Electric bikes ease green commuting

Tom Satters commute to work is slow enough to savor views of the Flatirons, but quick enough to arrive home in time for dinner.

The father of two commutes 14 miles each way from his Boulder home to his job at Xilinx in Longmont on an electric bicycle, also called an "E-bike." The Satter family, including his wife, Gayen Howard, daughter, Holly, 13, and son, Isaak, 8, dont own a car. Its a conscious choice the family made more than two years ago, after their only car died in Alamosa.

Satter rides his bike in any weather, (he even has studded tires for snow). As a result of the 8,250 miles he pedaled since April 2011, the software engineer has lost 10 pounds, reduced his carbon footprint dramatically and saved thousand of dollars on car expenses. And a big perk, he says, is the hour saved each day with help from the bikes electric motor, reducing what would be a one and a quarter hour traditional bicycle commute to roughly 45 minutes. He saves even more time (and money) by skipping workouts at the gym, his commute also serving as his exercise routine.

Satter says his decision to commute via an E-bike stems from his engineering background.

"Im practical," the 45-year-old software engineer said.

Like regular bikes, human peddling powers electric bicycles, and most E-bikes have gears. But unlike the former, electric bikes use a rechargeable battery to power a motor that can help riders reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour with the motor alone, the maximum allowable speed by United States law. Some E-bikes use a throttle and dont require pedaling while other bikes require pedaling to assist the rider. Batteries typically take about eight hours to charge; after charging they can provide enough power to travel 25 to 50 miles depending on the riders weight and the amount of pedal-assistance used.

Although traditional cyclists may feel that riders with peddle-assist "cheat," Freyebikes president Jim Turner says riding an E-bike is the only way many of his customers can fit exercise into their lives. Most of his customers would drive to work if they didnt own an electric bike, because riding traditional bicycles take too much time. He says E-bikes also help obese people become fit because those riders need the sturdiness of his high-performance products as well as assistance with pedaling. Not trivial he adds, is the ability for commuters to head straight to their work desks after a ride without needing a change of clothes or shower. And he adds that some of his customers are traditional bicycle riders who switched to E-bikes for their commutes because of the time saved.

Choosing an E-bike is "a conscious way of saying I want to change my life, " Turner says.

Turner says an Freyebikes can travel 2,000 miles on the $4 worth of electricity needed to charge the battery -- the equivalent of 2,000 miles a gallon.

Freyebikess sales increased 30 percent over last year, Turner said. In addition, Dean Keyek-Franssen, co-owner of Petes Electric Bikes in Boulder has plans to add to his current number of stores located now in Canada, Minn., Aspen and Boulder. And at the 2013 Interbike show in Las Vegas in September, Keyek-Franssen plans to unveil Ebike Share," a loaner E-bike program where subscribers check out E-bikes from kiosks that also lock and charge the batteries. He also plans to unveil at the September show an application that monitors battery usage and coaches the cyclist to use the E-bike in the most efficient manner, reducing "rider-anxiety" over whether the bike charge will last the entire distance to the riders destination.

"If we can convince people that E-bikes are transportation as well as recreation, we reduce the amount of cars on the road, " Keyek-Franssen says. "This is a viable transportation model."

Then there is the enjoyment of riding an E-bike, says Tom Wilson, owner of Small Planet E Vehicles in Longmont. Electric bikes allow the average person to climb Flagstaff Mountain, a feat usually reserved for only the fittest riders. It also makes general hill climbing easy.

"Picture a baby boomer, not in great shape, afraid to get on bike and he gets on an electric bike that can go 20 miles an hour," says Wilson, 73, who rides his E-bike when hes not delivering bikes. "Its just a fun, fun thing."
More: http://www.freyebikes.com/

The Beer Nut: Vermont 'beerventure' nets one of the best beers in the world

Whenever I have a chance, I try to visit new places to find out what my area has to offer in terms of beer.

I call my little beer trips "beerventures." Recently, I took a 3-1/2-hour drive from my home in central Massachusetts to Killington, Vt., for the 15th annual Killington Brewfest.
I like to attend festivals, and Killington was a perfect home base for the rest of my beerventure. The drive was eye-opening because of the damage caused during Hurricane Irene in August. I saw houses and barns that were destroyed by the floodwaters and areas where FEMA support centers were set up. Many roads were still damaged, and one detour took me to areas my GPS only recognized as an open field.

