Sure Horizon

Archive for February, 2010

This morning, we were up at the crack of dawn in order to meet up with the other people in our party, grab something to eat at a restaurant and then go to the Qwest stadium in Seattle to start tailgating (drinking and eating like pigs at 9am). Fortunately, the weather held off the rain for us, well almost, there was about a 15 minute light shower, but it stopped!

The pre-game festivities started with chips, burgers, and hot dogs, checking our Ipods and downing some beers. We managed to wander around the parking lot around Qwest Field, in a desperate search of a restroom (something we always forget about believe it or not). We found one that was pretty far away from where we were tailgating, but at least we found one. While we were there, we ran into a guy dressed like a old Patriots mascot, so naturally, we wanted a photo of him and us together.

Back at the tailgating party, people were began to go behind cars rather than walk the distance to the restroom, which is pretty uncool! Yuck! Made us wonder what kind of people live here in Seattle, I mean really!

After watch watched the devastating loss to the Seattle Hawks, sad, so very sad, at a restaurant we went to, after we refreshed ourselves at the local hotel, we had to hear all the people (wearing the winning jerseys) yap about their great victory. Ugh. We were at a sports bar, so we got to watch the game replayed on one of the TV sets. The sports bar, even though we were in enemy territory, had great food and really fun people. After eating and watching the sad, sorry game, we hung out there for a while, then we ventured out to see what else might be happening in Seattle. We bought some souvenirs and went to check out Ambers, which we were really under-dressed for, but had a blast at anyways, we closed the place down. We called it a ‘morning’ and headed back to our room to get packed and ready for our flight back to Orlando.

There are many different options when it comes to deciding on the right window treatments. Before you make your decision, here are some of the options. Blinds and curtains are easy, fast, inexpensive, and readily available at most home goods stores. Shutters are more expensive but provide a classy yet traditional look that is hard to obtain from other window treatments. Cornices are also very traditional; however they are harder to install and can be somewhat more permanent. For the best of all worlds, consider going with shades.  Shades are an ideal compromise for those desiring a stylish look yet practicality in use. It is a well- known fact that most of your homes heating and cooling is lost through the windows. I’m sure you can imagine all those hard earned dollars floating right out the window. Shades offer a way to enjoy the sunlight without costing you a fortune in electricity. Shades are adjustable from the top and the bottom, so depending on the time of day and the position of the sun you can adjust them to allow as much or as little light in as you need. They also come in a variety of colors and styles so you can be sure that there are some out there to fit your home. Check out the Next Day Blinds Timonium showroom for examples, tips, and ideas. To top it off, shades are very affordable. They are made from a variety of fabrics; which often cost less than wood. Don’t think that just because you want window treatments that serve a purpose, you have to scrimp on style. Shades offer the best of both; energy-efficiency as well as style. Unlike many window coverings, you don’t have to work around them– shades work around you. Flexible and dependable is the best way to go when choosing a new look for your windows.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks tonight at their home court at American Airlines Center. The Suns lead the Hawks through most of the game with the Hawks taking their first lead late in the second quarter. It was brief though and the Suns regained the advantage and led through most of the rest of the game, though there was never a great gap in points. Overall it was a low scoring game and the final score was 88 to 80, with the Suns on top. As with fans of all major sports teams, some of the hotels in Phoenix hosted Atlanta fans, and when the Hawks play in their home court, fans of the opposing team sometimes fill the Atlanta hotels. So, while the home team always has the fan base and familiarity advantage, these popular sports teams also help to support the hosting city’s economy by bringing in visitors from out of town.

