DURAGRID FRP Grating Offering a more Economical Alternative to Steel Grating
By AZoBuild
Table of Contents
Introduction
Solution
Technical Data
About Strongwell
Introduction
High commodity scrap prices for steel in 2011 had made a national retailer a theft target. The problem was the stealing of steel grating at the drainage systems in the large retail chains loading zones. Replacement costs of steel grating were very high due to longer fabrication times and higher steel prices. Another problem was aesthetic deterioration caused by the varying age of the steel grating and water runoff. The retail chain used wood as a temporary solution, but it became rotten in due course due to its nature.
Solution
The retail chains objective was to employ more number of non-metallic structural products in the drainage system to prevent trash and water buildup as well as theft. The chosen solution was DURAGRID pultruded grating from Strongwell.
DURAGRID 1.5 HD-5000 pultruded grating was used in eight installations to get extended years of maintenance-free service. FRPs light weight, high strength, easy-to-install characteristics enabled the retail chain to access its loading docks during installation, thus reducing downtime.
Since there is no decline in steel prices, the heavy duty HD grating will serve as a permanent, corrosion-free fixture in the loading zone of the retail chain while facilitating full drainage capabilities for the coming years.
Technical Data
EasiDrive Provides Safe, Economical Valve Operation, Ideal for Use in Oil …
http://www.smithflowcontrol.com/easidrive.html
The EasiDrive portable valve actuator securely and effectively operates valves in oil refineries, power plants, paper mills and chemical processing facilities, even where adverse climates, such as arid and dry-desert environments, make operations more challenging. The combination of intense heat and a dry climate can make working conditions unfavourable; but with the EasiDrive, one operator can efficiently operate multiple valves with a single tool while reducing fatigue and injury risk. The tool is especially effective on valves that require a high number of turns or are otherwise difficult to operate because of high torque or where harsh environments make operations more difficult.
Mike Fynes, Sales and Marketing Director at Smith Flow Control states: We are pleased that we have been able to manufacture a portable solution as an alternative to a dedicated valve actuator that can be applied in the most challenging environments. Many of our customers across the Middle East are excited about our portable valve actuator range as they can already see the great benefit they will gain from using the EasiDrive system.
EasiDrive is a lightweight, portable and adaptable pneumatic tool. The tools custom engineered reaction device protects the user from the kick normally associated with other torque tools, eliminating the possibility of any injury associated with its operation.
EasiDrive also features a variable output torque, controlled by a choice of limited pre-set Filter Regulator (FRL) packs, which prevents excessive torque being applied and ensures proper and safe operation of the valve.
For more information, please call +44 (0)1376 517901 or email m.fynes@smithflowcontrol.com or visit the companys website at www.smithflowcontrol.com.
Is A La Carte Pricing for Television Economical?
Ive been interested for the past few months in the ongoing debates about TV pricing in the age of streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc). Most of what Ive been reading has argued in favor of a la carte pricing. That is, ditch the fat (expensive) bundle of cable channels you dont watch in favor of paying for what you want. If youre a history buff, get one set of things; if you like animal shows there are channels for that. Cooking, kids, nature, sports, etc - the cable content menu could be served like the YouTube content menu, more or less.
Well, maybe not, argues Skip Sauer in The Sports Economist. In particular, he notes that sports programming is a (the?) major driver of live television. Really, theres nothing else going out live that people care about in any significant numbers. This is true across broadcast, cable, and satellite. The problem is that the cost of sports programming is going up. Blame players or owners (or both) as you please but as salaries go up, so too do ticket prices and the costs to sports broadcasters.
If sports costs a lot more than everything else, then, the question is who is subsidizing what. If the (high) price of sports broadcasting is bundled in with the (lower) price of other broadcasting then its not inherently clear whether the very large audiences for the sports content are paying more money than they otherwise might, and thus subsidizing the non-sports channels or whether those who dont care about sports but buy the cable bundles with sports in them are subsidizing the sports.
If you were to break the package apart, two things might happen. One is that the lower viewership for non-sports content might render the content uneconomical to produce. Two is that the high price of sports content might be considered too high and people would not want to pay that much for less content, causing a drop-off in viewership. Neither of these is in the interests of the content producers, so regardless of which scenario you think is likely its easy to see why the content producers as well as the content providers would be in favor of bundling.
