Rebricmarko's Blog

Texas

rebricmarko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:34:37 +0000

Texas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States. The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning “friends” or “allies”. Located in the South Central United States, Texas is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²), and a growing population of 24.6 million residents.^[8] Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston are the 4th and 6th largest United States metropolitan areas. Other major cities include San Antonio, El Paso, and Austin—the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as an independent republic and as a reminder of the state’s struggle for independence from Mexico. The “Lone Star” can be found on the Texas State Flag and on the Texas State Seal today.

Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American Southeast and the Southwest.Although Texas is popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10% of the land area is desert.Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend. Due to its long history as a center of the American cattle industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy.

The term “six flags over Texas” came from the several nations that had rule over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state’s annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. After the war and its restoration to the Union, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

In the early 1900s, oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. Texas has since economically diversified. Today it has more Fortune 500 companies than any other U.S. state.With a growing base of industry, the state is a leader in many, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. It leads the nation in export revenue and has the second-highest gross state product.

Breitling

rebricmarko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:30:16 +0000

Breitling is a brand of Swiss watches from Grenchen, Canton of Solothurn (originally founded in Saint-Imier, Bernese Jura by Leon Breitling in 1884). The watchmaker offers Certified Chronometers designed primarily for aviation use, though most frequently worn as high-end luxury watches. Breitling’s watches offer aviation functions, though their chronograph functions have become more of status symbols than practically applied tools. They typically have a large face (e.g. the Breitling for Bentley Motors edition has a 48 mm Case Diameter) for better visibility and to allow display of more information on the analog dials. Many models feature an automatic winding mechanism that is purely mechanical (i.e. using no electronic components). Many Breitling watches are equipped with additional functions such as the flyback function, split-second, moon phase, date display and other complications.

All Breitling watches are manufactured in Switzerland and are made from Swiss components. Raw movements are obtained from ETA and Valjoux and are modified in the Breitling Chronometrie Workshops, before undergoing COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) certification. As of 2009, Breitling now makes a manufacture movement, designed, manufactured and assembled completed in-house (B01 Calibre).

Quartz models such as the Breitling Aeromarine Colt start at $2,055.00 on a rubber strap, while typical prices of mechanical, steel cased models are $7,300 (US) for the Breitling for Bentley Motors model. The expense is due to the exclusivity of the Bentley trademark, as well as the 38 jewel self-winding movement as these steel cased models are more expensive than some of Breitling’s Titanium or Gold models. Some special edition models also include diamonds on various parts of the watch. I.E. Diamond Bezel, Diamond Bracelet, etc.

Breitling was a sponsor of Team Bentley during their Le Mans 24 Hours campaign, running from 2001-2003. To commemorate this event, Breitling created the Limited Edition Breitling Bentley 24 Le Mans Watch.

Shelby Mustang

rebricmarko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:25:44 +0000

The Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, built by Ford from 1965 through 1970. The shelbys’ were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby‘s company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the model became the Shelby Cobra GT. The program was factory-sponsored by Ford to compete with the Corvette, also factory-sponsored by Chevrolet, neither of which could be built for the sales price charged. In 2007, following the introduction of the Fifth-generation Ford Mustang the Shelby nameplate was revived for new high performance versions of the Mustang.

History of Zippo Lighters

rebricmarko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:19:05 +0000

A Zippo lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction.

George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. It got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word “zipper” and “zippo” sounded more modern. On March 3, 1936, patent was granted for the Zippo lighter.

Zippo lighters became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II — when, as the company’s website says, Zippo “ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the U.S. military.” The Zippo at that time was made of brass, but as this commodity was unobtainable due to the war, Zippo used steel during the war years. While the Zippo Manufacturing Company never had an official contract with the military, soldiers and armed forces personnel insisted that Base exchange (PX) stores carry this sought-after lighter.

After World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies large and small through the 1960s. Many of the early advertising Zippo lighters are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged.

In 2002 Zippo expanded its product line to include a variety of utility-style multi-purpose lighters, known as the Zippo MPL. This was followed in 2005 with the Outdoor Utility Lighter, known as the OUL. These lighters are fuelled with butane. In August 2007 Zippo released a new butane lighter called the Zippo BLU.

A museum called Zippo/Case visitors center is located in Bradford, PA at 1932 Zippo Drive. This 15,000 square foot (1398 m²) building contains rare and custom made Zippo lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line. The museum was featured on the NPR program Weekend Edition Sunday on January 25, 2009. The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives. Since the Zippo company’s 60th anniversary in 1992, annual editions have been produced for worldwide Zippo collectors.

From 1949 to 2002 Zippos were also produced in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Since 1933, over 400,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced.