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Carolee "Brighten Up" Gold-Tone Turquoise-Color Color Oval Cab Earrings Sale Price: $32.00  |
Oval Cab
 1180 Carat NATURAL BLUE FIRE WHITE RAINBOW MOONSTONE OVAL CAB LOT 7x5 mm 16 Pcs US $70.00 
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 Turquoise natural 12x10 mm oval calibrated 3 cab lots US $11.99
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 Turquoise all natural 8x6 mm oval calibrated 6 cab lot US $11.99
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 MasterpIece Collection Bright Blue Natural Paua Shell Oval Cab 6x4 10x8mm US $2.50
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 46CT 16X24MM LAB CZ OVAL CAB RED VIO OLIVE US $3.99
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 Turquoise natural 30x22 mm oval calibrated cab US $12.99
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 1 Oval 30x 40mm Gemstone Cab Cabochon Choice of Stone USA Free Shipping US $3.49
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 MasterpIece Collection Bright Purple Natural Paua Shell Oval Cab 6x4 10x8mm US $1.50
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 AMAZING Natural Arizona Oval Cut Top Ruby Red Ant Hill Garnet Gemstone Cab 7x5m US $95.00
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 Rainbow Moonstones Oval Cab 7x5mm 20Cts US $3.00
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 Natural Vietnamese Ruby Oval Cab 1638cts US $10,650.00
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 New Zealand Paua Shell Abalone Cabochons Natural Oval Cabs polished shell parcel US $15.29
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 2286 cts Natural Huge Deep Red Ruby Oval Cab Unheated US $5,500.00
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 RARE HUGE GENUINE PURPLE RED STAR RUBY OVAL CAB 5025ct US $239.99
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 1280 cts Natural Black Opal Oval Cab From Australia $ US $3,500.00
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 648 cts Natural Top Red Ruby Oval Cab Mogok loose gemstone rare color grade US $2,800.00
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 989 cts Natural Top Blood Red Ruby Oval Cab Unheated $ loose gemstone US $2,800.00
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 493CTFABULOUS GROUP OVAL CAB PINKISH RED NATURAL RUBY US $9,000.00
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 736 cts natural Top Blood Red Ruby Oval Cab Mogok Best rare color investment US $2,500.00
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 1414CTSOUTSTANDING OVAL CAB NATURAL RED STAR RUBY US $2,699.99
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 Lapis Lazuli Oval CAB Cabochon E74916 US $10.99
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 Natural 18x13 Loose Oval Cut 1540ct Tiger Eye Cab AAA US $16.99
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 30x22mm large oval Mohogany Obsidian cab 3042ct Jewelry making Collection US $7.69
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 RARE HUGE GENUINE PURPLE RED STAR RUBY OVAL CAB 2635ct US $119.99
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 25 cts Natural Rare Top Blood Red Ruby Oval Cab Noheat US $1,500.00
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 2451 cts Natural Top Huge Red Ruby Oval Cab Madagascar US $1,250.00
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 Natural Hematite Cabs Oval Cabochons parcel loose premium polished quality nice US $19.99
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 915 cts Natural Rare Top Green Emerald Gemstone Oval Cab Zambia Unheated US $1,000.00
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 997 cts Natural Mined Emerald Oval Cab Zambia No Heat US $999.00
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 1312 cts Natural Top Red Ruby Oval Cab From Madagascar US $850.00
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 Fine Natural Burma Myanmar Blue Sapphire Oval Faceted Cab 940cts US $1,300.00
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 Top Quality Natural Emerald Oval Cab 418cts US $1,880.00
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 Fine Natural Burma Myanmar Blue Sapphire Oval Cab 650cts US $1,170.00
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 571 cts Natural Top Sky Blue Star Sapphire Gemstone Oval Cab Certified Unheated US $599.00
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 431 cts Natural Certified Sky Blue Star Sapphire Gemstone Oval Cab Unheated US $499.00
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 3596 CTS STUNNING HUGE OVAL SHAPE RUBY CAB US $479.99
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 322 cts Natural Fine Star Ruby Gemstone Oval Cab Sri Lanka Certified Unheated $ US $445.00
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 448 cts Natural Fine Blue Star Sapphire Gemstone Oval Cab Certified Unheated US $399.00
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 347 cts Natural Rare Top Emerald Green Tsavorite Garnet Oval Cab Kenya US $399.00
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 160 cts Natural Top Chrysoberyl Cats Eye Gemstone Oval Cab Sri Lanka Unheated $ US $349.00
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 718 cts Natural Top Pigeon Blood Red Ruby Oval Cab Mogok Unheated US $270.00
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 3596 CTS UNSEEN HUGE OVAL SHAPED RED RUBY CAB NR$ US $319.99
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 353 cts Natural Rare Top Green Tsavorite Garnet Oval Cab Pair From Kenya 8x6 mm US $240.00
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 193 cts Natural Rare Top Tsavorite Garnet Gemstone Oval Cab From Kenya 8x6 mm US $200.00
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 161 cts Natural Rare Top Green Tsavorite Garnet Oval Cab From Kenya 8x6 mm US $199.00
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 496 CTS OVAL CAB CHRYSOBERYL CATS EYE LOOSE GEMSTONE US $299.99
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 391 CTS TOP QUALITY OVAL CHRYSOBERYL CATS EYE CAB GEM US $299.99
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 16CT TOP AAA NATURAL CHRYSOBERYL CATS EYE OVAL CAB GEM US $299.99
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What are the current speeds for peak fuel efficiency as set by auto makers?
