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Solder Fume Extractor for Electronics Manufacturing
The FA2 solder fume extractor for electronics manufacturing utilizes a high performance 3 stage hybrid air filter system to capture and treat air pollutants generated during soldering processes used in electronics manufacturing. Digital controls and integrated electronic gas sensor continuously monitor the system performance and display operating parameters on the high-visibility LED screen. Large capacity inexpensive pre-filters extend filter change intervals and protects the large HEPA filter and gas/odor filter. High performance variable speed blower provides maximum application flexibility. Ideal for medium to heavy duty solder fume removal applications.
|FA2 Specifications
|Cabinet Construction
| Cabinet: 304 grade brushed stainless steel to
IP56 compliance
Baffled – sound attenuated
|Digital Controls
| • Electronic variable speed blower control
• Electronic individual filter monitoring w/ display
• Calibrated electronic VOC /gas sensor
• Electronic relay package for remote start/stop and filter monitoring.
|Sound Level
|60 dBA
|Unit Dimensions (L x W x H)
| 18.5" x 15.25" x 34.75"
101 lb / 46 kg
|Blowers Performance
| 210 cfm @ 39" wc
(357 m3/hr @ 9686 Pa)
|Blowers Centrifugal
| Centrifugal - Direct-Drive,
Brushless Motor
| 120/1/50-60 or 230/1/50-60
Pre-wired 3 wire power cable,
7.5 ft (2.3m) w/plug
Amp Draw: 12.0 / 7.5
|Standard Equipment
| UL and CE listed compliance
Standard Filter Set
8 ft. /2.5m 2-ply rubber hose, smooth core
2"/51mm or 3"/76mm inside diameter w/hose clamps
Digital graphic controls
(4) Industrial grade wheels – 2 locking
Installation guide / Operations manual
| Gas-specific filters
High efficiency hoods
Optional ducted exhaust
PVC option:
- Epoxy coating on all internal cabinet components
- HCL gas specific electronic sensor
- AcideX gas neutralizing adsorbent cell
|Standard Filter Set
| Pre-Filter
• Large capacity - 99% efficient @ 1 micron
• Deep-pleated dimpled media maximizes filter loading
• Unique construction eliminates filter "blinding"
• Clean design limits operator exposure to particulates
during filter changes
HEPA Filter
• 99% efficient @ .3micron
• Large capacity mini-pleat construction
Gas/Odor Filter
• Blended media allows for broad spectrum gas/odor control
• Improved bonded carbon technology maximizes one pass
• Dustless construction suitable for all environments
• 100 % recyclable construction
PVC option:
• Epoxy coating on all internal cabinet components
• HCL gas specific electronic sensor
• AcideX gas neutralizing adsorbent cell
High efficiency hoods
Optional ducted exhaust
Gas-specific filters
Compare Relevant Models


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A new scourge sweeps through Argentine ghettos: 'paco'
Abuse of the highly addictive cocaine byproduct 'paco' is causing officials to revamp drug laws.
To get it, Jerimias sold his shoes. Then he sold his clothes. Then he stole and sold his sister's clothes.
Finally, says his mother María Rosa González, a welfare mom of four, her bone-thin teenage son dismantled the refrigerator to sell aluminum parts in the streets of their Buenos Aires slum.
He did all this for paco, a smokable, highly addictive street drug sweeping through Argentine ghettos, hooking impoverished teenagers, and prompting law officials here to revamp drug laws to stop its insidious spread.
A recent study by the Argentine Secretariat for Prevention of Drug Addiction and Control of Narcotrafficking, known by its Spanish initials SEDRONAR, showed paco has outpaced all other drugs in rates of adolescent users in the last two years. Based on the results of the study, officials say 70,000 Argentines between 16 and 26 years old in the greater Buenos Aires area have tried paco.
Paco's effects on users are quick and obvious.
"My son was un muerto viviendo," she says, a "living dead," before she sent him last year to live with his grandmother in the rural province of Patagonia for three months. When he returned, Jerimias, then 19, was back at it, eventually ending up in a Buenos Aires drug clinic, where he just turned 20.
The paco sold here is a chemical byproduct, a leftover when Andean coca leaves are turned into a paste, then formulated into cocaine bound for US and European markets. Paco was once discarded as laboratory trash, says Dr. Ricardo Nadra, an Argentine government psychiatrist who works with paco addicts. But Argentina's devastating financial collapse in 2001 left the poorest even poorer, creating an impoverished demand for "cocaine's garbage," he says.
"People were broke and they couldn't afford to buy anything else," says Dr. Nadra, adding that drug dealers took the leftovers, which look like salt crystals, and added substances such as ground up glass as a filler in order to increase their profits. "Drug dealers could keep selling pure cocaine in Europe or the US but now they could sell paco in [Argentina's poorer neighborhoods]," he says.
