Most formations of stone are huge batholiths (large mass of intrusive igneous rock believed to have solidified deep within the earth). Quarry locations are tiny in comparison to the size of these formations.

However, the Namibian Desert has an almost mystical landscape. There are giant dunes, vistas of rocky hills and dry riverbeds frequented by ostriches and springhok. To preserve the beauty of the desert, quarrying sites arelimited to designated areas. Prior to the start of any quarrying activities, an environmental plan must be submitted and approved by the Ministry of Mines. The plan must define the procedures of quarrying that will best protect and minimize our presence in the desert. The quarries are continually monitored to ensure procedures are being followed, and to determine where and how they can be improved upon. The Africa Range is presently working to become ISO rated for its environmental standards. A strong commitment to minimizing environmental impact and working closely with the government of Namibia will ensure a continued supply of The Africa Range. Though it is definitely not a renewable resource, the high percentage of usable material removed from natural stone quarries limits the impact on our environment.

Unlike most quarried or mined materials being removed from our earth, natural stone has a relatively low impact on our environment. The extraction process does not require the use of any chemicals. Only water is used at quarry sites to cool and lubricate diamond abrasives to cut the stone. Natural stone quarries do not produce toxic waste piles which can pollute the surrounding environment.

Because of the low impact that quarrying natural stone has on our environment, it has become one of many products that are used in projects that obtain LEED certification.  LEED, a voluntary program established by the U.S. Green Building Council, sets environmentally friendly construction guidelines for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings.

All manufactured or processed materials we use in our homes adversely affect our global and local environments. The best we can do is to choose products which have the least detrimental affects on our surroundings. Natural stone is the natural choice.

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Be environmentally friendly with the installment of your granite countertops; Natural Stone Atlanta; info@naturalstoneatlanta.com

For years I couldn't bring myself to give it up. It gave me a feeling of security, a lifeline to the outside world that would never fail. I knew that parting with it would be painful.

But I was also paying $40 a month. That was painful, too.

And so, a few years back, I got rid of my landline telephone -- and it was much easier than I expected. Dropping your landline can be an easy way to cut back on your monthly bills.

For many people, $40 is just the base price for a landline. Call waiting, voice mail, caller ID -- all of these cost extra. Don't even get me started on if you make long-distance calls.

By comparison, a cell-phone bill each month may run $40 to $50 (or a little more if you are using a PDA and need a data plan of some kind). But caller ID, long distance and voice mail are included, and you can take the phone with you wherever you go.

Still, a money-saving solution doesn't have to be so cut-and-dried. There are some options in between.
Voice Over IP (or VOIP) is a fancy way to say that your phone connection comes through your Internet connection. It does require a high-speed Internet connection, but it can save you a lot of money. You already are paying for your Internet connection, most likely, and VOIP connections are easy to set up.
Many Internet service providers provide these for around $20. Often, bundling your cable, Internet and phone services with one company can get you a reduction in rates on all of these services.

If your ISP doesn't offer this service, you can chose from a number of companies. The most well-known is Vonage, where you can get an unlimited-calling plan for about $25, which is roughly half of what a traditional landline might cost. Other options, such as Skype (which is similar to VOIP except that the calls run on a peer-to-peer network instead of through a central server), offer pay-as-you-go plans.

And if you're fine with getting rid of your landline but don't want to burn your cell-phone minutes on lengthy calls at home, there are some options, too.

Several cell-phone carriers offer service over a Wi-Fi connection. This means that when your cell phone (equipped with Wi-Fi) is in range of a wireless Internet signal, you can use that signal, instead of a cellular signal, to place a call.

Different providers have different restrictions. T-Mobile, for instance, requires that you use a wireless router that the company provide. This works great at home, where you can talk as long as you want without using your cell minutes. The cost for this is generally around $10 to $15.

Remember that with any of these options, you are allowed to take your home phone number with you to your new service, so you don't have to worry about friends or family not being able to get in touch.
Losing the landline might make sense these days for many people. It's painless, you won't see any reduction in service, and you can cut anywhere from half to all of a bill out of your monthly budget. The only thing you may wonder is why you didn't make the switch sooner.