The last time I bought a new car (when Clinton was getting a winski in the oval office while on the phone with Senators) the peak fuel efficiency for a car was at 37mph city and 55mph highways. Has that changed?
I currently I drive a 2004 Freestar, which I bought from Enterprise Rental, for use as a taxi cab. In the last six months, my fuel costs have risen $100 a week, equal to nearly 20 hours of net income, when you divide the total number of hours I operate by the how much money (including tips) I have left after expenses each week. Unless there is a valid reason to hurry, I'm doing 55 in the 65mph zones on the freeway. I'm getting to know the right hand lanes real well.
According to this site, MuzzleYourGuzzle, the peak efficiency can best be achieved around 60 mph. This goes along with the theory of having it "slightly faster" than the standard speed limit of 55mph. (but now with limits set at 65mph in most states, maybe this has been updated.)
Buyer Beware: Bed Bugs Can Squash Real Estate Deals
An ancient human scourge has returned to cause panic among home and property owners, home buyers and realtors. Bed bugs have invaded every state in the U.S. and reports of infestations have increased exponentially nationwide over the past few years. In a national survey of pest control companies conducted by noted bed bug authority Michael Potter for Pest Management Professional, Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. Only 37% said they encountered bed bugs more than 5 years ago.”
Until a few years ago, most pest control companies said it was unusual to receive even one or two calls a year about bed bugs. Since 2004, however, bed bug complaints have grown exponentially with pest control companies nationwide now averaging between 10 and 50 calls a week. In major metropolitan areas, some companies are fielding 100 or more bed bug complaints each week. Some experts are predicting that 2008 will be the Year of the Bed Bug. Cindy Mannes, spokesperson for the National Pest Management Association, said bed bugs have become a serious problem in every state, noting, “There are some who call it the pest of the 21st century.”
Bed bugs are an equal opportunity pest. Infestations have occurred across the country in the tony co-ops of the rich and famous, in fashionable condominiums, in luxury apartments and in upscale suburban homes. Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not caused by filth or dirt. Like lice and fleas, bed bugs are creatures of convenience. A nuisance insect, they are not known to carry disease, but they can cause considerable discomfort, both mental and physical.
All but eradicated in the U.S. following World War II, the banning of powerful DDT-based pesticides, coupled with increased international travel, has brought about a nationwide resurgence of the annoying insect. Potter, an urban entomologist at the University of Kentucky, calls bed bugs the pre-eminent household pest in the U.S., on a par with cockroaches and rats. “This is one serious issue,” he recently told the New York Times. “This will be the pest of the 21st century – no questions about it.”
If you’re buying a house or looking for a new condo or apartment, take to heart the old adage Buyer Beware. You may be moving into a home that has been invaded by bed bugs. Most states require home sellers to provide buyers with an accurate statement disclosing the property’s condition, including pest infestations. However, there are loopholes that should serve as a red flag to home buyers and their realtors.
Most real estate disclosure statements are fairly broad and do not specifically ask about bed bug infestations. If any pest disclosure is specified, it’s likely to be termites. Because bed bugs haven’t been a problem in the United States for so many decades, few current state or municipal codes address them specifically. In many states, sellers can choose not to fill out the disclosure statement and instead pay a penalty which is credited to the buyer. For sellers with a bed bug problem, a several hundred dollar penalty may seem an acceptable price for making the sale.
Buyers and realtors should be aware that real estate disclosure laws that apply to home sales often don’t apply to co-op and condo owners. Before you buy, check with the local building and health departments to find out what the regulations are in your area. Although some states are now considering adding specific bed bug regulations to their realty laws, at this point common law is generally on the side of the seller. As real estate attorney Edward Sumber of New York told the New York Times, “Under the doctrine of caveat emptor — let the buyer beware — the seller has no affirmative obligation to reveal circumstances about the apartment to the buyer.”