By 2002, one man's trash had become a poorer man's drug of choice. Paco had made a social impact, sparking government concerns and even earning a reference in the US State Department's annual drug reports as "a relatively inexpensive and addictive drug similar to crack."
Because it's smoked rather than sniffed, and because of the physiological impact the confluence of chemical toxins have, experts like Dr. Roberto Baistrocchi, an Argentine pharmacologist who has studied the drug, say paco is exceedingly addictive and can cause lasting physical damage. "More than any other drug, paco is the most dangerous." says Nadra.
Last April, La Nacion, a leading newspaper here, quoted Claudio Mate, a ranking health official from Buenos Aires' provincial government, as saying that intense paco consumption can cause "cerebral death" in as little as six months.
Paco is cheap. It usually goes for about 30 cents a dose, enough for a powerful two-minute high. Jerimias was hooked from the first hit.
"I saw a guy using it and asked him to give me some," says Jerimias, who has gone three and a half months without the drug. "When I smoked it my body took control. I had to have it. I started selling everything I had."
Pablo Rafael Kodrec, director of a small Buenos Aires drug clinic where half of the 24 patients are paco addicts, says the drug's silver lining is its quick destruction, which makes patients seek help faster.
"It's not like cocaine or marijuana or ecstasy, where an addict can go for years without seeking help," he says. "They tend to come in quickly."
Like crack in 1980s America, paco has become a metaphor for societal problems.
Parroting a common refrain from experts interviewed for this story, Nadra says paco is fundamentally a social and economic issue. He says the roots of the growing scourge of paco are "social and spiritual dislocation" caused by an increase in poverty.
To strike at its distribution channels, Argentine lawmakers on Dec. 9 passed a new law that expanded enforcement nets by letting provincial courts and police join federal forces in enforcing drug laws.
There have been gains. In late February, provincial police seized 7,000 doses of paco in 19 different raids. But critics say provincial police aren't using their power to strike at traffickers. Of 1,724 drug arrests between Dec. 11, 2005 and Jan. 29, 2006, 84 percent were for personal consumption, and only 3 percent were for paco, according to government data cited by Pagina 12, a leading newspaper, last month. Martín Arias Duval, second in charge of Buenos Aires's provincial ministry of security, says police are in "a transition period" and that catching traffickers is more demanding. "The trafficking cases generally require more previous work" such as catching traffickers on film, he told Pagina 12. "That takes some time and delay."
But the market for paco is growing. "Now rich kids are doing it too, like in Mar De Plata [a popular beach resort]," says Jerimias. "They say it's only poor people but they come in wearing nice clothes and driving expensive cars and eventually they come back in sandals."
He says he is scared to go back to his old neighborhood where old habits lie. But remembering his lowest moments helps.
"It was when I had nothing left to sell," he says. "That's when I asked for help."

subset: commoncrawl


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I must laugh because I have no more face palm, embarrassment, head-shaking to offer these clowns.
So once more, the Right-wing echo chamber continues to resonate with the "black folks forever getting reparations" meme that the sickness of the Conservative white soul is drunken on.
Consider for the the Right:
1. Welfare was/is framed as reparations for slavery.
2. Health care reform is reparations for slavery.
3. African America farmers winning a billion dollar lawsuit against the USDA for decades of discrimination is reparations for slavery.
4. Obama's election signals a movement to pay black Americans reparations for slavery--even though the President opposes such an initiative as unworkable.
5. In fact, for Beck et al. every policy initiative offered by Obama is somehow connected to reparations for slavery.
6. Now, Michelle Obama's trip to Spain is somehow connected to the transatlantic slave trade, white guilt, and reparations for slavery.
Question: Where the hell is my check?
Second question (especially) for our white allies, reasonable conservatives, and others: People of color are often held accountable for all members of the tribe, when you hear this level of Right-wing
Third question: Do the beaters of the drum that is the Right-wing noise machine have any decency or self-respect? Would they ever make such an allusion to the Holocaust or the genocide of Native Americans?


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Yes … yes … yes … I know you have heard it a gazillion and +1 times before, but the issue just won't go away.
At my core, as manager, leader or just a person, I always wanted for those who I had responsibility for to achieve their very best. To serve in other words.
For fear of making this a (long) diatribe, let me make my point swiftly:
Law firms (and business in general – those that I have worked for or been exposed to) treat their people as a resource at best and expendable at worst. They do nothing or the de minimus to develop every single one of them to reach their full potential either as 'workers' or human beings. It has to be the single biggest tragedy that so much talent, passion, desire, skill, intellect, brilliance, love and emotion goes untapped, unfilled or ignored.
For me this is serious, serious stuff.
Sounds over the top [damn right] but how many of us can honestly say that we give all of ourselves to our work [when working for someone else]?