I did get a chance to stop at a general store in the middle of nowhere. There, I discovered they sold beer from a local brewpub. I picked up a growler of The Shed's IPA, along with some ostrich and alligator jerky. A successful stop, I'd say.

The brewfest is part of the nearly month-long Killington Hay Festival, so I also enjoyed seeing the giant hay sculptures (my favorite was a giant Panda) as I got closer to my hotel, the Summit Lodge at Killington Resort.

The festival, held at the ski resort's Snowshed Lodge, is a fun festival. It featured about 25 breweries, many of them from Vermont, as well as live music and good food. Highlights included trying all of the beers from Switchback Brewing Company and the Hillshire Brewing Company, breweries that do not distribute in Massachusetts.

What I liked about this festival was that it was not filled with the typical group of beer geeks you see at many festivals. This was a crowd of people who just wanted to try some good beer and have some fun. It was a great atmosphere.

I only stayed at the festival for an hour because I had other things I needed to accomplish. Lawson's Finest Liquids is one of the smallest breweries in the country. Its beers are also some of the most sought-after. I really wanted to get my hands on a Lawson's brew.

The difficult part about getting Lawson's beers is the bottles are sold only in one store in the whole state. And they only get one style of beer a week. People know that, and they flock there each week to get whatever beer brewer Sean Lawson drops off.

I was less than an hour away from the Warren Store in Warren, Vt., the one store that carries Lawson's. I called to see if they had any left and the clerk said they did, but they were almost out. He set aside two bottles, the limit you're allowed to buy, and I headed toward the store.
Two bottles of Gonzie, a session IPA, were waiting when I arrived. Excellent beer.
While at the Warren Store, the clerk said to me, "Do you know you're only a half-hour away from the Alchemist?"

The Alchemist is one of the most well-respected brewpubs in all of New England. Unfortunately, the pub was destroyed by Hurricane Irene-related flooding.

But there's a silver lining to this story. Soon after the hurricane, The Alchemist opened up its cannery. The Alchemist cannery was built to brew and can just one beer: Heady Topper.
Since I was so close, I plugged the address of the cannery into my GPS and headed to Waterbury, Vt. I bought two four-packs of Heady Topper, a highly reviewed double India Pale Ale. The trip back was full of details, dirt roads and pot holes, but I finally got back to my hotel at Killington Resort.

Once there, I popped open a can of the Heady Topper. I was blown away. It compares to some of the best double IPAs being brewed in the world. If you're a fan of hoppy beers, do yourself a favor and drive up to Waterbury and buy a case of this stuff.

With that sip of the Heady Topper, my beerventure came to a close. I spent the night in the hotel eating Chinese food and watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts on TV. The next day, I made the long drive back home, with a bunch of beer to restock Beatrice, my beer fridge.
I can't wait until my next be
erventure.

Chromalloy Unviels New Casting Center

Chromalloy has announced that its new investment casting operation in Tampa, Fla., is fully operational and serving turbine engine operators around the world
“Chromalloy Castings is open for business at a new 150,000 square foot, state-of-the-art operation,” said Armand F. Lauzon, Jr., President, during a grand opening event. “The new casting center expands our previous engine component production capacity in Tampa, Florida.”

During a ribbon-cutting and reception attended by engine operators, manufacturers and customers from around the world, Lauzon, said, “Chromalloy is pleased to now offer the industry a single source for engine component design, engineering, tooling, machining, repairs, coatings – and castings. OEMs and operators can reduce their costs and save time using a single source provider for development and production of new and replacement parts.”

The new Chromalloy Castings center in Tampa is designed to pour up to one million pounds of superalloy turbine components and parts for the “hot section” or critical gas path of the engine, for the entire range of jet aircraft engines as well as marine, aero-derivative and heavy frame industrial turbines, including the largest and most complex turbine blades and vanes for power generation engines (IGT).

That includes vanes, nozzles, High Pressure Turbine (HPT) blades and other components using several methods including equiaxed, directionally solidified, and advanced, single crystal casting technologies.

“Chromalloy has expanded our capability to better serve customers and enable them to find the critical services they require to operate and maintain their turbines all within a single global network,” Lauzon said.