When the Hawks play in Atlanta they play at the Philips Arena. This multi-million dollar indoor arena also hosts the NHL team the Atlanta Thrashers as well as the Atlanta Dream, which is the WNBA franchise. The arena also hosts many national concerts and is one of the busiest commercial production arenas in the country. It is just over ten years old in existence and completion of its construction was finished in 1999. In the first have of the 2009 calendar year it was recorded as being the number one concert and events arena and even beat out the most famous centers including New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Hawks have an extremely large local fan base and Atlanta’s residence are known for their tremendous support of their teams. One of the distinguishing features of the Philips Arena is its unique layout structure. All of the VIP and luxury suites are located on side of the arena while the rest of the tier leveled seating is located long the other three sides. In 2003 the arena hosted the NBA All Star Game and in 2004 it hosted the US Figure skating Championships. It is definitely one of the most popular arena’s in the world.

Car tires are one of the most important features of any vehicle. Without them, one would simply not have the means to get to where one is going, obviously. And tires are one of the most important safety features of any car, truck or motorcycle. If a tire is worn out or damaged, the road suddenly becomes unpredictable terrain, and in many cases the “unexpected” will happen, whether it is a harmless but annoying flat tire on the side of a country road, or a blow out on a busy city highway in the middle of rush hour traffic.

The simple truth is that many of these situations can be avoided by taking a few moments each couple of weeks to inspect tires for wear and tear. Whether you drive a new car with fancy sports wheels, or a Model “T” Ford with vintage wheels, tire and wheel maintenance is crucial for your safety and for the overall performance of your vehicle. And remember, when inspecting the tires, always remember to inspect the spare tire at the same time.

Tire pressure is one of the things that gets overlooked frequently, which is one of the key elements that affects the handling of a vehicle and which can have extreme effects on the gas mileage your vehicle gets. A tire can loose up to half the recommended weight of pressure, and still look to the naked eye to be just fine. When checking the air pressure, it is always recommended to use a tire gauge, and not just simply try to “eye ball” the situation.

Now, checking for wear and possible damage to the tire is that simple. If you are not certain whether the tread of the tires is in good condition, one simple method is to take a penny and insert it into the the grove of the tread, with the top of Lincoln’s head going into the tire. If the tread reaches the top of Lincoln’s head, your car tires are in good shape. However, if you notice and damage such as cracks or nails, or if the threads of the tires are noticeable, this would be a good time to take your car in and have the tires replaced. Any tire, from a discounted used tire to the high quality Hankook tires, all need to be regular inspected so you are getting the most for your money, the most out of your tires.

You could be the one who is walking around with all the little facts about the state of Georgia. You could really drive everyone crazy on your vacation with an endless list of known facts about all the people, places and things that are in Georgia. When you are looking for luxury hotels in Gainsville Georgia at this site you could know that that is the chicken capital of the world. When you are there visiting remember that you will be breaking the law if you use a fork to eat chicken.

Georgia was named after King George II of England but it takes on many other names. It is the number one producer of peaches in the nation so it is often called the Peach State. Some call it the Empire State of the South because there were many important and influential people who lived in the state during its development. The Cracker State was an early name given to the state of Georgia because of some of the shall we say less desirable citizens that moved into the state from Virgina and North Carolina.

The first Gold Rush in America was in Georgia. In 1828 prospectors flocked from all over in hopes of striking it rich near the city of Dahlongea. There is now plenty of money to be made in this state. You can see living proof of that with the success of Coca-Cola which was invented and is still run from the cit of Atlanta. The first soda that Coke sold was in a the local Jacob’s Pharmacy soda fountain by Willis Venable. Got to love the record keeping on that. You can get many more facts on more intense subjects like the civil war and human rights at various cities throughout Georgia. It is a very interesting historical state rich with stories and wealth.

Santa Rosa, California is one of the state’s beautiful yet unassuming cities and it is located in the heart of Sonoma County and is also part of the greater San Francisco Bay area. There is a great feeling in the atmosphere that has hints of traditional cultural aspects and historic relevance to it, yet there’s a nice vibrancy and progressive feel too. The city is able to maintain a balance between feeling like a major metropolitan area and retaining a quieter charm that is more associated with smaller urban environments. Much of the architecture of the city and the building designs are also reflective of this. A lot of the establishments, including some of the major Santa Rosa hotels are located in interestingly designed and sometimes historic buildings.