The truth is that very few of us go to work and feel that every ounce of us has been asked for and given and, in the process, the pact that has been created delivers an equal bargain.
The sense now, whether it is legal practice of otherwise, is that it is just take, take, take without enough or in some cases any regard to giving back.
I would like to see a charter, new employment contract or Challenge that requires every employer (and particularly partnerships – oh how they don't get It), to swear an Oath to their staff that each and every one of them will achieve their full potential in every respect. As I have said ad nauseum "to be the most of anything" (see William Taylor's excellent book Radically Thrilling).
Can you imagine that?
You get an employment contract and right next door is this beautiful document with the words:
"We Swear by the Oath of Excellence [or whatever your credo is] to ensure without fail that we will do our utmost to ensure you reach your full potential as an employee of XYZ firm".
OK, I know the pigs have just started their engines for a quick fly past, but wouldn't it be amazing if firms asked a few simple questions at the start of your employment and kept coming back to them to make sure that everyone was on track:
- How can the firm help you achieve your potential?
- What do you think you will have to do differently, and with our help and support, to achieve that?
- What is your biggest strength?
- How can we utilise that for the benefit of others?
- [Later on in the role] Are you happy?
If firms not only started listening to the answers but ACTING on the response then I am 100% sure that they would see their businesses change. Not overnight perhaps but in time the business would start to feel more humanising and people would not only want to give of their best but they would also want to support everyone else to do so.
At a more basic level you could cut through all this if PEOPLE JUST CARED MORE. Old school values have never gone out of fashion for me and that doesn't mean not being hugely profitable or going soft on Why you are in business. But if everyone just took the time to understand what was really going on with their staff then things would be so different.
Now we are all human, have annoyingly frustrating personalities and are prone to spells of melancholy but that is no reason to give up on people.
Human Resources (HR) and me never really saw things through the same lens. It wasn't that I didn't see the need for them but I viewed them as trying to shepherd people down an ever smaller tunnel of compliance and conformity, whereas I saw their role in a much broader context.
Here's a challenge to everyone in HR: go and spend 10 minutes every day talking to one person about them and their family. Don't read a file just wing it.
There I said it … now I feel better.
No, but in all seriousness, the appraisal is not the place to start asking those daft questions like "How's the family?"
If firms really want to head off the looming challenges of the market then start with your biggest, most precious (and prized) resource: YOUR PEOPLE. Whoever is in charge start practising M.B.W.A. [Managing by Wandering About] NOW. You shouldn't need to appoint any one person with a fancy title. Just be human.
The aim of all this cajoling?
Getting the best out of your people so that you and your business reaches its full potential. Oh and you may just find along the way that you learn something that you have been missing all along. If you have happy, fulfilled and motivated people then you are very likely to have happy, fulfilled and contented clients.
People success = Firm Success = Profit.
Now there's a rule of three that may just stick.


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Following reported shelling, Ban encourages Turkey to keep open communication channels with Syria
3 October 2012 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expresses his deepest concern at the incident which has reportedly killed at least six Turkish civilians and gravely wounded others in the town of Akcakale near the Syrian border, according to his spokesperson.
"The Secretary-General has repeatedly warned that the ongoing militarization of the conflict in Syria is leading to tragic results for the Syrian people," the spokesperson said today.
"Today's incidents, where firing from Syria struck a Turkish town, again demonstrated how Syria's conflict is threatening not only the security of the Syrian people but increasingly causing harm to its neighbours," he added.
According to media reports earlier Wednesday, several people, including a child, were killed and others seriously wounded after mortar fire from Syria hit the town of Akcakale in Turkey's Sanliurfa province, which shares a border with Syria.
"The Secretary-General extends his sincere condolences to the Government and people of Turkey over this tragic loss of life," the UN chief's spokesperson said.
Within the Middle Eastern country, more than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began last year. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, according to UN estimates.
The spokesperson noted that Mr. Ban calls on the Syrian Government to respect fully the territorial integrity of its neighbours, as well as to end the violence against the Syrian people. "He calls on all parties to reduce tensions and to forge a path toward a peaceful resolution of the Syria crisis," the spokesperson said.
Earlier today, the Secretary-General was contacted by telephone by Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoðlu. In addition to expressing his condolences at the "tragic loss of life" caused in the incident, Mr. Ban encouraged the Foreign Minister to keep open all channels of communication with the Syrian authorities with a view to lessening any tension that could build up as a result of the incident.
The spokesperson noted that the Foreign Minister had also spoken earlier to Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi.
|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list


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Who was the most impressive driver throughout the Spanish Grand Prix weekend?
See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Review each driver's race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.
For your consideration
Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend:
Sebastian Vettel – Was made to work a bit harder for this one and rebuffed some serious pressure from Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton – Dogged in his pursuit of Vettel but never really had a chance to make a move.
Fernando Alonso – Excellent qualifying lap, brilliant start, lacked the car to do much else.
