Last summer the country was ravaged by floods and storms that saw large parts of Gloucestershire and Yorkshire underwater, whilst earlier this year the North of England saw heavy rainfall overwhelm defences once again. The huge number of claims made by homeowners in these areas has exceeded £3 billion pounds and the industry has no option but to raise the level of premiums to offset this enormous cost.

But the Association of British Insurers has been complaining to the government for months that spending on the nation’s flood defences needs to be drastically increased. Last September Stephen Haddrill, director-general of the ABI, stated that: ‘further steps can be taken. This flood defence budget of £800m that’s been promised is only to be achieved in year three of the spending review, in three years. They’ve been looking at this for ages and if they’ve been able to come up with a figure for year three they should be able to come up with a figure for years one and two. Plus it should be at least £800m.’

The ABI are now accusing the government of building at least thirteen major developments on floodplains and threaten that more and more properties are becoming uninsurable. The ABI’s assistant director of property Justin Jacobs insists: ‘Insurers want to continue to provide flood cover, but poor planning decisions will lead to more homes becoming unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable.’

In recent years it has been government policy to subsidise heavily affected areas by raising the level … Continue Reading ...

Looking for a way to add a nice, decorative touch to your home, but aren’t quite sure on how to do it? Well, there is actually a really easy way you can do it and it doesn’t involved taking on any huge project. Basically, you just need to make an ornamental purchase for your outdoor space and copper weather vanes are just the ticket.

That’s right, copper weather vanes are a fantastic way to add a decorative touch to your outdoor space and for good reason, they’re extremely beautiful. What makes them so appealing to the eye is the copper they are made from. This metal has a lovely shine to it that creates stunning fixtures, plus, weather vanes made from it are very durable since copper is very durable. So, you know once you mount it up on your roof, or wherever else you decide to put it, it won’t break down under the elements and will last for many, many years.

What’s great about copper weather vanes, along with the luxurious look of the metal, is how they come in a wide variety of options. You see, copper can be bended and molded into pretty much any shape. This is great for you because then you can get one that really matches your style and personality. For example, if you are really into the outdoors, there are a lot of outdoor themed selections to choose from. You can get ones that are in the shape of geese, others … Continue Reading ...

It is certainly great to see signs of spring after a long, cold winter. The nicer weather makes almost everyone want to get outdoors and there is no better company, of course, than your favorite little Pug! Pugs love a good walk with their owner but you may not be aware of how sensitive they can be to the warmer weather. A hot and humid day should be a red flag for every Pug lover.

The reason to be concerned for the well being of your Pug is the construction of their nasal passages. That short snout that makes them so adorable can also be the cause of some breathing problems if you are not careful. Pugs are a brachycephalic breed which is characterized by a short muzzle and broad head. Because of this construction, the nasal passages are more constricted. Your Pug probably snores when he is in a sound sleep. For most owners this just makes them more endearing because there is nothing cuter than a sleeping Pug. While snoring can be very annoying in a human being, somehow a sleeping, snoring Pug can be considered absolutely adorable.

As an owner you should be aware of the tendency of this breed to be more prone to breathing problems which can be even more pronounced in hot weather. Avoid brisk walks on a hot day because your Pug will always try to keep up with you. He does not know enough to slow down and, by the time you … Continue Reading ...

As we watch the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season come to a close Mother Nature has taught us another lesson. Take nothing for granted and we are now listening loud and clear. Indeed, such extreme weather has pushed scientist to develop better systems to predict and monitor the weather. In doing so we have learned enough now to use this knowledge to control it.

Controlling the weather patterns will require some skill, some talent, large collected databases, supercomputer number crunching and lots of trial and error. We will also need to let lose of some of the current mathematics we use to track weather in trade for multi-stacked equational computational analysis or a different type of math based on a new type of science. Which may lead us to the grand unification we seek.

As scientists and researchers will learn there will be places where weather is easily studied and relatively easily controllable using very little energy and using the actual wind currents with minor changes in certain situations, which are made possible by the terrain itself.

We are so close to controlling the weather that we may in fact only have one or two more significant Hurricane Seasons to deal with, before we figure out how to stop these massive storms. Some are already discussing attacking them as they form or figuring out ways to steer them to uninhabited or low-density population shorelines to protect from major catastrophes like Super Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Think on this and the future … Continue Reading ...

As winter bears down on us like a runaway freight train the serious bass angler is going to have no choice but to engage in a little bit of winter bass fishing. In this article I will discuss 3 effective cold weather bass lures that are effective in the winter months. It’s no secret that the winter months are some of the toughest times of the year for catching bass. When the water temperatures fall below fifty degrees the fishing can become extremely difficult.

One of the big things to remember during winter months is that bass will move into deeper water. They tend to like deep water structure near shallow flats when they can find them. This way in the afternoon (once the sun has had a chance to warm the water in the flat a bit) they can move into said flats to feed on bait fish. Fishing for these bass is a great winter fishing strategy.

Another key thing to remember when fishing during cold weather months is strikes will be much lighter than when water temperatures are higher. Lighter line and rods with more sensitivity are very important during the cold weather months. With that being said, let’s get down to business, shall we?

1. Jigging Spoons – Jigging spoons jigged over deepwater structure during the winter months is a great winter bass fishing tactic. Use your depth finder to locate bass hanging around deep water structure and you’ll be good to go. Remember, bass like to

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Why do so many guys have a hard time with approaching women and flirting?

Besides the causally-rooted social influence itself, it’s because women forgot how to play the flirting game.

When a woman is showing no signs of interest and is being dismissive and aloof like millions of them are today, they’re not giving their own dating lives any help.

They’ll go to a Starbucks and instead of giving off signs to guys they’re interested in, will stay stuck in their iPOD or their laptop essentially expecting guys to do all of the work. Meanwhile they ask ‘why can’t I meet any men?’ Yet there are dozens of great options every time they go there.

It’s right in front of them and they can’t even see it. It’s time that women started helping men out because the natural way of attraction is called flirting. It’s a sexual communication between a man and a woman.

Basically how it works is this; the man walks in and shouldn’t have to do anything. From there, women will start picking up his characteristics and if they’re interested they will send nonverbal signals back that are subtle yet obvious enough to let the guy know that it’s OK to approach.

Millions of women have turned off their receptor cells and ability to play the flirting game. Unfortunately they have become like brick walls.

The man is nonverbally sending out his S.O.N.A.R.R. (science of natural attraction/response) or ‘signal’ but it’s often never getting bounced back by … Continue Reading ...