- DYLAN BILES TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

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VOIP Atlanta for all your metro county Atlanta Georgia Internet Telephone answers and needs, residential and commercial...info@voip-atlanta.net

 

 

A new study from the Atlanta office of MetroStudy has shown that the Atlanta residential real estate market may have hit the bottom. This would be good news for all home owners and anyone trying to sell their home. “Atlanta’s housing market has hit a bottom,” said Eugene James, director of MetroStudy’s Atlanta division. “Almost all housing indicators have reversed and are now heading in a positive direction. Finished inventory has been reduced to a level where builders have been forced to resume building new homes.” This September, Atlanta’s finished inventory was reduced to about 11,000 units, which is a 37 percent decline from September 2008 and a 48 percent decline from September 2007, according to Metrostudy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remodel your counter tops and floors with our granite and other natural stone slab and tile selections, whether for your own quality of lifestyle, or to prepare your home for sale: Natural Stone Atlanta ; info@naturalstoneatlanta.com ; 404-592-5597

Mummy Pizzas Ingredients 2 English muffins 1/4 cup pizza sauce 2-4 stuffed green olives or pitted black olives, sliced (need 8 slices) 2-3 pieces mozzarella string cheese Directions 1. Toast English muffins. 2. Preheat oven to 350*. 3. Lay 4 muffin halves on baking sheet. 4. Spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each muffin half. 5. Set 2 olive slices in place for eyes on each muffin half. 6. Pull string cheese into pieces and lay on muffins above and under "eyes", layering them to look like mummy wrappings. 7. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Brain Spread This is a GREAT appetizer for your next Halloween Party! If you don't have a brain mold, you can substitute by lining a med. size round bowl with saran wrap and making your mold. Once the mold is set, you can take the round end of a knife or other dull, small, blunt end object and create your crevices and creases to make your brain. Takes a little more time, but works well. When done designing your brain, peel off the saran wrap, and plate to serve along with your crackers, chips etc. SERVES 10 -12 Ingredients 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 (1/4 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water 1 bunch green onion, finely chopped 1 lb crabmeat or lobster, shredded (or 3 lbs. cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice Tabasco sauce or creole seasoning, to taste Directions 1. Heat soup, undiluted, and mix in the cream cheese. 2. Stir in softened gelatin, and blend well. 3. Fold in remaining ingredients, and pour into a lightly-oiled brain mold. (pour some oil in and swirl it around, then pour out excess). 4. Chill until firm, and serve with your favorite crackers, pita or bagel chips or scoops. Barbecued Bat Wings SERVES 8 Ingredients * 4 lbs chicken wings * 2 cups ketchup * 1 1/2 cups molasses * 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar * 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce * 2 tablespoons sugar * hot sauce * salt * black pepper * black paste food coloring * blue paste food coloring * green paste food coloring Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the chicken wings for twenty minutes in a large pot. While the wings are cooking, prepare the sauce. Whisk together the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, hot sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth in a large roasting pan. Add enough black, blue, and green food colorings to the sauce to make a dark black sauce. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, stirring once. 2. Drain the wings well and add them to the sauce and toss to coat evenly, poking the wings liberally with a fork. 3. Bake for 20 minutes, then increase the temperature to 450 degrees. Toss the wings in the sauce again to coat evenly. Bake until the sauce is thickened and slightly blackened, flipping the wings over occasionally, about another 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. Spider Web Platter SERVES 8 -10 Ingredients 2 (14 ounce) cans refried beans 1 lb lean hamburger 1 (1/4 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix 1 (10 ounce) can Ro-tel green chilies 4 ounces medium hot chunky salsa 1 (8 ounce) package four cheese Mexican blend cheese 4 ounces sour cream Tortilla chips or Frito Scoops Directions 1. On a lg. round or oval dish spread out refried beans. 2. Fry hamburger until no longer pink, and drain grease. 3. Add Rotel tomatoes and let liquid boil out. Mixing a few times so the burger doesn't stick. 4. When most of the juice is evaporated put the meat mixture over the refried bean layer. 5. Spoon on salsa and spread across meat mixture. 6. Sprinkle with cheese. 7. Bake in 350 oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 8. In the meantime, spoon the sour cream into a small Zip-Lock bag, and cut the corner. Pipe a large dot in the middle of the cheese, then make a line about 1" from the circle all the way around. 9. Make another circle 1" from previous circle all the way around, and continue making lines until you are at the edge of the mixture. 10. Drag a tooth pick through the sour cream to make a web design OR you can draw horizontal lines with the sour cream a few inches apart, all the way around to make a spider web, so you can add more sour cream to the top. I usually do it this way. 11. Decorate the top with a little spider for added affect (can be an edible food "spider" on non-edible novelty item) 12. Use tortilla chips to scoop dip. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have a beautiful new counter top to work on with your new recipes and cooking; Granite Countertop Atlanta; info@granitecountertopatlanta.com

