Julian Construction Urges Earthquake Retrofitting

Foundation Construction and Repair Experts Comment on the Best Ways of Preparing for an Earthquake

LOS ANGELES, CA: Julian Construction, Inc., (http://www.julianconstruction.com/) a foundation construction and repair company in southern California, has issued a statement urging homeowners to have earthquake retrofitting done for their homes, so that minimal damage will occur in the event of an earthquake.

Julian Construction founder Julian De La Torre stated: “An earthquake retrofitting is the process of firmly attaching a house to its concrete foundation using foundation plates and anchor bolts. Here are some indicators that an earthquake retrofit is probably necessary for your home:

“Homes built before the mid 1980's often lack features that could help to make them earthquake damage resistant.

“Homes built before World War II may not even be bolted to the foundation at all, or the bolts may be too small and few. A major earthquake could slide such a house right off its foundation, as happened with some homes in the Northridge earthquake in 1994.

“An unreinforced garage with living space above is another possibly dangerous problem. That big garage door opening needs to be reinforced either by a steel frame or by strengthening the walls on either side or it can collapse in an earthquake like a house of cards, along with the living space on top.

“An unreinforced stone or masonry building definitely needs to be looked at, and is highly susceptible to earthquake damage.”

This stated is part of a campaign Julian Construction has begun to raise public awareness of the importance of earthquake preparedness. More on this subject can be found on the company’s blog: http://julianconstruction.typepad.com/julian-construction-blog/

Julian Construction owns its own company and is built on a “no middlemen” model – no salesmen, no subcontractors. When you work with Julian Construction you get the principals of the company and workers of Julian Construction under your home. The result is the highest quality work at affordable prices. They can be contacted by phone at 323 733-3377, by fax at 323 733-4477 or via their website,www.julianconstruction.com. You can see tips and advice about home foundations on their blog, at http://julianconstruction.typepad.com.

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The Hidden Cause Of Dry Skin Revealed--The PH Factor!

by Vicki Gailzaid

First what is “PH”? It means the “Power” or “Potential” of Hydrogen. The PH scale ranges from 0-14. A PH of 7 is considered neutral (water is neutral), anything over 7 is alkaline. The human body, in its most optimal state, would be alkaline inside but acid outside.
 
Now let's talk about this thing called skin PH. What does this mean really?
 
The human skin, when in great condition, is between 4.5-6.0 on the PH scale. This means that healthy skin is slightly acidic. That is the acid mantel (skin covering). The acid mantel is a film that spreads over the surface of the skin which is sebum (oil), sweat (water), and amino acids, mainly, with other fatty acids. This acid mantel serves a vital purpose; a slightly acidic environment can fight off bacteria, fungus, and pollutants. The acid mantel can also be affected by hormonal changes, and stress causing a breakdown in the PH, but most breakdowns are caused by external factors. When a breakdown occurs in the PH the skin becomes alkaline.
 
When the skin becomes too alkaline, it can get very dry and irritated. It can no longer properly fight off bacteria which can lead to breakouts. (PH imbalance may be the chief factor in acne). Most cleansers, especially foaming types, are at least 8.0, and most soaps are from 9.0-11 PH. This is shocking!! These cleansers act as assaults on the skin and take 14 hours to normalize, and by that time, you have washed, bathed or showered again! What chance does your skin have to keep itself in good shape and recover with this daily assault? The answer is to keep your skin’s PH at the right levels, so that it can stay healthy, beautiful and soft.
 
There is nothing wrong with exfoliating your skin, but there is much wrong with harsh chemicals which disrupt your skins acid mantel.
 
Most people are under the mistaken impression that cleaning the skin with soap will help to alleviate their problem, and better the skin. This could not be further from the truth!

When a skin condition exists, such as eczema, psoriasis, or other breakout, the skin PH all over the body can be affected, and it may be found that the entire surface of the skin has become way too alkaline. It is very important to get this PH back into normal range (4.5-6.0) as quickly as possible.
 
It is shocking as well, to know that the US has far less PH balanced products on the shelves than other parts of the world, yet our education and technology is far superior. Even though the information on PH is fully known by all major US beauty companies and skincare professionals, the data is not broadly published. This is because most Skincare Products have a High PH, well above 7.0.

The reason for high PH Soaps, Detergents, and Skincare Products in general, is their low costs and ease of manufacture.