Nick Heidfeld – Started last after a fire in practice, but finished ahead of his team mate, who had started sixth.
Kamui Kobayashi – Another driver who made an impressive recovery, after picking up a puncture on the first lap.
Compare all the drivers
Review what happened to each driver over the race weekend and compare their performances with their team mates using the links below:
Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher
Renault: Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov
Williams: Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado
Force India: Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta
Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari
Lotus: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen
HRT: Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi
Virgin: Timo Glock and Jerome d'Ambrosio
Vote for your driver of the weekend
Which driver impressed you the most throughout the Spanish Grand Prix weekend? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Who was the best driver of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend?
- Jerome d'Ambrosio (0%)
- Timo Glock (0%)
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (0%)
- Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
- Jarno Trulli (0%)
- Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
- Jaime Alguersuari (0%)
- Sebastien Buemi (0%)
- Sergio Perez (1%)
- Kamui Kobayashi (4%)
- Paul di Resta (0%)
- Adrian Sutil (0%)
- Pastor Maldonado (0%)
- Rubens Barrichello (0%)
- Vitaly Petrov (0%)
- Nick Heidfeld (9%)
- Nico Rosberg (0%)
- Michael Schumacher (2%)
- Felipe Massa (0%)
- Fernando Alonso (13%)
- Jenson Button (6%)
- Lewis Hamilton (40%)
- Mark Webber (0%)
- Sebastian Vettel (24%)
Total Voters: 482
You need an F1 Fanatic account to vote. Register an account here or read more about registering here.
Turkish Grand Prix result
Fernando Alonso was voted the best driver of the Turkish Grand Prix weekend:
1. Fernando Alonso – 37.8%
2. Kamui Kobayashi – 25.8%
3. Sebastian Vettel – 22.1%
Rate the Race: Spanish Grand Prix
Don't forget to cast your vote in the 'rate the race' poll as well:
Image ?�?� Pirelli


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How to Get Rid of PestsUpdated: Jun. 05, 2023
These tried-and-true solutions will help you win the war against some of the toughest pests around.
You might also like: TBD
How to win the war against pests
Getting rid of bugs, insects and critters in and around your home can take weeks or months of experimenting with commercial and home-brewed solutions. We asked our network of experts and Field Editors for their top tried-and-true solutions to help you finally win the war against some of the toughest pests around.
Bait is best to kill ants inside
Brian Gough on ant bait
I swear by Combat or Advion ant gel bait (commercial quality, but available online to homeowners). Ants can't resist taking a taste. After a day or two, the invading ants (and perhaps the entire colony) are gone. I apply the gel to a piece of duct tape or inside a bottle cap for easy cleanup later.
Experts agree that baits work best. Ants take bait back to the colony, eliminating thousands of ants, including the egg-laying queens. In addition to Combat and Advion gel bait, the University of Kentucky extension service also recommends Raid Ant Bait II, Terro Ant Killer II, Advance Maxforce and Optigard Gel.
Baits can initially invite more ants into the house. You may be tempted to spray these buggers with insecticide. DON'T. Let the ants take the bait back to the colony, and be patient! Experiment with different gel products if one doesn't seem to be effective. They all have different active ingredients and food components.
Spray on a bug barrier
Tom Dvorak on Annihilator
As far as bugs, wasps, Asian lady beetles, box elder bugs, etc., there is a product called Annihilator that I've used with great results. I use a 1-gallon sprayer and spray it around exterior doors and windows. It can also be safely used indoors. When bugs walk across it, they drop dead.
Dr. Todd A. Sidel on Spectracide
I've used Spectracide Bug Stop for years. It lasts almost a year and kills all sorts of bugs. It is safe, colorless and almost odorless. It can be sprayed indoors or out, on windows and doors, on tent screens and sleeping bags too.
Spectracide Bug Stop claims to provide nine months of indoor bug control. Annihilator Insecticide Premise Spray lasts for 30 days. Both kill bugs on contact. These products are toxic to bees and fish, so don't use them around gardens or ponds. You can find both products at farm supply stores, home centers and online.
Hydraulic cement stops ants cold
Jeff Patterson on hydraulic cement
I used hydraulic cement to fill a large gap in our foundation wall that was allowing ants to get into the house. The cement sets up in five minutes and also stops water leaking into the basement. Double whammy!
Get hydraulic cement at home centers and hardware stores. It hardens fast, so mix it in small batches.
Kill slugs with corn meal
Cornmeal is one of many pet- and kid-friendly slug remedies. Others include:
Escar-Go! and Sluggo products, which contain iron phosphate.
Crushed eggshells, pine needles, diatomaceous earth and other abrasive materials sprinkled around plants.
Tin cans filled with a few inches of beer sunk into the ground, which attracts slugs and drowns them.