With bargain prices and an $8,000 tax credit set to expire Nov. 30, first-time homebuyers rush in where they previously feared to tread. Here’s one more way the housing bust has changed the rules of the real-estate world: In this market, first-time buyers are getting VIP treatment. Indeed, they’re the star players in a nascent market revival. New buyers accounted for almost half of all sales during the first part of the year, well above historic levels, according to the National Association of Realtors. Tanking prices have certainly drawn the newbies in; J.K. and Nicole Harvey, for example, just snagged a three-bedroom Dutch colonial in Trumbull, Conn., on a corner lot — after bidding $50,000 less than the asking price. Low interest rates and a new federal tax incentive are making a difference, too. But more than anything, first-timers are benefiting from not being homeowners. They don’t have to worry about selling their current homes, most likely in a down market, to raise money for new ones. “The world is their oyster right now,” says Mike Larson, real-estate analyst with Weiss Research. Small wonder that agents are now gladly tagging along as the “kids” kick the tires on starter homes. That’s a big change from the way things used to be: For most of this young century, the real-estate scene was dominated by homeowners trading up, flipping properties or snapping up vacation homes. Bubble-driven prices meant that even “starter homes” were out of reach for younger couples. Brokers and agents shunned first-time buyers because they needed too much hand-holding and, of course, because they weren’t that lucrative — why waste time peddling $150,000 condos when you could make seven times as much money selling a single $1 million McMansion? But today, new buyers with humbler aims are just as likely to get the red-carpet treatment. Right now, of course, buyers of all stripes face what seems like an unprecedented opportunity. This year the housing affordability index reached its highest point in almost 40 years. But not every “Sold” sign is a marker on the path to prosperity. Despite signs of improvement in a growing number of markets, hardly anyone expects a quick return to boom times. That’s partly because first-timers are more willing to scoop up bargains at the bottom end of the market than jump into a bidding war. And buying a home can be trickier and scarier than ever. Still, virtually everyone agrees that the housing market won’t fully recover until buyers soak up the bloated inventory of available homes — in other words, until the rookies come through. Tax breaks for rookies First-time buyers owe some of their time in the sun to Congress and President Obama. This year’s stimulus bill included an $8,000 tax credit aimed at first-time buyers — and it wasn’t long before those newbies got wooed by a business-starved real-estate industry. Phoenix-area builder Fulton Homes blasted its mailing list with information about the tax credit and material promoting homes tailored to young couples. Over a recent 12-week period, the company sold 120 homes to first-time buyers, says Dennis Webb, Fulton’s vice president of operations. Brokerages like Watson Realty, in Jacksonville, Fla., have issued buttons to their agents that read “Ask me about the $8,000 tax credit!” Mike Crowley, a broker in Spokane, Wash., even hosts a regular seminar for first-time buyers. He provides pizza and soft drinks, but that’s a pittance compared with the $3,000 he budgets each month to promote the classes on radio and television. These days the seminars focus special attention on the tax break. Crowley says the workshops have helped his office sign up more than 30 clients in the past year. “We’ve got it dialed in now,” he says. But for all the love it’s getting, some say the tax credit’s impact is limited. For one thing, $8,000 is a drop in the bucket for shoppers in expensive housing markets in the Northeast and California. The credit’s income ceiling — it phases out completely for couples earning more than $170,000 — isn’t mentioned on those buttons. And the credit often isn’t enough to get a first-timer over the down-payment hump. In fact, the typical newbie can come up with only a small fraction of the 10% to 20% that most banks are looking for these days. All of which means that many first-timers are getting into real estate in a more traditional way — with help from mom and dad. Erik and Jessica Wackenstedt of San Diego shopped for months before finding a row house with Pacific Ocean views, marked down to $530,000 from $700,000. Erik Wackenstedt’s father, Lars, loaned the couple $225,000 to make a hefty down payment. His motives weren’t entirely unselfish; he says he thought that payments from a loan to his son could provide a more reliable income than any of his other investments. There were other strings attached to the assistance: When Erik Wackenstedt originally asked for help a year ago, his father refused, saying that prices were “on the stupid side.” (In this case, obviously, dad was vindicated.) The bank of mom and dad While nobody tracks loans like these, some families see them as a win-win. The youngsters receive financing at a rate much cheaper than they would find at a bank, while the older lenders get to help their kin and still collect an income. Elders who are feeling flush can still make gifts, of course. Each donor can give up to $13,000 each year to each relative, tax-free. Nicole Harvey’s family gave her money from a trust that was supposed to remain sealed until the now-33-year-old woman turned 40. Ultimately, it was her father, Oscar Marcos, who decided that giving up a few years of investment gains was a tolerable price to pay for getting a home cheap. While their parents may be stepping up to the plate with help, some new homebuyers say real-estate agents are only making their lives harder. Michael McLane, a 23-year-old educational consultant from Tempe, Ariz., started shopping for a home online in March and attracted a swarm of brokers. “As soon as I put my information in, they were on me like chicken hawks,” says McLane, who wound up needing a new e-mail address for all the spam he got from desperate agents. His answer? Sidestepping them and buying a home directly from a builder. But some buyers say it isn’t always that easy, especially when the relationship with the agent gets further along. They tell stories of agents pushing them to buy from their brokerage’s listings (as opposed to the complete local inventory), while others report sellers’ agents who call several times a day. Once a deal gets to the contract stage, many cash-strapped brokers have been adding document preparation fees and other vague surcharges, according to Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America. Zigas adds that many first-timers are unaware of cozy ties between agents and the lenders, home inspectors and title companies they recommend — relationships that can boost a buyer’s costs. (A representative for the NAR says such fees and relationships should always be disclosed to consumers.) Looking for ‘move-up’ buyers Not all brokers – even well-meaning ones – are thrilled by the influx of first-timers, with some complaining that they offer a toxic mix of cluelessness and arrogance. But others have a deeper economic worry: By focusing on cheaper homes, the thinking goes, the new buyers are pushing average prices down, which in turn discourages “move-up buyers” — growing families and upwardly mobile types who would normally be trading up to something more luxurious. “For the overall market to recover, we’ve got to get people into that move-up market,” says Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Gillespie is among the throng of real-estate honchos pressuring Congress to increase the current tax break from $8,000 to $15,000, extend its duration and make it available to all buyers, regardless of their income or whether they’ve bought before. The price tag: an estimated $36 billion. Naturally, among the beneficiaries would be people who overpaid and overborrowed for the houses they’re in now. By comparison, this generation of first-time buyers is more cautious. The kids want fixed-rate mortgages they can easily afford, and they aren’t merely looking for a property to flip. A survey by the NAR showed that the average first-timer hopes to stay in the home for 10 years, up from seven at the peak of the boom. Regardless of how long first-timers stay, many economists believe these buyers can tip the first domino and kick-start the rest of the market. As Mark Markelz, a broker in Fairfield, Conn., puts it, “Without first-time buyers, you are going nowhere.” Help for that first down payment Until recently, the typical first-time buyer paid less than 5% as a down payment; now most banks are asking for 10% or even 20%. Here’s how buyers are making up the difference. The Feds Loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration permit down payments as low as 3.5%. They make up 18% of the market, up from 4% in 2006. The catch: Borrowers must pay mortgage insurance, usually 1.75% of the loan upfront — or $5,250 on a $300,000 loan — plus an annual 0.5% premium. Glenn Kelman, chief executive of discount broker Redfin, says some sellers shun FHA-backed offers because they take longer to close. Family money Parents can give up to $52,000 to a couple tax-free (if each parent gives $13,000 to the child and his or her spouse). Most lenders require a “gift letter” explaining that the money does not have to be paid back, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president with HSH Associates, and some require the borrowers to come up with cash of their own. If the family money comes in the form of a loan, the IRS sets minimum rates — currently just above 4% on longer-term loans — to ensure it isn’t merely a run around the gifting laws. Tax credit The much-ballyhooed $8,000 tax credit is set to expire Nov. 30, though industry groups are pushing to extend or expand it. Typically, the credit can be used for closing costs but not the down payment itself. One often overlooked plus: The government defines a first-time buyer as anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past three years, so some former owners can qualify. Brad Reagan of SmartMoney ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remodel your kitchen and bath with the help of Savannah Discount Granite

