Monday, November 1, 2010

The Benefits of Container Homes

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Container homes, also called shipping container homes or cargo container homes, are a very awesome idea and have many benefits, including:

 

  • Affordability – Shipping container homes are way cheaper than your standard house, making home ownership a possibility to more people.
  • Durability – Cargo containers have been built to withstand the elements of sea travel, such as strong winds, harsh rain, etc. This means that container homes are not going to leak, they’ll stand up to extreme weather conditions and, some even claim, are earthquake proof and hurricane proof.  
  • Sustainability – You won’t be using up new resources when you purchase a container home, you’ll be purchasing a home made from recycled material.
  • Room to Grow – You can stack shipping container homes on top of each other to create a larger living space.
  • Speedy – Container homes can be put together very quickly, making them a great shelter solution in emergency situations (for example, when towns have been wiped out by floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes).
  • Easy Relocation – If you decide to pack up and move across country, you can bring your home with you. After all, a shipping container home was originally designed to … well … ship!

 

Read more about shipping container houses on www.shipping-container-housing.com

Top 7 DVD Recorder - VHS VCR Combinations

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DVD recorder/VCR combos - For those that are replacing a VCR and want a DVD recorder, this option gives you the best of the old and the new. You can use these units to play DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as record or copy homemade recordings (such as camcorder tapes, TV recordings, etc...). However, keep in mind that DVD recorder/VCR combos cannot be used to copy commercially made DVD movies to VHS or commercially made VHS movies to DVD, due to copy-protection.

NOTE: Many manufacturers have stopped making new DVD recorders and DVD Recorder/VCR Combos. Some that still do have kept the same models for two or more years.

 1. Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK DVD recorder/VCR Combo with HDMI

The Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK DVD recorder/VCR combo has the ability to record most DVD formats and play back most DVD and CD formats, including MP3 and Divx files. In addition using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. With Panasonic's enhanced 4-hour recording mode, you can record sporting events and longer movies onto DVD with the same video quality as the 2-hour recording mode. The incorporation of HDMI and video upscaling makes the EZ48VK a good match for an HDTV. The DMR-EZ48VK has both an SD card slot and USB input for digital image and music file playback, as well as an ATSC tuner.

2. Panasonic DMR-EA38VK DVD Recorder/VCR Combo

The Panasonic DMR-EA38VK has the ability to record most DVD formats, and play back most DVD and CD formats. In addition using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. Also, with Panasonic's enhanced 4-hour recording mode, you can record sporting events and longer movies onto DVD with the same video quality as the 2-hour recording mode. The incorporation of HDMI and video upscaling makes the EA38VK a good partner for use with an HDTV. NOTE: The EA38VK requires an external DTV Converter, Cable, or Satellite Box to receive and record television programming. 

3. LG RC897T DVD Recorder/VCR Combination

The RC897T DVD recorder/VCR combo has the ability to record most DVD formats and play back most DVD and CD formats. Using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. The incorporation of an HDMI output and video upscaling function is a nice touch that makes the RC897T a good match for an HDTV. The RC897T has both analog and DV video inputs, as well as a USB input for digital image and music file playback. This unit also complies with the upcoming DTV transition requirements, with its built-in ATSC tuner, which allows reception of digital tv signals.

 

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Atkins diet – What is Dr.

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Atkins’ diet?

The Atkins diet is a high protein low carb diet which was introduced in the 1960’s by Dr. Robert Atkins. Atkins diet system claims weight loss and has noted several success stories. Dr Atkin resolved his own overweight condition and successfully treated thousands of patients on his diet plan. He popularized his diet in a book series called Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution in 1972. Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, is his revised copy with updated ideas but basic concepts remained same.

The majority will sequentially pass through this as they successfully shed their excess weight.

Supplementary diets are provided for those who cannot follow the majority route, like those with a high metabolic resistance and those with food intolerances.

Atkins’ diet menu - What can you eat on the Atkins’ diet

The Atkins’ diet menu lets you eat foods that many dieters only dream about. The Atkins’ diet plan is said to work even if other diets have left you feeling depressed and deprived.

About Dr. Atkins diet:

  • Atkins diet menu sets few limits on the amount of food you eat. Instead, it severely restricts the kinds of food permitted on your plate: no processed and refined sugar, milk, white bread, starchy vegetables, white rice and white flour. This includes cereals and pasta made from white flour.
  • The Atkins diet lets you eat foods traditionally regarded as "rich": meat, eggs, cheese, and more.
  • Atkins diet plan claims to cut down your appetite in the process.
  • On Dr Atkins’ diet, you eat almost pure protein and fat.