Slugs will also shelter beneath a board or an upside-down pail. Set one out each evening and you can kill a bunch of slugs each morning.
Hang soap to repel deer—and squirrels?
Lloyd Lehn on soap
For the past two years, we've hung bars of Dial soap cut in half in cheesecloth bags around our gardens to keep deer away. We haven't had deer problems since. I'm not sure if the deer simply went away or the soap kept them away.
We also had some unanticipated results. For years some unknown critters (probably squirrels) have been munching on our tomatoes in tomato cages. We started hanging Dial bags on our tomato cages and lo and behold, the tomato-munching critters stay away too.
Wildlife control expert Stephen Vantassel says it's hard to know if soap causes deer to stay away.
"Soap can contain animal fat that has been shown to deter deer. But the effectiveness of repellents is related to population pressure. If there are lots of starving deer, repellents won't work, period. If there are only a few deer, repellents will cause them to munch on the neighbors' bushes."
Vantassel recommends a study he found on effective deer repellents at icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/Deer.asp. His top suggestions for deer control include an electric polytape fence (available at farm supply stores and online retailers) and noisemaking devices.
As for squirrels, Vantassel thinks it's the movement of hanging soap that frightens them away.
Got carpenter ants? Call a pro
Cameron LiDestri on pros
I've had trouble with carpenter ants, and frankly, I've had no luck with consumer-grade solutions. I finally called the pros, and one or two applications later, the problem was gone. Sometimes the best solution is to know when to call the experts.
We're all about DIY, but carpenter ants (and termites) are pests that can cause serious structural damage to your home, and their nests can be difficult to locate. We recommend not messing around. Call a pro.
If you're determined to try DIY termite and carpenter ant control methods first, visit bugspray.com or domyownpestcontrol.com for products and information.
Outwit raccoons
Mike Kennemer on bungee cords
The local raccoons had learned how to open my garbage containers. After unsuccessfully trying to discourage the varmints with chicken wire caps, tie-down cinch cords and ammonia liquid, I came up with a better solution. I drilled two small holes in the front of the containers and used 48-in. bungee cords to hold the lids on tight. So far, so good.
Raccoons are surprisingly clever and bold. Discouraging them often takes a rotation of different deterrents.
Keep your bins in an enclosure or secure them to a metal stake or other anchor so they can't be toppled.
Set up bright, motion-activated flood lights.
Place a heavy object, such as a cinder block, on top of trash can lids.
Get a dog!
Cedar oil repels ticks, fleas and mosquitos
Chip Leedy on cedar oil
I spray a mixture of cedar oil and water on my lawn and shrubs. It's organic and safe for kids and pets. It repels biting insects and it also suffocates their eggs. Apply it at night, and in the morning the yard is ready for pets and kids. You can find cedar oil at local farm co-ops, pet stores, online retailers and landscape supply companies.
Plant oils such as cedar oil, lemongrass oil and others evolved to protect plants from insect damage. The EPA considers cedar oil a safe pesticide in low concentrations (higher concentrations can irritate the skin and be toxic if ingested). Cedar oils are also often used in flea sprays for pets.
Spraying cedar oil diluted with water on your lawn and shrubs can repel insects. However, the Colorado State University extension cautions that spraying horticultural oils might damage certain sensitive plants or trees or those under drought stress. For more information, visit www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05569.html.
Suffocate ants with soap and orange oil
Drenching ant mounds with dish soap alone can be effective. But according to the Penn State Cooperative Extension service (extension.psu.edu), a method showing even more promise for a wider variety of ants (including fire ants!) is drenching ant mounds with a mixture of dishwashing liquid and orange oil.
Orange and other citrus oils contain d-limonene (citrus peel extract), which destroys the wax coating of an ant's respiratory system. A Texas A&M extension study had success drenching fire ant mounds with 1-1/2 oz. of orange oil and 3 oz. of liquid dish soap per gallon of water. You can buy orange and other citrus oils at farm supply stores and online.
"Set-and-forget" fly and mosquito spray
Jordan Van Moorlegham on metered sprays
We use a special metered fly spray in our house that my parents always used on the farm. You can put the can in a dispenser and it sprays every so often. It does a great job of depleting a fly population in your home. I'd highly recommend the dispenser system for anyone.
The Country Vet Metered Automatic Mosquito & Fly Spray Kit can be mounted on a wall or set on a shelf. It dispenses a pyrethrin-based insecticide every 15 minutes and is safe to use around food, people and pets. It can be used effectively in areas around the house where flies and mosquitos are a nuisance, such as sheltered porches, patios and decks. It's available online from sources like qcsupply.com.
Seal out stinkbugs
Joseph Rocco Gualtieri on caulking
Stinkbugs have become a huge problem in my area. I was flushing between five and 10 a day down the toilet. We tried traps, but they didn't work and instead attracted more! I finally figured out where they were coming from—my attic. It looked like a breeding ground…they were everywhere!