However, disclosure laws in most states require the seller to answer honestly if specifically asked whether his home or apartment has been infected by bed bugs or other pests.
Additionally, real estate brokers are usually obligated to reveal a bed bug problem to the buyer if they know about it. Unfortunately, in most states sellers are not required to tell their real estate brokers about bed bug problems. Essentially, that means buyers must rely on the integrity of sellers and landlords anxious to make a sale.
Many buyers shopping for a new home, apartment or condominium are now hiring a pest control company with an expertise in bed bug elimination to inspect the property before they buy. Some realtors are recommending that sellers have their homes inspected for bed bugs before putting them on the market as both a reassurance and inducement to buyers.
What are bed bugs?
Evolved from bird and bat nest parasites, Climex lectaularius, the common bed bug, is a tiny nocturnal insect that hides in dark crevices during the day and feeds on human blood during the night. Their oval bodies are flattened and wingless and a light to reddish-brown in color. Adult bed bugs are 1/4 to 3/8 inch long or about the size of an apple seed. Before feeding, the bed bugs are as flat as paper, becoming dark red and bloated with blood as they feed, much like a tick. As they puncture the skin to feed -- usually for 3 to 10 minutes -- they eject an anesthetic that can cause an allergic reaction and the symptomatic itchy, red welts that bedevil their hosts. However, welts may take a day or two to develop and not all bed bug sufferers react to their bites, which can delay detection.
A female bed bug can produce up to 500 eggs during its average one-year lifespan, laying about 5 eggs per day. Difficult to detect without magnification, the eggs are whitish, pear-shaped and about the size of a pinhead. The female lays her sticky eggs in bedding and carpets or cements them into cracks and crevices near the bed to ensure a food source when the nymphs hatch. Nymphs, which are lighter in color and look like slightly smaller adults, hatch in 4 to 12 days and begin to feed immediately. Bed bugs progress through five nymphal stages, molting after each stage. The whitish carapaces they shed are a telltale sign of bed bug infestation. It takes 5 to 8 weeks for nymphs to reach maturity. Since several generations of bed bugs can be produced in a year, all stages of growth can be found in an infested room.
Bed bugs feed every 3 to 5 days and must feed at least once to develop to the next stage and to reproduce. They often void while feeding, leaving telltale rusty or tarry spots on sheets and in hiding places. Bed bugs can survive for 1 to 7 months without a blood meal and have been known to live in an abandoned house for as long as a year. They give off a distinctive musty, sweet odor often likened to ripe red raspberries or coriander.
Bed bugs will readily travel 10 to 15 feet to feed but have been observed traveling more than 100 feet from their established harborage to feed on a host. Once established, infestations can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms or units through crawl spaces, wall voids and electrical and plumbing conduits. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs can easily enter your home on clothing, bedding, luggage, used furniture, cardboard boxes, etc. They can be brought home from a hotel stay or by sitting in a car, cab, bus, train or plane recently inhabited by an infested person.
What to look for
Bed bugs may be tiny but they leave telltale traces. Look most closely near beds and in bedrooms where bed bugs feed. Look for these telltale signs of bed bug activity:
A heavily infested room may have a characteristic musty or sweet odor like the scent of fresh red raspberries or coriander; however, the odor may not be obvious.
Look for active, crawling bugs on bed linens, carpet and furniture near the bed.
Look for dark fecal and blood stains on bed linens; carpets and carpet welting; and in the seams, creases, tufts and folds of mattresses and box springs.
You should also look for fecal smears or pea-sized pearly egg deposits behind headboards; along baseboards and door and window casings; around electrical plates; in plaster cracks; and under loose wallpaper, paintings and posters.
Look for whitish nymph molts and old exoskeletons under area rugs, at the edges of carpets, and in under-the-bed storage containers.
Beware of bats in the attic or eaves. Quite often bed bugs feeding on bats in the attic of a house will migrate to the living area in search of an easier food source, humans.
Buyer beware!
Bites, odor and voiding smears are indicators of a bed bug problem. However, these insects often go undetected when symptoms are not obvious. Bed bugs are also easily confused with other nuisance bugs like carpet beetles, bird and rodent mites, shiny spider beetles, parasitic wasps, even lint by the more paranoid, making definitive diagnosis a job for bed bug experts.
Before you buy a new home, ask the owner if there has ever been a bed bug problem. In co-ops, condos, apartments and any multi-unit residence, ask the property owner whether bed bugs have been reported in any unit. Before they buy, many home buyers are now requiring a pest inspection by a bed bug expert in addition to the traditional home inspection. When it’s buyer beware, it makes sense to protect yourself.
About the Author
Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376. Please visit us on the Web at www.SternEnvironmental.com.