You can liberally eat nutrient-rich unprocessed foods like animal flesh (meat, fish and poultry). You can have red meat, fish (including shellfish), fowl, and regular cheese (not "diet" cheese, cheese spreads, or whey cheeses). You can also cook with butter, have mayo with your tuna, and add olive oil on your salads. 

Then again, carbs are restricted (about 20 grams of net carbs per day, meaning total carbs minus fiber) in the first two weeks. That translates to three cups of loosely packed salad or two cups of salad with two-thirds cup of certain cooked vegetables each day.

The Atkins’ diet menu does allow for adding fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods after the two-week induction period.

How Atkins’ diet works?

Dr. Atkins diet is predominantly based on the theory that overweight people eat too many carbohydrates. Our bodies tend to burn both fat and carbohydrates for energy, but carbs are used first. However, our bodies naturally lose weight by burning stored body fat more efficiently by drastically reducing carbs and eating more protein and fat.

Researchers claim that, fewer the carbohydrates present in a diet, the more sustained the blood sugar level remains throughout the day. This is because sugar is always metabolized first.  Craving is caused by blood sugar fluctuations aggravated by carbohydrate consumption. However, by cutting down carbohydrates, a person’s blood sugar can retain a more even level throughout the day. As a result, he or she will have no cravings and refrain from in-between meal snacks.

Also, diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates tend to increase the body’s production of insulin.  When insulin levels are high, the food is more quickly turned into body fat in the form of triglycerides. High triglyceride levels appear to be one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease. You are able to cleanse the burned stored fat out of their cells, by using the fat cells for energy thus causing the dramatic drop in weight.

 

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Shelter

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Documenting a personal quest for non-toxic housing.

Superbox

As the advocates of the brief High Tech design movement of the 1980s -and the Eameses 40 years before them- well demonstrated, there is much practical potential in the creative reuse of industrial products in the application of housing. This was a natural area of exploration for me because industrial structures have always tended to be made with far more robust materials than is typical of housing and, as a result, make extensive use of non-toxic steel, aluminum, and concrete. And contemporary industry tends to generate a very steady stream of cast-offs with potental for reuse given a little ingenuity. Nowhere is this more obvious than with the ISO standard marine shipping container which, in communities where trade deficits are the norm, often accumulate in great numbers and thus have inspired much invention.

As a structural system, the shipping container has many virtues. Containers interlock using a variety of connectors which fit into their socketed corner blocks and allow them to be linked in three dimensions with stacks up to ten containers high. Containers are clear-span steel box frames at the 20' length size and are structurally sound with or without their wall and roof skins, thus allowing the sides of the box to be modified in any fashion without presenting any loss of structural integrity. The dimensions are a little odd in that non-parallel interconnections work only in combinations of 2:5 for 20' containers or 1:5 for 40' ones. In other words, if you want to rigidly connect containers side-to-end one must have five ends side-by-side to connect to one 40' container or two 20' containers linked end-to-end. Many types of fixtures designed to plug-into the container corner blocks are commonly available. Clamps used to mount antennas for telecom shelters and access ladders can accommodate innumerable other attachments. Bulkhead king-pin blocks normally welded to ship deck plates to let them carry containers can be attached to a great variety of foundation systems. A variety of lift devices and dollies -some with integral motors- can be attached to the sides of containers to make them self-mobile.

 

Read more about shipping container housing plans on www.shipping-container-housing.com

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Luxury Hotels Near Walt Disney World

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With numerous shops and restaurants situated along International Drive, several famous theme parks in the area, acres of parkland and championship golf courses, Orlando offers plenty of activities for the entire family. In addition to easy access to the theme park, luxury hotels near Walt Disney World offer a sophisticated setting, fine dining experiences, restorative spa services and exclusive amenities.