A supplier of engine components, Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) turbine blades and specialized repairs for aerospace, marine and industrial turbine operators, Chromalloy operates 52 facilities and sales offices in 17 countries.

The casting center became fully operational on October 21, 2010.

Chromalloy operates a second casting center for turbine engine components and parts in Carson City, Nevada.

Chromalloy is the world’s largest independent supplier of technologically advanced repairs, coatings, and FAA-approved replacement parts for turbine airfoils and other critical engine components for commercial airlines, the military and industrial turbine engine applications. The company’s replacement parts for aircraft engines are FAA certified to meet or exceed the performance, reliability and durability specifications of original equipment manufacturer parts.

investment casting,investment castings , Metal Castings , Aluminum casting, Sand castings,Precision Casting Products , Automotive investment Castings , Stainless steel casting, Marine castings

Bronze-Casting in Hue

Situated on a small strip of land by the Huong River, about 3km southwest of the centre of Hue City, the Hue bronze-casting guild was established in the years of the mid-17th century. In the 1920s and 1930s the bronze-casting craftsmen established the “Southern industrial and commercial department” to gather and bring into play the artisans' skills and develop the economy. Their techniques in casting and carving bronze have been shown in the works, such Thien Mu Pagoda's plaques (1677), Thien Mu Pagoda's bells (1710), cauldrons in the 17th century, Nine Guns (1803-1804) and Nine Urns (1835-1837). These items were the most brilliant achievements of the bronze-casting art of Vietnam many centuries ago and have existed alongside the imperial city of Hue.
Now the Hue bronze-casting guild has over 50 facilities producing diverse products, including worshipping items (urns, statues, platters, trays), household utensils (flower vases, pots), etc…, but most of the facilities concentrate on producing delicate fine arts articles, bells and statues. Artisans with “gold hands”, such as Nguyen Van Sinh, Nguyen Van Thuan, Nguyen Van Tue, Tong Viet Tuan, Le Van Son and Nguyen Van Vien who are descendants of talented craftsmen of the past have been known throughout the country.
For many years, innumerable unique bronze items in the old capital of Hue have been produced by talented bronze-casting artisans.
Bronze products made by the Hue bronze-casting guild. Casting , Copper Castings , Copper Castings , Aluminum Castings , Iron Castings , Steel Castings , Casting Machining , Ductile Iron Castings , brass valve castings , Brass Castings , Alloy Steel Castings , Bronze Castings , Gray Iron Castings , Zinc Aluminum Castings , Stainless Steel Castings , Aluminum Bronze valve castings , Alloy Iron Castings , Carbon Steel Castings , Aluminum Machined Castings , Excavator teeth , Brass alloy castings , Automotive Iron Castings , Nickel Steel Castings , Pipe fittings , Copper alloy castings , Metal mold castings , Transmission components parts , Aluminum Bronze Castings , Chromium Steel Castings , Bronze alloy castings , Mine castings , High Alloy Steel Castings , Machining parts , Low Steel Castings , Stamping parts

