Glass Insulators

Glass insulators were first produced in the 1850's for use with telegraph lines. As technology developed insulators were needed for telephone lines, electric power lines, and other applications. In the mid 1960's a few people began collecting these insulators. Today there are over 2000 collectors, and insulator clubs, national shows, and good reference books are available.

Don't Let Rain Dampen Summer Fun At The Pool

(NAPSI)-With all of the rain homeowners have had this year, now is the best time to learn how to keep algae from taking over your swimming pool.

Algae grow in gutters, ponds and other water-holding fixtures surrounding a home. After a rain (or several days of rain), growing algae turns into spores. As the water drains, existing algae spores dry and can be easily blown into your swimming pool, causing the water to become less than attractive.

BioGuard, one of the leading manufacturers of pool and spa products, offers these simple tips to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of your swimming pool throughout the swimming season:

• Use a program approach to pool care, one that incorporates a weekly preventative algaecide

• Weekly shock routine to eliminate unwanted contaminants

• Maintain a good sanitizer level (range) 1-3 ppm

By following these three easy steps, you can prevent excessive algae infestation in a year where algae could be a threat all season. Bring a water sample to a BioGuard dealer for a computerized analysis of your swimming pool water.

Information on the proper use of pool and spa maintenance products, visit www.bioguard.com or consult your yellow pages.

Algae Haul: It can be easy to keep green slime out of your swimming pool.

By David Barrows
Brattleboro, VT

Usually when a person notices a ring missing from a finger, they immediately think, it must of just got lost. While metal detecting, I have been told about lost jewelry and have searched the designated areas to death, and have yet to find any missing jewelry.

During the summer months, this year, my wife, Bonnie and I took short trips to beaches in southern Maine. Bonnie relaxes & reads and I like to metal detect. One time, after arriving on a beach for only a few minutes, a young man with two small children in tow came up to me. Kevin told me, that yesterday he had lost his wedding band in the sand, and would I be willing to spend a few minutes searching for it. I told him that this beach is heavily searched and, if he lost it yesterday, the chances of finding it today was very slim. But, I’d give him an honest try. He led me to the area where he lost it.. I saw at once, there was hope for this find, because the area didn’t look disturbed. Within 5 minutes, my Troy Shadow metal detector rang out loud and clear. Was it his ring? He described the ring‘s engraving. A perfect match!! .... This time I felt the triumph of success and received gratitude from a truly happy Kevin Carpenter, ...... and he bought us lunch too.

(NAPSA)— CLEAN STREAMS are just one of the benefits of The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act which has now been a law for 25 years. Under the law, which was passed in 1977, mine operators must have a permit before developing a surface or underground coal mine. The law prohibits mining in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and recreation areas. Prior to the law, fish and wildlife, historical, or cultural resources were seldom considered or preserved. Now the law protects our environment and streams are flourishing. For more information, visit www.osmre.gov.

The first known metal detector was discovered by a radio engineer in the United States in 1925. It is believed to have been discovered by accident when a metal water tank caused interference with his field experiments.

From 1927 until the Second World War, metal detectors were very basic transmit-receive (TR) sets which had to be carried with shoulder straps due to the enormous weight of the battery. These early TR detectors had difficulty ground-balancing in various soil conditions (mineralization) and had a limited ability to discriminate between different metals. Besides being heavy and cumbersome, the early detectors were only able to detect targets the size of a tennis or baseball and were not readily used for prospecting.