You need to always make sure you use skincare products that have effective ingredients and the proper PH level.
 
Look for products with lanolin that will act as an emollient moisturizer, filling-in the minute crevices of the skin to prevent cracking and shedding. With daily use wrinkles and lines can be diminished, creating a smooth and silky surface to the skin.
 
You want a product that will be an occlusive moisturizer, slowing down the evaporation of water from the surface of the skin by creating an invisible protective film. This allows the normal barrier function of the skin to be restored, making skin less sensitive and better able to hydrate properly. While this protective layer impedes the invasion of allergens and toxins, a deep penetrating protection keeps water sealed-in the deeper layers of skin and will stimulate the ability of the skin to retain moisture and to slow down the effects of aging.
 
It is important that your skin care cream have antioxidants like vitamins A, D and E, to repair and stabilize the skin cells for optimum vitality. These vitamins seek out and repair damaged skin cells and restore health to cells that have been damaged by the sun, pollutants in the environment and the body's own aging process. Vitamin A Improves skin tone, elasticity and texture by smoothing the surface of the skin. Vitamin E heals damage to the skin from exposure to the sun and protects against roughness, loss of elasticity, brown spots and has an anti-inflammatory effect. 
 
Another key ingredient is aloe. Aloe has been known since ancient times for its healing properties, moisturizing and anti-aging results. Aloe is a deeply soothing and penetrating skin cream ingredient. Aloe carries its soothing and healing power into the deepest layers of the skin. The name of the game is moisturizing, and aloe helps to do that while also bringing an ancient healing touch.
 
There are so many skin care products on the market it can be costly and time consuming to go through trying to find the one that is best for a particular condition. But it's worth it to find one with a balance of ingredients that will sooth a wide range of dry skin conditions.

Author bio:

Vicki Gailzaid is owner of Sales R Us Inc, developer of Ultra Balm (http://www.ultrabalm.com) a premium blend dry skin cream, one of the most effective on the market. Learn more at http://www.ultrabalm.com/Welcome/Testimonials/Testimonials & order at http://www.ultrabalm.com/Welcome/Order-Here

 

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New Trees Arrive At Big Trees Nursery

New Autumn Arrivals Welcomed To Big Trees Snohomish Nursery

SNOHOMISH, WA: Big Trees Inc., (http://bigtreesupply.com/) recently received a number of new trees at its Snohomish tree nursery, located about 30 miles north of downtown Seattle. The trees were successfully installed in the nursery and according to reports from the company they are doing fine in their new environment. The trees are ones that would otherwise have been destroyed, but were recovered by Big Trees Inc. instead.

The new arrivals were slated to be destroyed due to being in demolition projects, but Big Trees Inc. crews went into the sites, carefully lifting and preserving the trees’ root balls (the network of roots and the soil at the base of a tree that serve as its base) and transplanting the root ball and tree into the soil at the nursery. The trees are kept until they find a new home. The trees included a large Styrax tree, a Blue Spruce, two enormous trees from rhodies and various other trees that would otherwise have ended up in the local landfills.

Nancy Penrose, owner of Big Trees Inc., was available for comment: “These new additions are doing very well, which is good because some of these are pretty big and it is sometimes difficult to transplant a larger tree. We hate to see a tree destroyed needlessly, which is exactly what would have happened here. These trees were on sites undergoing demolition, so a solution was needed to preserve the trees. Tree recovery is something at which Big Trees Inc. is pretty adept, and if we can save another tree that has a hope of finding a new home then we feel it’s the right thing to do. We have high hopes these trees will give beauty and joy to another local landscape.”

Nancy Penrose is the owner of Big Trees Inc. (http://www.bigtreesupply.com), located in Snohomish, WA, in the Seattle area. The company is one of the largest tree nurseries in the Seattle area with over 120,000 trees available in over 300 varieties. They not only can deliver young trees but also mature trees in a wide range of sizes. Some types of trees available include spring flowering, deciduous, evergreen, and privacy trees. The company also does tree transplanting including large trees. Their blog can be seen at http://www.bigtreesupply.com/blog/

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Big Trees Inc. Nursery Trees Now in Full Fall Colors

Local Nursery Trees Reflecting the Wide Variety Of Colors Available During The Season

SNOHOMISH, WA: Big Trees Inc., (http://bigtreesupply.com/), a large tree nursery in the Seattle area, has reported that all the deciduous trees in the nursery have gone into full show of their fall colors. Big Trees Inc., located in Snohomish, 30 miles north of Seattle, is open to the and welcomes visitors!