I got on my ladder and caulked every gap or opening around my house, especially the wood soffit. I'm proud to say we've had zero stinkbugs since. Sometimes the best solution is to completely prevent those critters from getting in rather than catching them after the fact.
Stinkbugs are on the rise in many areas and causing serious damage to fruits and vegetables. They don't bite or cause structural damage, but in the fall they seek shelter indoors.
According to the University of Maryland extension experts, sealing your home is the best control: caulking, foundation sealing, weather stripping, door sweeps and other measures. If they do get inside, experts recommend vacuuming them up (although your vacuum may stink for a few days afterward).
Repel wood ticks with dryer sheets?
Barry Shoultz on dryer sheets
To repel wood ticks and deer ticks, I unfold clothes dryer sheets and wrap them around the top of my socks and secure them with rubber bands. Not a great fashion statement, but it prevents ticks from clamping onto your pant legs in grassy areas (where they primarily are).
We can't confirm whether this works. Maybe the ticks are laughing so hard at the getup shown in the illustration that they can't get a good grip on your leg when you pass by.
If you continue to struggle with pests in and around the home, check out these additional DIY pest control strategies.
Required Tools for this Project
Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you'll save time and frustration.
- Caulk gun
Metered bug spray dispenser
Required Materials for this Project
Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's a list.
- Ant bait
- Bath soap
- Bug barrier spray
- Bungee cords
- Caulk
- Cedar oil
- Clothes dryer sheets
- Corn meal
- Hydraulic cement
- Liquid dish soap
- Orange oil
- Weatherstripping


text:
Park Inn by Radisson Al Khobar was recently named as Highly Commended 'Best 4 Star Hotel in Saudi Arabia' at the second Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards gala ceremony. The awards are held under the patronage of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.
Nearly one hundred thousand votes were cast in the 2012 Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards before voting closed on Thursday 14 March. Across the 22 sub-categories there were more than 600 nominations with the most hotly contested category being Best 5 Star hotel Saudi Arabia which garnered fifteen per cent of total votes. After these front runners all other sub categories shared the remaining votes between them. With the number of votes received by individual nominees deciding the initial shortlist, it became the responsibility of the panel of nine international judges to review the nomination packs submitted by the shortlisted nominees.
Mohammed Benamar, District Director of the Rezidor Hospitality Group which manages Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson and Missoni Hotels, said: "This achievement will substantiate our presence in the Kingdom and will further position Park Inn by Radisson as a pioneer in mid-market hotel brands in Saudi Arabia. We are committed to continuing our work in helping to grow and diversify the tourism industry in this country."
Frank N. Eikeland, General Manager at the Park Inn by Radisson Al Khobar added: "We are thrilled to be on the stage again, this is the hotel's second consecutive award at this great tourism ceremony and a demonstration to all of our hard work here at Park Inn Al Khobar. Once more, the trust we gain from our guests and employees keeps us walking."
The Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards recognises organisations and individuals within the travel trade that have made a significant contribution to the Kingdom's growing tourism industry. The awards are supported by Alef Publishing & Media, the publishers of Saudi Voyager magazine which has been the main driving force behind the awards under the support of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.
- Ends -
About Park Inn by Radisson:
Park Inn by Radisson is a fresh and innovative upcoming mid-market hotel brand - global in outlook, national in scale and local in operation. The hotel brand prides itself 'on mastering the essentials' and delivering a great affordable hotel experience within its class. Rooms are functional, comfortable, practical and most importantly clean and well maintained. Park Inn currently has almost 140 hotels in operation and under development, including hotel Al Khobar, with more than 26,000 rooms across Europe, Middle East and Africa, including accommodation in Saudi Arabia.
For more information, visit www.parkinn.com
PR Contact:
Wassim Tarabay
Director of Sales & Marketing
Park Inn by Radisson Al Khobar
P.O. Box 2408
Al Rawabi District
King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Road
Al Khobar 31952
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
+966 3 810 0800
Park Inn by Radisson Al Khobar awarded Best 4 Star Hotel in Saudi Arabia
Company: Park Inn by Radisson
Contact Name: Wassim Tarabay
Contact Email: email@example.com
Contact Phone: +966 3 810 0800
Contact Name: Wassim Tarabay
Contact Email: email@example.com
Contact Phone: +966 3 810 0800


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We were on the edge of our seats as the fifth set of that Cilic/Roddick quarterfinal went underway, not knowing whether the experience of the top-ranked American could get him out of that two-set hole he dug, or if the nothing-to-lose attitude of the Croatian newcomer would get him to his first major semi.
In the end, Roddick's bothersome shoulder (he tweaked it near the end of his match against Gonzo) rendered two of his fingers numb, leading to a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 win for Cilic.
