PREVIOUS NEWS

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Fellow Belleekers !!  (lettre # 7.4)

PROBLEMS ??

And we thought that WE had CPU Hardware Problems ?? 

We ALL know that : 

    ** Cows have four stomachs. 

BUT, did you know that : 

"Often, when a calf is born, the 
farmer will make it swallow a magnet. This is to attract 
the various nails, staples, bits of wire, and so on, 
that the cow may ingest while grazing. This odd hunger 
is known as "hardware disease." 

FAMOUS IRISH AMERICAN !!

Quoted from TRIVIA TODAY, 21-Aug-03 !!

"$$$$--These have always been a good sign. They mean 
money.  Sometimes big money. But where did the dollar
sign come from? 

"An Irish immigrant to the United States is the one 
credited with originating the dollar sign. Oliver Pollock 
sailed the high seas at the age of twenty-three, and 
settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This young entrepreneur 
rapidly established himself as a wealthy and influential 
West Indies trader.

"Pollock moved his operation to Louisiana, where he 
amassed even more wealth as a trader, and as a plantation 
owner. His success enabled him to provide supplies to 
the Patriots' cause in the Revolutionary War, and to 
maintain close contact and a degree of influence with
Congress. Pollock's success allowed him easily to 
purchase military supplies to support "the cause," as
the Spanish Empire had an outpost in New Orleans, 
Louisiana. In his dealings with the Spaniards, Pollock 
used their currency, the peso.

"In true Spanish tradition, Pollock used an abbreviation 
for pesos, yet his penmanship made the abbreviation 
appear to be the transposition of the letters "p" and 
"s." 

"Prior to 1775, the fledgling nations monetary system 
was in disarray, and needed to be revamped. By 1775, 
Congress decided to rectify the situation by backing all 
of its legal tender with the most commonly circulated
coins that were, coincidentally, Spanish coins minted
in the New World.  Americans then began trading with 
"Spanish milled dollars," later termed "dollars," as 
Americans shed the "pounds" that were the vestiges of
British rule. 

"Congressman Robert Morris, to whom Pollock addressed
his billing records, perpetuated the use of the dollar 
sign, and was the first high government official to give 
his blessing to the "s" with the two lines through it.

"The appearance of the dollar sign in print, in a 1797 
book by Chauncey Lee, signified the acceptance of the 
dollar as a purely American symbol, much as is the 
bald eagle. And, no, the dollar sign formed by placing 
the letter "U" over the letter "S" is not an abbreviation 
for Uncle Sam, as some have suggested!"

ENJOY !!

ATLANTIQUE CITY !!

This years COLLOSAL Antique Fair in Atlantic City, New 
Jersey, will be held the last weekend of March 27 and
28, 2004 !!

MASSIVE amounts of information may be obtained thru 
the Site :

    http://www.atlantiquecity.com/

If you're planning on attending, look me up !!  I'll be 
staying at the Sheraton Convention Center Hotel !!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION !!

Recently, I've been receiving lots of inquiries regarding 
insurance, so, as a New Years Resolution, maybe it's time 
I discussed this a bit or as I discouvered on the 
Internet :

"It May Be Time To Get A CLUE

"One perturbing fact about homeowner's insurance is that 
it can count against you to contact your insurance 
company and inquire about filing a claim, even if you
don't end up doing so. Yes, you read that right the 
first time. If you call your insurance agent to ask 
about whether such-and-such is covered by your policy, 
said agent may be required to log in your simple Q and A 
as an unpaid loss in a database called the Comprehensive 
Loss Underwriting Exchange, or CLUE. Paid claims are 
recorded in the CLUE report as well and everything 
stays for five years. Insurers can check the database
for the five-year claims history of both homeowners and 
particular properties. CLUE data alerts insurance 
companies of problem properties and homeowners with a
habit of filing claims.

