From the diaries of a member of the Trotec media team: How a building dryer and a fan saved my bacon and the day.
We all make mistakes. After all to err is human. And if my story helps prevent anyone else from making the same mistake as I did, then some good may come of what nearly turned out to be my own little Waterloo. Read More
A friend of mine recently returned from a well-earned holiday which she spent in Portugal. And from what I was able to gather she had a lovely time, lapping up the sun and lying on the beach, wrapped in a beach towel, watching bronzed young men eager to impress onlookers with a display of their effortlessly acquired beach volleyball skills. Did I say wrapped in a beach towel?
Well, according to her account of what she experienced on holiday, it wasn’t the little mites, bless them, kicking up sand and jumping around excitedly as they built sandcastles and dug their warrens of trenches, or the athletic posers feigning a game of beach volleyball that bothered her most while she tried to unwind and enjoy her trip down to the beach – it was the wind.
Because although my friend was well aware of the fact that the holiday resorts along stretches of the Atlantic coast are recognised as not always being the calmest of places, she had not counted on ending up lying on a beach cocooned in a large Terry towel if she were to have any chance of braving the gusty squalls and strong winds that were whipping up the sand, whirling sunshades around and tearing at the billowing windbreakers.
So how come nobody has come up with the idea of not only checking out water temperatures and the air temperatures at holiday resorts but also wind speeds – preferably before somebody ends up stuck on a beach in the middle of a medium-sized sandstorm? Read More
We all look forward to the summer. To the long, warm evenings sitting outside street side cafes or stretching out on patios; to bright, sunny, carefree days lounging in the sun or relaxing in the shade; to the vibrant, captivating colours and the sweet scents and evocative smells that are the mark of every much-loved and well-tendered garden.
And being a nation renowned for its green fingers – unlike the Germans who according to a saying they have pride themselves on their green thumbs – we enjoy spending endless hours shaping and styling shrubs and hedgerows, trimming bushes and manicuring lawns and generally spending just about every spare minute we have pottering around in our own little refuge.
There’s always something to do in a well-kept garden. Especially, of course, at this time of the year. In fact sometimes the days just can’t be long enough depending on the size of the garden that you are lucky enough to call your own. If you are already into self-sufficiency – or simply love the taste of home-grown produce – and are fortunate to have your own vegetable patch, then now is generally the time to harvest some of the early plants like carrots, cabbages, cauliflower, courgettes and kale and time to sow or replant others like Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, chicory and – peas.
You may want to give your lawn a treat and sprinkle it with fertiliser – also home-grown if you prefer. The grass clippings that many people are only too glad to get rid of when they have mowed their lawn are full of nutrients which put back the goodness into the soil. But as is the case with most gardening tips, and indeed many other areas in life, moderation is the key.
And what about every gardener’s pride and joy? Flowers. Glorious, full-bloomed, delicate, luscious, beautifully cultivated flowers. Flowers in every possible shade, colour, size and form.
What do they need to flourish? How do you know what the best possible place for your prized flowers and plants is? Read More
And who needs one?
Well, to begin with, there’s more – much more – to a HEPA filter than first meets the eye. But first things first. What is a HEPA filter? And what does HEPA stand for?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. When used to describe the quality of a filter, or a dust mask for example, the term HEPA also stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor.
To us HEPA is not just an acronym, it’s a promise. A promise which we take very seriously. Read More
Imagine a strong smell. No, not just one of your average bad smells – a truly revolting one. But careful – don’t dwell on it for too long – because sometimes even only the fleeting recollection of being locked in conversation with someone serenely unaware that they were suffering from bad breath, a waft of boiled cabbage, the whiff of a clogged drain, the intense smell of sweat from a sauna or a pair of discarded socks can prove to be too much to stomach for some. In fact some smells are so overpowering that there seems to be little that one can do short of covering one’s face and mouth and making a run for it.
