10:17 08 November 2014

Adele Table Lamp in Champagne, John Lewis. PA Photo/Handout

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How you light a room is - perhaps surprisingly - one of the most important factors of a decor scheme.

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Consider all the different levels of lighting in the room, from the ceiling lights and pendants, to uplighters and occasional lamps, urges Josephine Bennett, head of home design at Laura Ashley. All these aspects create different moods, which can be interchangeable throughout the day and night. Large, statement table lamps create a real focal point in the room, and provide an intimate light in the evening.

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The great thing about lighting is you can tune into the latest looks without spending a fortune. Obviously, a crystal chandelier or standout floor piece might make a dent in your savings, but a simple shade or statement table lamp can give a room a whole new look - and give you change from a 20 note.

Copper is a big highlight this season, and matches the autumnal palette perfectly.

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Interiors: How to create atmospheric lighting in each room in your house

Following a vicious headshot that sidelined Nathan Horton in Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals, a well-worn Starter jacket hung alone in his vacant locker stall. The jacket was awarded to the player of the game, and embodied the camaraderie of the tight-knit locker room. On that night, it served as a rallying cry.

The jacket was the brainchild of Andrew Ference.

Ference was an integral part of building a championship culture in Boston, on and off the ice. Now hes trying to take what hes learned to his team in Edmonton.

Following the 2012-13 season, Ference signed a four-year deal with the Oilers and was named their captain. Hed served as an alternate captain with the Bs, and it was clear Edmonton coveted him for his locker room presence in addition to his performance on the ice.

Those are really great lessons, Ference said yesterday of what he discovered as a Bruin. To see something that did take time and effort to build, but could be so successful once it was there. Thats some of the same messaging that you try to pass on to the situation that Im in, in Edmonton.

When Ference arrived via trade on Feb. 10, 2007, the Bs werent a playoff team and Dave Lewis was their coach. Their ascension to becoming among the NHLs elite was a process that occurred over the course of his seven-year tenure with the team, as was the jelling of the locker room.

In Edmonton he realizes that itll take time for a transformation to happen as well. The Oilers have been mired in mediocrity for almost a decade, but are one of the youngest teams in the league. They have four top-five draft picks that have yet to turn 23. The 35-year-old captain is trying to lead by example, as the youth on his club makes it an even more impressionable than most.

Ference says hes trying to create solidarity by doing things like, making sure the young guys, and everybody, are coming into the rink with a positive outlook. Creating an atmosphere that doesnt get rattled with that negativity or anything like that, and has the ability to look at the bigger picture.

The defenseman was resigned to the press box for last nights contest, as he was serving the second of a three-game ban for an illegal check on Vancouver forward Zack Kassian.

Ference wasnt happy about having to sit out at the Garden.

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Andrew Ference brings leadership lessons to Oilers

By Carisa Crawford Chappell November 7 at 9:29 AM

History is all around the Regency at Chancellorsville, an amenity-rich development in Fredericksburg for residents 55 and over that sits on portions of a onetime Civil War battlefield.

Once completed, the Regency at Chancellorsville will have 280 single-family houses.

Surrounded by woods with miles of paths, the community is a picturesque oasis near permanently protected open land dubbed the Chancellorsville Battlefield. This includes trails with plaques that explain the historic significance of the fighting on the site in the 1800s.

The development is named for the Battle of Chancellorsville, which was one of the major skirmishes of the Civil War in 1863. More than 30,000 soldiers were said to have died in the battle, including General Thomas Stonewall Jackson. The South, led by Generals Jackson and Robert E. Lee, defeated a large army from the North, resulting in one of Lees greatest victories for the Confederates.

Malcolm and Marge Huffman moved into the Spotsylvania County neighborhood at the end of May after downsizing from their single-family home on seven acres in King George County, about 25miles west of Fredericksburg. They were attracted to the size of the development and the extra amenities it offered.

A couple of years ago, we started to think if we should continue to stay or to downsize to a property with less maintenance, Malcolm Huffman said. After looking around at other 55-and-over communities in the area, they decided on the Toll Brothers development.

Tae Wills, sales manager for the Regency at Chancellorsville, said buyers in the community have been coming from all over the region. Recently, she said, she had buyers from LaPlata in southern Maryland who are looking for a maintenance-free lifestyle.