 

  • The Villas of Grand Cypress Resort

    Conveniently located adjacent to Walt Disney World, this AAA Four Diamond luxury resort sits on 1,500 acres. Each of the 146 elegant villas provide flat-screen cable televisions, high-speed Internet access, large baths, in-room spa services and private terraces with scenic views of the waterways or the fairways of the North Course. In addition to 45 holes on a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses, the Golf Club and the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf, the resort includes a racquet club, a health club, a rock climbing wall, jogging paths, bike trails, nine-hole mini golf and an walking tours on a boardwalk Audubon Society Nature Preserve. Both of the two resort pools feature cascading waterfalls and one of the pools also provides two water slides. Babysitting services are available upon request or children may be enrolled in one of the resort's kids' camps. The property also features several dining options, including seven full-service restaurants, three lounges and two poolside snack bars. Take advantage of complimentary on-call shuttles 24-hours a day to transport you from your Villa to anywhere on the resort property. Complimentary transportation is also available to drop you off at the front gate of all Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World theme parks, though the schedules vary by season. The Villas of Grand Cypress Resort One North Jacaranda Orlando, FL 32836 877-330-7377 grandcypress.com
  • The Peabody Orlando Hotel

    Located less than 20 minutes from Walt Disney World, the AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel is committed to conserving natural resources and is a member of the Florida Green Lodging program. All of the 891 guest rooms and suites are decorated with a soothing decor of warm, natural colors and include cable television with premium channels, high-speed Internet access, a mini television in the bathroom and fully-stocked minibars. The bi-level pool deck features lounge chairs, palm trees and raised flower gardens alongside a lap pool, a children's pool and a whirlpool. Relax in one of the poolside cabanas stocked with fresh towels and sunblock or get in a workout in the Athletic Club equipped with a Nautilus training center and four hard court tennis courts. Rejuvenate your system with an exfoliation or aromatherapy massage in the Shala Salon and Spa. Dining options include the B-Line Express cafe, the 24-hour 1950s-style B-Line Diner and the Italian steakhouse, Capriccio Grill. The upscale property may be best known for its daily March of The Peabody Ducks. At 11 a.m. five North American mallard ducks, four hens and one drake, descend from the Royal Duck Palace to the hotel's atrium lobby. The ducks are escorted by the Duck Master across a red carpet until entering an ornate fountain in the Atrium Lobby where they then spend the day until 5 p.m. when the march is reversed. The Peabody Orlando Hotel 9801 International Drive Orlando, FL 32819 407-352-4000 peabodyorlando.com

 

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Shipping Container Construction: One Solution to Affordable Housing

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The problem of affordable housing has been a problem in many areas of the world for a long time, even before our current economic turn for the worse happened along. To combat this problem and also to address the issue of sustainability, some architects started looking at alternative building materials.

One of the building materials that they discovered was used shipping containers; in many parts of the world makeshift dwellings had been made out of these large metal boxes previously but no one had really played with the idea of using them to design a house with all the amenities of home before.

Shipping containers come from anywhere that ships large quantities of goods; the containers are pre-packed then put on boats and/or trains and the goods are delivered all over the world. Due to the expense of shipping the used empty containers to locations that need them from locations that don't, sometimes they end up just sitting around empty. It is reported that it can cost more to ship a used empty container than to just buy a new one!

Due to the materials used to make shipping containers, they can be easily recycled into new containers and other steel items, but using them "as is" to build homes can save energy as well as recycle the materials. There are a number of concerns that some people have about these container homes but there are also many advantages as well.

 

 

Read more about shipping container construction on www.shipping-container-housing.com

Friday, October 29, 2010

Calling All Business Plan Competitions

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For the first time, a comprehensive and searchable online directory of business-plan competitions is being made available to the public for free. The directory can be accessed at bizplancompetitions.com. 

The goal of the new site is to display the details of every business-plan competition in the United States and Canada that awards significant cash and in-kind prizes to its winners based on the decision of independent judges. A competition held outside the U.S. is also eligible provided it accepts U.S. entrants.

Included are campus-based competitions, social-entrepreneurship contests, and competitions organized by local and regional economic development groups.

According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, in the United States alone, more than 50 universities conduct business-plan competitions annually, awarding a total of $10 million in prizes and in-kind services. Even richer competitions are held outside the academic setting: Michigan's recently-announced contest called Accelerate Michigan, for example, is offering $1 million in prize money, with $500,000 in cash to the winner.

"We're excited to be able to offer this resource to the entrepreneur community," says Co-founder Joe Hurley, who previously created and ran the well-known college-savings website Savingforcollege.com. "We list business-plan competitions, we blog about them, we tweet them, and we promote them as a great way to assist budding entrepreneurs."

Bizplancompetitions.com also solicits sponsors interested in offering additional prizes through an innovative online prize platform. A company that makes products or provides services for the small-business market can offer a cash or in-kind award to any or all of the competitions listed on the site. The winners of those competitions become eligible to collect the additional prizes.

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