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With increasing fossil fuel prices, solar is becoming a popular option. If you have a solar project in mind, the first thing you have to determine is whether you should build it yourself.

Solar Projects Should You Do Them Yourself?

In the late 70s, the world suffered through an oil crisis. Oil dependant countries reacted by investing in renewable energy strategies with the goal of reducing the impact of future problems. While the United States dropped this strategy after the end of the crisis, many other countries continued to pursue it. Germany, for instance, produces a sizeable amount of its electrical needs through wind and solar power. Norway produces all of its need through hydropower. As oil prices rise, we are paying for not continuing to pursue renewable energy. Fortunately, much of the technology developed in other countries is readily available in the United States.

Building and installing solar platforms, whether active panels or passive window systems, is a fairly uncomplicated task if you have basic construction knowledge. There are two distinct types of solar approaches, but only one should be pursued as a do it yourself project.

The first type is active solar, which uses panels to create electricity for heating or to heat water. In general, you should consider having a contractor install these systems. Federal and state governments offer massive rebates and tax savings if you use active solar systems instead of drawing off the electrical grid. These rebates, however, usually require a licensed contractor do the installation. While there are exceptions, you dont want to miss out on $4,000 to $10,000 in potential savings. From a financial perspective, it simply isnt worth it.

The second type of solar platform is known as passive. The government doesnt kick you any rebates or tax incentives for this platform, so it makes a perfect project for those that like to get their hands dirty. These projects are all about orienting your home or structure to take advantage of the plentiful sunlight that hits it each day. The idea is to let the sunlight in on the south side of your home, let it heat up thermal mass materials such as masonry and then circulate the heat through the home. Yes, it works in the winter.

These projects rarely require you to have any special knowledge beyond that which you would get from basic home improvement construction experience. The trick is in the orientation of the home, the placement of windows and the materials used. It is fairly simple and can save you a ton of money on your utility bills.

In summary, you should almost always use a contractor if panels are part of your system. If you are going for a non-active system, break out the hammer and get after it.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.

The purpose of rendering is two-fold, namely to weatherproof the building wall and to provide pleasing finishes of various textures. Plastering is a skilled trade and an expert plasterer should be employed wherever possible, as there are many points that can only be learnt by experience. However, if skilled help is not available, it is necessary to know the elementary principles involved, that is, how to prepare the surface, choose the mix, proportion the materials and apply the plaster.

The proportions of cement, lime and sand to use depend upon the purpose of the plaster and the nature of the building surface to which it is to be applied. A pure lime plaster is comparatively soft and weak and is slow setting, so it is usually gauged with cement to increase its strength and hardness and to shorten the period of hardening. The strength increases and the period of hardening decreases as the amount of cement increases in proportion to the amount of lime, until with a pure cement plaster with no lime, the strength is a maximum and the hardening period the least. However, as the proportion of cement is increased the plaster becomes less workable and more difficult to apply. The proportion of sand should not exceed three times the combined proportions of lime and cement. A stronger plaster should not be applied to weak porous backing or a strong finish coat to a weak first coat.

For external building plastering or 'rendering' on a dense material such as concrete, dense concrete blocks and hard clay bricks of low porosity, the best proportions to use are 1 part cement, 1 part hydrated lime and 6 parts sand by volume. On exposed building walls subject to driving rains the proportion of lime may be decreased and the cement increased to say 1 :: 6 mix or a 1:4 cement plaster to which up to 10% of lime by weight of the cement is added to make it workable.

On external building walls of low strength and high porosity such as low quality breeze concrete blocks the external rendering should not be stronger than a 1:1:6 mix as above and a strong cement mix with little or no lime should not be used.

For internal plastering the best proportions are 1 cement, 1 lime and 6 sand; or 1 cement, 2 lime and 9 sand; or a lime mix only of 1:3 or 4 may be used, remembering that the cement increases the strength and hardness and reduces the period of hardening. For water containers such as fishponds only cement plasters should be used.

The weather during plastering and rendering may have considerable influence on the finished work. External rendering should be started on the shady side of the building to keep it unexposed to the sun as long as possible. No plastering should be done in frosty weather. In cold weather plaster hardens slowly and a longer period of time between coats should be allowed. In very hot weather the successive coats must be kept damp and protected from drying out for at least two days after application. Draughts and local sources of heat may cause too rapid drying out. Gentle heat and moderate ventilation are the best conditions for plastering.