It was a good feeling hearing the lawn mower and knowing someone else was on the other side, said Huffman, adding that not having to cut the grass was a big selling point.

Built with guests in mind: The community offers four two-bedroom, two-bathroom home styles that are highly customizable and range mostly from 1,685 to 2,026square feet. All of the homes feature 10-foot ceilings on the main level, large walk-in closets and hardwood floors in the foyer, kitchen and breakfast rooms, and an attached two-car garage. The Bedford is $301,995 and is the smallest model. It offers an elegant foyer that opens into a 29- by 15-foot great room and dining room combination.

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History all around at amenity-rich Regency at Chancellorsville development

Googles Nexus Player should appeal to those who want smarter TVs. But it will need to do much more to be the hub of all home entertainment.

Googles Nexus Player lets you stream videos and music to your TV from the Web, and play games, too.

Last year, Google invited itself into the living room with the Chromecast, a $35 dongle that plugs into the back of any TV with an HDMI port and lets you play online videos and other content on your television from another device.

Now, Google hopes to get even comfier on the couch with the Nexus Player, a $99 black disc with a Bluetooth remote control that turns any TV with an HDMI port into an Internet-connected TV that can stream movies, play music and video games, and run select Android apps.

The simple, user-friendly design of the Nexus Players hardware and software, along with great voice search, make it a good deal for those who dont already have a connected TV. Assuming a larger number of apps become available in the near future, it may even eventually be worth it for people like myself who already have a connected TV but hate the interface.

The Nexus Player software is thoughtfully laid out, dominated by a row of popular movies and TV shows along with a handful of YouTube videos it thought I would like (based on my Google account history).

In addition to the puck-like Nexus Player, the devices box contained a power adapter and a slender, cheap-feeling, black remote controlyoull need to use your own HDMI cord, unfortunately. The remote has a handful of buttons, including a circular five-way directional button surrounding an enter button, another button for Googles voice search, and a button to get back to the main Nexus Player screen.

The simplicity makes it a cinch to figure out how to choose apps, videos, and the like, and I had no problem using the remote to zip from YouTube clips to Pandora to video games.

It has a few big problems, though. It lacks volume control, so youll have to keep a regular TV remote nearby. And I was dismayed to realize that some things still require the tedious one-letter-at-a-time username/password process common on so many systems that dont have a touch screen. This really slowed me down while setting up apps that require user accounts, like Netflix and Pandora.

The voice search button is the star of the remote. You can say obvious things like Zoolander to bring up the movie of that name, or get a little more complicated by asking for movies with a specific actor, from a certain genre, or nominated for an Oscar in, say, 2010. For the most part, voice search understood what I was saying, and it did yield some good results. It also seems to understand foreign movie titles, so long as you say them with an American accent; I figured this out while asking for Ma Vie en Rose.

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Googles Half-Finished Attempt to Take Over the Living Room

Park Theatre Update - November 3, 2014
In this latest update from the Park Theatre renovation project in McMinnville, Tennessee, we see how work on the terrazzo flooring in the lobby of the theatre has started, and learn about the...

By: ParkTheatreMcMinnvilleTN

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Park Theatre Update - November 3, 2014 - Video

In addition to satellites and computers smaller than a giant room, Arthur C. Clarke also predicted mobile touchscreen devices that could be crumpled up like a handkerchief and stuffed in a pocket. Thanks to researchers at Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory company, we're almost there.

At a recent display-focused trade show in Yokohama City in Japan, the company revealed the new foldable 8.7-inch touchscreen OLED display that features full HD resolution and a pixel density of 254ppi, but more importantly can be folded three times. That puts it somewhere between the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, but over time that will certainly be further improved to compete with screen technologies currently in use.

And while the tri-fold display can't quite be crumpled up and stuffed into a pocket, it does represent a novel way to increase the screen size of a smartphone, without pushing the hardware closer to the size of a tablet. With the screen folded away a smartphone could still be easily stashed in a pocket and used like a compact device. But when you wanted to watch a movie, browse photos, or even use multiple apps side-by-side, you could unfold the display so your pocket-friendly device was as spacious as a tablet. More importantly: we'd never have to hear the term phablet ever again. [Nikkie Technology]

Link:
Tri-Fold Touchscreen OLED Could Give You Way More Smartphone Real Estate

Rebecca and William Phalen felt their formal dining room needed a fresh look and little sparkle.

