September 01, 2006

Charcoal Grills

A charcoal grill may seem out of date in these days of gas barbeques. But a charcoal grill can be great for anything from cooking a simple meal to smoking some meat. Food cooked on grills can be very tasty, and have a lot of flavor.

There are a variety of grills available, from classic old fashioned grills to the more expensive and newer grills. A portable charcoal grill can be great for tailgating or other picnic like events, or a larger grill can be great for backyard gatherings.

When choosing a charcoal grill, you need to decide what you want the grill to do. A charcoal grill can grill, roast, and/or smoke your meat and fish, depending on the type you choose.

One of the most important features of any grill is how easy is it to douse any flare-ups during cooking? A model with water in the base below where the charcoal sits can allow for easier dousing of hot coals.

When dousing your grill, close the lid of the charcoal grill and let the fire die out. Once the charcoal has cooled a bit, use tongs to drop the charcoal into a metal container, perhaps dipping each piece into water first, or dropping all the pieces at once into a basin of water.

An important thing to look for in a charcoal grill is good legs – you don’t want your dinner toppling over into the dirt! You also want a cooking surface that’s big enough for your needs – are you just cooking a bit of meat for a picnic for two? Or do you need enough space to cook an entire meal for four?

You will also need to buy charcoal. You can get charcoal briquettes, which will give your charcoal grill a more even and consistent heat if spread properly, or non-briquettes, which are just rough charcoal and give more flavor and smoke.

Safety is very important when you are using any type of grill. Remember not to use gasoline to start your charcoal grill – lighter fluid might be a better choice.

Cook fish over medium heat, chicken and pork over medium to high heat, and steaks on a hot barbeque. Use a meat thermometer to be sure meat is cooked through. Cook vegetables over medium heat, perhaps wrapped in aluminum foil.

Outdoor grills are the epitome of summer cooking. Make up or buy some of your favorite beverages, add a bag of chips or pretzels, and cook the rest of the meal on the grill for a perfect summer dinner outside.

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2006

Bar Stools

Renovating my pub was definitely a big deal, but for the most part it wasn't as big deal as it could have been. The counters, the wall decor, the bar itself – everything was pretty easy to decide. Even the tables in the dining area were pretty easy to pick out, because the company was connected to a furniture manufacturer which provided classy furnishing which matched its floors and counters. About the only thing which wasn't easy to pick was the bar stools.

You see, we had had the same bar stools for years. Sturdy steel mounted saddle bar stools, embedded in the concrete foundation, I mean they were in there like they were never going to get out. But once we got around to the redesigning of the bar, this began to be a problem. The seats were comfy – padded leather bar stools which made you never want to get out of them, which is nice for keeping your regulars in. But the seats of the bar stools were far gone and, when we looked around, we found out that they don't even make that style any more.

Now, with the kind of bar stools which mount into the ground, the permanent kind which don't get knocked over or get thrown in fights, you'd think that they'd make them modular, with seats that can be easily interchanged. Not so. We looked all over, and every bar stool manufacturer had different diameters of seats, and many couldn't even be removed. Not much point to having bar stools which will last forever, with seats that won't, is there.

To rip the bar stools out of the concrete would have cost a fortune, and after we had already designed the bar around having to keep them in the same place, it wouldn't have exactly made sense to do anyway. To get completely custom stools would have been a pretty penny too. It's a good thing that I'm good with my hands. I had to hand re-upholster each of the stools myself.

At the beginning, I was livid and grouchy, but once I realized the fun of getting to pick out, design, and build the bar stools myself, I warmed up to the idea. Now, the pub has re-opened, and everything fits in perfectly. The patrons love the new look, and business has never been better. Now, if I could only find some new help who would actually don their jobs!

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

Antique Photos

If you have antique photos in your basket of family heirlooms, then it is important to take care of them. Antique photos depicting certain events or people have value to collectors, but this value cannot compare to the value a family may place on them.

Caring for antique photos is important because if they are not properly cared for, not only do they lose value, but they also can be destroyed. One thing that is important to remember is to keep antique photos out of direct sunlight. Light, especially direct sunlight, is harmful to antique photos. Direct sunlight makes the ink used on the photos fade, so it is hard to see what is going on in the picture. Artificial light does not fade them quite as much, in fact, not really enough to be able to tell a difference.

Another thing to remember about them is not to bend them. When an antique photo is bent, a mark is permanently one the photo. Since many antique photos are on a card board type material, if the photo gets bent it breaks up the picture and you will see the card board and not the photo itself.