"The rules vary by state, so informal inquiries may not 
be required on CLUE reports where you live, but you 
might as well assume they are just to be safe. Keep 
your CLUE history clean by reviewing your homeowner's
policy so you don't need to rely on your insurance agent 
for basic questions about coverage and deductibles. It 
shouldn't be necessary for you to contact the insurance 
company unless you intend to file a claim for damage 
you know is covered. Also, refrain from reporting minor 
damage or losses to avoid having unnecessary claims 
end up in your CLUE file.

"CLUE reports aren't new, but it's only recently that
homeowners have been able see theirs. In fact, now it's 
a report you can buy or get for free depending on where 
you live. A handful of states (Colorado, Georgia, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont) allow 
homeowners to receive a free CLUE report every year. 
It's smart to get a copy to glimpse your home's claims 
history, especially if you're selling your home or 
shopping for a different homeowner's policy and want 
to see your home as prospective buyers and insurers 
see it. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you're 
entitled to a free copy of your claims report if you've 
been denied insurance in the past 60 days, no matter 
where you live. If you're buying a house and want to 
see its CLUE history, you'll need to request it from 
the seller because you aren't authorized to request a
report on property you don't currently own.

"You can order your CLUE report from ChoicePoint, a 
company that creates and maintains claims history 
databases. We're not affiliated with ChoicePoint and 
haven't a clue why there's no space between the words
in its name."

I researched ChoicePoint and they may be contacted via 
the Link :

    http://www.choicepoint.com/

I discussed CLUE Reports with my personal agent and she 
informed me, in simple terms, that most companies will 
ONLY make a CLUE entry if you inquire regarding a 
specific mishap that HAS ALREADY occurred and thus 
MAY be a candidate for a claim !!

For example, if you were to contact your agent because 
your neighbor's dog broke his leash, jumped your fence 
and bit your guest as they entered your home !!  This 
is a REAL circumstance and actually may involve multiple 
insurance companies !!  Because this is a REAL occurrence, 
and MAY result in a claim being filed, whether or NOT it 
results in any recouvery, your company is preparing 
themselves for the possibility by the CLUE Entry !! 

Now, let's say you contact your agent, following a 
complete kitchen remodel !!  Your agent, although VERY 
impressed, won't make a CLUE Entry because this is NOT 
a situation leading to a claim !!  It's ONLY a simple 
'general' question !!  They MAY, though, suggest that
you increase your TOTAL coverage amount, as this action 
has probably increased your home value !!

SO, what's homeowners insurance have in common with 
Belleek ??  Unfortunately, sometimes, NOTHING !!  You
see, your comprehensive home or renter policy MAY NOT
cover 'expensive' items !!  MOST insurance companies 
require that you carry a 'rider' on your policy to 
'schedule' your collectibles and other valuables !!

The term schedule defines this additional coverage 
precisely, in that it's a list of each and every item
covered and its estimated value !!  The tricky part to 
scheduled insurance is that you MUST have a qualified 
appraiser, one accepted by your company, provide an 
evaluation of every scheduled item !!  So, if you have 
porcelain, paintings and jewelry, you may require three 
separate professionals for your appraisals !!

How do you know if you should schedule some of your 
belongings ??  VERY simple, ASK !!  Give your agent a
call and pose a few 'general' questions !!  Most policies 
cover 'common' belongings or items we find in everyone's 
home !!  They cover wall to wall carpet but NOT Persian 
rugs !!  They cover your Fiesta dishware but NOT your
$4,000 Belleek Tea Set !!  BUT, MAYBE, you live in a 
REALLY NICE neighborhood and these items ARE insured !! 
ASK !!

What to do if you are required to construct a schedule ??  
VERY simple !!  Just wander room to room, and utilizing 
the guidelines your agent provided, as to the 'type' of 
items that should be included on your schedule, simple 
MAKE A LIST, along with YOUR estimate of REPLACEMENT 
value !!