Anglin Insurance Agency announces the launch of a new website, InsuranceCantonGA.com. September 16th, 2009 – Anglin Insurance Agency today announces the launch of the marketing campaign InsuranceCantonGA.com. Anglin Insurance Agency is a family owned insurance company with a fully licensed staff and a total of 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. They offer car insurance, life insurance, and homeowners insurance in Canton, Georgia as well as North Georgia including Jasper, Woodstock, Kennesaw, Ball Ground, Cumming and Cherokee, Cobb and Forsyth Counties. InsuranceCantonGA.com provides information on a wide variety of coverage options. In addition to standard benefits, Anglin provides a variety of extra features and low-cost, additional coverages. Among Anglin Insurance's Auto Coverages are Liability, Bodily Injury, and Property Damage, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage, Collision, Medical Payments, as well as full, Comprehensive coverage. For Georgia policyholders, Anglin Insurance Agency provides property damage coverage when loss is caused by an uninsured motorist (deductibles applicable). Their staff can also tailor your Homeowners insurance policy by choosing from several levels of protection and a number of optional coverages. Anglin offers coverage for physical damage, fire, theft and liability. It can protect your home and outbuildings on your premises, as well as personal property, such as clothing and furniture. Anglin also offers specialized coverages to insure your vacation home, recreational and computer equipment and personal valuables and collectibles. The website, InsuranceCantonGA.com in an interactive web portal connecting users to extensive and detailed information on all types of coverage and coverage options. Those seeking coverage are provided with the option to fill out an online insurance quote form and receive a free quote via e-mail. The information submitted is kept confidential and will be used for quote purposes only. The Insurance Canton GA marketing campaign will be a multimedia operation that will include the website, www.insurancecantonga.com, plus ad placements in various media outlets, supported by online promotions including blogs, newsletters, articles, and other online strategies to help inform those seeking insurance coverage about the various coverage options offered through Anglin Insurance Agency. The site and campaign will be managed by Panorama Press, an Atlanta-based marketing firm specializing in strategy, sponsorships and web development. “The primary objective of the Insurance Canton GA campaign is to inform those without coverage in Canton and throughout North Georgia that Anglin Insurance Agency provides low-cost coverage options and a capable and professional staff able to customize a coverage policy to their specific needs and budget,” said Manuel Enrique “QuiQue” Lopez, spokesman for Panorama Press. Anglin Insurance Agency is located at Marietta Hwy, Suite 101, Canton, GA 30114. They can be reached by phone at 678-391-9157, online at www.insurancecantonga.com, or via email at info@insurancecantonga.com.

