been addressed. There is a new process in place and we are working closer with the lab."

Fernandez said no mistakes were made by staff because they followed the protocol that existed at the time.

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Hollywood police find untested rape kits in evidence room refrigerator

Boston Roofers Replacement Roof Call (781) 471-4101
http://bostonroofing.net Boston Roofers Replacement Roof Call (781) 471-4101 Has your home,roof been damaged, weakened by brutal storms, years of weather, sn...

By: Boston Roofing

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Boston Roofers Replacement Roof Call (781) 471-4101 - Video

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