Electronic Voting

Go here for comments about electronic voting machines.

Voter ID

Go here for info on the recent Supreme Court decision on Voter ID.

When You Go Deep For Oil

The Oil Drum pointed me to this article at Bloomberg, which proceeds to detail what it will take to get the oil out of the ground at Brazil's Tupis field. These folks aren't kidding when they say the easy oil is mostly found. Here's a taste of what the Brazilians are up against:Tapping what may be the biggest oil finds in the Western Hemisphere in three decades will require equipment that can

Considering a Living Room Addition?

By : Dan Fritschen

A living room addition can be the answer to a number of lifestyle issues as well as space issues for families and add to the value of your home at resale. Your home may have a living room that does not meet the needs of your family or it may have no living room at all. Many new homes are designed with a great room only. While these designs are wonderful for a casual lifestyle, they may not work for you if you need for a more formal entertaining area. Many homes built in the 1940s through 1960s were designed with huge living rooms. They were intended to be the room in which the family lived – multi-functional space for relaxing, watching television, reading, listening to music and entertaining.

Certainly many people add living rooms to be family living spaces, but a majority of people also add living rooms in order to create more formal settings for entertaining or escape from the television and the noise of children playing.

There are some words in the English language that are helpful in thinking about the function of a living room. A room in which guests are greeted and entertained might be referred to as a parlor. A cozy retreat might be a withdrawing room (or drawing room). A multi-functional space might be a living room. The first decision you must make in designing the new space will be the function of the room. This will help you determine the appropriate size of the space.

The second group of questions concern decisions about how the space will be created.

* Will you remodel part of your home to create your new living room?
* Will you add the room to the existing house?
* Will you divide a large existing room to create two separate spaces?
* How much space do you need in your new room? Will it be the primary family living space? Will it be a small formal room for entertaining? Will it be a relatively small but comfortable place to escape and relax? What does your lifestyle require of the space? Formal living rooms built today tend to be much smaller than those designed fifty years ago.

If your needs dictate an addition to your home, there are many considerations before you begin to demolish walls. The list below will get you started, but a successful remodel requires organization. To help make your project a success, consider getting The Complete Remodeling Workbook and Organizer, click here for more information.

* Where will you place the addition? What location seems to be indicated by the architectural style of your home? What location is best to conform with the contours of your lot?
* How will the addition affect the existing home? How will you provide access to the new room? How will you move from the new room to other parts of the home? How will an addition look in terms of the proportions of the existing structure? Will the roofline negatively affect the view from other rooms of the house?
* Is there enough usable space on your lot in the proposed area? What are the local building regulations about how close you can build to the property line? Are you willing to give up the necessary amount of your yard?

A home addition is not a weekend project. You will want to schedule the work to cause the least disruption to your family’s life. If you will be making structural changes, you may want to consult an architect. You will need to work with roof and wall supports, know which walls bear the weight of the roof or other walls. You will want to design your addition so it enhances the exterior appearance of your home. Working from a blueprint will also help you to avoid costly oversights.

You will need to check local building codes for specific requirements for exterior building materials or design elements, requirements that licensed professionals perform certain types of work (such as electrical or plumbing). Click here to find the best contractors that specialize in working in your neighborhood.

Here are some of the things you will need to include in your remodeling plan:

* Excavation for the footings and foundation
* Removal of walls
* Construction and installation of supporting beams or columns
* Framing
* Placement and installation of doors and windows
* Insulation
* Installation of a fireplace
* Construction of partitions, customized cabinets, shelving or storage areas
* Upgrading existing electrical circuits
* Positioning and installing electrical outlets, switches, lights, fans, etc.
* Heating and cooling flow
* Flooring selection and installation
* Installation of home technology features
* Exterior wall construction – do you need a bricklayer or a stone mason?
* Interior wall construction – will you use drywall or paneling or some specialty materials like glass bricks?
* Painting or wallpapering

Once you have planned for each phase of creating your new living room, you will need to decide if you need professional assistance. If you have the skills, the experience, and the time to do all the work yourself, and conform to local building code regulations, you are ready to get started. But if local government requires that some work be done by licensed professionals or if you don’t have the skills to do all of the work yourself, it is time to bring in the professionals and schedule the work. You may decide that the project is too extensive for you to handle due to limited skills or time restrictions. If you plan to have the entire job professionally done, you might want to save yourself the risks and the headaches of managing schedules and subcontractors by hiring a general contractor to oversee the entire job.

