07.29
0 Comments | Pantagraph; Bloomington, Ill., Dec 16, 2007 | by Bill Kemp
Milled grain was the staff of life on the frontier. Early settlers would make long, arduous treks to the nearest gristmill to have their wheat, corn, oats and other grains ground into flour or feed.
Without such mills, pioneer life could be cruel. For example, during the winter of the Deep Snow, 1830-1831, when roads and trails were impassable and mills inaccessible, pioneers were forced use makeshift mortar and pestles to pound their corn into meal.
The most famous gristmill in McLean County was the one operated by the Moore family of Mount Hope Township. Situated on the south bank of Sugar Creek about three miles west of McLean, Moore’s Mill survived into the 20th century, becoming the last operational water- powered mill in the county.
John Caton erected the mill – originally intended as a sawmill – in early 1842. Caton, though, quickly tired of the enterprise, and he swapped the mill for Jacob Moore’s 160 acres of nearby farmland. Moore, who was a miller in Ohio before settling on the Illinois frontier, converted Caton’s operation into a gristmill.
Moore obtained a pair of millstones 46 inches in diameter, with the top stone, known as the “runner,” weighing 1,600 pounds. According to one account, he also pieced together an “ingenious system of shafts, and cogwheels, all made of wood.” And after two waterwheels proved unsatisfactory, he finally procured one able to supply enough power to turn the millstones.
Concentrating on rough’ grains
By the 1860s, Moore stopped grinding wheat and instead turned exclusively to corn, oats, rye, and other “rough” grains. Mills of this kind were affectionately known as “corn crackers.”
At one time, there were several dozen water-powered mills scattered throughout McLean County, with many lining the Mackinaw River. There were also mills powered by oxen, steam and, in at least one failed attempt, wind.
Jacob Moore passed away during the summer of 1889, though his son, David, had been running the business for more than a decade. David Moore enlarged the dam, installed a modern turbine wheel and replaced his father’s hand-hewn mechanicals with steel shafting and cast-iron gears
07.29
Shipshape but is it?
0 Comments | Waikato Times, Jul 26, 2010
HMNZS Otago, bright and shiny new ship arrived for our navy – but?
There are some traditions which are not desirable (Waikato Times, September 29).
HMNZS Canterbury was faulty upon delivery.
Once again the protocol is flawed.
Does Australia have the same problems with ships they make for their own navy?
By now it must be pretty clear that ships built and supplied to the New Zealand navy by Australia are not good
shipping boxes
07.29
So many articles and experts out there (especially at this time of year) tell us the key to succeeding with our resolutions is to commit and take action. And, they are correct; it does take commitment and action to see positive changes. However, if it is not the right action customized for who you are and what you really want, it is akin to gritting your teeth and forging ahead on someone else’s path. Yes, you’ll move forward but at some point you’ll burnout and it’ll fall apart because it is not sustainable for you.
OK, so I can hear you screaming – but how do I know for sure if what I say I want is what I really want and if it is right for me? Here’s the good news, only YOU can know that for sure.
how to set goals
07.29
Mostly, I just want to be able to get it all done, as I have every other year, which is no longer an option. I am left to ponder my upcoming fate with the dread of not performing or of falling short.
I suspect the ?expectations? will somehow be met, only because I
couldn?t bear to let my children down during the most important season for meeting expectations. And I have set myself up for all of this, gladly, willingly, never expecting ?ill health? to interfere with our rituals and festivities. Never mind that this health condition was caused primarily by trying to cram five weeks worth of expectations into a ten day period when I over-booked myself with work, volunteering at my children?s schools at the same time I was expected to take care of many other obligations and promises to family and friends.
canvas prints
07.29
For most animals it is the drive to survive as a species.
We humans have taken the whole dating/seduction ritual to unforseen heights. Just think of all the things we do to try and impress that special someone. And why do we want to impress them? Because we think we like them and if we don’t do our best to seduce them using all sorts of dating tricks and techniques then someone else will and that’s just not acceptable.
So why do we date?
To impress someone we are interested in? I would say yes on that one. I can’t think of any other reason to spend that kind of time and money other then to do just that.
To continue the human species? This is a far more subjective question. Do we really need more humans on the world? That’s debatable. I think for the majority of humans it’s for a little more selfish reasons and that’s to have somone come after us who carries the family name onward into the future.
