Beekeeping 101 - Frames, Foundation, And The Bee Hive

If you want to become a beekeeper, one of the most helpful tools at your disposal will be frames. Frames are basically wooden rectangles inserted inside a hive, and they are used as guides for bees to build honeycomb. They are handy because beekeepers can pull out a single frame at a time, harvest the honeycomb, and then return the frame to the hive.

There are different types of frames, but basically it comes down to those that use foundation and those that do not. Foundation is a waxy substance, arranged into sheets, upon which honey bees can build their comb. Often times it comes embossed with a hexagonal pattern, which gives the bees a natural template upon which to build the wax structures.

Foundation

If frames do not have this waxy base, the bees will build their honeycombs like they do in the wild. The comb will be free hanging, and might not be as neat as honeycomb built over the hexagonal patterning. In addition, honeycomb built without foundation will often just tail off at the bottom of the comb structure, and will not always be attached on the sides to the frame.

Beekeeping 101 - Frames, Foundation, And The Bee Hive

Foundation can also come with various possibilities, such as wireframe embedded in the wax. This helps to stabilize things a little bit more, and make it less susceptible to breaking, which is more common in colder climates. Foundation is not the strongest material, so be very careful when handling it and installing it into frames. It is often purchased and shipped, but a guide or instructions should be consulted on installing it into the frames.

Foundationless frames are basically just an empty wooden frame. Some beekeepers insert wedges or popsicle sticks into the frames so that they hang down and provide a guide for bees to create the comb. This also allows the comb to have a little more sturdy base for when the beekeeper withdraws it.

If using an empty frame, be very careful when handling it as you extract the frame from the hive. If you tip the frame too far to one side, the weight of the honeycomb can cause it to break off from the frame and plop on the ground. Always keep the frame vertical, so that the comb hangs straight down.

There are proponents of both types of frames. Foundation virtually ensures straight, neat comb that is structurally strong and pleasing to the eye, which is important if the beekeeper plans on selling the honeycomb along with the honey.

However, foundation can be slightly expensive, it is fragile and requires careful handling, and some allege that the wax can contain pesticides when it comes from careless manufacturers. (This, of course, would be harmful to the bees.) And if you plan to directly eat honeycomb you harvest, you will definitely want to avoid anything containing wires in it!

Also, for those who want a more natural style of beekeeping, foundation imposes a slightly unnatural order upon the bees and does not give them as much freedom to comply with their instincts in building the hive. For beginners, we suggest using foundation for your first hive, but if you would rather have your hive as natural as possible, or you plan on several different hives, we encourage trying at least one hive with empty frames in order to see the differences and decide which is the best option for you and your bees.

Beekeeping 101 - Frames, Foundation, And The Bee Hive

Howard Peterson has been interested in beekeeping for years. Check out his website's free articles on honeybees beekeeping [http://www.beekeepinginfo.org/beekeeper-honey/].

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Foundation Problems, Do's and Don'ts

Mother Nature can often times create serious problems for homeowners, especially where building foundations are at the mercy of weather related problems.
This article is meant to provide some helpful suggestions to homeowners about foundation problems,and what to do about them.

The signs of foundation problems are usually things like cracks showing up in walls and ceilings, sticking doors and windows, un-even or sagging floors, and obvious exterior visual signs such as twisted or un-even siding, cracks in brickwork,out-of-square garage doors, etc.

Foundation

The important things to keep in mind are the following instructions that may be very helpful in providing solutions to the above mentioned problems.

Foundation Problems, Do's and Don'ts

DO: examine your home and identify possible problems that may be related to foundation movement, especially settling or sinking.

DO: Call professionals if you believe the situation to be severe,where the movement is greater than 2" and apears to be getting worse each year.

DO: Look around the perimeter of your home for indications of down spout problems (water funneling back toward foundation), also notice any possible indications that groundwater may be flowing back toward foundation because of negative grade.

DO: Remove any plants or shrubs, small trees etc, from the near proximity of the foundation (within 8ft minimum) I know that alot of folks enjoy the beauty of plants close to the structure, but, unfortunately, this can be a common mistake if you live in a clay based soil environment. You may not experience problems with flower beds etc, if you have a very good grade, and have a reasonable sand and gravel based soil situation.

DO: make certain that any concrete walkways, driveways, etc, actually slope away from foundation, and not towards the foundation. If you notice slope toward foundation, you should have the problem corrected as soon as possible.

DO: Call professionals if you notice major cracks or bowing in your basement walls. Major cracks would be: 3/16 wide or larger, and bowing exceeding 1-1/2" vertically in 7ft,, 2-1/2" horizontally in 16 ft. (these are basic guidelines for modern foundations 10 years old or less).

By doing these things, you may be able to prevent further problems, and save a great deal of money. You can often times prevent problems by taking precautions and protecting your home.