Among collectors, not all antique photos have high value. There are certain events that pictures are taken of that are worth more than others. For example, an antique photo of a wedding party is worth more than just a random picture. But even wedding party pictures have differing values; the more people in the picture the higher the value of the photo.

Also, if the people in the picture seem a little more high class (the clothing is expensive within the time period of the photo), then the photo is worth a little more than if it were of a lower class family.

Sometimes antique photos with only one person are valuable. If the photo is of little children, it can be valuable. Antique photos of famous people are often valuable, too, especially if the photo is signed by that person.

Many people like to label their photos. This is not always a good thing to do to antique photos. If you use a pen to label the photos, it is possible that the ink might react somehow with the ink in the photo. If you must label antique photos, it is better to use a pencil of some sort. It is better for the picture because the graphite will not react. Another benefit of pencil is that if you decide you do not want it labeled, then it is easier to erase than pen.

If you have antique photos and would like to know exactly what they are worth, then you should go to an antique appraiser who specializes in dated photographs. They can study the images and will be able to tell you if you have a treasure or not.

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 03:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2006

Cheap Computers

What kind of computer do you use? I personally enjoy a Mac Ibook G4. This baby does everything I want it to and more. It's great the way they make them so compact and they weigh less than five pounds. Technology is a dream these days, and it's only getting better. You can literally buy a notebook computer that's a mere half inch thick, but yet still packs a high level of gigabytes. It's truly amazing. As you know by now, folks around the globe enjoy the benefits of computers in their very own homes. In fact, if you still don't have a PC or Mac, then you're probably slightly out of the loop. Well folks, now days you don't have to grapple with gargantuan computer costs. There is a vast spectrum of to choose from.

What are you looking for?

When it comes to our home computers, many of us would have difficulty getting along without them. There are just so many conveniences that come from Internet access. The World-Wide-Web grants us the ability to do our taxes without paper, handle our bank accounts from home, and order groceries and have them delivered. Wow, now that's ideal.

The great thing now days is the fact that computer prices have come down significantly. It's feasible to purchase and not miss out on the finer features. I can remember just back in 98 when I purchased a massive Gateway desktop computer, and paid like 1600 bucks for it. What a rip-off! These days we would all laugh at such a price tag on such a mediocre PC. I mean it didn't really have anything great or exclusive.

A 15 inch monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse, and 13 gigs aren't saying much. Heck, I only gave a grand for my Apple notebook that has loads more features and 60 gigabytes of memory. Man, did things change. Thank God for cheap computers! Therefore, if you're new to home computers, then I would suggest getting online.

Although superstores such as Best Buy and Circuit City are great for browsing, I still think the best deals are found in cyberspace. Now, I realize that you may not have a computer in order to browse for cheap computers, but one of your buddies or family members surely does.

Get on Google.com and search for the lowest prices on PCs. Dell is one of the finer companies that offer specials on package deals. You can get the entire setup for around 300 bucks. Now that's a lot better than 1600. Yes indeed, the net is loaded with cheap computers now days.

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

Beach House Designs

When building a summer home, there are many things which you must consider. Not only should your beach house designs take in to account the size of the available lot, but also the more specific things about the location. For example, when you buy beach house designs, they never tell you how your house will stand up to a hurricane. How about flooding? Earthquakes?

Your vacation home might be where you get away to to dream a bit, and escape your everyday life, but you shouldn't be dreaming when you are planning its construction. Take account of the surroundings and protect your investment!

The bottom line is that getting good beach house designs is never really enough anymore. You must know where you are building, and insure that it is solid enough to accommodate your plans. With the changing environment, there are only going to be more and more natural disasters, and you are more and more likely to have to discard the low, sprawling beach house designs so currently fashionable, to build something more staid and solid – a fortress against the elements.

Before you even get in to the beach house designs, you would do well to do some good research about the area where you are to be building it. You should look at tides and available breakwaters, insure an adequate distance above sea level, and try your best to insure that you are not building in a region of the world which is frequently beset by storms. If you don't want to be paying an arm and a leg to build your dream cottage, you should also research what local materials are available, and then buy a beach house design which can employ these materials in its construction.

Most of all, you should hire a builder familiar with the area. There are probably tens of thousands of people who could draw out perfect beach house designs which will positively make your mouth water, but you don't need the perfect beach house so much as you need one designed for where you are going to put it.

