Basement Waterproofing - Tips and Tricks

By residing in a home, you are aware of the sudden repairs one needs. Sometimes minor things happen, meaning you must spend time and money to fix them. By fixing the small problems, you will eliminate larger ones in the future. A common problem for older homes is basement leakage. Waterproofing a basement is no easy task, but is simple enough that a homeowner can manage.

Basement waterproofing takes some assessment first. Sure, you've noticed the puddles downstairs, but where are they coming from? This is an important factor, and some surveying is necessary. Before you go out to buy products for the basement waterproofing adventure, check out the situation.

Basement Waterproofing Questions:

You must first ask yourself these questions to discover what kind of leakage you may be having. By eliminating some of these factors, you may not need to do many reparations.

- Does the ground around the foundation of your house slope away from the structure? This is a very important factor because if it does not, water could be gathering and rot could be growing. This is not a difficult fix! You can simply add dirt to make a two inch per foot slope.

- Are your gutters and downspouts working properly? Gutters get jammed seasonally. They should be cleaned at least once a year. If this is news to you, perhaps this simple adjustment and modification is all you need. If they are clogged, chances are the water is not being discharged properly and is seeping into unwanted places. The downspouts are just as important. If they are not leaning away from the house and spilling water at least five feet from your foundation, you should make adjustments so they do so.

- Are the edges of your house surrounded by shrubbery? If so, this could also be a key problem. A plant may be small, but their roots can be extremely large. These roots can rot, causing erosion and creating a pathway for water. To ensure this does not happen, keep plants at least one foot from your foundation.

There are different types of basement waterproofing. Depending on your types of leaks, your basement waterproofing difficulty level will vary. If your leaks are small and minor, there are sealants available to you. These are not difficult to use, and can save you money in the long run. Water damage only gets worse, so fixing the damage early can prevent a lot of stress and put money in your pocket. Depending on your leak items such as DRYLOK and Xypex are types of sealants to seal up the cracks and prevent further leakage.

If the level of leakage is high, waterproofing a basement is a must for you. Sometimes, even after you have sealed cracks and assessed the outside parameters of the house, further actions for basement waterproofing must be taken. There are methods of waterproofing from the outside as well. Hydroclay can be injected around the foundation outside of your house. This can absorb large amounts of water, teaming up with other methods of basement waterproofing to keep your basement dry.

Water leakage is a major pain. But, it happens to many houses. These basement waterproofing tips can be very beneficial to you if you decide waterproofing a basement is on your to do list. Always remember to follow the directions on products very carefully and to administer proper amounts. Your basement will be dry in no time!

Acrylic Paint and Scrapbooking

What is acrylic paint? It is a fast drying versatile paint that is water resistant once dry. Because of its fast drying ability it is great for using on or in your scrapbooking pages. Acrylic paint comes in a big variety of colours and if you cant find the colour you are looking for then all you need to do it mix some other colours together and make a new colour.

Why use it on your scrapbooking pages?

There are many different reasons for using acrylic paint on your pages. It adds colour, texture and dimension to any page. I find it to be a great medium to add individuality to my pages. I can make unique background papers and uniquely colour plain embellishments. Ways to use acrylic paint on your scrapbooking pages?

The main way I use acrylic paint on my pages is by creating my own background paper. Sometimes I find it hard to find suitable background paper that goes with the photos that I want to scrapbook. To work around this I paint my own background paper. Sometimes I will just use one colour and other times I will use three or four colours.

Sometimes I will use my fingers to apply the paint to my paper, other times I will use a paintbrush or a sponge. Use your imagination to find different things to apply the paint to your pages. Different things will put different patterns in the paint on your page.

I also use the paint to change and alter store bought embellishments. It is good for adding colour to chipboard letters and shapes. I much prefer to buy plain embellishments and colour them myself as it means I can use them on any page, all I need to do it colour them in a coordinating colour.