Sauer also points to a 2006 publication by GMU professor Thomas Hazlett (direct PDF link here) that argues consumer choice is respected in bundle/tier pricing and that a significant segment of consumers will opt for bundles when given the choice. The paper is lengthy (40 pages) and makes some assumptions I would contest. Also, I think the consumer climate has changed in the past 5-6 years with the rise of high-speed networking and mobile devices so its conclusions ought to be re-checked. However, its still a solid piece of research and ought to give pause to a reflexive assumption that a la carte is always going to be better.
My guess is that were going to continue to see a bifurcated world. Smaller-scale, less attractive content will continue to do well by pricing itself directly to its audience (see for example Pledgemusic) or using sponsorship-type models. Bigger and mass-market content, though, may continue to thrive in tiered/bundled pricing models, which will struggle to find their place and connect with their audiences in the Net world.
ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH AS USUAL
ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH AS USUAL
An article in The Economist takes a rather typically
jaundiced view of some of the recent political developments in
Sri Lanka, with particular focus on the impeachment. Strangely,
the comment takes the view that the former CJ was (according to
the writer at least) good when she (allegedly) delivered judgements in favour of the government, but turned into a thorn
on the side of the administration when she did not follow these
good judgements with similarly positive ones. The writers
inference is clear.
Politically speaking she played ball with the government, and
then when the relationship went sour, she started giving bad
judgements. Well, if what The Economist writer says is true,
there need not be any other reason to impeach the former Chief
Justice.
If her judgments from the Bench swayed in the way of a stick
in the mud or a brittle dry leaf caught in the wind, she was a
very bad Judge as far as her integrity is concerned, and that is
all it says, no matter what The Economist might offer to colour
the government black and the ex-Chief Justice lily white.
This editorial comment does not accept that the regime used
the Chief Justice in this way, and played political ball with
her to secure good judgements. But even if a regime did so, what
is acceptable from a regime which is comprised of politicians
who are expected to play politics to get a better deal out of
any arrangement (politics being the art of the possible ...)
cannot be expected from a Chief Justice, who is expected by all
standards to be the paragon of virtue - NO LESS.
This is fundamental. A Chief Justice of a country is not
expected to sway to the headwinds of the politics of the season,
and if she falls down doing so, it would be pathetically absurd
to defend her and say that something wrong was done to her -
because, the fact that it is accepted that she swayed to a
political diktat, means that she had no integrity at all and was
by definition an unacceptable judge!
Therefore the brass of it, and the utter risibility of The
Economist taking such a viewpoint in an article which somehow
ends up blaming the Sri Lankan government for the impeachment of
Chief Justice, says something about the hilarious determination
of some international publications to paint a regime black, when
the facts stare in the face screaming that the regime was right.
Even if the regime, as hypothesized played political ball
with the Chief Justice, by any yardstick and no matter what
happened later, getting rid of a bad judge was a sine qua non in
a democratic polity, and then, why is anybody complaining?
Does it mean that The Economist would have kept complaining
AGAINST the judge, if she continued to play ball with the
administration as it is alleged she earlier did! All this is
hilarious, particularly when one considers that it is in the
West and in countries such as those that The Economist is
published in, that people most stridently insist on impeccable
standards of integrity in institutions such as the Judiciary,
though they are not necessarily averse to politicians appointing
judges partial to them, as for example it is the United States,
with every president who is a Republican appointing conservative
judges, and every president that is a Democrat appointing
liberal judges.
There is no point of course in asking why The Economist would
never carry an article about the progress made in Sri Lanka
after the war - the tremendous saving in foreign exchange
earlier expended on weapons supplies - and the significant
forward march in terms of infrastructure development etc., eg:
the vast improvement of the road network, including highways,
being one example. These issues obviously do not have the media
sex appeal so to say, but whether its ethical for publications
to blacken governments needlessly while concealing the
positives, is not a question that should so much as be ventured
in the vulture media culture of our times. The Western media is
free to destroy any country, scrupulously keeping away from
their own, of course.
Intro to Vegan Gluten-Free
You've just been diagnosed with Celiac disease or you have discovered somehow you have a wheat allergy and to complicate matters you are a vegan. What on earth is there left to eat? Don't worry, that is me and I have survived and I'll help you on this journey. From baking bread to sweets to entrees toward the easiest and most economical way possible to ensure you; my dear reader a happy gastronomical life will be my goal in this blog.