Good beach house designs, like good designs for any building, take in to account the local environment, and the site. They don't blindly seek to create the most sprawling, extravagant structure possible, heedless of the environment. You will be happier knowing that you have built a beach house which will keep you and your family safe for years to come.

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

Ansel Adams Posters

If you’re trying to add some character to the walls of your home, you can’t really go wrong with some Ansel Adams posters. Some of the most beautiful and breathtaking images of the Americas, especially the western United States, are portrayed in Ansel Adams’ photography, and I’m a huge fan of his work. I already have several Ansel Adams posters hanging around my home, and I’m always on the lookout for more.

One of my favorite Ansel Adams posters is his famous image of Yosemite’s Halfdome, with a daytime moon behind it. A particularly striking image of that beautiful and recognizable symbol of Yosemite, this Ansel Adams poster always fills me with a sense of awe and reminds me of my backpacking trips in that region of the country.

Ansel Adams was particularly fond of Yosemite, and did much of his life’s work in the area. Therefore, many Ansel Adams posters are depictions of different scenic aspects of Yosemite. They are by far the best representations of the park I’ve ever seen, and yet even they don’t come close to showing the areas magnificence in its entirety.

Having said that, have a number of Yosemite images around me can at times fill me with the same sense of peace and serenity that I get when I am actually in the famous national park. This is a good feeling to have especially when you actually live in a busy city. While there is of course a certain beauty to cities as well, the bustling, noisy, and chaotic character to them is well balanced with some Ansel Adams posters.

Of course, Ansel Adams took plenty of pictures outside of Yosemite as well. Another one of my favorite Ansel Adams posters is a print of his Tetons and Snake river photograph. The Grand Tetons are one of the most striking mountain ranges in the country, and this image captures their beauty very well. While I’ve only been there once, every time I look at the Ansel Adams poster I am reminded of their imposing nature.

Ansel Adams images have become quite a rage in the last few years, and I’ve seen a rise in popularity in Ansel Adams posters as well. So not only are they great images to have around a home, they’re also very trendy. The kinds of images portrayed in an Ansel Adams poster are completely classic as well; a black and white image of mountains, lakes, trees, beaches, or other natural scenes will never be out of style.

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

Air Fresheners

Air fresheners come in a wide array of shapes, sizes and even purposes. To begin with, there is the simple Spray Can kind of air freshener that you spray around the house or office to purify the air. In fact, with such air fresheners, there is no actual purification involved. The contents of the can are more often than not a sort of a scent that gives one the feeling of inhaling fresh air. No wonder then that such basic air fresheners come in tantalizing scents like citrus bloom, lavender mystique and the like.

There are slightly more advanced air fresheners as well. Typically, these air fresheners integrate with the home or small office electrically powered air purifying systems. While the system purifies the air through a combination of processes like charcoal filters, pollen filters and the like, the air fresheners serve as an add on tool to remove bad odors and to provide a fresh and clean scent. Again, like with the Spray can variety of air fresheners, you have the option of choosing a variety of scents.

In our home, we use this type of an air freshener and there are battles galore about what scent will go into it. While my wife prefers an air freshener that is more citric in nature and often buys pine and lavender scented air fresheners, I prefer the more manly musk scents. The result is that our house has a variety of air freshener scents, depending on which room you are in.

My study has an air freshener that smells strongly of musk and wood while the bedroom has an intoxicating (according to my wife!) scent of lavender. Our kids are gad to have any air freshener as long as the stench of week old pizzas and other debris can be kept at bay!

There are also the industrial variety of air fresheners, which are used in industries, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and other such places where the quantities of air that need to be freshened are vast and demand more thorough air purification and freshening.

Even horticulturists are known to use air fresheners to promote the speedy growth of certain varieties of plants. Most office building that have a centralized air conditioning plant or system also tend to use industrial varieties of air fresheners to clean and purify the air.

A number of studies have been conducted on air fresheners and the opinions are divided. Most experts believe that air fresheners, being unnatural, are harbingers of doom. They have conducted research that shows that for air fresheners, especially those that come in pressurized cans, the CFC content could lead to carcinogenic results.

Others are of the opinion that if used in moderation, air fresheners have a tendency to negate the harmful effects of bacteria, dust and other irritants commonly found in households. Speaking for myself, I have been using air fresheners for close to a decade now. And I continue to remain hale, hearty and healthy. So I guess I will continue to use air fresheners for some time to come!

Posted by KeyWestPublishing at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)