| Settings, speakers could improve DVDs' sound
Q: The sound on rented VCR tapes and DVDs is usually so poor, I can barely hear the dialogue, even with my TV sound turned up to the maximum. Sometimes it is impossible to hear across the room, even when the air conditioner is off. Sometimes the background music overpowers the dialogue. This happens with rented DVDs and videos, but never with programs I tape from broadcasts via basic cable (no converter box). Broadcast sound is always adequate. What might cause this? Is this because of the size of my TV (13 inches)? Would a larger TV solve the problem? How can I improve the movie sound without spending big bucks?--Alice Bratter A: Hi-fi videotapes and DVDs are recorded at sound levels meant for the home theater experience. This means they have wide dynamic range, meaning soft sounds are soft and loud sounds can get very loud.
Homes blend eco-friendliness, unique design
Theres been quite a buzz around town lately about energy and water conservation practices, and for years so-called green building has been a hit.
However a few homes in Truckee were built eco-friendly, not just to save heat and money, but because theyre just plain interesting.
One with the Earth
Sue and Jeff Cauhape have been living in their Tahoe Donner, earth berm home for 12 years. The couple maintains that, despite being for-the-most-part covered in dirt, their home is very bright and inviting.
Its not dark inside at all; we were surprised by how much light there was, Sue Cauhape said. We tried to sell it for two years, but I dont think a lot of people get the concept. Its odd, but weve been very comfortable here.
Comfort inside the home can be attributed to its thermal mass the walls absorb and retain heat, so the house requires neither heater nor air conditioner.
Bonds for libraries, 'COPs' for police building
Barton said when he first began considering COPs he too was "reluctant and hesitant and quite doubtful." But the public safety building just doesn't have the support, Barton said. He said his son, home from college, didn't know where the police department is, at 275 Forest Ave., while he "knew where all the libraries are." But the city will have to work hard to find the money to pay for the project, Barton said. Staff estimates the building's cost will climb by about $500,000 for each month of delay after April 2009, based on the $69 million estimate and a 10 percent increase in building materials the city has experienced over the past two years. "The key is to get us moving down the road and getting this building built," Barton said. The COPs would be issued in April 2009, when construction is slated to begin.
Samuel David Schoolfield put his family first
SAMUEL DAVID Schoolfield didn't hesitate to give his last dollar to any one of his children who needed it to pay for some activity or buy necessities. "He believed that his family was always first in his life," said his daughter, Janie L. Schoolfield. Sam held numerous jobs during his lifetime, sometimes working two at a time to support his family. He was a hard worker and his employers recognized his abilities with frequent promotions. He died Feb. 6 at the age of 80. He lived in Wynnefield. The seventh of 12 children, Sam was born in Pocomoke City, Md., to William Schoolfield and the former Estella Cropper. The family came to Philadelphia when he was a child and he attended Overbrook High School. He enlisted in the Navy as World War II was ending, and wound up serving in the South Pacific and California.
Carmen collected
While a younger girl might cry off for something as lame as a broken fingernail, Dell'Orefice isn't going to let acheing feet and tiredness get in the way of an assignment. What soon becomes clear is that she feels highly privileged still to be doing a job that started with her first Vogue cover at the age of 15. She has had five more since, with recent career highlights including a catwalk appearance in Jean-Paul Gaultier's first show for Hermes in 2004 and John Galliano's Dior haute couture show in 2000. And to think that her sceptical mother dismissed her as an ungainly child with "ears like sedan chairs and feet like coffins". .
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