Subtle stripes: As you know, Andy is no Venus Williams; he's perfectly content playing in plain, drab clothing. So you bet we were happy that he welcomed some bright stripes on the collar of his Lacoste performance polo.
No word yet on when this'll go on sale. We'll let you know as soon as we get info.
More pics: A few more pics of the polo (also in black) after the cut…
(images via Getty Images)


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eZ Publish is a professional PHP application framework with advanced CMS (content management system) functionality. As a CMS its most notable featureis its revolutionary, fully customizable and extendable content model. Thisis also what makes eZ Publish suitable as a platform for general PHP development,allowing you to rapidly create professional web-based applications. Standard CMS functionality (such as news publishing, e-commerce and forums) are already implemented and ready to use. Standalone libraries can be used for cross-platform database-independent browser-neutral PHP projects. Because eZ Publish 4 is a web-based application, it can be accessed from anywhere you have an internet connection.
This copy of eZ Publish is distributed under the terms and conditions of the eZ Business Use License Agreement (eZ BUL). Briefly summarized, the eZ BUL allows you to run the subscribed number of eZ Publish site accesses or instances. You may modify a copy of the software solely for your internal use. For the complete legal terms and conditions of your eZ BUL license, see the file named LICENSE in the root directory of this eZ Publish distribution.
Copyright © 1999-2007 eZ Systems AS, with portions copyright by other parties. A complete list of all contributors and third-party software follows.
The following is a list of the extensions that have been loaded at run-time by this copy of eZ Publish.
Norsk Psykologforening, postboks 419 sentrum, N-0103 Oslo (Besøksadresse: Kirkegata 2). / Telefon: 23 10 31 30, telefaks: 22 42 42 92 / email@example.com


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This unique, luxury ranch home, features 2,393 square feet of luxury amenities. This WOW factor home soaks up the sun on one of the largest rear covered porch. Sitting under the rear-covered porch will allow you to capture the best panoramic views of your beautiful surroundings.
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[nggallery id=548]
This is what happens when you befriend a porn star.
First they use your for notoriety then when you distance yourself from them they "retire" to get some media attention. After that attention fades away they release an old photo of you and them together.
Then they claim it was an "accident" the pic was released.
Of course nothing says "good friend" like Tweeting something to troll after your friend and his team suffered a big loss.
Good luck with all of this GRONK!!!


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Sometimes my projects can get a little beyond my skill and ability. I pride myself on my lateral thinking and problem solving capacity. But like everyone, I sometimes can get locked into an intellectual box that I just can't find my way out of. In times like this, it is best to just stop what you are doing and pack it up. Coming back to a problem with a fresh attitude and set of eyes can often help. Forcing things in situations like this, can often just see you doing further damage and while increasing your stress.
One of these 'boxed up' projects has been slumbering in my cupboard since last year. That is, until just recently when I awoke to an email from the 3D printer, Shapeways, telling me that someone had ordered one of my carriage levers.
It was Mike over at Clickthing, who had just purchased a beautiful Remington Noiseless - as seen here.
The trouble was that while I had designed this part with considerable effort, and even installed it into my own machine, I had yet to actually get the typewriter working. A couple of big issues had stood in my way last year, and I more or less had relegated the machine to the back of the cupboard.
Mike has also had to confront some of the these same problems as well. Not only did he have a broken lever, but he also discovered that the drawband for the mainspring was also shot - and very difficult to replace.
With Michael Clemens rapidly making progress on his machine, I thought I had better get off my arse and perhaps finish my own. So I busted it out of the cupboard, slapped it on my desk, and tried to ignore the collective half dozen or so hours I had burned trying to get it going in the past.
And, within an hour or so I had the machine mostly working. Much to my surprise.
Let's talk about the lever.
For those who haven't seen my previous blog about producing this part, here it is.
I wish I had my own 3D printer - even just one that does plastic, so I could have done a couple of cheap prototypes before I printed the main product. Instead, while the lever was quite cheap to print, posting to Australia turned out to be hideously expensive, so I just did the best I could with the design and produced the main.
As such there were a few things about the design that I only learned were wrong when I had it bolted into the machine. There's no fatal errors in my design that makes it unusable, but the design could still do with a revision.
Firstly, as mentioned before the part needs to be drilled out to be usable. No big deal, and it gives the hole a better fit anyway. But it is something that I can fix with a re-design.
Secondly, the angle of the lever is a fraction out. Coupled with a curve that the original didn't have, it means that the lever can knock on the side of the paper when you use it. It wouldn't have been a problem if this machine wasn't designed in a way - that it had the paper sticking up and out of the typewriter at an absurd angle. This was easily rectified by just shifting the paper locator across to the right a bit. No big deal, but I could have done better. Then again, so could have Remington. In the next version of this machine they put in a proper paper table that didn't have the paper jutting out into the air stupidly, and in the way of the lever.