After many years as a vegetarian I decided 4 years ago to become a vegan. Why? My cholesterol and blood pressure were off the chart and I was not about to take medication therefore I had one choice and that was to cut out all sorts of carcasses (I had been eating fish and eggs as a vegetarian) and also I needed to lose 50lbs. After two years, my cholesterol and blood pressure plus a weight loss of 50lbs put me back into the healthy category. Living the vida loca as a vegan was great until the last year when many symptoms began to surface. My body ached and I had trouble with constipation plus my stomach would bloat each time I ate. It took me 6 weeks to get an appointment to see a GI (that is one busy profession) but in the meantime after much research I decided to try and eliminate wheat out of my diet. After one week I was no longer constipated and my stomach bloats were gone. A few weeks more and my back no longer ached and my neck felt great. By the time I had my appt. with the GI I was symptom-free. Yeah me!
I have tried to incorporate wheat into my diet in an effort to try to find out if the culprit was really wheat and the symptoms once again began to reappear. No more wheat for this little lady.
This is a great website to check for symptoms of Celiac disease or wheat allergy:
http://www.celiac.org/index.php?option=com_contentamp;view=articleamp;id=6amp;Itemid=12
In future blogs I will have recipes and ideas on how to live vegan gluten-free (vgf). If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to see become vgf by all means send it to me and I'll try to convert them.
In the meantime I want to give you some sort of conversions to try until we meet again: A few of my favorites:
Milk - So Delicious Coconut Milk
Eggs - 1 tablespoon chia seed and 3 tablespoons hot water. Mix together and let stand for 10 minutes. Add to your recipe.
Butter - many vegan butters in the supermarket. I also like Earth Balance with olive oil.
FYI all these products can be bought at Walmart, Costco or Trader Joes and also there is quiet a variety in supermarket chains. The least expensive gluten-free pasta is at Trader Joe's.
Give to PETA let us insure the safety of animals from the cruelty of (fill in the blank). I would fill it in with a vulgar word but I can't do it in this blog and I'm a lady.
David Gordon Green calls the economical ‘Prince Avalanche’ a conversation …
PARK CITY - I found a state park in Texas that had burnt in a forest fire, and before it started growing again, I wanted to film a movie in it. That is the simple thought process that led director David Gordon Green to make Prince Avalance, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday afternoon. It was an area -- Bastrop State Park, southeast of Austin -- that he knew from hiking and the atmosphere spoke to him.
So Green grabbed the remake rights to an Icelandic film called Either Way, about two road administration employees who spend a summer painting yellow lines on a rural highway, called up a pair of actor friends in Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch and lit out for the territory. I wanted to remake that because I could do that tomorrow, he says. I just grabbed a couple actors and made a little two-hander that we could put together economically and it was a really efficient way to put a movie together.
It also represents a return to some roots for Green. The director launched out of film school in 2000 with the critically acclaimed George Washington and made his way through the indie world with small films like All the Real Girls, Undertow and Snow Angels before crossing over into more commercial territory with efforts like Pineapple Express, Your Highness and The Sitter. He says he has felt somewhat hand-tied by the process of bigger-budgeted movies and how long it takes to get them through the system and development process.
Fun, economical, easy family activities to do in the tri-community only takes …
Are you missing the warm rays of summer? Longing for outdoor fun to help shake off the symptoms of cabin fever that the winter months can sometimes bring? Saving for that family dream vacation in July and on a budget?
Family Day is another four weeks away so what do families do in between the long weeks separating the Christmas holidays and this one?
Dont worry, there are lots of fun and economical activities families can do together in the tri-area and it only takes using a little imagination.
If youre like many, summer is the favorite season. Nothing compares to flip-flops, sunshine, beaches and barbeques.
Ah, barbeques! As long as its not -30, why not have a winter barbeque in your backyard? Oh the possibilities!
Make sure you plan it for earlier in the afternoon because with day light savings time the sun tends to go down before 6 pm
You can choose to splurge on this activity with Grade A steak or not, as its a barbeque theres plenty of room for keeping it traditional and cooking hotdogs. Its up to you to set the price.
Send out invitations to friends and family, call it a potluck and tell them to dress appropriately for your winter barbeque.
Who knows, maybe there is a sledding hill nearby that the kids can take advantage of while you cook the food.
Or you can have an igloo-making contest in your yard with each family working together as a team unit. Winner gets crowned Ultimate Winter Survivor! or something of the sort.
Later on when its dark, make a bonfire and gather around just like youre out camping in summertime. Hand out cups of hot cocoa and a bag of marshmallows for the kids to cook over the toasty fire.
