Georgia Flooding Dangers

ATLANTA (AP) — A state insurance official in Georgia has told residents affected by widespread flooding that Clorox is going to be their best friend.Residents returning to neighborhoods soaked by days of torrential rain are also being urged to be cautious. Dangers include jagged debris in stagnant, murky water, and disease-causing bacteria. There has also been flooding at sewage plants in at least four Atlanta-area counties.

Ceramic Repair Expert Can Restore Your Valuable Collectibles for Years to Come

Invisible Repair and Restoration of Ceramic Ware
Ceramics have been an important part of day to day life for centuries. Early man found that certain types of clay, when heated and prepared properly, could be formed into durable and useful objects and figurines. From heavy use pots and vases, to one of a kind figurines and antiques, ceramics have remained at the forefront of every major household throughout the world.The reasons for the widespread appeal of ceramics are many and varied. Ceramics, by definition, can include many different types of materials used in a wide variety of ways. Whether it is a priceless antique or a sentimental heirloom, most families have at least one ceramic piece they treasure.While people have continued to use ceramics in day to day life through the centuries, few people ever considered the toll this use would take without constant ceramic restoration and conservation. As ceramics age, their monetary and sentimental value increases. Unfortunately, so does the number and types of cracks and chips that may appear. This invariably creates small cracks or chips in the surface that may affect not only the aesthetic appeal, but the overall value of the piece. Fortunately, ceramic repair means that there is no reason to throw out your beloved figurine or pottery just yet.Ceramic repair may sound daunting, but there are trained experts available to help you restore your figurines or priceless antiques back to their former glory. If you've found that your piece is suffering from cracks or entirely missing pieces, the ceramic restoration experts at Luel Restoration Studio can help.

Using a cutting edge process called invisible restoration, the individuals can glue back missing pieces and fill in tiny cracks. While these repairs may be extensive, they will hardly be noticeable to the untrained eye.Secondly, ceramic restoration can entail the creative use of paints and textures to restore a piece's color or pattern. Using similar techniques to the ones used to fill cracks, Luel's experts can identically match the style and pattern of the original ceramic piece. This recreation will go beyond appearance, all the way to creating a matching texture that will be almost indistinguishable from the original piece.After the repair is complete, the ceramic restoration artist at Luel Restoration Studio will work with you to ensure that the piece is able to stand up to future deterioration. Our skilled expert will work to strengthen particularly weak areas of the piece, preventing futures cracks and chips. All repairs and restorations should be able to bring the piece back to its original appearance and integrity without changing the object's overall substance.No matter how easy the repair may seem, never attempt a ceramic repair on your own.Only a trained and skilled expert can recognize the complexities and nuances of your pieces and recommend the most up to date repair options. A poorly done repair can not only damage your piece more, it may render the entire ceramic figurine or pottery beyond repair. This will not only destroy a sentimental heirloom, it will render your priceless ceramic antique worthless. Contact Luel Restoration Studio for your ceramic repair needs. http://www.luelstudio.com

Bailee's Coverage & Contractors Pollution Liability

Bailee’s Coverage and Contractors Pollution Liability available through Legends Environmental Insurance Services for your restoration company.

Did you know: If you are in the care, custody or control of your clients contents, without bailee’s coverage, you are 100% liable for any and all damage?

You need coverage for legal liability resulting from damage or destruction of your client’s property while under your temporary care, custody, and control. Legends can provide you with a job specific or full term policy with $20,000 to $2,000,000+ limits.

Are you unknowingly under insured? Did your agent lead you to believe that you are covered with a simple General Liability policy? Contractors Pollution Liability should be considered if you handle gases, liquids or solids. A pollution incident can put you out of business.

Big players in this industry can prove coverage to their clients, can you? Give Legends full service agency a call today at 800-992-6999 x291 and speak with Jennifer, your restoration contractor expert.

Barb Jackson, CR Speaks in Australia at Network Restorers Annual Conference

On the weekend of the 29th-31st May 2009 Network Restorers held their annual conference which was another roaring success.

Guest speakers from the US included Barb Jackson, CR and Libby Longstreth. They presented varying topics revolving around the conference theme “Pathway to Learning”.

These are some quotes we received from conference attendees.

"Just wanted to say thanks for a great weekend at the gold coast, everything was moved along well & kept interesting."

"Thanks to all involved it was great. Regards Jeff Nunn"

http://www.networkrestorers.com/NewsItem.aspx?id=15

To Train or Not to Train . . . That is the Question.