Just for the fun of it? Now here’s whole another way to look at it.
free senior dating
07.29
Julia Roberts, for example, earns an estimated $25,000,000 each year. Cameron Diaz earns $20,000,000 annually. Angelina Jolie pulls down about $12,000,000 each year and Reese Witherspoon gets a $15,000,000 yearly paycheck (source: bankrate.com). With that much cash on hand, the stars can easily afford to hire the best personal trainers, the best nutritionists, the best dietitians and the best personal chefs.
?Celebrities also have the luxury of personal trainers and nutritionists to help them with rigorous diet regimes? (source: abcnews.go.com).
With a personal chef to prepare every meal, celebrities find it easier to follow a low fat diet. A registered dietitian in the house makes it easy for stars to get a unique diet recipe or any other weight loss information they want. Simply put, having the salary of a celebrity makes it easier to lose weight.
Indeed, it?s that same high salary that gives celebrities their incredible incentive to stay slender. The blunt truth of the matter is that Hollywood and the entertainment industry is not kind to overweight stars, often shunning them in favor of ?thin beauty?.
07.29
The loan amount typically ranges from ?3,000 to ?50,000, but can sometimes find a lender for as much as ?250,000 on an appropriately secured property. The amount borrowed is then repaid on a monthly basis for a predetermined amount of time, typically between 3 and 25 years. Repaying the loan early may result in a penalty or extra fee attached, so be sure to consult your lender prior to signing any loan agreement.
Secured lenders charge you interest on your loan known as the APR, or annual percentage rate, based on your credit history, loan amount, and the value of your collateral (typically your property value). Second charges are also based on the above, but also include the amount of equity available in the property.
credit cards online
07.29
Offer credit card payment options to make it easy for
your clients (and the government!) to pay you.
Today, businesses need payment options. If you’re able to
allow them to pay with credit cards, you’ll have more
clients. And if you’re interested in government business,
this is an easy way to get some of it since most government
agencies are now using credit cards for purchases valued at
less than $2,500.
5. Be flexible–offer to meet for breakfast.
Just like you, your clients are very busy. They have
meetings all day and often during lunch, so it’s hard to
find a time to get together. Offer to meet for breakfast
when you and your client are both fresh, or meet after normal work hours to accommodate their schedule.
6. Provide added-value service at no charge.
Give them something they aren’t expecting. If you go the extra mile, your customers will notice.
small business loans
07.28
Oscar Wilde’s words of wisdom fetch A[pounds sterling]12,000 at auction
0 Comments | Star (Sheffield) (Sheffield, England), The, March 25, 2010
That sum was double the A[pounds sterling]6,000 the letter had been expected to fetch at the auction at Bonhams.
In the 150-word letter – posted from France on March 15, 1898 – Wilde tells Sheffield-born Leonard Smithers: “There are only two forms of writers in England: the unread and the unreadable.”
Leonard Charles Smithers, son of Sheffield dentist John Smithers, was born on Infirmary Road in December 1861 so was in his late 30s when he received the letter.
Smithers was educated at Wesley College For The Law in Sheffield and started his working life as a solicitor with Sheffield law firm, Meredith, Roberts and Mills, before he made an unusual career move by becoming a publisher of saucy books.
With Sheffield printer and book dealer Harry Nichols, he set up the Sheffield-based Erotika Biblion Society.
The venture was so successful Smithers and Nichols switched the business to London, which is how he came to meet and eventually publish the works of Oscar Wilde.
Wilde wrote to Smithers after his release from Reading Jail where he had served two years for homosexuality offences.
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07.28
Club hours
0 Comments | Daily Post; Liverpool (UK), Jul 23, 2010 | by Anonymous
THE owners of a new nightspot will not be allowed to play music outdoors at any time, councillors have ruled.
And even indoors the opening hours of the Guildhall Tavern Hotel in Denbigh are much less than requested.
Locals objected to an application by Svenska Flicka Ltd, which has redeveloped the former Bull Hotel in Town Hall Square, to remain open until 2.30am. The owners argued the premises would be open until then only at special functions.
Householders in Park Street protested that when the premises operated in the past they had to put up with noise, vandalism and anti-social behaviour
times square hotels