For help and ideas, the Phalens turned to Joann Kandrac, designer and co-owner of Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs. The couple had previously worked with their firm on several larger projects in their East Cobb home.

The new design had to incorporate the dining room table and, more importantly, the gold-framed oil painting of a marsh on St. Simons Island, where William grew up.

While the new rug, accessories and art (some reframed in brass) warmed up the traditional space, the contemporary and curvy brass chandelier adds some glitter and glamour.

The gold frame was the inspiration and key reason we incorporated brass into the room, said Kandrac. The fixture is a favorite of mine, and I was so excited when we had the opportunity to put it into a clients home.

The Phalens are thrilled with their new dining room, especially the 10-light Ringmaster Chandelier by Atlanta-based Currey & Co.

It adds a wow factor to the room, said Rebecca, an attorney and mother of three children, ages six, eight and 10. But the entire room is now more inviting.

If you havent noticed, brass is back. No, not that shiny lacquered brass of the 1980s and early 1990s.

If you elected to get rid of your old shiny brass fixtures, faucets and cabinet knobs, dont fret, said Kandrac. The new brass doesnt look like the old.

The brass being used now has a more muted, matte and weathered finish, said Kandrac. The metals in todays brass will age and become more attractive over time, without the high shine.

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Brass is back

The Village Club Card Room, located in Chula Vista, was one of two establishments raided by the FBI on October 29. In addition to the card rooms, 10News reported that a federal search warrant was executed for a La Jolla residence. According to the report, investigators took away files and computers.

The Village Club Card Room, on 429 Broadway, is the only licensed gambling establishment in Chula Vista; it offers games such as poker and blackjack as well as food and alcohol.

In 2012, the card room acquired two properties on Bay Boulevard in ChulaVista. According to a San Diego Transcript article, the interior contract will go to Chula Vista general contractor Kevin O 'Neill.

Fox 5News reported in August that the Village Club will move from its 5000-square-foot location on Broadway to an 18,000-square-foot space that will have a card room, bar, and full restaurant. The estimated $3.7 million makeover and construction is supposed to begin in 2015.

Village Club owner Harvey Souza is known locally for his generous campaign donations. Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox previously worked as a consultant for Souza and the card room. In 1998, she appeared before the city council as Souzas consultant to support his request to expand his facility.

There was considerable opposition to the expansion at the council meeting, including an appearance by Paul Pfingst, who was the San Diego district attorney at the time.

Pfingst argued, One of the capabilities is because there is a large volume of dollars running through the same person, the opportunity for money laundering and other types of things are more present.

He also pointed to undue influences that large scale gambling can have on elected officials.

Cox, on the other hand, argued, Mr. Souza is in this for his business and to perpetuate 53 years of solid ownership of a business that has been good for Chula Vista, and has not levied the kind of pressure upon its political figures that we might fear, should we be looking at institutions with 180-200 tables.

When Cox first ran for mayor in 2006, the Union-Tribune carried a story about donations related to her campaign. The article states that the San Diego Lincoln Club, a pro-business political action group spent $50,872 to help Republican Cheryl Cox in her campaign to unseat Mayor Steve Padilla, a Democrat. The Club received major donations from people with Chula Vista ties....

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Raided gambling houses owner used to employ Chula Vistas Mayor Cox

A tornado safe room was discussed at a special Belmond-Klemme School Board meeting held October 14.

Craig Schwerdtfeger of Struxture Architects spoke first. He explained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency helps fund tornado safe rooms based on school size. He suggested that one safe room could serve both buildings. FEMAwill help pay for a basic building, but not furnishings, brick veneer, ceilings, windows, flooring or landscaping. Those items are up to the local taxpayers to fund. If windows are included in the building, special shutters are added which are closed by the teacher when a storm comes. FEMAwill pay for emergency power in the building, and he suggested a battery system rather than a generator.