Michael Russell Your Independent Building guide.

Today let me tell you about 5 of the Worst Wedding Fo-Pas I ever encountered helping you to avoid such hazards.

one of the biggest Fo-Pas I ever had the unfortunate opportunity to witness was when the Bride in her planning stage forgot to make the distinction that all those invited to the ceremony were not necessarily invited to the dinner. Well guess who showed up for the dinner and sat down waiting to be served. over 256 people came for the dinner that was only set for 154 OOPS!

over 1 hundred guests, friends and co-workers were asked by the Bride (In Tears) to please leave you were not invited to the dinner.

I felt for the Bride and I felt for the people asked to leave but it all came down to poor planning. Some ceremonies are open to anyone and everyone but it must be specified only those with an invitation will be attending the dinner.

I always caution couples who are wanting a small child to carry the rings down the isle on one of those pillows please let them be the plastic rings the pillow comes with. one couple gave a three year old the real rings and when he took one look at all the people looking at him he headed towards the woods as fast as his little legs could take him, with the real rings. It took 3 adults nearly 20 minutes to catch the little stinker and resume to the ceremony.

It was a cottage wedding and the Bride was to come in on a boat and be escorted up to the deck by her father where the ceremony will be conducted. On the day of the ceremony the batteries died on the walky talky that was to tell the boat to come in, so the boat never came in as we all a waited for over an hour. On occasions where wireless communication is part of the process have several back-ups like cell phones and not just 1 but 2 or 3.

Another Cottage Wedding the rings were being passed around by the wedding party before the ceremony and somebody with slippery fingers dropped the Brides ring between the boards of the deck. There sat a beautiful diamond ring sitting on the edge of a rock that was on the precipice of a 50 foot cliff that went into the lake. The ring was not 2 inches from that drop off and leaning towards the edge. Well off came the jackets and ties as all the men dropped to their knees and with a coat hangar and chewing gum and the precision of a bomb squad disarming a bomb they retrieved the ring; but not without a few close calls. Do not pass the rings around before the ceremony if you want to see them wait until they are on the fingers of the couple that is the time for viewing.

When having a Wedding in a public place that needs no reservation have a couple of back-up sites I once came to perform a ceremony at a site with six other weddings waiting in line for the same site. We fortunately found another site.

Well thats my post for this week and I will continue with more next week and lots of suggestions and ideas. Please feel free to join my : asktherev e-mail club for FREE mailings on things that will make your day that much more special.

My name is Reverend Stephen Ongo I have been a Minister for over 25 years and performed upwards to over a thousand wedding ceremonies. As the country song goes: Ive been everywhere man I have performed ceremonies on location at Cottages, Backyards, Banquet Halls, Boats, Islands, Dojos, Barns, Parks and the list goes on and I have seen just about everything as far as good wedding ceremonies and not so good.

Atlantis is often described as paranormal or mythical, but is it really? In two of Plato's great works, the Timaeus and the Critias, Plato describes an Athenian civilization in diaglogue between Critias, Socrates, Timaeus and Hermocrates. (Predating Plato by 9,000 years, or 9,600 BC) Atlantis, according to Critias, was a great Athenian city which, by the hand of mankind, met with cataclysmic destruction. By his (Solon) grandfather's education, Critias retold the story of an Athenian civiliation. Critias claimed that Solon (not only his grandfather, but a Greek traveler and historian from Egypt), stayed and interrelated with great Egyptian priests. The recordings from Solon were then given to Plato by Critias. Because Plato's works are considered historical fact, one can only assume that Atlantis DID indeed exist.

According to Plato's historical literature, Atlantis was an organized , massive military state that at the end of its realm, met with great, natural calamity during the planning stages on an assault on Egypt.

Agriculturally, the Athenian nation was well educated and able to create herbal remedies from plants. Their irrigational skills were very advanced, as they constructed muliple canals to irrigate their plains and farmlands. Due to their superior intelligence, reservoirs and buildings like the Metropolis were constructed, hydraulically-engineered machines and bridges were built, literary pieces and laws were written; and most often, their objects were coated with bronze, copper or gold.

