| guardian of the galaxy
Suppose yourself a National Basketball Association lottery pick. Suppose further that you are blessed with a big body but are somewhat limited (Im being kind here!) in skills. Say your rookie year free throw percentage was a reeking 59%. That aint just malodorous that kind of stench from the line should trigger an OSHA investigation. The HAZMAT guys shouldve been sent in to clean up the site! Say further that you have no shot; you must be within 5 feet of the hoop to score. In plain talk: you cant hit the side of a barn with a Gatling gun even if you are inside the barn. If you were being paid kajillions of dollars, would you dedicate a few minutes each summer to honing those skills and your craft? If that question seems rhetorical, consider the career statistics of a certain overpaid NBA athlete.
Homes blend eco-friendliness, unique design
Theres been quite a buzz around town lately about energy and water conservation practices, and for years so-called green building has been a hit.
However a few homes in Truckee were built eco-friendly, not just to save heat and money, but because theyre just plain interesting.
One with the Earth
Sue and Jeff Cauhape have been living in their Tahoe Donner, earth berm home for 12 years. The couple maintains that, despite being for-the-most-part covered in dirt, their home is very bright and inviting.
Its not dark inside at all; we were surprised by how much light there was, Sue Cauhape said. We tried to sell it for two years, but I dont think a lot of people get the concept. Its odd, but weve been very comfortable here.
Comfort inside the home can be attributed to its thermal mass the walls absorb and retain heat, so the house requires neither heater nor air conditioner.
It's all about location; Even in slump, still big differences in bang ...
It might seem an easy choice. Buy the well-maintained house with seven relatively small rooms, a one-car garage, a cramped yard, red cedar siding that looks pretty good after 50 years and nearly 1,600 square feet of living space. Or the buy the brand-new home with eight soaring, high-ceilinged rooms, a view of a golf course, a two-car garage, central air conditioning, closets the size of small rooms and 2,260 square feet of living space. Of course, the prices vary. The first house — despite its smaller size and age — actually costs more than the second. It's on the market now for nearly $560,000. The second house, which includes a gleaming, modern kitchen, might seem like an incredible bargain at $525,000. So what gives? The new house is part of the Strongwater Crossing development in Salem.
MIDEAST: Bush Faces Major Choice Amid Escalation
This is potentially very dangerous," Bassel Saloukh, a political scientist at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, told IPS in a telephone interview. "If the Americans take this to legitimate a strike against Iran or Syria, then I think it will escalate with devastating consequences."
For the past two weeks, Washington has mostly stood on the sidelines as Israeli forces have carried out military operations in Gaza, including the destruction of a U.S.-financed power plant and several other infrastructure targets, in what has so far been a futile quest to press Hamas to release an IDF corporal seized by militants during a raid on an Israeli border post in late June.
Those operations, which have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 50 Palestinians, as well as one Israeli soldier, have worsened what was already a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza in what Arab governments and some human rights groups have called a disproportionate act of "collective punishment" against the civilian population.
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