A further smell that recurs repeatedly on the top of the lists of people who have been asked which smell they would rank as being among the most offensive in a closed environment is stale cigarette smoke. And being a passionate non-smoker myself I must admit that the pungent smell of stale tobacco that hangs heavily in the air, clinging to curtains and working its way into the wallpaper in households where heavy smokers exercise their right to light up without being taken to task by the powers that be really is a test in self control. I have found that by not breathing through my nose and by keeping my breathing shallow I can only just resist the urge to add to the overpowering smell with a few overpowering smells of my own.
But hope is at hand. Read More
And we’re off! Yes, the countdown has started! During the course of the following four weeks you can save as much as 1% on each of the eight measuring devices depicted above for every day from the day you place your order until the cut-off day on August 13, 2011.
That’s right! 1% for every day! This adds up to a total massive saving of almost 30% on each item! And here’s how it works: all you have to do is order any one – or all! – of the eight models in the Trotec MultiMeasure Basic series in our online shop and you will be entitled to our Early Bird Discount which knocks a full 1% off the normal price of each individual measuring device for each day between the day you order the device of your dreams and August 13. After all – it’s the early bird that catches the worm!
But hurry, hurry, hurry – the clock is ticking! Time is running out! The longer you wait, the smaller your saving! And just to show you what you might be missing out on here’s a quick overview of the eight spanking new measuring devices:
The measuring device – or devices – which you have ordered will then wing their way to you when the countdown ends on Saturday, 13.08.2011.
But don’t dilly dally! There’s no time to lose! Order now and pay less! Special offer ends soon…
Most of the time people don’t give much thoughts about how to air their house or apartment. During the cold and frosty months of winter at least you mind to keep the doors and windows closed to keep the valuable and costly heating energy inside the house, don’t you? But as soon as the temperature rises again no one really cares anymore… Because if it is warm outside I can open up all windows and doors to let fresh air into my apartment, so there is no problem anymore with damp basements or moist walls, right? Read More
You will know this from the supermarket: You are just about to grab your favourite brand of crisps, from the very same shelve it has always been. For the very same price it has always had. And yet there is one difference: It feels lighter, somehow … And then, when you are comfortably curled up in front of the TV, looking forward to some nice and cosy nibbling, your worst fears are brutally confirmed: There are not as much crisps in the bag as there used to be!
This concealed form of price increase is particularly clever, since more often than not the inadvertent consumer doesn’t even notice the markup. Read More
Day 2 at IWEW and we were inundated with visitors …
Star of the show yesterday was the Trotec IC range of thermal imaging cameras – they were really hot! We could see that the temperature was rising inside the hall as all the visitors were amazed at the value and quality of these products.
We had several meetings yesterday with potential end users and collaborators alike. It’s great when it’s busy at a trade show because the time just flies by. The Multi-Measure basic range also continued to impress the visitors because of the robust nature of the products and the price compared to other brands.
The Drilling & Tapping completion came to a climax yesterday as well. The main completion was won by Sembacorp, formerly known as Bournemouth & West Hants Water with Northern Ireland ladies A taking the women’s laurels.
Today is International day at the competition with all home nations, (England, Ireland, Scotland & Northern Ireland) plus Holland slugging it out in the arena.
2 down, 1 to go!
Great day at IWEX yesterday …
We had many visitors. Some people we knew and some people were new to us. We are using a scanner to collect visitor details barcoded on their badges which speeds up the process. As a result of the meetings yesterday, we have already been asked to make some offers to visitors. We will be making those offers today and we will continue to greet new visitors. We ended the day at a Champagne reception organised by EDIE – it’s a tough life but someone has to do it!
This is the middle day of the show and it is traditionally the busiest …
We have a number of people coming today who are specifically coming to see us to discuss their equipment needs. In addition to greeting them and meeting with them we have found that a constant supply of chocolates is also attracting people to Stand A10. In addition the Drilling & Tapping Competition is in full swing opposite Stand A10 bringing lots of people past us.
Day 2 in prospect and we are all looking forward to it!