Jays feeling grand after sweeping Sox

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays aren't about to start taking the Red Sox for granted. An early-season sweep over last season's World Series champions is a great accomplishment for Toronto, but it's only fair to consider the circumstances.
Since leaving their Spring Training site in Florida, the Red Sox have endured the first three-country road trip in Major League history, logging nearly 16,000 miles in the air over an 18-day span that included stops in Japan, California and Canada. On Sunday, Toronto claimed a 7-4 victory at Rogers Centre, sending Boston home on the heels of a three-game drubbing.
"I think we all know that they're going to be a better team when we're facing them in the middle of the year," Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay said. "But we'll take [the wins] any time."
Halladay (1-1) earned his first victory of the season against the road-weary Red Sox, receiving a lump of support in the form of two critical home runs. Designated hitter Frank Thomas continued on his recent tear, launching a game-changing grand slam, and center fielder Vernon Wells added a two-run shot that jumpstarted the Jays' offense.
Similar to the first two wins of the weekend series against the Red Sox, the Blue Jays (4-2) found a variety of ways to take advantage of Boston mistakes. Toronto's hitters chased Boston ace Josh Beckett from the game before the end of the fifth inning, and Halladay teamed with closer Jeremy Accardo to limit the damage done by the Sox (3-4).
"Most importantly, guys have just come up big," Halladay said. "We haven't had a lot of chances, but when we do get a chance, we seem to capitalize on it. That's going to be important for us all year. If we can continue to do that and take what's given to us and capitalize on it, that's all you can ask for."
Beckett, who was making his first start of the season, handled the Blue Jays through three innings, but the right-hander began to unravel in the fourth. Beckett (0-1) walked Alex Rios and then watched Wells deposit a 2-2 curveball into the left-field stands for a two-run homer, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Beckett issued a pair of two-out walks to load the bases, prompting Boston manager Terry Francona to turn to reliever Manny Delcarmen. With the score tied at 2, Thomas sent the first pitch he saw from Delcarmen deep to left for a grand slam, putting the game out of Boston's reach.
"I hit it good. I'm just happy it jumped off my bat," Thomas said. "It was a big hit in a situation that we needed it, especially in a series with these guys: the defending World Series champions. They were the best team of the league last year, and we wanted to just come out today and show people that we are for real."
Thomas' blast was more than enough cushion for Halladay, who turned in eight innings and finished with six strikeouts. The right-hander uncharacteristically surrendered a trio of home runs, matching a career high, but each were of the solo variety. Halladay yielded a fourth run to the Red Sox in the eighth inning, but only after a pair of Blue Jays fielders escaped a scary collision unscathed.
One play after shortstop John McDonald made an incredible diving grab up the middle on an groundout by Dustin Pedroia, Boston's Kevin Youkilis lofted a pitch from Halladay into the right-center-field gap. McDonald sprinted back for the ball and collided at full speed with Wells, sending both fielders crashing to the turf.
"I thought I had one of the only plays on the ball," McDonald said. "I was listening as I was running and I had to look back at the ball, and all I was trying to do was try to catch it and make sure Vernon didn't call it. I think we both called it at the exact same time."
Wells stood up slowly, but McDonald remained on the ground while Youkilis sprinted around the bases for an unusual triple -- later scoring on a single by David Ortiz. After a visit from Toronto's trainers, McDonald, who just had the wind knocked out of him, got back up and both he and Wells remained in the game.
"It happens," said Wells, who indicated that he didn't remember the collision. "That's the first time it's ever happened to me, and probably one of the few times it's ever happened to him. It was one of those in-between balls where we're both going after it hard, and luckily nobody was too hurt after the play.
"I just had a little headache -- that was about it."
That was good news, considering Wells is an integral part of the Blue Jays' offense, which was firing on all cylinders against the Red Sox -- a team Toronto needs to play well against if it wants to make a serious run at the American League East crown this year.
The early results are promising.
"We've got a good team this year," Thomas said. "We got off to such a bad start last year -- everybody -- and dug ourselves a hole. I know they swept us early last year, and it feels good to be able to do the same thing [to them] this year."

Castings,Copper

Ningbo Tiancheng Casting& Machining Manufacturer is a specialized manufacturer and exporter of various casting parts and machining parts .
Ningbo Tiancheng located in Ningbo, the famous port city in Ningbo. The factory was founded in 1998, over the years , we have grown from 70 workers to 250 ,from only one foundry to three foundries and a machining center ,and we are still growing. Growing to meet your mechanical component requirements. The output for brass,aluminum casting is 1000tons per year, for casting iron is 300tons, for the others material is about 1000tons. We believe that the output will be more next year.
Our Advantage is the foundry is separate, differenct foundry for different material,This process is best for the quality of the parts. We also have a machining center . We have strong commitment to service, quality, and innovation. Our commitment begins with using the best available equipment, materials, people, processes, and technology to manufacture your investment casting,sand casting,die casting and machining components. Our goal is to produce on time, cost effective.
Utilizing the investment casting ,sand casting,die casting, Tiancheng casts a full range of shapes and configurations, from simple to complex shapes. Over 150 different alloys are poured such as nickel base, brass, bronze, aluminum, stainless steel, low alloy, tool steels, cast iron and PPT hardening stainless steels. Our very board alloy selection helps you to select the alloy that is best suited for your application and will enhance your part performance.
The products refer to the industries of automobile, Marine, valve and pipe fittings, construction, engineering, mining machinery, railway,hardwares, power transmission line as well as non magnetic stainless steel castings in Electronics field. The producta are exported to U.S.A, European countries, North of Africa,southeast of Asian.
Ningbo Tiancheng is dedicated to supplying you with excellent service and quality.
Our Products:Casting , Copper Castings , Copper Castings , Aluminum Castings , Iron Castings , Steel Castings , Casting Machining , Ductile Iron Castings , brass valve castings , Brass Castings , Alloy Steel Castings , Bronze Castings , Gray Iron Castings , Zinc Aluminum Castings , Stainless Steel Castings , Aluminum Bronze valve castings , Alloy Iron Castings , Carbon Steel Castings , Aluminum Machined Castings , Excavator teeth , Brass alloy castings , Automotive Iron Castings , Nickel Steel Castings , Pipe fittings , Copper alloy castings , Metal mold castings , Transmission components parts , Aluminum Bronze Castings , Chromium Steel Castings , Bronze alloy castings , Mine castings , High Alloy Steel Castings , Machining parts , Low Steel Castings , Stamping parts
Contact us:
NingBo Tiancheng Casting & Machining Manufacturer Co.,Ltd
Add:Renxin Village,Yunlong Town, Yinzhou District,Ningbo ,China.
WebSite:http://www.cheng-casting.com
Sales Manager:Molly Li
Tel:+86-574-88348180
Fax:+86-574-88349777
E-Mail:Sales@cheng-casting.com