Above are just I few ideas of ways to use acrylic paint on your scrapbooking pages. Use your imagination and creativity and you will find that you will produce some amazing and unique scrapbooking pages. Happy Scrapbooking!

A Tale Of Two Kitties - The New CAT Scoring Format

In 2009, CAT, for the first time, decided to do away with the good old paper and pencil and instead embraced an online format. Another victory for technology? Not so much.

What with systems whimsically rejecting passwords, computers spontaneously shutting down, and students gaping in pure horror watching their dreams of getting into the top MBA colleges go bye bye. CAT 2009 was, to put it plainly, a flagrant embarrassment-for both the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), as well as Prometric, the globally acclaimed testing vendor commissioned by them for conducting the test. They would've been quick to dive behind the "technological mess" excuse, but it's not as if the question paper was entirely error-free either.

Prometric, No Disaster this time

Poor Sumitra Roy, Prometric India's Managing Director, could be seen scuttling hither and yon for months, hushing up ill-advised comments betraying satisfaction at how CAT 2009 was conducted made by Stephen Williams, Prometric's Vice President of Test Development Services, and then going and making a few ill-advised remarks of her own, daringly discarding the tech-atrocity that was CAT 2009 as a case of "isolated technical issues".

So what is the new CAT Evaluation Method?

So many questions, so little time

In 2010, to avoid a similar disaster, Prometric has determined that it will use fewer testing centres-only those that adhere to the Prometric norms created for ensuring infrastructure quality. The method for CAT scoring, however, will remain the same. It is a rather sound three step process supported by the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness. The first step includes calculation of the raw score based on the answers given. This is done thus: A +3 is awarded for a correct answer, and there is a -1, i.e. a one mark deduction, for a wrong answer. There is no negative marking for a question left unattempted. The rationale behind the negative marking is that it discourages "guessing", and better ensures that a student with a greater skill-and-knowledge base procures more marks.

Balancing the CAT Equation

Finally, these equated scores are "scaled" by placing them on a common metric. Each candidate is presented with four sets of scaled scores-the total score, which is scaled to a 0-450 range and three sets of section scores, with a 0-150 range apiece.

CAT is deliberately and matter-of-factly developed as a very difficult exam so as to best identify only top performing candidates of utmost caliber. After all, getting into the best MBA Colleges of India should not be piece of cake right? Therefore, CAT is simply not one of those exams designed to allow a 100% score. Since an exam constructed to be easy would not solve the distinct purpose of an IIM, the theoretical top-score of 450 is made near-impossible to achieve.

However, it is imperative that the test be uniformly difficult for all, to ensure fairness, and to this end, anchor questions and cloned questions are added to each paper.

An anchor question, explains Mr. Williams, is a question that helps adjust the differences in the difficulty-levels of two sets of question papers. Here's how it's done-Four anchor questions are added to each question paper, two of which it has in common with a previous paper, and two with a paper to be used in a consequent slot. This helps establish a common standard of difficulty in two question papers and the raw scores can later be adjusted accordingly.

A cloned question is a question essentially similar, but different in ultimate form. For instance, an algebraic equation repeated across slots, with each version having different substitution values.

The new CAT will not have any leaks

Whether questions of the cloned or anchor variety increase the risk of "leakage" by way of students memorizing them and relaying them to candidates in subsequent slots, is matter for further frivolous debate. Why a genuine candidate would want to chip away at his/her own chances of cracking CAT by giving away questions to subsequent batches is anyone's guess. However, examples of "proxy-students", who are actually teachers at coaching institutes, are now to be seen, and this might be a more reasonable cause for alarm, since they have no motivation whatsoever to keep these questions to themselves.

Predictably, Mr. Williams rubbishes of this possibility because of no statistically noted "strange patterns with the answering of cloned questions". Given that their statistical analysis is most likely not much better than their technical prowess, this provides little or no comfort.

Standing Tall IIM-A

The IIMs will release the CAT 2010 advertisement near the end of August. With fewer testing centers, a longer testing window, and a hopefully larger pool of distinct questions, CAT 2010 seems poised to undo the many stark wrongs done by its predecessor. With the bitter criticism faced by them in 2009, they seem motivated to rectify their ways.