Then, at last, you can turn your attention to decorating and furnishing your new living room. The function of the room will provide some guidance for you in choosing colors and materials for floor, walls, ceiling, and window treatments. You might choose cooler colors for a more formal room and warmer colors for a retreat. You might choose colors, carpeting styles, and wallpaper to carry the style of your house into the new addition. A very modern home, for example might indicate ceramic tile on the floor with an accent area rug. A traditional home might seem to call for hardwood floors. A Queen Anne style home might lead you to select a particular style of wallpaper. And, don’t forget to include that one, special accent or conversation piece that will make the room truly special.

With careful planning and design you can create a living room addition that will meet the lifestyle needs of your family. You can enhance the curb appeal of your existing home with the addition and increase the resale value of your home. A living room addition is the perfect opportunity to create the perfect space for your needs.

Adding a room to a home is fun and exciting! Once you understand any restrictions placed on the project by local building codes and the architecture of your existing structure, you can create the room of your dreams.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/considering-a-living-room-addition-239947.html

About the Author:

Dan Fritschen, the remodel-or-move guru is President and Publisher at ABCD Publishing and operates three very popular websites -- www.remodelormove.com

What Matters Most

If it's on the Internet (especially in video) it must be true!

Playing Stupid

I have not one bit of sympathy for Wesley Snipes. The guy goes down a path that others have trod before, with no success, and then plays stupid in court when finally hauled in to account for his crimes. He actually claims:"I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said.Snipes said his wealth and

More Bad News

Yesterday I posted about GCC. Today I came across this article, which paints an even darker picture, courtesy of our Canadian cousins. Again, the full effects of what is going on are not known, although Arctic wildlife will be feeling it. The article also gives some good background as to what goes on with multi-year ice and what changes are helping to break it up.

Have We Reached a Tipping Point?

The whole global climate change (GCC) issue has been riven with controversy (whether folks care to admit it or not) as to whether people have their facts straight, or are interpreting them correctly. Whether or not you believe that humanity is driving climate change, a change is occurring. What are we going to do as we start feeling the impact of that change? How will we prepare for it? The

Does Your Vote Count?

Are you sure? You might want to check this out.

PEMEX - Time Running Out?

For nearly a year I have been noting that Pemex is in trouble, and each passing month is yet another step down the slippery slope. President Calderon has offered up legislation to engage foriegn oil companies (mostly the nationalized ones) in partnership with Pemex. The foriegn companies have the resources that Pemex lacks to drill for deep oil and develop new reserves. Calderon's opponent in

The Oil We Eat

From 2004, The Oil We Eat. I read it after reading through this at the Livejournal Peak Oil Community. The LJ post, and the Harper's article hit on the implications of the world's way of life, and how the 3rd world has decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Consequently, both are very "doomerish" in their perspective, but they could be prophetic in a few decades.

Learning from History

Over at The ArchDruid Report John Greer opines on our unwillingness to learn from history. This is especially timely in view of Obama's comments on the lack of jobs in many communities, which has not been alleviated by the government or others, thus leading to bitterness on the part of community members. Clinton may have called his wording 'elitist' but she is no less elitist with her effort to

BoomTown USA

Ever wonder what a boomtown looks like? Here is an article about Sidney, MT and Williston, ND, which details the impact of the oil boom due to the Bakken Shale deposits. Mind you, these are the (relatively speaking) easy to reach deposits.

Brave New World

England has a reputation as being much more security conscious than the US. I would venture that the ratio of security cams/people far exceeds anything we have going here. Now, they are ready to microchip the cops. Are the citizens next? Is the US immune to this? Are we next?

The High Price of Freedom

Ruth Marcus, a columnist at The Washington Post has written a column defending the retention of John Yoo at that liberal bastion of political correctness: University of California at Berkeley.Christopher Edley, the Dean of Boalt Hall, has commented on the barrage of emails demanding Yoo's removal and Marcus reports:Edley, a veteran of the Clinton and Carter White Houses, responded last week with

If The Shoe Fits

I came across LegiStorm, which has a nasty habit of publishing publicly available information about the salaries and finances of our friends on Capitol Hill. They just started publishing the data for highly paid staffers, to a litany of complaints over potential identity theft. Turns out that the concerns about identity theft stem, in part, from the staffers own inability to pay attention to

Can a Small Living Room be a Entertainment Place?

By : Tanya Wiseman

How small is small for a living room?How much furniture should you put into a small living room?OK time to get rid of some furniture for a small living room

There are two ways to look at the living room. If you have a large living space, you can divide your family room for fun, TV, games and just gatherings for the whole family. And another, more formal is to a living room (to receive gests and have cocktail parties. However, now days the housing commonly consists of one room for family and living room purposes. So, if you have the living room, you have to firs of all make it all comfortable, cozy, useful and durable.