Many American families are finding themselves deeper and deeper in debt. Complicating matters even more, new legislation passed by Congress in 2005 will make it harder to declare bankruptcy, and saddle filers with a greater percentage of their debts to repay. If you, too, find yourself in trouble financially, there are usually no easy answers - but there are some ways out for those willing to commit to changing their spending habits. Your ability to pay your bills can be affected by situations beyond your control such as serious illness, divorce, or unemployment. Poor financial management can also threaten your economic security. You may be able to juggle your creditors for a time, but eventually you may come to realize you need help in resolving your financial problems. Consumer Debt The first step in regaining financial control is to limit, if not eliminate, the use of consumer debt. One popular radio talk show host suggested you cut up all your credit cards, or put them in a baggie, fill it with water, and freeze them. Continuing to charge will delay your eventual day of reckoning, and only exacerbates your overall financial hardships. Whenever possible, it's best to pay your living expenses in cash, using credit as a convenience that you pay off in full at the end of each month. If you cannot pay your bills in cash, you need to seriously consider your standard of living and how you might be able to get by on less. Sit down and make a plan that's livable for you. Credit Counseling Resources The National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC) is a non-profit organization with offices in all 50 states. The NFCC can help you arrange repayment plans that fit your income level and ability. They will study your debts, analyze your income and help you work out ways to overcome your financial problems. You can call 800-388-2227 for information about the closest member agency. Consider a Consolidation Loan If you have equity in your home, consider a home equity loan. This type of loan can consolidate all your consumer debt into a single payment, usually with a lower interest rate and often with income tax deductible interest. Be careful, however, not to tap into your equity, only to run up consumer debt again. Paying Down Debt Takes Time If you create a strict plan for eliminating your consumer debts and stick with it, it could take as few as two and as many as five years to implement your plan. The first step in any debt reduction plan is a sincere commitment by the entire family to control spending and eliminate financial waste. Bankruptcy - The Last Resort Bankruptcy should be considered only as a solution of last resort. Bankruptcy carries numerous negative implications and should not be entered into lightly. It's always smart to consult an attorney before filing; in some cases it's required. You can usually retain your home, personal belongings and an automobile necessary for you to work. However, remember that bankruptcy does not change the habits that created the financial difficulties in the first place. There is life after debt - but it takes constant financial discipline and a commitment to living within one's means to stay that way. Material discussed is meant for general illustration and/or informational purposes only and it is not to be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, please note that individual situations can vary therefore, the information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Diversification does not ensure against loss. Source: Financial Visions, Inc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For assistance in developing a financial plan that can leave you debt free and on the path to a more secure financial future, please contact... Insurance Canton GA ; info@insurancecantonga.com