Many people look forward to the yearly display of fall colors. Nurseries such as Big Trees Inc. have a large number of deciduous trees, all of which show this display of color on a wide variety of trees. Anybody can come to see the different colors on the trees, with each tree clearly marked so that it’s possible to take notes on their favorites.

Nancy Penrose, owner of Big Trees Inc., stated: “It’s really a fantastic sight to behold. Fall is hands down our favorite season around here. The sheer number of deciduous trees we have here give a breathtaking view when you see all of them together in their fall colors! Different trees have different shades and hues of color throughout the fall season, and it’s a constantly changing scene. It makes for a fiery and beautiful showing. We very much enjoy seeing the show and sharing it!”

The nursery can be toured (no prior appointment is required) during its normal hours, which can be seen on the company’s website: http://bigtreesupply.com/contact/hours/

Nancy Penrose is the owner of Big Trees Inc. (http://www.bigtreesupply.com), located in Snohomish, WA, in the Seattle area. The company is one of the largest tree nurseries in the Seattle area with over 120,000 trees available in over 300 varieties. They not only can deliver young trees but also mature trees in a wide range of sizes. Some types of trees available include spring flowering, deciduous, evergreen, and privacy trees. The company also does tree transplanting including large trees. Their blog can be seen at http://www.bigtreesupply.com/blog/

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Creativity And Editing

by Susan Mary Malone

One of the most important aspects of working with a great book developmental editor is an intangible one. Writing is such a solitary endeavor. We strive, sweating blood and tears and losing pounds of proverbial flesh in the process, wondering whether the work is good or awful, great or terrible; should we chunk the whole thing and start over. And while authors need outside eyes regarding the nuts and bolts, the elements of plot and characterization and style, these simply provide the framework for the editing and revision.

Great insight comes from seeing not only what works, but also what doesn’t, and quite importantly, why on both. Most vital here is guidance on how to fix the problems.

But all of that said, perhaps the most helpful of all aspects that a good editor provides is an emotional one.

And I don’t mean this in a hand-holding sort of way, although absolutely that must be part of the scenario. We all need encouragement; an outside voice that comes in and says, “Truly, you can do this.” All writers need to know that someone, somewhere, sees the potential of their characters, their story. That’s one of the things that gives you an often much-needed shot in the arm to continue slogging on.

Usually by the time a writer sends me his work, he has exhausted his skill set, or is stuck, or just plain sick of it all, and doesn’t know how to make the book better. The idea of one more revision or even polish, much less attention to book development, makes him consider taking up baccarat instead. “I just can’t look at this one more time,” is a common refrain. And often the thought of another revision once I’m done proves a sticking point to even sending it to me. “You do it,” I hear a lot!

But the oddest thing happens when I send a package home to a writer, including the detailed edit of his book along with an in-depth, comprehensive, and very specific critique. I cannot explain why this happens, but it universally does. And it always makes me smile.

I’ll invariably get a call from a very different person from the hesitant one who originally contacted me. Although the first reaction is usually a sense of being overwhelmed, that quickly passes. Excitement fills her voice, the tempo growing more and more upbeat. “I see what you’re saying! And I could use this suggestion, or what if I did this instead? Would that work?” Glee tinges her voice.

When you work with a true novel editor — one who attends to all aspects and elements of great writing — for whatever reason, creativity gets cracked smooth back open. Inspiration floods the airwaves, and the keyboard. Characters take off in entirely different directions, deepening, expanding, broadening both themselves and the story they’re now impacting. And the writer who was stuck or sick of it all has just flown over the moon.

Writers are so very appreciative of this numinous turn of events. It’s a joy to see. They thank me profusely, but I benefit almost as much. Few things are more gratifying than to hear that excitement in the voice, that quickening of the pulse, and to know—because it always happens—that a new and better writer has been born. And with that, the beginnings of a great book as well.

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Writing vs. Real Life

by Susan Mary Malone

My writers often bemoan the fact that real life gets in the way of their creative endeavors. And this is true for us all. We are besieged at times by the good, the bad, and the ugly of this incarnation; by joys and sorrows, births and deaths; by the mundane of paying the light bill and getting the kids to school. By all of those things that can put the kibosh on our creativity and seem to drain our writing souls to the very core.