Based on a monarchy and systemized class, the Atlantis civilization also held a valuable status for women. Historically thought to be the greatest of all nations, Atlantis ruled all surrounding land with their emperiorical laws.

Apart from being an advanced civilization, Atlantis (according to Plato), was a massively-sized continent. By Critias' measurements, Atlantis would have been about 3,400 x 2,300 miles in size - this is larger than some, major oceanic basins. Critias accounts that Egyptian priests told of Atlantis being located beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar); this, where the Atlanic Ocean and the Mediteranian Sea intercede one another. Today, some evidence has been provided that denote underwater walls and roads, and a set of islands resembling the shape of Atlantis in the Caribbean Sea. Another possible theory would be that Atlantis could possibly rest on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, (a beneath-ground mountain range); while some researchers believe that Atlantis could be in the Azores, Crete or the Canary Islands.

Unfortunately, (according to the Egyptian priests), Atlantis was continually pounded by catastrophic earthquakes and floods until one day when the whole continent sunk beneath the sea and disappeared. They were also quoted as saying that where Atlantis vanished, became an area in the ocean that was impassable and undiscoverable. The theory behind the sinking of Atlantis was that mankind had become so corrupt, that by their own hands, created their own demise.

In closing, Atlantis brings to mind the biblical stories of Sodom and Noah. It also interrelates with the continental shifts throughout the ages of the earth's history, but could Atlantis really have existed? The evidence, whether circumstantial or philosophical literature, the fact remains that Plato only wrote historical truth. This being said, what message was Plato trying to convey to the future of mankind? To the reader, I conclude this article with a quotation from Critias, from the literature of Plato, "There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes." A thought to ponder.

2003

C. Bailey-Lloyd is a professional writer of poetry books, poetry and informative articles on many subjects. More in-depth biographical information can be found at Somewhere Along the Beaten Path at MySpace.com.

NOTICE: Article(s) may be republished free of charge to relevant websites, as long as Author Resource Box (above) is included, and ALL Hyperlinks REMAIN intact and active.

With society's focus on physical fitness and well being, it really isn't a wonder why a number of exercise regimens are up and about. From tae bo to yoga, the list of exercises could go on and on.

pilates would be one of them. pilates could be easily defined by calling it as yoga but with movement.

With pilates, breathing and the body are both seen as one unit. The exercise focuses on proper form, as well as breathing, making it popular as tae bo or small time gymnastics.

Originally developed by Joseph H. pilates, the exercise method has become a successful alternative to high impact exercises, like aerobics, and yields pretty much the same results an aerobics class would result to.

The exercise method borrows its major movements from dance therapy steps, as well as yoga exercises, and is known to improve ones body performance, as well as body appearance. Celebrities like Vanessa Williams, Patrick Swayze and Jaime Lee Curtis have been known to promote pilates, as the exercise is quite effective, strengthening not only ones body, but ones mind as well.

Abdominal exercise pilates are quite ideal for those aiming to strengthen their abs, as pilates focus on the abs, lower back, buttocks and hips. Abdominal exercise pilates go beyond working on the rectus abdominis, known as the six pack area, including the deeper muscles as its focus areas. Being known to tone the general torso area, Abdominal exercise pilates strengthen the powerhouse region of a body, as the torso area is considered the core of strength when it comes to pilates.

One of the plus features of pilates would be the fact that the exercise doesnt cost much. Sure, one may have to spend for classes, but after that, the most that would have to invest in would be exercise mats. Though it is generally much better to take guidance from an instructor, an exerciser could readily do abdominal exercise pilates, and reap the exercises benefits without one. Abdominal exercise pilates also dont generally result to muscle stress most abdominal aimed exercises are known to put muscles.

Another great thing about pilates is the fact that the exercise leaves no room for comparison with others, as one determines his/her improvement with the exercise, where its benefits exude from within. As the mind is highly involved with the exercise, it also workouts ones mind, during the exercise flow.

Abdominal exercise pilates are truly ideal for those aiming to form abs of steel.

Milos Pesic is a professional fitness trainer who runs a highly popular and comprehensive Abdominal Training web site. For more articles and resources on abdominal exercises, abdominal workout tips, abdominal fitness equipment and much more visit his site at:

http://abs.need-to-know.net