The house is a system. You save money and improve performance when you take cost-effective measures that reduce building loads, and then install systems and appliances that are the right size to meet the reduced loads. In general, over-sizing worsens performance and increases costs. The most effective strategy for improving household energy efficiency is to first target your home’s envelope—walls, attic, windows, and doors. Then improve the energy efficiency of systems, such as heating, cooling, lighting, and appliances. Finally, consider clean energy generation (solar, geothermal, and so on). 1. Make sure your walls and attic are well insulated. Effective insulation slows the rate that heat flows out of the house in winter or into the house in summer, so less energy is required to heat or cool the house. If your house has no wall insulation, and it has more-or-less continuous wall cavities (such as conventional stud walls), blown-in insulation can greatly improve your comfort and save enough energy to be very cost-effective. (It rarely pays to blow additional insulation into already insulated walls.) If your attic is unfinished, it often pays to upgrade its insulation. Your contractor’s expertise is more important than the insulation material you choose. Properly installed fiberglass, cellulose, and most foam insulation materials can all reduce the heat conduction of the completed wall system. The key is “properly installed.” Ideally, the contractor will use an infrared camera during or after installation to look for voids. 2. Upgrade or replace windows. If your windows are old and leaky, it may be time to replace them with energy-efficient models or boost their efficiency with weatherstripping and storm windows. It is almost never cost-effective to replace windows just to save energy. According to EnergyStar.gov, replacing windows will save 7 to 24 percent of your heating and air-conditioning bills, but the larger savings would be associated with replacing single-glazed windows. However, if you are replacing windows for other reasons anyway, in many areas the additional cost of Energy Star–rated replacement windows is very modest, perhaps $15 per window. This upgrade would be cost-effective—and increase your comfort to boot. 3. Plant shade trees and shrubs around your house. If your house is older, with relatively poor insulation and windows, good landscaping (particularly deciduous trees) can save energy, especially if planted on the house’s west side. In summer, the foliage blocks infrared radiation that would warm the house, while in winter the bare branches let this radiation come through. Of course, if your house has very good insulation and Energy Star or better windows, the effect is much, much smaller because the building shell itself is already blocking almost all the heat gain. 4. Replace an older furnace with a high-efficiency system. If your furnace was built before 1992 and has a standing pilot, it probably wastes 35 percent of the fuel it uses, and it is probably near the end of its service life. In this case, in all but the warmest climates, ACEEE recommends early replacement with a condensing furnace with annual efficiency of at least 90 percent. This type of furnace wastes no more than 10 percent of the natural gas you buy, and may save you as much as 27 percent on your heating bill. If your furnace was installed after 1991, it probably has an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating of 80 percent, so the savings from replacement is smaller, but would be at least 11 percent if the unit is working perfectly. Your heating service technician or energy auditor may be able to help you determine the AFUE of your present system. For houses with boilers and hot-water heat distribution (radiators, baseboard), the savings from a modern condensing boiler with outdoor reset or equivalent feedback controls can be substantially larger, since the condensing boilers allow reducing the circulating loop temperature almost all the time. 5. Improve the efficiency of your hot water system. First, turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). Second, insulate your hot water lines so they don’t cool off as quickly between uses. Third, use low-flow fixtures for showers and baths. While storage water heater standards were raised in 2001, it was probably not enough to justify throwing out an existing water heater that is working well. Advanced contractors are now installing “on demand” hot water circulating loops that use a small pump to accelerate delivery of hot water to remote fixtures, which works great with low-flow fixtures. These are activated when users turn on a bathroom or kitchen tap, and turn off when hot water reaches the fixture. In ACEEE’s opinion, a continuous recirculating “hotel” loop wastes enormous amounts of water-heating energy, not to mention the electricity used for pumping. 6. Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). CFLs can save three-quarters of the electricity used by incandescents. Most people don’t think about the fact that the electricity to run a lightbulb costs much more than the bulb itself. One of the new CFLs costs about two or three dollars, but it lasts 10,000 hours and uses only about 27 watts to generate as much light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb. During its life, it uses about $22 in electricity, so the total cost is about $25. A 100-watt incandescent bulb costs 50 cents, but lasts 1,000 hours so you need 10 of them ($5 to buy) to last 10,000 hours. In those 10,000 hours you will use 1,000 kilowatts of electricity, which will cost more than $80 at a national average price. So the lighting cost of the CFL is less than one-third of the cost for the incandescent. The best targets for replacement are 60- to 100-watt bulbs used several hours a day, because usage affects how long it takes to recover the investment. 7. If you are thinking of buying a new refrigerator, don’t leave the old one plugged in, in the basement, as a backup for party supplies and liquid refreshment. Electricity to operate the old one isn’t free: figure an extra $50–150 per year to run it. In contrast, the new one, particularly if Energy Star rated, may cost only $30–60 per year to run because refrigerator efficiency has improved so much in the past three decades. Under these circumstances, think about how much refrigeration you really need. The best rule is to have only one refrigerator, and to size it to meet your real needs. That allows the luxury of ice-makers and similar conveniences with a clear conscience. Also consider configuration. A similarly sized refrigerator with a top-mount freezer will use 20 to 25 percent less energy than a side-by-side model and often offers more usable refrigerator and freezer space. 8. Take advantage of new tax incentives to improve your home. Federal tax incentives are available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Energy efficiency incentives for upgrades to existing homes have been extended, and are now available for 2009 and 2010. These incentives now cover up to $1,500 (from $500), based on 30 percent of the cost of the improvement. Improvements can include building-envelope improvements (windows, insulation) and heating/air-conditioning upgrades. There are also 30-percent credits, without a cap, for on-site renewables (solar photovoltaic and solar hot-water systems, small wind systems, and geothermal heat pumps). 9. Schedule an energy audit for more expert advice on your home as a whole. Energy auditors and raters use specialized tools and skills to evaluate your home and recommend the most cost-effective measures to improve its comfort and efficiency, as well as the best sequence for doing them to take advantage of interactions. The rater can also provide independent verification of contractors’ work quality. Look for raters who are RESNET Accredited. In some regions, there are Home Performance with Energy Star programs, too. Most of these programs include low-cost home assessment and strong quality assurance practices and/or inspections. by Harvey Sachs ---------------------------------------------------------- Icestone Countertops - Environmentally friendly, "Green" countertops of 100% Recycled glass in concrete, visit Icestone Atlanta, or email