During these times, while the artist’s fields like fallow, our creativity may seem barren. But in reality, it is not actually even dormant. For far under the surface of the muck and mire, that creative light still glows, however faintly. Dimly perhaps, but the flicker of that flame never falters.

For it is indeed within the deep unconscious where the seeds of creativity flourish, forever finding fertile soil, awaiting a touch of life-giving water here, the shard of sunlight there, in order to spring up once again anew. Especially in the penning of fiction, it is imperative that we have these times of creative quiescence, times of artistic rest (whether chosen or forced upon us), which make us yearn for the fertility of creation.

It is from these times that the germ of an idea for a story takes root. That characters are created, plotlines burst into being. When working on novel development, I so often counsel my writers to let their subconscious minds do the work for them—to give themselves the space and time for that to happen. For it is from the depths that our works become rich with understanding, compassion, and love.

 As Clarissa Pinkola Estes tells in the myth “La Calavera,” we have candles for each section of our lives—careers, family, love, creativity, health, etc.—at all times. And that on any given day (or month, or year) one candle burns brightly while another flickers dim, finally to fade and be done. It is just the cycle of life.

The resisting of one candle’s flame dying out merely stops our progress, although oh, how we try to con the gods into keeping them all burning at once! We, like the young doctor in the story, try desperately to turn reality on its head and keep everything going as we want it to, and damn the consequences. But the result of pushing all that water uphill is exhaustion, and the true death of creative nature.   

So our job, as writers and novel editors, is to allow life’s flow to take us down the stream; to fjord the rapids, to steer around boulders, to not force when the winds grow still. In short, to trust the processes of life and creativity. Or, as a dear friend keeps telling me, to learn to float.

At some point, some time, either tomorrow or next year, the story will be there, waiting for your gaze; for the touch of your fingers to keyboard or pen; for your characters to jump again on-stage; for your artistry to sail downstream. As a book editor, my wish for you all is to ride the waters and understand that in time, all rivers truly do flow back to their creative source . . .

 

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Root Canal Treatment

By Michael Vold, DDS, JD

 

Natural teeth are meant to last a lifetime. Many years ago, diseased or injured teeth were frequently removed. Today that is not true. Root canal therapy can save a tooth.

Root canal treatment is a necessary procedure when the pulp of the tooth, composed of soft tissue inside the tooth that contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue, becomes inflamed or diseased and the dentist and patient want to save the tooth.

The need for root canal treatment can occur as the result of:
A deep cavity
Repeated dental procedures to the same tooth
A cracked or broken tooth
Injury to the tooth, even with no visible damage to the tooth.

A root canal is often indicated when the patient experiences:
Dull pain in the tooth or area,
Swelling that becomes increasingly uncomfortable,
A throbbing pain,
A small pimple or blister that doesn’t go away over time,
Or sometimes, there are no symptoms what so ever.

During root canal therapy, the dentist or endodontist, a dental specialist who does root canals, removes the diseased pulp. The pulp chamber and root canal(s) of the tooth are then cleaned and sealed.

If the infected pulp is not removed from the tooth, pain, swelling and infection can ensue and the tooth might have to be removed. Even if there is no pain, certain substances released by bacteria can damage the bone that anchors the tooth in the jaws. Without treatment, the tooth might become loose and have to be extracted.

There is a downside to losing a natural tooth. When one is lost and not replaced, the adjacent teeth may begin to shift from their normal positions. This can cause the teeth to become crooked and crowded. This makes eating and biting more difficult. The teeth are more likely to develop gum disease because they are more difficult to keep clean. Furthermore, the replacement of missing teeth by bridgework or implants is more costly than root canal treatment and requires work to be done on adjacent teeth. A natural tooth is generally preferred to an artificial one.

When a patient cares for their teeth and gums, the restored root canal treated tooth could last a lifetime with regular checkups. A tooth without the nerve can still develop gum disease and tooth decay. Most often the root canal treatment is a simple procedure with little or no discomfort. It can be finished in one to three visits.

When the root canal treatment is finished, the dentist needs to restore the tooth so that it is strengthened to resist the biting forces of the mouth. This is frequently done with a post and simple restoration. If a simple restoration is not possible because of extensive loss of tooth structure, a crown is placed on the tooth.

While this may seem complicated, these are all routine dental procedures and can save your teeth and smile for a lifetime.

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