DO NOT: Assume you will never have a problem because of newness of the construction, the area that you live, or the fact that the previous owner never mentioned any problems.. Sometimes homes that have been solid in their earth hold, may suddenly sink or shift because of a drought or other deep soil issue.

DO NOT: Accept first opinions from local contractors that may only have limited knowledge about soils, and geologic changes in your region. Find specialists that may be able to provide options and answers.

DO NOT: Allow the structure to settle further and further year after year. This can become a very serious problem and often times result in costing much much more than catching the problem early. If the frame of the home is twisting out-of-square, it is only a matter of time before the damage may become severe, and will be reflected in the massive decrease in re-sale value, and possibly even result in condemned status.

DO NOT: Panic if you notice problems and believe that it is going to be extreemly expensive. You may be surprised to find that often times the problems can be corrected at a very low cost compared to alternatives such as re-framing windows & doors, Replacing brickwork, etc. With the modern methods of
jacking and stabilizing, the home can often times be adjusted back to level and square frame condition, then the doors & windows may be operational once again, and the overall apearance of the structure can be restored.

There are several methods of foundation repair available and the
most important thing that homeowners, and building owners, need to know is this: Protecting your investment is the bottom line!

Foundation Problems, Do's and Don'ts

I have worked with some of the very best soil experts, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, design experts, architects, and contractors statewide in Colorado, and I would be happy to answer any questions, and would be honored to assist any of you that may be experiencing possible foundation problems. Please visit our website: [http://www.custombuildingsupport.com] or call:(303)279-5777

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Option Trading School - Owning Stocks During a Financial Crisis

Many people are faced with the predicament of being long (owning stocks) during a financial crisis. The companies held in an investor's portfolio that were thought of as strong, stable and profitable businesses are all of a sudden volatile, risky and filled with holes.

During market volatility even the best of companies tend to sell off. A good gauge to view the overall market is to keep a close eye on SPX (the SP 500 cash index). Most stocks are going to move with the SPX so use that as your guide. Some important areas to keep an eye on right now are at 1150, 1120, 1075 and the big support area of 1050-1055 in the event we retest the lows. It is important to have a plan for all positions and not fall into two common mistakes that many people make during a financial crisis.

Paralyzed by Fear:

There is a saying that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago but the second best time is right now. That is a perfect quote for the person going through this crisis who currently has no plan on how to protect their portfolio. As with anything in life if there is a problem you have to confront it. This does not mean that you simply sell everything, remove your cash from the bank and hide it under the mattress (after all the US debt just got downgraded and those $'s could be worthless one day).

Do not fall into the "it will come back crowd" or the "if it just gets back to my buy price I will get out". Remember that the market does not care where you got in or where you get out. Take a fresh look and analysis and ask yourself if the same reasons are present for owning the company that you had when you initially bought it. Millions of people would be much better off if they had taken the same approach of reevaluating their positions in GM, Bear Stearns, Lehman, Enron, WorldCom, etc and simply said I will take my loss here instead of waiting until the game is over.

If nothing else, analyze your position and find a place to put a stop loss order (a price where you will exit the trade if it drops further). Also, ask yourself whether or not the money would be better off if invested in something else. Remember that $100 made on AAPL and $100 made on GE both spend the same way.

There are many other things that could be done such as selling covered calls, buying puts or reducing size as ways to hedge against a decline in the stock market. Much of this information can be found via a simple Google search, but we plan on doing some step by step educational videos on these topics in our Trading and Investing 101 series due out soon.

The Panic Sell:

At the same time that you do not want to be paralyzed from reacting to the market, you do not want to be so struck by fear that you sell in a panic. As mentioned above there are ways to reduce exposure through reducing position size, hedging or using options like covered calls or long puts. For example: if you owned 200 shares of a stock and did not feel comfortable with the market you could look at selling 1/2 of the position.

Take some time and reevaluate the current position, the companies you own and the overall market conditions before acting. This way you can make an educated decision as opposed to a rash decision. Keep in mind that despite what you think, you are not the smartest person in the world, and everything you buy does not have to go up or comeback. If you trade from more of a defensive approach with the goal to preserve risk capital you will tend to fare much better during a crisis than the cowboy that puts it all on the table and goes for home run. I know I personally have benefitted during this crisis from going through the markets in 2008 and knowing what to expect during fast moving volatile markets.

Legends are made in volatile markets like this where stories spread of a few traders who step in at the right time and take a big risk that pays off. The thing to remember is that the odds of being one of those is very low and for every one of those that paid off, there are probably 100 others that took their shot and failed. The most important thing is to make sure that you and your account are still around whenever the dust settles.

Danny Riley, veteran floor trader of MrTopstep said the following, "I have to say hands down I have never seen anything like this. It is one big program after another. The ESU (September ES Futures) just sold off 1144 high after the fed to down to 1098 a 46 handles drop in less than 30 mins. Also I have never seen the S&P trade so many different handles up and down." With volatility like this, the smart money is focused on protecting their risk and you should be too!

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