Some business owners refrain from training their employees for fear they will spend money training and then the employees will leave for greener pastures. Yet, the old adage goes . . . the only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave, is NOT training your employees and having them stay.

4 Layers of benefits derived from professional development are:

1) More motivated, skilled employees.
2) Increased productivity and thus greater ROI.
3) Long term positive change stimulated by new insights and ideas.
4) Improves communication and relationships with customers and team members.

So, what holds you back from training your team? Money? Fear of losing your trained employees? Unable to envision the ROI?

why would a business owner not want their team to be motivated, productive, and happy?
How can your bottom-line not be positively affected if your team is operating at their optimal level?

http://www.safarisolutions.com/to-train-or-not-to-train-that-is-the-question

Employee Cut vs Salary Cut

Small business owners need to be aware of the frustrations and concerns of their employees during this economic downturn. Owners must think carefully and act quickly. Keeping a small business “alive” today is a struggle, but what if employees do not want to stay with your company because they are scared of a job cut? Your business could go from running strong to barely breathing if your employees do not have your trust.
You want your employees to be loyal and to feel safe with you right?
Here are some key points that will keep that knot of trust tight.

• Communication is vital. Let your employees know how the business is doing. Hold meetings in which the owner can answer questions. Don’t wait until there is a pay cut or layoff; ask the employees ahead of time if they would be willing to take a pay cut to save the job.

• Give acknowledgement and show appreciation. Allow employees to take an extra day off or to go home early. Remember if there have been layoffs, other employees take on the additional responsibilities and can easily get burned out. Also tell employees that they are doing a great job and ask them if they have any concerns or questions.

Loyalty in a small business goes a long way. Just as you might be suffering with your business so might your employees’ lives. Keep their trust and keep your company!
http://www.safarisolutions.com/employee-cut-vs-salary-cut/

Shuttle crew become astro furniture movers

1:17PM Tuesday Sep 01, 2009

Space shuttle Discovery lights up the night sky after launching from Cape Canaveral. Photo / AP
Video Discovery arrives at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL - Astronauts hitched a giant chest of drawers to the international space station that contained a brand new freezer, sleeping compartment and treadmill bearing a TV comedian's name.
The Italian-built chest - nicknamed Leonardo, as in Leonardo da Vinci - was moved from space shuttle Discovery via a hefty robot arm and hoisted onto the space station.
It's loaded with nearly 8 tons of equipment and science experiments for the orbiting outpost and its six residents. Much of the gear is stored in portable racks; the bedroom is the size of a phone booth.
Leonardo will remain secured to the space station for the next week. The astronauts will remove the cylindrical vessel - 6.5 metres long and 4.6 metres in diameter - and place it back on space shuttle Discovery for return to Earth. By that time, it will be loaded with trash and unneeded items.
Nasa's brand new $5 million treadmill - officially called the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT for short - is in pieces and will need to be assembled after Discovery leaves.
The TV comedian ended up with an exercise machine named in his honour after he won an online vote for christening rights to a space station room. Unwilling to go with Colbert for the yet-to-be-launched room, Nasa opted for Tranquility to commemorate the Apollo 11 moon landing 40 years ago this summer. The treadmill was a consolation prize.
Shuttle astronaut Jose Hernandez will oversee Leonardo's unloading operation. He is filing regular Twitter updates from orbit, the first astronaut to do so in two languages, English and Spanish.
"Met our 6 neighbours & they seem nice!" Hernandez wrote.
Besides his bilingual tweets, Hernandez is taking part in several Spanish-language interviews during the mission. "I'm just happy to be able to share my experiences," said Hernandez, a Mexican-American who is the son of migrant workers. He grew up working the fields in California alongside his parents, two brothers and sister.
Next up for the 13 space travellers - seven on the shuttle and six on the station - is the first spacewalk of their joint mission.
The space station's newest inhabitant, Nicole Stott, will venture out on Tuesday evening with Danny Olivas to remove a depleted ammonia tank.
A fresh tank will be installed as part of the space station cooling system during spacewalk No. 2 on Thursday night. In all, three spacewalks are planned.
Stott carried over six mice in an enclosed container overnight. The mice are part of a bone loss study and will return to Earth with her in November, aboard shuttle Atlantis.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Nasa's mission management team, LeRoy Cain, delivered some good news Monday: Discovery's thermal shielding looks to be in good shape and should soon be cleared for re-entry, currently scheduled for Sept. 10.
Flight controllers, meanwhile, are looking at fuel-efficient ways to move the shuttle-station complex over the coming week. Discovery's tiny steering jets are unusable because of a leak.
- AP