There are several ice-skating rinks both indoor and outdoor available free to the public in the tri-area.
Stony Plain, for example, has the Glen Hall Centennial Arena as well as outdoor skating rinks. Operating hours can be viewed on the Towns website at www.stonyplain.com
The trails are well maintained and open at County parks such as the Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area.
You can snow shoe, cross-country ski or take the kids on a scavenger hunt through a beautiful tour of nature during the winter season.
Encourage the kids to hunt for animal tracks through the snow and try to guess which type of animal they came from. Take along a camera to snap up pictures of the breathtaking scenery of the frozen, sparkling landscape and capture the family outing for preserving later.
Which brings us to the last winter blues activity idea. Crafts. Because temperatures often drop to extremely uncomfortable levels that leaves people, especially with young ones, no choice but to stay indoors.
Doing crafts as a family is always filled with endless possibilities. Crafts usually tend to keep the kids occupied for hours.
Why not take the opportunity to put together a family scrapbook or photo book to preserve your special family memories?
Go to the dollar store and purchase affordable crafts, decorations and supplies to use to decorate your scrapbook?
Think of the unique memories you will create with your family and loved ones.
The kids will always remember the precious moments spent together and maybe you can start to make some of these activities an annual tradition.
Theres an endless amount of entertaining options for families throughout the whole year to discover. Sometimes it just takes using out of the box and creative thinking to make them happen.
brandi.morin@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @brandi_RepEx1
Bundling is not as economical as you might think
It is estimated that UK households waste hundreds of pounds per year on TV, broadband and phone packages.
A report from the Post Office shows that families in particular who buy bundle deals do not watch all of the channels provided, buy more broadband that they need and have free calls they do not use.
Hugh Stacey, head of HomePhone for the Post Office said:
While bundles can be tempting, this report shows they provide far more than the average person needs and millions of people are clearly paying for services they never use.
Consumers need to carefully align what they need to what suppliers are offering as part of their bundles.
Most consumers use their broadband to surf the web, shop online, email and for social networking which does not use up more than speeds of 5 Mbps.
However, most people are paying a much higher price (around 5 times more than needed) for a super-speedy connection.
According to the report, over two thirds of customers do not use the full broadband capacity that they are paying for, with customers of 65+ at the most disadvantage.
News // Mercedes launch next generation of economical engines
Mercedes have recently launched their new generation of 'BlueTEC' engines across their Benz ranges, with the E-Class diesels being upgraded to being the first hybrids being introduced by Mercedes. They have also introduced this technology to their commercial vehicles and offer HGV training to all their commercial drivers that may not be familiar with this new technology.
The new engines feature Bluedirect four-cylinder petrol engines with direct-injection, increasing fuel performance to 48.7mpg. The diesel engines have received a little more attention, with the first time combination of a four-cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor. This new engine, dubbed 'BlueTEC Hybrid' conforms to the new standards of consumption and emissions with those of their competitors, yet still delivering the same performance that Mercedes drivers are accustom to.
The engines have proven to be effective in delivering greater fuel efficiency no matter what size the engine is in other Mercedes ranges. With general opinion now shifting toward supporting greener initiatives, it was logical that Mercedes was going to introduce this new class engine throughout its fleet eventually.
The E-Class is the current testament to having more fuel efficient engines in executive saloons as even weighty cars such as the E-Class can achieve 46mpg when driven properly.
Mercedes engines in some models have a reputation for being notoriously thirsty, especially in the GL and CLS series'. Mercedes aims to have the entire range be at least 5mpg more efficient by the end of the year. This may not sound like much; however, even the biggest engines in the range can achieve so much more than that depending upon the driver.
Fast or aggressive driving styles can really decrease the efficiency of any engine. A more economical approach to driving even a high performance car will let the engine be as fuel efficient as it can potentially be and save anyone that cooperates with the economic style a lot of money at the pumps.
Mercedes is heavily invested in their new BlueTEC engines that they have even installed them into their commercial vehicle lines. They are so confident that the engines can be fuel efficient enough to cut the costs of commercial goods companies that they offer training courses to HGV drivers as to how to drive as economically as possible. As only driving properly combined with clever technology can make any engine truly fuel efficient.
New guide released on economical options for Web Development
Press Release
New guide released on economical options for Web Development
Online design company Pom Design, releases a guide on economical ways to achieve good web design