Salute to Champions

Congratulations to Lindsey Vonn who won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G. Her crashes in the giant slalom and in the super-combined resulted in a broken little finger on her right hand. This spirited competitor taped her broken finger to the adjoining ring finger, donned a mitten and raced again. Even after her competitions ended, she stayed slope side to cheer her teammates and friends. She wore a smile and demonstrated genuine caring and encouragement for others. Lindsey personified the traits of a true champion. Hats off to a beautiful lady, a great athlete and a total role model.

Apolo Anton Ohno, speed skating super star. How many accolades can you possibly heap upon a superstar dedicated athlete of his 24 karat caliber? From winning US Speedskating's 2003 Male Athlete of the Year to becoming the youngest US skater to win a World Cup title. He won "Dancing with the Stars" in May 2007. His checkered record of obstacles included death threats after the South Korea World Cup and a pesky lawsuit accusing him of fixing a race affecting the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Anyone who has ever watched this amazing athlete race knows he competes flat out and wins by sheer athletic ability and keen observation of everything around him in the race. Fixing a race? Don't be absurd; he wins fair. He concentrates, jumps over comrades who spin out in front of him, and strategizes his moves and power plays.

He won silver in the men's 1500 m, bronze in the men's 1000 m, and bronze in the men's 5000 m relay. He came in second in the men's 500 m and then a questionable call disqualified him; he maintained a smile and professional attitude as he assured the reporter that he only put up his hand to protect himself and did not push the Canadian skater at all. The judges apparently did not notice that the leading Canadian skater actually touched the skate of another skater who immediately went down. Anton was disqualified and the Canadians were awarded gold and silver even though one of them went down and did not finish. Anton was such a professional and gentleman that he smiled, refocused and went on to skate with all his heart and skill and won bronze with his young teammates in the men's 5000 m relay. He was so happy to celebrate with his team mates after the relay medal victory.

Nordic Combined heroes, Bill Demong, Brett Camerota, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick Bill Demong won silver in the team 4x5 km and gold in the individual LH/10 km CC. Brett Camerota won silver in the team 4x5 km. Johnny Spillane won silver in the team 4x5 km, silver in the individual LH/10 km CC and silver in the individual NH/10k CC. Todd Lodwick won silver in the team 4x5 km. Special note that Brett Cameota was from Park City, Bill Demong was from Lake Placid, Taylor Fletcher was from Steamboat Springs, Johnny Spillane was from Steamboat Springs and Todd Lodwick was from Steamboat Springs. Kudos not only to a great Nordic combined team but also to Steamboat Springs Winter sports Club for having three of the five members of this team.

Bode Miller has his choice of colors. He won gold in men's super combined, silver in men's super G and bronze in men's downhill. Think these athletes just stepped on the snow or ice and performed? Not so. Bode started skiing at the age of three. This is his third Olympic games. Bode has been a bit of a loose cannon in the past with his outspoken rakish attitude. Fatherhood seems to have matured him; we saw a calmer and more focused Bode in 2010 than we did in 2006. No matter what, the man is an incredible athlete.

American men capture gold in the 4 man bobsleigh; Steven Holcomb led Steve Mesler, Justin Olsen, and Curtis Tomasevicz to an incredible victory and gold medals.

Evan Lysacek practiced and practiced; it all paid off as he won the gold medal in men's figure skating. Evan brought the gold back to America after its long reign in the Russian federation.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White's grace, skill and finesse brought home a silver medal in ice dancing.

Hannah Kearney skied to win gold and Shannon Bahrke skied to win bronze in the women's moguls.

Bryon Wilson won bronze in the men's ski moguls.

Jeret Peterson flew through the air twisting and turning to win silver in the men's aerials.

Elana Meyers and Erin Pac won bronze in the women's bobsleigh.