When you look for furniture for your living room, it has to be defiantly something that is comfortable and durable. The living room should not look and feel like a museum. Everything should be friendly and “touchable”. The main pieces should be the couch or sectionals, arm chair, coffee table, and the TV/media center. Some people prefer for the TV to be hidden in the armoire or behind an entertainment center or even over the fire place, where it can be covered by picture frame or art work.TV is definitely belongs in the living room. It brings the family together for some TV fun and games.The living room also becomes a designated are for the TV, as well as other rooms in your house.

The living can also be uses for the parties and other gatherings. So, for most of families, it is important to make the living room space comfortable and elegant at the same time. The textures and materials of your seating pieces can be made of some special fabrics that are easily cleaned, buy also the type of fabrics that have a style and character. It is good to have a nice size coffee table that can be used for snacks and games around the TV and the seating area. The coffee table can be elegant also; you can get an ottoman for double usage as an additional seating piece and coffee table. Using the glass top coffee table can be useful and more appropriate for beverage spillage; however it can be more hazards when it comes to breakage. So, the top of the coffee table should definitely be the type of table you can wipe over and over again.

The rug and the appropriate lighting are just as important to have in the living room. You can have recess lighting installed for the adjustable lighting solutions. To liven up the room, you can place some plants or indoor trees. Any type of greens brings some tranquility and peace in the room.
If you have a fire place in your living room, it can be a focal point of your seating arrangement.
Other then just watching TV, the fire place makes the place really cozy, and if it’s greatly decorated it can become a conversation starter in your living room.

If the space allows, some people prefer to put a bookcase in the living room area. While the living room is great for family fun, it can also be the place for relaxing and reading. When it comes to choosing appropriate TV for your living room, it all has to do with your budget and the size of the room. Now days, there are flat screens TV available in different sizes, which will allow for better space usage. The flat screens are not as overwealiming as the regular bulky TVs are. So, it can stand alone up on the TV stand that can be low and compact. Allow for some storage in your TV stand, which will help you organize all your media, and keep it away.

The same can be accomplished with a nice armoire, where the TV can be stored and hidden. The armoire will have plenty of room for storage as well. Some people however, prefer the TV to be completely invisible at all. So, with the help of customized solutions, the TV can be mounted right in to your wall over the fire place or over the sofa table, and hidden by framed art or mirror. Over all the living room space is used for family, and it should be a happy and fun place to be at!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/can-a-small-living-room-be-a-entertainment-place-310433.html

The End Of The World As We Know It

Guy McPherson, a conservation biology prof at the U of Arizona offers his prediction of life in the immediate (read next decade) future. We're all gonna die. Well maybe not all of us. The Good Professor also comments at his blog about the feedback from the Op-Ed piece.I don't think he is right, but the tag at his blog is Our days may be numbered: As the home team, Nature bats last. That is

Big Blue has the blues

On March 27, 2008, IBM was suspended by the EPA from obtaining new federal work orders and contracts. Here are the terms. By April 4 the suspension was lifted. This had to do with a contract EPA had awarded, and IBM had protested. It has been alleged that IBM employees received procurement sensitive data, which could have given it unfair advantage in the competition. The data allegedly came

Fantasy on Ice

The next time someone waxes on about the gobs and gobs of Arctic oil in need of a good drilling, show them this. There may be oil and gas out there, and if there is no one really knows how much. They also can't promise to extract it at the rate the world is burning it. Technology, and in this case global warming, may be a wonderful thing, but it does have its limitations as Gaia likes to remind

Is Fusion the Answer?

Depends on how deep your pocketbook is, what your political leanings are, and how long you can afford to wait. MSNBC Cosmic Log discusses Fusion. This is one of several articles. The USA is once again nickel-and-diming itself into irrelevance, and it's your future folks that will feel the effects. Fusion may be decades away, but if we want a piece of the action we better put up some serious

Is a Border Fence the Answer?

Depends on who you talk to. The Bush Administration clearly believes a fence is what needed. So it's interesting to discover that the one group of folks who might be his obvious allies are putting up a fight. It seems to me that the locals just might have a better idea of what shape a solution may take since they live with the problem every day, unlike the First Shrub and his buddies.

The Western Ave Zoning Change

Alderman Moore responded to my query about the Western Ave. zoning change. An out-of-date site can cause you grief when your career is all about public engagement. It's certainly true that there is no info about the zoning committee's activities since October.