Then, sit down with your agent, and let them eliminate any 
items they feel would be covered thru your original policy !! 
Now, it's time for the expert appraiser(s) to add their 
evaluations on your property !!  This final document is 
forwarded to your agent, who in turn will have the company's 
underwriters formalize your schedule and BINGO, it's 
complete !!

Don't let this frighten you !!  Scheduled Insurance is quite 
reasonable !!  Personally, I pay approximately $2.00 per 
$1,000 of Insurance !!  AND, that INCLUDES earthquake !!

It's also nice to have 'visual' documentation of everything 
on your schedule !!  The simplest method I've discouvered, 
is via a camcorder !!  I use a super-8, which allows for 
like 4 hours recording per cassette !!  The advantage to 
this method is that you have a 'built in' voice over, i.e., 
with the camcorders microphone, you simply verbalize what 
you are filming as you proceed down your schedule !!  An 
example of verbiage might be, as you film a still of a 
tea set, 2nd Period Neptune Pattern Belleek Tea Set, to 
include Tray, Teapot, Sugar/Cream and a pair of Cups/
Saucers !!  A secondary advantage is that you DON'T need 
to remove your items from your shelves and cabinets to 
'stage' them on a table !!

And, USE A TRIPOD !!  If you don't have one, many camera 
shops will rent you one by the day !!  This eliminates 
the 'amateur' film quality !!  AND it lets you 'pan' 
items on shelves or in cabinets with a stable motion !!  

INSURANCE IS WORTH THE COST !!  GOOD LUCK !!

MORE PIGS !!

Following my earlier article regarding my Crested Pig, 
I received several inquiries, the MOST exciting of which 
was the loan of a NON Belleek Pig from a Belleeker whom 
also has a love of pigs !!

This NON entity, is EXTREMELY interesting as he is an
EXACT duplicate of Belleek's Pigs, although he is like 
twice the size of Belleek's LARGE Pig !!  We've bounced 
this around a bit, and the best we've come up with is 
that a VERY skilled artiste re-modeled larger mold(s) 
from viewing a Belleek Pig ??  Does ANYONE out there 
know of a method of crafting a 'larger' ceramic from 
a 'smaller' model WITHOUT TOTALLY reworking the 
mold(s) ??

I can (easily) envision making SMALLER items, i.e., 
making molds from Belleek's Small Pig, then as the slip 
'shrinks' during firing, we produce an even smaller pig 
and so forth !!  BUT HOW CAN YOU CAST A BIGGER ONE ??

By the way, this discouvery is hollow, and painted with
a white glaze, made to resemble a Bone Ware item !!  
Unfortunately, there are NO Markings of any kind !!

NEXT discouvery !!  I've seen a rather fine selection
of Belleek's utilitarian ware, like Sick Feeders and 
Bed Pans, BUT these have always been Earthenware 
examples !!  On an E-Bay Auction I was the successful 
Bidder of a Parian Pig that was modeled as a HatPin 
Holder !!  There are four holes in the center of his 
back with two additional on each side !!

Does anyone else out there in Belleekville have any 
contributing PARIAN utilitarian articles ??



                      The Three Little Pigs !!
  JUMBO Size in the Rear and Belleek HatPin Model (right) !!
        Repeat of Belleek's Small Crested Pig (front) !!
 
By the way, another wonderful Belleeker told me that 
"If you have a Belleek Pig in your Collection, then 
you will NEVER break a piece of Belleek !!"

AND A JOYFUL NEW YEAR !!

Belleekingly,

Del E. Domke, Belleek Consultant
16142 N.E. 15th. Street
Bellevue,  WA    98008-2711
U.S.A.

Telephone :  1 (425) 746-6363
Message :    1 (425) 746-6363
FAX :        1 (425) 746-6363 
E-mail :     delyicious@comcast.net
Web-site :   The Beauty and Romance of Irish Belleek  (or) : 
              http://delyicious.magix.net/public/index.html