Julia Mancuso won silver in ladies downhill and silver in ladies super combined.

Andrew Weibrecht won bronze in the men's super G.

Allison Baver, Kimberly Derrick, Alyson Dudek, Katherine Reutter and Lana Gehring won bronze in the ladies 3000 m speed skating relay. Katherine Reutter also won silver in the ladies 1000 m short track speed skating.

J. R. Celski won bronze in the men's 1500m and bronze in the men's 5000 m speed skating relay. Simon Cho, Travis Jayner, Jordan Malone and Apolo Anton Ohno won bronze in the men's 5000 m speed skating relay.

Seth Wescott won gold in the men's snowboard cross. Shaun White rode to gold in the men's snowboard half pipe while Scott Lago rode to bronze in the men's snowboard half pipe.

Hannah Teter rode to silver and Kelly Clark bronze in the women's snowboard half pipe.

Shani Davis skated to gold and Chad Hedrick skated to bronze in the men's speed skating 1000 m. Shani Davis kept his speed and won silver in the men's 1500 m speed skating.

Brian Hansen, Chad Hedrick, Trevor Marsicano and Jonathan Kuck skated to silver in the men's team pursuit speed skating.

We're not finished yet as the US Hockey team expects to skate to gold tomorrow night. What an incredible Winter Olympic games for United States. 36 medals so far and we're not finished yet. Congratulations to a fabulous group of athletes. We're proud of you.

For more in depth information on all of our heroes and heroines, join me at http://www.Elaine4Success.com.

Certified Equine Appraisals - When You Need One and When You Don't

There is a vast difference between a Certified Equine Appraisal and an opinion offered by an experienced trainer or breeder about the value of a horse. When I get a call to appraise a horse I try to determine what specific problem the client hopes to solve and offer the best option to meet their need.

In many cases a certified appraisal is overkill. When an appraisal is required, clients frequently misunderstand how the appraisal process works. Appraisals can be quite costly so it is beneficial to horse owners to understand when an appraisal is the right decision and when it is not.

Most appraisals are made of two types of property, real and personal. Houses and land are real property. Anyone who has purchased a home is familiar with real estate appraisals. Equines are considered personal property, but the method for appraisal is largely the same as that for real property.

There are a number of types of values that appraisers use, but the one most applicable to equines is Fair Market Value. You can't find a duplicate of a horse at the store and you can't build an exact replica from scratch. Each horse is as unique as is each piece of real estate.

Fair Market Value is not necessarily the same as the cost of a horse or the price of a horse. The easiest way to define Fair Market Value is the amount that an educated buyer would accept from an educated seller in the proper marketplace, with neither the buyer nor seller compelled to make a transaction. In other words, the deal is at arms length and the terms are acceptable to both sides with nothing hidden under the table.

When you need an appraisal

Certified Appraisals may be required for documenting the donation of a horse on your tax return. Appraisals are sometimes helpful when applying for insurance when the value of a horse changes over time or for establishing the value of a breeding stallion's career. Most frequently, appraisals are used when there is a legal dispute of some kind. When clients have to pay an attorney there is a good chance they may also need a Certified Equine Appraisal. One such instance is establishing the decline in value of a horse due to injury or illness.

The appraisal itself is prepared using the same methods and practices as a real estate appraisal. When done properly the document itself and the work file are prepared in a manner appropriate for being entered into evidence in court. This is usually news to owners calling for information about obtaining a value on their horse. The cost of an appraisal can also be eye-opening to an owner.

Depending on how difficult the case or unique the horse in question, the appraisal may cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. All expenses are added to the basic fee. Should a court appearance or deposition be requested the bill will go even higher.

How the process works

The process begins with an exchange of information. Unless the subject horse is deceased the appraiser should personally inspect and photograph the animal. Value cannot be established without determining the condition of the horse on the date of the appraisal. Every appraisal is tied to a specific date. In the case of a dead horse the appraisal is done to establish the value of the animal immediately prior to death.