My understanding is that even with the original lever, this posed something of a problem.
Third: I needed to put a chamfer onto the edge of the tiny square knob that slots into the machine. This can be easily filed into it, as it only needs to be small. But without it, when you unfold the lever for use, it occasionally catches on a small metal piece that it should just slide over. All you need to do is push the lever a little bit towards the back of the machine (don't worry, it is made to do this) and just move it past the obstruction.
No big deal, but Michael may need to be mindful about this when his turns up. Eventually I'll revise the design.
Let's talk about mainsprings.
Like Michael, I had a broken drawband.
Michael, for the record, you cannot.... I repeat, cannot... Simply tie a new string to a piece of the old one. Why? Because the lumpy knob brushes and catches on parts in the typewriter. Cut your loses, and cut that string and get rid of as much of it as you can.
And while you're cutting - on the side of the drum with that biggest lip, cut yourself an angled grove like the one in the photo above. This is similar to how the drum on the portable Royal typewriter of this era is set up, and it works perfectly.
Just knot your line, and slip the string into the grove. Have the knot facing outwards of the drum on the flat side, and wrap your string onto it. Be careful when winding the spring though, as you might catch your finger on this grove if you accidentally let the drum slip while winding. I made sure that I had enough string on the line to wrap around the drum at least once, with the carriage fully extended along its tracks.
Now. Let's talk about Rollers.
One of the biggest problems that stopped me in my tracks last time, were the crystallized rollers. These were fossilized to the point that the hardened rubber inside of the cracks sparkled in the light. They had flats-pots, cavernous cracks and hardness that was almost diamond like. Suffice to say, they were pretty freakin' useless. The platen was also as slippery as a cockney con-man.
The platen was easy to resolve as it hadn't cracked, and it at least still sort of felt like rubber. I just rubbed horizontally across it once with a piece of course sandpaper, which gave it plenty of traction.
However the rollers were quite different.... but.... have a look at this!
I've been experimenting with producing my own rubber parts of late, and it nicely payed off with this typewriter. I'll blog on this in the near future.
I also hope that Michael finds something here that can help him. Best of luck Michael!


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Where In The World Is The Best Place For Healthy Eating?
The Dutch are known for their lax drug laws, tall statures and proficient language skills.
Perhaps we should add stellar eating habits to that list, as well.
The Netherlands ranked as the easiest country in the world in which to find a balanced, nutritious diet, the advocacy group Oxfam reported Tuesday.
France and Switzerland shared the second slot. And Western Europe nearly swept the top 20 positions, with Australia just edging into a tie for 8th.
Where did the U.S. land?
We tied with Japan for 21st place, despite the fact that we have the most cheap food available. Our friendly neighbors to the north, Canada, took the 25th position out of 125 countries.
A group of researchers at Oxfam, an anti-poverty nonprofit based in Oxford, England, concocted the ranking scheme to measure the best and worst places to eat around the world.
We're not talking about the density of Michelin-starred restaurants or whether you can get wild salmon versus farmed-raised fish at the grocery store.
Instead, the ranking considers whether families have sufficient access to fresh produce, nutritious proteins and clean water — and whether these options are affordable compared with less healthful options.
The team's conclusion?
"Basically, if you arrive from Mars and design a food system, you probably couldn't design a worse one than what we have today on Earth," Oxfam's Max Lawson tells The Salt. "There is enough food overall in the world to feed everyone. But 900 million people still don't have enough to eat, and 1 billion people are obese. It's a crazy situation."
To compile the rankings, Lawson and his colleagues spent a few months analyzing eight reports from the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. and the International Labor Organization.
A country's score depends on how much food is available (so richer countries have an advantage), the nutritional value of that food and how diet helps or harms the nation's health.
The team measured that last metric by looking at diabetes and obesity rates in each country. Not surprisingly, that's where the U.S. stumbles: We ranked 120th out of 125 countries in terms of how diet influences health.
The problem is linked to poverty, Lawson says.
"Food is very, very cheap in the U.S. compared to most countries," he explains. "But the fact is you end up with people malnourished in one of the richest countries because they don't have access to fresh vegetables at a cheap enough price to make a balanced diet."
At the other end of the spectrum are countries that struggle just to get enough food on each family's table each day. Chad, Ethiopia and Angola ranked at the overall bottom of Oxfam's list, in large part because of high malnutrition rates and the relatively high cost of foods in these countries.
"People think that hunger is inevitable, but that's just not true," Lawson says. "There is enough food in the world to ensure that nobody goes to bed hungry."
The problem, in large part, is getting fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains to people who need it, he says. "Even in countries with famines, there's still often enough food. Someone is hoarding it, or it hasn't been distributed."
And that problem isn't new. "Very famously," he says, "during the Irish potato famine, the British were exporting Irish wheat to the U.K."
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