Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Photo: Nick Barber

A trip with a mate to Krakow was not what I thought would be happening this year. It has never been a destination on my radar following going there in the early nineties and feeling slightly depressed about everything. My God, how things have changed. Here is a bustling, modern, vibrant European city. Beautiful parks, fantastic food and such friendly and welcoming people. I was blown away. This is what a modern city should be; everything connected airport, train, city simples. And the sights of the river and the castle wonderful. There are boulevards encircling the Old Town which when walked at night are full of couples and families just taking the air. The bars in the Jewish quarter were extraordinary all buzzing with conversation and energy, the live music bars were raucous and tattered yet warm and all-embracing and the prices were unbelievable. Heres the view from our 80 per night 5-room apartment.

So why cant there be more places like this here? Why are our prices twice what they are in Poland? I dont know but Im going to try and find out. I wonder if Brexit has got anything to do with it. Oh yes, the only negative of the trip queuing for over an hour at passport control because I wasnt an EU citizen

On the plane I took some Jack Senff and some Paul Heaton (who has been listening to the Turtles!) and theres a great video here. The radio show features Eels, Neil Young, Katherine Priddy, Kara Jackson, Jeffrey Martin as well as three from Justin Currie and many more. As ever take what you want or need.

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Sounds from beyond the Shed 150 Krakow - Americana UK

Toledo Solar will permanently close in August, but its interim president says the company never really got off the ground after a lawsuit and other factors.

PERRYSBURG, Ohio

Toledo Solar, Inc., is closing its doors for good. The Perrysburg-based solar energy company is a derivative of the Willard and Kelsey Solar Group.

The solar panel company wanted to make a specific type of solar panel.

"They were trying to break the code," Toledo Solar interim president Tom Pratt said. "Develop the secret sauce to manufacture a cadmium telluride panel, which isn't easy given the technology they were working with."

The company was working with equipment that was over 20 years old, according to Pratt. In the years that the company was operating, it was not able to accomplish that.

"They never really produced a solar panel since they came into existence," Pratt said.

Pratt was brought in by Toledo Solar's board of directors in July of 2023 and was appointed interim president, treasurer and secretary after there was a leadership overhaul. First Solar had filed a lawsuit against Toledo Solar, claiming the company had bought First Solar panels and misrepresented them as Toledo Solar panels.

The settlement terms required Toledo Solar to review the manufacturing processes it was using.

"Whenwe realized we were stepping on six or seven of their patents, we tried to negotiate something with them but unfortunately we were unableto do so," Pratt said.

Pratt said there was an attempt to use solar panels in another capacity and use another business plan, but they were not able to get the technology.

"Ultimately the board of directors determined it wasn't worth the effort, so the decision was made to shut Toledo Solar down," Pratt said.

He said as of right now the plant is being decommissioned.

"It means all the equipment out, floor swept and turning the keys over to the landlord who owns the building," Pratt said.

The business will be shut down by the end of August, according to Pratt.

He said when he started there were about 35 employees, and now there's a "skeleton crew" of five working.

"They're all looking at other options in front of them, and again I'm sure they'll be just fine," Pratt said.

Read more from the original source:
'They never really produced a solar panel': Toledo Solar president sheds light on company's closure - WTOL

It's a new era in Green Bay. The Packers have a nice collection of young playmakers on the roster that showcased they can make the playoffs and make some noise once they get into the dance.

It was just a few years ago that the Packers had Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, and Aaron Jones leading the charge on offense, now all of these guys are gone.

Adams was recently a guest on the "All Gas No Breaks with Keyshawn Johnson" podcast and discussed how things ended in Green Bay.

Over the last few seasons in Green Bay for Rodgers, no one knew how long he was going to be there. There were countless rumors that he was going to retire or potentially traded but Adams didn't let that affect him.

He still wanted to be in Green Bay and expressed that to management.

"I told them boys (management) you see what I'm doing. It's time for a new deal so I said are we going to let me go into this last year with no security, basically playing for 12 million, which was significantly less than what a franchise tag would be."

He added, " I said pay me right now and I'm not even gonna consider that Aaron may be out of here. Let's do it now and if it is up to J Love if Aaron is out of here, then we gonna rock on... They said well, we'll give you $17 million a year. I said nothing to talk about. I don't know if you know what the market looks like."

During his time with the Packers, Adams was one of the best wide receivers in the league. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro in Green Bay. Across eight seasons with the Pack, Adams had 669 receptions for 8,121 receiving yards, and 73 touchdowns.

The Packers not taking care of Adams is rather surprising but they decided they would rather move on. In 2022, Green Bay sent the 31-year-old to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for first and second picks. The Raiders then gave Adams a five-year, $140 million deal ($28 million annually).