男人是不是女人惯出来的？

今天大家一群女人在一起聊天， 聊着聊着变成了声讨老公会了，而大家声讨的居然都如此相似，真是应了一句话，天下的乌鸦一般黑，天下的老公一样坏，我也想起刚刚看到的一个帖子《老婆给二奶的辞职书》里的一段，摘录过来：
3、他朋友很多，喜欢玩，喜欢外面的世界，你得有包容的心。不过，你可以节省饭钱，但你得为他准备牌钱，替他维护男人的脸面。
6、他每天起床后，你得负责叠被子，不然，中午回家被子还乱七八糟的在床上。7、你得催他每天洗脸涮牙刮胡子，他这方面不太自觉，当然，你不计较就好。8、家里的饭一般是他煮，但他从不洗碗，你得负责洗碗，不过，你们可以买台洗碗机。9、家里的卫生他从不做，你得学会做，不然，你们自己的家只要你看得惯也行。10、你得有一手好厨艺，因为他的厨艺实在不怎么样。每次家里来客人了都是我下厨，对于好客的他也经常把哥姐全家带到家里，你要得到他家里人认可，这点我想你不学也不行了。11、热天时，他每天换下的衣服你得洗，热天的衣服一般不用洗衣机，当然，你不洗，你也可以请他洗，不过，十多年了，我一直没培养出来，愿你能把他栽培出来。冬天的衣服有洗衣机。
12、他喜欢在外交朋友，不管男朋友还是女朋友，如果不小心又交了女朋友，你得大度，男人不花心，公猪都会生！如果不花心，只是没机遇！到时就看你的本领了。等等等等 。。。。。。。。。。
看到大家把自己的老公说的那是一无是处，体无完肤，那个糟糕，那个惨，可是没有人说不要这个老公了，没有人真的会因为这而离婚，为什么？？？为什么？？难怪男人可以不要责任心，不要疼爱妻子的心，轻松生活呢，看来这与女人惯的不无关系。
看到这里，可能有些朋友该说了，我们男人的压力也大，我们得养家啊，可是女人没有养家吗？女人和男人一样要工作，却比男人多了更多的家务责任，又为什么？？
天下的女人们，不要再惯男人了，男人真的不受惯

Casting , Copper Castings , Copper Castings , Aluminum Castings , Iron Castings ,
Steel Castings , Casting Machining , Ductile Iron Castings , brass valve castings , Brass Castings , Alloy Steel Castings , Bronze Castings , Gray Iron Castings , Zinc Aluminum Castings , Stainless Steel Castings , Aluminum Bronze valve castings , Alloy Iron Castings , Carbon Steel
Castings , Aluminum Machined Castings , Excavator teeth , Brass alloy castings , Automotive Iron Castings , Nickel Steel
Castings , Pipe fittings , Copper alloy castings , Metal mold castings , Transmission components parts , Aluminum Bronze Castings , Chromium Steel Castings , Bronze alloy castings , Mine
castings , High Alloy Steel Castings , Machining parts , Low Steel Castings , Stamping parts