Struxture has completed safe rooms in Waverly and Grundy Center, and has started applications for Iowa Falls, Clarion and Dike-New Hartford.

Superintendent Kirk Nelson said his main concern is how much the local share of construction would be, and how the district would pay for its share.

Schwerdtfeger left the room, and Ed Wineinger of Waggoner and Wineinger Architects came in to give his ideas. W&W has completed school safe rooms in Lake Mills, Mason City, and St. Ansgar and community safe rooms in Northwood, Ventura, Clear Lake and Lakeside (near Storm Lake).

Wineinger gave a more complete report to the board, outlining the rules, financing, timeline and process for building a tornado safe room. He also stated that FEMAwill only pay for the bones of a safe room. That includes basic bathrooms, a heating and cooling system, and limited electrical power. Because under new rules, FEMAwill now pay for HVAC systems, he said a battery back-up power system would be inadequate and a generator would be needed.

Wineinger said the board should file a Notice of Interest with Iowa Homeland Security right away. This is a simple form and starts the process.

Then, he said, the board will have to decide what type of structure to build -- a classroom wing, multi-purpose room, athletic facility, etc. If classrooms, how many and what size? Once that is decided, the architect can start on a design. He handed out a drawing of a project currently being planned for the school in Alta.

Wineinger was asked about building one large safe room for both schools. You cant really do that, he said. FEMAdoesnt want kids running across the parking lot in the middle of a storm. You will have to decide if you want your safe room at the high school or the elementary school, and then size it for that.

He was then asked about building two smaller rooms. That might be a possibility. I will talk to Homeland Security in Des Moines about it, he replied.

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School board talks about tornado safety

Although Smith & Wesson introduced their centerfire top-break revolvers, complete with automatic simultaneous extraction and ejection, in 1870, they were only available as bulky holster pistols for over half a decade. It wasn't until 1876 that they brought a smaller model, suitable for concealed carry, to the market.

The smaller models, however, had much wider appeal on the civilian market and, in one form or another, continued in production long after their more martial bigger siblings had been discontinued. With the last .38 caliber models shipping in 1940, these little guns had been in production for over sixty years and hundreds of thousands had found homes, making them easily the most common and affordable antique Smiths on the market today, so a quick overview of the most common variants may be helpful.

The first to show up was the .38 Single Action. The earliest variants had the complicated rack-and-pinion ejection system of the bigger .44 Russian models, complete with its long underbarrel housing, earning them the nickname Baby Russians. There were obvious differences, however.

Their smaller size dictated a five shot cylinder, chambered for the new .38 S&W cartridge. Further, as a single-action pistol intended for boot or pocket carry, they lacked the usual trigger and triggerguard arrangement of the bigger guns, having instead a spur trigger; a protruding nubbin protected by flanges integral to the bottom of the frame.

In 1878, they were joined by the similar, yet even smaller, .32 Single Action. The .32 enjoyed a couple of mechanical refinements, namely a simplified and more compact actuation system for the ejector and a rebounding hammer that kept the firing pin from resting on the primer of the cartridge, both features shared with the larger New Model Number 3 .44 revolvers that debuted the same year. In 1880, these features were added to the latest version of the .38 Single Action. LEFT: .38 Single Action 2nd Model (top), .32 Single Action (bottom)

The .32 Single Actions were discontinued in 1892, but the .38 received a conventional trigger and triggerguard in 1891 and remained in production until 1911.

Also in 1880, double-action variants of both the .32 and .38 were introduced. These are immediately distinguishable by their conventional triggerguard, with the trigger sitting about halfway forward inside the guard. The .32 Double Action remained in production until 1919, while the conventional .38 DA was discontinued in 1911.

RIGHT: .38 Double Action 2nd Model (top), .32 Double Action 4th Model (bottom)

In 1909, however, an interesting variant of the .38 Double Action was introduced, known as the Perfected Model. In addition to the topstrap-mounted latch shared with other Top Break Smiths, it had a knurled thumbpiece latch like the newer solid-frame Hand Ejector models. Because of this second latch, they were the only Top Break S&W revolvers with their sideplates on the right-hand side of the frame. The Perfected Model was discontinued in 1920.

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The Arms Room - blogspot.com