In hindsight, it was still the right move as the Packers drafted very over the past few years. Even though they don't have a bonafide No. 1 WR, they have a nice collection of pass catchers and had the extra money to spend on improving the team.

As for Adams, he got his new deal so it looks like both sides are happy with how things went down.

More Packers news and rumors:

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Davante Adams Sheds Light on His Departure From Green Bay - Dairyland Express

Christina Hall often takes on big renovationsfrom the

With that budget, Hall used $59,400 to renovate the kitchen and dining room. In the kitchen, she slightly rejiggered the layout within the existing footprint and lifted the ceiling. She brought in all new appliances, installed two-toned white and wood cabinetry, put in floating shelves, and added white counters and backsplashes. For the dining room, she updated her parents farm table with comfy, curved, white chairs and a gold chandelier.

Christina Hall standing in her parents newly renovated kitchen.

The bar off the living room was revamped with a white marble fluted backsplash, an ice maker, a beverage fridge, and moreaccounting for $4,350 of the budget. Hall also redid the laundry room, which features new green cabinetry and white hexagon tile flooring, for $3,050. The powder room, with a new bold floral wallpaper, was redone for $8,200.

Since Hall didnt do anything major, like remove or extend the walls, the project luckily went on without many hiccupswhich likely also helped her come in exactly on budget. Longtime viewers know some of her clients have had to deal with lengthy nightmares and big delays. But, alas, that's the reality of renovations!

During the final reveal, Halls parents expressed how pleased they were with the result. Her mom was especially taken with the powder room, while her dad was impressed with the bar. Even Halls sister came to check out the transformation, saying she could never have envisioned this.

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Christina Hall Only Spent $75K to Renovate Her Parents' Heavily Outdated Home - House Beautiful

EAGLE RIVER, Wis. (WAOW)The driver is OK after going through two stop signs into a wooden fence down at the end of Railroad Street, down an embankment and the car plunged into the water in an Eagle River crash Friday morning.

According to a police report from Eagle River Police Department, the crash occurred just before 1:45 a.m. in Eagle River.

According to the release:

The vehicle drove through two stop signs without stopping and into a wooden fence at the end of Railroad Street, down an embankment and into the river below the Bridge Street Bridge.

The driver did escape the vehicle and went to a nearby house for medical assistance. The driver had minor injuries.

It was determined the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle, despite her telling police there were other people in the car.

Traffic was reduced to one lane on Highway 45 in the Eagle River while the vehicle was pulled from the water. The DNR also responded to assist with the fuel spill into the water.

The investigation is ongoing.

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UPDATE: Driver drove through two stop signs, through wooden fence, down embankment in Eagle River crash into river - WAOW

In a new interview with Los Angeles-based music journalist Lyndsey Parker, JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon was asked about how he and keyboardist Jonathan Cain have managed to mend fences after publicly feuding over several issues, including Neal allegedly causing over $1 million in personal expenses to be charged to the band's shared American Express card and Schon demanding that Cain stop playing events for former U.S. president Donald Trump. Neal said: "We just decided that the music is the music. We worked really hard and diligently on keeping this thing alive all these years and just not let the other stuff get in the way and kind of keep it separate. It's all right for us to have separate beliefs on everything. It was actually a rule that way before Jonathan was in the band, that our manager made with us all, that we would never have politics involved in our music, or any one religion, because [JOURNEY's music] is for everyone. Anytime you [get political] and you segregate, you're going to lose fans. And why would you want to do that? Just keep it open for everyone to be able to enjoy your music as music."

Asked how he feels when certain JOURNEY songs get used for a cause or a candidate, at a rally or whatever, that is not in line with his personal beliefs, Neal said: "I'm not a fan of it. No, I'm not a fan of it. But it doesn't matter. It's not one way or the other. It's not the left side, not the right side. It's just I'm in the middle and I don't want it to go one way or the other. I think we should remain neutral and let everybody enjoy what they want to enjoy, and I think it's nobody's business. I've never appreciated music [with] politics. I don't think they go hand-in-hand. I think that music is the greatest communicator of the world and that it shouldn't have a label on it to be one way or another. It should be to be conveyed by everyone in their own way."

Cain is a devout born-again Christian whose minister wife Paula White-Cain delivered the invocation at Donald Trump's 2017 presidential inauguration.

Back in December 2022, JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon blasted Cain as a "hypocrite" after the JOURNEY keyboardist performed the band's 1981 hit song "Don't Stop Believin'" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. Cain played the track with a backup chorus of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiance Kimberly Guilfoyle and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

In the past, Schon has also publicly voiced his opposition to having JOURNEY's music associated with political or religious causes. Back in 2017, he derided Cain on social media after the keyboardist, singer Arnel Pineda and then-bassist Ross Valory were photographed with Trump in the White House.