Tax accounting is accounting for tax purposes. In the United States, tax accounting is governed by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Tax accounting is defined as the field of accounting that considers the tax consequences and implications of every transaction upon the company’s operations. Tax accounting is a method of producing financial statements that uses the same methods that will apply to your tax return. Unlike generally accepted accounting principles (gaap), tax accounting is an extensive set of laws and regulations required of businesses to guide them in submitting income tax information. Penalties can be incurred if the proper method of tax accounting is not used or if requests to change the accounting method have not been done properly according to the correct internal revenue code section, which is section 446(f). The cash method, or cash basis, of tax accounting is simply recording transactions as the money is exchanged. For small businesses that may not pay a secretary or have an accounting staff, the cash method of recording tax accounting is fitting as long as the business is not required to file a tax return using the accrual method. Income tax accounting is a particularly troublesome area for many companies because of the complexity of tax return law. Tax accounting is an intensive introduction to federal income-tax concepts, statutes, and regulations, and their use in accounting and planning of business activities of corporations, partnerships, and individual proprietorships. Knowing what tax accounting is and what it involves, along with what a tax accountant does for the business, helps the business prepare for his future tax return preparation and will help to assure that the business records it’s items properly and efficiently as established by law. For sole traders and partnerships, annual tax accounting is essential to provide profit & loss statements which will in turn be used to form part of your individual income tax return. Finally, income tax accounting is important for complying with tax laws, as well as for minimizing tax expenditures. The most challenging aspect of tax accounting is not the preparation of an income tax return, but tax planning. By utilizing tax accounting to create a tax plan, a tax accountant can help you minimize your taxes and keep more money in your pocket. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For help with your tax accounting or for general tax accounting information, visit businessaccountantsatlanta.com, info@businessaccountantsatlanta.com