It is actually the largest city in the wine country of California and maybe this is one of the aspects that lends to the unique charm of the city. Wine is a great sophistication mechanism and interestingly that’s a nice way to described the feeling of Santa Rosa, it’s like a fine wine. It’s robust and solid and has been nicely aged and has a hint of sweetness.

The city is situated in the Santa Rosa Plain with its greater eastern area extending toward the Valley of the Moon and into the greater Sonoma Valley. One of the greatest geographic visual aspects associated with the city is Hood Mountain and this is the most prominent feature seen to the east of the city. Mountains also contribute to a sense of grandeur with any area and Hood Mountain probably does this for Santa Rosa. There are numerous creeks and little rivers that flow through the area and this gives a sense of environmental mood fountain. It’s almost like the city of Santa Rosa has numerous little desk and table top fountains strategically placed around it for tranquility effects and are running at all times.

Having to get your small car repaired can be a big hassle, especially if you don’t know what the mechanic is talking about. There are however a few key ways to deal with auto repair. The first is to write down what is going wrong with the car. Is it pulling to the left, or is smoke coming out of the engine. Make sure you take these notes with you to the mechanic and can explain to him what is what you are experiencing wrong with the car. You will also want to take note on how long this has been happening for, and if you have taken it to anyone else for this problem, you will want to have the papers they gave you when you picked up your car. These will tell the new mechanic what they did, how they diagnosed the problem and what maintenance they did on the car.

If the technician speaks about something that you don’t understand, do not hesitate to ask him what he means. If you are uncomfortable with this, you may want to look in the small engine repair manuals to get an understanding of the jargon, before you go. This may not help you understand all of what the mechanic says, but it will give you a little bit of a better idea. Another thing to remember in communicating with the mechanic is that in a car things are not left and right but driver’s side and passenger side. This can be important for when he is telling you what he found out about the vehicle.

Remember when you pick up you car to read the repair order for any maintenance you will have to do, and ask if there are no instructions, just to make sure. The best way to keep a car from having problems again can be to simply give it maintenance occasionally, like changing oil or belts when they wear out. The mechanic may also be able to tell you if anything else looks worn out, and give you a heads up on what maintenance your car will need in a few months so that you can budget accordingly. If you follow all of this, there should be fewer car repairs and they should not be as big a problem as they were before.

One of the aspects of the city of New York, one of the many elements that makes this city different from most cities in the United States, lies in the origin of some of the legends, or the ghost stories rather.  It seems that no matter where you find yourself, there is a possibility that you may be visited by the ghosts of famous people.  They seem to show up all over the city, more so in New York than in the other city of famous people of today…Los Angeles.  From the restaurants to the coffee shops to the 4 star hotels, New York is filled with people who seem to just not want to leave this world.

One such place in the city is located close to Washington Square Park…Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Bishop Dubois is buried at the front door entrance to the cathedral and has been seen haunting that entrance way for many years.  Bishop Dubois may not be well known, but one other man is, and that is Mark Twain.  In a small house in the West Village, a former home to the American writer, not only has his ghost been reportedly seen on many occasions, but the ghosts of twenty-two other people who over the years called this location their home.  And of course the Chelsea Hotel has had its share of reported sightings, as through the years this has been the well known residence for many of the poets, artists and writers that influenced not only those in New York, but throughout the world as well.

One well known and much reported haunt, is the spirit of punk rock legend Sid Vicious, who tends to enjoy riding the elevator at all hours.  Other sightings include those of Eugene O’Neill, Dylan Thomas and Thomas Wolfe.  The Saint Mark’s Cathedral is said to have many haunts, including Edgar Allen Poe, Harry Houdini and Daniel Tompkins.  Now are these haunts real? or are they the wishful thinking of fans decades later, hoping to catch glimpses of the people who may have influenced their own lives?  It is not certain, but should you want to find out for yourself, head to the city of Manhattan, and take a look around…you never know who may turn up.