In a 2017 video interview conducted in the studios of the radio station ONE FM 91.3, Cain could be heard saying: "We're not political; we don't get into politics. We try to stay in our lane, and I just think that's the best answer we can give you."

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JOURNEY's NEAL SCHON Talks Mending Fences With JONATHAN CAIN: 'We Just Decided That The Music Is The ... - BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Sophia Armstrong was visiting Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park when she and a crowd of people witnessed a crocodiles attempt to climb the fence in its holding area. Thankfully, the crocodile didnt escape or wreak any havoc. But isnt a little unsettling to know that crocs can climb fences?

In the video, you can see that Armstrong is part of a group of people standing behind a chain-link fence. Just on the other side of the boundary fence is a large crocodile thats working hard to shift its center of gravity just a bit farther forward so it can get over a shorter fence inside its holding area.

The croc appears to be moments away from finding a foothold and making it over when you hear a keepers voice off screen.

Hello sweetheart, the male keeper says.

At the sound of his voice, the crocodile appears to relax and start sliding back down the fence. It puts its back feet back on the ground and waits, leaning against the fence with its large head poking over it until the keeper comes into view.

The keeper redirects the croc back onto the ground by giving it a nudge with a metal pole hes holding. The crowd oohs, ahs, and sighs a collective breath of relief.

Scroll to Armstrongs fourth slide in the Instagram post carousel to see a crocodile climb a fence:

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Ever Seen a Crocodile Climb a Fence? This One Almost Did. - Outdoors

The Philadelphia 76ers couldnt wait for free agency. The whole point of the 2023-24 season was to have a handful of expiring contracts and prepare for this offseason so they could add to their star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Mission accomplished. The Sixers brought in Paul George on an agreement of 4-years and $212 million. The All-Star forward averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 41.3% from deep.

Now that George has been brought in, the challenge is to get through the Eastern Conference. George comes in at 34 years old while Embiid will be 31 before the 2025 playoffs begin. That championship window is only going to be open for so much longer, but Philadelphia has its best shot at winning with these three stars leading the way assuming the rest of the roster gets filled out properly.

However, this has been heard before. The Sixers have their best shot at winning a title in X season. It has been said plenty of times in the past only to not get past Round 2 during this current Embiid era.

A big reason for the past shortcomings has been injuries. Embiid has dealt with some type of ailment in every single postseason run he has gone through in his career. When the big fella runs out of steam in April and May due to the nagging injuries, the Sixers have been unable to find that other scorer to help push them forward.

With George now in the fold, that shouldnt be a problem. The Sixers can turn to him in the playoffs to come up with big baskets in clutch moments that others werent able to get in the past. For his playoff career, George averages 21.2 points and 7.5 rebounds which shows that he can perform in the postseason.

After being the No. 1 or No. 2 option in LA, George will be the No. 3 option in Philadelphia behind Embiid and Maxey. Just because George is now in Philly, that doesnt mean Maxey should take a step back. The star averaged 29.8 points and shot 40% from deep on 9.2 attempts in the 2024 playoffs. That is the type of production thats needed to win in the postseason.

If George can produce 15 to 18 points per night as the No. 3 option, the Sixers should finally be able to get over the hump. Opposing teams have to pay attention to George and send defensive players his way which allows Embiid and Maxey to get free as much as they can and operate.

Every team eventually gets over that proverbial hump after years of failure. Thats what makes the taste of winning that much sweeter. With George now in tow, the time is now for the Sixers to get the job done in the Eastern Conference finally.

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Sixers swung for the fences and got Paul George, now's the time to win - Sixers Wire

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BLM starts fence conversion at JO Ranch | Rawlins Times | wyomingnews.com - Wyoming Tribune

The supposed solution to tents along the Grand cCnal in Dublin has been kilometres of barriers set to stay in place until October. John Meagher speaks to the migrants who seethe area as a haven and the locals hoping for better options

Fenced in: A woman takes time out on the Grand Canal in Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren

It is a classic Dublin vista. Stand on Leeson Streets Eustace Bridge facing east and take in the final stretch of the 132km Grand Canal. Fringed with trees and thick foliage along the towpath, all reflected in the water, its a bucolic sight amid the bustle of the south inner city. It seems especially magical this time of year. So stilly greeny at the heart of summer, as Patrick Kavanagh famously put it.

Quite what the great poet would have made of the steel fencing alongside his beloved canal is anyones guess. For the past six weeks or so, two metre-high steel fencing has run along the canal from the Clanwilliam Place, not far from the Aviva Stadium, to the bridge at Harolds Cross, some 3km away. Every week, it seems to grow longer.

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Dublin's anti-migrant fences: 'Government policy seems to be out of ?sight, out of mind' - Irish Independent