Appraisals are based upon documented transactions of comparable horses in the same way real estate is valued using 'comps.' If you have a three-year-old show horse with popular bloodlines it is usually easier to find completed sales to use in preparing the appraisal. The more rare or unique the case, the higher the cost will be to research the industry and find the best comps. Another complicating issue of date is that of deceased horses. If a horse died two years ago the value must be established using comparables from two years ago, not from current market information.

Understanding the use of comparables is where most owners need a little help. All sales used will be for horses that are as similar to the subject as possible but not exactly alike. The appraiser will take the sale price of a comp and adjust the value to reflect the facts specific to the horse being valued. If a comp is a six-year old and the subject a four-year old the value of the comp will be adjusted. If the comp has earned 120 show points and the subject 75 points the value must also be adjusted.

The price a trainer asks for a horse is not a comparable. The opinion of a successful breeder is not a comparable. Whenever possible comps are taken from sales at recent auctions of similar horses. Remember when I said that Fair Market Value and price are not the same. There has to be a completed sale to have a good comp. When sales are not available the appraiser has to get creative and must really know how to research to find information useful to determining value.

When you don't need an appraisal

When there is no legal action expected the horse owner may need only an opinion of value. In many cases I have provided a letter stating my opinion of the value of the subject based upon a set of facts. Each letter also includes the caveat that is only an opinion and not an appraisal.

If you have a horse for sale and just want to determine the most advantageous asking price you don't need an appraisal. If you want to get an idea of the value of a horse before initiating legal action an opinion may also serve your need.

Most of the cases I've worked on have been either divorces or involved the death of a horse. I've done way more opinion letters than certified appraisals, and rightly so.

If you need to have a certified appraisal prepared take care to retain an appraiser who is able to represent you well should the case go before a judge or jury. Keep in mind that the Fair Market Value of a horse should have nothing to do with who hires the appraiser; it's still the same horse. All horses are not the same and neither are appraisers. If you have questions I recommend you contact the American Society of Equine Appraisers in Twin Falls, ID.

HC Slavia Praha Home to 5 OHL Alumni

HC Slavia Praha (Prague) plays in the 14 team Czech O2 Extraliga. This season, they finished right in the middle, 7th, over the 52 game regular season schedule. The Czech Republic continues to be one of the top non-Canadian feeder countries to the Ontario Hockey League. Year after year, hockey hopefuls from the European nation come to Canada in hopes of getting drafted to the NHL. Often, they return to the play in the Extraliga which is highly ranked by the IIHF. HC Slavia Praha housed 5 Ontario Hockey League Alumni during the 2009-10 season.

Jiri Drtina started his OHL career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2002-03 but ended the season with the Guelph Storm. His final season was played with the Storm in 2003-04. He has been with HC Slavia Praha ever since, providing solid defense for the club.

Vladimir Roth played two seasons in the OHL, 2007-08 and 2008-09, both with the London Knights. This is Vlad's first season with the club's A team after growing up in the system.

Karol Sloboda also played two seasons in the OHL, 2001-02 and 2002-03, both with the Ottawa 67's. In his second season, he had a great playoff run as the 67's made it to the final before losing to eventual Memorial Cup champions, the Kitchener Rangers. As a defenseman, Karol added up 18 points in 23 playoff games. The native of Bratislava, Slovakia has played his full professional career in either his home Slovakia or in the Czech Republic.

Lukas Havel was an original Brampton Battalion, playing for the club in 1998-99 as well as the two following seasons. Lukas put up consistent numbers with the Battalion over his three years and made an appearance at the 2001 World Junior tournament. He has played his entire professional career in either Slovakia or the Czech Republic.

Tomas Kurka played for the Plymouth Whalers for the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons. Kurka is the only one of the five OHL grads on HC Slavia Praha that has played any professional hockey in North America. Tomas was a second round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2000. He appeared in 17 games over two seasons with the Hurricanes before heading to Europe for the 2004-05 NHL strike season. He has played in Finland, Sweden and his home Czech Republic.